Bitcoin sparks liquidations as analyst says BTC price may dip 12% more

April 17, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin

Bitcoin loses 3% on the day, with the start of Wall Street trading failing to rescue BTC price from the loss of $30,000.

Bitcoin (BTC) headed lower into the April 17 Wall Street open as downside began liquidating longs.

*BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView*

Bitcoin price tipped for break below $29,000

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD wicking to $29,247 on Bitstamp — its lowest in a week.

Gains for Asian stocks failed to rescue the losses on the day, these beginning immediately after the April 16 weekly close.

Traders, many of whom had predicted a retest of $30,000 support, were unsurprised, with many hoping that the event would form a “buy-the-dip” opportunity before Bitcoin moved higher.

Popular trader Crypto Ed said that BTC/USD had “swept the lows,” while others focused on the area around $28,500 as a potential bottom zone.

$BTC

Some level of support at 29.2 may gave some reaction but 28.6 will be the retest of a major level and a significant one at that. https://t.co/LASJfYoZmb pic.twitter.com/sdLrP51082
— XO (@Trader_XO) April 17, 2023

“BTC bid ladders down to $28.5k want to get filled, but it's worth noting that the phrase, ‘There are no straight lines in trading’ applies in both directions,” monitoring resource Material Indicators summarized, noting shifts in liquidity on the Binance order book.

*BTC/USD order book data (Binance). Source: Material Indicators/ Twitter*

Material Indicators co-founder Keith Alan eyed the 21-day moving average at $28,860 as short-term support.

Should this fail to hold, he said, it might spark a retest of the 200-week moving average at $25,860 — around 12% lower than the current spot price and 16.5% below the recent local high.

#Bitcoin starting the week with some downside volatility. If Technical Support at the 21-Day Moving Average doesn't hold, I expect a long awaited retest of the 200 Week Moving Average. #NFA pic.twitter.com/jPksE4sAIh
— Keith Alan (@KAProductions) April 17, 2023

Despite the broad optimism, Bitcoin bulls were feeling the pain at the time of writing, with long liquidations for April 17 totaling nearly $29 million according to data from Coinglass. Cross-crypto liquidations stood at nearly $67 million.

“Key level here for Bitcoin,” financial commentator Tedtalksmacro added.

“Reclaiming $29.7k is key for new highs... you wanted dip, this is the dip!”

*Bitcoin liquidations chart. Source: Coinglass*

U.S. dollar seeks "telegraphed" double bottom

U.S. equities saw a muted reaction at the open, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index both up by around 0.1%.

The U.S. dollar made more solid gains, with the U.S. dollar index (DXY) above 102 after bouncing from its lowest levels in a year.

*U.S. dollar index (DXY) 1-day candle chart. Source: TradingView*

"Watch $DXY today," analyst Justin Bennett told Twitter followers.

"If this plays out, it'll be the most telegraphed bottom that most failed to see bc they were promised a new bull market."

*U.S. dollar index (DXY) annotated chart. Source: Justin Bennett/ Twitter*

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

Blockchain platform for trading securities OTC moves forward with SEC approval

April 17, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Upon approval, both the SEC and the FINRA will become Certificate Holders in the private blockchain, allowing regulators to view transactions and access the network governance.

A Delaware company is seeking registration with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to carry out over-the-counter (OTC) stock trading on-chain.

BlackStar Enterprise Group has been developing the platform since 2018 and spent almost two years in communication with the regulator, answering dozens of questions and comments from examiners. Recently, the company has taken the next step in providing a detailed plan to the SEC Trading and Market division about how its platforms will be operated.

BlackStar CEO Joseph Kurczodyna told Cointelegraph that he sought the SEC’s permission to build the platform’s demo in 2018. “We have proved that U.S. registered securities can be traded digitally on a blockchain, that the process is compliant with broker dealers’ back-office and SEC rules," commented the senior executive.

The platform will allow trading OTC securities within the existing regulated brokerage ecosystem from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and SEC, the company said in its filings. As stated in the document:

“For example, customers will continue to use brokerage accounts and broker-dealers and the transfer agent will continue to maintain the shareholder records. [...] All custodial duties are intended to remain the same because the platform will pass encrypted customer information to buy or sell orders to the appropriate parties."

According to Investopedia, OTC refers to the process of trading securities via a broker-dealer network, rather than through a centralized exchange such as the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

BlackStar’s platform is built on a private blockchain and powered by Amazon Quantum Ledger Database. Kurczodyna said it would remain in the testing phase until licensed to a broker-dealer, clearing firm or Alternative Trading System (ATS).

Upon approval, both the SEC and FINRA will become Certificate Holders in the blockchain, with full access to transactions. Tokens, crypto assets and short selling transactions will not be supported on the platform.

“From a timing standpoint, we feel this is an exciting time for BlackStar. Our proposed digital trading platform [...] could potentially help resolve multiple existing trading issues, including concerns related to fraud in the U.S. financial markets,” claims Kurczodyna, who believes the platform will increase transparency and mitigate risks of investing in OTC stocks.

