News updates May 02, 2022

1. Bitcoin Consolidates Below $39k: What Could Trigger Another Declin:

Bitcoin extended decline below the $38,000 level against the US Dollar. BTC is recovering, but it must clear $39,000 for upside continuation.

* Bitcoin remained in a bearish zone below $40,000 and $39,000.

* The price is now trading below $39,000 and the 100 hourly simple moving average.

* There was a break above a key bearish trend line with resistance near $38,000 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).

* The pair must clear the $39,000 resistance to continue higher in the near term.

 *Bitcoin Price Eyes Recovery Wave*

Bitcoin price gained bearish momentum after it broke the $39,000 support zone. BTC even traded below the $38,000 level and settled below the 100 hourly simple moving average.

There was a spike below the $37,500 support zone. A low was formed near $37,399 and the price is now correcting higher. There was a move above the $38,000 and $38,200 resistance levels. There was also a break above a key bearish trend line with resistance near $38,000 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair.

Bitcoin price even climbed above the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the key decline from the $40,349 swing high to $37,399 low. It is now facing resistance near the $38,800 level and the 100 hourly simple moving average.

The 50% Fib retracement level of the key decline from the $40,349 swing high to $37,399 low is also near the $38,800 zone to act as a resistance. The next key resistance could be near the $39,000 zone. A close above the $39,000 level could open the doors for a decent increase.

In the stated case, the price could even surpass the $39,250 resistance. The next major resistance may perhaps be near the $40,000 zone.

 *Fresh Decline in BTC?*

If bitcoin fails to clear the $39,000 resistance zone, it could start a fresh decline. An immediate support on the downside is near the $38,400 level.

The next major support is seen near the $38,000 level. A clear break below the $38,000 support zone could even push the price below $37,500. Any more losses might call for a test of the $36,400 support.

2. Fed ‘will determine the fate of the market’ — 5 things to know in Bitcoin this week:

The U.S. central bank will make what is becoming a monthly dictation of what markets do this week with a new rate hike announcement.

Bitcoin (BTC) starts a new week with much to make up for after its worst April performance ever.

The monthly close placed BTC/USD firmly within its established 2022 trading range, and fears are already that $30,000 or even lower is next.

That said, sentiment has improved as May begins, and while crypto broadly remains tied to macro factors, on-chain data is pleasing rather than panicking analysts.

With a decision on United States economic policy due on May 4, however, the coming days may be a matter of knee-jerk reactions as markets attempt to align themselves with central bank policy.

Cointelegraph takes a look at the these and other factors set to shape Bitcoin price activity this week.

 *Fed back in the spotlight* 

Macro markets are — as is now the standard — on edge this week as another U.S. Federal Reserve meeting looms.

As inflation runs rampant worldwide, it is expected that Chair Jerome Powell will make good on his previous pledges and announce key interest rate hikes.

3. Bitcoin and most altcoins have bounced off after yesterday’s bloodshed.

NEAR has gained the most from the larger-cap alts.
After marking the multi-week low yesterday, bitcoin reacted well and spiked by almost $2,000 in the following hours. Most altcoins are also slightly in the green following the recent corrections. NEAR Protocol leads the way with a double-digit daily increase.

Bitcoin Taps $39K
After failing at $41,000 last week, bitcoin started its rapid descent and found itself trading below $38,000 just a day later. The bulls stepped up at this point and pushed the asset north. As a result, bitcoin was above $40,000 shortly after, but, as it happened the last time, it didn’t stay there for long.

Just the opposite, BTC slumped once more and remained below $39,000 for a few days. Another price decline came yesterday when the asset dumped to $37,500, which became its lowest level in about two months.

The bulls intercepted this move once more and drove bitcoin north. This time, the cryptocurrency jumped to $39,000 and currently sits just a few hundred dollars south of that line.

Its market capitalization now sits at $740 billion, while its dominance over the altcoins is above 42%, as most of them have suffered even most in the past week or so.

4. Whales Add $28 Mln Worth Of Wrapped BTC, DeFi Trade To Spike?

The world’s largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin (BTC) is finally showing some recovery from the recent dump. BTC prices have registered a marginal increase of around 1% in the last 7 days. Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s Ethereum (ETH) spin off Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) registered a huge spike in its trading volume.

