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Bitcoin Bulls Reclaim Cloud But Stormy Days Still Ahead

Bitcoin price is struggling to hold above $40,000 and is now below it. On the three-day timeframe, the top cryptocurrency is also well back within the Ichimoku cloud, suggesting there’s more support now built below.

However, it is worth noting that if the indicator is to be read correctly, even through there’s an attempt at a recovery underway, stormy days are still ahead for crypto bulls hoping for a rebound right back into the previous rally.

Bitcoin Price Recovers Cloud, But A Storm Could Be Brewing

Bitcoin price action has been confusing as of late, locked in a tight trading range. The leading cryptocurrency by market cap is no longer in the low $30,000s, or at as much risk of a plunge below the now crucial support level.

Related Reading | Why Bitcoin Could Slingshot Back To Lows Before Gaining Momentum

From $30,000 to $40,000 is a full 25% recovery, however, thus far the once trending asset has lacked the same upside strength as the start to this year. Negative sentiment has kept prices at bay, and although there’s been a recent recover, that all could soon change.

bitcoin ichimoku cloud 2A naked look at the Ichimoku shows BTC back in the cloud | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

The top cryptocurrency has bounced back into the three-day cloud on the Ichimoku indicator, a sign that so far support is working. Bitcoin price has also recovered above the Tenkan-Sen, also called the conversion line.

This is a fast moving line that when above the baseline suggests the market is bullish and when below it, bearish. Currently there’s a bearish crossover following the deep 50% plummet in May. Price action also might have made it back into the cloud, but the cloud itself is also turning red after a “kumo” twist.

What The Ichimoku Really Says “At A Glance”

A twist in the kumo or cloud is always significant and is a tell the trend has changed. The Ichimoku is also a diverse tool that considers not just price, but time itself.

The Chikou span or lagging span, shows support and resistance and is plotted backward several trading sessions. Running resistance and support across what the span suggests gives the primary levels that Bitcoin must hold or break for a larger move.

bitcoin ichimoku cloud

The same chart, but with more detailed analysis included | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

Using time analysis, Bitcoin spent a similar time topping out its bullish impulse before turning back bearish. Most corrections during a primary uptrend play out as ABC corrections according to Elliott Wave Theory.  A comparable amount of time was spent bottoming right after as was spent during the topping process, and Bitcoin began its new uptrend – however COVID had other plans.

Related Reading | What The Last Leg Up In The Crypto Bull Market Could Look Like

After another phase of consolidation, Bitcoin recovered the long term uptrend support line, and could soon retest it. The Ichimoku currently supports the theory.

Back in late 2019 there was a bearish kumo twist much like there was just days ago. Support and resistance, and even time itself all match up well. There’s also a crossover of the Tenkan-Sen and Kijun-Sen, which suggests price action is currently leaning bearish on the three-day timeframe.

Featured image from iStockPhotos, Charts from TradingView.com
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South American Countries Are Interested In Adopting Bitcoin: Who Will Be Next?

Since Bitcoin was adopted as legal currency in El Salvador, the crypto world is watching and waiting for who will be next. There could be a few South American countries to vote for legalizing crypto and paving the way for crypto infrastructure sooner rather than later.

Leaders from countries including Panama, Paraguay, Mexico, Argentina, Nicaragua, and Brazil, have all expressed support for cryptocurrencies and some are already moving to introduce legislation supporting the the digital currency.

Panama Congressman Preparing Crypto Bill For July

Panamanian Congressman Gabriel Silva is preparing a bill to be unveiled next month that calls for widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies in the country as legal tender. Still further, the bill could potentially offer incentives for businesses that are in the crypto space such as tax exemptions and work permits.

Related Reading | Why Bitcoin Declared Legal Tender Could Have Major Implications

Shortly after the announcement by El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, Silva tweeted knowingly about how important the adoption of cryptocurrencies is for keeping up with, and right now frankly leading, the rest of the world.

In English, the tweet reads:

This is important. And Panama cannot be left behind. If we want to be a true technology and entrepreneurship hub, we have to support cryptocurrencies

We will be preparing a proposal to present at the Assembly. If you are interested in building it, you can contact me

Bitcoin has always been for the people, by the people. It is certainly fitting that a progressive young leader paving the way for crypto is available for contact and wants anyone interested to be involved in the project.

Will Paraguay Adopt Cryptocurrency Next?

Meanwhile, Paraguay is also aligning itself to become the crypto capital in South America. Congressman Carlos Rejala is leading the way with a bill that will entice crypto businesses and crypto mining companies to operate within the country. If this first bill is approved, he plans to present a second bill legalizing bitcoin and other crypto currencies as legal money within the country.

In English the tweet reads:

As I was saying a long time ago, our country needs to advance hand in hand with the new generation.
The moment has come, our moment.
This week we start with an important project to innovate Paraguay in front of the world!
The real one to the moon

Rejala knows that in order to stay current with the rest of his South American peers, Paraguay must position itself to be on the forefront of the crypto revolution. He understands that this is a pivotal moment in history and that as the new generation, he must advocate for adopting blockchain technology.

Who Will Adopt Bitcoin Next?

South America is certainly leading the way ahead of the rest of the world when it comes to bitcoin, cryptocurrency, and blockchain technology adoption on a country-wide legalized scale. Soon enough, it seems like every country in South America will legalize some form of crypto.

