Bitcoin entered a negative slope on Thursday as traders took profits from its latest price rally. But the cryptocurrency remained above a strong technical support level.

Spot BTC/USD exchange rate was down 3.84 percent at $8,360.87 ahead of the New York morning session open. At the same time, bitcoin futures listed on CME fell by more than 6 percent. to $8,385.

The downside move followed bitcoins massive price rally at the beginning of this year. As of January 13, the cryptocurrency had jumped by 43 percent from its local bottom of $6,430, established in December last year. Part of those gains came after an escalation in US-Iran tensions raised investors appetite for haven assets.

Bitcoin climbed to its near-two-month peak of $9,194.99 on January 13 but failed to move any further as the said geopolitical tensions cooled off. Investors preferred to book profits, which resulted in the bearish correction that is currently in play.

Bitcoins dip also came at the time when investors were awaiting the outcome of the European Central Banks (ECB) monetary policy. The bank left its policy unchanged, putting a hold on rate cuts after noticing stabilization in growth in Eurozone, as well as overseas after the phase one deal agreement between the US and China.

That left the global stock market in flat range, which was yesterday in red owing to a Coronavirus epidemic in China. Traders remained anxious over a potential health crisis, which led Chinese stocks to register their biggest decline in the last eight months. Futures on Wall Street lowered, with the S&P 500 declining by 0.1 percent.

The cautious sentiment helped Gold in limiting its decline as investors remained half-dipped in safe-haven assets. Bitcoin, whose correlation to Gold increased since the beginning of the US-Iran crisis, also observed technical supports to safeguard its bullish bias.

The BTC/USD exchange rate now looks biased to retest support at circa $8,200-$8,300, a range it observed as resistance during the May-June trade session last year. Nevertheless, the absence of interim fundamentals supports an extensive fall towards $7,800, which coincides with bitcoins 200-weekly moving average wave (blacked).

Bitcoin risks fall but hold above $8.2K support | Source: TradingView.com, Coinbase

A further break below brings bitcoin inside the Descending Channel pattern, which risks a plunge towards $6,420 the local bottom as of now.

Meanwhile, apullback from the 200-MA or before could have bitcoin close in on $10,000 as a primary upside target. The level has served as solid support for the cryptocurrency.

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Bitcoin Plunges on Profit-taking, Losses Limited by Coronavirus Outbreak - newsBTC

Bitcoin is looking to repeat a technical pattern that crashed its price to $3,120 in late 2018.

The leading cryptocurrency by valuation made a rebound from levels near $13,920 during June 2019. It plunged by more than 53 percent in the later sessions, falling to establish a local bottom towards $6,410. Entering January 2020, an upside recovery pushed bitcoins rate to a swing top of $9,190.

The latest move uphill improved the cryptocurrencys interim bullish bias. Analysts predicted further gains, expecting that investors would consider bitcoin as a haven against gloomy macroeconomic sentiments, including the Federal Reserves injection of $500 billion into the repo market that could raise demand for hedging assets.

Nevertheless, a dreaded technical indicator is giving an alarming view of the bitcoin market. It shows that the cryptocurrencys recent gains are a part of a more prominent drop that may come later and crash the price to as low as $2,300.

So it appears, the bitcoins latest price cycle is strikingly similar to the one it formed upon establishing circa $20,000 as its all-time high.

Cycle 1 in the chart below shows the price corrected wildly upon the top formation. It made lower highs on each move upward while maintaining the long-term selling outlook. As it did, bitcoin also formed a Death Cross when its long-term moving average (blacked) closed below its near-term moving average (blued).

Bitcoin mirroring its bearish moves of 2018 in 2020 | Source: TradingView.com, BitMEX

The cryptocurrency later struggled to move above the blued wave. And the more the price stayed below it, the higher the selling sentiment grew. Nine months after the formation of the Death Cross, the bitcoin-to-dollar exchange rate had totaled it plunge by 83.78 percent.

Cycle 2 appears like a dwarfed version of Cycle 1. Bitcoin is forming lower highs after forming a local top. Its move downward has remade the Death Cross. And, at last, the price is struggling to break above the blued wave the long-term moving average as is visible in bulls latest efforts.

