The State of the Market: Positive news and bearish exhaustion have led to a mild recovery in the cryptocurrency market and Bitcoin continues to recover some of the gains that it dropped last week. The news of Morgan Stanley and Citigroup planning to offer tradable instruments for Bitcoin-related products appear to have improved market sentiment and as the the SEC deadline for the Van-Eck Bitcoin-ETF application approaches we could see a little bullish excitement enter the market. Currently the cryptocurrency market capitalization stands at $198.6 billion.
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Reports have emerged that two giant Fintechs; Citigroup and Morgan Stanley, are planning to offer tradable instruments and Bitcoin-related products. The two firms cited the increasing interest and demand for cryptocurrencies by institutional investors. Morgan Stanley and Citigroup will join ICE and Goldman in offering Bitcoin products and services. According to Alistair Milne of Altana Digital Currency Fund, institutional demand has pushed the hedge fund industry from to $6 trillion from $300 billion. (Read More.)
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Residents of Midland town in Ontario, Canada, had their computer systems hacked and the systems infected with malware recently. The hack paralyzed most of the vital data, but critical services such as those of the fire department and the ambulance were not affected. The hackers reportedly demanded Bitcoin as ransom before providing the decryption keys. The town has acceded to the hackers’ demand and has started sending Bitcoin in exchange for the decryption keys. (Read More.)
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The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced the appointment of a new commissioner. Republican Elad Roisman will replace Michael S. Piwowar after the US Senate approved the appointment. The appointment comes about two weeks ahead of SEC’s planned ruling on the VanEck Bitcoin ETF. Bitcoin ETF enthusiasts believe the appointment will increase the chances of its approval. This is mainly because the commission is currently constituted of two anti-crypto regulators, two enthusiasts and one undecided. Roisman is known to have soft spot for cryptocurrencies. (Read More.)