Cryptocurrency Trend Table (UTC time)
Weekly Review
Following Chinese New Year, Bitcoin’s uptrend from January has continued. Prices fluctuated between $8,200 and $9,200 last week, and over the weekend even briefly moved past the $9,500 mark. Bitcoin’s trading volume in January also performed well. Now, the question is whether or not Bitcoin is ready to move beyond $10,000.
Cryptocurrency in relation to other markets
We’ve selected some alternative investment markets to determine if and to what extent they correlated with the crypto markets. What we can tell is that the correlation between the price of Bitcoin and VIX (S&P) has slightly increased compared to our previous report. Over the coming weeks, as we assess the impact of the global outbreak of the novel Corona Virus on the world economy, it’ll be important to see if this correlation continues or whether Bitcoin diverts to follow its own trajectory.
Cryptocurrency Market Panic Index
Based on the CBOE calculation method for the S&P VIX index, we used the near- and next-term put and call BTC options to calculate the VIX trend chart for this week. (The lower the VIX, the less panic there is in the market). We can see from this chart that the trend correlation of BTC VIX index and ETH VIX index is high this week, and that there is more panic in the market compared to our previous report. This may be a result of current uncertainty over the global economy.
News of the week
Authorities in France and Belgium have confirmed that they have cracked a $6 million crypto scam. Ten scammers were arrested and there are at least 85 victims. Crypto scams have plagued investors and regulators for a long time. Multiple ponzi schemes have scammed investors for billions of dollars by promising investors up to 35% in returns. The three countries involved in the case each have different attitudes towards cryptocurrencies: Trading cryptocurrencies in France is legal; Belgium does not have a clear position on cryptocurrencies; and in Israel, cryptocurrencies are considered as financial assets.