News Updates December 30, 2022
1. Bitcoin investors look to 2023 after disappointment of Santa rally that never was
Bitcoin post a dire price performance in 2022, leading some to believe it's only up from here.
The run-up to Christmas was filled with hope for a Santa rally that would close the year on a high note.
Unfortunately, the three days before Christmas Day saw price stagnation, with Bitcoin moving in a tight range between $16,585 and $16,940 over this period. Likewise, Dec. 25 resulted in a flat 0.8%, or $136, downside swing in the daily candle before closing above the daily low at $16,830.
Since then, the leading cryptocurrency has dropped further, with $16,480 providing local support on Dec. 28.
With that, the failed Santa rally is rapidly developing into an increasingly unlikely end-of-year high. But what might 2023 hold?
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Bitcoin investors look to 2023 after disappointment of Santa rally that never was
Bitcoin post a dire price performance in 2022, leading some to believe it's only up from here.
Samuel Wan Dec. 30, 2022 at 12:15 am UTC
Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate
The run-up to Christmas was filled with hope for a Santa rally that would close the year on a high note.
Unfortunately, the three days before Christmas Day saw price stagnation, with Bitcoin moving in a tight range between $16,585 and $16,940 over this period. Likewise, Dec. 25 resulted in a flat 0.8%, or $136, downside swing in the daily candle before closing above the daily low at $16,830.
Since then, the leading cryptocurrency has dropped further, with $16,480 providing local support on Dec. 28.
With that, the failed Santa rally is rapidly developing into an increasingly unlikely end-of-year high. But what might 2023 hold?
For Bitcoin and cryptocurrency investors, 2022 was a humbling experience for many reasons.
A review of the data shows all four quarters in 2022 posting losses, which is an event that has never happened before. Similarly, Q2 2022 had the most significant percentage loss on record.
Bitcoin has never seen back-to-back red years in its history.” Thus, based on past data, 2023 will likely close above the approximate $17,000 mark.
2. Bear Or Bull Run? What To Expect From Crypto Market In 2023: Report
Crypto Bull Run Ahead? The report by the experts suggest crypto people what trends to be expect in the year 2023.
Crypto Bull Run Ahead? The year 2022 proved to be a painful ride for the digital asset industry. The global crypto market cap of $2.2 trillion has dropped below the $800 billion mark. The biggest of the cryptos like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) prices have dropped by a massive 65% and 69% on the year to date (YTD), respectively.
However, high inflation sentiments left physical gold outperforming Bitcoin massively. This proved to be the second worst YTD return for Bitcoin since its launch. Meanwhile, few cryptos were able to absorb the turbulence this year while there was some apparent winner this year.
Crypto bull run in 2023?
As per the report, BTC’s recent price drop closely depicts the bear market patterns which can be found in the previous cycles. The 2018 bear market lasted for more than 364 days while the 2014-15 bear market lasted for around 407 long days.
Bitcoin price has bottomed 376 days after peaking but if BTC reaches the bottom in 2023 then it will be the longest drawdown ever. However, there are several potential catalysts ahead. FTX proceedings can urge the regulators to make tougher rules for the crypto market.
Meanwhile, experts believe that this is a positive signal related to the U.S. spot BTC ETF launches. This will lead to a better classification of tokens as a plausible outcome by the end of the year.
3. BTC price lurches toward $16K as stocks, dollar wobble in final session
The final tradfi trading day of 2022 offers little inspiration to bulls with Bitcoin price action trending down in line with both equities and the U.S. dollar.
Bitcoin teased more volatility at the Dec. 30 Wall Street open with BTC/USD heading ever closer to $16,000.
Will new year deliver "long-awaited volatility?"
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD wicking down to lows of $16,337 on Bitstamp.
The pair had been gradually upping the volatility in the days after Christmas, as analysts eyed the likelihood of a final burst of action before the yearly close.
“Last trading day of the year for TradFi, but crypto will trade through the holiday weekend. Perhaps we may see some of that long awaited BTC volatility around the Weekly/Monthly close and the start of 2023,” on-chain analysis resource Material Indicators ventured.
Popular trader and analyst Rekt Capital noted that “historically, a strong indicator of where the $BTC bottom is is when the bearish BTC Candle 2 performs its Yearly Close."
Rekt Capital was discussing Bitcoin’s four-year halving cycles, with the year after the halving traditionally one of overall losses.
The worst could be in by the end of the week, he thus argued, “and whatever downside wicking occurs in the following Candle 3 is just a bonus for bargain buyers.”
On lower timeframes, the picture remained unclear, with BTC/USD stuck in a narrow range still $1,000 above its multi-year lows from Q4.
Order book data from Binance uploaded by Material Indicators showed a lack of tangible support between spot price and $16,000, with resistance stacked at $17,000 and higher.
