The State Of The Market: After weeks of stability, the market made a move this week, and the bulls have returned. The total market cap went from $213 Billion to a peak of $240 Billion, gaining $27 Billion in one week. The rally was led by Bitcoin, which went from $6,700 to $7,300. Other coins also gained this week. Ethereum is up by 10%, while Bitcoin Cash is up by 20%.
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Bitcoin trading has reached an all-time high of 500,000,000 Bolivars per week in Venezuela. Due to rampant hyperinflation, Venezuelans are now using cryptocurrencies for their basic necessities like food and water. Bitcoin trading has increased by more than 250% this month alone. However, the government is now preparing to clamp down on cryptocurrencies by forcing all banking institutions to disclose IP addresses from people who access their banking info from outside the country (read more).
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Bearish Bets On Bitcoin Futures Reach Record Low this week, with Bitcoin making continuous gains. According to a recent report from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), net short contracts closed at just 1266 contracts. The previous low was 1945 contracts, seen 10 weeks ago. The negative trend towards short orders indicates that traders expect a big push from this point. However, towards the end of the week, Bitcoin shorts went up by more than 50% in just 5 hours, from 21,000 BTC to 33,000 BTC. Thats an increase of 12,000 BTC (approx. $87 Million) in a very short time. It is not clear why the shorts have gone up right now (read more).
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The North Korean regime has announced a two-day crypto conference in Pyongyang, the country’s capital. The event is set to begin on October 1, 2018, but details surrounding the event is still very scarce. The country hopes to attract blockchain and crypto experts from around the world. However, North Korea faces other issues. The US has banned its citizens from travelling to North Korea, and the country has an underdeveloped tourism industry. North Korea is hoping to circumvent US sanctions using cryptocurrencies (read more).