News Updates August 07, 2022
- Bitcoin price analysis: Tug of war between bulls and bears keeps BTC below $24k. Bitcoin price analysis remains patchy as the pair stagnates
Buyers need to maintain $24k support and create volumes to cross $24k rally
The bears have to prevent $24,600 level to invalidate massive bull rally
Bitcoin price analysis is stuck near the $23,000 support zone as the pair struggles to overcome major resistance ahead. The upside momentum is slowing down and the BTC bulls are looking increasingly exhausted. Still, they are doing well to hold the pair above the $23k support in anticipation of higher levels. The underlying bullish wave is still very much alive in the major cryptocurrency. As of press time, BTC/USD is trading at $23,100 with neutral bias. The trading volume is steady and the technical indicators are not showing any untoward movement to either side. The price action can be termed lackluster which has been the trend over the entire weekend. The upside momentum still beckons the bulls.
2. Bitcoin Consolidation Continues on Low Trading Volume, Celsius Recovers 30% Weekly
The daily trading volumes are down to monthly lows as bitcoin and most altcoins sit quiet.
Bitcoin continues to range around $23,000 after another day without any decisive moves in either direction.
The weekend is quite calm for the altcoins as well. Most are slightly in the red on a daily scale, with Avalanche being among the few exceptions.
*Bitcoin Consolidation Continues*
Last weekend was significantly more volatile for the crypto market. Bitcoin, for instance, jumped above $24,600, which was a six-week high. This price surge was fueled by the US Fed’s latest interest rate hike and President Biden’s refusal to admit that the country had entered into a recession.
However, the bulls’ strength weakened in the following days. BTC dipped below $23,000 on a few occasions, the lowest of which was on August 4 at $22,500.
However, it bounced off and even tried its hand at $24,000 shortly after but failed there. As a result, it retraced back down to $23,000 and spent most of the next few days at that point. This lack of substantial price movements comes amid the lack of high.
3. Elon Musk: US 'past peak inflation' after Tesla sells 90% of Bitcoin
Bitcoin (BTC) is in short supply at Tesla, even as its CEO predicts that United States inflation has already peaked.
Speaking at Tesla’s 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders on Aug. 5, Elon Musk predicted that an upcoming United States recession would only be “mild to moderate.”
*Musk on costs: "The trend is down"*
After recently selling almost all of its $1.5 billion BTC holdings, Tesla is seeing the emergence of exactly the kind of economic landscape in which risk assets thrive.
During a Q&A session at the Annual Meeting, Musk revealed that six-month commodities pricing for Tesla parts is already getting cheaper, not more expensive.
Commodities, he said, are trending down, providing a hint that inflation has already hit its highest levels.
We sort of have some insight into where prices are headed over time and the interesting thing that we’re seeing now is that most of our commodities, most of the things that go into a Tesla — not all, more than half — the prices are trending down in six months,” he said.
The recovery from an inflationary period with commodities heading downhill provides fertile ground for a recovery in risk assets, including crypto. Theoretically, this comes as a result of lower inflation meaning less tightening by the Federal Reserve, providing favorable conditions for risk-on investments.
Should strength return to markets and crypto outperforms, the trend will be an ironic one for Tesla, which divested itself of practically all its BTC exposure — at a profit of just $64 million — last month.
At the time, Musk added that BTC could return to the firm’s balance sheet at a later date, and that the decision was not a commentary on Bitcoin per se.
The Annual Meeting, meanwhile, produced further optimistic predictions on macro, including a potential U.S. recession being “relatively mild” and lasting approximately eighteen months. Inflation, Musk added, will “drop rapidly.”
*Bitcoin price: weekend volatility ‘expected’ with $22K level to hold*
Among them is Fundstrat Global Advisors, which this week noted that markets have historically found a bottom half a year before the Fed stops tightening via key interest rate hikes.
The second half of 2022, the firm thus predicted, could take the S&P 500 to 4,800 points — a boon for crypto markets still heavily correlated with moves in equities in general.
4. UK parliamentary group opens inquiry into crypto industry
* The group wants to hear from crypto operators, regulators, industry experts and government on the role of regulation, CBDCs, consumer protection and economic crime.
* It plans to hold several evidence sessions in forthcoming months.
The Crypto and Digital Assets All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) said it has begun an inquiry into the UK crypto sector with the aim of producing a report and recommendations to share with the government.
The bipartisan group is made up of MPs and lords from the main political parties and acts as a forum for policymakers and the UK crypto sector in discussing the industry.
The inquiry will focus on key policy issues concerning UK crypto and digital assets, with written submissions accepted until Sept. 5, the APPG said in a news release.
The group wants to hear from crypto operators, regulators, industry experts and government on the role of regulation, CBDCs, consumer protection and economic crime. It also plans to hold several evidence sessions in forthcoming months.
MP Lisa Cameron, chair of APPG, said: “It's vital that the UK does not take its foot off the gas and that government and regulators keep to their commitments when it comes to crypto and digital assets.”
The group will also share its findings with the Treasury Select Committee in Parliament, which has announced its own inquiry into the sector.
5. The UK cannot afford to send mixed messages on crypto
Regulators have expressed conflicting messages about whether the U.K. is a good place for cryptocurrency development to occur.
The United Kingdom is paving the road for cryptocurrency services, courting startups and established players alike while leading the way in pioneering regulation on stablecoins and nonfungible tokens.
But a lot has changed. After two years of deliberations, European Union lawmakers achieved agreement on the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, marking a pivotal moment for harmonized supervision of the sector on such a scale. This followed United States President Joe Biden’s executive order recommending a whole-of-government approach toward the responsible development of digital assets within the United States.