A similar development is taking place in Germany, where the government wants to use blockchain technology to power stock trading. A recently introduced legislation targets the capital markets’ digitalization through the issuance of electronic securities on a blockchain, aiming to make the stock markets more accessible to startups and small businesses.

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Bitcoin price rallies to $29.4K as traders gear up for this week’s CPI print

April 10, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin

BTC’s rally to $29,400 comes as the all important CPI report releases on April 12 and traders debate whether the Federal Reserve will pivot.

Bitcoin (BTC) rose to its highest level in ten months on April 10 as traders await this week's April 12 consumer price index report to gain deeper insight into the Federal Reserve's fight against sticky inflation. If the report shows inflation dropping, it could be the next possible catalyst that further's BTC's upward move.

On April 10, BTC price soared 3.37% to over $29,300 after a quiet Easter weekend. Interestingly, Bitcoin's intraday gains appeared alongside a drop in U.S. equities, a rare decoupling that highlights the coin's diminishing risk-on characteristics.

*BTC/USD year-to-date returns versus U.S. stock indexes. Source: TradingView*

The pre-CPI dynamic could be in effect

The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release March consumer price index (CPI) data on April 12, which expects to show inflation down to 5.1% from 6.0% year-over-year previously.

A slowdown in headline CPI increases the prospects of the Federal Reserve shifting in a more dovish direction. Conversely, persistent inflationary forces could lead traders to bet on more interest rate hikes in May.

Bitcoin's rise above $29,000 suggest that crypto traders have been pricing in a drop in inflation, which, in turn, could lead to a potential Fed pivot.

Nonetheless, the U.S. dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's strength against a basket of top foreign currencies, climbed 0.7% on April 10, which, alongside a weaker U.S. stock market, shows macro investors see a rate hike ahead.

*DXY daily price chart. Source: TradingView*

In fact, the market sees a 70% probability of the Fed lifting rates by 25 basis points in their meeting in May, according to the CME Fed Watch Tool. That could be due to a tightening labor market that gives the Fed more ammunition to continue raising lending rates in the future.

Could Bitcoin hit $30,000 in April?

From a fundamental perspective, Bitcoin looks prepared to hit $30,000 ahead of the Fed FOMC. However, its likelihood of holding those gains will depend on the inflation data, as mentioned above.

Meanwhile, from a technical analysis standpoint, Bitcoin must close above its weekly resistance range — defined by the $29,500 to $32,000 area — to eye a run-up toward $40,000.

*BTC/USD weekly price chart. Source: TradingView*

This range served as support in the December 2020 to February 2021, May 2021 to July 2021 and January 2022 to March 2022 sessions.

In the event of a pullback from the mentioned range, BTC price risks a sharp decline toward its 50-week exponential moving average (50-week EMA; the red wave) near $25,250 and its 200-week exponential moving average (200-week EMA; the blue wave) near $25,000.

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

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

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INX security token platform gets its first token from a public company, Greenbriar

April 3, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

INX security tokens exist on Ethereum and use the ERC-1404 standard.

INX has launched its first securities token issued by a public company, according to an Apr. 3 announcement from the tokenization platform.

Public company shares on the blockchain?
Witness the future in action!
Proud to team up with @Greenbriarcorp to tokenize its GEBRF traditional shares in an industry-first!https://t.co/sS4p5MIwa3
— INX (@INX_Group) April 3, 2023

The new token represents shares of Greenbriar Capital, which is traded in non-token form on the U.S. over-the-counter (OTC) market under the ticker symbol GEBRF and on the Toronto Stock Exchange as GRB.

Greenbriar is a developer of entry-level housing and green energy products. This is the first time its shares have been available to trade on a public blockchain network.

According to the platform’s help files, INX security tokens exist on the Ethereum network and conform to the ERC-1404 simple restricted token standard. When a user purchases security tokens through INX, they must whitelist their Ethereum address by signing a message through Metamask. The smart contract keeps track of which addresses have been whitelisted, and if a user tries to transfer tokens to an address that is not whitelisted, the transfer fails.

INX claims that it does not custody any security tokens on behalf of users, as these tokens are only held in the user’s wallet.

To handle Ethereum gas fees, the platform currently charges a $25 commission for each security token purchased, according to the app’s user interface.

INX has previously listed two other security tokens on its platform: INX, which represents shares of the platform's own company and MSCO, which represents shares of the MS Token fine art studio. However, these previous tokens have represented privately held companies, whereas GEBRF is the first public company with full financial disclosures to join the INX platform, the announcement said.

INX also offers traditional cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Zcash (ZEC), and others.

Cryptocurrency developers have often tried to avoid having their tokens classified as securities, since this designation requires developers to provide extensive disclosures to the Securities and Exchange Commission and other government bodies. However, some experts argue that tokenization of securities will bring benefits to the traditional financial industry.

