Wary investors are holding about $3.4 trillion in cash, waiting for the right moment to enter the markets. This huge cash stockpile demonstrates investors worries amid the Sino-US trade conflict. Nevertheless, some economists argue that excessive cash reserves will drive the stock markets even higher, and the bitcoin and crypto space might also be a beneficiary.

Money-market funds have expanded by $1 trillion in assets over the last three years, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported, citing Lipper data. This is the highest level since the financial crisis.

For those unfamiliar, a money-market fund invests exclusively in highly liquid assets. Think about cash, cash equivalent securities, and short-term debt securities whose maturity is less than 13 months.

The fact that money-market funds thrive suggests that investors feel safer about holding more cash than ever, as they hesitate to bet on the stock market. Some of them are wary of a supersaturated bull market while others are not confident about the health of the 10-year economic growth.

For instance, money-management firm Farr, Miller & Washington is currently holding twice as much cash as usual. President Michael Farr explained:

Cash always makes me feel good, both having it and seeing it on the sidelines. It keeps things a little bit safer.

Another important driver behind the phenomenon is higher returns in money markets. As of October, money-market funds offered an annual return of 1.6% per year on average. This is way more than 0.02% from eight years ago. The rising yields benefited from Feds rate hikes since 2015, but the central bank turned dovish in the last months, showing a preference for aggressive easing.

Analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch consider that the huge cash reserves will eventually drive the stock markets to even higher levels.

Nevertheless, alternative markets might also benefit from this, including the bitcoin and cryptocurrency space.

Interestingly, decreasing interest rates should push investors to invest their cash, but theyre still hesitant. This paradox demonstrates the public sentiment prevails over any logic and fundamentals.

It remains to be seen why investors are so wary. Whether its the toxic political environment or the ongoing trade war, they will have to enter the markets sooner or later because their cash doesnt bring any value from the modest money market returns that barely beat inflation.

Ultimately, bitcoin will be an option for many investors with higher risk appetite. If only 1% of money market assets were invested in bitcoin, it would be enough to boost the cryptocurrencys market cap by over 20%.

Do you think investors will allocate a greater portion of their portfolio to bitcoin and crypto-assets? Share your thoughts in the comments section!

Images via Shutterstock, Wall Street Journal

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Bitcoin Awaiting Slice of Investors' Trillions in Cash Reserves - Bitcoinist

INDIA - 2019/10/23: In this photo illustration a popular decentralised digital currency Bitcoin logo ... [+] displayed on a smartphone. (Photo Illustration by Avishek Das/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

A rally in major cryptocurrencies that began at the end of the previous week continued last week, spreading to smaller cryptocurrencies.

As of Saturday evening, Bitcoin had gained 1.7 % over the previous seven days, ETH 2.66%, XRP 1.91%, LTC 4.91%, and XLM 12.71%, with 78 out of the top 100 cryptocurrencies advancing and 22 declining.

A strong advanced-decline ratio indicates that the rally is for real, fueled by new money flowing into the cryptocurrency markets, rather than rotating from one cryptocurrency to another.

Then theres the news that China is ready to embrace blockchain technology, and develop its own digital currency.

Thats something markets expected to hear, as Facebooks Libra has been falling apart.

Nicholas Pelecanos, Advisor toNEM Ventures, thinks that BTC has the potential to break out, as trades near the top of its range.The tremendous 40% rally we witnessed at the end of last week certainly shows the market participants are still bullish, he says.

But he thinks that Chinas renewed interest in blockchain favors protocols like Ethereum and NEM rather than Bitcoin. Personally, I believe the news that China will embrace blockchain is not as bullish for Bitcoin as the rally may have hinted to; I dont believe giving Chinese citizens sovereignty of wealth is high on the current regimes agenda, he says. The news is however bullish for protocols like Ethereum and NEM that can support the applications the Chinese government may be looking to embrace.

Ryan Uhr, CEO and co-founder of Coinplug Inc., thinks that China will always keep a firm control of cryptocurrencies that allow citizens to hide assets. Cryptocurrencies that are developed and managed independently of the Chinese government provide the means for citizens to hide assets, he says. This means that the government will most likely keep cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Libra, under tight control in the domestic market.

