Bitcoin in the News : 2017-02 More++

Am I constrained by a pattern here? In the previous post, Bitcoin in the News : 2017-02 Price, I wrote,

For the third consecutive month I'm practically forced to start Bitcoin in the News with a post about the preceding month's price.

In addition to that, my second post for February, Bitcoin in the News : 2017-01 More++, concluded,

Were there any other new stories in the bitcoin space that grabbed everyone's attention [last month]? No, there weren't. I did, however, pick up on one theme : how well bitcoin is accepted by national authorities. Here is a list of stories in chronological order.

I could say exactly the same thing this month. Here's the list:-

• 2017-02-01: India Assaults Cash Again, 100% Fine For Cash Use Will Boost Bitcoin Price (cointelegraph.com)
• 2017-02-03: Why Venezuela's Currency Crisis Is A Case Study For Bitcoin (forbes.com)
• 2017-02-09: Bitcoin is tanking after Chinese exchanges block withdrawals (businessinsider.com)
• 2017-02-09: Iran Stops Using US Dollar, Could Become Next Major Bitcoin Market (cointelegraph.com)
• 2017-02-12: Bitcoin Or Bust: Taking British Banking Out Of Exchanges (forbes.com)
• 2017-02-12: The Philippines Officially Legitimize Bitcoin as Payment Method (cointelegraph.com)
• 2017-02-15: Bitcoin Conquers Morocco As Underground Crypto Bazaar is Flourishing (cointelegraph.com)
• 2017-02-18: Bitcoin Price in Tunisia 20% Higher Than in the US, Due to Capital Controls: Bitcoin Entrepreneur (cointelegraph.com)
• 2017-02-21: Has Trump Made Mexico the Next Hotspot for Bitcoin? (nasdaq.com)

Still following last month's pattern: 'Short takes: Things I learned from this month's news exercise.'

• 2017-02-05: Top 5 Bitcoin Communities (themerkle.com)
• 2017-02-05: Long-Term Indicators of Bitcoin: Transactions, Hashrate & More (cryptocoinsnews.com)
• 2017-02-12: Are Bitcoin Traders Planning for an ETF Approval? (coindesk.com; This topic was one of the most popular in February)

And again: 'And that's a wrap. See you again at the beginning of March! April!' Cookie cutter blogging, here I am...

Bitcoin in the News : 2017-02 Price

For the third consecutive month I'm practically forced to start Bitcoin in the News with a post about the preceding month's price; see 2017-01 Price for last month.

Bitcoin Price Index

The chart from Cointelegraph.com shows the price crossing USD $1000 at the beginning of the month, dropping below that psychological level to a local low on 10 February, then rising to nearly $1200 by the end of the month. A number of articles from the same source attempt to provide an explanation. Once again, the single most dominant reason is *China*.

• 2017-02-01: Bitcoin Price Surpasses $1000 in China and South Korea, Again
• 2017-02-09: Bitcoin Price Falls 9% Overnight As Two Chinese Exchanges Stop Withdrawals
• 2017-02-15: Bitcoin Price 30-Day Moving Average At Highest Ever
• 2017-03-02: Bitcoin Price Breaks $1228 All-Time High Again With ETF Nearing

The phrase 'ETF Nearing' expands to 'the industry’s optimism towards the Winklevoss twin’s Bitcoin ETF approval on March 11'. With that in mind, I'm almost certain that I'll be doing a post next month for 2017-03 Price.