The odds are looking slightly positive for the dollar at the turn of the year as the tax reform package has been passed and traders are looking forward to more Fed rate hikes this year.
On the flip side, bitcoin price has been unable to sustain the climb beyond the $20,000 handle as profit-taking towards the end of the year took hold and enthusiasm after the bitcoin futures launch on CBOE and CME faded.
Reports that South Korea is also moving to curb bitcoin transactions has also been negative for this cryptocurrency as the Asian nation accounts for a huge chunk of overall market activity
Interactive Brokers LLC took out a full-page add in the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday to warn about the dangers of having bitcoin derivatives clear in the same organization as other products because, they argue, there’s no fundamental basis for valuating cryptocurrencies and there’s no mature, regulated underlying market.
Kraken clients lashed out on Twitter to complain about the problems in the exchange. Twitter user @craigwatson1987 posted "So @krakenfx is not allowing withdrawals, to add to a flaky platform where trades are hit-and-miss. Can’t move my BTC away quickly enough." Many others threatened legal action, with @thejoestore posting "everyone file for class action on Kraken!!!" and called for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate.
While bitcoin’s ability to skirt government and central bank controls is part of what makes it attractive to many, cryptocurrency traders and investors are now finding it might not be such a bad thing for regulators to get involved
News - Bitcoin News
For bitcoin, 2017 was a year like no other. The digital currency not only recorded unprecedented gains, it single-handedly ushered a new asset class that is becoming the first real alternative to fiat currency in the modern era.
@hajialamin