The coronavirus: cases are now above 120,000 worldwide, and the World Health Organization has officially determined its a pandemic. Its torn families apart, tanked the global economy, and world leaders are calling it the biggest global crisis in decades.

So, uh, hows the coronavirus affecting crypto? Though some claim that Bitcoin doesnt track regular marketsthis week it did. Just as global markets sharply dropped this week, on early Friday morning, the price of Bitcoin sunk to its lowest since March, 2019, valued at $4,106, according to metrics site CoinMarketCap. Like global markets, its recovered slightly, now valued at around $5,425.

So, are people getting rid of magic money so they can feed themselves under quarantine? Or will Bitcoins price pump back up as global markets decline, proving it to be a safe haven after all? We asked the crypto-experts, in the latest edition of Bulls vs Bears.

Eric Wall, CIO at crypto investment firm Arcane Assets, told Decrypt that this short-term volatility is down to people de-risking their portfoliocryptos a risky asset, even when the economys doing well. But in the longer term, Wall said, coronavirus-related stimulus packages from governments are likely to further bankrupt fiat's reputation as a form of store-of-value.

He thinks that the crisis will reveal to investors that cryptocurrencies represent the only non-inflatable monetary asset that exist in a digital form that we have access to. COVID-19 is a much greater stress test to the fiat currency system than to cryptocurrencies, Wall pointed out: In a way, they're excellently positioned to benefit from this tragedy.

In a way, [cryptocurrencies are] excellently positioned to benefit from this tragedy.

Eric Wall

Jack O'Holleran, CEO of SKALE Labs, a decentralized application startup, thinks its business as usual for Bitcoin, except we're doing more virtual events and less handshaking. He acknowledges that public market drops will certainly affect new financings in crypto and overall assets flowing in, but that crypto wont feel the economic shock as much as the travel, oil, and gas industries.

If anything, the funding shortages that follow the coronavirus will cut the fat off of the crypto economy, allowing well funded and well executing projects to come out of this in an even stronger position."

Mike Alfred, CEO and Co-Founder of Digital Assets Data, which builds software for crypto hedge funds, told Decrypt that Bitcoin is setting up for a very bullish 18-20 months, and I don't think coronavirus will have any long term impacts on it. He thinks that Bitcoin has behaved well amidst coronavirus scares; some days it appears to be correlating with certain assets, but in the long run it is not correlated with anything, he said.

If anything, Alfred said, the recent interest rate cuts are bullish for Bitcoin, as they create more liquidity for investors. And in 2020, Bitcoin has the highest daily average price over any year of its existence, he said. Granted, 2020 hasnt lasted that long, but this further supports a more bullish backdrop for the upcoming Bitcoin halvingwhen, in mid-May 2020, the supply of Bitcoins issued as mining rewards will cut in half. (Some think the halving will lead to a price bump for Bitcoin.)

Dan Schatt, CEO of Cred, a crypto loans company, told Decrypt that the euphoria that had been predicted in the run-up to Bitcoins May halving looks to have been dampened. He pointed out that governments around the world are creating fiscal stimulus packages, including the delivery of so-called helicopter money. But aside from further rate cuts, which are already historically low, theres not a lot else that policymakers can do, he said. He expects high volatility over the next few weeks, though thinks that the market will pick up following the Bitcoin halving.

Brian McCabe, Head of Market Insights at Paxful, a peer-to-peer crypto marketplace, takes a cautious approach. He thinks that Bitcoin could benefit from economic pain caused in countries that must pay debt back in the US dollar.

If the coronavirus continues to weaken local currencies and makes the dollar stronger, McCabe said, money will continue to flow out of these economies and their relative debt will increase. That could lead to Bitcoin once again becoming the alternative, if these economies continue to come under pressure and people are unable to preserve wealth in their own currency.

But equally, McCabe said, Margin calls and investors losing money in equities and other higher-risk markets should lead to more people having to close positions in Bitcoin to reduce overall risk exposure. He notes that its a similar flight to safety to that which caused the yield on US 30-year treasury bonds to reach a record all-time low this week.

David Gerard, blockchain critic and author of Attack of the 50 Foot Blockchain, pointed to the impact of the coronavirus on crypto conferences. Conferences are important for generating buzz around coins and new crypto financial instruments as well, Gerard said. Video can replace the main sessions, but it can't replace the "hallway track"meeting people you didn't expect to and talking, he said.

The death of conferences is not, of course, fatal to crypto, but if companies cant meet investors, then business cant flow, and deals wont be made. Decisions might be postponed until the conference circuit is revived, whenever that may be.

Of course, with Bitcoin forming such a minor part of the global economy, cryptos future may be out of the hands of a group of pundits. According to Ido Sadeh Man, founder and chairman at the board of Saga, a reserve-backed global currency: "If coronavirus teaches us anything is that we live in a hyper-globalized world, whether we like it or not. The exact same virus in the 1980's would have been a Chinese crisis, not a global one."

Sure, Man adds, in such unstable times, people seek first to regain the security they feel is not provided by their national institutions. But perhaps a truly international currency like Bitcoin will show its worth. As uncorrelated as it maybe, Bitcoin may reside in the side of crisis opportunities, he said.

But one things for sure, as Sinjin David Jung, founder and Managing Director at the International Blockchain Monetary Reserve, a social impact economic development reserve and advisory, pointed out: There are no bulls or bears when the entire global economy is being brought down to its knees as the very issue of life and death now take center stage.

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Bitcoin and the coronavirus: bulls vs bears - Decrypt

Why do certain altcoins moon? Its a question that all crypto holders have pondered at some stage while enviously eyeing the ascent of a token that wasnt even on their radar, let alone their portfolio. If the performance of obscure tokens in a bull market is discombobulating, how to explain such breakouts in a deep bear market? Over the last seven days, a minority of digital assets have inexplicably posted impressive gains.

Also read: Sending Cash to Friends and Family Through Bitcoin ATMs Is Safer Than Crowding Bank Offices During Pandemic

Over the past week, while the crypto market was shedding half its value, a handful of coins picked the worst time to perform their best. These obscure low cap and low volume cryptos witnessed the sort of gains that havent been seen since the halcyon days of 2017. In hindsight, these coins would have provided a rare chance to profit in this most turbulent of weeks. However, the devil is in the details, as they say, and on closer inspection, not all of these gainers were as profitable as their percentage increase would suggest.

Youve probably never heard of Finexbox, a Hong Kong-based P2P exchange, any more than youll have heard of The Stone Coin (TSC). If the data is to be believed, however, TSC is up 17,700% for the last seven days, thanks to $45M of trade on Finexbox. Your skepticism is warranted.

Uranus (URAC) is another coin thats inextricably enjoyed a good week. The token which puts the ass in digital asset is up 580% for the week, thanks to steady trading on Bittrex and Hotbit.

