Crypto Today: Bitcoin bulls building strong foundations above $7000

Here's what you need to know on Monday

Markets

BTC/USD is currently trading at $7000 (+6.25%), bulls are looking to solidify above the psychological $7000 price mark, as the weekly run higher continues. 

ETH/USD is currently trading at $164 (+14.45%), bulls break the major game-changing barrier for Ethereum observed at $150, a crucial weekly resistance area. 

XRP/USD is currently trading at $0.19 (+7.20%), a convincing move above the barrier of $0.1800 is encouraging for further buyers, with a fast route back into $0.2000 eyed. 

Among the 100 most important cryptocurrencies, the best of the day are BCN $0.000253 (+18.80%), ZIL $0.004711 (+16.35%) XLM $0.045371 (+9.15%) The day's losers are STEEM $2.14 (-3.92%), SNT $0.016137 (-3.55%), REN $0.049378 (-2.30%).

Chart of the day: XRP/USD daily chart (bulls breaking out of a bearish wedge structure)

Market

The crypto exchange Poloniex announced its new initial exchange offering (IEO) platform, powered through Tron (TRX). Projects aiming to do their IEOs through the new platform have to adhere to a stipulation that one would expect from Tron’s exchange: The issuing of tokens must be done in exchange for TRX and will be done on a first-come, first-serve basis.

The Stellar Development Foundation is going to be matching XLM donations that are made to six non-profits during the whole month of April.  Stellar Development Foundation Matches Donations To Non-Profits Amid the Covid-19 crisis, the Stellar Development Foundation is going to be matching donations in XLM. They will be doing so up to a maximum of 1.9 million XLM, which is close to $79,000 at current prices. At the same time, the Foundation has already donated 100,000 XLM to each of the charities that are participating in this new donation campaign.  

Regulation

New laws for regulating cryptocurrencies in Japan will start to be enforced next month. The Payment Services Act (PSA) and Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FIEA), two of the pieces of legislation passed by the Japanese House of Representatives last year to regulate crypto, were scheduled to come into effect starting in April. However, with unexpected delays, no enforcement date had officially been set until last week. In the April 3 edition of an official government newsletter, it was announced that the revised versions of the PSA and FIEA would be enforced in Japan starting on May 1. Changes to Payment Services Act in Japan  As there are no official laws to regulate crypto in Japan, amending existing regulations is the only way at this time for digital assets to have any kind of legal status in the Asian nation. As such, changes to the PSA range from changing basic te

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged a Texas couple for defrauding investors for $500,000 with a water-backed token sale. It is reported that Larry Donnell and Shuwana Leonard duped over 500 investors by selling bogus stock certificates and also digital tokens linked to their alkaline water-backed company and a non-existent Bitcoin mining operation.

Industry 

A Canada-based company is turning to blockchain technology in their efforts to fight the coronavirus pandemic in Latin America. Emerge, a blockchain startup based in Toronto, is launching a public safety system app called Civitas to assist local authorities in many nations. According to a company blog post, the app was designed “to improve safety and cut store wait times by reducing gatherings in tight spaces, reducing the probability of contagion.” The software program could associate locals’ government ID numbers with unique blockchain records, allowing authorities to determine if they qualify for permits to leave their homes. If citizens report they are experiencing coronavirus-like symptoms, the app could help determine which days are safest for them to go out for essentials like food and medicine. 

The Blockchain Association, a major United States-based trade association in the crypto sphere, has filed a new brief in support of Telegram amid the firm’s continuing legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The amicus brief and the SEC’s lack of clarity The April 3 brief takes the SEC to task for backtracking on its own guidance for legally distributing digital assets.  Referring to the inconsistency that issuers of digital assets must cope with when dealing with the SEC, the brief says that “No settled precedent or agency rulemaking addressed whether and when digital assets amounted to securities.” 

Quote

Fiat inflation is a bailout for the elites. Bitcoin disinflation is a bailout for the people. There are two ways to express power in this world: voice and exit. When voice is no longer sufficient exit is the more powerful expression. #bitcoin

@JackMallers