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Weekly Crypto Brief 8th October

8th October 2019
Weekly Comment

In top crypto news, it has been reported that PayPal has left the Libra Association, the governing body of Facebook’s digital currency. Although the payment processing giant says it remains “supportive of the stablecoin’s aspirations” the company was absent from a meeting of 28 Libra backers on Thursday, with a hint that others may follow suit. On Wednesday last week reports also suggested that MasterCard and Visa were also unsure about whether they wished to become paid-up participants. Some companies are suggesting Facebook has exaggerated claims that regulators were comfortable with Libra when evidently this is not the case. Leaked audio of a Q&A session hosted by Mark Zuckerberg in July revealed the CEO wanted to take a consultative approach to get the project off the ground.

Meanwhile American banks on the Federal Advisory Council warned Libra has the potential to create a “shadow banking” system, significantly reducing bank payment volumes.
Tim Cook has shut down any rumours of Apple and a digital currency in the near future, speaking to a French media, the apple CEO said “I truly think currency should remain in the hands of the state. I’m not comfortable with the idea that a private entity can create a modern currency.” His remarks can most defiantly be taken as a direct dig at Facebook’s project Libra and also have the potential to rile avid crypto supporters. Cook’s outlook on the space backtracks on what Jennifer Bailey the vice president of Apple Pay said last month when they were monitoring developments in the crypto industry closely because it has “interesting long-term potential”.
Coinbase and Kraken, two well-known and respected crypto exchanges have teamed up to launch a rating system that defines which digital assets are securities. The Crypto Ratings Council as it has been known is designed to provide more clarity on which tokens can be traded without the supervision of regulators. The assets will be scored on a scale of 1 to 5, with the highest score indicating that a certain token is considered as a security that cannot be issued, sold or traded by unregulated firms. Execs are hoping that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will view this as a positive step, but critics have claimed the council’s assessments could be compromised by conflicts of interest.
Have a great week.
 

 
Past Week Talking Points:

  • “Here’s the thing about crypto, particularly Bitcoin: Bitcoin is worth what somebody will pay for it. […] I’d rather have bananas, I can eat bananas. Crypto… not so much.”  Mark Cuban, billionaire tech investor
  • ‘Very, very skeptical:’ German Finance Minister opposes Facebook’s Libra
  • SEC: If Bitcoin was a security, it would ‘raise substantial issues’
  • Coinbase reinstates full GBP support for UK clients
BTC Price: $8,015

Last 7 Days: -2.4%  1month: -22.90% 12months: +21.75%

BTC Technicals:

Over the week just gone, BTC has started a short term recovery from the $7,656 low it has seen, trading above the $7,800 and $8,100 resistance levels and more importantly breaking above the $8,200 resistance area.  Ultimately, the price tested the $8,490 resistance area and topped out towards the $8,536 level. In recent days we have seen the price of BTC start a new decline and trading close to $8,300. We can now see the price is following a bearish path below the $8,200 level and is trading well below the 100 day simple moving average.

There was a recent break below the 50% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $7,650 low to $8,533 high. At the moment, the price is holding the $8,000 support level, with a bearish tone in mind.  We have noticed that there is a key declining channel forming with resistance near $8,200 on the 4-hours chart of the BTC/USD pair. Bitcoin remains at a risk of more downside pressure from the bears. If it breaks $8,000, the price could decline towards the $7,850 support area. Any further downsides might trigger a further drop towards the $7,400 support area in the near term. Looking upwards, there are many levels in which bears and bulls will need to fight to break such as $8,200 and $8,300. The first major resistance is near the $8,550 level. However, the main resistance is near $8,600.

BTC Volume:

30th September: $17,115,474,184 (BTC Price of $8,293)
7th October: $15,143,138,993 (BTC Price of $8,052)

11% decrease in trading volume in the last 7 days
 

 
Last 7 Days Big Market Movers

1               BitBall           BTB               $0.040135           918.81%
2               Centrality      CENNZ          $0.084476           322.34%
3               T.OS             TOSC             $0.029294          193.62%
 

 
ETH Price: $175.28

Last 7 Days: -0.97%  1month: +2.07%  12months: -22.37%

Ethereum Technicals:

Ethereums price action has shown a fresh trading range after it failed to surpass the $185 resistance in previous days. The price is currently trading below the key $180 and $185 resistance levels and there is a key contracting triangle forming with resistance near $180 on the 4-hours chart of ETH/USD. This is pointing towards the pair being likely to make the next crucial move either above $180 or towards the $160 support. ETH’s major support level is placed at $170 and its major resistance sitting by $185.
 

 
Market Cap. Dominance:

BTC:  66.6%
ETH:  8.74%
XRP:  5.46%

Other ALT-Coins: 19.2%
 

 
This newsletter is not intended and should not be construed as an offer, solicitation or recommendation to buy or sell any specific investments  or participate in any investment (or other) strategy.