Cryptocurrencies were trading stable on Friday with the value of all popular virtual coins on an upward trend. While the overall trend seems to be positive, some virtual coins remain in negative territory.
At 11:30 am, Bitcoin was up trading at over $34,500, up nearly 5 per cent from its value a day ago. Its closest rival Ether was inching closer to $2,000, up 2.29 per cent. The biggest gainer on Friday was meme digital currency Dogecoin as it rose over 17 per cent.
Other popular cryptocurrencies including XRP, Cardano, Stellar, Chainlink, Uniswap, Polkadot and Litecoin were also trading positive, following the upward trajectory of Bitcoin.
Two developments seem to have boosted the cryptocurrency market on Friday, starting from Andreessen Horowitz announcement about a $2.2 billion crypto fund to Bitcoin officially becoming legal tender in El Salvador from September 7. The country has passed a bill earlier this month to approve the world’s most popular cryptocurrency as legal tender.
While Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have gained on Friday, China’s crackdown continues to trigger high levels of volatility, which was evident this week. Cryptocurrencies fell sharply on Monday and Tuesday, following which all popular virtual coins including Ether and bitcoin crashed.
One development that has exerted pressure on the crypto market from Thursday is a decision taken by China’s biggest maker of cryptocurrency mining machines, Bitmain. The company has suspended sales of its products in the spot market to help ease selling pressure following Beijing's ban on bitcoin mining.
Bitmain went on to say that it is looking for quality power supplies overseas along with its clients, in places including the United States, Canada, Australia, Russia, Kazakhstan and Indonesia.
The development has not been seen well by cryptocurrency investors who remain worried about the extent of China’s crypto crackdown. It may be noted that China's State Council vowed to crack down on bitcoin trading and mining in late May, seeking to fend off financial risks.