News updates June 17, 2022

1. Over $200 Million in Liquidations as Bitcoin Dipped Towards $20K Again.

The liquidations are over $200 million on a daily scale again as bitcoin headed towards $20,000 a few hours ago.

The crypto markets saw another downturn as bitcoin dipped to just over $20,000 for the second time in the past few days. Most altcoins have also retraced on a daily scale, with ETH going below $1,100.

 *Bitcoin’s Latest Dip*

The landscape around the primary cryptocurrency continues to be grim as the asset has lost approximately $10,000 in the past seven days. The start of this week brought more pain for the bulls as BTC stood around $27,000 before it began its rapid descent.

In just a matter of hours, bitcoin found itself dipping below $22,000 before it bounced off by a thousand dollars. However, the bears proved their dominance over the market and drove BTC south again. This time, it came just inches away from breaking below the coveted $20,000 mark.

As the Fed raised the interest rates by 75 basis points, BTC actually went on the offensive and spiked to $23,000 before it started to lose ground once again.

In the past 24 hours, the cryptocurrency dropped to a low of $20,250 (on Bitstamp). As of now, it has recovered around $1,000 and sits at just over $21,000. Its market capitalization is at $400 billion, but the dominance over the altcoins has been further reduced to 44.3%.

2. Analyst Says Bitcoin Can Fall Deeper As Below $20K Can Trigger Threatening Margin Calls Worth Millions Of Dollars

A fall below the $20k support could trigger heavy liquidations for firms that have borrowed against Bitcoin with positions at that point.

Investors and firms are currently locked in a “battle of the leverages” as Bitcoin struggles to maintain its support level at $20k. That’s according to a top executive at Ballet Global Inc., Bobby Lee, the company’s founder and CEO, that provides crypto storage services.

Apparently, investors are shorting positions at around the $20k range while the firms struggle to keep the coin from hitting the same liquidation point. This unstable condition could result in the shorts winning and sending the price down below $20k.

According to Bobby, a drop below the $20k mark could be catastrophic to firms that have borrowed against the crypto.

 *BTC To Drop To $10k*

Still, Bobby thinks that the current market conditions will force Bitcoin to retest the $20k support, and if this happens, it could drop further down to $19k and then $18k. Many firms that have borrowed against Bitcoin have their liquidation positions at around $20k.

“I think we will test $20,000 and go to $19,000-$18,000; There are a lot of funds, large borrowers of Bitcoin who have liquidation positions in the $20,000 range.” 

As such, a retest of that support level could either mean liquidation or deployment of more collateral to establish a lower liquidation position.

3. Bitcoin Weekly Forecast: Everything you need to know about BTC 200-week MA

* Bitcoin price is trading below the 200-week SMA again as the week nears an end.

* A breakdown of this historically significant support could lead to another 50% crash.

* If history is any indicator, a bounce here that produces a higher high above $52,000 could trigger a new bull run for BTC. 

Bitcoin price has gone through turbulent times over the last few months. From reaching a new all-time high to hitting yearly lows and revisiting levels since 2020, the crypto markets have been extremely volatile.

With its current position, BTC could be preparing to wreak havoc by triggering another brutal leg down or a surprising run-up. The market participants are in shock and will get trampled on regardless of the direction the big crypto takes.

 *Bitcoin price and historic significance* 

Bitcoin price, in its 12-year history, has tagged the 200-week Simple Moving Average (SMA) five times. Out of these five times, only six weekly candlesticks have closed below this barrier and have resulted in quick recoveries above it.

Interestingly, every retest was followed by the end of the bear market and the start of a new cycle. Another noteworthy observation is that any deviations below the 200-week SMA have not exceeded 30% and have been bought up quickly.

* Bitcoin price needs to recover above the 200-week SMA.

* Produce a higher high above the last swing high at $52,000 on a weekly time frame.

* Sustain this bullish outlook by producing a higher low relative to the previous swing low.

If these steps occur in the right order, things will definitely flip bullish for Bitcoin. However, this run-up could be unsustainable due to two reasons.

* Bitcoin price is highly correlated with the stock market, which is in turmoil.

* The geopolitical and macroeconomic outlook is worsening and is on the brink of a recession.

Hence, even a recovery on BTC’s part could still come undone if the world slips into a recession. 

 *The dark side of 200-week SMA* 

Painting a picture of the worst-case scenario is Arthur Hayes, the founder of BitMEX. He explained that the option flows data from Deribit showed that the open interest is at $20,000 for BTC and $1,000 for ETH. 

He also adds that “there are massive otc structured products centered around those strikes as well.”

Hayes detailed that a breakdown of these levels could trigger a catastrophic crash for the crypto ecosystem.

4. Breaking: Multiple Probes Across U.S. On Over Celsius Withdrawal Halt:

Following an announcement earlier this week to halt user withdrawals, the lending platform is attracting scrutiny from authorities. On Tuesday, Celsius Networks paused withdrawals on its platform stating the move was in the interest of the users.

 *Celsius Probe In Texas*

In a latest, a regulatory board in Texas began a probe in this matter. Acording to a Reuters report, the Texas State Securities Board had on Thursday opened an investigation into Celsius’ decision. The move to suspend customer redemptions is being looked at, Joseph Rotunda, director of enforcement, was quoted as saying by Reuters.

