• Bitcoin has undergone a strong drop since the highs yesterday.
• Order book trends indicate that the coin may proceed its reversal in the weeks ahead.
• Analyst Cole Garner shared a chart showing Bitcoin’s recent price action, along with the order book data from Bitfinex.
• This data suggests that the cryptocurrency is likely reaching a trend high and may see a reversal as it did at the end of August and the start of September.

Bitcoin Could Soon Top, Order Book Trends Show

Bitcoin has undergone a strong drop since the highs yesterday. The coin dropped from the highs of $13,850 to lows around $12,900. This was a $1,000 correction.

Some think the coin will resume its uptrend soon. But according to order book data shared by Cole Garner, a crypto-asset analyst, a medium-term top may be in the midst of forming despite the bullish expectations of some.

Garner shared the chart below on October 28th. It shows Bitcoin’s price action over the past few months along with order book data overlayed on the chart.

This data suggests that the cryptocurrency is likely reaching a trend high and may see a reversal as it did at the end of August and the start of September. This chart does suggest that Bitcoin has room to rally, potentially towards $15,000, but it also implies that a correction will eventually be had.

Bitcoin’s recent weakness only adds to the potential that this plays out.

The leading cryptocurrency has been weak over the past few days as a result of a correction in the S&P 500, which is down 3% on Wednesday alone. This is the greatest daily loss in many months for the leading index.

Chart of BTC's price action over the past few months with analysis of the on-chain order book by Cole Garner (@ColeGarnerBTC on Twitter).
Source: BTCUSD from TradingView.com

Technical Trends Suggest Upside is Likely

Technical trends suggest that the macro trend remains bullish for Bitcoin.

One analyst said that Bitcoin’s weekly close above the “strong resistance” of $12,000 will trigger a move towards all-time highs. As reported by this outlet previously:

“keeping it simple here with $btc, the weekly chart looks phenomenal. now firmly above all downtrends from the 2017 20k top and this week just closed on its highs above key 12.5k resistance. the sky is the limit now imo, and this market is not for shorting!”

Underscoring this positive sentiment is institutional and retail adoption of Bitcoin that is likely to drive the coin even higher in the long run. For one, corporate treasuries are buying Bitcoin as they look to hedge inflation risks. Retail investors, too, are expected to get involvement with PayPal and other firms launching crypto-asset support.

Featured Image from Shutterstock
Price tags: xbtusd, btcusd, btcusdt
Charts from TradingView.com
Bitfinex Whales That Marked the August Highs Suggest Bitcoin to Top

• Bitcoin saw a nosedive that caused it to erase all of yesterday afternoon’s gains as a result of the intense selling pressure around $13,800
• This level marks the cryptocurrency’s 2019 highs, and a continued bout of trading at this level could confirm this as a local top
• It is important to note that BTC has found support above $13,200, which is a positive sign suggesting that upside is imminent
• The resistance here isn’t the only factor that may have sparked this selloff
• Analysts are noting that a sudden surge in the U.S. Dollar’s value may have struck a blow to the cryptocurrency as well

Bitcoin and the aggregated cryptocurrency market have been caught within a strong uptrend throughout the past few days and weeks, but this momentum is now showing signs of faltering.

Overnight, BTC witnessed its first harsh rejection seen throughout the course of its recent uptrend.

This rejection caused its price to plummet from highs of $13,800 to lows of $13,200 before it was able to find some support that has since helped slow its descent.

Where it trends next will depend largely on whether or not it can continue holding above its near-term support.

Bitcoin Plunges from Highs as Momentum Falters

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading down just over 3% at its current price of $13,200. This marks a notable decline from its recent highs of $13,800 that were set yesterday afternoon.

So far, BTC’s local top coincides perfectly with its 2019 “blow-off top” set in the summer. The resistance here could prove to be significant in the near-term.

However, if broken, a move to fresh all-time highs of above $20,000 would be in the cards.

Here’s Another Reason Why BTC Is Plunging Today

The resistance at $13,800 isn’t the only reason why Bitcoin’s price plunged today.

Its latest decline also coincided closely with a rapid surge in the U.S. Dollar’s value, which BTC has been inversely correlated to as of late.

One analyst spoke about this, noting that it is now imperative that BTC holds above $13,250 – a level it is currently dipping beneath.

“Retrace here on BTC, as DXY is pushing upwards given the surrounding coronavirus pandemic fears. To avoid deviation above the range high, $13,250-13,325 has to hold for support. If that breaks, $12,700 seems next.”

Image Courtesy of Crypto Michaël. Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.

If the U.S. Dollar Currency Index (DXY) continues pushing higher, it may place further pressure on Bitcoin.

Featured image from Unsplash.
Charts from TradingView.

• Ethereum has been severely underperforming Bitcoin as of late, which has led the ETHBTC trading pair to see immense weakness
• It is currently plunging lower as Bitcoin’s $13,800 rejection sends shockwaves throughout the market
• Although it has reached its first key support zone, weakness seen by both BTC and ETH individually will likely drag it significantly lower in the near-term
• This weakness can only be reverted if bulls step up and propel both the cryptocurrencies together in tandem
• One analyst is expecting significantly further downside

Ethereum has been struggling to match the strong momentum seen by Bitcoin as of late, but it has been fully exposed to the weakness seen by Bitcoin throughout the past several hours.

Yesterday afternoon, BTC saw a push higher that sent it towards its 2019 highs of $13,800. This move was significant and led many investors to anticipate further upside, but bears rapidly catalyzed a rejection.

This rejection sent the benchmark cryptocurrency down to its support at $13,200, creating shockwaves that have put serious pressure on Ethereum as well.

One analyst is now warning that further weakness could be imminent for ETH – especially against the cryptocurrency’s Bitcoin trading pair.

Ethereum Struggles as Selling Pressure Forces It Below $400 

Previously, Ethereum had been ardently trying to hold above its $400 support level as Bitcoin reclaimed its dominance over the market and saw an independent rally higher.

BTC’s rejection, however, forced ETH below this key level.

At the time of writing, Ethereum is trading down roughly 4% at its current price of $390. This marks a significant pullback from its intra-rally highs of $420 set just a handful of days ago.

The crypto is also seeing weakness against its BTC pair, currently down over 1% at its current price of 0.029.

Analyst: ETHBTC Likely to Plunge Significantly Lower

While sharing his thoughts on where Ethereum might trend in the near-term, one analyst explained that he expects it to continue underperforming Bitcoin.

He points to the 0.025 BTC region as its key support that it is likely to visit.

“Ethereum: Still crashing heavily, as expected. I’m looking to be buying this one in December/January and probably around the 0.025 area. But short term, a slight bounce can occur. The crucial breaker is the 0.0315 sats zone.”

Image Courtesy of Crypto Michaël. Source: ETHBTC on TradingView.

Unless something shifts this trend, like the release of Phase 0 of the ETH 2.0 upgrade, there’s a decent likelihood that Ethereum will continue seeing weakness in the short-term.

Featured image from Unsplash.
Charts from TradingView.

