A startup has launched a leveraged token and a decentralized stablecoin on Rootstock (RIF), a smart contract solution based on Bitcoin (BTC)s blockchain.

According to an announcement shared with Cointelegraph on April 21, Bitcoin-based decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol MoneyOnChain launched the new products on RSKs sidechain.

The new DeFi platform, dubbed RIF on Chain will feature RIF Dollar (RDOC), RIFX and RIFpro (RPRO). RPRO is a token that mirrors the price of RIF but also grants passive income by collecting a share of the fees generated by platform transactions.

RDOC is pegged to the United States dollar and backed by RIF tokens. Unlike competing Ether (ETH)-backed decentralized stablecoin DAI, RID Dollars can be acquired directly by spending RIF without creating a collateralized debt position.

The RDOC stablecoin is minted every time there is a certain amount of RIFpro staked on the platform. Lastly, RIFX is a token that gives exposure to RIFs price fluctuations with leverage. Diego Gutierrez Zaldivar, CEO of IOV Labs the firm behind Rootstock explained:

RIFX is a RIF leveraged decentralized long position. Based on an automated smart contract that renews every 30 days, the product has a leverage factor of 2X at the very beginning of its lifespan and a variable leverage afterwards based upon certain variables such as the price of RIF token and the amount of RDOC stablecoins in the ROC platform. Users must be aware of the risks. [...] The ROC platform, in this current version, does not have a Margin Call notification.

Zaldivar pointed out that RIF is merge-mined with BTC and leverages Bitcoins blockchain for security. He also explained that Bitcoin as an asset is integrated into the system and its role will be expanded in the future:

Bitcoins are locked on-chain and RBTC tokens are minted on the RSK network accordingly. RBTC (and thereby BTC) will serve as collateral for loans, as a pegging mechanism for RIF Dollar and more.

As Cointelegraph reported in March, lead developer at blockchain firm Kava Labs Ruaridh ODonnell pointed out that there is great anticipation for the development of Bitcoins DeFi ecosystem. When it comes to the broader DeFi space, it is seeing great developments at an astonishingly fast rate.

As Cointelegraph reported earlier today, Ethereum-based DeFi protocol Synthetix recently enabled tokenized real-world assets like Brent oil and the Nikkei stock index. The CEO of blockchain firm Trustology recently said that he believes DeFi protocols could soon emerge as the worlds dominant liquidity pool if scaled effectively.

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Bitcoin Smart Contract Solution RSK Sees New Stablecoin and Leveraged Token - Cointelegraph

While WTI crude oil futures went into negative territory in an unprecedented market crash, Bitcoin remained relatively stable. The first digital coin lost about 4.5% of its value in the recent 24 hours and retreated below $7,000 amid worsened sentiments on the global markets, but the general trend remains bullish.

The May WTI dropped 300% to -$40 per barrel, which is a historical event. It means that at a certain point the sellers of oil futures were ready to pay the buyers. However, the May contract expires today. Thus, the June WTI will become the next active contract, which is also down 19.5% from Friday's (April 17) close.

Maybe it's time for some self-reflection for those that say #Bitcoin is too volatile compared to other assets. Crude #oil, the world's most traded commodity, fell ~40% this morning and lost 85% YTD in 2020. Oil in Canada is trading at negative prices. The data speaks for itself! -@gaborgurbacs

The collapse reflects the fragile state of the global economy and a damaging outcome of the oil price war between Russian and OPEC launched in March.

Despite the retreat below, BTC/USD is still in good shape at least as long as it stays above $6,600-$6,500 area, created by 23.6% Fibo retracement for the downside move from February 2020 high. This area stopped the decline at the beginning of April and may serve as a turning point if the sell-off from the current levels gains traction. However, if this support area gives way, the sell-off may be extended towards psychological $6,000 and weekly SMA200 at $5,700.