Related Reading | How CABEI Will Support Implementation Of Bitcoin Law In El Salvador

Speculation is tough, but if the market continues it’s recent upswing, I suspect many more countries will be eager to get in on the crypto revolution.

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South American Countries Are Interested In Adopting Bitcoin: Who Will Be Next?

Since Bitcoin was adopted as legal currency in El Salvador, the crypto world is watching and waiting for who will be next. There could be a few South American countries to vote for legalizing crypto and paving the way for crypto infrastructure sooner rather than later.

Leaders from countries including Panama, Paraguay, Mexico, Argentina, Nicaragua, and Brazil, have all expressed support for cryptocurrencies and some are already moving to introduce legislation supporting the the digital currency.

Panama Congressman Preparing Crypto Bill For July

Panamanian Congressman Gabriel Silva is preparing a bill to be unveiled next month that calls for widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies in the country as legal tender. Still further, the bill could potentially offer incentives for businesses that are in the crypto space such as tax exemptions and work permits.

Related Reading | Why Bitcoin Declared Legal Tender Could Have Major Implications

Shortly after the announcement by El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, Silva tweeted knowingly about how important the adoption of cryptocurrencies is for keeping up with, and right now frankly leading, the rest of the world.

In English, the tweet reads:

This is important. And Panama cannot be left behind. If we want to be a true technology and entrepreneurship hub, we have to support cryptocurrencies

We will be preparing a proposal to present at the Assembly. If you are interested in building it, you can contact me

Bitcoin has always been for the people, by the people. It is certainly fitting that a progressive young leader paving the way for crypto is available for contact and wants anyone interested to be involved in the project.

Will Paraguay Adopt Cryptocurrency Next?

Meanwhile, Paraguay is also aligning itself to become the crypto capital in South America. Congressman Carlos Rejala is leading the way with a bill that will entice crypto businesses and crypto mining companies to operate within the country. If this first bill is approved, he plans to present a second bill legalizing bitcoin and other crypto currencies as legal money within the country.

In English the tweet reads:

As I was saying a long time ago, our country needs to advance hand in hand with the new generation.
The moment has come, our moment.
This week we start with an important project to innovate Paraguay in front of the world!
The real one to the moon

Rejala knows that in order to stay current with the rest of his South American peers, Paraguay must position itself to be on the forefront of the crypto revolution. He understands that this is a pivotal moment in history and that as the new generation, he must advocate for adopting blockchain technology.

Who Will Adopt Bitcoin Next?

South America is certainly leading the way ahead of the rest of the world when it comes to bitcoin, cryptocurrency, and blockchain technology adoption on a country-wide legalized scale. Soon enough, it seems like every country in South America will legalize some form of crypto.

Related Reading | How CABEI Will Support Implementation Of Bitcoin Law In El Salvador

Speculation is tough, but if the market continues it’s recent upswing, I suspect many more countries will be eager to get in on the crypto revolution.

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Survey: Hedge Funds Intend To Hold $300 Billion In Crypto Within 5 Years

A global survey of Chief Financial Officers has revealed that hedge funds are planning to hold 7% of their wealth in crypto within the next 5 years.

Reuters has described the survey results as a major vote of confidence for cryptocurrency assets within the current market environment.

The Hedge Funds Crypto Survey

Financial administrator Intertrust conducted the survey with over 100 CFOs participating from all over the globe. Chief Financial Officers, or CFOs, are executives who are responsible for managing their company’s finances.

As per Intertrust, the results of the survey indicate that hedge funds plan to increase their crypto assets in the next five years.

An average figure based on the responses shows that by 2026, funds aim to keep $313 billion in digital assets, which is around 7.2% of their total assets.

Related Reading | Nearly 1% Of Bitcoin Supply Is Now Wrapped In Ethereum

Another interesting finding from the poll is that 17% of the survey takers believe their funds will work with at least 10% of their assets as crypto, a figure that is around 3% higher than the average.

It’s unclear what the current crypto holdings by the funds look like, but one thing worth noting is that many big-names in the sector seem to already have invested appreciable amounts in digital assets.

Increasing Interest In Cryptocurrency

While huge volatility and uncertainty over regulation keep the majority of traditional asset managers skeptical about cryptocurrency, the hedge funds survey shows that there is still a growing interest in digital assets.

Executive Director at Quilter Cheviot Investment Management says hedge funds “are well aware not only of the risks but also the long-term potential” of crypto assets.

Related Reading | MicroStrategy Receives Over $1.5B In Orders For $500M Notes To Fund Bitcoin Purchases

Examples of firms that have already invested in digital assets include Man Group, Brevan Howard, and Renaissance Technologies. Some of the big-name fund managers who have also committed are Alan Howard and Paul Tudor Jones.

Another prominent case is Skybridge Captial, a US-based firm setup by Anthony Scaramucci, that invested into Bitcoin late last year. Due to trimming their investment early in April, Bitcoin became the largest contributor of their gains.

Overall, it is clear that there is a growing enthusiasm towards crypto assets in the industry.

Bitcoin Price

At the time of writing, Bitcoin price hovers over $39,280. The asset is down 11% in the past 30 days, but up 12% in the past 7 days. Here is a chart noting the change in the price of the cryptocurrency:

Bitcoin seems to be on an upward trend | Source: BTCUSD on TradinvView

While BTC seems to be back on track for going up, it’s not yet clear whether we are looking at a bullish market. Some experts believe we may be witnessing a bull trap.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
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Bitcoin Bull Trap: Bears Begin To Dig Claws Into Crypto Trend

Bitcoin price is on the rebound, but after such a sharp fall and more than 50% retracement, any reversal must be considered a potential bull trap until much higher prices are reclaimed.

