Crypto Today: Bitcoin bulls kick into gear but rallies remain vulnerable

Here's what you need to know on Wednesday

Markets: 

• BTC/USD is currently trading at $6,890 (+4.60%) in the afternoon in U.S. hours, as a surge of momentum kicks into gear for bulls. 
• ETH/USD is currently trading at $126.37 (+5.30%), with the price looking to retest the $130. 
• XRP/USD is currently trading at $0.1892 (+3.50%), as the bulls look to recover some of the losses from the week, with $0.2000 likely to serve as a new barrier of resistance. 
• Among the 100 most important cryptocurrencies, the best of the day are ADK $1.60, (+57.00%), SLV $0.578819 (+19.61%) and STRAT $0.36274 (+13.38%). The day's losers are LUNA $0.209574 (-7.90%), ZEN $6.75 (-6.13%) and FET $0.048608 (-5.25%).

Chart of the day:

BTC/USD 4-Hour Chart:

Market:

• Riccardo Spagni, the prominent lead developer of Monero, is ending his role as lead maintainer of the protocol, to be replaced by one of the core developers, “Snipa”. Spagni will remain connected to the project as a backup developer.
• The European Central Bank is looking into the development of a proof-of-concept (PoC) for a central bank digital currency (CBDC). Detailed in a published report, the PoC has been developed by the central bank’s EUROchain research network to study the practical application of decentralized technology.

Regulation:

• U.S. Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard expressed some concerns regarding Facebook’s Libra digital currency project. He said that it faces a “core set of legal and regulatory challenges” including clarity about how it would be tied to some basket of underlying assets.
• Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS), a global banking regulator, has recently published a report on the prudent regulation of crypto assets. The Basel Committee is made up of regulators from the US, Europe and Japan. In the report, the regulator states that cryptocurrencies pose considerable risks and its usage can harm financial stability. The report also claims that cryptocurrencies can increase the risks faced by banks.and elsewhere as we continue to globally expand our services to the institutional investment community.”
• The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has voted to amend the definition of accredited investor with a 60 day commenting period opened for the public. “The current test for individual accredited investor status takes a binary approach to who does and does not qualify based only on a person’s income or net worth,” SEC Chairman Jay Clayton said before adding:

Industry 

• Block.One, the firm behind EOS, the seventh-biggest cryptocurrency by market cap, has launched a new $1.5 million grant program to support the EOSIO development.
• The founder of Tron Justin Sun is pledging a $1 million donation towards the climate change mission by Greta Thunberg. The climate change activist was recently recognized as the person of the year by Time Magazine. Sun says that he cherishes the teenagers’ passion to bring change into the world. 
• A former employee of United States-based cryptocurrency exchange Kraken initiated legal proceedings against the company in connection with breach of contract and sanctions violation, among other issues.

Quote of the day:

Earlier this year Ether, the #2 crypto by market cap was up over 150%, and now it's down YTD.  Ripple, the #3 crypto, has also give up its earlier gains and is now down over 50% YTD. There are still plenty of trading days left in the year for #Bitcoin to end 2019 with a loss!

Peter Schiff - CEO Euro Pacific Capital