• Bitcoin saw a strong overnight selloff that caused its price to erase most of the gains incurred throughout the past couple of days
• This selloff came about at a crucial resistance level, with the selling pressure at $13,800 proving to be significant
• This is a historical level, as it is where BTC rallied to before facing a strong rejection in the summer of 2019
• The rejection here was grave, but the cryptocurrency still has multiple factors working in its favor
• One analyst is pointing to a spot premium as one such factor that could bolster BTC

It has been a rough past few hours for Bitcoin and the aggregated crypto market, as the benchmark cryptocurrency saw a harsh selloff after its price rallied as high as $13,800.

The selling pressure at this price level was significant and came about swiftly, suggesting that it may be quite some time before we see a sustained move past $14,000.

Despite this decline’s overt bearishness, there are still many factors that are working in bulls’ favor.

One such factor is a premium to buy spot Bitcoin versus futures contracts, suggesting that there is currently a wave of retail and institutional interest driving demand for spot BTC.

Bitcoin Rejects at $13,800, Plunges to Key Support

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading down just over 2% at its current price of $13,320. This is around the price at which it has been trading throughout the past few days, but it does mark a serious decline from its daily highs.

These highs were set yesterday afternoon when the crypto rallied as high as $13,800. The rejection here was grave and instantly sparked a decline that led BTC down to its current price level.

Whether or not it can find support around its current price should provide significant insight into its near-term outlook.

Analyst: Demand for Spot BTC a Bullish Sign

While sharing his thoughts on Bitcoin’s current outlook, one analyst explained that a premium seen while looking towards spot BTC indicates that there is massive retail, corporate, and institutional demand.

He deems this a highly bullish sign.

“A higher spot price & higher spot volume (relatively speaking) is considered bullish because it means that the rally is based on actual buying instead of degenerates gambling on derivs.”

Image Courtesy of Byzantine General. Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.

Where the market trends in the next few days should determine the long-term significance of this Bitcoin rejection. A sustained decline could be a highly bearish sign.

Featured image from Unsplash.
Charts from TradingView

The US dollar dropped on Tuesday amid concerns of the rising coronavirus cases in Europe and the US, and uncertainties surrounding the US election. How will it move against the Japanese yen in the coming weeks?

On Monday, the USDJPY gained slightly amid the US, Russia, and France seeing a second wave of coronavirus infections. New protocols have been enforced. European countries including Belgium, Croatia, the Czech Republic, France, and Germany have also recently recorded their highest daily counts since March.

Hopes for another US fiscal stimulus grow meek as Washington policymakers revealed very little clues about it happening in the near future. The US dollar will delight in a negative fiscal stimulus. Despite the previous gain, USDJPY dropped on Tuesday as bears took control of the market. 

The USDJPY pair is on a downtrend for quite a while now. Margin traders would do well to closely observe the large psychological level at ¥105. According to a forex analyst at UOB Group, the outlook remains negative, and the price drop could extend further to the ¥104 level in the coming weeks.

USDJPY trajectory in the past 3 months [1D chart], SimpleFX WebTrader

The US election uncertainties add more pressure to the markets. Many traders foresee a larger US stimulus package if Biden takes the presidential seat and the Democrats take over the Senate. The spending will weaken the US dollar more.

The gap in the election polls is narrowing a bit between Biden and Trump, and the risk tone can be tighter as the election date on November 3 nears. If the gap widens toward the end of the week, the markets could lean towards positive risk, which could stomp on the US dollar and push the Japanese yen further up.

Trade USDJPY at SimpleFX and make huge profits from the impending price moves. No matter if the market goes up or down, you can produce lofty revenue by speculating on USDJPY prices. We offer up to 500x leverage so you can stretch your limit to the top!

Join the USDJPY Trading Contest this week and get a chance to cash in prizes from the $500 prize pool. All you have to do is trade USDJPY from October 26 to November 1. Traders with the highest trading volumes will receive exciting rewards. Don’t miss it!

Disclaimer: The information presented here does not constitute investment advice or an offer to invest. The statements, views, and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author/company and do not represent those of Bitcoinist. We strongly advise our readers to DYOR before investing in any cryptocurrency, blockchain project, or ICO, particularly those that guarantee profits. Furthermore, Bitcoinist does not guarantee or imply that the cryptocurrencies or projects published are legal in any specific reader’s location. It is the reader’s responsibility to know the laws regarding cryptocurrencies and ICOs in his or her country.

Bitcoin has been explosive for the past few weeks now, revisiting highs from 2019. But before the leading cryptocurrency by market cap could set a higher high and confirm a bull market, the dollar’s recovery might have gotten in the way.

According to the DXY Dollar Currency Index, the greenback has formed a rounding bottom and broken upward out from a falling wedge reversal pattern. But why exactly is this bearish for Bitcoin, and what could it mean for the cryptocurrency market bull run that might have been brewing?

Bitcoin Bull Market Was Just Inches Away, But The Still Dominant Dollar Says No

Nearly all signs are pointing to Bitcoin being on the cusp of a critical break out into a new bull market. The one thing holding the cryptocurrency back currently is resistance from last year’s high at around $13,800. Crypto analysts claim that above there, its clear skies for the top cryptocurrency by market cap to blast off into a new uptrend.

RELATED READING | BITCOIN SETS NEW ALL-TIME HIGH IN THESE GLOBAL CURRENCIES

The definition of an uptrend is a higher high following a higher low. The leading cryptocurrency by market cap surviving Black Thursday and maintaining a higher low was the first major sign that a bull trend was beginning.

Throughout 2020, the case for a bullish Bitcoin has only grown, with companies and institutions finally getting into the market, and the dollar’s sudden weakness letting hard assets like it and gold fly.

The cryptocurrency market pullback could be due to the dollar's rebound | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

Bitcoin’s weekly RSI just broke into bull market territory for the first time, but a reversal in the DXY Dollar Currency Index has potentially caused the cryptocurrency to top out for the time being.

The DXY is a basket of top currencies trading against the greenback, which in the chart above is superimposed behind the Bitcoin price chart. The anti-correlation sharpened on Black Thursday, and the two completely different assets deviated further. But now things are turning around for the global reserve currency, and it isn’t a good thing for crypto.

Why The Cryptocurrency Bull Market Depends On Continued DXY Weakness

In the chart below, the spotlight is on the DXY itself, with BTCUSD instead superimposed behind the price action of the dollar trading against other top currencies. When the dollar ebbs and flows, Bitcoin does the opposite. It makes sense as the dollar makes up one-half of the most dominant trading pair in the crypto market.

RELATED READING | DOLLAR INDEX FRACTAL SUGGESTS AN INCREDIBLE ALTCOIN SEASON IS ON THE HORIZON

USD is the most dominant currency in the world, and although Bitcoin’s market cap is rising compared to other national currencies, it is still far off from taking the greenback’s throne.

The greenback's rounding bottom is breaking out, potentially confirming falling wedge reversal | Source: DXY on TradingView.com

When the dollar is strong, the crypto market weakens and vice versa. The last major altcoin season, according to a fractal that could be playing out, suggests that the dollar could fall further and make for a cryptocurrency bull market that makes the last time around look like a practice run.

