Cryptocurrencies have quietly been integrated into our lives without much fanfare.
Many large crypto payment companies have circumvented central banks as societies realize there are cheaper and faster ways to move their money/assets.
As a result, around 85% of the world’s central banks are considering implementing a central bank digital currency (CBDC). CBDCs are not a new currency but rather a digital representation of a country’s current currency. In the UK, a British CBDC would be pegged to exactly the same value as the British pound and would be legal tender.
CBDCs will probably not replace hard currency in the short run, but crypto is currently accepted in both retail and wholesale sectors. People could use their phones as their ‘wallet’, and CBDCs would be issued by the country’s reserve banks.
These innovative financial transactions would be enabled by smart contracts, replacing existing forms of credit cards/electronic money. Some countries have already adopted retail CBDCs, such as the Bahamas, Nigeria, Jamaica and China. The Chinese government has the most technically advanced CBDC, the digital Yuan or e-CNY, which is being introduced throughout the country.
While central banks around the world are considering the adoption of CBDCs, they are weighing the pros and cons of converting to this new form of currency. If banks move towards a CBDC, this will ensure their role in preserving the role of the bank.
They could be the champions of cross-border payments, which are cheaper and faster than their existing processes. In countries where a large number of people don’t have bank accounts, this may be an opportunity for financial inclusion. An opposing opinion may be that CBDC will eventually replace commercial banks and bank accounts. Another negative consideration would be the facilitation of illegal activity.
CBDCs are currently anonymous but may require registration in the future, which would negate anonymity. As cryptocurrencies become more prominent, central banks are considering adopting CBDCs and will have to adapt to the will of their citizens and the market.
It is quite clear that the mass use of CBDCs in the near future is imminent.
This report will look at the movements over the past month of Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, TRON, Ripple, Ethereum and Fasttoken to see where they came from and where they may be headed.
iGaming Crypto Watch: You can compare this month’s prices with last month’s report via the Casinoplusbonus iGaming Crypto Watch August 2024.
Cryptocurrency Prices
Bitcoin (BTC)
Blackrock continues to push the Bitcoin narrative and has reminded us that BTC has outperformed all asset classes with returns over 100% in 7 of the past 10 years. The company stated that BTC will be adopted globally and won’t be dependent on any specific country… a decentralized future.
Blackrock also reported that big U.S. banks are lobbying the SEC so that they can authorized to hold BTC for their clients.
The price of BTC has fluctuated between $53k and $65k in September and is currently trading at 65,316 USD, with strong resistance at this level.
Current BTC Price
$64,190
Gains/Losses Vs. Market Open 2023 & 2024
- 1 Jan 2024: $42,280 (+$21,910 / +51.80%)
- 1 Jan 2023: $16,606 (+$47,584 / +286.51%)
Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
Bitcoin Cash has bounced this month and several factors could be attributed to its gains. As a means of payment, BCH has gained the adoption of P2P, and interest has shifted from BTC to BCH (and other cryptocurrencies). The BCH blockchain has solved technical issues and has upgraded its network, and there is positive sentiment in the crypto market.
BCH is up 32% since January and is up 2.5% since the last report. The coin is currently trading at 354.94 USD, with weak resistance at 436 USD.
Current BCH Price
$354.94
Gains/Losses Vs. Market Open 2023 & 2024
- 1 Jan 2024: $268.03 (+$86.91 / +32.43%)
- 1 Jan 2023: $96.77 (+$258.17 / +266.78%)
Litecoin (LTC)
Litecoin has been quite volatile in the past 30 days, as the price has fluctuated between 60 and 68 USD. Market analysts have stated that increased ‘whale activity’ has increased in LTC since September 9th.
This activity amounts to over 1,100 transactions per day that were at least $100k. The analysts have also pointed out that their online/community interaction increased 2.6% over this time period which has helped their narrative.
LTC jumped 8.21% in the past month and is currently trading at 68.45 USD, with strong resistance at 70 USD.
Current LTC Price
$68.45
Gains/Losses Vs. Market Open 2023 & 2024
- 1 Jan 2024: $74.75 (-$6.30 / -8.43%)
- 1 Jan 2023: $70.89 (-$2.44 / -3.44%)
TRON (TRX)
For years, TRON has been under scrutiny from financial and law enforcement agencies for illicit activity on their blockchain. It is common knowledge that terrorist organizations, cybercrime, hacking, fraud and theft have utilized the TRON network to fund or carry out nefarious activities.
TRX has teamed up with Tether and TRM Labs (T3 Financial Crime Unit) to combat the illicit activity of USDT on TRX. The 3 companies have collaborated with several external investigative agencies to combat misuse of the network.
In the past several weeks, the T3 unit has frozen over USD 12m associated with scams/fraud. While this new collaboration gains traction, TRX is confident that its price will increase. TRX is currently trading at 0.16 USD and is down 4% for the month.
Current TRX Price
$ 0.16
Gains/Losses Vs. Market Open 2023 & 2024
- 1 Jan 2024: $0.11 (+$0.05 / +45.45%)
- 1 Jan 2023: $0.055 (+$0.105 / +190.91%)
Ripple (XRP)
The 4-year Ripple/SEC court case continues to hamper the token’s growth. On September 26th, the SEC stated that they were very confident that on the key point of “programmatic sales of XRP”, they would win an appeal.
The judge ruled that retail sales of XRP “did not violate SEC regulations.” BUT… the sales of XRP to institutional investors violated federal securities laws. On this point, XRP was ordered to pay $125m USD in civil penalties. Investor’s reaction to this ruling has put negative pressure on the token and it has been flat in the past month.
XRP is currently trading at 0.59 USD and has strong resistance at 0.61 USD.
Current XRP Price
$0.61
Gains/Losses Vs. Market Open 2023 & 2024
- 1 Jan 2024: $0.63 (-$0.02 / -3.17%)
- 1 Jan 2023: $0.34 (+$0.27 / +79.41%)
Ethereum (ETH)
As the month ends, Ethereum options, which coincide with increasing confidence in the crypto market, are expiring. This data falls on the end of the financial 3rd quarter and has traditionally caused significant market movements.
These factors create volatility that is routinely low and as a result, ETH should see a rise in price. This sequence of events should also push up the price of BTC and altcoins.
ETH is currently trading at 2,650 USD and has been bullish in the past 5 days… up 4%.
Current ETH Price
$2,650 USD
Gains/Losses Vs. Market Open 2023 & 2024
- 1 Jan 2024: $2,352.76 (+$297.24 / +12.63%)
1 Jan 2023: $1,195.51 (+$1,454.49 / +121.66%)
Fast Token (FTN)
Fasttoken has had a very bullish run in the past calendar year but has started to lose momentum. The coin is up over 104% in the last 12 months and is currently trading at 2.28 USD. Since the last report, FTN is down 12% and lost 9% on September 19th due to selling pressure on low volume.
Average daily trading volumes are approximately 10m USD, and in the last 10 days, the token has traded around 2m USD, signaling a lack of interest in this coin.
Current FTN Price
$2.28
Gains/Losses Vs. Market Open 2023 & 2024
- 1 Jan 2024: $1.38 (+$0.90 / +65.22%)
1 Jan 2023: $0.35 (+$1.93 / +551.43%)
Disclaimer: All crypto information on this page is an a personal analysis and is not crypto investment advice. If you plan to put money into the crypto market as an investment, please seek sound investment advice from experts in the industry.
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