The two widely distanced yet identical cycles serves a warning sign: Bitcoins downtrend is far from over and its price could at least plunged by 83 percent. That would bring the bears downside target close to circa $2,300.

Observing bitcoin on a larger timeframe, such as a weekly one, improves the cryptocurrencys bullish scenario. As covered by NewsBTC earlier, the price has jumped above its 50-weekly MA (blacked), a bias-defining technical support/resistance.

Bitcoin closed above 200-weekly SMA to confirm a long-term bullish bias | Source: TradingView.com, Coinbase

Meanwhile, on the daily chart, defending the same 50-period support could reduce the possibility of a breakdown towards $2,300.

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Bitcoin Indicator that Crashed Price to $3.1K Returns: The Dreaded Death Cross - newsBTC

More than US$11 billion has been stolen from supposedly secure crypto exchanges, wallets and mining platforms since 2011, mostly due to hacking incidents, research from Inside Bitcoins has revealed.

For a form of currency that bases itself on safety and security, $11 billion is a pretty significant number. Stored on blockchain technology and protected by encryption keys, cryptocurrencies are supposed to be impossible to counterfeit or copy.

In fact, the currency is so secure that when the co-founder and chief of Canadian exchange QuadringaCXGerald Cotten died last year, it transpired he was the only one with the digital keys to the digital safe where all the coins were kept.

Since then, there have been questions as to whether or not Cotton actually died at all. Lawyers for Quadringas investors have even called for his body to be exhumed in order to settle the matter once and for all.

However, it turns out even crypto coins can be half-inched. According to US bitcoin publication Inside Bitcoins, there have been some 33 hacking incidents, globally, since 2011.

The exchange that fell victim to the first reported crypto hack in 2011 was also on the sharp end of the biggest hack in 2014.

In 2011, Tokyo exchange Mt.Gox was breached, losing about US$17.2 million in bitcoin.

It recovered from the incident, and by 2014, it was the leading exchange in the world, managing about 70% of all bitcoin transactions.

In February 2014, however, it suffered a second attack, losing about US$6.5 billion worth of bitcoin or six percent of all bitcoin in existence at the time.

Three years later, Mt.Gox was bankrupt.

The Mt.Gox hack of 2014 is now infamous its the subject of lengthy deep-dive articles, its explored in many tech podcasts and its even the subject of an ebook.

Three additional hacks were recorded in 2014, bringing the total loss to US$6.7 billion, and making the year an almost comical standout on a graph detailing losses over the past eight years.

By contrast, the second most-catastrophic year was 2016, which saw total losses of US$1.6 billion in cryptocurrency.

Interestingly, 2017 saw an increase in the number of hacks, but a dip in the value stolen. Its perhaps no surprise that there was more criminal interest this was the year of the crypto-boom, in which prices reached a peak of US$20,000.

However, the most hacks occurred in 2019, including that of prominent exchange Binance, which lost about US$60.5 million in bitcoin.

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Hackers have got their hands on $11 billion in stolen cryptocurrency since 2011 - SmartCompany.com.au

Source: iStock/UlyssePixel

Uzbekistans president has produced a draft decree that will see tax authorities in the country waive taxes on cryptocurrency trading and transactions for both Uzbeks and non-nationals living in the country.

As previously reported, the government has been keen to implement the new measures as well as new mining regulations since the turn of the year.

However, according to a document posted on the governments official website, the draft decree could be implemented as early as February, with a consultation period set to end at the end of this month.

The decree is entitled Measures for the further development of the circulation of [cryptocurrencies] in Uzbekistan.

Under the terms of the decree, crypto transactions would also be free from the kind of restrictions usually placed on foreign currencies.

The decree also contains further details of a proposed national mining pool, which will allow miners to make use of discounted electricity rates. Membership of the mining pool will be mandatory, and it will require miners to combine their hardware capacities.

The government will also reserve the right to conduct an emergency shutdown of all mining operations in emergency situations.

Industrial mining firms will be required to register with a regulator and obtain a license to provide transparency, the decrees authors write.

Watch the latest reports by Block TV.

The decree also includes proposals that would see the government create what it calls a Blockchain Valley a regulatory sandbox for companies looking to introduce blockchain technology and circulate [cryptocurrencies].