Simply put, Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies wont see any meaningful impact from Chinas cryptocurrency embrace. And that will eventually deflate the hype behind the recent rally, and the return to the old sideway pattern.

But that may not be a bad thing. A sideways BTC doesnt mean opportunities will cease to present themselves, says Nicholas Pelecanos.

One area where he sees such opportunities is short LTCUSD, as its hash rate has been falling. I dont see LTC making any meaningful pull back until the hash rate begins to climb again, he says.

Meanwhile, Pelecanosis concerned about the volatility in BTCs hash rate. Speaking of hash rate, while everyone was distracted by the China embracing blockchain news, the Bitcoin hash rate slid over 30% from its high, he says. The hash rate has since rallied around 10% but further destabilization to the hash rate could cause BTC to head back down to the bottom of its range."

Link:

Bitcoin, ETH, XRP, LTC, And XLM RallyIs It For Real? - Forbes

The sixth installment of my trade journal features one of my best Bitcoin (BTC) swing trades ever, catching much of the 40% move that caught many traders off guard.

This was a straightforward trade for me, filling bids in an area that I was expecting to be near the potential bottom. The entire trade is immortalized in a twitter thread. After closing this trade, I opened a new one on the retrace, which is still active.

Setting up the trade

Entries: $7,390, $7,450 ($7,420 average entry)

Targets: $7,712, $8,535, $10,000

Stop loss: I set the stop loss at $7,240, below the 61.8% fib and recent swing low. This would result in a 2.4% loss on the position and a 1% portfolio loss.

Risk / reward: Target 1 = 1.62, Target 2 = 6.19 Target 3 = 14.33

As discussed in my previous journal, after a significant break down from the bear flag on Oct. 23, Bitcoin price approached a buy order that I had set in June 2019. There was no rational reason for me to remove this order as doing so would be an emotional decision based on the recent drop. I filled my bids at $7,390 in the highlighted zone below.

This also amounted to an almost perfect 61.8% retrace of the entire move from the $3,100 bottom to the $13,800 top, considered by many to be an ideal entry.

XBT USD daily chart. Source: TradingView

Further, Bitcoin was flashing a bullish divergence on every time frame ranging from the 4-hour to the 3-day time frame. These divergences eventually confirmed on all time frames, shown below on the daily chart.

BTC USD daily chart. Source: TradingView

I doubled down on this position on Oct. 24 after price showed a clear swing failure pattern (SFP), wicking below a key swing low from months ago and closing above.

This is viewed as a sign that liquidity has been engineered by a large party, who has likely moved priced below a certain level to sweep stop-loss orders and fill bids by enticing traders to go short. This SFP is shown below, both on the daily and 4-hour time frames.

BTC USD daily chart. Source: TradingView

BTC USD 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView

Oct. 25th and 26th saw one of the largest daily moves in 24 hours in the history of Bitcoin, and the largest since 2011 a 40% pump.

All 3 of my targets were hit, which are illustrated below. The first target was just below the bottom of the previous trading range, a likely point of resistance. Considering the 40% move, this was a very early place to start taking profit, but I was comfortable locking in gains in an area where the price was likely to stall, if not reverse back down. I sold of my position here.

BTC USD 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView

BTC price moved quickly through the first target, and in a matter of hours had reached the top of the range, filling my second round of asks at $8,500. This accounted for another of my position closing.

At this point, I did not have an exact take profit set, as I wanted to watch price action for a good spot to close the remaining of the position Price ultimately moved above $10,000 quickly, so I moved a stop loss to just under this psychological level. It was night time where I live, so I went to sleep and woke up stopped out at just under $10,000.

This trade (alongside a massive move on Tesla) accounted for a large enough gain to fulfill my profit quota for the rest of 2019. As I always say, the less I trade, the more I make.

Entry: $8,995

Targets: $9,600, $9,809, $10,379.15, $10,943, $12,700 and some higher!

Stop loss: $8,775

As chronicled in the previous trade, Bitcoin made a massive move and then began to retrace. For me, the 40% Bitcoin pump was a sign that the downside was likely over for good, and that it was time to continue looking for long entries.

