Blockchain

Ethereum price is slowly moving higher above $1,600 against the US Dollar. ETH could gain bullish momentum unless there is a nasty drop below $1,550.

Ethereum is showing a few positive signs for a move above the $1,650 resistance.
The price is trading above $1,600 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average.
There was a break above a key bearish trend line with resistance near $1,610 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken).
The pair could start a decent increase if there is a close above $1,650 and $1,670.

Ethereum Price Shows Bullish Signs

Ethereum’s price remained well-supported above the $1,550 level. ETH climbed higher slowly above the $1,580 and $1,600 resistance levels, like Bitcoin.

There was a break above a key bearish trend line with resistance near $1,610 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD. The pair even broke the $1,620 resistance. However, the bears are still active below the $1,650 level. A high is formed near $1,638 and the price is now consolidating gains.

Ether is now trading above $1,600 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. It is also above the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the recent increase from the $1,530 swing low to the $1,638 high.

On the upside, the price might face resistance near the $1,635 level. The next resistance is near the $1,650 level. A close above the $1,650 resistance might send the price toward the $1,670 resistance. If the price reclaims the $1,670 resistance, there could be a steady increase.

Source: ETHUSD on TradingView.com

The next major hurdle is near the $1,750 level. A close above the $1,750 level might send Ethereum further higher toward $1,880.

Another Drop in ETH?

If Ethereum fails to clear the $1,650 resistance, it could start another decline. Initial support on the downside is near the $1,600 level and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average.

The first key support is close to $1,585 and the 50% Fib retracement level of the recent increase from the $1,530 swing low to the $1,638 high. The next key support is $1,550. A downside break below $1,550 might spark a fresh round of selling. In the stated case, the price could even decline toward the $1,500 level in the near term.

Technical Indicators

Hourly MACD – The MACD for ETH/USD is gaining momentum in the bullish zone.

Hourly RSI – The RSI for ETH/USD is now above the 50 level.

Major Support Level – $1,600

Major Resistance Level – $1,650

Bitcoin price is moving higher above the $26,200 resistance. BTC could gain bullish momentum if there is a daily close above the $26,500 resistance.

Bitcoin is showing a few positive signs above the $26,200 level.
The price is trading above $26,000 and the 100 hourly Simple moving average.
There is a connecting bullish trend line forming with support near $26,050 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).
The pair could start a fresh rally if there is a close above $26,500 and then a move above $27,000.

Bitcoin Price Eyes Upside Break

Bitcoin price remained well-bid above the $25,500 support zone. BTC formed a base and recently started a fresh increase above the $26,000 resistance zone.

There was a sharp spike above the $26,500 resistance zone. However, there was no close above the $26,500 resistance zone. The price traded as high as $27,212 and there was a nasty bearish reaction. The price reversed its gains and traded below the $26,650 level.

There was a move below the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $24,925 swing low to the $27,212 high. Bitcoin is now trading above $26,000 and the 100 hourly Simple moving average.

Besides, there is a connecting bullish trend line forming with support near $26,050 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair. Immediate resistance on the upside is near the $26,500 level. The first major resistance is near the $26,650 level.

Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

The next key resistance could be near the $27,200 level. A proper close above the $26,500 level and then a break above $27,200 might start a decent increase. The next major resistance is near $28,000, above which the bulls could gain strength. In the stated case, the price could test the $28,800 level.

Fresh Drop In BTC?

If Bitcoin fails to start a fresh increase above the $26,500 resistance, it could continue to move down. Immediate support on the downside is near the $26,050 level and the trend line.

The next major support is near the $25,800 level or the 61.8% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $24,925 swing low to the $27,212 high. A downside break and close below the $25,800 level might send the price toward the key support at $25,550.

Technical indicators:

Hourly MACD – The MACD is now losing pace in the bullish zone.

Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for BTC/USD is now above the 50 level.

Major Support Levels – $26,050, followed by $25,800.

Major Resistance Levels – $26,500, $26,650, and $27,200.

