Bitcoin 2019 Bull Run Paused As Regulators Dig Deeper In Crypto: Weekly Crypto Market Update

Bitcoin’s uptrend which started in the second quarter of 2019 has been somewhat halted. Overall, after significant increases of the kind, this is a healthy technical correction. Alongside those who tend to believe that Bitcoin’s value mostly reflects its potential loss, there are many analysts who hold that after the correction, another bull market will emerge this year. The renewal of CME futures which have a significant impact on its market price and the gaps between the contracts and the market price seems to get narrower as the market begins to relax. Bitcoin’s dominance is currently at around 65%.

Coin Dominance-min-30 — Source: coingecko

The regulatory sector continues to heat up and after the FATF recommendations, congressional hearings, and high-profile tweets about the future of digital currencies, we can now see the IRS issuing 10,000 “Love” letters to cryptocurrency users demanding to report their activity or correct previously filed reports.

This move comes after requests from Congress to clarify various taxation issues and the letters came out even before the authority issued the clarifications and some interpret it as a statement by the authority that the reporting obligation is preceded by all and that corrective reports can be filed if necessary. We expect that, alongside the clarification issued by the IRS, we are still likely to see the regulatory octopus deployed to the entire industry. At the time of this writing, congressional hearings continue and the market is still interpreting the implications and waiting to see regulatory activity and results in the field.

Following Bitcoin’s increase, altcoins have suffered a serious loss in value against BTC and it seems that after the recent correction this trend has halted, at least for the time being. However, despite the relative stability, we did not see any Alts that managed to lift their heads and stand out, indicating a lack of confidence in the Alt’s market and perhaps even a bullish outlook for Bitcoin in the short term.

You can also see in the next graph that swelled against a gentle dollar not like it was in hype before the big 2017 increases. However, although trading volume is on the rise, it is hard to say that this is new money entering the market.

trade-volume-min-30 — Source: blockchain.com

Market Data

Market Cap: $267,4 B

24h Vol: $45,6 B

BTC Dominance: 64.5%

BTC: $9,691 3.4%

ETH: $212,4 0.4%

XRP: $0.31 1.8%

BTC Shorts (BFX): 6.4 K BTC

BTC Longs (BFX): 22.3 K BTC

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