Interestingly, the biggest of the Ethereum whales’ recent recorded transactions shows a sudden increase in WBTC accumulation. According to WhaleStats, the ETH whales have added over $28.6 million worth of WBTC tokens in the last 24 hours. This move has shot WBTC’s 24 hour trading volume of $329 million by more than 85%.

5. Bitcoin ATM installation slowdown continues for 4th month in 2022
The evident reduction in the installations of crypto ATMs could result from the regulators' hesitance to adopt the Bitcoin ecosystem. 

April 2022 marked the fourth consecutive month of a slowdown in the installation of Bitcoin (BTC) ATMs, ever since the slowdown began at the start of the year.

BTC ATMs serve a crucial purpose for the Bitcoin economy, helping users physically retrieve or deposit BTC holdings against the corresponding cash reserves. 

Based on the data provided by Coin ATM Radar, the year 2021 saw the highest global increase in the BTC ATM installations, with August witnessing its peak of 2,037 ATMs net change. Starting in January 2022, the crypto ATM net change fell down to 1,687 from December’s high of 1,969 ATMs.

Ever since, the net change in crypto ATM has maintained a downward trajectory, recording three-digit changes across the following months in February (970), March (757) and April (739).

6. India: Prominent Exchange CoinSwitch Kuber Reinstates Rupee Deposit Via Bank Transfer. 

CoinSwitch Kuber reinstated rupee deposits using the bank deposit method on its platform approximately two weeks after the option was stopped due to regulatory difficulties. Although no official statement was made, the CoinSwitch Kuber app stated that deposits of up to $1.31 USD (100 INR) could be made via NEFT, RTGS, and IMPS.

Unified Payments Interface (UPI) Suspended
Consumers of CoinSwitch Kuber, India’s largest crypto exchange with more than 15 million customers, would benefit from the move. Despite this, CoinSwitch Kuber and other crypto platforms still have the widely-used Unified Funds Interface (UPI) community deactivated.

Following a statement from NPCI stating it was unaware of any digital asset platforms using the service earlier this month, crypto exchanges ceased allowing deposits over UPI. Subsequently, MobiKwik, whose suppliers had been employed by significant crypto exchanges, withdrew aid to the exchanges.

Crypto traders in India were shocked when UPI, one of the most popular deposit methods on crypto exchanges, was suspended by the Reserve Bank of India. In addition, CoinDCX, another cryptocurrency exchange, has lowered its minimum rupee deposit by bank transfer from $39.2 USD (3,000 INR) to $9.8 USD (750 INR).

7. BTC Bulls Battle With Bears To Prevent $36k Support Test. 

The largest cryptocurrency by market cap, Bitcoin (BTC), starts the week with a 2+% increase in the last 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap.

The price of BTC is $38,969.30 at the time of writing, with a 2.31% increase in the past 24-hour. Furthermore, BTC seems to be closing the margin on its 7-day performance following its price drop of 0.27% in the past week.

BTC has quite an extensive lead over the rest of the crypto market when it comes to market cap, with its market cap amounting to over $740 billion. The next highest market cap is Ethereum (ETH), with a total market cap of almost $345 billion.

Looking at the daily chart for BTC/USD, the price of BTC has posted lower lows and lower highs over the last several days. The 15 EMA is also still below the 50 EMA, which indicates more selling pressure than buying pressure for BTC.

It does seem that the bulls have taken over the last 2 days as the week starts with the majority of the trading volume being buy orders. Will the bulls be able to push the price of BTC away from the next key support level of $36k and take it towards $40k once again?

It does seem that the bulls are making one last stitch effort to break out of the wedge by testing the upper bound of the wedge. Should the bulls successfully break the wedge and maintain the breakout, then we could see the price of BTC heading towards $40k. Otherwise, the price will head to $36k.

8. India Exploring Commercial Uses for Central Bank Digital Currency, Says Finance Minister


The Indian government is exploring “several commercial use purposes and not just financial inclusion” for its central bank digital currency. India’s finance minister clarified that the aim is for the digital rupee, which will be backed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), to be issued by 2023.