During the last couple of months, the value of bitcoin has both increased and decreased substantially, and recently, it has managed to reach an all-new all-time high, which is great news for digital currency enthusiasts from all around the world.

Because of this volatility, most people who have ever held bitcoin, were affected by the value increases and decreases. Common sense tells people to sell the currency when its value is high, to make a profit, and buy the digital currency when the value is low. Regardless of this aspect, most people do the complete opposite, because it is often hard to predict how the value of the digital currency will change over the next couple of days. Therefore, people who have already joined, or are considering the idea of joining the bitcoin train, need to be well-educated on the best practices that need to be followed, to help reduce losses attributed to the currency’s volatility.

In a world with an unstable financial system, and where bitcoin is slowly, but surely becoming the choice of exchange for millions of people, it is understandable that banks are against bitcoin, but so far, nobody is sure to which extent.

In this article, we will try to cover the main reasons explaining why banks often tend to hate Bitcoin, yet are very interested on its underlying ledger, the blockchain, and its potential on the market.

During the last couple of months, there have been numerous discussions about the upcoming Bitcoin ETFs and their potential to increase the popularity, use, trading activity and price of the digital currency.

For those who do not know, ETF represents an abbreviation that stands for exchange traded funds, which are basically market securities, tacked on an index, such as bonds, commodities and index funds. The main difference between ETFs and other exchange-traded assets consists in the fact that the prices of ETFs constantly changes throughout the day, just like bitcoin’s, based on the trading activity. Not only this, but ETFs also generally offer better daily liquidity alongside with lower fees for mutual funds shares, hence why they are a very attractive alternative for investors from all around the world.

During the last couple of months, the attitude of Chinese authorities towards Bitcoin and Bitcoin Exchanges has become quite offensive, considering the numerous threats made towards exchanges that do not fully comply with the regulations put in place by the Chinese Government.

Recent reports indicate that a couple of major Chinese bitcoin exchanges, including BTCC, will now stop both bitcoin and litecoin withdrawals for a month. This particular suspension will likely last until the 15th of March, as BTCC and other exchanges try their best to comply with the new set of regulations put into place by the Chinese authorities, as a direct crackdown towards exchanges.

During the last couple of weeks, bitcoin has once again proven that it remains a volatile digital currency which can be influenced by various world events. China’s influence on the digital currency is also well-known throughout the market, and in just 24 hours, the country has managed to make the value of the currency both grow, and decrease.

To put things better into perspective, China has been making numerous headlines due to the loss in their forex reserves, thus reaching a six-year low recently. Currently, the Asian country only has around $3 trillion in liquid forex assets, which is considerably low for a country as big as China, which also has an over-heated economy. Additionally, the capital outflow restrictions placed by the government are also not helping the economy either.

During the last couple of months, numerous countries have expressed their opinions on digital currencies, such as Bitcoin. Not long ago, there’s been news related to bitcoin from both Venezuela and India, and it’s not positive.

In Venezuela, it seems like the authorities are becoming tired of hearing about the digital currency, and trying to regulate it. In fact, during the last couple of weeks, authorities in the country have managed to arrest a total of 8 bitcoin miners, who were later accused of stealing energy and cybercrime, whereas others were simply selling ASIC mining hardware. Not only this, but the main bitcoin exchange in Venezuela was also forced to close its doors down to future customers, and close their bank accounts as well.

So far, there have been numerous reports regarding the positive influence that the blockchain network could play on banks from all around the world, yet no actual studies had been carried out.

Following the 2008 financial crisis, public and investment banks from all around the world had to deal with increased regulatory burdens, but also higher compliance costs that in turn led to increased interests and taxes for their clients. Innovation budgets were also lowered, thus explaining why we haven’t seen an evolution in the way banking is done in the last 10 years.

During the last couple of months, members of the bitcoin community have been direct witnesses to the evolution of the bitcoin price, based on financial events going on in China. In fact, the digital currency and China’s economy have been linked numerous times in the past, but recent reports indicate that this link can influence price, but it cannot make or break Bitcoin.

The recent price behaviour of the digital currency has sparked numerous question, regarding whether bitcoin has the potential of surviving in case it loses its support from China, which makes up a high percentage of bitcoin traders and mining at this moment in time. These questions have arrived especially after numerous reports stating that the Chinese government is tinkering with the idea of adopting a strict regulatory framework for the digital currency.

Members of the digital currency community are well-aware of the Chinese influence on Bitcoin and other altcoins, and this is quite understandable, considering the fact that a large percentage of all trading is being carried out in the Asian country.

During the last couple of months, Bitcoin has seen a massive growth in value, rising from around $600, up to $1,180, thus reaching its record-high in a total of 3 years. Economic analysts believe that the rise in value is mostly due to the strict capital controls in China, which have encouraged investors to see bitcoin as a way of getting past the controls, for further investing into ‘foreign’ capital. This has drawn quite a lot of attention to the digital currency in the eyes of regulators, which is why it is now believed that China will soon implement regulation, meant to limit, or better control the use of digital currencies in the country.

The year of 2016 brought along major developments on the blockchain market, with numerous banks and financial institutions considering to make the move, and switch their systems to a blockchain-based one. This is completely understandable, given the benefits of the blockchain network over the traditional system.

For those who do not know, using blockchain for trading can lead to lower costs, faster transactions and more efficient processes. According to recent reports, it seems like the Japanese Financial Services Agency has just allowed the operator of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the Japan Exchange Group, to go ahead and use the blockchain network for its core trading infrastructure.