Further adding credence to the theory of a potential bull trap, a trend strength indicator very clearly shows that bears are in charge, and are ready to bring out the claws if needed to swat crypto prices back into hibernation mode.

Only Up Season Is Over: Bears Now Control Bitcoin Trend

After such a strong year for bulls in 2020 and a even more powerful start to 2021, expecting “only up” in crypto isn’t uncommon. That’s exactly why the selloff in May was so severe – few saw it coming.

Technicals warned that something violent was coming, but because sentiment was so bullish the bearish signals were ignored. But technicals are rarely wrong so long as a certain set of rules are followed.

Related Reading | Bitcoin Bulls And Bears Alike Beware Of Potential Pump And Dump Fractal

For example, the Average Directional Index is a trend strength measuring tool that commonly reads alongside a Directional Movement Index. Simply put, the ADX measures the trend and the DMI says who is in favor: bulls or bears.

bitcoin ADX 3d

Trend changes are extremely clear on the three-day chart | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

In the chart above, there’s no denying the bears are still fully in control of Bitcoin, despite the short-timeframe showing from bulls. Dating back to the start of the bear market, the ADX and DMI have provided reliable signals about which side of the trade is most dominant.

How To Read The ADX And DMI To Gauge Crypto Trend Strength

The chart above also shows the DMI- falling below the ADX, which is an indication that the trend is growing in strength.  Falling below a reading of 20 tends to reset a trend and signal its end.

All signs suggest that bears only now have control over the top cryptocurrency by market cap for the first time since April 2020 and aren’t likely to let go so easily.

bitcoin ADX 3d

Could there be several bullish divergences before a reversal? | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

On shorter timeframes, the ADX reached a reading of 70 showing just how powerful bears have been. The trend strength matches the initial power that pushed Bitcoin to above $14,000.

Related Reading | Why Bitcoin Could Slingshot Back To Lows Before Gaining Momentum

From there and above, with each successive local high, the daily bull trend weakened until bears finally made their attack. Each divergence in the chart above shows the trend weakening in action. It also could suggest that bears might have several weakening peaks with deeper lowers before any sort of real reversal is on the table.

For now, the recent rally in Bitcoin to back above $40,000 might be little more than a bull trap set by playful bears just out of hibernation.

Featured image from iStockPhoto, Charts from TradingView.com
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MicroStrategy Issuing Up To $1B In Common Stock To Buy More Bitcoin

MicroStrategy is back at it again. Fresh off the heels of selling $500M worth of privately offered notes in a securities offering this week, the leading business analytics firm is looking for more.

Stock Offering

MicroStrategy is rapidly approaching 100K worth of BTC in the firm’s Bitcoin-holding subsidiary, MacroStrategy LLC. The recent common stock offering for the company suggests that they could be looking to cross the 100K threshold sooner rather than later.

This week’s SEC filing will enable MicroStrategy to sell up to $1B worth of their class A common stock $MSTR over time; in the SEC prospectus, the firm stated that they “intend to use the net proceeds from the sale of any class A common stock offered under this prospectus for general corporate purposes, including the acquisition of bitcoin, unless otherwise indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement.”

Of course, with over 92K BTC in the newly-formed subsidiary’s account, MicroStrategy could already cross the 100K mark even with just the recent bond offering. At current pricing, the company could secure over 10K bitcoin with the money raised from the senior secured note sales, making the common stock announcement just icing on the cake for the MacroStrategy BTC holdings. Even with the firm’s current numbers alone, they are far and away the corporate leader when it comes to BTC holdings, with over twice as much BTC on hand than Tesla.

Related Reading | MicroStrategy Discloses A $15M Bitcoin Purchase

More From The Filings

The SEC filings share a bit of the macro perspective for the firm: “We view our bitcoin holdings as long-term holdings, and we do not plan to engage in regular trading of bitcoin and have not hedged or otherwise entered into derivative contracts with respect to our bitcoin holdings, though we may sell bitcoin in future periods as needed to generate cash for treasury management and other general corporate purposes”.

Additionally, the firm stated in the filings that they are “exploring opportunities to apply bitcoin-related technologies such as blockchain analytics into our software offerings”. The company to-date has looked at their operations as a two-pronged business, growing their enterprise analytics software business and acquiring and holding bitcoin.

MicroStrategy stock has responded positively to the recent fundraising with the firm’s sentiment focused on buying more bitcoin. One analyst, Lark Davis, on Twitter jokingly said that he was surprised that any furniture remained at the MicroStrategy offices – “could just sell it all and buy bitcoin!”, he said. MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor responded to the tweet with the unamused and thinking face emojis.

Despite a wild ride this year for MicroStrategy $MSTR, the recent SEC filings seem to have resulted in positive investor feedback.| Source: $MSTR-NASDAQ on TradingView.com

Related Reading | MicroStrategy Receives Over $1.5B In Orders For $500M Notes To Fund Bitcoin Purchases

Featured image from Pixabay, Charts from TradingView.com
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Hall Of Fame Investor: Bitcoin Is In A “Bear Market”

Hall of Fame investor Richard Bernstein has warned that bitcoin is in a bear market. Richard is the CEO and CIO of Richard Bernstein Advisors. A management fund that manages $4.7 billion and provides investment advisory services to over 10,000 clients.

