Given that Ethereum Classic is the most recognizable blockchain to have ever been successfully 51% attacked, negative implications regarding the ease of other PoW chains have been felt.
The attack occurred a few days after ETC shorts opened on Okex, with the hacker subsequently returning taken funds back to the gate.io exchange. The narrative that the attack was executed simply to create some short term market anxiety in order to successfully bet against the price of ETC is strong. The price of ETC has fallen ~21% in the last week.
A reason for volatility returning to crypto asset markets may be the reactivation of a number of long dormant, rich BTC addresses. These reactivated accounts appear ready to buy/sell crypto with their newly active funds and may potentially accentuate any price swings over the next few weeks. For savvy traders, however, volatility always brings profit opportunities.
The trading week also closed with a few exciting stories for long-term crypto holders as crypto fund builder Bitwise announced a Bitcoin ETF application launched with the SEC. While multi-functional security token exchange, Tzero, began distribution of the platform’s native tokens. The security token platform is an early contender for most exciting crypto infrastructure project of 2019.
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