Emurgo, the venture arm of Cardano, is also reportedly in talks with the government in what it calls a bid to lead the development of a legal framework for security token offerings (STOs) and exchanges (STXs) in Uzbekistan.

Meanwhile, the newly opened Uzbekistan Cryptocurrency Exchange (UZNex) is the first licensed crypto exchange to open in the Turkestan region, reports Regnum. The Uzbekistani government gave its blessing to the new platform, as part of a new set of pro-crypto measures. The media outlet states that a number of blockchain departments are also set to open at some of the countrys leading universities.

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Uzbekistan to Throw its Doors Open to Tax-free Cryptocurrency Trading - Cryptonews

More than $11 billion (Dh40.37bn) worth of cryptocurrencies were stolen in different hacking incidents over the past nine years, according to a new report.

The number of hacks peaked last year, with at least eight establishments suffering breaches and losing more than $101 million, figures compiled by Inside Bitcoins, a London-based online news source for cryptocurrency showed.

However, the biggest heist was reported in 2014 with $6.68bn worth of cryptocurrencies vanishing in four different incidents.

A significant amount was lost in cryptocurrency exchange hackings. Other affected platforms include wallets and mining platforms, the report said.

The cryptocurrency market is huge, with more than 12,000 exchange marketplaces where crypto-assets like Bitcoin, Ethereum and other digital coins are traded. Account details, known as private keys in cryptocurrency parlance, can be hacked if not secured properly and the funds held in those accounts can be stolen.

The global market for cryptocurrency was valued at $574.3m in 2017, according to Transparency Market Research, a New York-based consultancy company, which forecasts the market will be worth $6.7bn by 2025 - growing at a compound annual growth rate of 31.3 per cent between 2017 and 2025.

The first hacking was reported in 2011 when Tokyo-based Mt.Gox lost around $17.2m. The hack was allegedly orchestrated from a compromised computer belonging to an auditor within the firm, said the report.

By January 2014, Mt.Gox was the leading Bitcoin exchange in the world and was controlling at least 70 per cent of all global transactions. However, the exchange suffered the biggest hack to date in February, 2014 losing $6.5bn. The company running the exchange subsequently filed for bankruptcy.

Hackers are using a variety of techniques including phishing and viruses to steal a large amount of user data, Inside Bitcoins said.

From the [incidents of] hacking data, it is clear that just like any other network, blockchain technology is [also] susceptible to hacking. This calls for collaboration between users and investors to minimise losses, it added.

Blockchain, the technology behind cryptocurrencies, is a digital chain of transactions that are linked to each other using cryptography - a mechanism for secure communications - on an open ledger.

Last year, cyber criminals stole nearly 7,000 Bitcoins worth $60.5m from Malta-based platform Binance, one of the worlds biggest cryptocurrency exchanges.

The hackers used a variety of techniques, including phishing, viruses and other attacks, said Zhao Changpeng, chief executive of Binance, on the companys blog while detailing the attacks impact.

The hackers had the patience to wait, and execute well-orchestrated actions through multiple seemingly independent accounts at the most opportune time. The transaction is structured in a way that passed our existing security checks, he added.

Despite increasing incidents of breaches, industry experts expect more users will buy cryptocurrency in the coming years.

With more marketplaces supporting cryptocurrency payments, many consumers will switch to cryptocurrency accounts that are accessible by mobile, says US researcher Gartner. By 2025, 50 per cent of people with a smartphone but without a bank account will use a mobile-accessible cryptocurrency account, the research firm said.

Updated: January 22, 2020 03:27 PM

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More than $11bn lost in cryptocurrency hacking since 2011, report says - The National

The top ten cryptocurrencies by market cap represent the crme de la crme of the cryptocurrency space, and the altcoins listed alongside Bitcoin and Ethereum there are often considered some of the best and safest investments in the space.

However, one Ethereum offshoot just exploded into the top ten cryptocurrencies by market cap after a sudden, 35% rally, shaking up the crypto market and causing analysts to scratch their heads as to why the sudden surge.

