News Updates July 17, 2022

1. Expect the ‘greatest SALE on earth’ for Bitcoin and real estate, says Robert Kiyosaki. 

With investors hoping for a rally in both the equities and cryptocurrency market, the author of the personal finance book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” Robert Kiyosaki believes there is room for a further market correction. 

 
According to a tweet by Kiyosaki, the asset market, especially for Bitcoin and real estate, is about to burst, and prices will crash further. Kiyosaki noted that he is getting ready to make profits with the projected bubble while calling on investors to prepare for what he termed “the greatest sale on Earth.”

“FAVORITE 4 LETTER WORD is not F word or S word. Favorite 4-letter word is SALE. Asset Bubble found a Pin. Asset prices crashing. In cash position waiting to pick up bargains especially in real estate and Bitcoin. Fed is “F”ed. Do not miss the GREATEST SALE on EARTH. Take care,” said Kiyosaki. 
Kiyosaki’s asset choices for a market crash 
Notably, Kiyosaki remains bullish on Bitcoin and has long predicted a market bubble burst. He has previously urged investors to prepare for the biggest crash in the world while promoting the accumulation of specific assets, including Bitcoin, real estate, silver and gold, at bargain prices.

As reported by Finbold in May, Kiyosaki warned of a potential World War while advising investors to save gold, silver, Bitcoin, food, guns, and bullets.

2. Bitcoin hodlers will 'soon see why' $21.6K BTC price pump is fake — trader

Bitcoin (BTC) spiked to one-week highs on July 17 amid warnings that traders should not trust current BTC price action.

 *Binance inflows see multi-week high*

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD reaching $21,600 on Bitstamp, its best performance since last Sunday. 

The pair saw a fresh leg up during the weekend, this nonetheless coming on the back of thin, retail-driven "out-of-hours" liquidity with institutions out of the picture.

With Bitcoin prone to "fakeout" moves both up and down in such conditions, there was thus little appetite to believe that current trajectory would endure as the weekly close loomed.

"Don't let CT noise change your vision of how things really are," popular social media account, Il Capo of Crypto, told followers on the day, referencing Crypto Twitter narratives.

According to data still being compiled from on-chain analytics platform CryptoQuant, on July 17, inflows neared 17,500 BTC, the most on a single day since June 22.

3. Australian central banker says privately issued, regulated digital currencies may have benefits: Reuters 

Australia’s central bank chief said he tended “to think that the private solution is going to be better — if we can get the regulatory arrangements right.”

Consumer-focused digital tokens issued by private companies may be better than central bank-issued tokens if they can be properly regulated, Australia’s central bank chief said today in a panel discussion, Reuters reported. 

Phillip Lowe, speaking at a meeting of G20 finance officials in Indonesia, said: "If these tokens are going to be used widely by the community, they are going to need to be backed by the state, or regulated just as we regulate bank deposits.” 

He added: "I tend to think that the private solution is going to be better — if we can get the regulatory arrangements right — because the private sector is better than the central bank at innovating and designing features for these tokens." 

Lowe and the other panelists agreed that more needed to be done to create an appropriate regulatory system, Reuters said. 

The risk to financial systems was underscored in May when crypto markets were sent tumbling by the collapse of stablecoin TerraUSD and its paired token Luna, the report said.

4. India Calls on G20 to Bring Crypto Within Global 'Automatic Exchange of Information' Framework

India’s finance minister has called on the G20 countries to bring crypto within the “Automatic Exchange of Information” framework. More than 100 countries have adopted the Common Reporting Standard under the framework.

 *G20 Urged to Bring Crypto Under Automatic Exchange of Information*

India’s finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, talked about cryptocurrency Friday during the G20 Ministerial Symposium on Tax and Development in Bali, Indonesia.

Noting that “tax transparency” is an area where “considerable progress has been made with the Automatic Exchange of Information in respect of financial accounts,” she described: “Our investigations have shown that numerous layers of entities are often set up by tax evaders to conceal their unaccounted assets.”

Sitharaman added that although “the Automatic Exchange of Information framework provides for financial account information to various jurisdictions, tax evaders, being smart, explore other avenues to shift their unaccounted wealth through investment in non-financial assets.” Emphasizing that this area is a point of action for the G20, the finance minister detailed:

The Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) aims to reduce global tax evasion. The Common Reporting Standard (CRS) is an information standard for the AEOI. It was developed in response to a G20 request and approved by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Council in July 2014.

The CRS calls on jurisdictions to obtain information from their financial institutions and automatically exchange that information with other jurisdictions on an annual basis, the OECD described.

 *100+ Countries Have Committed to the CRS*

The Indian finance minister continued: “Over 100 countries have committed to exchanging financial account information under the Common Reporting Standards.”

