Bitcoin Pinned Below $70,000: Will Spot BTC ETF Rivalry Improve Sentiment?

Posted on April 5, 2024 by Dalmas Ngetich

Bitcoin is stable when writing. However, even with the confidence among traders, the coin is unable to break free from the grasp of determined sellers. Prices are still inside the bear bar of April 2, meaning BTC is within a bear breakout formation. This preview remains as long as prices are below the $68,500 and $70,000 resistance zone, clear in the daily chart.

In the past 24 hours, Bitcoin is steady, adding 2%. Looking at the previous week, the coin is down 5%. Still, the recovery in the past 48 hours is visible. So far, the average trading volume in the past 24 hours is up 20% to around $36 billion.

Traders are closely monitoring the following Bitcoin news events:

Rumors are that Morgan Stanley and UBS plan to list spot Bitcoin ETFs. With this, Morgan Stanley is reportedly keen to beat UBS. The stiff competition between these two players is very bullish for the broader crypto landscape.
Today, traders will be looking at job reports in the United States. If labor conditions improve, the position of the Federal Reserve on monetary policy will be swayed, impacting crypto prices.

Bitcoin Price Analysis

[[BTC/USD]] is bearish when writing.

Even though the uptrend remains, the path of least resistance in the short term is evident.

Resistance levels remain at $68,500 and the $70,000 level. However, Bitcoin bulls must break above $71,700 for the trend to be clear.

If gains of the past two days are reversed, BTC might glide to as low as $60,000 in a bear trend continuation pattern. This formation might offer aggressive traders an opportunity.

Bitcoin Is Flat, Bears Pressing and Targeting $60,000

Posted on April 4, 2024 by Dalmas Ngetich

Bitcoin remains within a bearish formation when writing. Of note, bulls couldn’t rewind losses of April 2 and currently remain under pressure from resilient sellers. Even though the upside remains from a top-down preview, the 6% slump in the past week, coupled with the drop on April 2, swings price action to favor sellers.

At spot rates, Bitcoin is relatively stable in the past trading day. In the previous week, the coin is down 6%. With traders playing safe, associated trading volume is also down 29% in the past 24 hours. Unless there is a confirmation of recent losses, participation will likely remain suppressed.

In the next 24 hours, the following Bitcoin news event might influence sentiment:

Asher Genoot, the CEO of Hut 8 Mining, thinks the upcoming Bitcoin halving event will be on a “different scale.” With rewards dropping, the executive says operators need to develop ways of streamlining costs and remaining lean.
In March 2024, spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted over $111 billion in trading volume, nearly 3X that of February. It remains to be seen whether this momentum will continue in April, considering the slowdown in the BTC upside momentum.

Bitcoin Price Analysis

[[BTC/USD]] is under pressure at spot rates, looking at the performance in the daily chart.

With BTC prices inside the bear bar of April 2, sellers are in a commanding position.

Technically, the immediate resistance remains at around $68,500 and $69,000.

On the lower end, support is at $64,500.

A breakout in either direction will set the motion for the next phase.

Losses below $64,500 might see Bitcoin tumbling to as low as $60,000, extending the current retracement.

Conversely, the explosion of prices above $69,000 and $71,700 will be the launchpad for a retest of the all-time high of $73,800.

Ethereum Is Flat; Will Spot ETH ETF Hopes Recharge Bulls?

Posted on April 4, 2024 by Dalmas Ngetich

Ethereum is within a bear breakout formation, looking at price action in the daily chart. Even though buyers are optimistic, the failure of bulls to confirm the uptrend and reverse recent losses dampens optimism. In the coming days, ETH might recover. However, for this to happen, there must be a strong bounce from current levels above $3,700, ideally with rising trading volume.

Currently, ETH is flat, adding 1% in the past 24 hours. Over the previous trading week, the coin is down 7%. Sellers remain in charge in the short term as long as prices are within the April 2 bear bar. So far, the average trading volume is the previous day is down 30% to over $13 billion.

In the next 24 hours, the following Ethereum news events might impact prices:

The United States SEC has opened comments on spot Ethereum ETFs filed by Grayscale, Fidelity, and Bitwise. The public has three weeks to input their comments. This comes as a boost for ETH, a token the regulator, some reports suggest, considered a security.
Ethereum continues to decentralize. According to trackers, there are now over 1 million validators staking approximately $110 billion worth of ETH. This amount translates to around 26% of the total supply.

Ethereum Price Analysis

[[ETH/USD]] momentum is swinging in favor of sellers, looking at the candlestick arrangement in the daily chart.

The wide-ranging bear bar of April 2 still defines the current price action.

Since Ethereum prices are within this range, sellers are in control from an effort-versus-result perspective.

A dump below $3,200 and $3,100 zone, marking March 20 lows, might trigger a sell-off; heaping more pressure on the coin.

On the other hand, a recovery pushing prices above the middle BB and peeling back recent losses might rejuvenate buyers.

A key liquidation level remains at $3,700, above the 20-day moving average.

XRP Cracks under Pressure: A Run Back to $0.50 Incoming?

