Summary:
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The US Securities and Exchange Commission is likely to delay its decision on Bitcoin ETF
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Bitcoin offers 6000 times lower costs of remittances compared to those offered by Bank of America
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Litecoin is set to break above its critical resistance
We wrote about the SEC’s decision regarding a Bitcoin ETF proposal earlier this week suggesting that the verdict could be known at the end of this month. However, it looks that things have changed ever since and it it possible that the decision will not be known until the first quarter next year. According to a filing from the SEC dated on 20 September the regulator is seeking more input from the public and therefore the final decision will be held off. It needs to be said that the delay is not the first one as the SEC has already shot down numerous ETF proposals earlier this year citing “market manipulation” being the main concern. That said, Bitcoin does not look to be particularly concerned about this postponement as its prices keeps surging this morning bouncing off the lower bound of the triangle pattern we wrote about earlier this week. Taking a closer look at the chart below one may notice that the price is eyeing the upper limit of the linear formation and it seems to be doable in the hours to come given the fact that the ongoing increase is seen in other virtual currencies too. The question is what could happen once the price strikes the determined level? There is no doubt that after such a rally bulls may want to cash in on their positions which could initiate a corrective move to the downside. However, this move does not need to be profound as the first support/resistance level might be localized already around $6800.
The Bitcoin keeps surging after bouncing from the lower bound of the triangle pattern despite the postponement of the SEC’s decision on a Bitcoin ETF proposal. Source: xStation5
Remittances powered by Bitcoin are much cheaper than those offered by traditional banks. This is the fact that everybody has already known. However, the difference between these costs is not so obvious and, in some cases, it might be gargantuan. Such conclusions can be drawn after analyzing the costs of transfers in the offer of Bank of America. The bank’s table shows that an international wire transfer in US dollars costs as much as $45 per transaction ($35 when a payment is made in foreign currencies). This is the incomparably larger amount that the costs offered by Bitcoin which is only $0.46. The question is whether the bank has so high costs of its services? Not at all. In fact, all Bank of America transactions are processed through the Federal Reserve’s money transfer network called FedWire, and it charges a maximum processing fee of $0.82 for using the network suggesting the BofA’s margin is as high as 98% or more. Having said that, Bitcoin’s fees remain one of the biggest hurdles the cryptocurrency needs to overcome anyway. Finally let’s add that transaction costs have decreased significantly throughout 2018.
Litecoin looks to be set for a major breakout if it manages to close the week above $57. If to, the price could move as high as $63 before a larger pullback occurs. Source: xStation5
