Litecoin prices are sliding today - tumbling 4.35% - in the wake of the $530 million hack of Coincheck, but a new rumor about a mega-crypto merger could reverse the slide...
We'll cover the potential merger rumor in a bit, but cryptocurrency prices were sliding across the board today.
At least one reason for the slide is the prospect of tighter regulations in Asia. Japan's Financial Services Agency announced it may conduct on-site inspections to its local cryptocurrency exchanges.
And on the domestic side, Bitcoin prices slipped after the so-called "Robinhood Rally" ended. Bitcoin had been rising in recent days due to news that mobile investing app Robinhood announced it was adding Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to its exchange. The news raised hopes that more millennials would pour into the crypto markets. Robinhood's new crypto platform will be unveiled in February.
Below is a recap of the top cryptocurrency prices at 3:30 p.m. EST.
- Bitcoin: $11,317.20, -3.86%
- Ethereum: $1,181.61, -4.28%
- Ripple: $1.34, +0.87%
- Bitcoin Cash: $1,664.31, -4.07%
- Cardano: $0.62, -5.69%
Here's what else we're seeing in cryptocurrency markets today, including a rumored merger between Litecoin and another popular crypto...
Cryptocurrency Markets Today
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On Monday (Jan. 29), the market capitalization of the global cryptocurrency sector hit $569.55 billion.
Bitcoin represented 33.4% of the total cryptocurrency market, with a market capitalization of $181.32 billion. The top performer, with a market capitalization above $100 million, was Dent, which added 28.4% on the day.
Top performers out of the top 50 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization included Gas (up 25.00%), NEO (up 7.82%), Walton (up 7.33%), Komodo (up 2.85%), IOTA (up 2.36%), and RChain (up 2.33%).
The worst performers from the top 50 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization included Bitshares (down 9.60%), KuCoin Shares (down 8.98%), RaiBlocks (down 8.32%), Siacoin (down 7.63%), NEM (down 7.55%), Stellar (down 7.35%), Verge (down 7.05%), and Steem (down 6.71%).
While LTC prices lagged today, a potential deal could change their trajectory...
Litecoin Could See a Boost from a Possible Merger
Rumors are swirling today that a joint project between Charlie Lee's Litecoin and Monero is gaining steam.
Monero (XMR) project lead Riccardo Spagni tweeted last week an idea to merge Litecoin and his organization. "Such a productive few days, finally got to sit down with @SatoshiLite and talk about a possible merger between the Litecoin Enterprise Alliance and the Monero Enterprise Alliance, which we'd obviously call the LAMEA. #blessed #justblockchainthings," he wrote.
Lee replied, noting that Spagni was joking. But he did suggest that the two companies will continue to work closer and closer. "I think it would be good for Litecoin and Monero (2 of the top non-scam coins) to work together," Lee wrote. "A while back, I proposed to him that we work on making it easy for people to do on-chain atomic swaps of LTC and XMR in a decentralized way."
While Lee and Spagni may never fully integrate their platforms, the possibility of two of the most popular cryptocurrencies merging together is exciting for crypto investors.
We'll keep our readers updated on any new developments that come out of the newfound cooperation between Litecoin and Monero.
In the meantime, Bitcoin bulls are making even more dramatic price predictions for the crypto this year...
A New 2018 Bitcoin Price Target
Bespoke Investment Group's Dan Ciotoli said he foresees that Bitcoin could triple in value by the end of 2018.
Ciotoli said that the recent crash to $9,000 was a sign that "get-rich-quick" investors have left the market. He pegged the expected success to the expansion of the Lightning Network, which will roll out later this year. The Lightning Network should reduce the cost and transaction times of Bitcoin. However, Ciotoli says that the price could plunge to $5,000 if the Lightning Network is not successful.
Meanwhile, Bleakley Advisory Group CIO Peter Boockvar had a much more bearish prediction for Bitcoin in 2018. Boockvar predicts that the price of Bitcoin will plunge by as much as 90%. Calling it a classic bubble that went parabolic, Boockvar says that he "wouldn't be surprised if over the next year it's down to $1,000 to $3.00."
And the bears might be on to something after China tries another round of crackdowns...
China Warns of Overseas Crypto Trading
The latest sign of a crypto crackdown in China emerged this afternoon. The National Internet Finance Association of China (NIFA) has warned investors not to invest in overseas platforms. The agency is raising concerns about the security of other platforms and warned about the dangers of initial coin offerings (ICOs).
"Investors should be alert to risks from overseas ICOs transactions as some of the transaction platforms have been shut down and others restricted from logging on," the agency warned. "As there are no specific regulations overseas ICOs transaction platforms face risks in system security, market manipulation and money laundering."
The warning comes several months after the nation's central bank banned ICOs in September 2017.
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About the Author
Garrett Baldwin is a globally recognized research economist, financial writer, consultant, and political risk analyst with decades of trading experience and degrees in economics, cybersecurity, and business from Johns Hopkins, Purdue, Indiana University, and Northwestern.