But if the opposite happens, and the dollar returns to full strength, Bitcoin’s missed higher high could lead to a bearish situation in the weeks ahead. While this doesn’t necessarily mean a downtrend is back on, talk of a higher low could keep crypto investors in disbelief a little while longer. And it all could be due to the dollar and its rounding bottom breakout, happening right now.

Featured image from Deposit Photos, Charts from TradingView.com

Every week, IntoTheBlock brings you on-chain analysis of top news stories in the crypto space. Leveraging blockchain’s public nature, IntoTheBlock’s machine learning algorithms extract key data that provide a deeper dive into the major developments in the industry. 

This week we cover Bitcoin’s growth as it surpasses $13K and grows its market dominance to over 60%. We go over the remarkable news from PayPal and JPMorgan, and the implications these have had on blockchain and derivatives market data. As well, we go over the recent DeFi hack and how DeFi tokens continue to underperform.

Bitcoin Takes Off

Bitcoin has had an outstanding last couple of weeks. Bitcoin’s price is near two-year highs as several bullish news have catalyzed the move higher. IntoTheBlock had previously identified bullish momentum building up in early October. This momentum finally came into fruition as Bitcoin surpassed the $12K mark for the first time since July 2019. 

In terms of news, there has been no shortage in positive developments for Bitcoin. On October 21, PayPal confirmed they will be offering its 286 million users the ability to buy, sell and pay with cryptocurrencies, sending Bitcoin to new yearly highs. A few days later, long-time Bitcoin skeptic JPMorgan reversed its stance on the cryptocurrency claiming it has “considerable long-term upside potential” competing with gold as an alternative currency. More recently, DBS — Singapore’s largest bank —  is launching a crypto exchange (even if not quite yet).

While this news demonstrates the increased legitimacy of crypto in general, Bitcoin has benefited disproportionately. In fact, Bitcoin has been the best performing asset class throughout October.

By analyzing on-chain and derivatives markets data, we can observe that institutional interest has been leading the way in the recent Bitcoin rally. Throughout the last 12 months, transaction size and average Bitcoin address balance has been increasing, especially since August.

Average transaction size has more than quadrupled since October 2019, pointing to the growing appetite for Bitcoin among institutional investors and whales. Similarly, the average balance of a Bitcoin address has been growing, outpacing price action. In Bitcoin terms, the average balance has grown nearly 20% from 0.48 BTC in October 2019 to 0.57 BTC in October 2020. This suggests addresses have been accumulating and large players have been skewing the balance distribution higher. 

Derivatives markets also paint a similar picture. Perpetual swaps’ open interest — which measures the total dollar value of open positions — have been suggesting growing demand among derivatives traders.

The increase in open interest in tandem with price is a traditional signal pointing to confidence in the current market trend. This further solidifies the recent Bitcoin momentum stemming from large players and institutions. 

Overall, Bitcoin holders have enjoyed one of its best months in 2020. The recent run shows signs of support coming from institutional investors as recent news have helped boost Bitcoin’s legitimacy further. Ultimately, Bitcoin remains bullish as both on-chain and derivatives markets analytics highlight its growing appeal among whales and institutions. 

DeFi Suffers Another Hack & Continues Crashing

On the other hand, decentralized finance (DeFi) tokens have been struggling to recover since the September crash. While DeFi tokens took the spotlight in the summer, the market has not been in their favor with their tokens being some of the worst performing in October and September. When compared to Ethereum’s performance  — where most DeFi DApps are built on top of — DeFi governance tokens hit a monthly low.

The ratio of DeFi tokens’ market cap (excluding oracles) to Ethereum went from being around 25% in late August to just over 15%. During the same period, Ethereum has also dropped, meaning that DeFi tokens have fared relatively worse in the last couple of months. 

Recently, the DeFi space was also hit with negative news as Harvest.Finance, which had grown into one of the top 5 DeFi protocols by value locked, was exploited by anonymous attackers. As explained by Yearn’s founder Andre Cronje.

Essentially, the attacker exploited stablecoin pools as they drained their liquidity and was able to lower their price below peg and then profit from the difference. This resulted in the loss of the stablecoins provided by Harvest users in the USDT and USDC pools. Between $25-$34 million of user funds were lost, but the attacker seemingly could have profited from other stablecoin pools and oddly opted not to. Adding to this twist, the hacker returned $2.5 million of the stolen funds without any indication for their reasoning.

Harvest Finance subsequently lost 60% of its value locked, from over $1 billion to $430 million. A fraction of this was directly from the hackers withdrawn funds, but most due to users removing their funds following the incident considering how other pools were also vulnerable. The attack had wider implications throughout other DeFi protocols as the value locked in all of DeFi crashed by over $1 billion that day.

Harvest competitors such as Yearn also had a decrease in their value locked, pointing to general fear amongst DeFi users. This acts as the cherry on top for DeFi protocols’ recent trend as traders shift their attention to Bitcoin.

These hacks are nothing new to DeFi and it is important for users to consider these risks when interacting with protocols. While DeFi shows high potential long-term, it still faces roadblocks in regards to its security and scalability. There has been optimism with the latter as Ethereum approaches phase 0 of its ETH 2.0 upgrade. Ultimately, these issues and DeFi tokens recent performance point to the space still being in its early days, where activity is of higher risk but also potentially higher rewards.

This article contains links to third-party websites or other content for information purposes only (“Third-Party Sites”). The Third-Party Sites are not under the control of CoinMarketCap, and CoinMarketCap is not responsible for the content of any Third-Party Site, including without limitation any link contained in a Third-Party Site, or any changes or updates to a Third-Party Site. CoinMarketCap is providing these links to you only as a convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement, approval or recommendation by CoinMarketCap of the site or any association with its operators.

The post The Diverging Paths of Bitcoin & DeFi: A Data Perspective by IntoTheBlock appeared first on CoinMarketCap Blog.

28th October 2020, Limassol, Cyprus – Can you hear it? Is that a wolf howling? A witch’s laughter? Oh, it’s an omen that brings fright, fun, and a new terrific tournament, Witching Hour! As the Halloween season approaches, the well-known crypto casino 1xBit brings users a top gambling game to fit the spirit of the season and make Halloween fantasies become a reality.

Be Careful, Dark Forces Are Round the Corner

The witching hour is the time of night when unnatural forces become most powerful, and our world is filled with spirits… Spirits of Gambling! This year’s Halloween will not just be as usual with the new live casino tournament, which is designed for this time when the fans of gambling can do so during the coming Halloween.

This is a game particularly suited for those who are fascinated by Halloween and the creepy and scary feeling that comes with it. Do you want to spend Halloween alone at home without going out and still have the full Halloween experience? This tournament brings all of the above into reality with the creepy feelings of the Witching Hour.

Young, adorable witches wait for the players at the tables from Ezugi, and playing any table game from this provider can bring generous prizes – the winner of the tournament will get 500 mBTC. 

