News Updates December 04, 2022
1. Bitcoin analysts eye weakening US dollar as BTC price fights for $17K
BTC price action stays cool over the weekend as Bitcoin bulls attempt to flip $17,000 to support. Bitcoin bulls attempted to retake $17,000 into the Dec. 4 weekly close as volatility looked set to return to the market. Bollinger Bands demand BTC pricevolatility
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD crisscrossing the $17,000 mark — a focal point throughout the weekend.
With macro cues still to come, Bitcoin looked for catalysts as signs of volatility crept into low timeframes.
Among those eyeing a potential break of the status quo was popular trader Cheds, who noted that the Bollinger Bands volatility indicator was flashing on the 4-hour chart.
Bollinger Bands constricting signals that volatility is due soon, and on the day, 4-hour chart bands were at their narrowest since Nov. 27 — just before BTC/USD gained $1,000.
Fellow trader Crypto Tony meanwhile stayed put on his short-term BTC price theory.
“Simply no change over the last few days,” he told Twitter followers.
“We are grinding more into the EQ / mid range, but i wouldn't be surprised to see a wick up to form an SFP and back down.”
Previously, Crypto Tony flagged $21,500 as a target to aim for if bulls were to take control and change the trend.
U.S. dollar index reverses relief bounce
The coming week meanwhile looked increasingly important for the U.S. dollar and, by extension, risk asset performance.
2. A European Central Bank Blog Decries the End of Bitcoin, and We Aren’t Buying It
Plus: What happens when you go from bitcoin-only to … not?
As a Greek-American, I’ve been paying attention to the European Central Bank (ECB) for too long.
Imagine the scene: There’s a teenager on the way to soccer practice absolutely in shambles because he just learned that Goldman Sachs brokered a cross-currency swap for Greece so that the latter could gain admission into the eurozone. The teenager then systematically loses his mind after each austerity package is announced in the following months and years.
Next, imagine that now-adult person, who writes about bitcoin for a living, reading a ECB blog post with the title: “Bitcoin’s last stand.”
The kid can’t catch a break. But no need to imagine because this actually happened last Wednesday. It’s critical to level-set that the published article doesn’t represent an official position of the ECB. It’s just a blog post on the ECB’s official website. But because it’s on the ECB’s official website, it is flying under a banner of authority. As such, it is worth parsing through the main points brought up in the post.
The post starts with an unsubstantiated (which was never substantiated later) point that bitcoin’s current price action is “an artificially induced last gasp before the road to irrelevance.” But what can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence. So, let’s dismiss this point.
Bitcoin's last stand? Probably not, ECB
The next section in the ECB post is titled: “Bitcoin is rarely used for legal transactions.” Unfortunately, the body of the section doesn’t prove this point specifically (a shame, really, because it isn’t true) and instead focuses on how bitcoin’s value is based solely on speculation because a) it has no cash flow (like real estate), dividends (like equities), productivity (like commodities) or social benefits (like gold) and b) VCs are propping it up with $17.9 billion of investment in blockchain and crypto.
3. Funding Roundup: Wary Investors Still Cutting Checks for Crypto
The largest raise this week is a $72 million injection for digital assets market maker Keyrock.
After centralized exchange FTX plunged into bankruptcy in November, investors have been cautiously evaluating their ventures into the cryptocurrency space.
Nevertheless, some large funding deals are still closing.
The largest is digital assets market maker Keyrock, which received a $72 million injection from investors including Ripple, SIX Fintech Ventures and Middlegame Ventures.
Ripple’s director of institutional markets Maxime Fages says that this investment was made after observing Keyrock’s “global success” over the past three years.
“Under the leadership of Kevin, Jeremy and Juan, Keyrock has established themselves as a key player in the space by building scalable, enterprise grade solutions and taking a regulatory first approach,” Fages said.
This latest Series B round will be used to invest in infrastructure development for scalability and also work on licensing across Europe, US and Singapore, Keyrock said.
Another company which received a significant amount of money this past week is Web3 developer platform Fleek.
Framework Ventures and Chapter One.
Jupiter Exchange, an alternative asset exchange using fractional NFT technology, closed $5 million in seed funding led by White Hilt Capital.
Fleek closed a $25 million Series A led by Polychain Capital with additional investments from Protocol Labs, Arweave, Coinbase Ventures and Digital Currency Group, just to name a few.