On Monday on CNBC’s Trading Nation, Bernstein was a guest where he talked about bull markets.  Bitcoin has been in a bull market for the better part of a year now. And even though the asset has surged upwards in that time, Bernstein suggests that this trend is not sustainable.

He said that people were leaving behind the assets that have been positioned to make a profit. Going after cryptocurrencies which he said was “pretty wild.”

Bitcoin Is A Bubble

Calling out the digital asset, CEO Richard Bernstein has said that the asset is a bubble. He states that the asset is currently in a bear market but everyone is ignoring the assets that are actually in a bull market.

The real bull market is actually in oil but everyone is ignoring the market. There’s not a lot being said about it despite the asset being up 42%.

Related Reading | Why Bitcoin Is Actually “Bad For Crime” Contrary To Belief

Pointing to the stock markets,  he said, “Bitcoin is in a bear market and everyone loves its assets. And oil was in a bull market and it’s basically, you’ve never hear of it. People don’t care.

Bernstein has been on Wall Street for years and he called oil the most neglected bull market. Explaining that the major bull market was actually going on in commodities, not cryptocurrencies. The CEO believes that the rush to own cryptocurrencies has led to a major parabola.

“The bubble is different from speculation in that it pervades society,” he said. “It’s out of the financial markets.” Expanding on this by calling out that cryptocurrencies and other tech stocks are now being discussed at places like cocktail parties

Bernstein On How This Can Affect Your Portfolio

Pointing out what he thinks the source of growth is, Bernstein believes the source of growth ultimately lies in energy and material and industry.

According to the CEO, you want to be on the winning team. And the winning team according to him has always been in the energy sector.

Related Reading | Mexican Billionaire Reveals He Put 10% of His Portfolio in Bitcoin

“If you’re on the other side of the seesaw next year or two, maybe five years, your portfolio can be hit hard,” the CEO said with regards to crypto. “The seesaw aspect you want to be is a kind of inflation-promoting aspect that most people don’t invest in.”

Bitcoin is down 38 percent from its all time high of $64k in April. While the asset has done tremendously well, Richard Bernstein believes that Bitcoin has finally retreated into a bear market.

Chart showing progression of bitcoin from April to June

Bitcoin down 38% from all time high | Source : BTCUSD on TradingView.com

Currently, Bernstein is quite pessimistic about technology stocks, which he made evident in 2019. He does not believe in stocks that are geared towards disrupting the current economy.

Technology stocks have grown a lot in recent years. With most investors portfolios containing a reasonable amount of technology stocks. The stocks have also shown tremendous growth. Disruption is a word that gets thrown around a lot in the technology sector. But Bernstein still is not impressed by them, calling the tech sector a cyclical sector back in 2017.

Regarding inflation, he predicted that inflation will definitely shock investors. “A huge miss on inflation but everybody thinks it’s just temporary,” was a statement he made in regards to economists saying that this is just transitory. But he hopes that the tide will turn at some point.

Featured image by Luv Murrell - Unsplash, chart from TradingView.com
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MicroStrategy Sells $500 Million Notes To Buy Bitcoin

MicroStrategy has successfully sold off $500 million worth of notes (“the notes”) which it announced it was selling on June 8th in a press conference, to buy Bitcoin. The notes were sold to qualified institutional buyers in a private offering in reliance to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933. They were all sold to persons outside of the United States in accordance with Regulation S under the Securities Act.

At the time of offering, MicroStrategy estimated that the net proceeds from the sale of the notes and related guarantees after deducting initial discounts and commissions and estimated offering expense payable by MicroStrategy would be $488 million.

MicroStrategy Confirms Sale Of Notes

In a press release that came out earlier today, MicroStrategy states that the notes and guarantees were all sold to qualified institutional buyers under the Securities Act.

“The notes are fully and unconditionally guaranteed on a senior secured basis, jointly and severally, by MicroStrategy Services Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of MicroStrategy, and may be similarly guaranteed by certain subsidiaries of MicroStrategy that may be formed or acquired after the closing of the offering.”

There was massive interest in buying the notes offered by the corporation as the company reportedly received more than $1.5 billion in orders for the notes worth $500 million.

Related Reading | MicroStrategy Receives Over $1.5B In Orders For $500M Notes To Fund Bitcoin Purchases

CEO Michael Saylor who has always been bullish on Bitcoin said the plan was to buy more Bitcoin to add to its portfolio which now sits at approximately 92,079 Bitcoins.

The press release also issued a notice;

“This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy the notes or any other securities, nor shall there be any sale of the notes or the related guarantees in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.”

The company is yet to disclose when it will purchase more Bitcoin.

MicroStrategy Unveils A New Subsidiary

The corporation also announced a new subsidiary, MacroStrategy LLC, which now holds all of the bitcoins the company has purchased thus far. This is assumed to be a play to separate the investment portfolio from the core business of MicroStrategy, which is an enterprise business application software vendor.

Related Reading | Why MicroStrategy Decided To Pay Its Board Of Directors In Bitcoin

MicroStrategy is the largest independent publicly-traded analytics and business intelligence company. Its ticker symbol is MSTR and it is traded publicly on the NASDAQ.

The stock market has reacted positively to this news. Shares of MicroStrategy are up 80% as at the time of this writing. MicroStrategy’s market cap now sits at around $5.82 billion, a massive jump from $5.03 billion as at yesterday.

