News updates April 23, 2022

1. Bitcoin Extends Pullback; Support at $37K, Resistance at $46K:

BTC has been struggling to sustain positive momentum over the past few days.

Bitcoin (BTC) dipped below $40,000 on Friday, the midpoint of a three-month long trading range. The cryptocurrency could find support at $37,500, although upside appears to be limited toward the $46,000 resistance level.

BTC was trading around $39,400 at press time and is down by 5% over the past 24 hours. So far this year, BTC is down by 17%, compared with a 9% loss in the S&P 500 and a 6% gain in gold over the same period.

A positive momentum signal on bitcoin's daily chart was invalidated on Thursday, which typically precedes a period of price weakness. On the weekly chart, however, momentum remains slightly positive, suggesting that rangebound trading could persist over the next few days.
Most technical indicators are neutral, although a significant loss of upside momentum on the monthly chart increases the probability of a break below BTC's year-long price range. Further, the recent increase in sell volume relative to buy volume means traders have been reluctant to maintain long positions after the 2020 crypto rally.

For now, the upward sloping 100-week moving average, currently at $35,693, has kept the uptrend intact. If price breaks below that level, the next support zone is between $27,000-$30,000.

2. $4.2 Billion in Bitcoin Shoveled between Anon Wallets as BTC Plunges from $42,800

* 88,272 BTC on the move between anon addresses.

* Bitcoin dips almost 6%

Whales have been moving massive amounts of Bitcoin between their wallets over the past two days, according to popular blockchain tracking service Whale Alert.

Six transactions have been spotted by this crypto tracker, each carrying 14,712 BTC.
 
 *88,272 BTC on the move between anon addresses* 

Six crypto transfers, carrying a total of 88,272 BTC, have been made over the past two days, comprising $4.2 billion. This jaw-dropping amount of crypto was transferred while the Bitcoin price went down 5.61%.

 *Bitcoin dips almost 6%* 

Bitcoin's decline began on April 21, as it slipped from $42,696, printing seven consecutive red hourly candles. Today the fall ceased and after trading in the $40,500 range, BTC went a little lower, hitting the $40,301 zone.

By now, the world's flagship crypto recovered a tiny bit of its losses, changing hands at $40,510 per coin.

3. What Sell Pressure? Bitcoin Exchange Reserves Hit 4-Year Low:

Bitcoin has started a recent downtrend that is threatening its position above the coveted $40,000 level. This is presumed to be caused by major sell-offs in the market. However, exchange metrics continue to show that this is not entirely the case. Exchange balances have been plummeting for the past year pointing towards massive accumulation trends and this has come to a head after bitcoin exchange balances have touched a new 4-year low.

 *Exchange Balances Plummet*

It is no secret that the bitcoin being left on centralized exchanges has been declining. However, the margin by which this has been on the decline is more important. Even during times when the price of bitcoin had been on a recovery trend and headed into a bull market, exchange balances continued to plummet. The result of this has been exchange balances hitting a new low, currently sitting at a four-year low.

One of the most prominent outflows was recorded on April 14th when more than 25K bitcoin valued at $1.9 billion left centralized exchanges in a single day. The decline to 4-year lows was made public by on-chain data aggregation firm CryptoQuant in a tweet on Thursday.

4. Quant Explains Why This Bitcoin Bear Market Is Different From Others:

A quant has explained using on-chain data why the current Bitcoin bear market looks to be different from the previous ones.

 *Quant Suggests This Bitcoin Bear Market Is Unlike The Rest*

As explained by an analyst in a CryptoQuant post, the exchange reserve continuing to trend down since the price all-time high isn’t typical of previous bear markets.

The “all exchanges reserve” is an indicator that measures the total amount of Bitcoin stored in the wallets of all centralized exchanges.

When the value of this metric trends up, it means the supply on exchanges is increasing. Such a trend may be bearish for the price of the coin as investors usually deposit their crypto to exchanges for selling purposes.

