Bitcoin in the News : 2019-07 More++

Just like last month's Bitcoin in the News : 2019-06 More++, this month's edition is late, although for a different reason. I'll use the same technique as last month, concentrating on stories from Forbes.com, where I found 32 stories in July.

Since this month's price post, Bitcoin in the News : 2019-07 Price, had a focus on regulatory trends, Facebook's Libra in particular, I narrowed the Forbes stories to those centered on regulatory issues. Here I found eight stories.

• 2019-07-02: The Overlooked Reason The United States Would Struggle To Ban Bitcoin • 'free speech'
• 2019-07-07: New ECB Boss Christine Lagarde Made A Serious Bitcoin Warning • 'cryptocurrencies are "shaking the system" -- something that could signal a change in the ECB's approach'
• 2019-07-11: Blow To Bitcoin As Fed Chair Jerome Powell Issues Stark Facebook Warning • 'the Facebook Libra project "cannot go forward" until "serious concerns" are addressed'
• 2019-07-13: Donald Trump Just Made Bitcoin A 2020 Election Issue • 'Trump unleashed a scathing attack on bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, branding them "unregulated crypto assets" and based on "thin air"'
• 2019-07-15: Donald Trump Gave Bitcoin A Boost, But The Presidential Spotlight Could Prove Harsh For Crypto
• 2019-07-16: Why Big Governments And Central Banks Want To Kill Libra And Bitcoin
• 2019-07-21: Bitcoin, XRP, And LTC Prices Recover After Tumbling On Libra Hearings, What's Next?
• 2019-07-29: Australian Draft Bill Illustrates Bullish Case For Bitcoin Price • 'limit tax evasion and general criminal activity'

I hope the 2019-08 'More++' post will be on time.

Bitcoin in the News : 2019-07 Price

July was the first month of 2019's second half and the first down month since January.

Bitcoin (BTC) Price Index

There were several small, sharp drops and jumps during the month, so let's use volume to select periods for further investigation. The three highest volumes of the month were:-

2019-07-10 12:00 -
2019-07-16 16:00 -
2019-07-18 12:00 +

Cointelegraph's Analysis category had commentary related to the second of those surges in volume. This was followed by a second story on the same subject.

2019-07-16: Bitcoin Below $10,000, Down 26.6% in 7 Days: What Caused the Pullback? • 'The change in sentiment around the crypto market following the remarks of President Trump and Secretary Mnuchin, as well as bearish technical indicators, are considered to be the major factors behind Bitcoin’s most recent correction.'

2019-07-18: Trump Tweets Crypto Rant -- What Is the Bitcoin Reference Really About? • 'Many in the crypto community came to suspect that the tweets were not Trump’s own. [...] "This is more likely coming from the Treasury Department -- that’d be Secretary Mnuchin -- and at the behest in particular of the banks."'

One of Trump/Mnuchin's targets was Facebook's forthcoming currency, Libra. Another Cointelegraph article offered a summary of current concerns about Libra.

2019-07-11: Top-6 Issues Experts/Entities Have With Libra | Cointelegraph
- U.S. lawmakers are skeptical of Libra
- History of Facebook scandals
- Libra security risks
- Lack of censorship resistance
- Libra is not a real blockchain
- Libra may not really help the unbanked

Cointelegraph's Price Analysis tag had nothing special to say about the peaks in volume. One report placed Trump's tweet after the slide had started. Two others focused on Libra.

2019-07-12: Price Analysis 12/07: BTC, ETH, XRP, LTC, BCH, EOS, BNB, BSV, TRX, XLM • 'President Donald Trump bashed both Facebook’s Libra and Bitcoin in a series of tweets on July 11. However, the interesting thing is that unlike the U.S. stock markets, which respond sharply to Trump’s tweets, the crypto universe was unaffected.'

2019-07-17: Price Analysis 17/07: BTC, ETH, XRP, [...] • 'While Libra might dent sentiment in the short term, it is unlikely to change the long-term trend in Bitcoin that is buoyed by fundamentals.'

2019-07-19: Price Analysis 19/07: BTC, ETH, XRP, [...] • 'The bashing of Libra continues, with G7 finance ministers warning that if the project is not regulated tightly, it can upset the global financial system. '

All in all, not a convincing month. We might have to wait until the summer is over to see if the upward trend in the first half will continue.