This Week In Cryptocurrencies — January 26th edition
A lot has been happening in the crypto world this week. Let’s start talking about what happened with the USD/BTC.
USD/BTC
Bitcoin is facing resistance at the down trendline one. If the bulls succeed in breaking out of this resistance, we can expect a rally towards the down trendline two. Aggressive traders can trade this pullback. We’re on a downward trend, but there’s heavy potential after the bad news to watch it go higher as the ecosystem continues to price.
Unlike the previous falls, this time, the BTC/USD pair is struggling to hold on to higher levels. With the price quoting below both the 20-day EMA and the 50-day EMA, the trend remains down to range bound.
The downtrend will reassert itself if the price breaks down to $10,000 levels. So, the swing traders should wait and watch for the next few days for the trend to change from down to up before initiating any long positions.
Ole grandaddy Bitcoin has seen better days, but it’s loads healthier as of this writing than it was at the lowest point in the market’s latest correction ($9,500). As it stands, daddy BTC is floating at just above $11,000, which is unfortunately lower than the $13,000 price it wore shortly after the correction, the highest since. Still, BTC is only down 5% in from its opening price last Friday, and that’s pretty good all things considered.
ETH/USD
Ethereum is holding strong this week according to the technical indicators. It is still on a upward trend pullback, but it is looking solid because it is still quoting above both the 20-day EMA and the 50-day SMA. Additionally, it has successfully held on to the uptrend line, which is another positive sign.
We should be seeing the $1200-$1300 levels in the upcoming weeks.
The ETH/USD pair will become negative only after it breaks down of the trendline and the 50-day SMA, which is at $845.
Long positions for the medium-term can be initiated on dips to $1,000 levels, with a stop loss at $840. We believe that if the 50-day SMA holds, the cryptocurrency will attempt to resume its uptrend and rally to the highs. This is a risky trade, hence, please keep the position size small.
Ethereum appears to be a semblance of stability in a market that’s still trying to find its footing. This past Saturday, it bounced to $1,160 in a post-dip rise much like Bitcoin. It has since fallen, but with its current price at $1,050, it’s only changed 1.8% from its last Friday price.
BCH/USD
Bitcoin cash itself has been trading rather flat. We should see prices hold and continue to rise towards upcoming February.
LTC/USD
Litecoin is holding it’s upward trend and is seeing consolidation.
If the bears succeed in breaking down the supports, a fall to $140.001 is likely.
On the other hand, the first signs of a recovery will be on a breakout above $215 levels.
Aggressive traders can buy the LTC/USD pair at $187, which is just above the high of past couple of days. The stop loss for the trade can be kept at $163 and the target objective is $215.
However, this is a very risky trade, hence, please place it only with less than 50 percent of the usual allocation.
Ripple (XRP)
XRP holders isn’t looking too strong this week, but Ripple’s coming in last, its price being the biggest loser of the bunch. At $1.23, its down a whopping 24% from its entry price into Friday of last week. Its week was nothing but a downtrend, hitting a low of $1.16.
This might be the time for serious investors and believers to double down as the market recovers.
Other Altcoins
We’ve got a couple of new additions to the Market Cap top 100 that deserve a shout out. One such addition, IOStoken, is up 140% from last Friday, sitting at $0.096. Pretty prodigal for a token that was only listed on CMC on the 16th of January.
Next up, we’re giving props to Cindicator. After peaking at an all time high of $0.34, its resting at a comfortable $0.27, up 22% from its position last week.
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Notable News
Ethereum Gets a “B” in Weiss Ratings First Grades on Cryptocurrencies: On Wednesday, Weiss Ratings issued a list of roughly 80 cryptocurrencies from “A” (excellent) to “E” (very weak). Ethereum received a “B” and Bitcoin a “C”, with none among the list receiving an A or above. According to founder Martin D. Weiss, “many cryptocurrencies are murky, overhyped and vulnerable to crashes. The market desperately needs the clarity that only robust, impartial ratings can provide”.
Popular Payments Firm Stripe Ends Bitcoin Support: Stripe, one of the biggest online payments platform for businesses, announced Wednesday its ending of Bitcoin support. With long transaction times and growing fees, the firm states there are “fewer use cases for which accepting or paying with Bitcoin makes sense.”