Despite Bitcoin’s recent recovery to the key level of $26,100, signaling a crucial point for its future gains and preventing further decline, there are worrisome signals that could raise concerns for Bitcoin bulls in the short term.

The combination of factors presents a potential perfect storm for a market correction.

One contributing piece is the higher-than-expected US August headline inflation, coming in at 3.7% up from the previous month’s 3.2%. Although not a game-changer, it implies that the odds of another rate hike are marginally up, now standing at 53%. Jeroen Blokland, a multi-asset investor, highlights this development.

Additionally, Bloomberg’s senior macro strategist, Mike McGlone, suggests that Bitcoin may be leading a downward trend. McGlone emphasizes that Bitcoin is an “exceptionally liquid” asset that has experienced significant appreciation without being tied to specific projects or liabilities. 

However, since it emerged during a period of historically low-interest rates, its position as a potential frontrunner for a market reversion is noteworthy.

US Inflation Data And Rising Interest Rates Pose Challenges For Bitcoin Bull Run

One key indicator highlighted by McGlone is the rollover of Bitcoin’s 20-week moving average (MA), which has implications for all risk assets. 

Being one of the best-performing assets in history, Bitcoin’s reversion lower is a significant observation. McGlone’s analysis reveals that federal funds futures for the next year hover above 5%, indicating limited expectations for liquidity from the Federal Reserve (Fed). 

A similar pattern was observed in Bitcoin’s mean reversion at the beginning of 2022 when futures began pricing for the current tightening cycle.

As the lower bound of the federal funds rate rapidly rises from zero to 5.2% and is expected to continue increasing, significant pressure on all risk assets, including Bitcoin, may ensue.

McGlone also highlights the historical relationship between Bitcoin and the broader market. Following the liquidity injection resulting from the shift to zero interest rates in early 2020, Bitcoin’s 20-week moving average reached its bottom before the S&P 500 experienced a similar trend in the third quarter of that year. 

Mike McGlone’s analysis raises concerns about Bitcoin’s future performance amid changing interest rate dynamics and the potential impact on all risk assets. As Bitcoin’s 20-week moving average shows signs of rolling over, investors and market participants will closely monitor its price trajectory and its ability to withstand the pressures of rising interest rates. 

BTC’s Battle With Resistance, Will It Break Through Or Face A Seven-Month Low?

At the time of writing, the leading cryptocurrency in the market, Bitcoin (BTC), is facing a challenge in surpassing the resistance wall at $26,400, as highlighted by NewsBTC. 

Over the past 24 hours, BTC has managed to gain a modest 0.3%, while the most significant gains in the last 30 days have occurred within the seven-day timeframe, with a modest surge of 1.9%.

Should BTC succeed in surpassing its immediate resistance, it will encounter the formidable 200-day and 50-day moving averages (MA) at levels of $27,000 and $27,100, respectively. These levels pose significant hurdles for the cryptocurrency’s prospects and potential future gains.

Conversely, if BTC experiences an extended decline and relinquishes its current modest gains, Bitcoin bulls must closely monitor the crucial threshold at the $25,150 level. 

A breach of this level could potentially drive BTC down to a seven-month low of $22,000, jeopardizing the cryptocurrency’s bull run and the gains achieved since the beginning of the year.

Despite the less-than-impressive performance over the last few months, Bitcoin investors are still digging their heels deeper into the digital asset. This is evidenced by the continuous rise in wallet activity that has been recorded during this time.

Bitcoin Wallet Activity Hits Highest In 5 Months

In a Tuesday post, on-chain data aggregator Santiment revealed that there has been a significant uptick in Bitcoin wallet activity despite the BTC price downtrend. Apparently, while the market had fluctuated heavily due to regulatory uncertainties, Bitcoin investors held their own, especially in terms of new wallet address activity.

The Santiment reports show fluctuations in this metric over the months. However, the one consistent thing was the tendency to jump back up even after dipping significantly. In September alone, the metric has moved from a low of around 860,000 to over 1.1 million unique daily Bitcoin addresses active.