The event starts on October 30, 2020, at 00:00 GMT and will await players with the best rewards and thrilling emotions, so they can enjoy the fun of the season. 

This includes variable amounts of BTC for different places, as follows:

• 1 place – 500 mBTC;
• 2 place – 250 mBTC;
• 3 place – 100 mBTC;
• 4 place – 50 mBTC;
• 5-6 places – 20 mBTC;
• 7-10 places – 15 mBTC.

There are several benefits of taking part in tournaments on 1xBit, the leading crypto casino. First, you get a welcome bonus of up to 7 BTC if you are signing up on the website for the first time. The crypto wallet on your account will support over 25 cryptocurrencies, so you have many options to work with. What’s more? The casino is completely anonymous, which means your identity is not revealed to anyone.

There are over 100 game providers with more than 5,000 slots on 1xBit so that you can play many more games if you wish to get as many rewards as possible with live dealers also available. These are in addition to several other benefits and incentives, which the platform provides for players, such as easy and free withdrawal of rewards.

The Witching Hour is Upon Us 

The Witching Hour live casino tournament is perfect for online gamblers looking to get into the spirit of Halloween, take advantage of a generous 100% welcome bonus, and be in the running for some huge crypto prizes. 

For more information about 1xBit, please visit – https://1xbit.com/

Check out the official 1xBit blog for the latest articles – https://1xbit.com/blog/

Media Contact Details

Contact name: Anastasia Semenova

Email: marketing@1x-bit.com

1xBit is the source of this content. This Press Release is for informational purposes only. Virtual currency is not legal tender, is not backed by the government, and accounts and value balances are not subject to consumer protections. Cryptocurrencies and tokens are extremely volatile. There is no guarantee of a stable value, or of any value at all.

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The post 1xBit Launches New Live Halloween Casino Tournament ‘Witching Hour’ appeared first on NullTX.

• Bitcoin has undergone yet another strong rally to the upside over the past day, reaching highs of $13,850.
• Analysts believe the coin will continue higher in the days and weeks ahead.
• Raoul Pal, for instance, said that BTC could hit new all-time highs by Q1 of 2021 “at the latest.”
• This optimism was echoed by Tyler Winklevoss, co-founder of Gemini.

Bitcoin Will Pass $20k in Q1 2021, Analyst Says

Bitcoin has undergone yet another strong rally to the upside over the past day. The leading cryptocurrency currently trades for $13,700, just shy of the $13,850 highs established just hours ago.

Analysts think that the cryptocurrency is poised to rocket even higher in the weeks ahead. Raoul Pal, CEO of Real Vision and a Wall Street veteran, recently shared the chart below. It shows that BTC is about to break above a pivotal horizontal resistance at $14,000, which should trigger a move toward $20,000 and beyond in the months ahead:

“There are literally only two resistances left on the #bitcoin chart – 14,000 and then the old all-time high at 20,000. I fully expect new all-time highs by early next year at the latest.”

Chart of BTC's price action since the middle of 2016 with analysis by analyst and investor Raoul Pal.

Pal is a former head of hedge fund sales at Goldman Sachs. He also managed a billion-dollar hedge fund in Europe based on macro strategy. He now writes a research report called Global Macro Investor read by the world’s fund managers and runs Real Vision.

Other prominent investors in the crypto space expect a strong rally in the months ahead.

Tyler Winklevoss, one of the two Winklevoss Twins that launched Gemini and are now Bitcoin billionaires, commented recently:

“I do think we will see an all-time-high price for #Bitcoin before 2020 is over. Even though the price has climbed from 10k to almost 14k in less than a month, it hasn’t really gone on a breakout run yet. When we start to see 3-5k surges then the bulls will be on the run.”

I do think we will see an all-time-high price for #Bitcoin before 2020 is over. Even though the price has climbed from 10k to almost 14k in less than a month, it hasn't really gone on a breakout run yet. When we start to see 3-5k surges then the bulls will be on the run

— Tyler Winklevoss (@tyler) October 27, 2020

Why Invest in BTC?

Pal thinks it’s logical to invest in Bitcoin due to the coin’s increasingly strong performance against all other assets, which should drive instittuional players and retail players into the mix:

“Bitcoin’s performance is SO dominant and SO all-encompassing that it is going to suck in every single asset narrative dry and spit it out. Never before in my career have I see a trade so dominant that holding any other assets makes almost no sense. The macro, flows, technology, demography and societal strains have all converged to this moment in time and the definite answer from markets is – #bitcoin.”

It’s worth noting that Pal says to have more than 50% of his net worth in Bitcoin, arguing that it may be the best trade of his lifetime.

Photo by pixpoetry on Unsplash
Price tags: xbtusd, btcusd, btcusdt
Charts from TradingView.com
Wall Street Veteran Raoul Pal Thinks Bitcoin Will Pass $20,000 in Q1 2021

• Ethereum has dramatically underperformed Bitcoin over the past two weeks.
• The coin has gained 13% in the past two weeks while BTC has gained 20%.
• Analysts think that the gap may begin to close shortly.
• One trader noted that there are a number of technical signals derived from the Ichimoku Cloud indicator suggesting Ethereum will move higher.

Ethereum Forms Pivotal Bull Signals

Ethereum has dramatically underperformed Bitcoin over the past two weeks. The leading crypto asset has gained around 13% as BTC has surged closer to 20%.

Despite this underperformance on a short term basis, analysts think that ETH will soon see an explosion in price appreciation.

One crypto-asset analyst shared the chart below on October 27th. It shows that Ethereum is currently underperforming BTC but may soon catch up due to a number of technical signals. He specifically pointed to three technical signals, derived from the Ichimoku Cloud indicator. These signals are as follows:

• Ethereum has retested the flat Tenkan level, which confirms it as support. This level is important for bulls to hold during uptrends.
• The Chikou is pointing up after the bounce on the Kumo (the cloud).
• Ethereum’s future cloud has twisted into the green, suggesting a bull trend is forming.

“$ETH hasn’t even started yet: retested the flat Tenkan, chikou pointing up after bounce on Kumo, bullish future (twist). Spot buys done here Ballot box with check. Opening Perps on 1st blue HA candle / break of WF”

Chart of ETH's price action vs that of Bitcoin over the past few weeks with analysis by crypto trader Trading Cyclist (@Fullgastrader)
Source: ETHUSD from TradingView.com

Likely to Outperform BTC Moving Forward

Despite this, analysts think that Ethereum may outperform Bitcoin moving forward.

Su Zhu, CIO and CEO of Three Arrows Capital, recently shared the following sentiment:

“$BTC going up swiftly is not only not bullish for alts but it’s bearish. reasons for this are myriad but boil down to the fact that money is a coordination game and Bitcoin is the Schelling point; this is independent of how you feel about it, community is literally irrelevant.”

$BTC going up swiftly is not only not bullish for alts but it's bearish

reasons for this are myriad but boil down to the fact that money is a coordination game and Bitcoin is the Schelling point; this is independent of how you feel about it, community is literally irrelevant

— Su Zhu (@zhusu) October 19, 2020

We’ve seen this play out quite well over the past week. As aforementioned, as Bitcoin has rocketed higher, ETH has been lagging.

