08/02/2018: Biggest Stories in the Cryptosphere

1. ECB President: There Is a Chance Banks Could Soon Hold Bitcoin

Mario Draghi, the European Central Bank (ECB) President, stated at a European Parliament meeting that there is a chance European banks could hold positions in Bitcoin in the future. In that case, the ECB would keep a close watch. According to Draghi, banks did not show any interest in the cryptocurrency initially. However, changes such as the US exchanges listing Bitcoin futures contracts have created a precedent, and the situation could soon change. Furthermore, Draghi has also alluded to an approaching ‘Single Supervisory Mechanism’ which would be launched to inspect the risks supervised institutions or banks could face due to digital assets.

2. Bitcoin Cash Leading the Pack in Terms of Growth

The top 10 cryptocurrencies are back to growing again, with Bitcoin Cash (BCH) leading the pack in terms of percentage. In the early afternoon (GMT) it was up 19% in 24 hours. BCH is the fourth largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation, but still managed to outperform Bitcoin, the biggest one. The total market capitalisation is up 40% compared to 48 hours ago. Furthermore, Steve Strongin, Goldman Sachs’ Head of Investment Research, has commented on the collective growth trend. As we reported yesterday, the top 100 cryptocurrencies were all in the green. Strongin found it strange that new coins would not devalue the previous ones but would, instead, grow in value together with them.

3. 290% Rise in Crypto Vacancies in India

We previously reported about concerns India would ban cryptocurrencies, which were then revealed to be unfounded. Despite this, the Indian crypto market seems to be on a steady rise. Job search site Indeed India has now revealed that it saw 290% growth in crypto vacancies. Furthermore, 52% more job seekers are using blockchain-related terms when making a job search. The company’s Managing Director Sashi Kumar acknowledged that the sector is still relatively small, but believes it could reach $7.7 billion by 2022. Considering that 10% of the total Bitcoin transactions are Indian, it seems a plausible prediction. Lastly, a survey revealed Indians are more optimistic on cryptocurrencies than Brits and Americans.

4. Barclays Is Still Going to Allow Crypto Purchases with Credit Cards

We previously reported on many banks banning customers from purchasing cryptocurrencies using credit cards. Bank of America, JP Morgan, Citi, Capital One, Lloyds Banking Group and Virgin Money were all part of the list. However, “big four” British banking group Barclays has assured its customers they will still be allowed to make this type of purchase using credit cards. The bank will look closely at transactions to prevent and flag suspicious ones, but it will not issue a ban.

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