On any impulsive move, it is common to see a 50% retrace, a knee-jerk selling reaction to a massive change in market conditions. For this reason, I was eyeing the 50% retrace for an entry.

BTC USD 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView

Price dropped to the 50% level, filling my bids for a new Bitcoin position. The chart below shows fresh areas of interest I highlighted for a new trade, including the swing high ($8,995) on the 4-hour chart, immediately after the move down from late September. This is why I chose to set my bids on this line.

BTC USD 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView

The lines drawn on the above chart account for likely short-term targets, as well as area below to use for stop losses (with a bit of room beneath for a wick). I will continue to update this trade as it continues.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the (@scottmelker) 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 Diary: How Everything Went 100% Right With My $7.3K Long - Cointelegraph

Less than two miles from Icelands Reykjavik airport sits a nondescript metal building as monolithic and drab as a commercial poultry barn. Theres a deafening racket inside, too, but it doesnt come from clucking chickens. Instead, tens of thousands of whirring GPUs perform the complex, exhaustive calculations needed to verify cryptocurrency transactions and add them to the public record, otherwise known as the blockchain. Hundreds of thousands of fans blast cold air to keep the machines from overheating, aided by six giant ceiling turbines that spin with the collective force of 360 washing machines.

The facility, called Enigma and established by Genesis Mining in 2014, is easily the loudest environment that British photographer Lisa Barnard has ever documented. She visited two years ago while shooting her project Bitcoin. "The biggest thing I remember was just the noise and the flashing lights and wiring," Barnard says. "It was like being inside a computer."

The high-tech barn seems worlds away from the geysers, waterfalls, and lagoons that inspire 2.3 million tourists each year (not to mention a few Bjrk lyrics), but its as much a product of Icelands unique geology as any of those. The Nordic island country straddles the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates meet, molding a volcanic terrain webbed by glacial rivers and studded with gemstone-aquamarine lakes. The abundant water and underground heat is harnessed by hydroelectric dams and geothermal power stations to produce cheap, green electricity that facilitates the energy-intensive process of confirming cryptocurrency transactionscalled mining, since miners are rewarded for their efforts with newly minted and extremely volatile coins. The fact temperatures rarely top 57 degrees Fahrenheit also helps.

It wasn't long after Bitcoin's creation on January 3, 2009 that cryptocurrency companies began moving to Iceland. In 2016, large data centers accounted for nearly 1 percent of its GDP, with cryptocurrency mining operations making up 90 percent of those. They now use more electricity than all of Icelands homes combined, with electric bills at Enigma running more than $1 million per month. But however green the energy, miners still cant escape a dilemma as old as picks and shovels: how to extract resources without marring the landscape. According to local experts cited by The Wall Street Journal, keeping up with demand for electricity requires building more dams and power stations that could alter Icelands unique, sensitive environment.

That tension intrigues Barnard. She became interested in cryptocurrencies while working on her new book The Canary and the Hammer, a visual exploration of gold. It piqued her interest in digital gold that isnt controlled by a central bank, leading her from Bitcoin meet-ups in Japan, the first country to officially recognize cryptocurrencies, to data centers in Iceland, where theyre mined on an industrial scale. I was interested in this idea of it being an equitable currency, Barnard says, and yet it has the potential to be very destructive as far as the land is concerned.

So, after photographing Enigma, she also ventured out to Svartsengi geothermal power station (which supplies electricity to crypto-miners and water to the Insta-famous Blue Lagoon) and other sites of thermal activity. Standing before ethereal, bubbling pools, she felt an almost palpable connection to the inner workings of the earth, both terrifying and beautiful at the same time, she says. The sulphur-smelling waters steamed and hissed, many decibels below the crypto-digital roar to which theyre weirdlyand maybe inextricablylinked.

More Great WIRED Stories

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Inside the Icelandic Facility Where Bitcoin Is Mined - WIRED

The US dollar has been the worlds official reserve currency for several decades, yet many in the political sphere believe the rise of Bitcoin could end its global supremacy.

During a recent Congress hearing regarding Facebooks digital currency project Libra, US Congressman Brad Sherman warned Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have the potential to threaten the US dollars dominance over the global financial system.