The trade volume for most of the altcoins in the green this week is pitifully low, as is to be expected. As a result, many of the percentage gains can be discounted as they were achieved in illiquid markets where a single buy order can be enough to make the price jump. This includes monero classic (XMC), up 195% and tradable on Hitbtc and Gate.io, and Universe (UNI), up 46% with volume of $362,000.

The most legit looking asset thats positive for this week is polkadot (DOT), which is swapping for $118 a token and is up 27%. Other legitimate cryptos that have outperformed the market include gifto (GTO), up 20%, after which the remaining coins in profit are almost exclusively stablecoins, whose minor deviation above their dollar peg attests to their demand. A record $100 billion of stablecoins was traded on March 14 according to stablecoinindex.com, with USDT leading the way, followed by USDC and TUSD.

For traders seeking winners from the graveyard of dead and dying altcoins, there is a subset of remaining candidates that stands out. This niche group of tokens has performed very well over the past week. XRPBEAR is the FTX-issued token for shorting XRP with 3x leverage. Its up 17% for the week. Its counterpart BNBBEAR is up 27%, ETHBEAR is up 40%, and BEAR for shorting BTC 3x is up 10%. You know youre in a bear market when the best performing tokens are those that were designed to thrive in a sea of red.

Do you think the worst of the market downturn is over, or are we just getting started? Let us know in the comments section below.

Disclaimer: Price articles and market updates are intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered as trading advice. Neither Bitcoin.com nor the author is responsible for any losses or gains, as the ultimate decision to conduct a trade is made by the reader. Always remember that only those in possession of the private keys are in control of the money.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock.

Did you know you can verify any unconfirmed Bitcoin transaction with our Bitcoin Block Explorer tool? Simply complete a Bitcoin address search to view it on the blockchain. Plus, visit our Bitcoin Charts to see whats happening in the industry.

Kai's been manipulating words for a living since 2009 and bought his first bitcoin at $12. It's long gone. He specializes in writing about darknet markets, onchain privacy, and counter-surveillance in the digital age.

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While the Crypto Market Was Hemorrhaging Value, These Tokens Mooned - Bitcoin News

Its really time for Bitcoin (BTC) to put up or shut up, as markets around the world continue collapsing in the face of COVID-19 reactions. Bitcoin in particular is on its knees, shaving the skin off of the final uptrend that can possibly save it from pure oblivion, around $5k.

Starting the weekly, we see that Bitcoin is just now fighting to hold a level that is probably one of the most critical levels in its entire price history. This level surrounds a multi-year uptrend, the Bitcoin Bull as some people call it.

BTC chart by TradingView

Less important, there is also a significant support/resistance level here, as well as the 200-week moving average. The deep buy wick that we have already seen is, perhaps, some glimmer of hope that the level can ultimately survive.

Turning to the monthly something Ive never done here we can note two things. The first is that, if support around $5k is lost, the next major inflection/support zone is down squarely at $3k.

BTC chart by TradingView

The second thing is the notable volume gap we see from about $6.1k to $4.6k. For our purposes, this is a good thing, as it increases the likelihood that Bitcoin will be able to remain in this zone for the rest of 2020. This is because volume gaps tend to want to be filled and tend to attract trading although, by the same token, we might be worried about the volume gap at $3k as well.

Finally, if we take a look at Bitcoin and altcoin dominance, we see that the previous trends have been fractured with no new one emerging yet. The previous risk-on trend Bitcoin down, alts up has clearly been halted with Bitcoin coursing up again from 61%, and altcoins holding at 7%.

BTC chart by TradingView

Anecdotally, we might expect alts to continue back down and Bitcoin up, as risk flies away from all markets as fast as it can crypto proving to be no exception, so far.

The views and opinions expressed here do not reflect those of CryptoGlobe.com and do not constitute financial advice. Always do your own research.

Featured Image Credit: Photovia Pixabay.com

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The Fight for $5k and the Bitcoin Bull is on Price Analysis - CryptoGlobe

Binance chief Changpeng Zhao referred to it as Bloodbath day, and many in the cryptosphere will echo those sentiments, as fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic reverberates through global markets. As crypto exchanges were thronged by frantic traders looking to capitalize on or seek refuge from the unprecedented market dump, several platforms buckled under the pressure.

Also read: Market Update: Global Economy Jolts Bitcoin, Overall Crypto Cap Loses $50B

A panic-stricken sell-off of bitcoin and other risk-on digital assets has led to a number of crypto exchanges experiencing outages. On Thursday, March 12, Binances CZ noted that the platforms load was 5x greater than all previous peaks. The exchange was handling 146,500 messages per second, with a 30GB/s market data push from a lone source. Aside from the occasional glitch, Zhao says systems appear to be holding up for now. Kraken was also briefly down earlier today.

Over on Bitmex, the Seychelles-based exchange experienced the most liquidations in 16 months: $702 million worth, $698 million of which were longs. The Ethereum network, meanwhile, has been toiling under heavy network congestion, with gas prices spiking to as high as $3.70 today, and transactions waiting hours to be processed. Binance has temporarily increased withdrawal fees for ETH and ERC20 tokens.

Network activity has been driven up by traders seeking to sell their holdings and under-collateralized defi positions being forcibly liquidated. ETH also nosedived by 35%, its most significant one-day decline since 2018. The price of BTC, meanwhile, fell below $6,000 for the first time since May while altcoins also plummeted. Against this wild backdrop, we have a halving on the horizon.

The theory that bitcoin might be a safe haven as oil, stocks, equities and bond yields plunge has been disproved: but even gold, widely viewed as the ultimate safe haven asset, dropped by more than 1% on Changpeng Zhaos aptly-titled Bloodbath Day. Most crypto traders are seeking refuge by switching into stablecoins while knife-catchers have been buying up cheap coins in anticipation of the next rally. Volatility remains a traders best friend. As Bitmexs Arthur Hayes put it, I know all you HODLers say you love cheap coins, but will you really back up the truck if the S&P is flirting with 2,000? We shall see. He added:

The time to back up the truck is when the futures basis goes flat or negative. That will signal an evaporation of optimism. Then you must surf the tidal wave of free money, and begin buying crypto with both hands. First fill your Bitcoin handbags, then acquire all the other dog shit even CRipple might pop. Long live volatility, and stay healthy.

To say the economy has experienced turbulence in the wake of coronavirus would be a gross understatement. Assets are in virtual freefall across traditional and crypto markets, with pledges by the Fed and the Bank of England to cut interest rates seeming to have little effect.

Cruise liner and airline stocks have been some of the worst hit, with Boeings stock dropping 50% from last year. Numerous flights have been cancelled, and President Trump has announced a travel ban on 26 European countries in an attempt to contain the virus. Italy, one of the worst-hit countries, has come to an eerie standstill, all shops and restaurants except pharmacies and food outlets closed to the public. Many believe their own nations will soon follow suit, as infection spreads at a frightening pace.