A chart showing change in bitcoin price in 24 hours
Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

Bitcoin Market Reaction To MicroStrategy

This news follows Paul Tudor Jones announcing that he wants to allocate 5% of his portfolio to Bitcoin. Giving Bitcoin the bump it needed to finally get over the $40k hump after news of Tesla resuming payments with Bitcoin pushed it closed. Bitcoin price is up 9% today and is currently a little over $40k.

While this is by no means the bullish rally that investors have been hoping for but it shows that institutional investors are still optimistic about the future of the asset as it begins its climb back from its crash about a month ago.

MicroStrategy currently owns $3.7 billion worth of Bitcoin according to today’s prices, all of which were bought at an average of $24,000 per Bitcoin. This amount is higher than any other publicly-traded company in the world.

Chart from TradingView.com
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Paul Tudor Jones: Bitcoin Is “100% Certain”

Bitcoin price is back to around $40,000 but whether or not the bull market is over or not isn’t yet certain. What is certain, according to Paul Tudor Jones, is the cryptocurrency itself.

Not the asset or its price, but the underlying ironclad cryptographic code. Here’s why the billionaire investor has allocated as much as 5% of his wealth to Bitcoin – an asset he holds in equal amounts next to gold, cash, and other commodities.

Paul Tudor Jones: Keep Assets In Commodities, Cash, Gold, And Crypto

It was the shot heard around the world: Paul Tudor Jones had given Bitcoin a nod of approval, comparing the ultra scarce cryptocurrency to gold in the 1970s. At that time, the gold standard lost its dollar peg and was trading at around $32 an ounce. Today, it trades at just under $2,000.

But the billionaire philanthropist believes that Bitcoin can be even better than gold, and labeled the cryptocurrency “the fastest horse in the race against inflation” back in May of last year. Since then he’s done nothing but double down on the emerging asset, comparing it to investing in a Apple or Google early.

Related Reading | Five Signs That The Bitcoin Bottom Is In

Now he’s back with more comments about Bitcoin, revealing that he now holds equal parts gold, cash, commodities, and crypto. Jones says that each are held in 5% increments, with the remainder on hold waiting to see what the Fed and the rest of central banks do next.

bitcoin paul tudor jones uncertainty

The billionaire philanthropist and investing legend more than doubled down on BTC | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

Sorry Humans: Bitcoin Is Math, “Is 100% Certain”

Paul Tudor Jones initially revealed a 2% allocation and has since upped it to 5% – as much as gold, cash or commodities. The reason the invest likes the digital asset so much, is because “Bitcoin is math.”

“Math has been around for thousands of years. Two plus two is gonna equal four and it will for the next two thousand years,” he said. ” I like the idea of investing in something that’s reliable, consistent, honest, and a hundred percent certain.”

“It’s a way for me to invest in certainty.”

Using the Biden and Trump administration as an example along with the Fed, Jones asks “do I want to have faith, in that same reliability and consistency in human nature?” The answer time and time again has been no, as history has proven money is regularly debased by the governments that issue it.

Related Reading | What The Last Leg Up In The Crypto Bull Market Could Look Like

Questions on if the investing icon liked the cryptocurrency at current prices were largely ignored, and instead Jones reiterated his stance: “I like Bitcoin.” You can watch the interview segment below.

Featured image from iStockPhoto, Charts from TradingView.com
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Why Bitcoin Is Actually “Bad For Crime” Contrary To Belief

Bitwise Management CEO Hunter Horsley was on Yahoo Finance Live to talk about why Bitcoin is bad for crime.

The technology which Bitcoin runs on, Blockchain, basically has a public ledger. Transactions cannot be hidden. No matter where or when a transaction originates, there is a digital trail that shows where it went to.

This helps to make sure that transactions are not subject to manipulation. Every single move is documented and can be seen, tracked by anybody. This is what authorities have been using to be able to recover funds gained illegally.

What Role Crypto Plays In Crime

When posed the question, the CEO pointed to the developments in the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack where the FBI was able to seize and recover some of the assets. He said that while this was not intuitive to a lot of people, more and more of the public are learning about it.

Related Reading | Questions Linger As FBI Recovers Colonial Pipeline Ransomware Funds

Talking about his management fund, which is the largest crypto index fund manager worldwide, he explained that this is a topic that frequently came up with the people they work with. Everyone wants to know what role crypto plays in crime and what they should expect in the future. Referencing Chainalysis, an analytic service which is used by law enforcement, Horsley pointed out that the data on the site showed a downtrend in the use of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies by cyber criminals in ransomware attacks.

Chart from TradingView website showing current Bitcoin price for the day.
24-hour Bitcoin chart | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

For a number of years, Bitcoin has been the main currency used by cyber criminals to accept payment for ransomware attacks. Lots of companies have fallen victim to these attacks and have had to pay large amounts of money in crypto to attacks. One of those companies recently was Colonial Pipeline. They had to pay $4.4 million in Bitcoin to the attackers.

A Traceable Asset Is Bad For Crime

But the story doesn’t end there. With exchanges requiring KYC for their customers, authorities are able to trace Bitcoin transactions such as these. Since Bitcoin transactions are public, it is a matter of identifying which exchanges the coins are being moved to to be sold and the accounts can be frozen. Stolen coins are then gotten back from the exchanges.

As expected, a currency and/or transaction that can be tracked with such efficiency is not a good tool for crime. Thus leading to the fact that Bitcoin is bad for crime.