Ethereum may continue higher, though, once Bitcoin begins to consolidate and capital made in BTC longs begins to cycle down the crypto risk spectrum.

This may not take place for a while, though. Analysts also note that the Bitcoin dominance metric, which tracks how altcoins perform against BTC, is set to move higher.

Featured Image from Shutterstock
Price tags: ethusd, ethbtc
Charts from TradingView.com
Ethereum Hasn't Even Started: 3 Technical Signs Suggest Bull Trend Coming

On Wednesday, Bitcoin evangelist and Wall Street investor Raoul Pal published a series of charts that pitted the cryptocurrency against major financial markets.

Every graph appeared identical to one another, for they showed how the mainstream assets/indexes were trending lower against Bitcoin, to a point where they all tested a medium-term support trendline. They included gold, the Nasdaq Composite, and its sub-indexes/stocks, which include KBW Bank Index, Treasury Bond ETF Fund, silver, Amazon stock, and others.

Gold is looking to attempt a negative breakout against Bitcoin once it closes below the rising trendline support. Source: Bloomberg Terminal

Mr. Pal noted that every index/asset was looking to break bearish on the support trendline. The prediction pointed towards more strength for Bitcoin as it compared the crypto with a “supermassive black hole that is sucking in everything around it and destroying it.”

“You see, gold is breaking down versus bitcoin,” Mr. Pal added. “And gold investors will flip to BTC. The Nasdaq is next. Retail specs are going to flip to bitcoin as it eats techs lunch.”

Like gold, Nasdaq is also looking to break lower against Bitcoin. Source: Bloomberg Terminal

Weaker Sub-indexes

Some of the Nasdaq’s sub-indexes already broke below the Ascending Trendline support. The KBW Bank Index (NASDAQ: BKX), a benchmark stock index of the banking sector, fell to its lowest levels against Bitcoin as worries over an increase in loan defaults stressed the financial corporations.

Read Further: 3 Biggest Bitcoin Takeaways from JPMorgan’s Q3 Earnings

Furthermore, the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond (NASDAQ: TLT) depreciated against the rising Bitcoin prices, adding to the speculation that the US economy is heading for a prolonged period of lower interest rates. The Federal Reserve has already committed to keeping them near-zero up until 2023.

iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF dips against Bitcoin. Source: Bloomberg Terminal

The analogy was the same for the G4 Central Bank Balance sheet, the Refinitiv/CoreCommodity CRB Index, and Apple. Everything fell against Bitcoin.

“The macro, flows, technology, demography and societal strains have all converged to this moment in time and the definite answer from markets is Bitcoin,” wrote Mr. Pal. “I get this sounds a little evangelical but I’m struggling to see it any other way right now.”

Bitcoin to $20,000

As money keeps flowing into the Bitcoin market, Mr. Pal also indicated that the cryptocurrency could soon swell back to its previous record high of $20,000.

A break above the $14K level puts Bitcoin en route to $20K, as per Raoul Pal. Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

As per Mr. Pal, there is not any historically concrete resistance level above $14,000.

Earlier in 2017, it took BTC/USD only a week to pump from lower $13,000s to as high as $19,891 on Coinbase exchange. While the rally mostly took its cues from the infamous ICO boom, it left little hints for technical chartists to pick their ideal long targets on the next breakout above $14,000.

“I fully expect new all-time highs by early next year at the latest,” Mr. Pal predicted, nevertheless.

Chainlink’s governance token LINK is emerging as a scapegoat asset for prominent Bitcoin traders.

At least one of them has openly stated that he uses the decentralized finance cryptocurrency as a hedge against a potential Bitcoin drop. In simple words, if the price of Bitcoin tops out at levels above $13,000, then the trader may want to keep holding the top cryptocurrency while using other altcoins to cover the damage.

The strategy finds its first insurance asset in LINK, the sixth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap up that is trading 560 percent upward into the running year. The pseudonymous trader said in his early Wednesday tweet that he is looking to open a high reward/risk short hedge against a likely Bitcoin top.

Looking at $Link as a high R/R short hedge against a potential BTC top. I think if BTC drops down to low 13ks again then link will dumpster dive with it. pic.twitter.com/BN1PGEpmhX

— Flood (@ThinkingUSD) October 27, 2020

A Customized Strategy

In retrospect, a Short Hedge refers to a trading strategy wherein a trader takes a short position in an asset where he/she is already long. While the pseudonymous entity has not revealed his ‘Long Chainlink’ strategies, it appears that he is twisting the Short Hedge trick by placing one asset against the other, instead.

On one hand, it shows the trader’s willingness to keep on holding Bitcoin, especially as the cryptocurrency makes way into the portfolio and services of leading corporations and funds (read PayPal, DBS, Square, etc.). The long-term bullish outlook also pops open because of a sure-shot $2 trillion stimulus from the US Congress after the November 3 presidential election.

The same sentiment has prompted the Bitcoin Market Dominance–a metric to measure the king cryptocurrency’s market strength against the rest of the market–to surge from 57.21 percent on August 31 to 63.2 percent as of this time of writing. In simple terms, it shows that Bitcoin is sucking more capital out of the altcoin market ahead of the US election.

Bitcoin Dominance against the altcoin market is rising. Source: BTC.D on TradingView.com

That further explains the aforementioned trader’s preference of shorting the Chainlink token so that he could hold onto his Bitcoin investment. Nevertheless, he did not reveal his short target yet – the level at which he would purchase back the LINK tokens at a cheaper rate.

The trader, although, tweeted at around 0807 IST, saying that he has covered his ‘short Chainlink’ position with a 1.5 percent profit. He added that he won’t be shorting everything for a while because “Bitcoin is going to teleport up.”

What’s Next for Chainlink

Like Bitcoin, Chainlink stands tall as a credible decentralized finance project that, as Messari stated in its report, “is writing the playbook for the oracle sector.”

The protocol has announced integrations into 112 new partnerships in 2020 and has amassed about 200 firms since its mainnet launch. And it is not just the announcements but the delivery. Chainlink has a working product, with almost 30 projects already using its data feed solutions. That, in turn, has boosted the demand for LINK tokens.

Fundamentally, Chainlink is now among the strongest blockchain-enabled projects.

• Bitcoin has surged higher once again as buyers continue to rush in.
• The coin just hit a new year-to-date high of $13,650.
• The cryptocurrency is expected to move higher as Bitcoin has moved above a pivotal technical pattern on a macro scale.
• It also brings the cryptocurrency above the $12,000 resistance.

Bitcoin Undergoes Pivotal Breakout

Bitcoin has surged higher once again as buyers continue to rush in. The leading cryptocurrency has just hit a new year-to-date high at $13,650, a price just under 5% higher than it was 24 hours ago.

The leading cryptocurrency is expected to enter a long-term bull trend as it prints a pivotal breakout. In fact, analysts think that Bitcoin’s ongoing surge higher marks its most important breakout ever.

A crypto-asset analyst shared the chart below on October 27th. It shows that Bitcoin’s ongoing rally has brought it above a pivotal technical pattern: a macro flag.

