News updates June 09, 2022
1. Bitcoin (BTC) Makes Another Failed Attempt at Breaking out Above $31,500. Bitcoin (BTC) failed to break out from a confluence of resistance levels and created a bearish candlestick that took it to $30,000. BTC has been falling below a descending resistance line since April 5. The most recent rejection occurred on May 5, leading to the $26,700 low on May 12.
IN BRIEF
BTC is decreasing underneath a descending resistance line.
The readings from the RSI are mixed.
BTC is trading inside a short-term descending parallel channel.
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Bitcoin (BTC) failed to break out from a confluence of resistance levels and created a bearish candlestick that took it
BTC has been falling below a descending resistance line since April 5. The most recent rejection occurred on May 5, leading to the $26,700 low on May 12.
The price has been moving upwards since, but has failed to create a bullish structure. Instead, it has been trading inside an ascending parallel channel, which usually contains corrective structures.
Yesterday BTC was rejected (red icon) by the middle of the channel, the $31,500 resistance area and the aforementioned descending resistance line. In turn, this created a bearish candlestick. The price is now trading at the support line of the channel once more.
IN BRIEF
BTC is decreasing underneath a descending resistance line.
The readings from the RSI are mixed.
BTC is trading inside a short-term descending parallel channel.
PromoKyber Network: Swap, Earn, and Build in DeFi Without Limits Read now!
The Trust Project is an international consortium of news organizations building standards of transparency.
Bitcoin (BTC) failed to break out from a confluence of resistance levels and created a bearish candlestick that took it to
BTC has been falling below a descending resistance line since April 5. The most recent rejection occurred on May 5, leading to the $26,700 low on May 12.
The price has been moving upwards since, but has failed to create a bullish structure. Instead, it has been trading inside an ascending parallel channel, which usually contains corrective structures.
Yesterday BTC was rejected (red icon) by the middle of the channel, the $31,500 resistance area and the aforementioned descending resistance line. In turn, this created a bearish candlestick.
The price is now trading at the support line of the channel once more.
BTC/USDT Chart By TradingView
Current movement
The daily RSI readings provide a mixed outlook.
On one hand, the RSI has generated bullish divergence (green line). On the other, the RSI has been rejected twice (red icons) by the 50 line and has generated some hidden bearish divergence. If the bullish divergence trendline gets broken, this would most likely lead to lower prices.
The two-hour chart shows that the price is decreasing inside a descending parallel channel. Currently, it is attempting to stay above the middle of this channel (red icon).
A breakdown below it would confirm the daily time frame readings and indicate that lower prices are in store.
There are two likely wave counts that could occur.
The first is bearish, and suggests that the price is in wave four of a five-wave downward movement (white).
If correct, it means that the price will soon drop below $25,000 in order to complete wave five.
2. Bitcoin stocks correlation 'feels like' 100% as $30K BTC price frustrates
Bitcoin simply will not budge from its multi-week range, and morale is suffering as a result.
Bitcoin (BTC) wicked through $30,000 during June 9 as the Wall Street open revealed an ongoing stocks correlation.
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD threatening to head lower as the S&P 500 likewise opened with modest losses.
The pair had stayed in a tight range through June 8, this following episodes of volatility, which proved dangerous for long and short traders alike.
"The correlation between the $SPX and $BTC is again close to 1, it feels like," Cointelegraph contributor Michaël van de Poppe tweeted on the day, summarizing the mood.
United States jobless claims data had little impact on markets, with the main event in the form of Consumer Price Index (CPI) data due June 10.
Van de Poppe predicted that the readout, which covers the month of May, would not beat the April figure, this coming after data from Europe hinted that inflation was already slowing down.
"Going into tomorrow; I think we'll see the same from the U.S. which can benefit relief," part of a further Twitter post read.
Fellow trader and analyst Pentoshi, meanwhile, predicted that BTC/USD could run to as high as $35,000 before entering its next major corrective phase, once more based on stock market movements.
3. SEC’s Latest Terra Probe Reveals Shocking Details. Amidst a separate investigation by the South Korean police over Terra’s embezzlement of funds, a fresh probe is in the offing. On Tuesday, a Terraform Labs employee was arrested by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency for stealing 80 Bitcoin.
Shocking Probe On Money Laundering By Terra
According to a report by South Korean portal Naver, the SEC caught hold of Terra’s money laundering situation. This is in addition to the ongoing SEC investigation over allegations surrounding the collapse of Terra and Luna.