Cryptocurrency either doesnt work, in which case investors lose a lot of money, or it does achieve its objectives perhaps and displaces the US dollar or interferes with the US dollar being virtually the sole reserve currency in the world, he said.

Sherman claimed the US dollars dominance over other currencies brings multiple benefits for Americans, such as profits generated by the Federal Reserve for the US Treasury and the ability to influence other countries policies and actions through the use of economic sanctions.

We stand to lose all that because cryptocurrency is the currency of the crypto-patriot, Sherman argued.

Beating the dollars monopoly

This isnt the first time politicians have expressed concerns about the impact of Bitcoin on the US dollar. In a May 2018 interview with CNBC, St Louis Fed President James Bullard said while Bitcoin is not a threat at this point, we dont know how the futures going to unfold.

He added: The dollar has been the winner historically because its backed by the largest economy and a relatively stable policy in terms of low inflation, and thats going to be tough to beat. But a lot of people here want to beat it.

Meanwhile, a Congressional report released at the end of 2013 warned that if greater use of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies leads to multiple monetary units, the stability offered by a single, incumbent currency (the US dollar) could be threatened, particularly if new currencies continue to exhibit high volatility.

The authors said that if Bitcoins are substituted for dollars on a systematic, long-term basis, it would decrease the need to hold dollars and increase the supply of fiat money. This could reduce the demand for dollars, which would affect the rate of circulation.

In this case, for the Fed to maintain the same degree of monetary accommodation, it would need to undertake a compensating tightening of monetary policy, the report said.

At a minimum, a substantial use of Bitcoins could make the measurement of velocity more uncertain, and judging the appropriate stance of monetary policy uncertain.

Crypto appeal grows

Although any potential threat to the US dollar looks a long way off, the substantial rise in Bitcoins value relative to the US dollar is likely to cause heightened concerns. Some analysts reckon the BTC/USD price could reach $100,000 by the end of 2021.

Several countries around the world have also made moves to shift away from the US dollars influence. Iran, for instance, recently launched its own cryptocurrency, and a group of several West African states plan to adopt a single fiat currency called the eco by 2020.

The biggest disruption to the US dollars influence, however, could be the issuance of a digital currency by a major central bank. If national digital currencies enable faster and cheaper international money transfers, they could be seen as realistic alternatives to the US dollar.

Viable alternative

Whether it is Bitcoin, a national digital currency, or another type of cryptocurrency, there is certainly a growing movement to replace a fiat-based, single-issuer global reserve currency with a sovereign-free, algorithm-based alternative. Many argue it would be more stable and trustworthy than the US dollar.

The main arguments against Bitcoin as an alternative are, firstly, a global currency needs to have a flexible supply and, secondly, Bitcoin is too volatile to become a universal settlement token for trading contracts. Some experts, however, argue Bitcoins volatility can be overcome by hedging exposure and not necessarily against the US dollar, but against currency issued by a central bank directly on the Bitcoin blockchain.

At the moment, it seems unlikely that major businesses and governments will give up their preference for fiat, which gives them a degree of control. But as Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies start to mature and gain wider acceptance, its easy to imagine a future in which the US dollar isnt the worlds sole reserve currency.

The post Why Bitcoin is a perceived threat to the US dollar appeared first on Coin Rivet.

Originally posted here:

Why Bitcoin is a perceived threat to the US dollar - Yahoo Finance

Ethereum price is facing an uphill task versus the US Dollar, similar to bitcoin. ETH price could continue to trade in a range before the next move either above $186 or below $178.

In the past few sessions, Ethereum was seen trading in a range above the $178 support against the US Dollar. ETH price made a couple of attempts to start a fresh increase, but it faced a strong resistance near the $185 and $186 levels.

The last swing high was near $186 before the price declined below the $182 and $180 levels. Moreover, there was a close below the $182 support and the 100 hourly simple moving average. A low was formed near $179 and the price is currently correcting higher.

It surpassed the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the recent decline from the $186 high to $179 low. However, the $182 level and the 100 hourly SMA are acting as a strong hurdle for the bulls.

