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The ethereum price avoided collapse following the announcement of South Korea’s ICO ban. After taking a sharp dip on the heels of the news, the markets quickly recovered to their previous levels, once again demonstrating resilience in the face of tightening regulatory restrictions.
Chart from CoinMarketCap
On September 29, Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) announced a ban on initial coin offerings (ICOs). There were conflicting reports about the extent of the ban, with some sources stating that the ban only applied to Korean ICOs, while others reported that the ban mirrored China’s in prohibiting contributions to foreign token sales as well.
Chart from CoinMarketCap
The markets careened downwards immediately following the announcement, declining from $144 billion to $137.5 billion in less than two hours. However, contrary to their performance following China’s ICO ban, they quickly began to recover. By 10:30 UTC, they had crossed back over the $140 billion threshold, and the total cryptocurrency market cap currently sits at $142.6 billion, representing a 24-hour decline of just 1%.
Ethereum Price Treads Water
The ethereum price would likely be the cryptocurrency hit the hardest by Korea’s ICO ban. Not only does it serve as the underlying platform for most crypto tokens but Korean markets also account for a significant percentage of ether trading volume. Indeed, it appeared the ethereum price was going to plummet in the hours immediately following the announcement because it quickly dropped from $297 to just below $280. However, the ethereum price has since climbed back to a present value of $292, representing a 24-hour decline of just 2%. This places ethereum’s market cap at $27.7 billion.
Ethereum Price Chart from CoinMarketCap
Bitcoin Price Shrugs
Like ethereum, the bitcoin price dipped after Korea announced the prohibition on ICOs. There was no rational basis for this, other than an unsubstantiated belief that Korea will follow China’s example and ban bitcoin exchanges as well. After falling close to $4,000 this morning, the bitcoin price is now trading at $4,172, which represents daily movement of just one-tenth of one percent. Bitcoin maintains a market cap of $69.2 billion.
Bitcoin Price Chart from CoinMarketCap
Altcoin Markets Remain Calm
Altcoins followed the general trajectory of the market, with most coins exhibiting little movement from yesterday’s levels.
Altcoin Price Chart from CoinMarketCap
The Ripple price fell 1%, while litecoin and NEM dipped 2%. Bitcoin cash, Dash, and Monero each declined 3%, while IOTA and NEO swam against the current to post gains of 9% and 2%, respectively.
Zcash Price Chart from CoinMarketCap
Notably, 14th-ranked Zcash declined 3% following wild price swings earlier in the week. Zcash had soared as high as $410 following Bithumb’s announcement that it would add the anonymous cryptocurrency to its trading platform (and apparent insider trading ahead of that announcement), but it has since declined to a present value of $290.
Featured image from Shutterstock.
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