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Here’s Why ZClassic (ZCL) Is Running Right Now

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ZClassic (ZCL) is up more than 35% over the last twenty-four hours versus the USD and up more than 43% in relation to bitcoin. The coin is trading for a market capitalization of $63 million as of today (morning, US, December 28) and across the last twenty-four-hour period, against a backdrop of the just mentioned increase in price, more than $39 million worth of ZCL has changed hands over the various exchanges on which it’s traded.

ZCL Daily Chart

ZCL Daily Chart

In other words, something is getting markets excited about ZCL right now and it’s causing a wave of speculative volume to flow towards the coin.

What is getting markets excited and what does it mean? In other words, is it sustainable and can it support continued advance?

Let’s take a look.

This one is a privacy type coin that was set up on the back of a fork of the Zcash blockchain. Many reading will likely be already familiar with Zcash but, for anyone that isn’t, it’s defined as a cryptocurrency aimed at using cryptography to provide enhanced privacy for its users compared to other cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin.

Basically (there’s no real need for us to go into the protocols that underpin this technology for the purposes of this discussion), Zcash uses a masking type technology that serves to hide certain details associated with a transaction while, at the same time, maintaining certain elements of the transparency that’s associated with bitcoin.

Specifically, everything is recorded on the blockchain and anyone using an explorer can see that a transaction took place but they can’t see who is on either side of the transaction (i.e. who sent the ZEC, in the case of a Zcash transaction and who received it) or how much was sent.

So why did ZClassic decide to fork the Zcash chain?

Because while Zcash was designed to fix some of the privacy issues associated with BTC, there were a number of undesirable elements built into its protocol.

One of these was that the founders of Zcash take 20% of the rewards (the rewards that, in bitcoin, are paid to miners) for the first 4 years subsequent to release, leading to 10% control of the entire monetary supply.

Another is that there is a slow start system built into Zcash, which would essentially make it very slow and difficult to mine the first 20,000 blocks, leading to a potentially artificially inflated market price.

ZClassic got rid of these features.

That’s a bit of background, what’s making the coin run now?

The team just announced that it’s forking again to create what’s going to be called Bitcoin Private. This is going to work (basically) in the same way that ZClassic works but will be rebranded as above.

What does this have to do with anyone buying ZCL?

Anyone that owns ZCL at the time of the fork will receive BCTP (which is the ticker being used to refer to the upcoming Bitcoin Private) on a ration of 1:1. Markets are assuming, therefore, that there’s going to be a dramatic increase in price on the BTCP as and when they hit exchanges and that, through ZCL, there’s an easy way to pick up plenty of BTCP incredibly cheap.

So is this a genuine opportunity?

Well, yes and no. If it plays out as described above, then yes. However, we don’t know when (or even if) the major exchanges are going to support this fork (i.e. whether they will issue BTCP to anyone holding BTC or ZCL at the projected ratio) and, as such, there’s a risk built into any position held in ZCL ahead of the fork.

With that said, it could be well worth a punt given the upside potential at current ZCL prices.

We will be updating our subscribers as soon as we know more. For the latest on XXXX, sign up below!

Disclaimer: This article should not be taken as, and is not intended to provide, investment advice. Please conduct your own thorough research before investing in any cryptocurrency.


Image courtesy of ZClassic

Bitcoin

Bitcoin Price Dumps Below $41,000 Amid Uncertainty

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Bitcoin price dumped hard on Monday, briefly slipping below $41,000, erasing gains recorded in the previous week. The premier cryptocurrency seems to have exhausted its recent rally propelled by industry vulnerabilities. At the time of writing, the world’s largest cryptocurrency was trading slightly lower at $41,385. Bitcoin’s total market cap has dipped by 2% over the past day, while the total volume of BTC tokens traded over the same period climbed by 58%.

Fundamentals

Bitcoin price has been facing retracements and a rollercoaster over the past few days after recently rocketing to a 20-month peak. On-chain data has suggested that many investors used the opportunity to take some profits, leading to a decline in the asset’s price.

Bitcoin’s price slump is mirrored in the wider crypto market, with the global crypto market cap decreasing by 1.85% over the past 24 hours to $1.55 trillion. The total crypto market volume has increased by 32% over the same period. The Crypto Fear and Greed Index has plunged from a level of extreme greed to a greed level of 70, suggesting a decline in risk appetite.

Ethereum, the largest altcoin by market capitalization, is currently trading at $2,167, down almost 3% for the day. Meme coins have been hit hard by the market slump, with Dogecoin and Shiba Inu down by more than 4% over the last day.

Last week on Thursday, cryptocurrency experts took notice of…

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Bitcoin

Bitcoin Price is in Consolidation Mode Despite Market Optimism Post-Fed Decision

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Bitcoin price edged lower on Thursday despite optimism in wider markets on the back of the Fed’s interest rate decision. The flagship cryptocurrency has been consolidating above the critical level of $42,000 after briefly topping $44,000, its highest level in 20 months. Bitcoin was trading 0.71% lower at $42,569 at press time. BTC’s total market cap has increased by more than 3% over the last day to $832 billion, while the total volume of the asset traded over the same period jumped by 22%.

Economic Outlook

Bitcoin price has been trading sideways over the past few days, suggesting a pause in its recent rally towards $45,000. The premier cryptocurrency has decreased by 4% in the past week but remains 15.22% higher in the month to date. The digital asset has staged a significant recovery this year after a torrid 2022 in which a string of scandals, including the collapse of FTX, led to a market meltdown, undermining the credibility of the sector.

The crypto market has been buoyed by the Fed’s latest interest rate decision. The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday held its key interest rate unchanged for the third consecutive time, in line with market expectations. With the easing of the inflation rate, members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted to keep the benchmark overnight borrowing rate in a targeted range between 5.25%-5.5%.

Additionally, the central bank indicated that three rate…

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Bitcoin

Bitcoin Price Blasts $44K in Spectacular Surge as Spot Bitcoin ETF Approval Looms Large

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Bitcoin price has been hovering above the $43,000 psychological level over the past two days amid anticipation about the potential approval of a spot bitcoin ETF. The flagship cryptocurrency has climbed more than 16% in the past week and nearly 170% in the year to date. Bitcoin’s total market cap has increased by nearly 5% over the past 24 hours to $858.9 billion, while the total volume of the token traded rose by 43%. The Bitcoin price was trading at $43,914 at press time.

Fundamentals

Bitcoin price has posted significant gains over the past few days, climbing to its highest level since April 2022, before the crash of a stablecoin that started a litany of company failures, pummeling crypto prices. The world’s largest cryptocurrency briefly topped the crucial level of $44,000 on Wednesday amid rising momentum despite being massively overbought.

According to analysts, with no spot bitcoin ETF approvals yet and the halving event five to six months away, the market is riding on FOMO. Capital has been flowing in the Bitcoin market amid enthusiasm that the launches of spot ETF will bring in billions of dollars of new investment into the crypto sector.

Investors have already started providing capital as seed money for ETF products. Notably, a recent report by CoinDesk showed that the world’s largest fund manager, BlackRock, received $100,000 in capital from a seed investor for its spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund…

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