News updates June 06, 2022

1. Over $70 billion inflows crypto market in 24 hours as Bitcoin breaks resistance at $31k

After weeks of turbulent price movement, the cryptocurrency market has turned green, with Bitcoin (BTC) leading the recovery charge by showing signs of stabilizing above the crucial $30,000 level. 

Bitcoin’s short-term positive price movement is influencing the general cryptocurrency market, which has attracted a capital inflow of $70 billion in the last 24 hours, a potential indicator that investors’ confidence might be rising. 

As of June 6, the total crypto market capitalization stood at $1.29 trillion, a growth of 5.7% from the last 24 hours when the value stood at $1.22 trillion as per CoinMarketCap data. 

Overall, the market cap has lost about $1.6 trillion from the all-time high recorded in November last year. Over the period, the market capitalization has plunged by over 55%. 

Additionally, the total cryptocurrency trading volume has also spiked by over 44% in the last 24 hours. As of June 5, the value was at $42.7 billion shifting to $61.8 billion on June 6. 

 *Bitcoin surges past $31,000*

After attempts to sustain its price around the $30,000 level, Bitcoin has managed to break the resistance, trading at $31,300 with gains of almost 6% in the last 24 hours. The flagship cryptocurrency has gained over 2% in the last seven days. 

For Bitcoin to embark on an upward trajectory, some crypto analysts had opined that the asset needed to flip the $30,300 level to establish it for growth. As reported by Finbold, prominent crypto trading expert Michaël van de Poppe stated that if Bitcoin flipped the level, it would be in a good position to advance towards $31,800. According to Poppe:

Despite the recent dip in cryptocurrencies, institutions and experts have maintained a bullish outlook. For instance, senior commodity strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence, Mike McGlone, believes that cryptocurrencies will likely outperform all other asset classes once the current bear market cools down.

The strategist has previously maintained that Bitcoin will likely trade at $100,000 by 2025.

2. SEC Trivialises Digital Assets In Anti-Crypto Investment Videos

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has gone out of its way to make crypto appear as a laughable investment by releasing videos lampooning it in order to warn off U.S. investors. Reaction on social media has been mixed, with many unhappy with the way that the SEC has sought to tarnish the new crypto asset sector.

One of the primary roles of the SEC is the protection of the U.S. investor. However, with the recent publication of videos that trivialise the crypto sector and make it appear in a very bad light, it seems that the SEC is once more taking sides against a new asset class that it seems to be trying desperately to eradicate.

Making fun of gullible retail investors wouldn’t appear to be a very sensible path for the SEC to tread. Putting out warnings can be interpreted as the SEC doing its job, but going to so much trouble to try and disparage and denigrate the crypto sector conveys the impression that the SEC just does not want any retail investors to be there at all.

3. Bitcoin Forms Bullish Pattern, Why BTC Could Accelerate Higher

Bitcoin remained well bid above the $29,350 support zone against the US Dollar. BTC started a fresh increase and cleared the $30,000 resistance zone.

* Bitcoin started a recovery wave from the $29,350 support zone.

* The price is now trading above the $30,000 level and the 100 hourly simple moving average.

* There was a break above a major bearish trend line with resistance near $29,700 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).

* The pair could accelerate higher if it clears the $31,180 resistance zone.

 *Bitcoin Price Aims Higher*

Bitcoin price remained well bid near the key $29,350 support zone. A base was formed near $29,350 and the price started a fresh increase. There was a clear move above the $29,800 and $30,000 resistance levels.

Besides, there was a break above a major bearish trend line with resistance near $29,700 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair. The pair climbed above the $30,000 level and the 100 hourly simple moving average. There was a spike above the 50% Fib retracement level of the key decline from the $32,400 swing high to $29,255 low.

Bitcoin price is now consolidating near the $30,800 level. An immediate resistance on the upside is near the $31,180 level. It is near the 61.8% Fib retracement level of the key decline from the $32,400 swing high to $29,255 low.

The next major resistance is near the $31,650 level. A clear move above the $31,650 resistance level could start another increase. In the stated case, the price could rise towards the $32,400 resistance. The next major resistance sits near the $33,000 level.

 *Dips Limited in BTC?*

If bitcoin fails to clear the $31,180 resistance zone, it could a downside correction. An immediate support on the downside is near the $30,400 level.

The next major support is near the $29,950 level and the 100 hourly simple moving average. A downside break below the $29,950 support may perhaps spark another decline. In the stated case, the price could revisit the $29,350 support zone in the near term.

4. Indian Government to Release Guidelines for Certain Crypto-Related Taxations: Report

The Indian government is planning to issue a set of guidelines before July 1 after making some amendments to the scope and definition of VDAs for effective tax administration of virtual digital assets (VDA). The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has been asked to prepare the guidelines, media reports said.

 *Relief in Tax Rates Unlikely*

According to the source, the government is unlikely to reduce the 1% tax deduction at source (TDS) that applies to virtually all digital asset transfers. It thinks that the TDS will help trace and track people in the crypto trade who may be making profits but are unwilling to show them in their income tax filings.

Some industry representatives, including CoinSwtich Kuber CEO Sumit Gupta, had requested the government to bring down the TDS in the range of 0.01% to 0.05%.

The 30% capital gains tax introduced through the Union Budget 2022-23 on profits from crypto transactions, including those of NFTs, is also unlikely to be reduced.