Visit CoinMarketCap and look at the historical snapshots of the top ten cryptocurrencies by market cap throughout the years and months of the past, and youll see many altcoins popping in and out of that list that you may not recognize.

Related Reading | Ready for Liftoff: Altcoin Market Cap Breaks Out of Downtrend

While the list has been regularly dominated by Ripple, Ethereum, and Litecoin, the rest of the top ten regularly fluctuates, depending on which coin is currently experiencing a lot of hype.

But in the latest case of a new crypto asset entering the top ten and with its entry, pushes out another crypto asset, there doesnt appear to be any sudden hype or unusual levels of buzz causing the surge.

Ethereum Classic, the OG Ethereum protocol, has surged over 35% on the day, pushing the altcoin into the top ten cryptocurrencies by market cap.

While its certainly notable that the altcoin has enjoyed an over 35% surge on the day, the real story is that Ethereum Classic is up over 250% over the last 30 days, helping propel it into the top ten cryptocurrencies by market cap, and pushing out Tron, Stellar, and Monero.

Ethereum Classic, like many other altcoins and even the total crypto market cap sans Bitcoin, have all broken out from local downtrend resistance, causing widespread FOMO and skyrocketing cryptocurrency prices.

In just 30 days, the total altcoin market has added over $25 billion in value.

With such massive gains, these assets are bound to correct and correct hard when it happens. Parabolic rallies, as was seen during the crypto hype bubble, often lead to as much as 80% corrections or more. The last major correction wiped out as much as 99% of the value of most altcoins, however, that correction was coming off of multiple thousand percent gains across the board.

Related Reading | Bitcoin Dominance Could Be Poised for Extended Downtrend As Alts Rally

This latest rally wont suffer as deep a correction, but a pullback is almost a certainty. As the days go by, the breakout from downtrend resistance is looking more and more like the bear market could be coming to an end for altcoins, which could lead to another alt season where the asset class outperforms Bitcoin by a wide margin.

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How an Ethereum Offshoot Became a Top 10 Cryptocurrency After an Abrupt 35% Rally - newsBTC

Cryptocurrency investors who fell for an alleged pyramid scheme that resulted in losses of more than$2.46 million (THB75 million) have asked Thailands Department of Special Investigation (DSI) to investigate.

According to the Bangkok Post, the cryptocurrency project, known as Khung Nong Cryptocurrency Trading, became famous in parts of the country in 2018.

The scheme allegedly promised maximum returns of 8 percent per week, attracting individuals fromKrabi, Trang, Yala, Pattani, and Narathiwat who sold their assets including cars, businesses, and land in order to invest.

[Read:Thailands oldest bank hints at new blockchain app powered by Ripple]

Human rights activistPhadungsak Tienpairoj, who has referred 20 victims to the DSI, has now reportedly taken up the case and prompted the department to investigate alongside law enforcement in the Krabi province.

Thailand made headlines in November 2018 as it prepared to launch its first regulated initial coin offering (ICO) portal in a bid to reinforce its tough stance on cryptocurrency and blockchain.

Although todays news wont bring total solace to victims, its certainly a step in the right direction if theyre ever to recover the lost funds.

Published January 17, 2020 14:30 UTC

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Thailand launches probe into $2.46M cryptocurrency pyramid scam - The Next Web

This week, the cryptocurrency market caught fire with Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and many others going on massive rallies and breaking through downtrend resistance, letting crypto investors breathe a collective sigh of relief that the bottom is likely in.

However, when looking at the charts of one of the top-performing crypto assets of the week, one particular altcoin had fallen to new lows after the December 2018 bottom. The chart also shares a striking resemblance to Bitcoin and Ethereums price charts, which could suggest that the two largest crypto assets by market cap havent reached their final bottom.

Following Bitcoins highly publicized meteoric rise to $20,000 in 2017, the cryptocurrency asset corrected, falling into an over year-long bear market.

Meanwhile, Ethereums massive rise to its all-time high fueled by the ICO boom also fizzled our, caused the asset to drop as much as 90% in value to lows around $80.

Related Reading | Ready for Liftoff: Altcoin Market Cap Breaks Out of Downtrend

Come December 2018, nearly a full year after the two assets set their peak prices on record, they fell to their bear market bottoms where they consolidated for months, then went on a powerful rally in early April.