On the other hand, the reserve’s value going down would suggest holders are withdrawing a net amount of coins right now.

 *BTC Price*

At the time of writing, Bitcoin’s price floats around $40.5k, up 1% in the past week.

5. Ukraine bans Bitcoin purchases with local currency amid martial law:

Ukrainians are now allowed to buy Bitcoin only with foreign currency with a monthly cap of $3,300.

The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) continues taking measures to prevent capital outflows amid martial law by enforcing major restrictions on cryptocurrency purchases.

The Ukrainian central bank officially announced Thursday a set of restrictions on cross-border operations, prohibiting individuals from buying cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) with the national fiat currency, the hryvnia (UAH).

Ukrainians are now allowed to buy Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies only with foreign currency, with total monthly purchases limited to 100,000 UAH ($3,300). The relevant limit also applies to international peer-to-peer transactions.

 *Ukraine’s largest savings bank halts Bitcoin buys with hryvnia — Report*

Some Ukrainian banks have adopted such restrictions already, according to several sources. PrivatBank, the largest commercial bank in Ukraine, reportedly prohibited its customers from purchasing BTC with UAH in mid-March.

The restrictions apparently raised eyebrows as the Ukrainian government has been actively working to legalize cryptocurrencies amid martial law. In March, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a law to establish a legal framework for the country to operate a regulated crypto market.

6. Vietnam Could Pass Crypto-Friendly Laws Soon, Here’s Why:

Vietnam is likely to see an increase in crypto regulation soon, as a government-backed pro-crypto group seeks to promote the space.

The Vietnam Blockchain Union (VBU), a group that aims to increase crypto adoption in the country, officially made its debut this week.

The group seeks to increase cooperation between the government and private players over blockchain technology. It will also help  the government draft regulations over the space, as Vietnam’s crypto adoption steadily rises.

 *VBU officially launched this week*

The union officially launched this week, in a ceremony attended by representatives from several popular crypto players, including Binance, local publication Vietnam Investment Review reported on Friday.

The group’s advisory board is helmed by several government officials, including Nguyen Huy Dung, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications. The union is chaired by Dang Minh Tuan, director at CMC Applied Research Institute

 *Vietnam a crypto hotspot*

Crypto adoption in the southeast Asian country has accelerated at an unprecedented pace in the last two years. Vietnam ranked first on an index of countries leading crypto adoption, from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.

While the country does not accept crypto as legal tender, it has no restrictions on the holding and trade of crypto assets. But Vietnam also lacks overarching regulation for crypto, something several government agencies are currently working towards establishing.

Crypto was a major factor in South Korea’s recent Presidential elections, with both candidates promising crypto-friendly regulation.

7. India: Crypto Connection Reportedly Cost Wallet Provider Its License:

The Reserve Bank of India has rejected MobiKwik’s payment aggregator license due to its association with crypto platforms.

The bank’s red light means MobiKwik will be unable to onboard new clients who offer the company’s Zaakpay as a payment gateway, and existing clients will have 180 days to stop using it.

 *Firm halted services without explanation*

The firm abruptly halted its services to all crypto businesses at the start of April and refused to explain to the crypto platforms the reason why.

Business Today quoted the company’s Draft Red Herring Prospectus, which stated: “While our consumer payments and BNPL segments significantly rely on Zaakpay’s services for processing payments within the MobiKwik ecosystem… Accordingly, any disruption in the functioning of Zaakpay, even if caused due to factors completely external to us, can adversely affect the operations of our MobiKwik Wallet and BNPL products, including MobiKwik Zip, as well as our brand and reputation.”

 *India working on CBDC*

nstead, the finance ministry and the central bank have been working on a central bank digital currency (CBDC), a digital equivalent of the rupee.

In a recent interview, Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal said: “The finance ministry should be the one heading this task force, and every other institution should be given a clear mandate that no crypto case shall be handled locally. It should only be handled by the central crypto task force.”