Although the short-term outlook for bitcoin remains bearish, and sentiments like keep calm and HODL have been doing the rounds on Crypto Twitter, the sense of frenzy is impossible to ignore. As Messaris Ryan Selkis urged, Its ugly today, but this too shall pass. Stay safe. Keep building.

Where do you see the crypto markets heading from here? Let us know in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock.

Did you know you can verify any unconfirmed Bitcoin transaction with our Bitcoin Block Explorer tool? Simply complete a Bitcoin address search to view it on the blockchain. Plus, visit our Bitcoin Charts to see whats happening in the industry.

Kai's been manipulating words for a living since 2009 and bought his first bitcoin at $12. It's long gone. He specializes in writing about darknet markets, onchain privacy, and counter-surveillance in the digital age.

Read more here:

Crypto Exchanges Overwhelmed on Bitcoin's Most Volatile Day of the Year - Bitcoin News

Noelle Acheson is a veteran of company analysis and CoinDesks director of research. The opinions expressed in this article are the authors own.

The following article originally appeared in Institutional Crypto by CoinDesk, a weekly newsletter focused on institutional investment in crypto assets. Sign up for free here.

If there ever was a week when crypto narratives got confusing, it was last week.

Those who believe in bitcoins safe-haven narrative (fewer in number by the hour) are struggling to make sense of the correlated slump which left the bitcoin (BTC) price down even more in percentage terms over the past two weeks than the S&P 500 (-15 percent vs -12 percent). Gold, bitcoins analog counterpart, actually went up (4.5 percent).

Those that maintain it is a risk-on asset (growing in number by the hour) are transfixed by the jump in correlation between bitcoin and the S&P. Whatever happened to the pitch on the importance of having an uncorrelated asset in your portfolio? (True, its still at a low level, but its no longer negative.)

While analysts and fund managers produce arguments for bitcoin being both risk-on and risk-off at the same time, the bigger crypto story is happening beyond our markets. And it is worth paying attention to.

The stock market's shellacking last week seems to have been triggered by concerns about the economic impact of supply chain disruption and production slowdowns caused by coronavirus prevention measures. While these factors are unlikely to have a big impact on bitcoin fundamentals (no matter how delayed mining equipment deployment gets, the protocol will keep doing its thing), in times of fear investors exit riskier assets. They also exit liquid assets, and bitcoin is probably easier to offload than other high-risk holdings such as thinly traded stocks or private equity.

Supply chain impact

Moving beyond markets,the disruptions will have a deeper and longer-lasting impact on global supplychains. This threat, combined with building tensions elsewhere, couldeventually consolidate cryptos risk-off status, and endow it with the use casethe market has been waiting for.

Unless the coronavirusspread is quickly contained, global supply chains will need to be reconfiguredto more local variations. This will most likely accelerate the already-presentunwinding (due to trade tensions and increased border controls) of the globalizationtrend in manufacturing that had led to lower costs all around.

This unwinding will mostlikely push up costs for consumers, as low-cost manufacturers (usually based inAsia) are replaced by less efficient or more highly taxed local suppliers. Thiscould finally produce the inflation that central bankers have been longing for.

However, this inflation could manifest just at the time central banks are yet again lowering rates and flooding the markets with new money to combat the market slump. Last weeks fall may be temporary but it was the largest since the 2008 crisis, which is understandably ringing alarm bells.

Running in parallel, we have political uncertainty. The market rout, if it continues, could end up having a significant impact on the upcoming U.S. elections. A large driver of Donald Trump's support has been the strength of the S&P 500. Should that evaporate, support could swing. And an increased likelihood of a victory for Bernie Sanders, for instance, could further spook the markets, perhaps making that victory even more likely.

Climate of uncertainty

Uncertainty in theU.S., both economic and political, is likely to spill over into other regions,perhaps pushing countries further towards populism as economies struggle and localtensions escalate.

You see where Imheading with this? Its not towards a fog of doom and despair. Its toward the growingrealization that there is an alternative. The mix of rising inflation, moreprinting of money and growing populism should heighten global interest in analternative asset that is immune to inflation, monetary depreciation andpolitical manipulation.

The likely eventual outcome,after tragic suffering and wealth destruction which is never a good thing, willbe a new type of narrative, one with greater clarity and acceptance, not tomention urgency.

Bitcoin may be a risk-on asset now, as uncertain narratives, contained liquidity and limited awareness put it in the optional bucket of most portfolios. But as its use case becomes even more obvious, given macro developments that highlight the vulnerability of fiat-based finance, it could finally rise to become the safe haven or necessary hedge that we have been talking about. This is the kind of scenario that bitcoin was created for.

Disclosure: the author holds a small amount of bitcoin and ether, and no short positions.

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.

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Bitcoin, Uncertainty and the Ultimate Narrative - Coindesk

Bitcoin (BTC) remains on the hunt for a notable recovery with prices holding above widely tracked average support.

The top cryptocurrency is currently trading above $8,760, having defended the 200-day moving average (MA) support at $8,720 early on Wednesday.

The support level is widely considered a barometer of long-term market trends and tends to attract buying or selling pressure, depending on the direction in which it is breached.

Therefore, a corrective bounce to levels above $9,000 put forward by a bullish reversal candlestick pattern confirmed Monday may remain elusive if prices find acceptance under the long-term average.

The key support has held ground so far today, keeping hopes for a recovery rally alive. The average support withstood selling pressure on Tuesday.

Bitcoin ran into offers during Tuesdays U.S. trading hours as the stock markets dropped with the Federal Reserve's announcement of a 50 basis point rate cut. Prices briefly fell below the 200-day average but the bears failed to secure a daily close under the support level.

Bitcoin jumped 4.5 percent on Monday, confirming a bullish reversal doji candle and opening the doors for a notable corrective rally.That pattern will remain valid as long as prices are holding above $8,410 (Sundays low).

That said, the prospects of a quick move to resistance at $9,075 (Feb. 4 low) would weaken if the 200-day average support at $8,720 gives in. That could yield a re-test of $8,410.

However, a sustained drop below the 200-day MA looks unlikely, as the MACD histogram is registering a higher low below zero for the fourth consecutive day a sign of weakening bearish momentum.

So bitcoin appears more likely to bounce from the 200-day MA toward resistance at $9,075 (Feb. 4 low). A violation there would expose the next resistance lined up at $9,312 (Feb. 19 low).

Bitcoin is trapped in a broadening descending channel on the hourly chart. A break above the top end of the channel, currently at $8,820, would confirm a breakout and imply an end of the pullback from Mondays high of $8,980 and a resumption of the rally from Sundays low of $8,410.