In an email statement, the director said the regulatory scanner around freezing of accounts is already underway. He added that the board took the matter as a priority issue.

5. Crypto News: Spanish Airlines Partners With Bitpay To Accept Crypto Payments:

Vueling S.A., European low-cost airline in Spain, has sealed partnership with American bitcoin payment service provider Bitpay to offer its customers the opportunity to make payments for tickets via cryptocurrency.

 *Vueling S.A. will utilise UATP for payment processing*

The crypto payment option is expected to be made available at the start of 2023 to individuals only. Upon its availability, it would make Vueling the first low-cost airline in the whole of Europe to offer payment via crypto option to its customers.

The travel payment solution Universal Air Travel Plan (UATP) will be utilised for this payment method in order to ensure a seamless payment processing exercise. UATP generally provides payment solutions to airlines in the global scene.

The travel payment solution Universal Air Travel Plan (UATP) will be utilised for this payment method in order to ensure a seamless payment processing exercise. UATP generally provides payment solutions to airlines in the global scene.

In order to reduce incidence of fraud via this novel payment method, Vueling has revealed that the transaction would have the nature of a push payment rather than a pull payment. This means that customers would pay directly from their Crypto wallets by originating the transaction themselves.

Furthermore, prices for tickets would be displayed in EUR and users would have the liberty of paying the equivalence of any of 13 cryptocurrencies including but not limited to Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Dogecoin (DOGE), Litecoin (LTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH).

 *airBaltic became the first airline to accept crypto*

While Vueling S.A. would be the first low-cost European airline to accept Crypto payment, it wouldn’t be the first airline to toe this line as just last month, Dubai-based air company Emirates Airline revealed plans of accepting payments for tickets in Bitcoin (BTC) soon.

UK-based travel company Alternative Airlines has for some time given its customers in the global scene the ability to pay for flight tickets using Bitcoin through any of the two crypto payment providers Utrust and crypto.com.

Nonetheless, acceptance of Crypto as payment for flight tickets began with Latvian air carrier airBaltic when the airline made a decision to accept payment via Crypto in 2014, making it the first ever air company to do so. Others have since followed suit, especially with the growing interest in cryptocurrencies and mainstream adoption noticed.

6. President of Panama Vetoes Crypto Bill Passed By Parliament:

Panama’s president Lorentino Cortizo has partially rejected the crypto bill proposed by the country’s parliament after stalling for weeks citing absence of Anti-Money Laundering rules and a lack of sufficient information on his part then.

 *Panama wants to enter the Crypto scene*

Gabriel Silva, Congressman in the National Assembly of Panama, in a recent tweet, revealed the Panamanian president’s decision to partially veto the crypto bill passed by the National Assembly two months back.

According to Silva, the National Assembly is currently studying the bill to make corrections in sections that appear unsatisfactory.

The bill to regulate digital assets and make them a medium of payment within the country was approved by the Panamanian National Assembly two months ago after passing a third debate. All that was left was the president’s signature.

The bill was meant to “develop the crypto industry in the country to attract more investments and generate more employment,” according to Silva. The cryoto bill would see Panama follow in the footsteps of its Latin American neighbor El Salvador. However, unlike El Salvador, Panama’s bill doesn’t make crypto a legal tender.

 *Latin America has been one of the most favourable regions for crypto*

Banks, citizens and other institutions within the country would have the liberty to accept and make payments in cryptocurrencies where the option is provided without limitations. Some of the assets mentioned in a draft of the bill shared include Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), XRP, Litecoin (LTC), Stellar (XLM), Algorand (Algo), and suchlike.

Latin America has been one of the most favourable regions for digital assets. There has been a 1,370% rise in the use of cryptocurrencies within the region from 2019 to 2021. Argentina, Brazil and Cuba all have a favourable atmosphere for cryptocurrencies to thrive. El Salvador became the first country to make BTC legal tender in September of last year.

Once corrections to the crypto bill in Panama are made by the National Assembly, the cryptocurrency community, especially in Panama, hopes for a favourable response from the president as this would pave way for innovation in the country and further open more doors of opportunities for citizens and businesses alike.

7. Altcoins May Lose Another 50% of Their Value in Upcoming Weeks: Bitmex Co-Founder Arthur Hayes

Arman Shirinyan
Altcoins are set for another plunge, according to co-founder of one of biggest derivatives trading platforms on crypto market.

8. Three Arrows Capital Liquidates All Staked Ethereum In A Wallet

Crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital liquidated all Staked Ethereum (stETH) holdings in one of its wallets on Friday. The hedge fund on the brink of insolvency has been selling its stETH and Ethereum (ETH) holdings recently to pay back debts and outstanding loans.

The consequences of Three Arrows Capital’s liquidation will be severe for the crypto market. The crypto market could possibly crash again, causing almost billions in liquidation.

9. Kraken to Trail Binance in Hiring Over 500 Staffs Amid Crypto Meltdown

Kraken exchange has made a very bold revelation that it does not intend to make any layoffs despite the growing concerns about the ongoing crypto-economic meltdown.