On the upside, a sustainable move above $7,000 is needed for the upside to gain traction. The psychological barrier is reinforced by weekly SMA100; however, once it is cleared, the upside may be extended towards the next resistance created by 38.2% Fibo retracement for the downside move from February 2020 high at $7,150.

Continued here:
Bitcoin Price Analysis: BTC/USD resilient in the face of dramatic oil collapse into the negative territory - FXStreet

Welcome to Hard Fork Basics, a collection of informative guides to keep you up to date with the personal finance and investment world. This one is Bitcoin-themed.

Theres a sextortionemail scam going around that demands Bitcoin BTC to keep steamy videos of you masturbating to pornography off the internet. Its fake. Relax.

Its also very old. While there aremany variants, recent reports show anemail that suggests a crafty hacker has placed malware on the porn website that you enjoy, which allowed them to record your screen and webcam feed.

The email then requests $1,900 worth of Bitcoin or else your Messenger, Facebook, and email contacts will receive a video of you jerking (or jilling) it, placed artfully alongside your kinky content of choice a shoddy attempt at blackmail.

Its a preposterous premise, but the real hook is a recipients actual password, which is starred out in the screenshot below.Hard Fork reported on some of the first instances of the Bitcoin sextortion email in 2018.

Back then, fraudsters were warning their marks that a magic pixel had recorded their every move. More recently, emails have come with an embedded JPG image of the blackmail message in a bid to avoid spam detection.

Indeed, if you receive this email, its likely to reference a password that you might regularly use, or may have regularly used in the past. Dont freak out: They probably found it in a PasteBin doc not by hacking your machine.

Its almost entirely likely that the phishers obtained your email and password from one of the thousands of data breaches that have occurred, and not by hacking your computer (or your porn website, for that matter).

Have I Been Pwned?is a handy tool to figure out where they mightve found your password. Simply plug in your email address to see if this relates to you.

Bitcoin Abuse,a websitethat tracks these kinds of Bitcoin scams, has fielded almost 50,000 reports this year. April has seen amassive influx of submissions over 41,000 and while not all of them are specific to the sextortion scam, many are, and theyre coming in multiple languages.

As for the success of these horny phishers: It seems they randomly generate fresh Bitcoin addresses for each recipient, which makes tracking them significantly harder.

So, security researchers at Sophos advise you to do two things. First: Delete the email and move on.

The second is change the password referenced in the email, as its likely that other phishers also have access to it. Even if theyre old accounts, you should change them to protect your current ones.

Apart from that, its important to never send any money in response to any emails like these, Bitcoin or otherwise, and not to play into to the fraudsters hands by engaging any further.

They also emphasised that instructions in an email should not be followed just because the message is insistent or because youre frightened.

In other words,do what this 84-year-old lady did when she was targeted by Bitcoin sextortionists: Ignore them, and eat a bagel.

Published April 20, 2020 16:12 UTC

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So you received the Bitcoin masturbation vid email heres what to do - The Next Web

Bitcoin commenced the weeks trading in the positive territory after defending support above $7,200. Last weeks surge above $7,000 was the second after Bitcoin crashed more than 50% in March amid a widespread COVID-19 triggered selloff. At the moment, Bitcoin is trading over 85% higher from the lows trade in March. The gains last week were reminiscent of the upward correction in the United States stock market. Bitcoin has lately become more and more correlated with the stock market and other traditional asset. A situation that has had people questioning Bitcoins safe haven status.

According to Qiao Wang from Messari, a cryptocurrency analysis firm, said that cryptocurrency markets and the traditional stock markets are in anticipation as the Federal Reserve prepares to stimulate the economy from the shocks of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Short-term, as usual, I dont have a strong view, wrote Mr. Wang about the cryptocurrency. I think it could easily swing between $5,000 and $9,000 due to a variety of forces like the demand for the USD and the hype around halving.

