A quick roundup of this week’s notable cryptocurrency news
Congress gets crypto an education
Not found in any of the headlines dominating the mainstream news coming out of Washington is that fact that the nation’s lawmakers are getting educated about cryptocurrency and blockchain by staff from the DC-based crypto policy organization, Coin Center. One of the biggest obstacles to widespread growth and acceptance of cryptocurrencies might be that the regulators tasked with creating rules and policies governing the emerging crypto economy are often not really that well versed in the technology. So, having this kind of education is useful. Via Coin Center.
Deep freeze in China continues
Last week, two of the three major bitcoin exchanges in China announced that they would halt trading of cryptocurrency for one month while they rewrote policies and procedures to better fit with money laundering regulations. That news caused a steep drop-off in bitcoin price. This week, while still recovering, BTCC, the third of the big three Chinese exchanges also announced that it would halt trading until March 15. Via Cointelegraph.
Lift off
Yet, despite the issue with Chinese exchanges, the price of bitcoin has recovered throughout the week, maybe signaling market maturity. Via btcmanager.com
New floor?
The fact that the bitcoin price has settled in around $1,000, even with some of the uncertainty surrounding international exchange regulation has led some to question if that point will become a new floor for the cryptocurrency. Via CoinDesk.
Retiring on bitcoin
While all eyes seem to be on the possibility of a Winklevoss-backed bitcoin exchange-traded fund, it is already possible to buy into a bitcoin IRA. While it might be hard to find one through traditional plans offered by employers, bitcoin IRAs have existed since 2014 and, as the cryptocurrency price keeps rising, are doing well. Via Money Morning.
I’m thinking about making this weekly roundup a regular thing. Let me know what you think.