On Tuesday (28 August 2018), as of press time (08:40 UTC +01:00), Bitcoin is surging towards the $7,000 level, shrugging off any negative sentiment surrounding the recent rejection of 10 Bitcoin ETF proposals, with all top 20 cryptocurrencies (except Tether) in the green.

Here are the percentage gains for the top five cryptocurrencies:

  • BTC: up 3.3%
  • ETH: up 3.23%
  • XRP: up 4.39%
  • BCH: up 4.12%
  • EOS: up 4.08%

According to data from CryptoCompare, Bitcoin (BTC) is currently (around 08:40 UTC +01:00) trading around $6,947, its highest price since August 7th. Here is the one-day price chart:

minute_CryptoCompare_Index_BTC_USD_289_51535442131376.png

As you can see, around 00:00 (UTC +01:00), BTC was trading at $6,759; two hours later, it had gone up 2.69%, trading at $6,941.

It seems that despite the rejection of nine Bitcoin ETF proposals by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on 22 August 2018, as covered by CryptoGlobe, the airing of a CNBC documentary titled “Bitcoin: Boom or Bust” last night (at 22:00 UTC) that featured very negative comments about Bitcoin by Jordon Belfort (the real “Wold of Wall Street”), and this Friday’s expiration of CME Bitcoin futures, Bitcoin appears determined to break through the $7,000 resistance level, and the other major cryptocurrencies don’t want to be left out of the party.

One reason for the crypto community putting aside its disappointment regarding the SEC’s ultra cautious stance on Bitcoin ETFs might be the realization that, perhaps, it might be even better for the long term health of Bitcoin if a Bitcoin ETF does not get approved by the SEC.  Someone who has done an excellent job of expressing some of risks posed by a Bitcoin ETF is Caitling Long, a 22-year Wall Street veteran (she used to run the pension business at U.S. investment bank Morgan Stanley). In her article for Forbes published on 13 August 2018, she highlights two of her concerns: co-mingling and hypothecation. 

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