The US-based crypto exchange Kraken is rolling out new funding options for five major fiat currencies. In order to do so, the exchange has partnered with Etana Custody.

Let’s check this out.

Kraken’s New Funding Options

Yesterday, July 29, the crypto exchange put out an official announcement saying that it will offer new funding options for US dollars, Euros, Canadian dollars, British Pound, and Japanese Yen.

Kraken’s global customer base can access the fiat funding options by linking their bank account and wiring funds to the in-built Etana Custody Wallet, which is integrated into Kraken customer accounts. The new funding options are only available for “Intermediate” and “Pro” level traders and are not available for “Starter” Kraken accounts.

The processing times are estimated to take between 1–5 business days as money exchange relies on wire transfers.

The announcement states further that along with funding support, Etana will provide Kraken accounts with conversion between any of the five fiat currencies. And further, Kraken markets will also now be available via the forex trading platforms MetaTrader 4 and 5.

Fiat Onramps

“Onramps,” or the exchange of fiat currency for cryptocurrency to begin trading on a crypto exchange, has been an issue within the sector for some time. But increasingly, exchanges are implementing options that seek to make this conversion as straightforward as possible.

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Only yesterday, major European crypto exchange Bitstamp announced a partnership with digital asset brokerage BCB Group in order to support direct transfers in British pounds sterling. This is expected to take effect by the end of this year.

With the UK on the verge of leaving the European Union, the exchange is making sure its UK clients can continue to have access to fiat transfers on the European trading platform.

Earlier today, Swiss crypto exchange Smart Valor launched trading of four fiat currencies with Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).

Will this make trading in cryptocurrencies easier?

Featured Image: The Merkle

Once again, Bitcoin price has fallen below $10k per coin. The largest digital asset by market cap has shocked investors in the last few months with rallies that saw the coin reach highs of over $13,500 in value. The surge in price has led to multiple discussions on Bitcoin’s future potential as it once again takes center stage.

The latest bullish opinion comes in from Squawk Box’s Joe Kernen, who suggested that BTC price will surge to $55,000 by May 2020. Though many will dispute this thought, there are plenty of prominent cryptocurrency figures aligned with this sentiment.

Bitcoin Price to Reach $55k

During a Squawk Box interview earlier today with guest Katie Stockton—the founder and managing partner at Fairlead Strategies—Kernan discussed the potential of Bitcoin hitting the $55,000 mark.

One possible impetus for such an astronomical climb is the upcoming halving of Bitcoin, which is scheduled to happen sometime in May 2020. Kernan reiterated the fact of this halving; that once it happens, miners will receive 6.25 BTC per block instead of 12.5. As such, he expects traders to accumulate as much Bitcoin as possible prior to the event, and this should see prices soar.

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The halving was implemented into Bitcoin’s code by its creator Satoshi Nakamoto in order to make BTC a deflationary asset. The maximum supply of Bitcoin is 21 million coins.

If Bitcoin is to follow past trends, then a surge prior to the halving is likely. Whether the coin reaches $55,000 per coin remains another question entirely, however.

The last halving took place on July 9, 2016, on block 420,000. Once it occurred, the block reward fell 50%, from 25 BTC to the current level of 12.5 BTC. On this occasion, the halving was preceded by a sharp rally that began the month previously. Thereafter, Bitcoin did steadily climb to its all-time-high levels of $20,000 per coin in December. It remained at this level for several weeks before tanking across 2018.

Do you think Bitcoin price can hit $55,000 per coin? Is this too ambitious, or are you on the side of this bull?

Featured Image: DepositPhotos © SectoR_2010