Interestingly, this figure is the highest this metric has been since April, proving that the BTC price downtrend has not served as a deterrent for Bitcoin investors. Rather, it looks as if investors are using the current low prices as a way to increase their footprint.

The uptick can also be explained by the euphoria triggered by asset manager Franklin Templeton filing for a Spot Bitcoin ETF. While the hype around the filing was short-lived, it triggered a brief uptick in the price of the digital asset, and likely aided the rising wallet activity rate as investors rushed to take advantage of the growth.

Will BTC Price Follow Wallet Activity?

Even though wallet activity is up, the BTC price is still straining below $26,000. This could suggest that this metric does not really have much bearing on the price of Bitcoin. Rather, it just points to investors not slowing down usage of the network despite low prices.

Presently, investors are still eagerly awaiting a decision on the numerous Spot BTC ETFs that have been filed by fund managers. The outcome of these filings, whether rejected or accepted, will likely be the defining factor for the Bitcoin price going forward.

For now, there are no big moves to be expected for the digital asset, especially given the fact that it is still ranging below its 50-day and 100-day moving averages. Mounting resistance between $26,000-$27,000 suggests that Bitcoin might continue to trade sideways for the better part of September.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is treacherously holding above $26,000 with meager gains of 0.64% in the last day.

In a recent move that intensifies the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) crackdown on the Non-Fungible Token (NFT) sector, the SEC has charged Stoner Cats 2 (SC2) with conducting an “unregistered offering of crypto asset securities.” 

The charges specifically target Stoner Cats’ sale of non-fungible tokens, which raised approximately $8 million from investors to finance the production of an animated web series.

SEC’s Legal Earthquake Hits NFT Market Once Again 

The SEC order reveals that on July 27, 2021, SC2 sold over 10,000 NFTs to investors at approximately $800 each, with the entire supply being sold out within a mere 35 minutes. The SEC alleges that SC2’s marketing campaign highlighted the potential benefits of owning the NFTs, including allowing owners to resell them on the secondary market. 

Furthermore, the SEC claims that SC2 emphasized its Hollywood producer expertise, knowledge of crypto projects, and involvement of well-known actors in the web series, which led investors to anticipate profits from the potential rise in resale value.

According to the SEC, SC2 configured the NFTs to provide a 2.5% royalty for each secondary market transaction, incentivizing individuals to buy and sell the NFTs. Subsequently, purchasers allegedly engaged in over 10,000 transactions, amounting to more than $20 million. 

The SEC alleges that SC2 violated the Securities Act of 1933 by offering and selling these SEC-denominated “crypto asset securities” to the public without registering the offering or qualifying for an exemption.

Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, emphasizes that the determination of whether an investment contract qualifies as security lies in the economic reality of the offering, rather than the labels attached to it. Grewal stated: 

Here, the SEC’s order finds that Stoner Cats marketed its knowledge of crypto projects, touted that the price of their NFTs could increase, and took other steps that led investors to believe they would profit from selling the NFTs in the secondary market.

Stoner Cats Settles Charges, Agrees To NFTs Destruction

While the SEC’s actions are intended to “protect investors” by ensuring proper disclosures, some critics argue that the SEC’s language and terminology surrounding the NFT market are biased and lack clarity. 

Crypto enthusiast and investor Adam Cochran expressed his concerns, highlighting that there is no such thing as an “unregistered offering of NFTs” since registration requirements typically apply to securities. Cochran believes that the SEC’s communications should accurately reflect the law to avoid a chilling effect through fear-mongering.

In response to the charges, SC2 has agreed to a cease-and-desist order and to pay a civil penalty of $1 million. The order also establishes a Fair Fund to return funds to injured investors who purchased the NFTs. 

Additionally, SC2 has committed to destroying all NFTs under its possession or control and publishing notice of the order on its website and social media channels.