Related Reading | U.S. Recovers Millions Paid In Bitcoin For Pipeline Ransomware

Bitcoin use in cyber criminal activity is down 80 percent from 2019 to present. A significant downturn like this only shows that the criminals are starting to realize that Bitcoin is bad for their operations. This being very evident in the fact that the FBI was able to recover $2.3 million out of the $4.4 million paid as ransom to the attackers.

Hunter Horsely continues with stating that cyber security is even more important in crypto companies. They are the most targeted for hacks with regards to Bitcoin are other cryptocurrencies.

With regards to the government providing security in the cryptocurrency space, the CEO believes the government is doing a good job so far.

        “They’re equipping themselves with the right tools and then they’re enforcing on bad actors.”

The Department of Justice reported last year that they had seized millions of dollars from terrorist organizations in cryptocurrency.

This has led to a decrease in the use of cryptocurrencies in crime-related activities, despite the increase in cyber security incidents year over year.

This means that regulators and law enforcement are doing an effective job in ensuring that they keep the space safe.

Featured image from MarketResearchTelecast, chart from TradingView.com
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Nvidia CEO Huang: “Ethereum Is Going To Be Quite Valuable”

If you weren’t sure the stance for Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang when it comes to Ethereum’s upcoming shift to proof-of-stake, no need to question it further. Huang is clearly optimistic about Ethereum’s future. In an online-only Computex event, he fielded a variety of questions ranging anywhere from his thoughts on the metaverse to global semiconductor shortages.

Huang: A ‘Reasonable Bull’ Perspective

Jensen Huang’s comments around Ethereum in particular showed great optimism. When asked broadly about crypto and the supply and demand constraints around Nvidia products, Huang was clearly excited; “The reason why Ethereum chose our GPUs is because it’s the largest network of distributed supercomputers in the world. It’s programmable. When Bitcoin first came out, it used our GPU”, he said. “Am I excited about proof of stake? The answer is yes”, Huang added. “As we go towards that transition, it’s now established that Ethereum is going to be quite valuable.” He went on to discuss a new Nvidia product, CMP, which can address the crypto mining consumer and put ease on GeForce supply in order to deliver more GeForce products to gaming consumers.

It was still tempered optimism for Huang here, however. When asked later in the session about limiting hash rates in the future, Huang shared more perspective around his thoughts on crypto. “I believe that cryptocurrency is here to stay. It’s a legitimate way that people want to exchange value”, he said. “More important, Ethereum and other forms like it in the future are excellent distributed blockchain methods for securing transactions.” Huang added, “cryptocurrency is going to be here to stay. Ethereum might not be as hot as it is now. In a year’s time it may cool down some. But I think crypto mining is here to stay.”

Related Reading | TA: Ethereum Revisists $2,400, Here’s What Could Trigger More Downsides

More From The Field Of Questions…

The Nvidia CEO made some other interesting comments as well. When asked about virtual worlds, he said that he felt that there would come a time that there would be “a larger market, a larger industry, more designers and creators, designing digital things in virtual reality” than designers in the physical world today.

He also used the press opportunity to show off Nvidia’s newest facility, ‘Voyager’, set to be host to over 3,000 of the company’s employees, which Huang described as “a city inside a building”.

Huang also shared his excitement around the success of the RTX 30 series, the firm’s growing enterprise business, and the future of AI. What’s next for the Nvidia’s spurring growth? Huang and company clearly have a number of ideas, and crypto mining clearly lives at the forefront.

Nvidia's Jensen Huang is cautiously optimistic about Ethereum's popularity in the next year. | Source: ETH-USD on TradingView.com

Related Reading | Ethereum At A Discount, Why ETH Looks Like BTC In 2017

Featured image from Pixabay, Charts from TradingView.com
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Why Bitcoin Could Slingshot Back To Lows Before Gaining Momentum

Bitcoin price is making its best attempt yet to climb back above $40,000 since the big crash in May. Thus far, the phrase “sell in May and go away” has worked like a charm, and it could take longer before buying coins back again is a profitable strategy.

That’s because the top cryptocurrency is struggling to hold above the middle-Bollinger Band, and if it can’t hold, it could result in another retest of the bottom of the band. Another retest could finally push the price per coin below support, making a clean sweep before a reversal.

Deja Vu: Why A Historic Move Could Be On The Horizon

For anyone who was around the crypto market during 2019, it feels like deja vu. At above $10,000, it wasn’t uncommon to see traders claiming the next stop was $100,000 or more. They were wrong, and Bitcoin crashed.

When it did, and sentiment shifted bearish, the cryptocurrency reversed with the third most profitable day on record. Anyone familiar with the October 2019 “China pump” knows that things can turn around fast, even when they seem at their worst.

Related Reading | Time To Pay Attention: Bitcoin Indicator Behavior Mimics Historic Rally

Indicators are primed in the same way and so is sentiment, and the latest rally following a morning star reversal and dragonfly doji serve up plenty of bullish signals.

Why then, are the Bollinger Bands warning of one more potential collapse – matching the China pump a lot more closely than the current price action.

bitcoin bollinger bands

Could Bitcoin sweep lows one more time? | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

Bitcoin Price Could Slingshot Lower Before A Bounce Back To Highs

The Bollinger Bands created by John Bollinger are a versatile technical analysis tool that measures volatility, highlights support and resistance, and much more. When the bands tighten or squeeze, it is a sign a massive move is coming ahead, and so far the tool is signaling something shocking should soon happen. But when?

