Cryptocurrencies are still in their developing stages and price manipulation is “unavoidable,” according to president of world's first Smart Asset blockchain company.
“Price manipulation is not something new. You see it in mainstream markets as well. We are in a very nascent, growing phase of our industry and these things are unavoidable,” Lon Wong, president of NEM, told CNBC on Tuesday.
But, Wong is optimistic that price manipulation will disappear once the cryptocurrency space develops.
“[Price manipulation] will be a thing of the past, perhaps maybe when [digital currencies are] more mature.”
Wong is also a believer that regulation is essential for digital currency exchanges, but added that lawmakers lack knowledge when it comes to cryptocurrencies.
“Regulators today are in a learning curve and many of them, I would say, have insufficient knowledge and experience to actually look at how to regulate cryptocurrencies, particularly in exchanges,” he said.
In the meantime, bitcoin, the most well-known digital currency, has come off its most recent rally, which saw the cryptocurrency advance 24% early this week.
Since then, prices have retreated from $9,000 and were last trading at $8706.30, up 2.29% on the day, according to Kitco’s aggregated charts.
“The recent volatility in the stock market has taken attention away from bitcoin trading. While serious technical damage was inflicted on Bitcoin in recent weeks and prices remain in a downtrend, the bulls have stabilized the market to suggest a near-term bottom is in place,” Kitco’s senior technical analyst Jim Wyckoff said in his daily bitcoin commentary.
But, for bitcoin bulls to regain their much needed technical strength, prices will need to move above the $10,000 target, Wyckoff added.