After Robinhood Restricts GameStop Bitcoin And Crypto Market Suddenly

Bitcoin and cryptocurrency prices have climbed after stock trading app Robinhood stepped in to restrict users from GameStop and other stocks that have surged in recent days. The famously volatile bitcoin price has rallied some 5% over the last 24 hours, breaking a downward trend that saw bitcoin fall under $30,000 yesterday (down from over $40,000 earlier this month). The cryptocurrency market, today adding $100 billion in value to again come within touching distance of $1 trillion, is being led higher by dogecoin—a tongue-in-cheek bitcoin rival named by Elon Musk as his "fav" cryptocurrency that has soared a blistering 200%. The hugely popular free-trading app Robinhood joined Interactive Brokers IBKR and a growing group of brokerages restricting stocks that have become a battleground for bullish retail traders organised via Reddit's WallStreetBets forum and Wall Street hedge funds that have long been shorting the stocks. GameStop and AMC shares, both up triple-digit percentages in recent days, have now plunged—while cryptocurrencies including ethereum, Ripple's XRP, litecoin and hot new tokens polkadot, cardano and chainlink, have climbed, each adding between 5% and 10%. Dogecoin, now the 17th biggest cryptocurrency by value, according to CoinMarketCap, has gone through meme-based bubbles before, climbing last year after a viral TikTok video about the cryptocurrency racked up 1 million views—and helped by Barstool Sports' David Portnoy. While dogecoin's rally is likely to be short-lived, bitcoin and cryptocurrency advocates have been quick to claim Robinhood's heavy-handed interference will advance blockchain-based assets and services."Bitcoin is ascendant again as the GameStop issue takes centre stage," Paolo Ardoino, chief technology officer at Hong Kong-based and British Virgin Islands-registered cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex, said in emailed comments."As advocates for retail investors rail against the current structure and practices of financial markets, it is important to note that much of the work being done in the blockchain space has been inspired by these barriers. Removing obstacles to normal, everyday working people that are building and seeking wealth growing opportunities has always been part of the ethos of crypto.""This was a shot across the bow for institutional investors everywhere," Peter Smith, the chief executive of Blockchain.com, said in emailed comments."There’s incredible power in decentralized groups of individuals and the future of finance will be built less like Wall Street and more like the internet: by a decentralized group of individuals. My thoughts and prayers are with the many institutions that will learn this lesson the hard way."More broadly, surging GameStop shares and the rising bitcoin price have both been called "populist rage as an investment strategy," by Mark Rosenberg the chief executive of political data firm GeoQuant.


All data is taken from the source: http://forbes.com
Article Link: https://www.forbes.com/sites/billybambrough/2021/01/28/after-robinhood-restricts-gamestop-bitcoin-and-crypto-market-suddenly-soars-toward-1-trillion-dogecoin-rockets-200/


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