This Week In Cryptocurrency: Bannon Bullish, BlackRock Curious, MLB And Ethereum

The cryptocurrency market finished a strong week on a low note on Friday, with most major currencies trading down more than 2 percent on the day. Here’s a look at some of the headlines that were moving the cryptocurrency market this week and which currencies were on the move.

Headlines

After previously calling bitcoin an “index of money laundering,” BlackRock, Inc BLK CEO Larry Fink confirmed this week BlackRock has set up a group to explore cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. Fink said he doesn't see “huge demand for cryptocurrencies,” but said he is a “big student of blockchain.” News that BlackRock is joining Goldman Sachs Group Inc GS and other large, mainstream investment banks in opening up to cryptocurrency drove crypto prices higher this week.

At the Delivering Alpha conference in New York, former advisor to President Trump Steve Bannon said he owns bitcoin and is working on developing his own cryptocurrency. Bannon has previously said he's a fan of cryptocurrencies but warned investors on Thursday of the dangers of investing in ICOs.

Popular cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase confirmed on Tuesday it has received regulatory approval to acquire securities firms Keystone Capital Corp., Venovate Marketplace and Digital Wealth LLC. According to CoinDesk, Coinbase COO and president Asiff Hirji said Coinbase is hoping the acquisitions can help the company reach its goals of becoming a licensed broker-dealer, an alternative trading system and a registered investment adviser.

"Later this summer, Major League Baseball digital collectibles are coming to the Ethereum blockchain. Lucid Sight, a blockchain gaming company, is launching MLB Crypto Baseball, through a licensing deal with MLB," Yahoo Finance's Daniel Robert reported.

Price Action

The Bitcoin Investment Trust GBTC traded at $11, up 18.6 percent for the week.

Here’s how several top crypto investments fared this week. Prices are as of 2:15 p.m. ET and reflect the previous seven days.

• Bitcoin gained 17.6 percent to $7,356;
• Ethereum gained 3.3 percent to $451;
• XRP gained 2.4 percent to 45 cents;
• Bitcoin Cash gained 11.2 percent to $777;
• EOS gained 12.9 percent to $7.94.

The three cryptocurrencies with at least $1-million market caps that have made the biggest gains over the past seven days are:

• BunnyCoin: $3.3-million market cap, 196.2-percent gain.
• Elite: $4.1-million market cap, 171.8-percent gain.
• Golos: $10.3-million market cap, 135.0-percent gain.

The three cryptocurrencies hit hardest in the past seven days were:

• Sumokoin: $2.7-million market cap, 56.8-percent decline.
• APR Coin: $1.1-million market cap, 52.2-percent decline.
• HollyWoodCoin: $2.4-million market cap, 28.7-percent decline.

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