Additionally, the 50% Fib retracement level of the recent decline from the $186 high to $179 low is acting as a resistance. More importantly, there is a key bearish trend line forming with resistance near $182 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD.

Therefore, an upside break above the $182 resistance might push Ethereum price higher. On the upside, the main resistances are near $185 and $186. A clear break above $186 is needed for upside acceleration in the near term.

On the downside, an immediate support is near the $180 level. If there are more downsides, the price could revisit the range support area near the $178 level. A clear break below the $178 support could spark more losses towards $175 and $170.

Looking at the chart, Ethereum price is trading in a range above the $178 support and below the $186 resistance. It may perhaps continue to trade in a range before the next move, which could be either towards the $200 barrier or the $165 support area.

Hourly MACD The MACD for ETH/USD is slowly moving into the bullish zone.

Hourly RSI The RSI for ETH/USD is currently recovering, but it is still below the 50 level.

Major Support Level $178

Major Resistance Level $185

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Ethereum (ETH) Consolidating Below $190, Bitcoin Holding $9K - newsBTC

Last week, the total crypto market capitalization surged over 40% to reach a high of $267 billion. During this time, approximately $77 billion was injected into the market. Bitcoin jumped over 42% while Ethereum and XRP rose nearly 30%. Despite the bullish impulse, these cryptocurrencies entered a consolidation phase and could be on the verge of a significant breakout.

After a massive $3,150 upswing that occurred between Oct. 23-26, bitcoin seems to have stabilized within a trading range. This area is defined by the lower and upper Bollinger bands that sit around $9,055 and $9,450, respectively. As the Bollinger bands squeeze, indicating low volatility, they foresee that a period of high volatility could be underway. Trading between these support and resistance levels poses high-risk exposure and must be considered a no-trade zone.

If bitcoin moves below $9,055, the selling pressure behind it may increase, taking it to $8,550 or $7,900. On the other hand, a spike in volume that allows this cryptocurrency to break above $9,450 could be succeeded by a further upward advance to $10,000 or $10,800.

CCN reached out to Michal van de Poppe, a full-time trader based in Amsterdam, to gather his opinion about the current state of the market. The technical analyst believes bitcoin has bottomed out and already begun a new uptrend.

According to van de Poppe:

Bitcoin has bottomed out of the correction wave and is in a range period right now. This means that the period is seemingly comparable with February-March of this year in which Bitcoin makes some concise movements up or down, to continue [going up] afterward.

Under the current conditions, van de Poppe expects that BTC could retest the $8,600-$8,800 area before breaking upwards. The upswing could push this cryptocurrency towards $11,000, concluded the analyst.

Like bitcoin, Ethereum entered a consolidation period after the sudden spike it experienced between Oct. 23-26. Since then, Ethereum has been mostly trading between $180-$188.

The low level of volatility ETH is experiencing forced the Bollinger bands on the 4-hour chart to squeeze. This technical index estimates that a strong breakout will occur if the squeeze prolongs for an extended period.

Thus far, the Bollinger Bands have been squeezing for over a week; if this cryptocurrency moves below $180, a further correction to $170 or even $160 is likely to happen. Conversely, surging above $188 could trigger an increase in demand for Ethereum, resulting in a move to $197 or $213.

Nonetheless, van de Poppe noticed that Ethereum recently broke out of a falling wedge pattern. This is a technical formation that usually estimates a trend reversal from bearish to bullish. As a result, a spike in volume could take ETH to $230, said Michal.

Ethereum broke out of a falling wedge structure, which was massive due to the support and resistance flip of $160. Id be wanting to see whether $173-175 holds as support. If it does, we can start targeting upwards levels around $230, added the technical analysis specialist.

The recent upswing seen across the entire market allowed XRP to bounce off the bottom of an ascending parallel channel that has been developing on its 4-hour chart since Sept. 26. Even though the sudden increase in volume got this cryptocurrency to hit the top of the channel, it was not strong enough for a further advance. XRP then pulled back to the bottom of the ascending parallel channel and continues to trade around this area since then.

If XRP breaks below the lower parallel line of the channel, it could plunge to $0.266 or $0.24. However, van de Poppe stated that this cryptocurrency could likely benefit from the Swell FOMO, like it always does.