As reported, Bitcoins step above the 50-day SMA has renewed the bullish interest and a lift-off towards $9,000 seems imminent. Looking at the price performance in the last 12 months, Bitcoin soared 280% after breaking above the moving average in April 2020 and 43% after a similar move in February 2020. However, a resistance at $7,200 must be overcome in order to open the way for the lift-off. This zone was a key support in May 2019 and could act the same in the current situation following a breakout.

Resistance one: $7,220 Highlights the pivot one-day resistance one.

Resistance two: $7,369 Highlights the pivot one-week resistance one, and the pivot point one-day resistance two.

Resistance three: 8,116 Home to the SMA 100 one-day and the pivot point one-week resistance three.

Support one: $7,145 Converges the Fibo 23.6% one-day, the Bollinger band 4-hour middle curve and the SMA five 4-hour.

Support two: $7,070 Hosts the SMA 50 4-hour and the SMA 200 1-hour.

Support three: $6,996 Highlights the Fibo 38.2% one-week, pivot point one-day support two and the BB 1-day middle curve.

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Bitcoin Price Prediction: BTC/USD lift-off to $9,000 in the Q2 of 2020 imminent Confluence Detector - FXStreet

Despite being over a decade old, Bitcoin (BTC) is still not particularly easy to understand. Even major BTC bulls like Tim Draper have admitted that Bitcoin still lacks ease of use for mainstream adoption.

In the same vein, two key figures in the community held an informal Twitter debate over Bitcoins complexity today.

Mark Cuban, one of the most well-known Bitcoin sceptics, prefers to own bananas than invest in bitcoins. Cuban previously criticized Bitcoins complexity in an interview with Anthony Pomp Pompliano on April 15. In the interview, the owner of the NBAs Dallas Mavericks reiterated a common Bitcoin complexity narrative, arguing that Bitcoin needs to be easy enough that grandma can use it before mass adoption will occur.

When asked about what would have to happen for him to change his mind about Bitcoin, Cuban answered that it should become easy, elaborating on Bitcoins complexities:

Itd have to be so easy to use, its a no-brainer. Itd have to be completely friction-free and understandable by everybody first. [...] Theres so many peculiarities to Bitcoin: the halving, the mining.

While some in the crypto community agreed that BTC is quite difficult to use, Tyler Winklevoss, a co-founder of major crypto exchange Gemini, decided to weigh in. Winklevoss argued that, for someone without preexisting knowledge of the game, basketball is at least as peculiar as Bitcoin. He tweeted:

Theres so many peculiarities to Bitcoin: the halving, the mining." - @mcuban The rules of basketball are far more peculiar, but that doesn't seem to be holding it back.

It was not long before Cuban reacted to the Winklevoss remark, tweeting the following counter-argument in less than 10 minutes:

One was started by a guy named James in a gym with a peach basket and a ball to entertain kids. The other was started by a guy no one can find, that hundreds claim to be, with a computer and an algorithm to give millions something to argue about. Which is simple?

Winklevoss subsequently argued that both of these origin stories are interesting from a historical perspective,. He then firing out another argument, hinting that nobody really cares about basketball:

My bet is that if you took a poll of all the basketball fans that buy tickets to watch @dallasm games, less than 1% would know that the game they are watching was started by a guy named James trying to entertain kids and 0% would actually care.

After years of scepticism, Cuban delivered a mixed message about Bitcoin in late 2019. As Cointelegraph reported in December, Cuban admitted that Bitcoin could become a reliable financial instrument.

In September 2019, billionaire investor and major Bitcoin bull, Tim Draper, declared that people still prefer fiat money over Bitcoin. He reasoned that fiat money seems to be an easier option to pay for services. According to Draper, Bitcoins inherent difficulty is the main impediment to mass adoption. He further claimed that engineers have not made it that easy enough for everyone to use Bitcoin.

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Mark Cuban and Tyler Winklevoss Squabble Over Bitcoin Complexity - Cointelegraph

Bitcoins halving is just three weeks away at this point, and with the critically important event happening so soon, the first-ever crypto asset is at an especially pivotal junction that could shape the future of the asset in the near and long term.