However, she pointed out that some jurisdictions have yet to commence exchanges of information under this framework. They “will have to be brought in … Therein lies one work agenda for G20,” Sitharaman stressed. She opined:

5. UK Treasury disclosures for first quarter reveal meetings with top crypto execs

Public disclosures show that top Treasury officials took a number of meetings with crypto and venture capital firms in the first quarter. 

UK Treasury disclosures for the first quarter of 2022 reveal a number of meetings between top officials and crypto companies. 

The HMT Ministers' Meetings log, published on the UK government website, shows that then economic secretary John Glen had meetings in February and March with crypto firms including Binance, Paxos, Coinbase and Circle, with the intention to "discuss cryptoassets."

He also met with venture capital firms a16z and Kingsway Capital, as well as point of sale software provider Epos Now, for the same purpose. 

Professor Barry Eichengreen, a University of California academic who has expressed skepticism toward the future of crypto in the financial ecosystem, met with Glen in January

Meanwhile, Rishi Sunak, the former chancellor who is currently running to be leader of the Conservative Party, met with Sequoia managing partner Douglas Leone to "discuss the UK’s Venture Capital sector."

Previous disclosures show that at the end of last year, Sunak visited California and met with representatives from Sequoia and a16z, as well as attending a roundtable with companies including Bitwise, Celo, Solana and Iqoniq. 

Should Sunak win the leadership contest, he would become the UK's next prime minister. 

The meetings preceded the Treasury's announcement in April that it planned to regulate stablecoins and issue its own NFT via the Royal Mint. The policy announcement was part of a bid to position the UK as a crypto-friendly tech hub.

6. Andorra green lights Bitcoin and Blockchain with Digital Assets Act

An analysis of Andorra’s Digital Assets Act and the potential confusion surrounding Bitcoin, blockchain and crypto according to crypto business owners.

A small light of progress shines from Andorra, a tiny European country nestled between France and Spain. The country’s government, the General Council of Andorra, recently approved the Digital Assets Act, a regulatory framework for digital currencies and blockchain technology. 

The act is split into two parts. The first regards the creation of digital money, or “programmable digital sovereign money,” which can be exchanged in a closed system. In effect, this would allow the Andorran state to create its own token.

The second half of the act refers to digital assets as financial instruments and intends to create an environment in which blockchain and distributed ledger technologies can be regulated. For Paul (who withheld his surname), CEO of local Bitcoin business 21Million, the new law could attract new business. He told Cointelegraph:

Note that cryptocurrencies and digital currencies are not legal tender in Andorra, and the Digital Assets Act makes no proposals surrounding means of exchange. That privilege is exclusively reserved for the preferred currency of the European Central Bank, the euro. It hasn’t stopped Paul, an avid Bitcoiner, from making the case for Bitcoin (BTC) adoption in Andorra: 

In a blog post, Paul highlighted that Andorra could adopt a Bitcoin standard, mining Bitcoin with renewable energy, taking on Bitcoin as a reserve asset, and welcoming Bitcoin-centric companies from all around the world. 

National newspaper Diari d’Andorra reported that the Digital Assets Act is a step toward “making cryptocurrencies a day-to-day reality.” From a business perspective, Paul said that the level of “crypto-friendliness” depends on the activity.

7. BTC Takes Its Winning Streak to 4 Days Following 1.21% Gain

* BTC has extended its winning streak to 4 days.

*Market sentiment towards Fed monetary policy that is delivering support.

* BTC’s price now sits at $21,383.27 after a 24-hour gain of 3.98%.

Bitcoin’s (BTC) price has extended its winning streak to four sessions following a 1.79% rise on Saturday. The previous session saw BTC post a 1.21% gain on Friday as BTC ended the day at $21,199. A major reason for the winning streak is the market sentiment towards Fed monetary policy that is delivering support.

A bearish start to the day saw BTC’s price fall to a low of $20,481 before making a move. Coming within range of the first major support level at $20,405, BTC rallied to a high of $21,575.

BTC’s price was then able to rise above the first major resistance level at $21,215 before falling back to around $21,200. Despite this late pullback, BTC held onto the $21,000 level for the first time since July 9.

At the time of writing, the Fear & Greed Index increased from 21/100 to 24/100 – matching the Index level from July 9 and 10.

The most recent move back towards the “Fear” zone, which starts at 25/100, came off the back of a BTC return to $21,000. Bulls now look for a return to the “Fear” zone to support a run up to $25,000.

According to the crypto market tracker, CoinMarketCap, BTC’s price now sits at $21,383.27 after a 24-hour gain of 3.98%. The positive 24-hour performance of BTC’s price has flipped its weekly performance into the positive as well. As things stand, BTC’s price is up 0.34% over the past 7 days.