Tanya Abrosimova
Independent Analyst
- The tech giant partners with fintech startup Stronghold.
- Major cryptocurrencies goes ballistic, Bitcoin adds 10% on a daily basis.
IBM has entered a partnership deal with a fintech startup Stronghold to get involved with cryptocurrency, pegged to the US Dollar. The tech giant is interested in a so-called stablecoin, tied to an existing government-backed currency to mitigate volatility/
According to the official press-release, the cryptocurrency is called “Stronghold USD” and backed by the U.S. dollars. The reserves will be held by Prime Trust, an asset manager, focused on blockchain and digital technologies.
IBM is going to experiment with virtual currency to explore the technology and see how it can be used to help banks and other financial institutions.
While the stablecoin is supposed to be volatility-proof, there is a certain amount of controversy about another stablecoin tether. The authorities suspect that it was used to manipulate the bitcoin price during the last year rally.
But it follows much controversy surrounding a well-known stablecoin known as tether, which has been accused of being used to prop-up the price of bitcoin during last year’s spike in value.
Market overview
The cryptocurrency market added over $20B to its value in a single day and reached $294 billion, according to CoinMarketCap. Bitcoin skyrocketed above $7,000 to trade at 7,351 by the time of writing, which is 9% gains on a daily basis. Ethereum, the second largest coin also cleared an important hurdle of $500. ETH/USD is changing hands at $504. Ripple has been moving in sync with the market. The coin has gained 6.5% and touched $0.5100 handle.
BTC/USD, 4-hour chart
Note: All information on this page is subject to change. The use of this website constitutes acceptance of our user agreement. Please read our privacy policy and legal disclaimer. Opinions expressed at FXstreet.com are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the opinion of FXstreet.com or its management. Risk Disclosure: Trading foreign exchange on margin carries a high level of risk, and may not be suitable for all investors. The high degree of leverage can work against you as well as for you. Before deciding to invest in foreign exchange you should carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite. The possibility exists that you could sustain a loss of some or all of your initial investment and therefore you should not invest money that you cannot afford to lose. You should be aware of all the risks associated with foreign exchange trading, and seek advice from an independent financial advisor if you have any doubts.
Recommended Content
Editors’ Picks
SEC doubles down on TRON's Justin Sun lawsuit dismissing claims over jurisdiction
The SEC says it has jurisdiction to bring Justin Sun to court as he traveled extensively to the US. Sun asked to dismiss the suit, arguing that the SEC was targeting actions taken outside the US.
XRP fails to break past $0.50, posting 20% weekly losses
XRP trades range-bound below $0.50 for a sixth consecutive day, accumulating 20% losses in the last seven days. Ripple is expected to file its response to the SEC’s remedies-related opening brief by April 22.
ImmutableX extends recovery despite $69 million IMX token unlock
ImmutableX unlocked 34.19 million IMX tokens worth over $69 million early on Friday. IMX circulating supply increased over 2% following the unlock. The Layer 2 blockchain token’s price added nearly 3% to its value on April 19.
Bitcoin Weekly Forecast: BTC post-halving rally could be partially priced in Premium
Bitcoin price briefly slipped below the $60,000 level for the last three days, attracting buyers in this area as the fourth BTC halving is due in a few hours. Is the halving priced in for Bitcoin? Or will the pioneer crypto note more gains in the coming days?
Bitcoin: BTC post-halving rally could be partially priced in Premium
Bitcoin (BTC) price briefly slipped below the $60,000 level for the last three days, attracting buyers in this area as the fourth BTC halving is due in a few hours. Is the halving priced in for Bitcoin? Or will the pioneer crypto note more gains in the coming days?