But what exactly does the halving mean, and why is it that crypto investors expect the event to be so shockingly bullish? Were taking a look at past halving cycles and providing various scenarios as to the final outcome of the event coming in just 21 days.

Bitcoin is the first of its kind and kicked off the cryptocurrency craze that has now led to thousands upon thousands of altcoins and billions of dollars in market cap.

However, it wasnt the first attempt at creating a digital form of cash. Instead, Satoshi Nakamoto took early concepts designed by other cypherpunks and solved the most critical issue plaguing these other pioneer projects: double-spending.

Related Reading | Bitcoin Mining Sell Pressure Waning, Supply Shock To Drive Massive Price Increase

The only way previously to prevent double-spending, was by having a third-party or central authority validating transactions. Bitcoin does this without the need for a central authority through a process called proof-of-work, or Bitcoin mining.

The process involves hi-tech machinery designed to squeeze out as much has hash power at as low cost as possible, using it to solve complex mathematical equations. The miner or mining pool to solve all equations unlocks a reward of 12.5 BTC currently.

In three weeks, that drops to just 6.25 BTC. There are 31 of these pre-coded halvings set to reduce the Bitcoin supply at regular intervals until the full supply is in circulation.

Each halving in the past has kicked off a monstrous bull run. The idea is that the BTC supply miners receive gets slashed in half, raising production costs immediately. Miners halt selling at a loss, and it throws off the delicate balance of supply and demand.

This fact has had crypto investors considering the event to be incredibly bullish. And each time in the past, Bitcoin price rose exponentially following the event.

In just three weeks, this same event happens once again, but the once highly anticipated event thought to be incredibly bullish, has done little to cause prices to rise in advance of what is expected to be the most important factor in causing Bitcoin price to rise.

Sentiment is in the gutter following last months record-breaking collapse that took the price of the leading cryptocurrency by market cap to under $4,000 at the low. The coronavirus pandemic has caused investors to be too fearful to take a risk with the cryptocurrency market, even with Bitcoins halving so close.

Related Reading | Bitcoin Shows Ideal Set Up For Epic Rally: Stock-to-Flow and Oversold RSI

If the bullish explosion that was once expected does play out, many of Bitcoins biggest supporters may miss out on the opportunity they spent the last four years waiting for.

And if it doesnt, well, the recession may send Bitcoin into its first real bear market in the assets history.

Original post:
Crypto Countdown: Exactly Three Weeks Remain Until The Bitcoin Halving - newsBTC

The coronavirus outbreak is no longer a new thing. Even illiterate grandmothers in my village know about the strange illness that is jumping from one country to another, as some of them put it. When the year started and the epidemic was just beginning to take hold in Europe and a few other countries, markets began to feel the effect. However, Bitcoin and some of the major cryptocurrencies started to see great demand, leading to great price increase. For instance, the BTCUSD pair saw its price jump above the $9,000 for the first time in several months. Many experts began to tout Bitcoin as a safe-haven asset. However, it did not take long for Bitcoins newly acquired safe-haven status to fall apart. Last week, Bitcoin sold off nearly half of its value in less than one hour in a bloody day for the cryptocurrency market.

Many of the experts and gurus who touted Bitcoin as the next big safe-haven asset after gold were confused. What really happened? How come the coronavirus-driven market fears were able to substantially crush Bitcoin to the extent to which it fell?

To answer the question, it is pertinent to define what a safe-haven asset is and then fit Bitcoin into the mold to see whether it can qualify to be known as a safe-haven asset.

What is a Safe Haven Asset?

Safe-haven assets are assets which are a store of value, and help protect investments from being wiped off by a market meltdown or by inflation. Safe-haven assets are therefore used to protect assets in times of economic downturn or to hedge against negative market exposures.