Related Reading | Bitcoin Daily Dragonfly Doji Gives Bulls Hope Of Sharp Reversal

Not quite yet, if the middle-Bollinger Band – a simple moving average – is lost as support. During the prelude to the historic China pump, the middle-BB was lost not once but twice.

bitcoin repeat wiWw1sIs

Indicators also match the last time Bitcoin got so confusing | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

Bollinger Band Width is at similar lows, but should hang there a while long. BB% could sweep the current low like it did in 2019 before slingshotting back upward.

Finally, the LMACD is also exhibiting a very similar pattern and if another bearish crossover happens, it could be a massive trap like the last time around. But for now, beware of one more sweep of lows before a reversal.

Featured image from Deposit Photos, Charts from TradingView.com
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Kraken Reconsidering IPO

Does Coinbase’s mild direct listing performance have emerging crypto platforms thinking twice about going public? The latest comments from major cryptocurrency exchange Kraken might be suggesting so.

In an interview with CNBC earlier this year, Kraken CEO Jesse Powell shared that the company was considering going public via a direct listing in 2022. Coinbase went public less than a month later, and now just a few months after the Wall Street debut, Powell and company may be having second thoughts.

The IPO… I Don’t Know

Kraken is a top 3 exchange when ranked by volume, and continues to grow. However, Kraken’s future when it comes to a public listing is still a question mark. In a recent appearance on Fortune’s video series “Balancing The Ledger”, Powell stated that the firm was taking a harder look at going public, especially when it comes to a direct listing.

“An IPO is looking a little more attractive in light of the direct listing’s performance”, said Powell. “I would say we’re looking at it more seriously now having the benefit of seeing how the direct public offering played out for Coinbase”.

Related Reading | Cardano: Kraken Launches ADA Staking, $2 Next Price Target?

Coinbase Struggling Since Direct Listing

In just a few short months, Coinbase has seen it’s initial valuation cut by roughly a third, going public at over $68B, to a present day valuation just shy of $48B. The company is nearly ten years deep in operations, and undoubtedly still feeling strong about it’s long-term successes. Additionally, the company is paving the way for other crypto-focused businesses to follow suit. However, the direct listing approach for the firm appears to leaving investors wary, and to Powell’s point, has likely been a “watch and learn” experience for some of the biggest public-facing crypto firms considering going public.

Since going public via direct listing in April, it's been a steady slide for Coinbase. | Source: $COIN-NASDAQ on TradingView.com

Can Kraken Crack The Code?

Despite the struggles seen from Coinbase shares, bolstered by a less than stellar earnings report debut, CEO Brian Armstrong saw the direct listing route as appropriate. Armstrong told CNBC in April that a direct listing was “more true to the ethos of crypto”.

Kraken’s Powell doesn’t quite see it the same way. “I think [Wall Street] is so tied up in the legacy way of doing things”, Powell said in his recent appearance. Nonetheless, Powell didn’t commit one way or another when it came to direct listing vs. IPO – but he did rule out one ‘hot’ public route: SPACs, or special purpose acquisition companies. SPACs have been an increasing topic and rumor-mill for emerging companies, such as crypto start-up Circle.

It remains to be seen what approach Kraken and other emerging crypto firms will take, but rest assured that they are paying close attention to the market forces at work.

Related Reading | Coinbase Banks On Dogecoin Listing To Revive Stuttering Fortunes

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How Extreme Fear In Crypto Correlates With Bitcoin Bottoms

The crypto market is in full fledged fear for the longest phase in more than a year, coinciding with a massive Bitcoin drop of more than 50%.

The once trending cryptocurrency has yet to recover, leaving the market and participants in a state of extreme fear. But past data shows, fear is often a good thing for Bitcoin, and helps the asset find support and at least a short term bottom.

Bottom Things: Bitcoin Price Action Perfectly Correlates To Fear And Greed

Fear is one hell of an emotion and can make even so-called “diamond hand” Bitcoin holders panic sell. No emotion comes close to driving humans toward acting irrationally more so than fear, other than greed.

Greed can be even worse, blinding investors and traders to what’s going on around them. When money is easy, it is difficult to click that sell button and secure profit knowing that prices could rage on much higher.

Related Reading | Bitcoin Bulls And Bears Alike Beware Of Potential Pump And Dump Fractal

The two emotions are almost never in balance when it comes to markets, which makes changes from one extreme to another especially notable.

Several investing legends have made their names and built their reputations based on contrarian positions, and there’s a reason for it that couldn’t be any more obvious than comparing the crypto market Fear and Greed Index with Bitcoin price action.

Fear and green correlates well with tops and bottoms | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

The One Simple Trick To Regular Crypto Investing Success

Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful. Buy the blood in the streets. All of these famous finance quotes directly reference contrarian trading. Why then, can’t anyone simply just control their emotions, and buy when things get scary and sell when others are screaming on social media about their gains?

The crypto market Fear and Greed Index compared with Bitcoin price action shows just how this “one simple trick” actually works and can make you rich. Yet it is still extremely difficult to pull off.

Related Reading | Five Signs That The Bitcoin Bottom Is In

The fact is, no one knows at the moment, and although it looks obvious in hindsight, things could truly go either way. What being greedy while others are fearful and being fearful when others are greedy does, is improve the chances of success.

Markets reverse when things are at their best or worst, and always when participants least expect it. By learning to alter your thinking, traders can also learn to control these two critical emotions. This is also why in technical analysis, sticking to the strategy is most important.

