News updates March 18, 2022
1. Bitcoin Recaptures the Psychological $40,000 Mark; CantThe Bulls Overcome Resistance at $45,000?
Bitcoin (BTC) price has risen above the moving averages and regained the psychological price level of $40,000. The cryptocurrency has reached a high of $41,115 at the time of writing.
Bitcoin (BTC) price long-term forecast: bullish:
All indications are that Bitcoin will continue to rise to retest the upper resistance of $45,000. Currently, the largest cryptocurrency is approaching an overbought area of the market. This will lead to a decline in the cryptocurrency. However, in a market with a strong trend, an overbought condition may not last and the cryptocurrency may continue its uptrend. BTC/USD is capable of recovering to the psychological price level of $50,000 if buyers overcome the resistance at $45,000.
However, if the bulls fail to overcome the overarching $45,000 resistance, BTC/USD will trade between $37,500 and $45,400.
1) Bitcoin (BTC) indicator reading:
Bitcoin is at level 53 on the Relative Strength Index for period 14, suggesting that Bitcoin is trading above the psychological price level in the bullish trend zone given the recent upward movement. The BTC price is trading above the moving averages indicating a possible upward movement.
However, the cryptocurrency is above the 80% range of the daily stochastic. This indicates that the largest cryptocurrency has reached the overbought region of the market. Can the buyers push Bitcoin further up as the sellers emerge in the overbought region?
2) What is the next direction for BTC/USD?
On the 4-hour chart, BTC/USD has initiated an upward movement. On March 16, there was a false breakout above the resistance at $39,000. The BTC price rose to a high of $41,788 and then suddenly plunged below the $39,000 resistance.
Today, the bulls broke through the resistance at $39,000, while buyers are targeting the high at $45,000. Bitcoin will rise as long as it is above the moving averages. The uptrend will end if it breaks below the bullish trend line.
2. Bitcoin ($BTC) Is Likely Going to Keep ‘Outperforming Gold, Stock Market’, Says Bloomberg Analyst:
Bloomberg commodity strategist Mike McGlone has weighed in on Bitcoin’s performance as inflation surges, interest rates rise, and Ukraine deals with a large-scale invasion from Russia.
In a tweet shared with his followers on social media, McGlone noted that this year may be “primed for risk-asset reversion and mark another milestone in Bitcoin’s maturation.” The analyst added he believes BTC will keep on outperforming both gold and the stock market.
According to a chart from Bloomberg Intelligence McGlone shared, the flagship cryptocurrency has been greatly outperforming gold, the S&P 500 Total Return Index, and the growth of the U.S. money supply. The cryptocurrency is now trading at $41,000.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index (CPI), used to measure inflation, has recently posted a 7.9% rise compared to last year, marking the fastest annual jump the CPI has seen since 1982. The figure has prompted the Federal Reserve to approve its first interest rate hike in over three years.
The analyst isn’t the only one bullish on the flagship cryptocurrency. Bill Barhydt, the CEO of investment and trading platform Abra, has recently shared his medium and long term outlook for both BTC and ETH, and revealed he sees bitcoin trade at $250,000 in the future. As for Ethereum, Barhydt predicted it could trade between $30,000 and $40,000.
Similarly, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has said BTC is “mathematically defined,” and predicted it will reach $100,000. In an interview, Wozniak revealed he was an early BTC investor but after the price of the cryptocurrency started surging he “got scared” and sold all of his coins except for 1 BTC.
It’s worth noting that this week Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed into law a bill named “On Virtual Assets” that was approved by the country’s parliament a month ago. It establishes a legal framework for the country to operate a regulated crypto market.
3. Australia should not miss out on the worldwide crypto craze :
Crypto craze should not be missed out by Australia as per Commonwealth Bank CEO Matt Comyn
Banks need to be involved with crypto even though they are volatile and speculative
Australia has the capacity to build CBDCs for the long run benefit of the economy
The CEO of Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), the country’s biggest bank, sees huge dangers in not taking an interest in cryptographic money. We see hazards in taking part, yet we see greater dangers in not partaking, he clarified.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia CEO Matt Comyn discussed the fear of missing out (FOMO) with regards to bitcoin and digital money in a meeting with Bloomberg Television in Sydney Thursday. Republic Bank, or Commbank, is an Australian worldwide bank with organizations across New Zealand, Asia, the U.S, and the U.K.
Comyn clarified that despite the fact that cryptographic forms of money are exceptionally unpredictable and theoretical, banks should be associated with crypto and blockchain innovation, referring to the voracious interest from clients to exchange crypto.
4. Impossible for Russia To Evade Sanctions With Crypto, FinCEN Rep Says:
As the conflict in Ukraine continues to escalate, lawmakers are taking a closer look at digital assets and how they could be used to commit crimes:
*The Senate Banking Committee heard from financial crime experts and crypto industry members to discuss the extent to which the technology is used in financial crimes.
* Witnesses agreed that it would be difficult for Russian entities to completely avoid sanctions with digital assets.
As the conflict in Ukraine continues to escalate, lawmakers are taking a closer look at digital assets and how they may or may not be used to commit crimes.
Russian sanctions evasion, which some have speculated could be facilitated with digital assets, was a key topic of discussion during Thursday’s Senate Banking Committee hearing, titled “understanding the role of digital assets in illicit finance.”