The SEC’s lawsuit against Stoner Cats underscores the ongoing regulatory battle surrounding the NFT sector. As the industry evolves, stakeholders are calling for clearer guidelines and unbiased regulatory practices to strike a balance between investor protection and fostering innovation in the digital asset space.

Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView.com 

Data shows the Bitcoin Net Taker Volume has turned significantly positive recently, a sign that may be bullish for the asset.

Bitcoin Net Taker Volume Has Risen To Positive Values Recently

In a new post on X, the CryptoQuant Netherlands Community Manager, Maartunn, pointed out that buying activity appears to be occurring in the market. The relevant indicator here is the “Net Taker Volume,” which measures the difference between the Bitcoin taker buy and taker sell volumes.

When this metric has a positive value, the taker’s buy volume is greater than the taker’s current sales volume. This suggests that the investors are willing to pay more than the spot price to buy the asset; thus, the majority of the market is bullish.

On the other hand, negative values imply a bearish mentality is the dominant force in the BTC sector, as the holders are willing to sell coins at a lower price.

Now, here is a chart that shows the trend in the Bitcoin Net Taker Volume over the last few weeks:

As displayed in the above graph, the Bitcoin Net Taker Volume had a negative value when the dip toward the $25,000 level occurred a few days back. Still, before long, the indicator had registered a rise and entered positive territory.

With this switch towards a bullish mentality, the BTC spot price had observed a sharp recovery below the $26,000 mark. The chart shows that the metric’s value has only grown more positive since the surge, suggesting that significant buying could be occurring right now.

The price, however, has only consolidated sideways while this has happened. As for what this may mean, the analyst notes, “either limit sellers are taking control, or this thing will explode soon.”

Signs of dropping values of the Net Taker Volume may be worth watching out for, as the Grayscale rally last month had initially seen a sharp surge in the indicator. Still, soon enough, the metric had started to slide back down, potentially resulting in the asset’s retrace.

A few days back, another analyst shared a chart showing that the miners had made significant deposits to the spot exchanges.

Generally, miners transfer their coins to these platforms for selling purposes, so this spike could have been a sign that these chain validators had been gearing up for a dump.

The spike had occurred after BTC’s drop to $25,000, implying that the miners had perhaps panicked at the drop, and, hence, had made the deposits as a reaction.

It would appear that the market outweighed the selling pressure caused by this cohort in the end, as the net taker volume had turned positive, and the market had registered a successful rebound.

BTC Price

While Bitcoin has registered some uptrend in the past two days, the overall picture hasn’t changed for the cryptocurrency; its price remains in tight consolidation.

Ripple may be in the process of leaving the United States market for good as the prominent crypto firm has stated that it will be acquiring the majority of its employee candidates from countries outside the US. 

Ripple Will Recruit A Workforce Overseas

US-based cryptocurrency solutions provider, Ripple has enacted plans to conduct its hiring processes outside US borders. The cryptocurrency firm has stated that over 80% of its workforce will be recruited from countries outside the US that encourage crypto adoption and innovation.

The decision to hire the majority of its workforce internationally can be seen as a strategic move to counteract the effects brought about by the regulatory changes enacted by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

In light of the legal dispute between Ripple and the US SEC, the Chief Executive Officer of Ripple, Brad Garlinghouse expressed his enthusiasm about the crypto firm’s expansion in new regions. He stated that the firm will be focusing on hiring candidates in regions like Singapore, Hong Kong, and Dubai which have favorable outlooks and regulatory conditions on cryptocurrency. 

“It’s super frustrating that you see markets like we have here in Singapore, where governments are partnering with the industry, providing clear rules, and you’re seeing growth. That’s why Ripple is hiring there,” Garlinghouse stated in an interview with Bloomberg. 

Presently, the United States does not have a clear regulatory framework for cryptocurrency assets, and the US Congress has also been relatively slow in clarifying the status of cryptocurrencies.

SEC Lawsuit Developments

Ripple has been embroiled in a lawsuit with the US SEC since 2020. The SEC had previously sued Ripple for allegedly raising over $1 billion in unregistered securities offerings by selling XRP. 