Posted on April 4, 2024 by Dalmas Ngetich

XRP is dropping, extending losses, as evident in the daily chart. After days of sideways movement, the double top formation has been validated. As such, the coin might continue printing lower lows in the sessions ahead. So far, XRP is down 22% from March 2024 highs, and under pressure.

When writing, the path of least resistance has been defined to be southwards. XRP is now down 2% from the previous day, with sellers taking over. There are now three consecutive bear bars, pointing to weakness and the inability of buyers to maintain the uptrend.

At spot rates, the associated trading volume in the past 24 hours is down 11% to over $1.5 billion. Traders are taking a wait-and-see approach, pointing to general caution.

In the meantime, the following Ripple and XRP news might shape price action:

Ripple, the blockchain company, sent 1 billion XRP to a wallet. This amount will be locked until 2027. As more coins are taken out of circulation, this could support prices. For this reason, analysts remain hopeful, expecting prices to bounce above $0.66.
In a recent statement, Ripple now says the incorporation of their cross-border solution has seen SCB Thailand process transactions within a minute. So far, over 80,000 monthly transactions have been processed. There are other multiple financial processors using On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) for cross-border transfers, boosting Ripple and XRP’s utility.

XRP Price Analysis

[[XRP/USD]] is cracking under pressure at spot rates.

As XRP prices slip, the coin continues to drift away from the recent consolidation and chop of between $0.58 and $0.66.

This suggests that the coin is breaking lower, supporting the bearish preview.

As long as prices remain below $0.58, the coin may retest $0.50; an opportunity for sellers.

This bearish preview will only change if there is a sharp break above $0.66, aligning price action with bulls of March 11.

Forex Signals Brief April 5: Swiss CPI and ECB Minutes Today

Posted on April 4, 2024April 4, 2024 by Skerdian Meta

Yesterday started with the CPI (Consumer Price Index) from the Eurozone, which showed a larger-than-expected decline, from 2.6% to 2.4%. However, that didn’t hurt the Euro, which closed the day 100 pips higher against the USD as the US ISM services missed expectations, initiating a retreat in the USD.

The ECB minutes might offer some more insight into the June rate cut plans

Continue reading “Forex Signals Brief April 5: Swiss CPI and ECB Minutes Today” →

Coinbase finally adopts Bitcoin Lightning network

Posted on April 4, 2024 by Olumide Adesina

The Chief executive of Coinbase, Brian Armstrong recently announced the American-based crypto exchange is now integrating the Bitcoin Lightning network. The Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange has chosen Lightspark, a provider of lightning network-based payment infrastructure, in aiding the integration of Bitcoin Lightning Network, according to a statement released on April 3.

Some people in the crypto community in the past have questioned Coinbase more over the past year about why it hasn’t implemented the scaling solution, particularly since significant competitors like Binance have done so.

Coinbase will use the Lightspark’s remote-key signing mechanism as part of this agreement. This would enable Lightspark to oversee the Lightning node infrastructure while Coinbase would maintain control of the Lightning signing keys. This shared responsibility model relieves Coinbase’s team of the difficulty in overseeing a large-scale implementation.

Lightspark has demonstrated significant progress in streamlining the management of Lightning nodes. Its development tools, SDKs, and APIs all provide easy connectivity with the Lightning Network. Additionally, to amplify transaction success rates, the exchange’s AI-powered smart engine, Lightspark Predict, will optimize liquidity requirements in real time.

Coinbase gains some benefits from the connection, including the ability to utilize Lightspark’s node infrastructure while freeing up staff members to concentrate on customer-focused projects.

Furthermore, by improving scalability and transaction efficiency, the partnership will benefit the Bitcoin network, especially during periods of higher transaction fees. Additionally, by giving the Bitcoin network liquidity, it establishes the foundation for potential future use cases.

“We’re excited to partner with Lightspark to eliminate payment barriers and enable faster and cheaper Bitcoin transactions through support for the Bitcoin Lightning Network,” stated Shan Aggarwal, Vice President of Corporate & Business Development at Coinbase.

Forex Signals Brief April 3: Awaiting EU CPI Inflation and Powell’s Speech

Posted on April 3, 2024April 2, 2024 by Skerdian Meta

The current market dynamics seem to be presenting a puzzling scenario, with mixed signals across different asset classes. While North American traders observed a breakout in Treasury yields, pushing the 10-year yields above the crucial 4.35% double top to reach 4.40%, the foreign exchange (FX) market did not follow suit. Instead, the US dollar faced pressure and declined throughout the day despite relatively positive economic indicators such as benign JOLTS data and indications from Fed officials suggesting the possibility of three rate cuts.

Powell will likely steal the show today, rather than the FOMC dot plot — Powell might steal the show today in the evening

Continue reading “Forex Signals Brief April 3: Awaiting EU CPI Inflation and Powell’s Speech” →

XRP Is Struggling: Will Bears Below This Key Support Zone?