“The US Securities and Exchange Commission recently conducted a remote video survey of some of Terra’s key designers and focused on inquiring about Terra’s poor design structure. The designers earlier predicted the collapse of Terra and Luna. They pointed out the danger to CEO Do Kwon several times, which were not taken seriously.”
In a shocking revelation, the SEC found that about 100 billion won of company funds were embezzled every month. It is said to have found the funds were sent out for operating expenses few months before the Terra collapse. Hence, this plan is believed to be Kwon’s sketch to launder money, the report added.
SEC Obtained Proof For Money Laundering
Also, the US regulatory body found internal evidence on the transfer of money into ‘dozens of cryptocurrency wallets’. However, it is said that Kwon has not received any of the money in his personal capacity.
4. Lithuania aims to tighten crypto regulation and ban anonymous accounts
The country decided to act in advance of upcoming EU regulations that could effectively ban noncustodial wallets.
In its efforts to fight money laundering risks and the possible schemes of Russian elites circumventing financial sanctions, the 2.8-million nation of Lithuania is planning to tighten its scrutiny over crypto.
As the local Ministry of Finance announced on Wednesday, various ministries of the Lithuanian government approved legal amendments to Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and countering the financing of terrorism in the crypto sector. The amendments to the current law — should they later be approved by the Seimas, Lithuania’s legislature — would stiffen the guidelines for user identification and prohibit anonymous accounts.
The new regulations would also tighten up demands for exchange operators — from Jan. 1, 2023, they will be obliged to register as a corporate body with nominal capital amounting to no less than 125,000 euros. The senior management of such companies would have to be permanent residents of Lithuania.
The announcement justifies the tightened regulations with the accelerating growth of the crypto industry and specific geopolitical risks:
“More nuanced regulation of the suppliers of crypto-services is also important considering the international regulatory tendencies and the geopolitical situation in the region when many Western countries impose financial and other sanctions on Russian Federation and Belarus.”
5. Colombia Takes First Steps Toward Regulating Cryptocurrency Exchanges.
The Congress of Colombia has approved a bill that regulates the behavior of cryptocurrency exchanges in the country in its first discussion, taking the first steps to bring clarity to this issue. One of the creators of the bill, Mauricio Toro, a representative of the Green Party, stated that this bill is needed to protect users from Ponzi schemes, giving them security in the crypto world.
Colombia Gets on the Crypto Regulation Road
More and more countries in Latam are realizing the growth and influence crypto and crypto-related businesses are seeing in their territories. Colombia is one of them, and this is moving the government to accelerate the regulation of cryptocurrency exchanges to clarify the responsibilities and duties of these companies.
In this sense, the Colombian Congress has taken steps in this direction by approving a bill that seeks to give more clarity and security to the operation of crypto exchanges in the country. One of the proponents of the bill, representative Mauricio Toro of the Green Party, gave his opinion about this development on social media. According to Toro:
Colombia has to move forward in regulating this business, which is legal and multi-million dollar, so that jobs and opportunities are created, but also so that it provides peace of mind to Colombians who can buy their assets safely.
6. South Korea Investigates Terra Labs for Alleged Bitcoin Embezzlement Following UST Collapse: Report
South Korean law enforcement agencies are investigating Terraform Labs following last month's collapse of their controversial algorithmic stablecoin, TerraUSD (UST), according to a report by the Financial Times.
* The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency has launched a probe into allegations of embezzlement of an undisclosed amount of Terra's bitcoin holdings, the report said.
* Terra held $3.5 billion worth of bitcoin (BTC) in its reserves, in a failed attempt to stabilize the price of UST.
* Terraform co-founder Daniel Shin denied allegations of fraud, telling the FT that there was "no intention of deception" and that the company wanted to innovate the payment settlement system using blockchain technology.
*Last month South Korean authorities estimated that around 280,000 of its citizens had been impacted by the collapse of UST and Luna (LUNC).
* Since the implosion of Terra's stablecoin, the company has launched a new token (LUNA) that was airdropped to previous holders. LUNA is currently trading at $3.12 with a market cap of $642 million and has lost 80% of its value since last week's peak.
- Terraform Labs did not immediately respond to CoinDesk's request for comment.
7.
Brazilian Judge Dismisses Bitcoin Scam Mastermind's Attempt to Block His Extradition to South Africa
A Brazilian judge has ruled that the CEO of Mirror Trading International should remain in precautionary detention as authorities in South Africa have already furnished their Brazilian counterparts with the documentation that is required for extradition purposes. The judge also rejected Johann Steynberg’s attempts to use his Brazilian family as the basis for seeking an end to his precautionary detention.