The U.K. has also seen major political shifts during this period, including the resignation of Treasury Minister John Glen, whose April speech supporting the industry represented the most emphatic from a U.K. official to date.
While Glen was broadly supportive of a regulated and nurturing framework for the sector, other U.K. institutions have voiced concern about the safety and viability of cryptocurrency. In fact, on the same day as Glen’s speech, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey called the crypto market an “opportunity for the downright criminal.”
It’s precisely this sort of mixed messaging that could hinder the industry’s development just as the starting pistol is fired. Uncertainty breeds stagnation. Evidence suggests that a lack of regulatory clarity has already put the brakes on the wide adoption of cryptocurrency by consumers.
The industry will not be able to enjoy any comfort until regulators align their thinking.
With a new prime minister and government on the horizon, it is vital that whoever takes up residence at 11 Downing Street unifies the government’s position with the Bank of England and the country’s regulators so that the U.K. can become a true leader in innovative technology and standards setting
The crypto sector has reached a point where it is both achieving global recognition as an incubator for fast-moving financial technology and missing out due to inconsistent approaches.
6. How Central Banks and CBDCs Could End Democracy
In recent years, we have witnessed a growing interest in the idea of central bank digital currencies. Similar to cash, central bank digital currencies are a form of money issued by central banks.
In each country, a central bank manages the local currency and the monetary policy to ensure financial stability. Unlike cash, central bank digital currencies are expected to update national financial infrastructures to the changing needs of the economy and technology.
Led by international financial institutions such as the Bank of International Settlements and the International Monetary Fund, central banks examine technologies, conduct experiments and prepare national economic scenarios. However, central banks cannot — and should not — identify the social consequences of implementing this technology.
The transition to national digital currencies gives governments the ability to automate transactions and create conditions under which it can be spent. This raises crucial implications about democracy that must be identified and considered before central bank digital currencies become a reality.
Central bank digital currencies are expected to hand authorities the ability to completely control the finances of their citizens. States would be able to restrict citizens from purchasing any services and goods, and governments would gain a greater influence and control over people’s lives.
7. Analyst Says Altcoin That Just Rallied 200% Hasn’t Even Started, Predicts New All-Time Highs for Binance Coin
A closely followed crypto analyst says that one hot altcoin hasn’t even seen the real gains yet, despite recently doing a 3x in less than a month and predicts Binance Coin (BNB) is also destined for new all-time highs.
The pseudonymous analyst known as The Crypto Dog tells his 746,000 followers that he’s bullish on GMX, a decentralized exchange (DEX) specializing in perpetual futures and aims to provide low swap fees and “zero price impact” trading.
Despite already rallying over 200% in July from the $15 range to over $45, the Crypto Dog says that GMX, the DEX’s utility token, is itching to move higher as price trades near an area with very little volume profile.
Along with GMX, the crypto analyst is also bullish on Binance Coin (BNB), the native token of Binance, the world’s largest digital asset exchange by USD volume.
The analyst says both coins are “outliers” that will likely remain bullish and resistant to Bitcoin dips.
“Seriously though it is nice to just focus on outliers that are clearly more bullish than the rest of the market and sit on them.
Specifically, The Crypto Dog says BNB is backed by Binance’s strong reputation as a company and the character of the exchange’s CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ).
8. Police in Kazakhstan Arrest Gang Forcing IT Specialists to Run Crypto Farms
Law enforcement in Kazakhstan detained members of a crime group suspected of forcing IT experts into operating underground facilities for cryptocurrency mining with threats and blackmail. The racketeers allegedly made up to half a million U.S. dollars a month from their business.
*Kazakhstan Busts Illegal Crypto Mining Organization, Detains Dozens*
Authorities in Kazakhstan have arrested a group of “criminally oriented individuals” and former convicts who pressured people savvy in information and crypto technology to run illegal installations for cryptocurrency production. Many of the apprehended 23 people had a background in debt-collecting and extortion, the country’s Interior Ministry said in a statement this week.
The gang was making estimated profits in the range of $300,000 to 500,000 each month as a result of their unauthorized crypto mining activities, the department further revealed. During searches, police found a number of weapons, including pistols, ammunition and a Kalashnikov assault rifle. One of the gang members turned out to be an army serviceman.
Investigators were able to establish that the undertaking was quite sophisticated, an indication that the group was not working entirely on its own, the news outlet Eurasianet noted in a report. Over the past few months, it has emerged that major mining operations in Kazakhstan were linked to high-ranking officials and powerful businessmen, added the online portal which covers developments in the region.
Kazakhstan became a crypto mining hotspot after China cracked down on the industry in May, last year. Mining companies were attracted by its low electricity rates but their influx caused an increasing energy deficit. The government in Nur-Sultan responded by taking steps to reduce the consumption in the sector by cutting power supply to licensed mining enterprises on a number of occasions, increasing a tax levy, and going after illegal miners.
This spring, the Financial Monitoring Agency discovered and shut down more than 100 underground mining farms. Commenting on the offensive, the agency remarked that among their operators were firms affiliated with Bolat Nazarbayev, brother of Kazakhstan’s ex-president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, and Alexander Klebanov who heads the Central Asian Electricity Corporation.
9. Zuckerberg Makes His First Big Step Toward the NFT World
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Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently announced the international expansion of NFT support to more than 100 countries in Africa, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and the American continent.
Earlier in May, the social media giant had tested Polygon and Ethereum-based NFTs among a selected group of Facebook creators. This came as a surprise, given the downhill of the NFT market, corresponding with the Cryptocurrency market.