As explained in a previous article, Ripples Swell is an invite-only annual conference that brings together some of the most prominent figures in the financial services and payments sector. XRP could skyrocket in anticipation of the announcements that will be made during the event, which takes place between Nov. 7-8.

A close above the $0.30 resistance level could allow XRP to jump to $0.47, as stated by the 40-years trading veteran, Peter Brandt.

After last weeks upswing, the top three cryptocurrencies by market cap have been staggered within a trading range. As a result, their volatility decreased substantially in the last few days. CryptoVince, a well-known trader in the crypto community, told CCN that, at the moment, the market is giving mixed signals. Due to this fact, Vince believes that the overall sentiment is neutral.

I want to see if buyers can defend Bitcoins price above $9,000 and if it can stay above the 200-day moving average. If not, I will be looking at the daily breaker block around $8,000. On the other hand, in case of a bullish breakout, I would like to see BTC holding above the 100-day moving average, added CryptoVince.

Based on these various perspectives, it seems like it will be wiser for investors to wait for confirmation before entering a trade.

Disclaimer: The technical analysis above should not be considered trading advice from CCN. The writer owns bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies. He holds investment positions in different cryptos but does not engage in short-term or day-trading.

This article was edited by Sam Bourgi.

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Bitcoin, Ethereum and XRP Prepare for Volatility; Bullish or Bearish? - CCN.com

Over the past few weeks, Ether (ETH) has tracked Bitcoins (BTC) price action and observant traders have deftly played reversals off double bottoms and back to back bounces at the $162 and $153 support. A comparison of the daily and weekly charts of Ether and Bitcoin highlights a number of similarities, chiefly, the Doji candle set right outside the upper arm of a wedge pattern. Ether, like Bitcoin, is consolidating into a tightening range as Bitcoin cools off and searches for direction after the meteoric 42% rally on Oct. 25.

Crypto market data weekly view. Source: Coin360

With the weekly close approaching, traders are probably enjoying the weekend and waiting for the candle close to provide some insight into what direction the market might take going forward. Lets take a look at the charts to see where Ether price might go.

ETH USD daily chart. Source: TradingView

Similar to Bitcoin, Ether trades outside of a descending channel (wedge for Ether) in a tightening range. On the daily timeframe, the 12 exponential moving average (EMA) has pulled slightly above the 26-EMA and the volume profile visible range (VPVR) shows that

Ether needs to clear $184.27 and $185.12 to gain above the high volume node of the range. As has been custom over the past weeks, double bottoms patterns have provided pleasant results and the recent double bottom at $177.60 was followed by successive 4.30% gains

ETH USD daily chart. Source: TradingView

Like Bitcoin, the Bollinger Bands are drawing closer together and Ether rides atop the middle moving average of the indicator. As is customary of crypto assets before they make an up or downside move, trading volume has steadily decreased and the trading range has tightened.

A move to $187 would clear the high volume nodes of the VPVR at $180 to $184 and also move price to the upper arm of the Bollinger Band indicator. This could lead to a move to $191, a 5% gain, and also give Ether the opportunity to set a lower high at $193.

Ultimately, traders would like to see Ether set a higher high above $194, a point which also aligns with the 200-day moving average and the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level. This would bring the price closer to $204 which has been the first sell target since the double bottom at $153 on Oct. 23.

The ETH/BTC pair looks relatively unchanged since the last analysis and the altcoin sill needs to rise above 0.021100 satoshis (sats) and 0.021961 (sats) to spark traders interest.

ETH BTC weekly chart. Source: TradingView

Currently, Ether price action can be described as neutral, hence the neutral Doji candlestick directly outside of the descending wedge on the weekly timeframe. On the weekly timeframe, Bitcoin is also in a similar position but is attempting to overcome the $9,400 resistance.

Investors are well aware of the fact that Ether tends to follow Bitcoins price action so its likely Ether could mirror whatever path Bitcoin takes as the weekly close approaches.

ETH BTC weekly MACD. Source: TradingView

On the weekly timeframe, the moving average convergence divergence (MACD) is pulling toward the signal line which is descending. The weekly Stochastic RSI (Stoch) is also steadily ascending towards bullish territory.