In July 2023, Ripple secured a victory after Judge Analisa Torres ruled in favor of Ripple and stated that XRP was not a security. The SEC responded by filing an interlocutory appeal, however, it is unsure if Judge Torres will grant the SEC’s request.

Over the years, Ripple has reportedly spent over $200 million defending itself against the SEC allegations. The cryptocurrency’s native token XRP was delisted from several exchanges in 2021 while its price declined significantly and lost the majority of the gains it had accumulated over the years.

However, since Judge Torres’s ruling, leading exchanges such as Coinbase and Bitstamp have already moved to relist XRP since the court did not deem programmatic exchange sales to qualify as securities offerings.

Per a report from TheBlock, Digital Currency Group (DCG) reached an agreement with crypto exchange Gemini. The two parties have been negotiating for months after the collapse of crypto lender Genesis, a DCG subsidiary, and the Gemini Earn program.

The event left thousands of users without funds, leading to several lawsuits and the destruction of the relationship between the Digital Currency Group and the trading venue. The founders of Gemini, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, were public about their negotiations and their objective of making their clients whole.

DCG And Gemini Could Exceed Expectations

The report claims that the partners proposed a new creditor agreement to return “all of the crypto held by the platform,” when it filed for bankruptcy protection. According to the report, the new strategy aims to compensate clients with the following strategy and methodology:

(…) all unsecured creditors a 70-90% recovery with a meaningful portion of the recovery in digital currencies.

In addition, unlike similar processes, the new agreement would allow users to benefit from a potential upside in the price of Bitcoin and Ethereum. If these cryptocurrencies rise to $85,000 for BTC and $8,500 for ETH, clients would still receive an equivalent amount.

In other words, clients will receive their funds as they were when Genesis filed for bankruptcy rather than freezing the amount in US dollars. Genesis’ parent company described the agreement as a:

(…) remarkable outcome for any liquidating chapter 11 case, let alone one in the volatile cryptocurrency industry.

TheBlock indicates that the new agreement is yet to be voted by creditors. The above clause, to allow clients to benefit from a potential crypto bull run, is aimed at incentivizing creditors to vote in favor of the proposal.

GBTC Gains Ease Recovery For Gemini Earn Users

DCG’s $630 million loan to provide respite for its subsidiary would be repaid in cash, partially, and via a financial instrument to be settled by 2025. In addition to this loan, Genesis owes over $1 billion to Gemini’s clients.

The report also notes that Genesis posted 60% of this amount as collateral as shares for the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust. The possibility of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) allowing the latter to convert into an exchange-traded fund (GBTC) has positively impacted its value.

Therefore, the discount between the GBTC and the spot price for Bitcoin has been declining and could continue to do so in the coming months for the benefit of Gemini Earn clients. The agreement stated as the report noted:

At current pricing, the Gemini User Collateral is worth approximately $607 million. If Gemini agrees to provide $100 million to Gemini Earn users under the Proposed Agreement, as it previously did, or to distribute even a small portion of the Gemini User Collateral to Gemini Earn users, there would be little doubt Gemini Earn users would receive a full recovery.

As of this writing, Bitcoin trades at $26,100 with sideways movement in the last few days.

Cover image from Unsplash, chart from Tradingview

Bitcoin (BTC) soared by over 5% on Tuesday to trade above $26,000 for the first time this week. A major contributor to this price rise was an increase in positive sentiment around the token as a result of Franklin Templeton, a $1.45 trillion asset manager, filing for a spot bitcoin ETF with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

However, as the market euphoria dies down, the premier cryptocurrency has experienced some market recorrection, with many investors now speculating on the token’s next movement. On this note, popular crypto analyst Ali Martinez has discovered a buy signal for BTC investors. However, there are certain conditions to be met.

$28,350 or $31,800, How High Can Bitcoin Go?