Posted on April 3, 2024 by Dalmas Ngetich

XRP hasn’t been spared in the current crypto rout. At the time of writing, the coin is not only drifting lower but has also lost its spot to USDC. This flipping shows that the stablecoin’s prominence is rising, and XRP’s utility could, after all, be dropping. The coin has resistance at $0.66, but price action has been concentrated around the primary support at around $0.57 and $0.59.

At spot rates, the coin is changing hands at around $0.58, down 3% from the previous day and 7% from the last trading week. Sellers are technically in control, mirroring the general performance across the crypto scene. Unless there is a sharp close above $0.66, sellers have the upper hand, and the coin might dump in the sessions ahead.

XRP daily chart for April 3

In the past 24 hours, the following XRP and Ripple news events have been dominating headlines:

Ripple and the United States SEC are in the remedies phase, and the end could be near. Before then, the regulator is seeking $2 billion in fines and disgorgement. If the court approves this, XRP might take a beating, slipping even lower.
In the ongoing lawsuit, the United States Sec claims Ripple offered enormous discounts for certain XRP investors during their ICO. The regulator claims this created an uneven playing field, as certain participants were favored.

XRP Price Analysis

[[XRP/USD]] is moving sideways at press time.

However, sellers are in control.

Overall, XRP bulls have failed to confirm the gains of March 11, swinging price action in favor of sellers.

A break below the current support at around $0.57 and $0.59 will validate the current bearish preview.

Risk-averse traders can wait on the sidelines for a clear trend definition.

If the break out is below $0.57, confirming the bear bars of April 1 and 2, with rising volumes, XRP will likely dump faster to $0.50.

Any upswing above $0.66 and the current consolidation cancels out this preview, confirming buyers of March 11.

Ethereum Slumps: Is The ETH Uptrend Officially Over?

Posted on April 3, 2024 by Dalmas Ngetich

Ethereum is weak at spot rates, looking at the performance in the daily chart. Even though bulls appear to be in charge from the top-down preview, cracks are beginning to short. In the short term, the coin has found resistance at around $3,700. On the lower end, $3,200 is proving to be a strong support zone.

When writing, bears are in charge. Ethereum is down 3% in the past day and 8% in the last trading week. As ETH prices drop, average trading volume in the past day is up 14% to $21 billion; an indicator of possible outflow. This also shows as its market cap is also down 3% to over $396 billion.

Ethereum traders are watching the following news event:

The success of spot Bitcoin ETFs and their impact on prices is evident. Though inflow is slowing down, they still command billions in total value locked. Analysts say a similar product for Ethereum will be a game-changer. There are uncertainties, especially with the United States SEC rumored to be concerned that ETH is a security.
Besides DeFi, re-staking is an emerging market for Ethereum. Experts now say this market could be a risk because of transparency issues. This, in turn, may present additional risks as providers seek to receive maximum rewards, introducing weakness.

Ethereum Price Analysis

[[ETH/USD]] is under pressure when writing, looking at the candlestick arrangement in the daily chart.

Even though bulls are optimistic, sellers have been rampant, looking at events in the last 24 hours.

Ethereum is currently in a bear breakout formation, unable to shake the losses of mid-March 2024.

The immediate resistance level is at $3,700.

Conversely, support is at $3,200.

Since sellers didn’t confirm the close above the middle BB, and the losses of April 2 were pumped by high trading volume, traders can search for shorts.

The immediate target in that case will be the March 20 lows at around $3,200.

Any breakout above $3,700 invalidates this bearish outlook.

Bitcoin Slips As US Treasury Yields Rise To 1-Year High: Will BTC Drop Some More?

Posted on April 3, 2024 by Dalmas Ngetich

Bitcoin is still struggling to recover from yesterday’s losses and is trading below key resistance levels, looking at the price action in the daily chart. As long as prices remain, sellers are in control, at least in the short term. Based on the current formation, the path of least resistance is southwards. However, bulls still have a chance from a top-down preview, especially if they reject lower prices today.

Presently, Bitcoin is stable in the last 24 hours but down 6% in the previous week. Of note, the coin’s average trading volume in the last 24 hours is up 14% to $46 billion. Since prices are precarious, bulls might search for entries once a clear trend is defined. This could explain the relatively low trading volume in the past 24 hours.

The following Bitcoin news events might influence price action:

The United States government moved Bitcoin worth roughly $2 billion, which was recovered from the Silk Road. Reportedly, the batch was moved to a Coinbase wallet. The government will likely liquidate those coins. The last sale was made in March 2023.
Bitcoin remains under pressure because of rising yields and the strengthening of the USD. Trackers show that the 10-year Treasury Yield is at a 1-year high while the USD is at its highest level in almost five months.

Bitcoin Price Analysis

[[BTC/USD]] is under pressure, slipping 6% in the last trading week.

Technically, sellers are in control in the short term.

Traders can watch the $68,000 as an area of interest. It represents the breakout level after last week’s consolidation.

As long as Bitcoin prices are below this level, sellers can search for shorts, targeting $61,200 in the immediate term.

This preview will be invalid if prices break out strongly above $71,700, fueled by expanding trading volumes.