The Finance Ministry is not planning to offer exemptions aside from some exceptions that might include hospitals using blockchain technology.

Presenting digital assets as gifts on festivals and other special occasions is a growing trend. The new guidelines will likely provide for taxation on such gains, the source said.

 *No Word Yet on Regulation Timeline*

While the taxation policy for the crypto sector has been put in place through the Annual Budget 2022-23, and the basic details for its implementation are being finalized and fine-tuned through the upcoming guideline, there is no official word on the timeline for regulations.

Early this week, a top Finance Ministry official revealed that a consultation paper is “fairly ready” after broad-ranging consultations with industry stakeholders and international agencies such as the IMF and the World Bank. It will be put before the public for their comments and feedback within six months, Ajay Seth, Economic Affairs Secretary in the Finance Ministry, said.

Speaking at the IMF panel discussion and subsequent public events in the US during the 2022 Spring Meeting in April, Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman pitched for global crypto regulation and said India won’t take a rushed decision.

5. Antsy Lithuania Latest to Anticipate EU Crypto Law With One of Its Own

Ministers don’t want a crypto disaster to happen while they’re waiting for Brussels lawmakers to dot the i’s on landmark MiCA legislation, but some warn their plans could wreck the sector.

Lithuania is the latest impatient member of the European Union seeking to jump the gun by creating its own crypto licensing regime, because EU laws might come too late to safeguard the sector’s reputation, local ministers told CoinDesk.

With Brussels’ landmark law – the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA) – potentially not in force until 2025, the Baltic nation wants to do its “homework” in advance, the country’s deputy finance minister told CoinDesk. But the plans for the law, which is set to be debated in the country’s parliament, are making some companies based in Lithuania fear for their future.

The EU is in the final stages of negotiating MiCA. The single authorization regime for the bloc of 27 nations has been years coming and could transform the sector by allowing businesses to tap a market of hundreds of millions. Some countries, however, can’t wait to grab their slice of the burgeoning sector.

The European Commission, the EU's governing body, first asked for advice on how existing regulations apply to crypto in March 2018. Since then, crypto uptake has ballooned, and entire initiatives such as the Facebook-backed Libra, then renamed Diem, were born and died.

Even once lawmakers iron out their final wrinkles in the law, like how to treat Libra-like stablecoins, non-fungible tokens and decentralized finance, there will be a transition period for as long as two years before MiCA takes effect.

MiCA is kind of the biggest thing that's upcoming, it's a good decision; we support it,” Mindaugas Liutvinskas, vice minister in the Lithuanian ministry of finance, told CoinDesk in an interview. “But before we get there, it's, what? 2025, end of 2024; we still have quite a lot of time.
“What we decided to do is take practice steps, do all our homework, to strengthen our regulatory framework,” he said, calling his proposed law a “quick fix” that MiCA can then take “to the next level.”

6. 19-Year-Old Artist Has Made Nearly $50 Million From Selling His NFTs

Transgender teenager Victor Langlois (alias “FEWOCIiOUS”) has reportedly made nearly $50 million in little over a year from the sale of his non-fungible tokens (NFTs). 

According to a report by NBC News, the 19-year-old first achived mainstream fame after his physical artworks and NFTs were sold for $2.16 million at Christie’s auction house in New York. The collection, which was titled “Hello, i’m Victor (FEWOCiOUS) and This is My Life” explored Victor’s childhood and gender transition.

7. Crypto Firms Flock to Dubai for Regulatory Clarity as UAE Cleans Its ‘Grey’ Reputation

If you’re in the crypto industry, it seems that Dubai is the place to be right now. Not only is the most populated city in the UAE and one of the world’s biggest tourist hotspots, but it has recently seen an influx of crypto firms looking to establish a regional (or global) base, including Binance, FTX, Crypto.com, and Bybit.

Given that Dubai also happens to be among the most important financial centers in the world, it may come as little surprise that crypto-related companies are moving to the city. Yet according to industry observers, it’s not only Dubai’s rising financial status that’s attracting crypto, but also the fact that it passed a law on virtual assets which provides the kind of regulatory clarity that crypto firms are desperate for elsewhere.

As such, Dubai might rise in importance within the crypto sector within the coming months and years, even if its inclusion on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)’s ‘grey’ money laundering watchlist will result in it facing greater scrutiny.

8. Bermuda confirms crypto hub ambitions despite market downturn

The Bermuda government is pushing on with its ambitious plans to become a cryptocurrency hub despite the massive market downturn in 2022.

The small island territory known for its pristine pink sand beaches and attractive taxation policies has been actively expanding its crypto sector since 2017, according to Bermuda’s minister of economy and labor, Jason Hayward.

9. U.S. Senator Lummis bill integrating crypto into financial system to be unveiled this week.

The first United States draft bill on cryptocurrencies is set to be unveiled in Congress by Bitcoin-friendly Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis this week. 

 
The bill, which is expected to be presented on Tuesday, will clarify various elements of crypto regulations alongside identifying the correct classification of digital assets, Politico reported on June 6.

Senator Lummis confirmed the bill’s readiness through her Twitter account on June 3 while noting that if integrated into law, cryptocurrencies will formally become part of the financial system. 

“We’ve been teasing it for months, but the time is almost here – a proposal to fully integrate digital assets into our financial system. Excited to finally unveil this effort next week. Stay tuned,” said Lummis.