Regulation Worries Emerge as Crypto Markets Advance

Ethereum's (ETH, Tech/Adoption Grade “A”) long-awaited London hard fork has finally been activated. Even as I write today’s issue, our analysts have already been hard at work, doing what they do best — answering the most important questions surrounding this crucial update.

One of these questions is how this hard fork would affect the price of ETH: Will it push the cryptocurrency higher, or has the fork already been priced in?

Earlier this week, we asked you this very same question, and here’s how you responded:

Needless to say, this is a topic that may not have such a clear-cut answer. I especially like how our reader, @InvestJason, responded:

After weeks of sideways trading and downward action across the board, it certainly pays to be careful yet optimistic.

But what does EIP-1559 (short for Ethereum Improvement Proposal 1559), ushered in by the London hard fork, truly bring to the table? Why is it significant?

Here’s our take:

Are you excited about what’s coming for ETH in the days ahead? We sure are.

But not all news last week was good:

Although the majority of comments on this tweet came from our Cardano (ADA, Tech/Adoption Grade “B-”)  fans, touting ADA as a better alternative to ETH, our take was a bit different.

Our opinion: All this could’ve been avoided if the development team reviewed their code properly, or at least took responsibility after the damage was done and reimbursed the affected parties.

In another negative twist, regulators seem to have well and truly caught up with Binance:

It seems like Binance’s running days are over. We hope this will turn into a positive, with the exchange aligning more closely with regulatory demands ... at least those that benefit the end user. Because smart, informed regulation can help promote widespread crypto adoption.

This statement, however, does come with a disclaimer: Not all regulation is good. You see, regulators don’t often have the expertise necessary to understand the full breadth and depth of crypto — a shortcoming that ultimately does more harm than good:

Although markets remain unphased, this type of continuous regulatory uncertainty and overregulation will eventually result in long-term consequences that could have a far greater impact on countries that impose them — in this case, the United States:

Sometimes, however, it’s not the regulators but the banks that turn out to be overzealous in protecting their turf against the inevitable crypto tide.

This was the case with Russian SberBank, which froze one user’s account due to it being used in crypto trading:

Next week is bound to bring much needed volatility to the markets ... and, hopefully, more positive price action will come along with it.

So, if you’re a member of one of our services, keep your eyes on your inbox for critical updates. If you’re doing this on your own, I recommend subscribing to our free daily updates to stay in the know for all things crypto.

Until next week, stay safe and trade well.

Jurica Dujmovic