That would strengthen the case for a bounce to levels above $9,000.

Disclosure: The author holds no cryptocurrency at the time of writing.

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.

Continued here:

Bitcoin Keeps Recovery Hopes Alive With Defense of Major Average Support - CoinDesk - Coindesk

Bitcoin (BTC) is heading to at least $100,000 during the bull cycle which has already begun, one of the industrys best-known analysts has confirmed.

Speaking to RT financial news show the Keiser Report on March 3, Willy Woo said that described BTC/USD hitting $135,000 as a common-sense prediction.

Woo highlighted the cumulative average Bitcoin price as a particularly effective metric for forecasting future gains.

You go could 35 times the cumulative average of the price and thats actually picked every single top in the ten-year history of Bitcoin right now thats sitting above $50,000, but it keeps climbing the longer it runs for, he told host Max Keiser.

Explaining that Bitcoin ebbed and flowed in line with the four-year cycles of its block reward halvings, Woo likened new highs in BTC/USD to water sloshing in a bathtub.

If you make a best guess, its above $100,000; I think one of the more common-sense predictions would be around $135,000 based on the timing cycleture and the 35x of average cap, he continued.

Im looking at around the $100,000 to $250,000 range depending on how long this bull market runs.

Woo was speaking as BTC/USD continued trading at around its 200-day moving average after a week of noticeable losses.

A sudden but suspicious rally in traditional markets failed to spill over into Bitcoin, leading to criticism from one skeptic in particular that its successes in 2020 would be short-lived.

At the same time, several industry figures have delivered buoyant price forecasts for the rest of the year, while technical forecasts suggest that current price performance is exactly on schedule prior to Mays block reward halving.

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Bitcoin Hitting $135K This Bull Cycle Is Common Sense Willy Woo - Cointelegraph

Its been hard to avoid the coronavirus this week, at least in the news, as the US confirmed its first death this morning. If it turns into an all-out pandemic, youll be glad that you sealed yourself away and stocked up on bitcoin you did do that, right?

What can be said? Not a great week for bitcoin price at the risk of stating the obvious. So how did it play out?

After gains last weekend, Monday trading saw these wiped out after $10k was rejected again. Analysts predicted a pullback, and price continued to fall on Tuesday, breaking $9.5k, with some expecting a drop to as low as $8,300.

Krakens Director of Business Development, Dan Held, remained bullish, however, believing that bitcoin could be on the edge of a super-cycle that would quickly take it to $100k and beyond. Meanwhile, a cash crunch in Lebanon propelled bitcoin price to an inflated $15k between local peer to peer sellers.

However, on global markets losses continued into Wednesday, breaking $9k support, and also dragging down most altcoins, and threatening to wipe out the years gains so far.

Stock to Flow proponent, PlanB, predicted that bitcoin would not fall below $8,200 during this crash, and we all hoped he was right, although prices didnt seem to stop falling during early trading on Thursday.

Thankfully bitcoin did then find some support at $8,600, bouncing up as high as $8,900, before tailing off again on Friday. This time solid support was found at $8.5k, and the price has been trading in a range between this level and $8,800 ever since.

However, at a macro level, there are concerns that bitcoin is still in a bear market. Certainly, the bulls must defend key levels to stem the recent flow.

The Bank of Englands chief cashier voiced her support for a Central Bank Digital Currency this week, saying that governments must act fast to avoid losing out to tech giants such as Facebooks Libra.

Meanwhile, Chinas proposed CBDC faced delays due to the coronavirus outbreak, although officials were still aiming to launch a pilot in 2020.

Although Canada has decided that it doesnt need a CBDC at the moment, it has put in place a blueprint for one, just in case.

YouTube continued its assault on channels related to cryptocurrency, this week suspending Ivan on Tech until after the May halving event.

Craig Wright faces more questions about the purported Tulip Trust and Bonded Courier, as the estate of Dave Kleiman wants to expose what it says are just more lies. Meanwhile, Binance CEO, CZ, called Wright a fraud in no uncertain terms earlier in the week.

Amid major losses for Ethereum this week, the community also came to blows over the approval of a controversial change to its mining algorithm. The Programmatic Proof of Work (ProgPoW) algorithm is supposed to reduce the advantage of ASIC hardware but caused a big discussion online as to its implications.

Exchanges OKEx and Bitfinex were both hit by DDoS attacks this week, with OKEx CEO Jay Hao offering a bounty for information on the attackers.

Bitfinex claims that it has repaid $100 million of the $700 million it borrowed from Tether last year. And Paolo Ardoino, CTO of Bitfinex & Tether, will be speaking at the Digital Asset Summit next month, marking the first time that a Bitfinex/Tether exec has spoken at an industry event.

The SEC denied Wilshere-Phoenixs application for a Bitcoin ETF, which was disappointing, but not entirely unexpected given its track record.

Warren Buffett appeared on CNBC this week, telling the world once again that he will never own cryptocurrency.

This caused Justin Sun, who Buffett said was very polite at their recent charity lunch date, to call foul play. After all, the joy of blockchain meant that he could show the bitcoin and Tron he gifted Buffett at the dinner had not been moved.

To which, Buffett responded that he had given the phone away on which Sun had loaded the wallets to his favored Glide charity.

Surely its time to stop trying to teach the old dog new tricks already.

What was your favorite bitcoin or crypto story of this week? Let us know in the comments below!

Image via Shutterstock

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Sunday Digest: Bitcoin Price Crash and Other News - Bitcoinist

It's 'Super Tuesday' in the U.S., and as Democrats take to the polls to pick their nominee, @nlw polled Twitter to see who the crypto community thought would be best for bitcoin (BTC) and the industry.

Today is Super Tuesday - one of the biggest days of the U.S. election primary season. Increasingly, prediction markets and pollsters suggest its coming down to a two-person race between Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders (although Mike Bloomberg has insisted hes staying in).

In this episode, NLW breaks down each candidate in the context of their positions vis a vis cryptocurrency, and looks at the possible role of three other fallen contenders during the rest of the campaign.

As Bernie leads the Twitter poll, the question arises: Do people think Bernie will be good for bitcoin because he shares the same values of prioritizing the little guy over big banks, or because his programs will demand so much quantitative easing (QE) it will send bitcoin to the moon?

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.

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Super Tuesday Special: Which US Election Outcome Is Best for Bitcoin? - Coindesk

42% of Bitcoin has not moved on-chain for at least two years, the highest concentration of hodling since June 2017.

HODL Waves are periods of heavy bitcoin accumulation which can be monitored by Bitcoin Unspent Transaction Outputs (UTXOs). When block rewards are given to a miner, a UTXO is created. When BTC is spent, the UTXO becomes an input to the user receiving the Bitcoin, and any change is sent back to the spender as a different UTXO.

