Decentrader brings you the most timely and relevant updates on the financial, Bitcoin, and cryptocurrency markets.
Dow winning streak cut short as COVID-19 cases rise
The Dow saw a potential five-day win streak cut short yesterday with a 0.5% drop, though futures seemingly indicate that Friday will open in positive territory. However, optimism could potentially be dampened by the ever-increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the United States — particularly in Florida, which is currently seeing more than 10,000 new infections per day over the last few days.
Tech stocks continue to weigh the market down a bit, with the Nasdaq moving down more than half a percent. Netflix, in particular, is seeing a sharp decline as subscriber growth underwhelms and quarterly earnings disappoint.
Mortgage rates, on the other hand, are bolstering the housing market as buyers look to take advantage of exceedingly-low 30-year fixed-rate home loans.
Finally, talk of a new U.S. coronavirus relief bill may further inflate markets — especially given reports that Democratic leadership believes $1.3 trillion is an insufficient amount and is considering a second round of direct stimulus checks.
Twitter massively breached in Bitcoin-related scam
The Bitcoin world was rocked on Wednesday when some of the world’s most high-profile individuals and entities saw their Twitter accounts hacked in a BTC-related scam. Affected accounts include those belonging to former U.S. president Barack Obama, current presidential candidate Joe Biden, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and various celebrities. Only a relatively small amount of BTC was actually stolen by the bad actors, however, given the total reach of the affected accounts.
Despite the bad press, the price of Bitcoin has largely remained unaffected — seeing only a slight decline amid a period of stagnation and uncertainty regarding its next direction. As the saying goes, “there is no such thing as bad press,” and the first and foremost cryptocurrency has once again, if anything, been thrust into the limelight.