News Updates October 29 & 30, 2022

1. Bitcoin Price Analysis: The Danger is Not Over Yet, Despite BTC’s 6-Week High

After getting rejected by the mid-term descending trendline for several months, Bitcoin finally broke above this obstacle and now attempting to surpass the 100-day moving average line.

However, the momentum hasn’t turned bullish yet, whereas BTC had formed a bearish reversal pattern in the lower timeframes. As of yet, there is no sign of a trend reversal in the price action.

Technical Analysis 

The Daily Chart
Bitcoin has formed a bearish triangle pattern and found support at the lower boundary near the $18K range until it recently broke above the triangle.

Typically, a breakout from the upper edge of a bearish triangle is considered a bullish signal for the price. However, the market conditions are slightly different now, with some significant resistance levels over the near term.

The 100-day moving average of $20.8K is the main barrier for Bitcoin, as the price is struggling to hold above this level after a few failed attempts.

Optimism will likely return to the market if the price successfully exceeds this level. Nevertheless, there is a higher chance that Bitcoin will get rejected at this level and plummet based on the lower timeframe price action. After getting rejected by the mid-term descending trendline for several months, Bitcoin finally broke above this obstacle and now attempting to surpass the 100-day moving average line.

However, the momentum hasn’t turned bullish yet, whereas BTC had formed a bearish reversal pattern in the lower timeframes. As of yet, there is no sign of a trend reversal in the price action.

The 4-Hour Chart
There is a clear imbalance between the $20.9K and $22.1K levels. The price has recently experienced a surge and has reached this region.

Typically, the market uses an imbalance to initiate its next expansion move. However, the price has formed a bearish reversal flag pattern and reached the upper threshold.

Meanwhile, a closer look at the most recent price action reveals a Double Top reversal pattern formation. Furthermore, there is a bearish divergence between the price and the RSI indicator on the 4-Hour timeframe.

Putting all the above signs together, there are many bearish indications for the upcoming days for BTC. Hence, a rejection at the $21K level resulting in a plunge toward the $18K range will be the most likely scenario for Bitcoin in the short-term.

2. This Week on Crypto Twitter: Musk Takeover, Twitter Crypto Wallet in the Works.
Binance’s Changpeng Zhao and MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor welcomed Twitter’s new boss. 

This was also the week that Tesla CEO, institutional Bitcoin HODLer and Dogecoin-maxi Elon Musk finally closed his $44 billion Twitter acquisition bid. His new platform was a hive of commotion following the news; though MicroStrategy executive chairman (and fellow Bitcoin whale) Michael Saylor and Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao were the most welcoming.

Musk officially took over Twitter on Thursday evening and trolled followers with reports that he was already firing people. The two dejected and believable-looking “employees” pictured below were in fact professional trolls. Although Musk previously floated the idea of firing 75% of Twitter’s staff (around 5,000 people), this week, he appeared to have had cold feet on that proposal.

While everyone was talking about a Web3-leaning tech billionaire taking over the world’s biggest microblogging site, security researcher and Forbes 30 Under 30 winner Jane Manchun Wong reported that Musk’s new acquisition already appears to be developing a crypto wallet. 

3.US Lawmakers Probe SEC, Treasury, Federal Reserve Over Revolving Door With Crypto Industry.

U.S. lawmakers have raised concerns about the revolving door between financial regulators and the crypto industry. “Over 200 government officials have moved between public service and crypto firms,” the lawmakers said, adding that they include 31 Treasury Department officials and 28 Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) officials.

Revolving Door Between Financial Regulators, Like SEC, and Crypto Industry

Five U.S. lawmakers have sent a letter to seven financial regulators inquiring about measures they are taking to prevent the revolving door between their agencies and the crypto industry. The letters, dated Oct. 24, were signed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and Rep. Jesús G. “Chuy” García (D-IL).

The letters were sent to Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chair Rostin Behnam, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Acting Chair Martin Gruenberg, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)’s Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael J. Hsu, and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Rohit Chopra.

“We write seeking information about the steps your agency is taking to stop the revolving door between our financial regulatory agencies and the cryptocurrency (crypto) industry,” the lawmakers wrote. “The crypto sector has rapidly escalated its lobbying efforts in recent months, spending millions in an attempt to secure favorable regulatory outcomes as Congress and federal agencies work to craft and enforce rules to regulate this multi-trillion dollar industry.”

They explained:

As part of this influence campaign, crypto firms have hired hundreds of ex-government officials … and we are concerned that the crypto revolving door risks corrupting the policymaking process and undermining the public’s trust in our financial regulators.

4. Bank of America seeks crypto public policy expert to draft bills, spot 'key risks' to business.

Bank of America is seeking a crypto policy expert to keep tabs on digital asset regulation and identify "key risks" fintech could pose to its business. 

The posting of the job ad for a public policy analysis and insights manager for crypto comes as large institutions and lawmakers take a more serious look at digital assets.

“We seek a policy analysis and insights manager who will identify emerging issues and evaluate the potential impact to the enterprise, with a primary focus on fintech/cyber/AI/crypto/stablecoins/blockchain,” Bank of America wrote in the job posting.

The candidate for Bank of America’s crypto job would be responsible for analyzing policy proposals, drafting legislation, developing advocacy strategies and building coalitions within the industry. The role would also entail writing bill amendments and comments to regulators, along with drafting testimony to present to lawmakers and regulators, among other tasks.

The role would also involve identifying “key risks that emerging financial technologies and fintech business models may pose,” according to the job posting.

5. Thailand Central Bank to Launch CBDC Pilot, But Still Not Keen on Crypto.

The central bank of Thailand has announced that it is planning more time to research and develop its central bank digital currency (CBDC).

On Oct. 29, local media reported that the Bank of Thailand (BoT) is continuing to develop a CBDC but needs to “ensure it offers additional benefits to the financial system with good risk management.”

The Bangkok Post added that several commercial banks had also developed a retail CBDC, but none of them had actually launched one yet. BoT governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput said it would be another five years before one is officially launched in Thailand.

Thailand CBDC Pilot to Launch

The Bank of Thailand is collaborating with two commercial banks (Siam Commercial Bank and Bank of Ayudhya) on a CBDC pilot. Around 10,000 retail users will test the digital currency. The pilot will begin at the end of this year and run into the middle of 2023.

6. Crypto Scam Report Shows Web3 Experienced 15 New Fraudulent Smart Contracts.

Solidus Labs functions to carry out crypto operations based on the crypto-native T3 (Triple T) market integration solutions (MIS). These market solutions include threat intelligence, monitoring of transactions, and trade surveillance.

Its primary mission is to ensure the safety of crypto transactions and investments throughout all decentralized finance (DeFi) and centralized markets. Solidus Labs, situated in New York, United States, began its actions in 2017.

In the meantime, there are about 12 leading blockchains under the company’s radar to detect possible theft or fraudulence cases. The need to monitor and carry out threat surveillance in the crypto industry is necessary, considering the high possibility of scams.

Most of the scam cases detected came from a crypto exchange platform’s chain known as BNB Chain. Besides this, more cyber threats keep arising, and recently, the Web3 system has detected 15 new scam cases.

Major Information On The Scam

Solidus Labs has detected around 188,525 scam cases dating. The cases reported came from some blockchains among the 12 monitored blockchains. These blockchains include BNB Chain, Polygon, and Ethereum.