Investing.com - Cryptocurrencies saw mixed trade on Wednesday, hovering close to a one-year high as the fanfare from Facebook’s move into digital coins began to fade.
Cryptocurrencies overall were higher, with the total coin market capitalization at $286.29 billion by 8:40 AM ET (12:40 GMT), recovering slightly from the drop to $281.48 billion a day earlier.
A rally from June 9 to last Monday increased total market cap by nearly 19% to $290.15 billion, levels not seen since July 2018.
Bitcoin, the largest digital coin by market capitalization, fell 0.8% to $9,096.7.
Among its closest rivals, Ethereum dropped 0.2% to $266.92, XRP lost 1.6% to $0.42896, while Litecoin rose 4.0% at $137.05.
The sector is still absorbing the significance of the Facebook-led Libra project, which was revealed on Tuesday and is expected to launch in the first half of 2020.
In a nutshell, the Libra blockchain will record all transfers of the coins and facilitate payments between individuals, by offering instant money transfers for low fees. According to the whitepaper, “Libra’s mission is to enable a simple global currency and financial infrastructure that empowers billions of people.”
Investing.com analyst Clement Thibault reviewed Facebook’s new project and called it an “exciting innovation” from a technological and financial point of view.
“Not only is Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) aiming to unify internet payment systems, it's also trying to launch a new global currency that isn't meant to defy government regulators since the value of its tokens hinges on the value of sovereign currencies,” he said. “Still, this feels as though Big Tech is now one step closer to shifting the balance of power away from government agencies.”
But Thibault emphasized that Libra was neither a done deal nor a guaranteed success and pointed out that U.S. regulators were already taking up arms to keep the creation in check.