Crypto Tidbits: Bitcoin Retakes $7,000, China’s CBDC Is Here, Wall Street Wants BTC & Ethereum

Another week, another round of Crypto Tidbits. After falling as low as $6,500 this week, Bitcoin mounted a strong comeback over the past two days, rallying as high as $7,200 as bulls have taken over. Other cryptocurrencies have registered even more impressive gains.

This renewed strength comes as the stock market has continued to rally higher and higher, with the S&P 500 flirting with 2,900 on Friday, almost reversing the entirety of the March weakness.

While there are some fearful of a downturn in global markets yet again, Bitcoin’s prospects are purportedly looking up, with trader Light remarking that it “feels like $8,000 is at hand,” referencing his sentiment that the cryptocurrency could soon rally by just under 15% from current levels to $8,000.

As to why this is the case, he remarked that with the potential of new buyers “absorbing profit-taking [by longs] and miner selling,” there’s a good chance $7,000 will be “accepted,” which could result in another strong leg to the upside.

Whatever the case, the past week was exciting for the crypto industry as a whole, regardless of the market.

Related Reading: Crypto Tidbits: Bitcoin Loses $7k, Blockchain Layoffs, Ethereum DeFi Explodes

Bitcoin & Crypto Tidbits

• China’s Central Bank Digital Currency Is Nearing: Reports have confirmed that China is moving forward with its national crypto project. It began with a leaked screenshot that depicted an application branded with the logos of the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) — one of the nation’s “Big Four” banks, which is coincidentally state-owned. The application depicted was a wallet for the People’s Bank of China’s digital currency project, dubbed DC/EP. Although some may have immediately questioned the legitimacy of the photo, it was confirmed to be legit by media. As reported by China Star Market on Apr. 16, all employees of the local Suzhou government — which presides over a population of over 10 million — will have to download wallets from ABC, the Bank of China, and two other state-owned banks in the coming days to prepare for May. In May, DC/EP will purportedly be distributed to all government employees, with the amount one receives corresponding with 50 percent of their transportation subsidy.
• Top Venture Capital Firm Wants More Crypto Exposure: According to a Financial Times report published April 14th that cited “two people briefed on the matter,” noted venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is looking to raise $450 million for its second crypto and blockchain investment fund. Andreessen Horowitz first waded into the crypto space with an investment in Coinbase, then doubled down on its support for Bitcoin with a $350 million raise in 2018 to invest in projects like Dfinity and ventures working on digital currencies, namely Libra. It has also made direct purchases of cryptocurrencies.
• Grayscale Report: Institutions Are Betting Big On Crypto, Namely Bitcoin and Ethereum: A report from crypto fund provider Grayscale Investments released this week confirmed that there remain institutional players that continue to demand crypto assets. The report indicated that during the first quarter of 2020, the firm brought in $503.7 million, with most of the capital allocated in Grayscale’s two flagship crypto funds: the Bitcoin Trust and the Ethereum Trust, which trade on public over-the-counter markets under GBTC and ETH, respectively. $503.7 million is double what the firm raised last quarter, Q4 of 2019.
• Libra Changes Plans For Project: Announced Thursday, the Libra Association is planning to change its original plan from a central stablecoin to offering multiple stablecoins backed by one nation’s currency, alongside its multi-currency stablecoins. Libra board member David Marcus, head of Calibra at Facebook, updated the world further by explaining that the Association is hard at work on a sanction and anti-money laundering mechanism and a “market-driven” governance model.

Photo by Ales Nesetril on Unsplash