Speaking of Pie, the Lightning Network Had Its ‘Pizza Moment’ : The much anticipated Lightning Network is live, and it’s already been used in a real-world purchase. Reddit user btc_throwaway1337 posted to r/btc earlier this week that he had used the Bitcoin Lightning Network to order a VPN router from TorGuard. Risky business, that, as the network, while in main net, still has some kinks it needs ironed out. In a comment section full of fanfare and jubilee, users couldn’t help but compare the purchase to the famous pizza purchase of 2010, wherein Bitcoin changed hands for a real-world purchase for the first time on record.
Robinhood adds zero-fee cryptocurrency trading and tracking
Stock-trading app Robinhood has announced that it will soon be allowing users to trade Bitcoin and Ethereum with zero transaction fees, starting in February. Robinhood has raised $175m in funding to date from the likes of Andreesen Horowitz and NEA, and is announcing this latest development as a way to grow its user base.
Bitcoin takes center stage at Davos’ World Economic Forum
During a panel at this week’s World Economic Forum, several industry heavyweights (such as the deputy governor of Sweden’s central bank) discussed whether bitcoin can truly be called a currency, and what its future as an investment vehicle looks like.
Canadian firm Versabank announces secure vault for storing digital assets
This week, the financial-services firm announced “Versavault”, a new blockchain-based product that will allow cryptoasset investors to securely store their assets and cryptocurrency holdings. With their new product, Versabank is joining an increasingly crowded secure digital storage market populated by the likes of Coinbase and Metaco.
The 19-year old Bitcoin millionaire that’s building an alternative to cryptocurrency
Erik Finman has announced his goal to create an alternative to cryptocurrency that has a less volatile price, while at the same time having lower transaction fees and a faster transaction time. His new consortium will be working on the project as it invests in other cryptocurrencies in parallel, and will release its findings in the coming months.
More derivatives traders than ever will soon have access to pure bitcoin
Thanks to a new partnership between Coinbase and Trading Technologies International, traders will now be able to place spot trades for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on global derivatives exchanges. This should help drive trading volume up, while bringing prices on exchanges into closer alignment.
Brisbane Airport becomes world’s first airport to accept cryptocurrencies
The airport will be partnering with mobile payments startup TravelbyBit to roll out cryptocurrency payment capabilities across more major retailers in the airport, as well as restaurants. Travelers will be able to use Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other major cryptocurrencies to pay for goods while in the airport.
Bitcoin and Etherem have a hidden power structure
Cryptocurrency experts at Cornell University have just concluded a two-year long study of decentralized networks, and have concluded that both Bitcoin and Ethereum are not nearly as decentralized as they claim to be — particularly in the areas of mining and verifying transactions.
Why a $39m ICO chose Stellar instead of Ethereum for its fundraising
Mobius Network recently ran an ICO, raising over $39m. What was notable was that the firm opted to use Stellar over the more popular Ethereum, primarily on account of its ease of use (particularly on the developer side), and its ability to support multi-signature wallets.
North Korean Hackers Continue to Hack South Korean Exchanges: North Korea seems unfazed by international reprimand by carrying forward attacks on South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges. Running off with valuable digital assets, American cybersecurity firm Recorded Future claims the Lazarus Group is behind many of the security breaches. Last year, popular exchange Bithumb lost nearly $7 million to North Korean hackers.
Indian Banks Siphon Customer Access to Cryptocurrencies: Big banks in India want nothing to do with Bitcoin and its cousin currencies, and that means limiting customer access. So far, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, the State Bank of India (SBI), and Yes Bank have all either closed accounts linked to cryptocurrency exchanges or reigned them in. Taking their strategy from the international playbook, they’ve cited fraudulent/suspicious transactions as their excuse for taking such actions.
Withdrawals Frozen After $723 Million Disappears From Japanese Exchange: According to NEM Foundation president Lon Wong, one of Japan’s largest exchanges, Coincheck, has experienced “the biggest theft in the history of the world”. Long continued to say that the security measures Coincheck used were “very relaxed”, making Coincheck an easy target for cyber hackers.
Conclusion
It’s been a fun week for the crypto world. Hope everyone enjoyed this article!
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