Every BTC transaction consists of inputs (spent BTC) and UTXOs (unspent BTC). My spent UTXO becomes an input sent to you, and that input becomes your UTXO to spend as you please.

UTXO analysis enables analysts to roughly gauge how much Bitcoin is actively being hodld by investors, by analyzing how long it has been since a UTXO has been used to make a transaction. The longer the time period, the more it indicates cold storage and long-term saving.

Coinmetrics just recently published a cryptocurrency valuation report. In this report they use UTXO age analysis as a valuation metric. They discovered that as of March 1st, 42% of Bitcoin UTXOs have not moved in 2 years or more.

This is the highest this number has been since June 2017, shortly before Bitcoins bull run to all time highs in December of that year. This could be a fundamental indication that Bitcoin is preparing for an epic tear towards new all time highs after Mays halving.

HODL Waves are identified by what are called Bitcoin Age Days(BADs). Basically, if a Bitcoin UTXO is not spent for 30 days, it has 30 Bitcoin Age Days, if it gets spent on the 30th day, 30 BADs are destroyed.

There are 3 major Bitcoin HODL Waves, the oldest of which are BTC UTXOs which have not moved in 5 years or more. These are the hodl stashes of the first people who mined Bitcoin, Bitcoin OGs, and early adopters.

This also includes a concentration of lost coins, or coins that early adopters lost access to the private keys; a common occurrence in Bitcoins early days. Chainalysis, a blockchain forensics service, estimates up to 4 million BTC have been lost permanently.

HODL Wave 2 is the UTXOs that are between 3-5 years, which was the wave of new adopters that came into the Bitcoin markets after it first began to capture headlines with its first major bull run to $1200, as well as the people who entered during the 2017 bull run to 20K.

HODL Wave 3 is made up of UTXOs that are between 18-24 months of BAD. These are the investors who sat on the sidelines during Bitcoins 2017 bull run, but who bought BTC during the crypto winter, taking advantage of bear market lows to accumulate.

As hodlers increase, the lead cryptocurrencys scarcity is magnified. This adds upside price pressure, especially with the incoming halving, which will reduce the supply new BTC produced. This could be a perfect storm to cause prices to explode.

What do you think about the concentration of hodld BTC? Let us know in the comments!

Images via Shutterstock, Twitter @natemaddrey

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Almost Half of All Bitcoin Has Not Moved in 2 Years - Bitcoinist

Two of the largest bitcoin mining equipment manufacturers are in a neck-and-neck race to roll out top-of-the-line machines ahead of bitcoin's (BTC) halving event in less than three months.

On Thursday, Beijing-based mining giant Bitmain launched its latest AntMiner S19 and S19 Pro models, boasting computing power as high as 110 terahashes per second (TH/s) and an energy cost of 29.5 watts per terahash (W/T).

Going by the firm's specifications, the two models would currently be the most profitable bitcoin mining devices if available, closely followed by the WhatsMiner M30S from Bitmain's Shenzhen-based rival, MicroBT, according to a miner profitability index from f2pool.

The launch comes on the back of a heated battle between Bitmain and MicroBT, which has gained a significant share of the mining equipment business after selling about 600,000 units of its M20 series in 2019, chipping away at Bitmain's long-time market dominance.

MicroBT, which launched its flagship M30 models in December, has started taking pre-orders for the latest and most powerful product line since last week, with deliveries of sample units starting as early as next month.

According to MicroBT's major distributor Pangolin Miner, the M30S priced at $2,430 apiece touts a computing power of 86 TH/s with an energy cost of 38 W/T and uses 8-nanometer chips supplied by Samsung. The firm said some devices will ship from March to May, but large pre-orders would have to wait until as late as June.

On the other hand, prices and the pre-order/delivery dates for Bitmain's S19 models have not yet been announced. Adding to the uncertainty is whether Bitmain can deliver production on a large scale, since the latest models adopt 7-nm chips that come in limited supplies from its vendor, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company.

It also remains to be seen how the industry will react to the releases of top-notch but more expensive mining equipment, as bitcoin's price has retracted from its recent growth momentum above $10,000.

Currently, Bitmain's older model the AntMiner S9 is still one of the most widely used miners, generating a daily gross margin of about 30 percent at bitcoin's current price, based on f2pool's index.

Further, the coronavirus outbreak in China has affected the country's manufacturing and logistics businesses, causing delays for those that were looking to expand or upgrade existing mining facilities.

In fact, data from mining pool BTC.com shows bitcoin's mining difficulty a measure of how hard it is to compete for mining rewards has stagnated for a month and is currently around the same level seen on Jan. 28.

But with bitcoin's halving event approaching in May, a programmed-in change that will reduce the network's mining rewards from 12.5 BTC per block to 6.25, older models like the S9 will become unprofitable unless bitcoin's price increases significantly. As such, miners may have to either upgrade or get out of the industry.

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.

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World's Top Crypto Miners Race to Roll Out Top-of-Line Machines Ahead of Bitcoin Halving - CoinDesk - CoinDesk

Anyone following crypto news has undoubtedly seen numerous articles that forecast Bitcoins (BTC) valuation following the upcoming halving slated to take place in May of this year. And although the price of Bitcoin is clearly important to the industry and investors at large, planning for the halving is particularly critical to cryptocurrency miners.

Once the halving occurs, the unfortunate truth is that the profitability of all but the most efficient mining operations will be greatly challenged. To stay in the green, many will either be forced to upgrade their equipment or to shut down their mining operations altogether.

However, careful planning can mitigate these risks, and there are several steps miners should take to set themselves up for sustained profitability in the wake of the halving. To understand all the factors at play, its important to review what makes mining profitable in the first place. This includes:

The hash rate is the estimated number of tera hashes per second that the Bitcoin network is performing. It is a general measure of the networks processing power and of how many times the network can attempt to add a block to the Bitcoin blockchain every second.

The hash rate is a good indicator of the networks health, and while it cant be precisely measured, it can be estimated based on the current difficulty and time of block confirmations of Bitcoin.

Mining Bitcoin is not easy, and it has only gotten harder as more miners have joined the network. The difficulty of mining a block correlates with the overall network hash rate, and thus with the competition. The more people trying to solve a block, the more difficult it is to do so.

Miners can increase their chances by employing high-powered application-specific integrated circuits that are efficient and always running. The ultimate goal is to solve a block that is worth more than it costs to solve. Miners can also improve odds by joining a mining pool, in which profits are shared with the other members of the pool and vice versa.

Its not expected for the halving to have a big impact on mining difficulty. It may adjust slightly to make up for no-longer-profitable miners leaving the network, which will allow for the remaining miners to mine more profitably and to drive forward the hash rate, price and difficulty in general.

The electrical efficiency of mining devices has a massive impact on overall profitability. If miners are expending excess energy and paying more in electrical costs than receiving as a result of solving a block, theyre going to end up in the red.