The U.S. dollar also looked unable to book fresh gains in time for the end of the year, with the U.S. dollar index (DXY) continuing a downtrend to circling six-month lows.
“Keep an eye on the U.S. Dollar Index DXY here! A breakdown could increase momentum for bullish market dynamics,” a hopeful Caleb Franzen, founder of Cubic Analytics, told Twitter followers on Dec. 29.
“The Fed is still tightening, with balance sheet reductions likely to become a significant factor in 2023. Still, risk assets might have some reprieve soon.”
4. Italian Parliament Approves 26% Crypto-Gains Tax in 2023 Budget
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's new bill also includes an incentive for those declaring crypto for tax purposes.
Crypto traders in Italy will be subject to a 26% capital-gains tax starting in 2023, according to a new budget that won parliamentary approval on Thursday.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's 2023 expansionary budget – which was completed in a rush before the end of the year – features 21 billion euros ($22.3 billion) in tax breaks to assist businesses and households facing the energy crisis, Reuters reported.
In Italy, where crypto remains largely unregulated, the 387-page budget legitimizes crypto assets by defining them as "a digital representation of value or rights, which can be transferred and stored electronically, using the technology of distributed ledger or similar technology."
Italy's (and most recently Portugal's) move to introduce a capital-gains tax on crypto comes ahead of the implementation of the European Union's Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation that promises a licensing frameworks and stringent operating requirements for crypto-service providers in the 27-member bloc.
The 26% rate applies to gains from crypto trading if they exceed 2,000 euros per tax period. As an incentive for declaring crypto profits, the new bill also sets a "substitute income tax" for investors at 14% of the value of the assets held as of Jan. 1, 2023, instead of the cost at the time of purchase.
According to the new rules, losses from crypto investments can be deducted from profits and be carried forward.
Investors, however, may require some additional guidance on what qualifies as a taxable event as the document also says, "the exchange between crypto assets having same characteristics and functions," doesn't constitute a "fiscal case."
5. Suicide Committed by Vice President of Bithumb's Largest Shareholder, Here's What Happened?
According to multiple sources, the body of a Mr. Park, vice president of Vidente Co, a company closely related to the major South Korean exchange Bithumb and its largest shareholder, was found in front of his house. The police believe it was suicide as he had jumped out of a window and gotten himself killed on Friday morning local time.
Wu Blockchain@WuBlockchain
"According to Money Today, the vice president of Vidente, the largest shareholder of South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb, committed suicide by jumping off a building while being investigated by South Korean prosecutors, suspected of corruption and price manipulation".
Park made this choice in the middle of an investigation regarding his role in the embezzlement and manipulation of Bithumb's share price on the stock market, in which the head of the firm's parent company is also believed to be involved.
An investigation is also taking place into several top executives of related Inbiogen company, which holds a major stock of shares of Vidente. As a source reports, Park worked for them and did the accounting part. It has also been alleged that those sibling-executives had placed all the blame on Park.
Now, the Park case is expected to be closed upon his death. As reported by U.Today earlier this year, in the fall the de facto owner of Bithumb exchange Lee Jung-hoon was accused of fraud involving approximately 100 billion won ($70 million). The prosecutors sought a sentence of eight years in prison for him.
6. Binance Adds Apple Pay & Google Payment Options to Buy Cryptocurrency.
Crypto enthusiasts now have Apple Pay and Google Pay accessibility to buy cryptocurrency.
Around 120 million users could have the opportunity to buy cryptocurrency via Binance.
The largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world Binance has set forth to provide users with various options for buying cryptocurrencies. The platform has updated Binance Build to offer users to purchase cryptos using both Apple Pay and Google Pay.
The Binance action is a significant step toward enhancing the service’s would help to evolve usability and the adoption of crypto investing by the wider population. Additionally, the statement states that users can utilize these well-known payment options to buy cryptocurrencies in a simple way. However, Binance’s move comes after Crypto.com introduced the Apple Pay payment option to its user on June 24, 2022.
Binance to Enlarge Crypto Adoption
The value of payment applications in the financial industry has significantly increased in recent years. Also, these types of apps are being used by users more frequently than ever before, and they have continuously been integrated into the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
The Binance step undoubtedly provides an opportunity for a sizable market share of people in digital assets due to both mobile wallets. That is among the payment methods most widely used in the marketplace. There are 43.9 million users of Apple Pay alone, as per Business.com. And Google Pay has 25 million users, which makes it the leading and second most popular digital wallet overall.
However, the arrival of these mobile wallets in the cryptocurrency arena indicates a development in the availability of digital assets to a broader audience. Also, the flexibility of these digital wallets has the ability to bring new users to Binance and the cryptocurrency realms.
Further, Binance is working harder to comply with American regulators and law enforcement. On December 21, the largest cryptocurrency exchange joined the American lobbying firm Chamber of Digital Commerce to “help promote policies that benefit and protect users.”
