Crypto Week in Review 7/7/2018: Tezos Crashes as Bitcoin Holds Above $6,500

The first week of July has been exciting for the cryptocurrency markets, as Bitcoin and most major altcoins gained ground this week. Arguably the biggest news was that Augustín Carstens, the General Manager of the Bank for International Settlements(BIS), warned ‘young people’ to stop creating cryptocurrency. In a speech on monetary policy, Carstens remarked that crypto is not money but rather an asset. He added that he believes crypto is a bubble, Ponzi scheme, and environmental disaster. In the strongest condemnation yet from the BIS, Carstens cautioned that the lack of trust inherent in crypto will result in an unhappy ending.

Here’s the rest of the week in review:

An anonymous report argues the hypothesis that crypto is partly responsible for the delayed release of the Nvidia GTX 11 Series graphics cards. As miners attempt to sell more used equipment during the crypto bear market, graphics cards price might drop. Thus, the surplus could push back the retail release of Nvidia’s new card series. Nvidia is expected to release the 11 Series by year’s end.

SIX, the company behind Switzerland’s stock exchange, announced that it will be launching its own fully-regulated cryptocurrency exchange, called the SIX Digital Exchange (“SDX”), that integrates trading, settlement and custody infrastructure for digital assets into a single platform.

A Forbes piece reported on a suspicious new project called Cosplay Token. Named after the popular act of anime fandom, the crypto purportedly allows cosplayers to create their own digital tokens and trade them. The platform is similar to Patreon in its capacity for fan tipping and exclusive rewards. The project is backed by a large cosplay community and will be conducting an airdrop. It seems too early to tell if the niche coin will succeed in adoption.

Gemini, the cryptocurrency exchange founded by the Winklevoss twins, announced that it has hired former New York Stock Exchange top technology executive, Robert Cornish, to become the firm’s first chief technology officer.

The country of Malta officially passed legislation to create a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. On July 4, the Maltese Parliament passed 3 bills into law that spell out regulations for cryptocurrencies, blockchains and distributed ledger technologies (DLT). The new laws will regulate DLT platforms, exchanges, ICOs and wallet providers. Malta is further building on its reputation as an island friendly to crypto.

Bittrex, a Seattle-based crypto exchange, announced that it has partnered with Invest.com, a trading platform that offers derivative trading, portfolio management, algo-trading and equity trading under European license to 31 countries in Europe, to launch a new digital currency exchange targeting investors in the European Union

Kenya is about to decide if cryptocurrency is legal tender. The Kenyan Parliament has tasked Treasury Secretary Henry Rotich to investigate local crypto operations and determine how to apply regulations. His report is due in two weeks. Though some Members of Parliament have expressed concern over the secret nature of crypto, Rotich thinks that a balanced approach will best support innovation.

Crypto prices traded within a tight range this week. Total market capitalization currently stands around $267 billion, comfortably above the last critical level. For Bitcoin (BTC), strong price rejection remains at $6,800, though BTC has managed to hover near the 20-day exponential moving average. This week’s biggest losers are Tezos (XTZ), down 59%, Nexty (NTY), down 23%, and MOAC (MOAC), down 18%. The biggest winners are GoChain (GO), up a whopping 125%, Metaverse ETP (ETP), up 85%, and Bitcoin Diamond (BCD), up 62%.