Related: Bitcoin Mining's Electricity Bill: Is It Worth It?

A more efficient device will lead to greater profits in less time while also expending less energy, thus, reducing costs. Such efficient machines are going to be needed to correct for the reduction in block reward following the halving. Machines, such as the Antminer S9, are going to become essentially obsolete and will need to be replaced with newer, more efficient miners like the Antminer S17.

The power cost also has a big impact on profitability and is directly related to the power consumption as well as to the cost of electricity at the mining operation. As more efficient machines are needed to keep up with the reduced revenue following the halving, miners will need to run operations in a place with low energy costs.

Mining colocation centers offer high power and low costs of energy, along with several other benefits, such as 24/7 security and equipment oversight. Its strongly suggested that miners consider state-of-the-art facilities throughout the country to help them make the most of their operations at a fraction of the cost and consumption.

This is what halving is all about. The current block reward of 12.5 BTC will be halved to 6.25 in the spring, and the revenue of all miners on the network will be cut in half, as well. The only way to make up for this is to increase mining power and reduce operational costs.

The price of Bitcoin has historically responded well to previous halvings for those miners capable of remaining in the market after the fact. However, this has been the subject of considerable debate in the crypto community, and although opinions vary, the outlook is bullish.

The bottom line is that when the Bitcoin block reward halves, so will the total revenue generated by all miners. If the hash rate, power consumption and power cost all stay the same as they were before, its likely that a mining operation will be unprofitable if the hardware hasnt been upgraded to remain competitive.

When getting into this space, its essential to keep emotions out of the equation. Its best to rely on the numbers and objectively analyze trends and key indicators to set oneself up for the best chance at success. This is certainly easier said than done in todays environment, as social media, family and friends have made it easier than ever to become influenced by outside sources. Still, it is important to understand that long-term trends are more indicative of where the market is headed than are random fluctuations.

Looking back at the last two halving events in 2012 and 2016, both led to new market highs for Bitcoins price within a year to a year and a half. No doubt that the upcoming halving will impact the market, and although we cant know for certain what will happen, if the demand for Bitcoin remains the same and scarcity is greater, the expected response would be to see the price increase. By how much, it is hard to say.

For those committed to the long-term play, good planning and investing in the latest hardware seems prudent. Going a bit further, for those who dont host their own mining equipment, analyzing hosting options and locking in competitive pricing now in a multi-year contract can help manage costs in the coming months.

The best piece of advice for miners: Assess your needs today and well in advance of the halving. As Benjamin Franklin once famously noted, If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Dave Perrill is the CEO at Compute North. A 25-year veteran of the IT and information security industry, Perrill has been keenly immersed in the cryptocurrency mining industry and blockchain technology since its formative days. He founded and subsequently sold two technology companies, including an Internet Service Provider/Managed Security Provider, SecureConnect, which was acquired by Trustwave Holdings in 2012. He also has extensive experience in networking, data center engineering, scaling large IT systems and security.

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Are Miners Prepared for the Halving of Bitcoin? - Cointelegraph

One of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, Binance, suddenly went offline and spooked spot traders. The platform users reported on Twitter that they could not access their accounts and perform basic actions with their orders. The company confirmed the technical issues and explained that the platform had gone for temporary maintenance.

Binance is undergoing temporary system maintenance. Binance has suspended deposits, withdrawals, spot trading, margin trading, P2P trading, lending, redemption, as well as asset transfers from sub-accounts, margin accounts, futures accounts, and fiat wallets.

Notably, the issues affected only spot trading, while Binance Futures continued operating as usual. The CEO of the exchange Canhpeng Zhao (CZ) also commented on the downtime on Twitter, saying that the issues were related to message broker, while customers'funds were not affected.

System issue, not funds related. Funds are #SAFU.

While his transparency and readiness to keep the community updated are often cheered by the platform users, this time CZ received quite a lot of negative comments. People were disappointed by frequent technical issues as this is the second unscheduled maintenance in less than a month.

Meanwhile, BTC/USD retreated from $8,823 to $8,750 following the announcement. Despite the sell-off, the cryptocurrency is still moving within the recent channel with the lower boundary at $8,700, reinforced by SMA100 1-hour. If the downside pressure gains traction, a strong move below this barrier will expose the next support of $8,600.

On the upside, the short-term recovery is limited by $8,850 with SMA200 1-hour and the intraday high located just below this level. A sustainable move above this area will open up the way to $9,000.

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Binance went offline and dragged Bitcoin down - FXStreet

The 100 SMA is still below the 200 SMA to indicate that the path of least resistance is to the downside or that support is more likely to break than to hold. In that case, bitcoin could still dip lower to the 61.8% Fib or even fall back below the descending trend line.

Then again, the gap between the moving averages is narrowing to reflect weakening selling pressure and a potential bullish crossover. If so, bitcoin could gain traction on its climb and break above the dynamic resistance at the 200 SMA around $8,900.

RSI is on the move down to indicate that sellers are in control, but the oscillator is starting to turn higher from the center line to suggest that buyers might take over from here.

Bitcoin is regaining some ground as risk aversion extended its stay in the markets on account of coronavirus concerns. The focus is still on the spread of the outbreak outside of mainland China as this could mean more trade and travel restrictions, which would then be bearish for stocks and commodities in the long run.

Meanwhile, the dollar is also under downside pressure due to the Feds surprise interest rate cut intended to limit the economic impact of coronavirus. NFP data is due soon and downbeat results could reinforce expectations for more stimulus, which could be more bearish for the US currency.

Keep in mind that bitcoin is awaiting the halving of mining rewards that could potentially double the value of the cryptocurrency over the span of months or years.

Images courtesy of TradingView

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Bitcoin Price Analysis: BTC/USD Bullish Break and Correction - BitcoinerX

Very close to half the revenue on Square's Cash App in the fourth quarter came from bitcoin.

Jack Dorsey's payments company reported on bitcoin (BTC) profits as part of its fourth-quarter 2019 revenue results, in a shareholder letter released Wednesday. It reported bitcoin revenue of $178 million between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, with gross profits of $3 million, up 50 percent over the prior two quarters.

Non-bitcoin revenue on Cash App in the fourth quarter was $183 million.

The company reported a year-end profit of $8 million on $516 million in yearly bitcoin revenue.

On Wednesday's investor call, Dorsey said a Cash App redesign made it easier for new users to discover other services.

"The peer-to-peer transfers network continues to be our best acquisition channel," Dorsey said. "Those new to the app then go on to discover bitcoin" and other in-app products, he said.

Later in the call, Chief Financial Officer Amrita Ahuja said once a Cash user starts using the app's bitcoin or Investing features, they tend to generate two-to-three times the revenue of regular users.

