Bitcoin Price Holds Firm As Japan Easily Overtakes China as Largest Trading Market

Contrary to what a lot of people expected, the bitcoin price seems to be holding its own. The recent turmoil caused by the PBOC has affected Chinese exchanges, albeit the BTC price has not dropped all that much. For now, the value of US$1, 000 seems to be stable ground, albeit free market fluctuations are always difficult to predict. In fact, it would appear the price is going up across Chinese exchanges once again.

Bitcoin is In A Good Place Right Now

It has to be said, the recent regulatory requirements issued by the PBOC could have spelled disaster for bitcoin as a whole. With Chinese exchanges generating most of the trading volume, these new changes had the potential to bring trading BTC to its knees. Thankfully, that has not been the case, which only further confirms how resilient bitcoin really is.

Over the past few days, it would appear a new price platform has been established around the US$1,000 mark. Albeit there have been some minor price mountains every now and then, the value always seems to retrace to the same price point. That is quite unusual in the trading world, especially where bitcoin is concerned. Then again, we have seen some sideways movement on the price charts in the past.

Looking at the current bitcoin price charts, one can confidently say bitcoin is in a good place for the time being. Albeit a lot of people would like to see bitcoin go up to US$1,500 or more sooner rather than later, that may not necessarily happen anytime soon. With trading in China subject to a lot of limitations, it is doubtful any major bitcoin price boost will come from that direction, though.

To make matters even more intriguing, it appears China is now only the second-largest bitcoin trading market. The CNY trading pair may even drop to the third spot, as the gap between CNY and USD is only 2,000 bitcoin right now. The new market leader is the Japanese Yen, which generated over twice the bitcoin volume of all Chinese exchanges put together.

Over the last few months in 2016, there was a growing demand for bitcoin coming out of Japan already. The country is home to some “easier” regulatory requirements compared to all other countries, although that situation may change soon. A new regulation will be introduced in two months, which effectively makes bitcoin a legal currency in Japan. At the same time, companies dealing with bitcoin will need to adhere to strict rules.

It is clear for everyone to see interesting changes are affecting the bitcoin world right now. Whether or not this trend will continue, remains anybody’s guess right now. All things considered, the bitcoin market is in a very good place, and a lot of growth is looming on the horizon. With Japan representing 48.22% of the 24-hour trading volume, a more decentralized market is being created as we speak.

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