What happened to cryptocurrency: October 2019 highs and lows

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The face of global finance is being altered by the growth of digital currency. Any time there’s a change in the status quo, there will be those in favor of the changes and those opposed to them, as well as those who try to buck the system in a misguided belief that they don’t have to play by the rules. Ever since money was first invented, there have been individuals willing to break the law to serve their own selfish benefits and the Bitcoin ecosystem is not going to operate any differently. As the activity over the past month shows, there have been ups and downs, but everything is pointing to a better, more fine-tuned industry.

Patrick Byrne, the founder and former CEO of eCommerce giant Overstock, became enamored with cryptocurrency so much that he wanted to shift completely away from retail and focus solely on crypto. However, he may have crossed the line and committed securities fraud in the process. Just like with the many instances of securities fraud associated with fiat, he’ll be held accountable if found guilty.

Tether and Bitfinex are still battling the State of New York for certain alleged financial improprieties. That case will be continuing for quite some time, and the two are now going to have to respond to another suit. Investors are accusing the pair of creating the “largest bubble in history” by manipulating crypto market prices and there is a lot of evidence to support the claim.

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which asserts that digital assets are a form of property, has provided some new guidance on what constitutes a tax obligation related to crypto. It has already weighed in on several aspects of crypto transactions, and in its latest input, revealed that any gains from hard forks aren’t taxed until the gains are realized. If the money is held by an exchange after the hard fork, for example, there aren’t any gains. Once that money is withdrawn, however, it’s time to give Uncle Sam his cut.

Alipay, the massive China-based payments company, says no to crypto. It doesn’t want to be associated with digital currency in any way and won’t even let tertiary services use the payments solution if those transactions will involve crypto or lead to crypto withdrawals or deposits. The decision probably stems from the Alibaba-owned company’s desire to have its own form of peer-to-peer fiat payment solution.

A Chinese crypto mining equipment provider and solution, Canaan Creative, is going to do what no rival has been able to do so far. It has asserted that it is going to be listed on a U.S. stock exchange in November, beating out competitors like Bitmain, who hasn’t been able to resolve questions about its financial health.

The idea that crypto transactions are completely untraceable is incorrect. It was created by individuals who never properly grasped the concept of Bitcoin and didn’t understand how it was going to work. A recent international scandal involving a child porn ring and how over 337 people were raided after their crypto transactions were traced shows the fallacy of the misguided belief.

If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. That appears to be the motto of the Canadian government, which is reportedly starting to warm to the idea of launching a digital currency. It would replace fiat and, given the inherent and automatic reporting associated with crypto, would allow the country to constantly track all financial movements by everyone in the country.

Cambodia looks to be considering the idea, as well. It wants easier ways to conduct cross-border payments while reducing associated costs, and the country’s central bank is said to be exploring digital wallets as the answer.

Poloniex is no longer under the Circle umbrella. The crypto exchange announced a week ago that it would break away from the payments company and stand on its own. At the same time, to the dismay of crypto fans in the country, it also announced that it would stop U.S. support as of November 1.

The U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) clarified that crypto companies are required by law to adhere to anti-money-laundering policies. If they don’t, they could be charged accordingly, and the announcement is seen as a step forward in showing that crypto can be used as a currency.

China continues to be a leading force behind blockchain innovation. This has been seen by the number of companies that have launched in the country, and there are now a lot more. The Cyberspace Administration of China just approved 309 new blockchain service providers this month, with those entities offering services from eCommerce to tourism and from healthcare to legal matters.

There have now been 452 BTC futures contracts traded on the newly-opened Bakkt futures exchange. There is still a lot to happen and the increase comes as the market weakens, but the prospects of another big bull run are attracting more investors.

It’s been a good month for Bitcoin SV (BSV), known better as the original Bitcoin. According to a tweet by expert crypto developer Unwriter, BSV had, as of October 23, eclipsed BTC in organic traffic. He pointed out that it is a “very significant point in Bitcoin history. This changes everything. Especially for the BSV builders” since it shows that what BSV has expressed all along is true. The blockchain is capable of sustained large blocks, infinite scaling and proven operations. The idea that no blockchain could handle large blocks or massive scaling has just been completely proven false by BSV’s performance.

As of 2019-10-23, BSV eclipses BTC, purely organically.

Very significant point in Bitcoin history. This changes everything. Especially for the BSV builders.

Makes me re-think a lot of things.

Why? pic.twitter.com/rj9hrtz2Ic

— _unwriter (@_unwriter) October 24, 2019

Given how far the Bitcoin ecosystem has come in the past two years, it’s going to be interesting to look back a year from now and see even more changes. This is just the beginning of a lot of positive growth for crypto and history is being made that will rewrite how the world views money.