By doing so, even if emotions arise, there’s a plan to fall back to and reasoning to back up why you took the position in the first place: because fear sometimes equals bottoms in Bitcoin.

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Who Needs Coal When You Have Cow Dung? Cryptocurrency Mining Goes Brown

Proof-of-Work (PoW) cryptocurrency mining has been the subject of bad press in recent times. Critics argue that excessive energy consumption, and its use of fossil fuels, are wasteful and causing irreparable damage to the environment.

But, UK-based entrepreneur Josh Riddett hopes to change that with his renewable energy business, which turns cow dung into energy through anaerobic digestion.

Farmers Use Dung To Power Cryptocurrency Miners

Riddett set up Easy Crypto Hunter in 2017, selling mining equipment to farmers, who, in turn, use it to harness cow dung into energy.

In the past, farmers that generated renewable energy would typically sell that power to energy companies at a going rate of £0.04 to £0.07 per kilowatt-hour ($0.056 to $0.099). But with the rise in popularity of digital currencies, farmers soon realized they could make ten times as much mining cryptocurrency instead.

“The company’s mining rigs typically retail for £18,000 ($25,000) and have averaged approximately £30,000 each in annual profit over a three-year period, with the bulk of these gains made in 2021 as digital currencies won institutional acceptance.”

Riddett said business has been booming recently, as more farmers cotton on to the idea of incorporating cryptocurrency mining into their agricultural operations.

Bitcoin is the most recognizable of all cryptocurrencies, but Riddett said his equipment isn’t geared up to mine BTC. Instead, he gave the examples of Ravencoin and Ethereum as popular choices.

“Our computers are capable of mining hundreds of different digital currencies but we don’t mine bitcoin because it’s not as energy efficient as other coins and it’s not as profitable.”

ASICs Mining

Unlike Bitcoin, both Ravencoin and Ethereum offer varying degrees of application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) resistance. Meaning, the use of ASIC mining equipment to mine these cryptocurrencies offers little advantage.

ASIC miners are electronic circuits specifically designed to mine Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. They offer efficiency advantages over standard graphics cards, which are designed for games. Thus, ASIC miners are more profitable.

At the same time, everyday people cannot mine on ASIC networks efficiently. Large corporations with deep pockets dominate this sector, competing with the latest ASIC miners while basing operations in the cheapest energy spots.

Some argue that ASIC networks foster centralization, which contradicts the primary tenet of cryptocurrency.

What Is Anaerobic Digestion?

Anaerobic digestion uses bacteria to break down organic matter, including animal dung and food wastes, within a sealed container and in the absence of oxygen.

The microbial communities within the containers digest the waste product to produce both biogas and digestate. The digestate is used for fertilizer and similar agricultural products, while biogas can be turned into energy.

bio gas through anaerobic digestion can power cryptocurrency mining 

Source: epa.gov

Methane (CH4) accounts for up to 75% of biogas, with the remaining portion made up of carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, and water vapor. Biogas is used in the same way as natural gas.

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Bitcoin Daily Dragonfly Doji Gives Bulls Hope Of Sharp Reversal

Bitcoin price is now up $6,000 from yesterday’s low in a flash. A long wick below support is now left behind, forming a Japanese candlestick formation called a dragonfly doji. With a large follow through by crypto bulls already, a daily close above $36,000 could leave a reversal pattern behind on the charts.

But to how high might the once trending cryptocurrency climb if it can find a bottom? And is this a dead cat bounce, or the full recovery back into a bull market the masses are waiting for?

Will A Dragonfly Doji On The Daily Let Bitcoin Fly Again?

Although so many investors in cryptocurrencies are quick to write technical analysis off as witchcraft or little more than a guessing game, there is a real technique to it.

When done properly, there are strict rules to follow that confirm signals along with statistics that show what type of results to expect from the behavior. Studies have been done on chart patterns, indicators, and more – all the way down to the candlestick.

Related Reading | What The Last Leg Up In The Bitcoin Bull Market Could Look Like

The study of Japanese candlesticks is as basic as it gets, but that doesn’t discount its effectiveness. The open, close, low and high of each candle can provide all kinds of information about the market and what to expect.

For example, the dragonfly doji on Bitcoin daily charts by itself is enough to suggest a reversal is finally here. And with bullish follow through today, a more prominent reversal pattern is also forming.

bitcoin dragonfly doji

A dragonfly doji could lead to the completion of a reversal pattern | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

What The Reversal Pattern Could Mean For Crypto

With a dragonfly doji pattern on the daily, and a TD 9 buy signal on the weekly timeframe, Bitcoin bulls just need to hold on until Sunday night’s weekly candle close and a reversal will look a lot more likely.

The above mentioned dragonfly doji is the center-point of a morning star reversal pattern in the making. If bulls can close today’s daily candle and follow through into tomorrow, a more extensive move higher is likely.

Related Reading | Time To Pay Attention: Bitcoin Indicator Behavior Mimics Historic Rally

Resistance at $40,000 and $48,000 both could be potential stopping points before $50,000 is reclaimed. Above $50,000 should result in a retest of previous highs and if those are breached, then the bottom of this bull market correction will be set at $30,000.

At that point, it would be time to turn back toward trying to catch the top of the market cycle, wherever that ends up being. And it all could start with a dragonfly doji on daily timeframes.

Featured image from iStockPhoto, Charts from TradingView.com