Looking back at last week’s biggest news, including price analyses for BTC, ETH, and XRP.

The coronavirus continues to dominate headlines, with much continued speculation about the impact it has on BTC’s ability to act as a safe-haven asset. We’re not immune, here is our take.

Others, including BIS, have suggested this is crypto’s golden opportunity to become CBDCs. We’ll have more on that next week, and in the coming months.

And finally, if you’re after some light-relief in the face of all the news, there were some excellent April Fool’s articles last week to keep you entertained, including CMC’s Toilet Paper Token, and Finance Magnates revelation that Craig Wright is in fact Satoshi.

Below is our weekly roundup of industry and coin specific news. If you’d like to get in touch with us about any of our products or services, we look forward to hearing from you. Just send us a note.

Binance acquires CoinMarketCap in landmark deal

• Crypto exchange giant Binance announced the acquisition of popular data site CoinMarketCap (CMC) on Thursday for an undisclosed sum (but rumoured to be around $400 million).
• Although the founder of CoinMarketCap, CEO Brandon Chez, will step down as part of the transition, the press release stressed that Coinmarketcap will continue to be operated as an independent business—albeit with a few notable developments.

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South Korea's biggest bank is set to launch crypto custody service

• Following the recent approval of a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies by the South Korean government, KB Kookmin, the largest bank in the country, is set to launch crypto custody service.
• According to reports, the bank filed a trademark application for ‘KBDAC’ - KB Digital Asset Custody - with the Korean Intellectual Property Office. The entry of the South Korean financial behemoth into the crypto space may trigger widespread adoption across financial institutions in the country.

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Russia’s legislative ban on cryptocurrency delayed because of the coronavirus

• Russia’s proposal to prohibit the use of crypto as payment will be postponed yet again. Anatoly Aksakov, Chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee on Financial Markets, confirmed that the crypto law has been finalised already, but it won’t be adopted before the end of spring 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak.
• With Aksakov also suggesting that a cryptocurrency rouble might be in the works, crypto enthusiasts in the country may still have reason to rejoice

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Latest Coin News

BTC

• Price Analysis: In the hands of the bulls according to both the RSI and the MACD
• Bitcoin ends Q1 Down 10%, outperforming equities in coronavirus crisis
• Top Bitcoin exchange hints at launching Bitcoin options trading 

ETH

• Price analysis: Failed to hold above $150 earlier in the week but is still up 15.4% on a weekly basis
• Billionaire Investor Jim Breyer drops Ethereum (ETH) in crypto portfolio shakeup
• Ethereum founder tells bitcoin dev BTC wasn’t always digital gold

XRP

• Price Analysis: The intraday RSI implies that the coin may retreat from the recent levels
• Amended lawsuit against Ripple now offers theory that XRP may not be a security
• Top Ripple dev publishes method to increase privacy using ‘blinded tags

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