Most of the prominent bitcoin exchanges have been holding off on adding Ethereum, with Kraken being one of the very few exceptions. Bitfinex, a very popular Bitcoin exchange for USD traders, had recently stated they had no plans to add ETH to their platform. But it looks they turned back on their word and added it anyway. All of those exchange fees made by Kraken and Poloniex were too juicy to pass on it seems.
Also read: Gemini introduces Instant ACH deposit feature for quicker trading
ETH Volume Explodes Across The Board
While a good amount of digital currency community members might be questioning the ethical reasons behind the Bitfinex move, it has to be said this decision has given the ETH price a nudge in the upward direction. Ever since the news broke, the price has gone up by over 20%, surpassing the 0.03BTC mark once again.
Bitfinex explained the decision by mentioning how it is “hard to ignore the Ether trading volumes at other exchanges”. Every business in the digital currency world has to make money, and Bitfinex thought the time was right to add Ether to their platform. However, the company did not shy away from mentioning how they believe “ether’s future as a store of value is quite uncertain”.
Although Bitfinex users can already start depositing Ether into their account balance, the ETH trading will not go live until Monday, March 14, 2016. Ether will become tradeable against both Bitcoin and the US Dollar on the exchange, and traders will have access to shorting and margin trading in due course. Depending on how the community reacts – read: how much money Bitfinex makes from the ETH addition – those features could be implemented in less than a week.
Cryptocompare CEO Charles Edward Hayter weighed in on the price increase:
“The markets are showing the hope in the future potential of the ethereum network and ecosystem. There is a growing sense that Ethereum can do what bitcoin does and there is a panic to clamber onto the bandwagon.”
Especially that last part of the statement could be kind of interesting. Bitfinex clambered onto the bandwagon after publicly noting there are no plans to add ETH to the exchange. However, they turned that decision around quickly when profit calculations were in their favor.
All in all, the ETH price has responded well to this announcement, although the current price increase is rather drastic. Traders need to remain vigilant and on their toes at all times, as some dangerous ETH bear and bull traps might be looming on the horizon.
Source: Bitfinex
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