When asked if Russian President Putin or other sanctioned entities could use cryptocurrencies to work around the rules, the witnesses agreed that the likelihood of this was slim.
“I will quote my successor as counselor to the deputy secretary of the Treasury, who recently said ‘you can’t flip a switch overnight and run a G20 economy on cryptocurrency, there just isn’t the liquidity,’” Michael Mosier, former acting director and current deputy director and digital innovation officer of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), said during the hearing.
Michael Chobanian, founder of KUNA Exchange and president of Blockchain Association of Ukraine, agreed.
Iran has successfully mined cryptocurrency to its advantage,” Shane Stansbury said, a Robinson Everett distinguished fellow in the Center For Law, Ethics and National Security and senior lecturing fellow at Duke University School of Law. “There’s also a lot of reporting about North Korea, that it has turned to cryptocurrency to fund its regime…it’s a huge problem.”
5. US lawmakers introduce bills that could force crypto exchanges to cut ties with Russian wallets:
Brad Sherman said the Biden administration should have the ability to tell crypto exchanges not to do “business with Russia-based crypto wallets” amid the situation with Ukraine.
Representative Brad Sherman will be introducing a bill in the House aimed at cracking down on United States businesses handling crypto transactions for Russian banks and individuals.
Speaking at a hybrid markup meeting with the House Financial Services Committee on Thursday, Sherman said he will be introducing a companion bill to Senator Elizabeth Warren’s legislation that would give the Biden administration “explicit authority to require that crypto exchanges that are subject to U.S. law stop facilitating transactions with Russian-based crypto wallets.” Warren first announced the legislation on March 8, later saying during a Senate Banking Committee hearing she will be introducing the bill on Thursday.
Neither bill‘s text is available through congressional records at the time of publication. However, Warren’s proposed legislation would reportedly give the Treasury Department the authority to stop crypto exchanges under U.S. jurisdiction from processing transactions from any crypto addresses belonging to Russian nationals. In addition, U.S. taxpayers would be required to report any crypto transactions outside the country exceeding $10,000 to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN.
“[I] look forward to joining with my colleagues to make sure that one of the tools available to the administration is the ability to tell crypto exchanges if they’re doing business in the United States, they can’t do business with Russia-based crypto wallets until this crisis is over,” said Sherman.
Congressional candidate seeking to unseat anti-crypto Brad Sherman is accepting contributions via Lightning:
Sherman, who has previously made several anti-crypto statements including calling for a ban on digital assets, cited Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation asking for all exchanges “to block addresses of Russian users,” seemingly without restricting the ban to individuals and businesses named in U.S. and European Union sanctions. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said the firm would comply with sanctions but not block transactions connected to all Russian crypto wallets, while Kraken CEO Jesse Powell said there would have to be a legal requirement for the exchange to freeze Russian accounts.
“We are not going to unilaterally freeze millions of innocent users’ accounts,” a Binance spokesperson told Cointelegraph in February. “Crypto is meant to provide greater financial freedom for people across the globe.”
6. Argentine Congress Approves IMF Debt Deal That Would Discourage Crypto Usage"
The $45 billion loan was approved by the Senate on Thursday night, one week after the Chamber of Deputies passed it.
The Argentine Senate approved on Thursday night a debt deal of $45 billion with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) linked to an agreement that includes a provision discouraging the use of cryptocurrencies.
The debt deal, also approved by the Chamber of Deputies on March 11, will serve to restructure a $57 billion program the country received in 2018.
For its part, the cryptocurrency provision was included in a letter of intent signed by Argentina and the IMF on March 3, which now needs to be approved by the IMF board.
The provision, entitled “Strengthening financial resilience,” says: “To further safeguard financial stability, we are taking important steps to discourage the use of cryptocurrencies with a view to preventing money laundering, informality and disintermediation.”
The letter of intent also describes that “while commercial banks remain liquid and well-capitalized, strong bank oversight will continue, especially following the unwinding of pandemic-related regulatory forbearance.”
Argentina also plans to continue its payment digitalization process “to improve the efficiency and costs of payments systems and cash management,” according to the letter of intent.
The Latin American country, which recorded year-on-year inflation of 52.3% in February, has become one of South America’s the leading crypto hubs in the region. Stablecoins purchases increased six-fold in 2020, according to information provided by local exchanges.
7. Qatar Central Bank Studying Digital Banks and CBDCs
Qatar Central Bank is presently examining the possibility of issuing a digital currency as well as digital bank licensing, an official has said. The official adds this study will help the central bank get an understanding of what its area of focus should be.
8. RBI seemingly wants to ban cryptocurrencies, but not for the reasons you might think
the Reserve Bank of India, or RBI, the country's central bank, published a critical bulletin regarding the cryptocurrency industry. While the report praised the innovative distributed ledger technology associated with digital currencies, the RBI dismissed arguments calling for the regulation of such assets and called for an outright ban. RBI's core concerns were related to cryptocurrencies threatening the country's financial sovereignty.
According to the RBI, an increase in the adoption of cryptocurrencies would lead to a danger of crypto replacing the Indian rupee, thereby undermining authorities' control of monetary policy. In addition, the RBI does not appear to be convinced by arguments citing the relative laissez-faire regulation of cryptocurrencies in developed countries, such as the United States, as a basis that India should do the same.