According to an X post on Tuesday, Ali Martinez states that the TD sequential indicator has produced a buy signal on Bitcoin’s weekly chart. Therefore, BTC could be set for a price rally after losing about 10.85% of its market value in the last 30 days. 

#Bitcoin | As we navigate a week with key financial events, it’s crucial to highlight that the TD Sequential indicator has signaled a ‘buy’ on the $BTC weekly chart.

For this to be validated, #BTC needs to close above the week above $25,600. If confirmed, targets could be… pic.twitter.com/0S06I5AndB

— Ali (@ali_charts) September 12, 2023

For context, the Tom Denmark (TD) sequential indicator is a technical analysis tool used to identify the exact time of trend exhaustion and price reversal. However, Martinez notes there is a clause to his latest prediction.

In order to confirm the buy signal generated by the TD sequential indicator, Bitcoin must close this week trading above $25,600. Upon fulfilling this condition, the analyst predicts that BTC could trade as high as $28,350-$31,800 in the coming weeks. 

CPI Report Incoming: What Could This Mean For BTC Market?

In other news, many BTC investors and crypto investors are likely on high alert, waiting for the United States to publish its monthly CPI data report, which is slated for release on Wednesday. 

The Consumer Price Index, which measures the percentage change in the price of a basket of goods and services, is a popular indicator of inflation. 

Related Reading: Bitcoin Price Signals Another Bearish Formation and Could Revisit $25K

If the upcoming CPI report presents a rise in inflation for the month of August, it may prompt the US Federal Reserve to hike interest rates, which is popularly known to induce a dip in the demand for risk assets such as Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $26,136.30 with price gains of 1.64% in the last seven days, respectively. Meanwhile, the token’s daily trading volume declined 24.19% and is now valued at $14.83 billion. 

On Tuesday, September 12, centralized crypto exchange CoinEx became the latest victim of a hack. At the time of the reports, over $27 million in crypto had already been carted away by the attackers. However, almost 24 hours later, the reports rolling in suggest that the exchange may have lost double the amounts that were originally reported.

CoinEx Crypto Losses Rise To $55.5 Million

The initial reports for the CoinEx hack showed that the attackers were able to move around $27.8 million from the exchange. But as investigators dig further into the attack, the losses have come up to around $55.5 million in crypto lost so far.

According to a breakdown posted by Wu Blockchain, a platform run by Chinese reported Colin Wu, the losses extended into lesser-known tokens as well. The majority of the losses were from assets such as Ethereum, Bitcoin, and XRP, with assets on the BSC, Polygon, and Kadena blockchain also running into the millions.

The ETH amount drained alone came out to over $18 million, as shown in the breakdown, while over $11 million was stolen in Tron’s TRX token. Other notable transactions include $6 million in XRP, over $6.2 million in BNB, $5.9 million in Bitcoin (BTC), $2.5 million in Solana’s SOL, $1.7 million in Dagger’s XDAG, and $1.12 million in Kadena’s KDA. There was also a little over $440,000 stolen in Bitcoin Cash’s BCH.

At the time of writing, a total of $55,567,468 has been confirmed stolen from the hacking incident from the exchange. The crypto stolen from the crypto exchange was sent to 19 wallet addresses spanning 12 blockchains.

Hack Continues To Unravel

In the aftermath of what has been the largest centralized crypto exchange hack in 2023, CoinEx has promised to compensate all of its affected users in full. The statement which came a couple of hours after the incident was identified told users:

You have our solemn promise that a detailed timeline and comprehensive report about this incident will be shared with the community as swiftly as possible.

For now, users are unable to transact on the crypto exchange as deposits and withdrawals remain unavailable. However, the exchange said in its statement that this was only a temporary measure and that these activities “will resume after a thorough review.”

Over the day, the exchange has also taken to posting the wallet addresses it has identified to be linked to the attack. This is being done in an effort to raise awareness about their activities. “We urge affected projects and fellow industry colleagues to assist in flagging and freezing these questionable addresses,” CoinEx said in an X post.