In September, KKR’s Health Care Strategic Growth Fund II (HCSG II) was tokenized on the Avalanche (AVAX) network with the help of Securitize Capital. And in October, the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange announced it was testing a tokenized bond trading program. Ralf Kubli of the Casper Association has argued that tokenized mortgage-backed securities will be essential in preventing future financial crises.

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Cathie Wood’s ARK sells Coinbase stock for the first time in 2023

March 22, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin Price

The sold amount accounts for 9% of all Coinbase shares bought by ARK Invest so far this year, and about 23% of COIN acquired in March.

Cathie Wood’s investment management firm ARK Invest is moving to take profits from its Coinbase stash, selling the first batch of Coinbase stock this year.

On March 21, ARK sold 160,887 Coinbase shares from its ARK Fintech Innovation exchange-traded fund (ARKF) for $13.5 million, according to an investor notification seen by Cointelegraph.

The transaction became ARK’s first sale of Coinbase stock in 2023, following three months of active buying in 2023. The sold amount accounts for 23% of all Coinbase stock acquired by ARK so far in March and about 9% of all Coinbase shares bought by the firm so far this year.

Following the sale, ARK holds nearly 1.6 million Coinbase shares that were bought in 2023. The shares are worth more than $132 million at the time of writing.

The latest sale comes amid Coinbase stock, which trades as COIN, seeing a significant surge in price, with the shares touching multi-month highs this week.

On March 21, COIN stock closed at $83.99, hitting the price level for the first time since September 2022, according to data from TradingView. The stock has recovered more than 130% since the beginning of the year, but is still down about 54% over the past 12 months.

*Coinbase (COIN) stock one-year price chart. Source: TradingView*

The upward movement of the Coinbase stock price comes in line with a more positive trend on the cryptocurrency market, with Bitcoin (BTC) hitting multi-month highs amid the ongoing global banking crisis. On March 22, Bitcoin hit 9-month highs above $28,000, significantly recovering price levels triggered by the industry crisis triggered by collapses like FTX.

The news comes soon after ARK made its biggest Coinbase stock purchase so far in 2023. On March 9, Wood’s investment manager bagged 301,437 Coinbase shares for its ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) and 52,525 COIN stocks for the ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW). At the time of the entire purchase, the stock batch was worth about $20.5 million, while its current value is nearly $30 million.

Bitcoin market cap grows 60% in 2023 as top Wall Street banks lose $100B

March 18, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin market cap grows 60% in 2023 as top Wall Street banks lose 0B

Bank of America

Bitcoin has decoupled from stocks and rising ten years after the Cyprus banking crisis coincided with a BTC price boom.

The market capitalization of Bitcoin (BTC) has added $194 billion in 2023. Its 66% year-to-date (YTD) growth is vastly outperforming top Wall Street bank stocks, particularly as fears of a global banking crisis are rising.

*BTC market cap daily performance chart. Source: TradingView*

Moreover, Bitcoin has decoupled from U.S. stocks for the first time in a year, with its price rising about 65% versus S&P 500's 2.5% gains and Nasdaq's 15% decline in 2023.

*SPX and NDAQ YTD performance vs. BTC/USD. Source: TradingView*

Wall Street banks lose $100B in 2023

The six largest U.S. banks — JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Bank of America (BAC), Citigroup (C), Wells Fargo (WFC), Morgan Stanley (MS), and Goldman Sachs (GS) — have lost nearly $100 billion in market valuation since the year's start, according to data gathered by CompaniesMarketCap.com.

Bank of America's stock is the worst performer among the Wall Street banking players, with a nearly 17% YTD drop in valuation. Goldman Sachs trails with an almost 12% YTD decrease, followed by Wells Fargo (-9.75%), JP Morgan Chase (1%).

*Wall Street banks YTD performance. Source: TradingView*

The U.S. banks' valuation has slid amid the ongoing U.S. regional banking collapse. That includes the announcement last week that Silvergate, a crypto-focused bank, was closing its doors and the subsequent takeover of Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank by regulators.

The crisis further expanded with the near-collapse of First Republic Bank, which was saved at the last moment through a $30 billion combined injection by Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, and others.

Cyprus and Greece deja vu?

The rise of Bitcoin in the face of a growing U.S. banking crisis is similar to how it reacted during banking collapses in Cyprus and Greece.

BTC's price grew by up to 5,000% amid the Cyprus financial crisis in 2013, prompted by the exposure of Cypriot banks to overleveraged regional real-estate companies.

*BTC/USD performance during Cyprus banking crisis. Source: TradingView*

The situation was so dire that Cyprus authorities, in March 2013, closed all banks to avoid a bank run.

When Greece faced a similar crisis in 2015 and imposed capital controls on citizens to avoid a bank run, Bitcoin's price gained 150% during the period.

*BTC/USD performance during the Greece banking crisis. Source: TradingView*

“Fears over the stability of the banking system, along with declining real interest rates, creates a good environment for Bitcoin to rebound," noted Ilan Solot, co-head of digital assets at London broker Marex, adding that the crypto "is seen by some investors as a hedge against systemic risks."

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

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