While this is encouraging, for the past 4-weeks Ether price has been capped by the 20-week moving average (WMA) and it's clear that this moving average needs to be taken out before Ether can continue towards the 61.8 Fibonacci retracement level at $197.55.

Ultimately, either an increase in trading volume or a bullish breakout from Bitcoin is needed to push Ethers price higher. With the weekly close fast approaching, we will all just have to wait and see. Buying on the dips to $153, $160, and $166 has proven to be a successful strategy since Aug. 29 so in the event that Ether turns bearish into the weekly close there might be some lucrative trading opportunities.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author (@HorusHughes) 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.

Link:

Ether and Bitcoin Price Look for Direction After Last Weeks 42% Rally - Cointelegraph

Bitcoin price is trading above key supports near $9,000 and $9,200 against the US Dollar. BTC must stay above $8,600 to remain in uptrend and start a fresh increase.

This past week, there was a slow and steady decline in bitcoin below the $8,400 support against the US Dollar. Moreover, BTC price also traded below the $8,200 support area. Finally, it spiked below the $8,000 support, but remained well above the 100 simple moving average (4-hours).

A swing low was formed near $8,960 and the price recently started an upward move. There was a break above the $8,100 and $8,200 resistance levels to start a decent increase.

More importantly, there was a break above a key contracting triangle with resistance near $9,240 on the 4-hours chart of the BTC/USD pair. At the moment, the price is trading near the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $10,584 high to $8,960 low.

If there are more gains, the price could continue to rise towards the $9,500 and $9,600 resistance levels. Besides, the main resistance is near the $9,770 level. It represents the 50% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $10,584 high to $8,960 low.

On the downside, there are many supports between $9,200 and $8,960. If there is a bearish break below the $8,960 swing low, there are chances of a sharp decline. The next key support is near $8,600 and the 100 simple moving average (4-hours).

Therefore, the $8,500 and $8,600 support levels are likely to play an important role. As long as the price is above the $8,500 support, there are chances of a fresh increase above the $9,500 level.

Bitcoin Price

Looking at the chart, bitcoin price is clearly showing signs of bullish continuation above $9,500. Having said that, a clear break above the $9,500 and $9,770 resistance levels is needed for uptrend acceleration. In the mentioned case, the price is likely to revisit $10,580.

4 hours MACD The MACD for BTC/USD is slowly gaining pace in the bullish zone.

4 hours RSI (Relative Strength Index) The RSI for BTC/USD is now moving well above the 50 level.

Major Support Level $8,960

Major Resistance Level $9,500

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Bitcoin (BTC) Price Weekly Forecast: Signs of Bullish Continuation - newsBTC

The crypto giant Ripple continues to sign up more banks around the world onits global network RippleNet. As reported by U.Today previously, in Asia and Japan, Ripple is pushing its blockchain technology forward via its partner -the financial giant SBI.

The first step on its path will be the collaboration of the Money Tap payment app running on RippleNet with PayPay another popular Japanese payment app.

More good news is thatnow Ripple may be rolling out to Vietnam.

In a recent interview, the TPBanks CEO, Nguyen Hung, confirmed that TPBank plans to collaborate with SBI for faster transactions.

Image via Vietnaminsider

RippleNet was created in collaboration between Ripple Labs and SBI Ripple Asia, based on the nascent blockchain technology. Unlike traditional systems, such as SWIFT, RippleNet transactions just take minutes to complete and get the money sent to any part of the world, regardless of the distance.

As reported by U.Today, a while ago, Ripples investment company Xpring acquired Strata Labs, a small startup that is busy building the Interledger (ILP) network.

Prior to that, in August, Xpring had also boughtEquilibrium Connect to streamline the Interledger adoption. Now, Xpring intends to let developers build their own decentralized projects on the ILP network using Stratas proprietary code.

What are your thoughts on the possible Ripples entrance into the Vietnamese market? Feel free to share them in the comments under the article!

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Bitcoin Will Suffer If China Coin Gets Backed by Gold Peter Schiff Responds to Max Keiser - U.Today