Cryptocurrency News Monday 13 Nov 2017

The Bitcoin price was wild last week, hitting an all-time high of $7,850 on Wednesday, then plunging down to $6,533 by Friday’s close – and then over the weekend falling further to $5,600 before recovering to $6,200.

Here’s the chart for last week’s movement:

Bitcoin chart

The cause of this extreme volatility was the expectation, and then the cancellation, of a Bitcoin fork. The currency was going to split into two on November 16, creating a new coin. Anyone who owned Bitcoin on that day would be given some of the new coin. So a lot of investors had moved their funds out of altcoins and into Bitcoin in order to realise that gain – hence the rise in the price.

But then on Wednesday it was announced that the fork was not going to happen after all – so all those investors moved out of Bitcoin. Result: price plunge.

Not to worry, though – a low Bitcoin price just means it’s an opportunity to buy, in expectation that the boom will continue for some time yet.

For more on why the cancellation of the fork caused such upheaval, read this article on Fortune: Bitcoin Is in Wild Upheaval After The Cancellation of the Segwit2x Fork

For info on the technical stuff behind the fork being cancelled, read this TechCrunch article: SegWit2x backers cancel plans for bitcoin hard fork

Other Cryptocurrency News

The value of altcoin Dash rose significantly, up 27% in the last 24 hours. Read about it on crytocoinnews.com: Dash Hits New All-Time High as Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash Struggle

Michael Lewis, author of The Big Short, says there is a link between bitcoin and the chaos in the US Federal Government. Read his comments in this article on Bitcoin.com: Big Short Author: Definitely a Link Between Bitcoin and the Chaos in the US Federal Government

A South Korean police officer is in trouble for being involved in an operation on bypassing China’s capital controls by using Bitcoin to transfer funds. Read about how the two countries are responding in this Oracle Times article: South Korea and China Clamps Down On Violations of Cryptocurrency

The price of Ethereum Classic has risen nearly $20 in the last few days. Read more in this article on themerkle.com: Ethereum Classic Price Is on Track to Surpass $20 Again Soon

An article on Forbes argues that Ethereum is not a bubble despite increasing 3,700% this year: Crypto Craze: Ethereum May Not Be A Bubble Despite 3,700% Explosion

New Book on Cryptocurrencies
Coming Soon from Clem Chambers

The CEO of ADVFN, Clem Chambers, has a new book on cryptocurrencies coming out soon. Trading Cryptocurrencies: A Beginner’s Guide - Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin is an invaluable guide to making money in cryptocurrencies: how they work, how to invest in them, trading cryptocoins, mining, and the technical details behind them. It comes out in a couple of days for the Kindle, then in paperback in December.

Trading Cryptocurrencies book