*Documentation for Steynberg’s Formal Extradition*
A Brazilian judge recently dismissed an application by Johann Steynberg — the mastermind behind Mirror Trading International (MTI), one of South Africa’s biggest cryptocurrency scams — to have his precautionary detention revoked. In his application, the MTI chief executive had reportedly argued that since no formal extradition request had been made the court should at least place him under house arrest.
Steynberg also argued that when he left South Africa in December 2020, there was no outstanding warrant for his arrest and that the case itself failed to meet certain requirements which would make extradition possible. Also, as stated in the document released by the Brazilian judiciary, Steynberg had raised the point that he had since started a family in Brazil, hence placing him under house arrest would suffice.
However, in his ruling, Brazilian supreme court judge Andre Mendonça rejected arguments brought forward by Steynberg. The judge revealed that South African authorities had in fact “presented documentation aimed at formalizing the extradition request [on April 14, 2022.]”
In addition, the judge noted that a warrant for Steynberg’s arrest was also “issued on 03/01/2022 by the Justice of South Africa, as evidenced by Interpol’s Red Diffusion documents.” A document reportedly sent by the South African Public Ministry suggested that the MTI CEO was being probed for his role in the bitcoin scam when he left the country.
*Steynberg a Flight Risk*
As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, before disappearing in late 2020, Steynberg had handed control of MTI funds to his wife Nerina. Yet by the time he was arrested by Brazilian law enforcement in December 2021, the former MTI mastermind was reportedly in a relationship with a Brazilian woman.
Addressing Steynberg’s attempt to use his intimate relationship with the unnamed woman as justification for blocking his extradition, Mendonça said.
8. Indian Police Nab 2 Crypto Experts for Theft; Securities Watchdog Raises Fresh Regulatory Concerns
The Cyber Crime Cell of Pune Police in India has nabbed two crypto experts who allegedly drained wallets that were reportedly under probe by the authorities.
As per local media reports, the accused cyber-crime experts, Pankaj Ghode and Ravindranath Patil could have siphoned off large sums of crypto from a Bitcoin Ponzi scheme that was carried out in 2018.
*Investigators accused of crypto theft*
The two experts, one of whom was a former Indian Police Service officer, were reportedly assisting the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Pune police in the investigation since last year. The team had seized 241.46 bitcoins, 452 bitcoin cash, and 94 Ethereum, as per the report.
However, now they are accused of diverting millions in crypto funds to personal accounts from the wallets of the cases’ accused. So far, 237 bitcoins from the funds have been traced, the report remarked.
Cumulatively, the police have reportedly seized over $770,000 in 34 different cryptocurrencies as they investigate an alleged discrepancy of 900 bitcoins.
That said, the former officials will be tried for various offenses and are currently under judicial custody. And, a 4,400-page charge sheet has been filed against the accused crypto experts.
*Securities regulator raises fresh concerns*
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) recently responded to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance on the state of crypto regulation in India. The agency stated, “As crypto assets are maintained in decentralized distributed ledgers, which are nested in computer nodes spread all across the globe, there is a great likelihood of execution of unauthorized trades not in consonance with any regulatory framework,”
The regulator also pushed for an investigating authority, noting that the “spread of the opportunity to deal with crypto assets, crypto assets related unregulated activities may be entrusted to an investigating authority appointed by the government and take further legal action.”
This time around, the watchdog stressed on more regulations, adding, “A digital currency acts as a bridge between the fiat currency of the foreign jurisdiction and the Indian rupee. One objective of bringing crypto trading platforms under regulatory purview could be to provide AML /CFT / KYC reporting; the same can be ensured by registration of the entities as money changers, authorized dealers, or forex dealers,
Meanwhile, the central bank, which has maintained a negative view of crypto since the beginning, is waiting for the government to release its crypto consultation paper.
*RBI awaits crypto paper*
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das on Wednesday said, “There is constant engagement between RBI and the Government on cryptocurrencies. We have given our views to the Government. Let us wait for the consultation paper to come out.”
Last month, the economic affairs secretary Ajay Seth revealed that the Indian government has concluded its consultation paper on cryptocurrency. But before the government could even unveil the paper, the country’s central bank hinted that it is unlikely to change its negative stance on virtual digital assets (VDA). Not so long back, RBI had also gone ahead to warn the parliamentary panel that crypto, in particular stablecoins, could lead to a “dollarization” of the economy.
At the same time, RBI Deputy Governor T Rabi Shankar once again confirmed that a centrally-backed digital currency will be launched in 2022 in a ‘gradual and phased manner.’
Earlier, the central bank had stated in its plan that the Indian CBDC will undergo proof of concept and pilot stages before fully launching within the country.