During periods of economic downturn or market upheaval, the focus of most experienced investors is to first preserve the value of whatever investments they have. Profiting from such investments, or capital appreciation is usually a secondary consideration. That is why such safe-haven assets are also called risk-off assets. They are in vogue at a time when traders are not willing to take risks. As you may know by now, reward in the markets is usually obtained by subjecting capital to risk. Occasionally additional risk might be worth taking, if you do not want to, however, take any, it is possible go for a Bitcoin demo account on which you can learn how much the coronavirus outbreak is affecting the price of Bitcoin, risk-free.

For an asset to be classified as a safe-haven asset, it must have the following attributes:

It is not easy to find a commodity or asset that has all these attributes. Traders generally have to make a choice as to which asset can present most, if not all of the characteristics that have been mentioned. In a world where new assets and derivative instruments are being created every year, it is becoming harder to sift out the true safe-haven assets from the ones that have pseudo status.

Bitcoin saw a meteoric rise from a price of just a few cents when it was created in 2009 to tens of thousands of dollars per coin at its peak. But certain events that punctuate this time period bring into question its perceived status as a safe-haven asset.

Does Bitcoin Qualify to be a Safe-Haven Asset?

As the world battles the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak with global stock and commodity markets all but battered, can we really say that Bitcoin is a safe-haven asset?Let us subject it to scrutiny using the parameters described above.

Also, Bitcoins value cannot be preserved over time. Newer cryptocurrencies are being released that have better use case applications. It is doubtful if Bitcoin will continue to retain the top spot in market capitalization in say, a decade from now.

So is Bitcoin a safe-haven asset?Is Bitcoin an acceptableand universal store of value? Can it hold its own in the face of market pressures or downside risks? That question seems to have been comprehensively answered in this article. It is not a safe-haven asset and so should not be treated as such. If circumstances emerge and cause a systemic disruption to the markets, Bitcoin is just as vulnerable to these as any other asset.

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If Bitcoin is a Safe Haven, Why is it down during the Coronavirus outbreak? - Cryptopolitan

Bitcoin is often described as gold 2.0; a superior system of storing and transferring value. It has seen a rapid increase in market capitalization since its introduction in 2009, with strong custodial, exchange, and futures infrastructure.

Yet, one cryptocurrency analyst known as cryptocomicon recently laid out a series of compelling reasons why one should not invest in Bitcon. The three that stood out most were limited privacy, centralized mining, and the lack of scalability.

Despite each of these being valid points to consider, they can also be seen as advantages for BTC.

Up until 2018, governments and various financial bodies criticized the anonymous nature of Bitcoin, stating that it poses a risk to the global financial system. But, as reported by Cointelegraph, South Korea recently cracked down on a large-scale sex crime ring earlier this month through tracking Bitcoin addresses.

One could argue that the lack of privacy measures on the Bitcoin network has actually improved the image of the dominant cryptocurrency.

Previously the public and governments perceived Bitcoin as the currency most preferred for use in criminal activities and terrorist financing, but this view appears to have changed in recent years as sophisticated blockchain analytics companies who offer crypto transaction tracking services emerged.

Following the release of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)s revised guideline on crypto assets on February 22, 2020, it has become even more challenging to launder money using Bitcoin than ever before.

Thus, the lack of privacy can also be viewed as increased transparency and this could eventually prevent governments from over-regulating Bitcoin-related companies.

The low scalability of Bitcoin is similar to the no privacy argument in the sense that it can be comprehended in two ways: it can make transactions expensive when the network reaches its peak, but it can also encourage second-layer scaling.

Some state that the relatively high fees on the Bitcoin network would push for the use of second-layer scaling solutions, which many believe to be inevitable if public blockchain networks are eventually used by billions of people worldwide.

Other major public blockchain networks with high scalability like Ethereum are exploring second-layer scaling solutions such as plasma, indicating that second-layer scaling is necessary for any large blockchain network.

According to a report from CoinShares Research, up to 65 percent of the Bitcoin network hashpower comes from China, a level unseen since 2017. While the level of mining centralization in China is currently high, over time it is expected to become more distributed across the world.

