Crypto Today: Bitcoin hits new April's high, $8,000 is still too scary to touch

Here's what you need to know on Monday

Markets:

BTC/USD hit $7,800 during early Asian hours and retreated to $7,700 by press time. The first digital coin has gained over 6% in the recent 24 hours and stayed unchanged since the beginning of Monday. Now it is trading with the short-term bearish bias amid low volatility.

At the time of writing, ETH/USD is changing hands at $195.60 after another failed attempt to reach $200.00. The second-largest coin hit the recent high at $199.26 but quickly lost the ground. ETH/USD is mostly unchanged on a day-to-day basis, down 1.3% since the start of the day. Now it is moving within a short-term bearish trend. The volatility is low.

XRP/USD stopped short of $0.2000 during early Asian hours. Now the third-largest coin is changing hands at $0.1975 with 1.5% gains in the recent 24 hours.  From the short-term perspective, XRP/USD is trading within a bearish trend amid shrinking volatility.

Among the 100 most important cryptocurrencies, Steem (STEEM) $0.2278 (+40.8%), Hive (HIVE) $0.8387 (+35.2%), Siacoin (SC) $0.0017 (+20.8%). The day's losers are DigiByte (DGB) $0.0135 (-10.8%), Enjin Coin (ENJ) $0.1421 (-6.7%) and Ravencoin (RVN) $0.0192 (-4.5%)

Chart of the day:
BTC/USD, 30-min chart

According to the cryptocurrency analyst Cole Garner, the worst of the coronavirus crisis is not over, and investors should not be lulled in a false sense of complacency. He pointed out a similar false recovery on the stock market in 1929, which was followed by another severe collapse. He also added that the crash in equities would hit high-risk assets, including Bitcoin. 

 If & when we leg down, risk-on assets like $BTC probably sell off. Bitmex liquidation engine won’t make the same mistake twice. But bitcoin could fill low orders. (@ColeGarnerBTC)

Industry

Bitcoin trading volumes are growing rapidly in Argentina as the country is moving towards default on USD 65 billion of foreign debt. Since 2018, the value transactions with the first digital coin increased by 1,028% in Argentine Pesos (ARS); while the huge number can be partially explained by massive Peso devaluation, in Bitcoin terms the volume has also grown significantly (+407%). In recent weeks the trend has intensified as the government may default on its foreign debt and ruin its credit ratings. The trading volumes on Localbitcoins are also on the rise:

Argentines are dumping record amounts of pesos for #bitcoin on @LocalBitcoins, as the government is about to default on its debt and the currency is suffering from inflation. (@ArcaneResearch)

Ripple says that its annual Swell conference will be carried out in virtual format due to COVID-19 pandemic. The San-Francisco-baed startup usually uses the event to gather participants from blockchain and payment industries and announce details on the future of its products. Even though the event is scheduled in autumn, according to  Curis Wang, co-founder of blockchain incubator Bitrue Space, Ripple now sends out invitations to the virtual event.

After careful consideration, we’ve made the decision to transition Swell Global into an exclusive online experience. Although this is a unique way to connect, we are excited about the opportunity to engage with you this fall.

Regulation

Switzerland’s “crypto valley” is in talks with the federal government for setting up a 100 million Swiss franc ($102.7 million) fund for helping the fintech companies.

The cryptocurrency industry of Switzerland asks government for the financial support to the tune of 100 million Swiss francs ($102.7 million), Bloomberg reports. The companies of Switzerland’s “crypto valley” are in a dire state and need governmental bailout to survive the crisis. According to recent research, COVID-19 will become lethal for the majority of cryptocurrency and blockchain-related companies.

Of the biggest 50 companies operating in the region, only half said in a survey that they will make it through the next 12 months under current conditions.