4. Cryptocurrencies to watch for the week of December 5.
Most cryptocurrencies are still consolidating with the general digital assets market, yet to make any decisive move in either direction. The consolidation comes as bearish sentiments prevail in the wake of the FTX crypto exchange collapse. At the same time, investors are looking for a bottom that would likely usher in a new rally.
With the value of most assets remaining depressed, several altcoins are standing out and attracting increased interest. Investors are mainly attracted to the altcoins due to their potential to rally and promising use cases despite having a varied market capitalization. Below are the key altcoins to watch for the week of December 5.
Quant (QNT)
Interoperability-based crypto project Quant (QNT) has been building momentum in recent weeks, appearing unfazed by the market downturn. However, the asset’s trajectory was cut short after the FTX explosion hit the market.
Notably, QNT’s recent gains were mainly inspired by a vibrant community with data from blockchain analysis firm Lunar Crash, indicating that as of October 14, QNT’s six-month social engagements had spiked over 130%.
Elsewhere, Quant technical analysis looks bullish, with a summary going for ‘neutral’ at 11 while moving averages are supporting a ‘buy’ at 9 on the TradingView daily gauges. Oscillators remain ‘neutral’ at six.
Dogecoin (DOGE)
The Dogecoin (DOGE) community has been buzzing as the token witnessed increased adoption-related news. Dogecoin’s recent bullish momentum was mainly triggered by Twitter’s acquisition by Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO Elon Musk, with speculation that the coin might be integrated into the social media giant. At the same time, reports emerged that Musk and Ethereum (ETH) founder Vitalik Buterin would likely combine and develop the DOGE network further.
As things stand, Dogecoin is trading at $0.10 with daily gains of almost 4%, while the weekly chart shows DOGE has recorded minor corrections of less than 0.5%.
However, daily technical analysis on TradingView is bullish, with the summary and moving averages going for a ‘strong buy’ at 16 and 14, respectively. Elsewhere, oscillators are for ‘buy’ at two.
Fantom (FTM)
Fantom (FTM) is a scalable blockchain platform for decentralized finance (DeFi) and enterprise applications. The platform’s potential in the crypto market has mainly triggered interest in FTM. For instance, the asset’s recent gains come after reports emerged that the Fantom Foundation behind the coin could make steady profits whether it sells FTM tokens or not.
Based on the foundation’s strong financial results, the market has reacted positively by helping FTM record weekly gains of almost 30%. By press time, the asset was trading at $0.24.
Fantom’s bullishness has extended to the technical analysis with a summary of the daily gauges aligning with ‘buy’ at 12, similar to moving averages at 10.
The Open Network (TON)
The Open Network (TON) is a decentralized Layer-1 blockchain by messaging app Telegram. The community-led project has exhibited strength over the previous weeks gaining key support levels. An array of positive news around the network has boosted the token’s rally.
For instance, in late October, TON was listed on KuCoin, one of the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges. At the same time, with Telegram planning to build a crypto wallet and exchange, TON will likely receive more utility. However, as things stand, Telegram is yet to clarify if the two products will be developed on TON.
By press time, TON was trading at $1.81 with daily gains of about 1% with a weekly rally of about 6%.
Elsewhere, TON technical analysis shows the summary leaning towards ‘buy’ at 15 while moving averages are going for a ‘strong buy’ on daily gauges at 10.
Chainlink
Chainlink (LINK), the blockchain oracle provider, has registered increased interest in recent weeks, mainly powered by lined-up network development activities. For instance, Chainlink is preparing to launch staking on the Ethereum network as the blockchain looks forward to establishing a long-term sustainable economic program.
Notably, the staking feature is set to enable LINK token holders and node operators to earn rewards for enhancing the crypto-economic security of oracle services. In this line, crypto trading expert, Michaël van de Poppe acknowledged that LINK is showing sustained strength, which has not happened in almost two years.
By the time of publishing, Chainlink was trading at $7.36 with weekly gains of about 6%. At the current price, Poppe noted that LINK is in the accumulation phase despite the FTX collapse and the resulting impact on the market. In general, he said that the token is looking for a breakout.
Furthermore, the asset’s technical analysis expresses bullishness, with the summary going for ‘buy’ at 13 while moving averages are for a ‘strong sell’ at 12.
In conclusion, the covered altcoins’ ability to sustain the upward momentum will rely on how the general market trades. At the same time, the input of the respective communities is vital to push for a rally considering a majority have a formidable use case. Additionally, some of the asset’s are in the radar of investors across the month of December.