To date, large mining centers in China have been able to access cheap electricity in mountainous regions of the country, operating ASIC miners at low costs with natural cooling. Consequently, the level of mining centralization in China reached unprecedented levels in December 2019.

Additional data from CoinShares explained that:

While we expect this ratio to fall again as latest generation hardware further makes its way into the non-Chinese market, at the time of writing, as much as 65% of Bitcoin hashpower resides within China the highest weve seen since we began our network monitoring in late 2017.

The researchers also said:

We have reasons to believe the lions share of the newly deployed hardware has been predominantly installed in China. There could be many reasons for this, but Occams Razor suggests that it is likely an effect of relational and geographic proximity to manufacturers making barriers to business comparatively lower.

Chinas Bitcoin mining equipment access and hashrate. Source: CoinShares

Currently Chinas mining sector has two clear advantages over the rest of the world, cheap electricity and direct access to new mining equipment. Eventually, lower electricity rates and better access to newer mining equipment could push the global mining industry to expand outside of China in the years to come, reducing the level of centralization.

Originally posted here:
Crypto Analyst Cautions Investors Against Bitcoin for 3 Key Reasons - Cointelegraph

HONG KONG, HONG KONG - NOVEMBER 9: As a visual representation of the digital Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin ... [+] with US Dollar on November 9, 2017 in Hong Kong, Hong Kong. Cryptocurrencies - Bitcoin, have seen unprecedented growth in 2017. (Photo by studioEAST/Getty Images)

Bitcoin remains a controversial asset with most people either believing it as doomed to be valueless or set to be worth $1 million a coin. As such it is probably a fair bet to say it will do neither.

Here is the state of play:

The Bitcoin chart as the 'halvening' approaches

This is what happened last time:

Here's what happened to the Bitcoin price after the last 'halvening'

The idea is that the price will go up because the supply of new coins will halve, so on an even keel basis there will be the same demand but less supply. The increase of bitcoin supply will half but interestingly it will also fall below the recent rate of U.S. dollar inflation. So the thinking goes: supply of new bitcoin down + supply of bitcoin less than U.S. dollars (substantially less since the recent titanic stimulus packages) + ever increasingspread of acceptance = significant price rise.

Doomsters say that miners will flee as they can no longer make money mining and the blockchain will seize up. However, every two weeks the mining difficulty retargets to take that into account, so this scenario simply wont happen and in the end transaction costs would make up for any drop in new coin rewards if the situation became difficult. A $6 per transaction fee would fill the gap, which is super pricey, but not when large transactions are at stake.

The halvening wont break bitcoin, but will it be the beginning of the next leg up?

I think so.

Will it catapult bitcoin to $100,000 a coin? It could happen but I want to believe because I have a pile of bitcoins.

The key factor will be the shape of the developing coronavirus recession. The outcome of these huge stimulus packages are impossible to predict. Not only is their effect utterly unpredictable but even their scale is uncertain. Bitcoin (BTC) is just a tiny sideshow to all these goliath moves.

The only outcome that would hurt BTC is deflationary depression and with trillions of cash being helicoptered in to bailout everyone, at least the deflationary part seems hard to imagine.

What isnt so hard to imagine is something the ex-Federal Reserve Chairman brought up: Hysteresis. Thats not the electrical thing, its the political type. Hysteresis is what Marxists use to explain away the fact that their fabulous theories never seem to be adopted or work. Its a shock to the system that is needed to create the momentum for a sudden and irreversible change. That Ben Benenke should bring up the prospect for that is enough to make your ears burn. Bitcoin $1 million is totally ridiculous but then.

A Zimbabwe one hundred trillion dollar note

Whether hysteresis would mean a trillion dollar bill or something else entirely, it wont do bitcoin any harm.

Love it or hate it, in times of hysteresis a bitcoin wallet would be a prized possession. Even without the halvening, bitcoin looks good as a haven/flight asset in very uncertain times.

