Another distinguishing factor in August was the number of volume spikes. I count six, where the top four are shown in the following table.
The first entry in the table was '2019-08-07 12:00', but there was another spike a few days before that wasn't in the table. I found this story;-
- 2019-08-06: Is This The Real Reason Bitcoin Suddenly Soared? (forbes.com) • 'whales moving large volumes of bitcoin at above or below the current market value'
This isn't a new idea. In Bitcoin in the News : 2018-11 Deeper, I quoted the same writer:-
Low trading volumes over the holiday weekend, however, mean the market is more vulnerable to so-called "whales" moving large amounts of bitcoin, ripple (XRP), or ethereum. When a major coin holder sells it can trigger automatic computer controlled sell orders leading to sudden sell-offs.
A few months earlier, in Bitcoin in the News : 2018-10 More++, I quoted another story titled 'Bitcoin whales aren’t responsible for volatility, research firm finds'. Volume spikes and volatility aren't necessarily the same thing, so I'll have to watch this topic. The possibility of market manipulation renders the idea even more critical.
Another topic that made multiple appearances in August was bitcoin as 'safe haven'. Here are two examples:-
- 2019-08-07: Bitcoin climbs above $12,000 as investors treat it like a safe haven amid global recession fears (businessinsider.com)
- 2019-08-24: Bitcoin viewed as safe haven like gold during US-China trade war (ditto)
I counted eight stories on 'safe haven', double the number of any previous month (and following zero stories in July). Considering the price instability inherent to bitcoin, I don't understand how anyone could use it as a safe haven, unless they were particularly desperate.
In past 'More++' posts I've sometimes used a single news source to get an overview of news for the month. For example, last month's Bitcoin in the News : 2019-07 More++ used stories from Forbes. This month I realized that stories from finance.yahoo.com could serve the same purpose. Of 20-or-so Yahoo stories, here are eight that appeared on my short list.
- 2019-08-05: Bitcoin’s Computing Power Sets Record as Over 100K New Miners Go Online
- 2019-08-16: Man Offering Hacking Services for Bitcoin Gets 20-Month Jail Sentence • Elliot Gunton
- 2019-08-19: The Bitcoin bull is causing a spike in Twitter scams
- 2019-08-21: Why Bakkt may be the best news for Bitcoin investors yet
- 2019-08-22: Bitcoin is being used to fund terrorism - report
- 2019-08-27: Bitcoin evangelist Patrick Byrne resigns as Overstock CEO following "deep state" scandal
- 2019-08-29: U.S. government’s blacklisting of Bitcoin addresses is just getting started • 'no U.S. person can conduct business with any of the associated addresses'
- 2019-08-30: Massive bitcoin transactions, but few explanations
That last story is another angle on whales. Are the crypto markets rigged?
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