Bitcoin falls for second straight day, remains range-bounded above $9,000 mark

Bitcoin fell in spot trading on Friday, to continue dropping for the second straight day, amidst the narrow volatility range above $9,000 which has been dominating Bitcoin trading for two weeks, as it was formed after a big rally by Bitcoin following the Chinese leader Xi Jinping's positive remarks about blockchain and the crypto industry.

At Bitstamp exchange, Bitcoin lost $123 or 1.3% to $9,086, after it opened at $9,209, with an intraday high of $9,253.  

Bitcoin dropped 1.6% yesterday, its second daily loss in 3 days, on profit taking from a 1-week high of $9,587.

The total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies fell by $2 billion today, to a total of $248 billion, as Bitcoin and most other major cryptos fell.

After Bitcoin posted a 5-week high of $10,350 nearly 2 weeks ago, volatility bounced back in a narrow range above the $9,000. 

As Bitcoin clearly needs further catalyst to gather momentum to jump to fresh highs above the $10,000 barrier. 

This large rally by Bitcoin came after positive remarks from the Chinese leader Xi Jinping about the blockchain technology and the crypto industry, as China is giving more positive news about the new industry.

The crypto market is still mainly focused on the positive news about China approach to the crypto industry, which is boosting investments confidence levels in the nascent industry.

The latest of such is new official Chinese documents revealed that Bitcoin mining will no longer face prohibition by the government, as the documents show that mining is no longer on the list of undesirable industries.

The Chinese National Development and Reform Commission has removed cryptocurrency mining from the list of industries it wants to eliminate.

This new development comes within China’s new Industrial Structure Adjustment Guidance Catalog, which will take effect by the beginning of 2020.

As for investment in Bitcoin, the payments giant "Square" reported its earnings in the third quarter of 2019, with a profit of $2 million from Bitcoin sales through its Square’s Cash App for Bitcoin investment, as the company's revenues reached $148 million against $146 million in costs.

The company stated that Bitcoin buyers through the application almost doubled in Q3, in addition to orders for BTC cards sharply increasing.

Otherwise, Huobi exchange stated that it will freeze all of its US customers' accounts starting from November 13th, and said that its user agreement expressly prohibits customers in the U.S. from using its trading platform.

Huobi notified the customers that they will be refunded in Bitcoin and and other cryptos, and told the ones who have borrowed funds in margin trading to return their loans and withdraw any crypto assets in their accounts.