-

Clem Chambers is the CEO of private investors websiteADVFN.com and author of 101 Ways to Pick Stock Market Winners and Trading Cryptocurrencies: A Beginners Guide.

Chambers won Journalist of the Year in the Business Market Commentary category in the State Street U.K. Institutional Press Awards in 2018.

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Bitcoin: The Halvening Cometh - Forbes

Investors may be accumulating bitcoin ahead of next month's miner reward halving.

The seven-day moving average of the total number of bitcoin held in exchange addresses fell to 2,214,365 on April 14 the lowest level since last June according to numbers from blockchain intelligence firm Glassnode.

As of Tuesday, the average was down nearly 8 percent from a high of 2,404,786 registered on Jan. 17, 2020.

The decline in exchange balances suggests a shift to longer-term holding strategies, according to Glassnode.

That's because investors usually withdraw coins from the exchanges to hold in their personal wallets when prices are expected to rise. Conversely, they tend to move their balances to exchanges in preparation to sell when a price drop is expected or during a price crash.

For instance, bitcoins price fell by 33 percent in the seven days to March 15. At the time, the seven-day average of coins held on exchanges rose from 2,333,279 on March 11 to 2,350,795 on March 18.

However, the spike was short lived and the downturn in exchange balances resumed from March 19.

The increased levels of holding may be associated with bullish expectations tied to bitcoins mining reward halving, scheduled to take effect in just 27 days. The process, aimed at controlling inflation, will reduce rewards per block mined from 12.5 BTC to 6.25 BTC.

Essentially, miners will be adding fewer coins to the ecosystem following the halving. Some analysts think that would create a supply deficit and push up prices.Once bitcoin has its halving next month, we expect prices to rally, carrying the rest of the market with it, said Richard Rosenblum, head of trading at GSR.

Meanwhile, some stock-to-flow models indicate the halving could send bitcoins price to $100,000, as noted in the cryptocurrency platform Lunos weekly market report.

Further, the coronavirus-induced global economic recession and resulting unprecedented monetary and fiscal stimulus launched by the Federal Reserve and the U.S. government, respectively, are widely expected to boost bitcoins appeal as a safe haven asset and a hedge against inflation.

However, some observers have been skeptical about the bullish narrative surrounding bitcoins halving. Bitcoin halving in May 2020 wont do anything to the price. It will be a non-event, Jason Williams, co-founder of digital asset fund Morgan Creek Digital, tweeted in December.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency has so far failed to perform as a safe haven asset and has largely moved in line with the equity markets. Since the beginning of March, bitcoins correlation with the S&P and Dow has been unusually high at approximately 0.82, Nicholas Pelecanos, head of trading at NEM Ventures, told CoinDesk.

If the decline in exchange balances is a guide, though, the investor community looks to have some belief in the bullish halving narrative and the long-term value of the cryptocurrency as an inflation hedge.

From a technical analysis standpoint, the cryptocurrencys recovery rally from the March low of $3,867 looks to have run out of steam.

Weekly chart

Bitcoin has failed three times in the last month to keep gains above the 100-week moving average, currently lined up near $7,060.The repeated failure is suggestive of buyer fatigue.

That, coupled with the rising wedge breakdown seen on the daily chart, suggests scope for a downside break of the recent trading range of $6,600$7,200. A range breakdown, if confirmed, would open the doors to $6,100, as discussed Tuesday.

Bitcoin has enjoyed an over-50-percent rally from its mid-March low. The bulls now must sustain the rally at an equal or greater pace in the short term or the bears might take back some serious ground," said NEM Ventures Pelecanos. "Indicators from one of our momentum-based strategies are beginning to show a serious bearish setup that could lead to a 50-percent sell-off, sending prices into the low $3,000s."

Disclosure:The author currently holds no cryptocurrencies.

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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More Investors Are Holding Bitcoin Ahead of the Halving, Data Suggests - CoinDesk