It also brings the cryptocurrency above the $12,000 resistance, which has acted as a point at which multiple rallies have topped on a weekly basis. The coin traded above the $12,000 resistance on a weekly basis, which marked the highest weekly close since January 2018.

As a result of the technical significance of this move, the trader branded this the “most important breakout in BTC history.”

Chart of BTC's price action since the middle of 2013 with analysis by crypto trader CryptoBirb (@Crypto_Birb on Twitter).
Source: BTCUSD from TradingView.com

The trader also noted that the cryptocurrency’s recent price action looks similar to that of late 2015 and early 2016. That was when the cryptocurrency began its last exponential rally.

Not the Only One That Thinks So

This trader isn’t the only one that thinks Bitcoin’s recent price action is pivotal for the technicals of the asset.

One analyst said that Bitcoin’s weekly close above the “strong resistance” of $12,000 suggests the sky is the limit. As reported by Bitcoinist previously, the analyst wrote on the matter:

“keeping it simple here with $btc, the weekly chart looks phenominal. now firmly above all downtrends from the 2017 20k top and this week just closed on its highs above key 12.5k resistance. the sky is the limit now imo, and this market is not for shorting!”

Chart of BTC's price action since the start of 2017 with analysis by crypto trader SmartContracter (Twitter handle).
Source: BTCUSD from TradingView.com

There are some reasons to be concerned in the near term, though.

Analysts have noted that the cryptocurrency is likely overbought in the near term. For one, the Stochastic RSI, which tracks if an asset is overbought or oversold, is likely trading in an overbought region. Not to mention, some have suggested that there is a strong emphasis on long positions in the CME futures market.

Featured Image from Shutterstock
Price tags: xbtusd, btcusd, btcusdt
Charts from TradingView.com
Bitcoin's Ongoing Surge is Its "Most Important Breakout" Ever: Analyst

• Bitcoin’s price action as of late has been ultra-bullish, with the cryptocurrency setting fresh yearly highs today in the midst of a stock market selloff
• Its ability to break its close correlation with equities is a positive sign, and could be emblematic of mounting fundamental strength
• Analysts are now widely noting that upside is imminent in the near-term, with the recent support-resistance flip of $13,200 being a positive technical development
• One on-chain indicator is also bolstering this notion, as Bitcoin’s Net Unrealized Profit/Loss is now entering the “belief” zone – which tends to occur right before parabolic moves take place

Bitcoin is currently seeing a strong uptrend, void of any bullish momentum in the stock market or the altcoin market.

This independent strength comes as it continues reclaiming dominance, with all eyes closely watching to see whether or not Ethereum and altcoins will be able to follow in its lead.

There is a strong possibility that altcoins will eventually catch up to BTC, but it remains unclear when this could occur.

One indicator that only flashes before Bitcoin sees parabolic rallies is back, and it could mean that the ongoing rally is just getting started.

Bitcoin Rallies as Stock Market, Altcoins, Reel Lower 

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading up just under 3% at its current price of $13,400. This is around the price at which it has been trading for the past several hours.

Yesterday bears tried to revert its uptrend when they pushed it as low as $12,800. This selloff was short-lived, and the bastion of liquidity down at these lows is what helped spark today’s move to fresh 2020 highs.

As long as Bitcoin holds above its previous resistance at $13,200, it may be poised to see some serious upside in the days ahead.

Indicator Shows BTC Could Be on the Cusp of a Parabolic Rally 

One indicator that has predicted previous parabolic Bitcoin movements is now flashing a positive sign for the cryptocurrency.

Analytics platform Glassnode spoke about this indicator in a recent tweet, pointing to the below chart showing the historical significance it has.

“Bitcoin investor sentiment: Net Unrealized Profit/Loss (NUPL) has been in the “Belief” zone for the past week. Currently, over 50% of the BTC market cap consists of unrealized profits – a level not seen since August 2019.”

Image Courtesy of Glassnode.

If history rhymes, the coming few weeks and months could be extremely positive for Bitcoin.

Featured image from Unsplash.
BTCUSD pricing data from TradingView.

• Ethereum has been taking a beating throughout the past few days as all eyes closely watch Bitcoin
• The crypto has been severely underperforming BTC as of late, with the benchmark digital asset seeing a sharp rise in market dominance as altcoins stagnate
• This could be due to ETH and other alts lagging, which would indicate that a sharp move higher is imminent in the near-term
• One analyst is noting that a reclaim of $410 is likely imminent and could be enough to help spark a shift back into ETH bulls’ favor

Ethereum has been sliding lower throughout the past day, but its buyers have been able to guard against it seeing any serious downside.

Yesterday, it dipped as low as $380 before seeing an influx of buying pressure that helped it rebound slightly.

This choppy price action comes as Bitcoin shows signs of strength and pushes to fresh 2020 highs.

This underperformance isn’t a new trend, as Ethereum has been struggling to keep up with Bitcoin ever since the crypto’s rebound first began a couple of weeks ago.

So long as BTC continues gaining dominance over the market, it is likely that this trend will persist.

One analyst is noting that a reclaim of $410 could help Ethereum gain some ground against BTC.

Ethereum Underperforms Bitcoin as Selling Pressure Ramps Up

At the time of writing, Ethereum is trading up roughly 3% its current price of $405.

Although this marks a serious decline from its multi-day highs of $420, it also marks a rebound from its 24-hour lows of $380 that were set during yesterday’s intense selloff.

This selloff came about in tandem with that seen by BTC, but while the benchmark crypto has rebounded to fresh 2020 highs, ETH is still lagging far behind.

Analyst Claims ETH Likely to Rally Higher in Coming Days 

There is one analyst who believes that this trend of severe underperformance will soon come to an end.

While sharing his thoughts on Ethereum, he explained that a reclaim of $410 is likely to come about in the next few days, which could spark a sharp upside movement.

“ETH / USD: Seems as though BTC is back above $13,000 now and honestly ETH wicked into support and got bought up pretty nicely as previously mentioned, back into full longs now. Expect $410 to be reclaimed before the week is over…”

Image Courtesy of Cactus. Source: ETHUSD on TradingView.

The next few hours and days should shine a light on Ethereum’s technical outlook against Bitcoin.

Featured image from Unsplash.
Charts from TradingView.

• Bitcoin has seen some further upside today despite the intense selloff seen in the stock market
• This confirms the narrative regarding it now being fully decoupled from traditional assets
• It has also been able to set new yearly highs this morning when it rallied towards $13,500
• If it continues holding above its near-term resistance-turned-support at $13,200, the crypto could soon gain further momentum that leads it up towards $14,000
• This is an intense resistance level that will likely slow Bitcoin’s ascent
• One analyst noted that he is watching for a decline down towards its liquidity at $13,000 before it rallies further

Bitcoin is flashing some signs of intense strength today. While Ethereum and most other altcoins either consolidate or drift lower, BTC just set fresh 2020 highs as its bulls target a move towards $14,000.