"We are able to efficiently acquire customers, keep them engaged and show them additional ways we can continue to add value," Ahuja said.

Square rolled out bitcoin services on its Cash App across the U.S. in the summer of 2018. It serves as the buyer and seller of bitcoin for its customers. In June 2019, it started allowing customers to deposit bitcoin into the app.

During the third quarter of 2018, Square yielded only $43 million in bitcoin revenue through its Cash App, making today's results indicate very strong growth in interest in the original cryptocurrency among the app's users.

Ultimately, Square spent $174.4 million bitcoin services in the fourth quarter, for a total of $508 million for 2019. That's compared to $164.8 million for 2018.

The Cash App as a whole drove $361 million in revenue in Q4. Square's total revenue for Q4 2019 was $1.31 billion. Square's profits for the year were $1.9 billion.

The company is projecting up to $715 million in transaction and bitcoin costs for Q1 2020.

Much of the bitcoin community has been watching to see what other contributions Square will make to the ecosystem. In January, the Square Crypto team announced it would focus on building out a software development kit to make it easier for applications to integrate bitcoin's lightning network.

Given Dorsey's involvement with Twitter, the crypto community has long anticipated some kind of integration between the site and bitcoin. So far, neither Dorsey nor Square has done anything to substantiate such hopes.

Still, analysts view the growth in Square's bitcoin business as positive. Square stock was up 6 percent after the earnings report was released.

"If Square succeeds in growing its bitcoin business across the globe, especially in areas where fiat currency is not easily and readily accepted by merchants, and in hyperinflationary countries, the company will have a major advantage over its payment processing competitors," Gartner analyst Avivah Litan told CoinDesk. "It will be able to grow its payment business among some of the fastest-growing and most promising economies of the world, located mainly in Africa."

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.

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Bitcoin Drove Half of Square's Cash App Revenue in the 4th Quarter - CoinDesk - Coindesk

Source: iStock/Vitoria Holdings LLC

Argentina has phased out its popular five peso note but a cryptocurrency company has issued something of a digital replacement in the form of a commemorative coin with a value redeemable in bitcoin (BTC).

Per TyN Magazine, the five peso bill featured a portrait of the 19th-century historical figure Jos de San Martn, known as El Libertador of Argentina.

San Martn was a Spanish-Argentine general who led many South American nations including Argentina in their fight for independence from the Spanish Empire in the early 1800s.

The publics affection for San Martn is believed to be one of the reasons why many Argentines were so sad to see the five peso note (USD 0.08) go out of circulation on the last day of February.

But a company named Ripio says it has issued a commemorative coin that features a portrait of San Martn on the front, while on its inverse side is a QR code that, when activated, will allow its owner to access bitcoin funds.

The same media outlet quotes Sebastin Serrano, the CEO of Ripio, as equating San Martns view of freedom with the financial independence that bitcoin can offer.

The CEO stated,

Bitcoin is the first step towards a new economy, and a future that is more transparent, democratic and accessible than that offered by traditional financial services. This coin [] carries the legacy of San Martn to the economy of the future.

Meanwhile, also in Argentina, the provincial deputy of Mendoza Josefina Canale has won both support and criticism after proposing the launch of a local digital coin.

Watch the latest reports by Block TV.

Canale says that if the province were to launch its own digital token, it would allow Mendoza to assert more financial independence.

The politician took to Twitter to state that she was currently looking into proposals to launch a local version of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) for Mendoza, and even allow residents to pay taxes in the token.

However, although many commenters voiced their support, a large number tweeted their objections, saying the project would likely hit too many legal hurdles.

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Bitcoin-powered Alternative to Five Peso Note Issued in Argentina - Cryptonews

Today, the Supreme Court of India lifted the ban on cryptocurrencies trade imposed by the Reserve Bank of India. This is a positive signal and it could boost the market sentiment for bitcoin. However, in the past few hours bitcoin is still trading sideways. Also, at the moment (08:30 UTC), most major altcoins are consolidating below key breakout levels, including ethereum, XRP, litecoin, bitcoin cash, BNB, EOS, TRX, ADA, and XLM. ETH/USD must climb above the USD 230 and USD 235 resistance levels to start a strong increase. XRP/USD is showing positive signs above USD 0.232, but it must climb above USD 0.240 to start a decent increase in the near term.

Total market capitalization

In the past two days, bitcoin price made two attempts to gain traction above the USD 8,850 and USD 8,900 resistance levels, but it failed. BTC/USD is currently consolidating near USD 8,800 and it might attempt one more time to continue higher. A successful close above the USD 8,850 and USD 9,000 resistance levels could open the doors for a solid rally.If the price fails to rise above USD 9,000, it could start a fresh decline. An initial support is near the USD 8,650 level, below which there is a risk of a sharp drop below the USD 8,550 support area.

Ethereum price seems to be struggling near the USD 230 and USD 232 levels. Still, a close above the USD 230 resistance area is needed for a fresh increase. The next key hurdles on the upside are seen near the USD 245 and USD 250 levels.On the downside, the key support is near the USD 220 level, below which the bears are likely to test the USD 210 support.

Bitcoin cash price tested the USD 340 resistance level and it is currently correcting lower. BCH/USD is trading below USD 330, but it might find support near the USD 324 and USD 320 levels. On the upside, the main resistance levels are USD 340 and USD 350.Litecoin settled above the USD 60.00 pivot level and it is currently consolidating. On the upside, an initial resistance is near the USD 62.50 level, above which the price could rise towards the USD 64.50 and USD 65.50 levels. Conversely, a bearish break below the USD 58.50 support might start a major decline in the coming sessions.XRP price is trading in a positive zone above the USD 0.230 and USD 0.232 support levels. However, the bulls need to gain momentum above the USD 0.240 and USD 0.242 levels to lead the price towards the USD 0.250 resistance. On the downside, the main support is near USD 0.230, followed by USD 0.224.

In the past three sessions, many small-capitalization altcoins jumped more than 5%, including MATIC, HBAR, LINK, ICX, KMD, ALGO, MONA, ATOM, MANA, ABBC, STX, CHZ, and VET. Conversely, KNC, SNX, MKR, and SXP are down more than 5%.

Overall, the market sentiment is improving, but bitcoin still needs to settle above the USD 8,850 and USD 9,000 resistance levels to start a strong increase. If not, it could decline below the USD 8,650 and USD 8,550 support levels._____

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Bitcoin and Altcoins Might Get Boost From India News - Cryptonews

Canada decides a CBDC is unnecessary while the Twitterati debate BTC as a safe haven and the six-year anniversary of Mt. Gox brings reflection.

Bitcoin (BTC) is having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Many are using the dump - which from a timing perspective aligns with a broader market sell-off on coronavirus fears - as a way to diminish the bitcoin as a safe haven narrative.

