The cryptocurrency markets achieved another successful advance on Tuesday, despite speculation that China’s bitcoin crackdown will extend beyond order-book exchanges. Both the bitcoin price and ethereum price posted moderate gains, and each now sits poised to cross a significant threshold.
Initially, it appeared that China would ban bitcoin exchanges but allow over-the-counter (OTC) trading to continue. However, Chinese officials reportedly held a closed-door meeting with cryptocurrency industry executives and communicated that all bitcoin trading was a violation of financial regulations. News of this more comprehensive crackdown has led to worries that regulators will target cryptocurrency mining next.
Nevertheless, the markets demonstrated resilience in the face of this worrisome news. After beginning the day close to $132 billion, the total cryptocurrency market cap rose to $141 billion–its highest mark since September 13. The crypto market cap dipped after peaking at that point and currently sits at $137 billion, which represents a daily gain of about $5 billion.
Bitcoin Price Reaches $4,000
The bitcoin price posted a 4% gain for the day, rising as high as $4,094 early Tuesday morning. This is quite significant, considering the bitcoin price had fallen below $3,000 as recently as Friday. Unfortunately, the markets pulled back slightly later in the morning, reducing the bitcoin price to a present value of $3,979. This brings bitcoin’s market cap to $66 billion.
Moving forward, bitcoin adoption will likely be bolstered by the fact that legislators are increasingly looking to restructure tax policies that unfairly penalize bitcoin users. Two U.S. representatives introduced a bill that would eliminate reporting requirements for cryptocurrency transactions smaller than $600, and Australia just introduced a bill designed to finally end the double taxation of transactions involving cryptocurrency.
Ethereum Price Eyes $300
The ethereum price rose just 2% on Tuesday, but this was sufficient to place it within striking distance of $300. The ethereum price made a run at this checkpoint early Tuesday morning but was unable to break past $296 before the market dipped. At present, ethereum is trading at a global average of $287, which translates into a $27.2 billion market cap.
Altcoins Trend Up
Yesterday, 97 of the top 100 cryptocurrencies posted 24-hour gains. Today, the progress was not so comprehensive, but the altcoin markets did generally trend up.
The bitcoin cash price rose 2% to $470, while the Ripple price experienced a minor pullback to $0.185. The litecoin price climbed 4% to about $54, raising its market cap to $2.8 billion.
Sixth-ranked Dash fell less than 1%, enabling its price to hold above $325, while 7th-place NEM posted a 6% gain. IOTA and Monero both declined, falling 3% and 1%, respectively. Ethereum classic, on the other hand, received a 6% bump, enabling it to reclaim the 10th-place spot from OmiseGO.