Ethereum has been underperforming Bitcoin as of late, but it also tends to lag a day or two behind it when the benchmark crypto pushes higher.

As such, ETH and altcoins may start surging at some point later today or tomorrow – assuming BTC’s rally remains intact.

One analyst is now noting that he is expecting BTC to see some slight turbulence in the near-term, noting that a decline down towards $13,000 would be “healthy.”

He also notes that a break below this level would end Bitcoin’s uptrend.

Bitcoin Pushes Higher as Aggregated Market Consolidates 

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading up just under 3% at its current price of $13,420. This marks a serious surge from where it was trading just a day or so ago when bears pushed it as low as $12,800.

The support here proved significant and helped catalyze the momentum that has since sent BTC up to where it is currently trading.

Analyst: BTC Must Hold $13,000 or Risk Losing Its Strength

One analyst explained that $13,000 has now become a crucial level to watch in the short-term, as he believes another dip below this level would strike a serious blow to Bitcoin’s technical outlook.

He notes that a wick down to this level could be “healthy” and help incubate further upside.

“BTC LTF. Wick into grey would be nice / healthy imo, wanna see quick buyback from there. Lose grey and I’ll be fully out of longs.”

Image Courtesy of George. Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.

How Bitcoin continues trending in the days ahead should provide some insights into its near-term outlook and into whether a move to $14,000 truly is imminent.

Featured image from Unsplash.
Charts from TradingView.

The stock market yesterday closed its worst single-day decline in nearly two months, causing the richest people in the world to lose over $14 billion in net worth. Bitcoin also pulled back yesterday, but as of this morning is already trading higher than before, while the S&P 500, the Dow Jones, and the Nasdaq continue to plunge.

What’s causing this sudden divergence between the two vastly different asset classes that all this year have been tightly correlated, and can the leading cryptocurrency by market cap keep it up?

US Indices Tank As Election Day Draws Closer, Uncertainty Turns To Fear For Stock Market Investors

The incredibly controversial showdown between President Donald J Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden will culminate on November 3rd, and US stock market investors are de-risking ahead of what could be a stormy time for the country.

Coinciding with the political climax is a second wave of the pandemic, and what is expected to be the least profitable Q4 in years for the retail industry.

RELATED READING | ALWAYS ON: BITCOIN TO SURPASS S&P 500 TRADING TIME WITHIN TWO YEARS

The fear of the unknown and potential changes to corporate and capital gains tax laws has investors selling ahead of the year-end, booking what has likely been a surprisingly profitable year for most, considering the condition of the economy.

Bitcoin rises while the Dow Jones plunges to worst day in months | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

All of this combined caused major US stock indices such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average to close their worst day in the last two months. But what’s really interesting about this, is the fact that Bitcoin has been rallying to new 2020 highs while the stock market its been correlated to all throughout 2020 has been falling.

Bitcoin Resilience And Decoupling Discussions Turns Crypto Market To Greed

Bitcoin had a strong pullback yesterday as the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq all broke down from support. Each major US stock index headed lower as of this morning’s opening bell.

The leading cryptocurrency by market cap, yet again set another new high for the year today, demonstrating a strong bullish trend compared to the bearish stock market. Crypto analysts have been calling for a decoupling of the correlation that’s plagued Bitcoin throughout the year.

BTC correlation with the NDX, SPX, and DJI throughout 2020 finally decoupling | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

After the February peak in both stocks and crypto, Black Thursday has left the entirely different markets closely intertwined in terms of price action. But that’s finally broken, as the correlation chart indicates below.

RELATED READING | DECOUPLED: ANALYZING BITCOIN DIVERGING AWAY FROM THE STOCK MARKET

Bitcoin isn’t fully out of the water, however. The cryptocurrency has deviated before, and this could suggest that stocks will reverse, or Bitcoin will, putting them back on parity.  However, if the decoupling truly is here, Bitcoin’s bull run could be further fueled by stock market money following where the profitability is, and that could be the cryptocurrency for the next several years.

Featured image from Deposit Photos, Charts from TradingView.com

• Bitcoin could rocket even higher in the near to medium term.
• One analyst believes that $16,000 is in sight after BTC managed to flip $10,000 into support.
• The analyst who made this assertion is the same one that predicted BTC would undergo a V-shaped reversal to $10,000 by May or June.

Bitcoin Could Soon Rocket Towards $16,000, Analyst Predicts

Bitcoin could rocket even higher in the near to medium term, analysts argue after the coin gained around $1,500 in a week. A prominent pseudonymous crypto-asset analyst shared the chart below just recently.

It shows that Bitcoin is currently on track to move towards the next macro level at $16,000 after it managed to flip $10,000 into support. $10,000 has long been an important level for the leading cryptocurrency, acting as a macro resistance and support on a number of occasions.

The analyst who shared this chart is one that has been extremely accurate in the past. In March, he predicted that Bitcoin would undergo a V-shaped reversal to $10,000 by May or June. And just recently, prior to the latest leg higher, he shared charts indicating that BTC could move to $14,000 in October or November. We are doing so now.

Chart of BTC's price action since the middle of 2017 with an analysis by crypto trader and chartist Bitcoin Jack (@BTC_JackSparrow on Twitter).
Source: BTCUSD from TradingView.com

Whales Think So Too… Kinda

Whales seem to be preparing for the chance that Bitcoin shoots higher from here as it faces little order book resistance.

“Light,” a crypto trader that has been celebrated by individuals like Su Zhu of Three Arrows Capital, shared the chart below just recently. It shows that above Bitcoin’s price action, from $13,200 to $14,000, there is little order book resistance on OKEx in particular:

“OKEx futures orderbook asks being pulled/executed at market in last few days as BTC consolidates. A move above $14k in near term is increasing in probability.”

The chart shows that if Bitcoin moves higher from here, it will encounter little initial selling pressure on OKEx.

OKEx’s order book is especially important because many argue it is where many whales trade, especially those based in Asia. Asia has long had an outsized influence in the space due to its early adoption of Bitcoin and crypto.

Chart of BTC's price action over the past few days with an analysis of the order book by crypto trader Light (@Lightcrypto on Twitter)

Featured Image from Shutterstock
Price tags: xbtusd, btcusd, btcusdt
Charts from TradingView.com
Analyst Who Predicted Bitcoin's Reversal to $10k Thinks $16k Is Next

• Ethereum and top altcoins have undergone strong retracements from their summer highs.
• Even still, investors remain bullish as they look out into the long run.
• Santiment reports that whales have been investing heavily in Ethereum and some ETH-based altcoins.
• These are REN, Chainlink, Aelf (ELF), Kyber Network (KNC), and 0x (ZRX).

Some Ethereum Coins Are Being Accumulated By Whales

Ethereum and top altcoins have undergone strong retracements from their summer highs. ETH, for instance, dropped from $490 to the September lows of $310 while some smaller altcoins saw even worse corrections.

DeFi coins, especially, were hit hard by this market drop. An analyst noted that the average DeFi coin had dropped 65% from its summer highs by early October.