In this episode, @nlw revisits that narrative and argues it is uncomfortably bunched up with the uncorrelated asset narrative, or, as Chamath Palihapitiya calls it, schmuck insurance.

This episode also covers:

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.

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Is Bitcoin a Safe Haven or 'Schmuck Insurance'? - CoinDesk - Coindesk

THE TEAM

Bitcoin was created by an anonymous name called Satoshi Nakamoto Other notable names rumored to be part of the team include

The practical uses of Bitcoin

If you have the required hardware, you can mine bitcoin even if you are not a miner. There are different ways one can mine bitcoin such as cloud mining, mining pool, etc. For cloud mining, all you need to do is to connect to the datacenter and start mining. The good thing about this is that you can mine from anywhere and you dont need a physical hardware to mine.

For mining pool, all you need to do is to join a mining group, and if that team solves a computational problem, blocks are added to the blockchain, they get the reward and you get a share of it based on your contribution.

PoW algorithm-SHA-256 is used for mining. Which utilizes a lot of computational power.

How Does Bitcoin Mining Work?

Bitcoin mining saps energy, costly, uses more power and also the reward delays. For mining, run software, get your wallet ready and be the first to solve a cryptographic problem and you get your reward after the new blocks have been added to the blockchain.Mining is said to be successful when all the transactions are recorded in the blockchain and the new blocks are added to the blockchain.

Bitcoin Price Today

Die-hard BTC supporters believe that bitcoin is the future; we are just scratching the surface.Considering the continuous rise of bitcoin in the market capitalization, it is one investment every investor needs to take advantage of it.

The current market capitalization of bitcoin stands at an all-time high of $109 billion. As at January 2016, bitcoin was traded at I BTC for $970 but today is being traded at $9,600 for 1 BTC.

From the statistics presented above, it that bitcoin is one investment, you will never regret embarking on. It keeps recording an impressive results daily in the cryptocurrency market.

MUST READ!

Cryptocurrency investment is speculative, and it involves unquantifiable risks the market is full of uncertainty, susceptible to attack and capital loss, and sensitive to secondary issues, time may do not permit to mention here.Seek advice before investing.

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Bitcoin Price Live, Bitcoin Chart BTC Value Today, BTC to ...

This week the equity markets experienced their worst week in 12 years and as this meltdown took place the crypto market also took a hit.

Bitcoin (BTC) and the cryptocurrency market saw a significant selloff this week and this outcome is relatively reasonable given that people sell their assets out of fear of potential economic instability. Other safe-haven assets like gold and silver also saw a massive selloff on Friday.

Are the crypto markets going to find support in the coming weeks, or will we see a continued downtrend in momentum?

Crypto market daily performance. Source: Coin360

The price of Bitcoin found resistance at the $10,400 level, after which a test of the $9,400 support was heavily needed. The $9,400 level was unable to provide sustainable support and as the price fell through it this caused a significant selloff throughout the crypto market.

BTC USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView

The sell-off led to the next support area at $8,200-8,400 and many horizontal levels are lining up here, providing potential temporary support and space for a relief rally.

However, for the short term, many believe that the upwards momentum is out of the markets as the price of Bitcoin is making a lower low (a key indicator for downwards momentum) on the daily timeframe.

Does this mean that the entire crypto market will reverse course and enter a bearish trend? Not at all. The price of Bitcoin is still 27% higher as on the 1st of January, which makes Bitcoin one of the best-performing assets of the year.

BTC USD 1-week chart. Source: TradingView

The weekly chart is currently resting on an exciting MA (Moving Average), namely the 21-week MA. The previous bull cycle held this level as support towards the bull peak in December 2017, which makes this an interesting indicator for bulls to hold on to.

If the price could find support at this level, it could mean a continuation of bullish momentum in the coming period.

BTC USD 1-week chart. Source: TradingView

The weekly chart also clearly shows the massive selloff of the past week. However, its currently resting on potential support. Holding the green zone around $8,400 would line up with the 21-WMA and possibly grant a relief rally.

For sustained upwards momentum, its crucial that a breakthrough of the past high at $10,400 takes place but such a move could take some time. The market must find support before these levels can be targeted.

If Bitcoin price cant find support at $8,400, the next level to target is at $7,500-$7,700.

Total market capitalization cryptocurrency chart. Source: TradingView

The total market capitalization for cryptocurrencies was unable to break above $300 billion and also couldnt find support at $250 billion so further downwards momentum was expected.

Currently, an exciting level is approaching as the 21-WMA is also showing up on this chart. Through the whole bull cycle of 2016-2017, the 21-WMA granted support on the total market capitalization as a whole. Providing support in this area would give bulls arguments for upwards momentum.

Aside from the 21-WMA, a crucial horizontal level can be seen here. During 2018 and 2019, the market capitalization found support at the $225 billion level several times. Showing support here would grant potential upward continuation, as the total market capitalization had been making higher lows since the bottom in December 2018.

Total altcoin cryptocurrency market capitalization chart. Source: TradingView

The altcoin market capitalization shows a similar outlook as the rest of the market. There was a massive rejection at the horizontal level at $115 billion, through which the altcoins are searching for support also.

The next significant level is found around $73-$75 billion, which is similar to the $225 billion of total market capitalization. Since the bottom in December 2018, altcoins have been consistently made higher lows, warranting a new upwards trend to occur. Finding support around the $73 billion levels would warrant another higher low and potential continuation upwards.

If the scenario turned bullish, a relief rally towards $9,200-9,400 would be the first step. To do this, Bitcoin price needs to find support at $8,250-$8,400 in order to sustain some upwards momentum to retest previous support levels for resistance.

BTC USD 12-hour bullish scenario chart. Source: TradingView

The next important question investors will ask will be: Can Bitcoin price break through the resistance and continue its upward momentum? If the answer is no, a likely retest of the $8,200-$8,400 area is next to occur.

However, breaking the resistance around $9,200-$9,400 and making it support would open the door for a move to the next levels near the $10,400 highs of two weeks ago.

And finally, finding support around this area would confirm the 21-WMA to be supported again, which is a massive indicator for bull/bear momentum.

BTC USD 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView

Theres no clear guideline for a bearish scenario at this point, but the chart is showing several perspectives. What traders should look for are potential bearish retests. If the price of Bitcoin rallies upwards without any volume and rejects at $8,950 or even $9,175, a bearish retest is confirmed, and the price should trend further down.

If such a bearish retest occurs, the price will likely retest the support around $8,200-$8,400 one more time.

However, the more support gets tested, the weaker it becomes. Heavy retests of this support would typically induce further continuation downwards to $7,500-$7,700 as the next primary support after this zone.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph. Every investment and trading move involves risk. You should conduct your own research when making a decision.

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Bitcoin Price Falls $1,400 in One Week Is the Bear Market Back? - Cointelegraph