Polygon is a prominent crypto project that originated in India. However, owing to uncertainty regarding crypto legislation in the country, Nailwal and his team moved to Dubai two years ago. 

“But to expect each nodal member of each regulatory body to truly understand this new technology in their busy schedules is very difficult. Hence we need one single highly empowered division, which has a singular responsibility to interact, learn and enforce regulations on this fairly niche industry,” Nailwal added.

8. Panama Studies a Bill to Regulate the Use of Cryptocurrencies:

According to recent reports, Panama’s National Assembly, the main legislative body of the Central American country, is evaluating a new law regulating the use of cryptocurrencies in its territory.

Congressman Gabriel Silva, has recently presented a bill entitled “Crypto Law: Making Panama compatible with the digital economy, blockchain, cryptoassets and internet“. Experts in the field, are of the opinion that the country could benefit from the use of cryptocurrencies, although they recommend caution.

Consulted on this subject, Otto O. Wolfschoon, president of the board of directors of the Panamanian Banking Association, assured that it is very important for the country to be updated regarding the use of new technologies and new financial products.

José Abbo, director of the savings fund Fondo Ahorro de Panamá, believes that this law will help to boost the current banking system. And that it will allow citizens to have an account in dollars and another account in cryptocurrencies, as it happens in Europe.

The evaluation on the implementation of cryptocurrencies in Panama, arises in an international context where the use of the US dollar as a store of value is being questioned. It is clear that growing inflation is forcing countries to look for more reliable alternatives to serve as a store of value.

Panama will try to follow in the footsteps of El Salvador, where cryptocurrencies are already legal tender. Although Panama marks differences with its project, as it would not seek for Bitcoin to become official currency, but simply encourage its use.

 *What does Panama’s new cryptocurrency bill say?*

The bill presented by Deputy Silva, has two fundamental pillars.

The first one refers to the fact that citizens will be able to freely trade cryptoassets. Among which the most popular cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum are included. Not only to use them as stores of value, but also as a means of payment for any civil or commercial operation.

On the other hand, state agencies will be able to receive payments in cryptocurrencies for taxes, fees and other tax obligations. This will be possible thanks to a new regulation that would be issued by the General Tax Directorate of the Ministry of Finance. In which the bases and principles would be established to ensure transparency and, above all, security for public finances.

9.Georgia crypto mining’s potential: What’s driving growth in the industry?


Who would have thought that a small country in the Caucasus Mountains could become one of the world’s leaders in cryptocurrency mining?

Despite its small size and population, Georgia has become a popular spot for cryptocurrency mining thanks to its cheap electricity, the absence of legislative restrictions and attractive tax incentives. This combination of factors has engaged not only Georgian citizens but also foreigners who want to try their hand at cryptocurrency mining.

10. Bank of England seeks $420M funding to regulate crypto


The UK Central Bank plans to intensify scrutiny over the buzzing cryptocurrency industry. To achieve this, the institution plans a major funding drive to monitor digital assets and assess how they are being adopted in the financial sector.

The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) at the Bank of England plans to raise £321 million in a funding drive that will run until February 2023.

An announcement made on April 20 said that the PRA’s objective is to “ask firms to report their crypto asset exposures, treatments, and future investment plans.” The Bank of England has expressed concern over the buzzing cryptocurrency industry, saying it posed a threat to the existing financial system.

Despite the concern, the cryptocurrency sector at a $2 trillion valuation is just a small fraction of the $469 trillion global financial system. However, the Bank of England warned that the crypto space was now larger than the subprime mortgage sector. 

11. Saudi Arabia Exploring Possibility of Implementing Blockchain in Government


The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is looking into the possibility of implementing blockchain technology across its government as well as allowing the use of cryptocurrencies. However, an official said the kingdom can only successfully build blockchain-based solutions if it hires people that are proficient in this technology.

While the Saudi government has yet to make a decision concerning the use of cryptocurrencies, a recent survey suggested more than half of the country’s residents believe digital currencies should be used for payments.