These rallies topped out in late June 2019, sending the decentralized duo back into a downtrend that they only now may be breaking out from.

However, when looking at the price chart of the privacy-focused cryptocurrency Dash, the altcoin not only followed the same path as Bitcoin and Ethereums but Dash ultimately set a new, lower bear market low, before exploding into a massive, parabolic rally this week. When other crypto assets rallies ended, Dash kept right on going suggesting something else could be at play.

When applying Elliott Wave Theory to the price action, the cryptocurrency markets move up in April 2019 could be considered an ABC corrective wave, which would suggest that a new lower low at the C wave must be set before a new impulse wave upward can begin.

Elliott Wave Theory focuses on human emotions and psychology and how it applies to price action. According to the commonly used technical analysis theory, waves are broken into 5-wave impulse waves and 3-wave corrective waves.

Given the advance that cryptocurrencies had during their 2017 bull market, it would be considered an impulse wave upward. Following impulse waves, come corrective waves in the opposite direction, before another impulse wave upward can begin. Corrective waves trend down for A, up for B, then back down lower than A to the C low.

When looking back at past Bitcoin bear markets, an ABC correction can be seen during the 2014 downtrend, setting a new, lower low before ultimately going back on a bull run the bull run that put cryptocurrency on the map in the first place.

Related Reading | Elliott Wave Theory Suggests Bitcoin May Be Due For Biggest Correction Yet

Should history repeat itself, and it often does, Bitcoin and Ethereum would need to set a new, lower low, before the next impulse wave upward and bull market can begin again.

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This Surprising Cryptocurrency May Hold Clues to Bitcoin and Ethereums Final Bottom - newsBTC

Wall Streets interest in the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency markets is booming, according to the digital asset manager Grayscale.

The firm says 2019 was its biggest year on record, with the yearly investment into its products reaching $607.7 million.

That number surpasses the cumulative investment from the last five years combined. The total investment across Grayscales products now stands at $1.17 billion.

Grayscale says its investor base expanded by about 24% in 2019, with new clients accounting for $146.9 million.

The firm offers exposure to Bitcoin through its flagship product, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC). It also offers altcoin trusts, including Ethereum, XRP, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Stellar, Zcash, Ethereum Classic and Horizen.

Grayscale says 36% of clients now have allocations to multiple products, with the remaining 64% invested in a single product.

A recent report from Charles Schwab found that Grayscale Bitcoin Trust is the fifth most-held equity holding by its millennial investors, ahead of Disney and Netflix.

Featured Image: Shutterstock/LevLev

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Investors Pumped $608 Million Into Bitcoin (BTC) and Cryptocurrency Funds in Record Year, Says Hedge Fund Giant Grayscale - The Daily Hodl

Cryptocurrency bulls need some rest after a sharp rally that took some coins to multi-months highs. Bitcoin and major altcoins have been under pressure on Thursday; however, the move can still be qualified as a natural correction from overbought levels. The cryptocurrency market capitalization decreased to $239 billion, while an average daily trading volume reduced to $130 billion from $176 billion this time on Wednesday. Bitcoin's market dominance is jumped to to 66.5%.

The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization retreated from the recent high of $8,900 on Wednesday and retreated to $8,737 by press time. The coin has stayed mostly unchanged on a day-to-day basis and since the beginning of the day. Despite the retreat, BTC/USD is still trading above critical $8,500, which means that the upside momentum maybe resumed after a short pause. The short-term trend remains bullish, however, the volatility is low

Ethereum hit $171.67 on Wednesday only to drop back to $163.00 by the time of writing. The strong downside move was caused by technical correction on the market. ETH/USD has lost about 2% since the beginning of the day. From the short-term perspective, the coin is moving within a bullish trend amid low volatility.

Ripple retreated to $0.2270 after a short-lived move above $0.2400. The third-largest digital asset has been losing ground after the support of $0.2300 gave way. XRRP/USD has lost over 3% since the beginning of Thursday, moving in sync with the market. The short-term trend is bullish.

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Cryptocurrency Market Update: Bitcoin bulls hit the pause button, altcoins follow the lead - FXStreet