Market Analysis Report

MVIS-CryptoCompare Index

The MVIS CryptoCompare Digital Assets 10 Index closed at 1,972.44 yesterday at 5 pm (GMT) and has since decreased by 0.31%.

See the live index here

Market Update

At the time of writing, the Bitcoin price is sitting at $3,596 representing a gain of 1.27% in the last 24 hours. More than $190M worth of BTC were exchanged in the BTC/USD market representing a 17.7% share of the global daily volume. The BTC/JPY pair represents a 9.5% share.

The Ethereum price has increased 1.58% over the past 24 hours and is currently sitting at $118.9, with over $75M worth of Ether exchanged in the past 24 hours on the ETH/USD pair which has an 11% market share of the daily trading volume.

See live charts here and here

LSE's Trading Tech to Power New Crypto Exchange

Yesterday, the London Stock Exchange (LSE) Group announced that its Millennium Exchange matching engine has been chosen to power AAX, a new exchange platform being launched by Hong Kong-based fintech firm ATOM Group. AAX is scheduled to be launched in the first half of this year and will be the first crypto exchange to use the matching engine product, according to the LSE Group. ATOM Group CEO Peter Lin said that Millennium Exchange will help AXA build a platform that ensures security. The firm stated: 

“Safe, trusted and secure trading for both retail and institutional investors. It will also enable AAX to provide a scalable and compliant crypto trading platform."

Read more here

Romania Imposes 10% Tax on Cryptocurrency Earnings

Romania has amended its tax laws, allowing it to start taxing gains from Bitcoin investments at a rate of 10%. The improved fiscal code legislation categorizes earnings generated from buying and selling cryptocurrencies as “income from other sources” and therefore subject to income tax, local media reports. Romanian daily financial newspaper Ziarul Financiar quoted Adrian Benta, a local tax consultant, as saying:

“Now, the earnings from Bitcoin are taxed and declared in the annual income statement. Only the earnings [or gains, as opposed to revenues] are taxed.”

Read more here

Bithumb Seeks US Listing via Reverse Merger Deal

Bithumb, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges by trading volume, is looking to go public in the U.S. through a reverse merger. A reverse merger is also known as a reverse Initial Public Offering (IPO), wherein a private company acquires a publicly-listed company to bypass the lengthy and complex process of a conventional IPO.

Blockchain Industries, an investment firm focusing on the crypto and blockchain industry, announced yesterday that it had signed a binding letter of intent (LoI) agreement with Singapore-based BTHMB Holdings, the holding company of Bithumb, for the reverse merger deal. Once the deal comes through, the combined entity would be known as Blockchain Exchange Alliance (BXA), potentially becoming the first U.S.-listed crypto exchange. Both parties aim to complete the deal by Mar. 1, according to the announcement. Patrick Moynihan, CEO of Blockchain Industries, said that the deal is expected to bring “liquidity, accessibility and expansion” to the blockchain sector, adding:

“By merging with BTHMB/BXA, we expect to bring more advanced technology and better compliance practices into the public marketplace via a consolidated focus.”

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Mining Sky - Buying a Mining Contract

Since the inception of bitcoin back in 2009, many changes have taken place in the cryptocurrency mining landscape. Mining hardware has evolved drastically, accompanied by exponential increases in mining difficulty. You could say that cryptocurrency mining isn't what it used to be. Especially if we take into account the bear market lived throughout 2018, which has greatly diminished mining returns. However, MiningSky seems to have not been phased by the prolonged crypto winter.

MiningSky offers cheap energy solutions for large-scale mining farms and is one of the few companies in the world to offer miner hosting. This service will have MiningSky set up a mining operation for customers, either in the U.S or Canada. The hosting will be highly energy efficient due to cool temperatures and MiningSky will take of any security, electricity, and maintenance operations. Finally, MiningSky offers one of the most competitive cloud mining services in the market, offering 2% of the world's BTC Hash Rate.

Read more here