This was because DeFi coins rose faster than all the rest, meaning they were the first to drop when capital stopped flooding in from new investors. They also dropped the fastest as earlier investors were incentivized to dump their coins as fast as possible.

Even still, Ethereum-based altcoins remain in a bullish state as investors seek to look out in the long run and invest from that perspective.

Top blockchain analytics firm Santiment reports that whales have been investing heavily in Ethereum and some ETH-based altcoins. These include REN, Chainlink, Aelf (ELF), Kyber Network (KNC), and 0x (ZRX).

“With most eyes on #Bitcoin’s market price between this $12.7k and $13.3k range, whales of many respective $ETH-based #altcoins have added to their non-exchange bags. $ETH, $LINK, $REN, $ELF, $KNC, & $ZRX are among those recently hitting one-year highs.”

Chart of the ETH, LINK, REN, ELF, KNC, and ZRX balances of top ETH-based non-exchange whale addresses have reached one-year highs. Chart from Santiment.

Focus on the Macro Fundamentals

It is likely that these investors are focusing on the long-term prospects of Ethereum’s DeFi space as opposed to the short-term reality.

For one, head of DTC Capital Spencer Noon reported recently that the important DeFi metrics continue to hit new all-time highs despite the price drops:

“Despite a month that saw most tokens fall 50% or more, #DeFi is *still* at ATHs with its most important indicators: – TVL: $12.41B – ERC20 Stablecoins: $14B Don’t listen to the degens who burned out. Phase 2 of this #DeFi bull market will make this summer look like nothing. The likely inflection point for DeFi Bull Phase 2 is the election, where there are multiple outcomes that would be favorable for risk assets. Until then, farmers will sit in #BTC b/c it’s low-maintenance and basically a stablecoin compared to what they were trading this summer.” 

Despite a month that saw most tokens fall 50% or more, #DeFi is *still* at ATHs with its most important indicators:

– TVL: $12.41B
– ERC20 Stablecoins: $14B

Don't listen to the degens who burned out. Phase 2 of this #DeFi bull market will make this summer look like nothing.

— Spencer Noon (@spencernoon) October 22, 2020

There also remain many bullish on Ethereum DeFi due to the high yields of the space relative to traditional markets. Of course, yields are naturally higher due to more risk, but analysts think that these yields will entice lots of capital into the space.

Featured Image from Shutterstock
Price tags: ethusd, ethbtc
Charts from TradingView.com
These 5 Ethereum Coins Are Being Accumulated by "Whales"

Clearly the recent increase in the price of Bitcoin caused accounts with a lot of BTC to do something. But on a chain built with privacy in mind, it’s never easy to deduce users’ intentions. 

What’s interesting is that whales are not sending their BTC to exchanges to liquidate. Instead, they are sending their BTC to smaller wallets. 

Whales in this case are defined as addresses that control over 1,000 BTC. In other words, users who hold over 13 million USD. 

Since the price of BTC started to increase, whales have sent a total of 423,914 BTC to other addresses on the blockchain. That’s equal to 5.5 billion dollars divided up in “smaller wallets” which hold under 1,000 BTC. 

This is what you see happen in the bubbles above — the large transactions from whales (light blue) to smaller wallets (in green) — and what we can see in the bar graph below as well. This is clearly an anomaly compared to regular whale activity.

While we have no way to prove one or the other, here are a few potential explanations. 

Tax Evasion?

The travel rule of international banking stipulated that to exchange crypto to cash, only transactions over $10,000 have to be reported. 

That means that if you were trying to get your Bitcoin into some other asset tax free, it would be wise to split up your total balance into smaller amounts, before transacting those on centralized exchanges. 

It would make sense, with the price of Bitcoin rising, that whales are preparing in this way to liquidate. The smaller transactions are the easiest way to avoid attracting attention from regulatory bodies. 

Private Sale? 

Bitcoin whales could also be selling BTC to new investors entering the market. In a recent interview with Laura Shin, Willy Woo explained that he saw a massive influx of new investors, CEOs and boards of directors, scooping up Bitcoin to put them in corporate and personal wallets. Perhaps new institutional investors are looking to purchase BTC directly from the OG’s and sidestep exchanges all together.

The announcement last Thursday of payment giant PayPal allowing its 346 million users to buy and spend Bitcoin is also likely contributing to the increase in new users entering the Bitcoin market. Currently, only 23.4 million people hold Bitcoin in their wallets, and if you count exchanges, that’s 101 million active unique accounts total. PayPal is almost 5x that.

Obfuscating Transactions?

Large holders of Bitcoin could also be trying to exchange their BTC without revealing the source or nature of the transaction. One technique to do so is called “layering,” or splitting up a haul into smaller and smaller amounts before settling it, so as to cover your tracks — similar to what crypto-natives call “fanning out,” Similarly to the travel rule incentive, the smaller transactions attract less attention.

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• Ethereum has undergone a 6% drop over the past 24 hours in the face of the stock drop.
• The Dow Jones is down 3% during Monday’s trading session.
• Analysts think ETH could bounce, though, as the coin has recovered to $390.
• One analyst noted that the coin is now trading above the pivotal swing level at $390.
• Ethereum holding above that level is expected to trigger a recovery towards the $422 weekly highs as aforementioned.

Ethereum Expected to Pop Towards Local Highs at $420

Ethereum has undergone a strong 6% drop over the past 24 hours in the face of a retracement in the stock market. The Dow Jones index has shed 3% during Monday’s trading session as there is some uncertainty around the pandemic and around the next fiscal stimulus package.

The cryptocurrency has bounced strongly since the daily lows. ETH now trades for $392, up over 2% from the daily lows just under $384.

Analysts think that this is a precursor to a greater move higher.

One analyst shared the chart below, which indicates that the coin could move towards $422 in the coming days. The chat indicates that the bounce has taken the cryptocurrency above the pivotal swing level at $390. Ethereum holding above that level should trigger a recovery towards the $422 weekly highs as aforementioned.

Chart of ETH's price action over the past week with anaylsis by crypto trader Tradingpup (@tradingpuppy on Twitter).
Source: ETHUSD from TradingView.com

Bitcoin Dominance Strong

The expectations of an ETH rally, though, comes as Bitcoin dominance has strengthened.

One crypto-asset analyst shared the chart below just recently. It shows that Bitcoin’s dominance, the percentage of the cryptocurrency market made up by BTC, is printing a notable rounded bottom reversal to the upside. This may suggest that altcoins may underperform BTC moving forward:

“Bagsybot is depressing right now. So many coins making new all time lows $BTC is king 90% of the time. Alts have their days and alt season is a clear cut and dry thing. I like a good alt but experience has saved me $ There is a time and place for alts. It’s why their “seasonal”.” 

Chart of Bitcoin's dominance over the past few years with analysis by crypto trader and head of technical analysis at Blockfyre Pentoshi (@pentosh1 on Twitter).

This may not affect ETH’s potential to outperform the U.S. dollar, though. That’s to say, Ethereum can still rally against the U.S. dollar but underperform the price of Bitcoin in the near future.

Featured Image from Shutterstock
Price tags: ethusd, ethbtc
Charts from TradingView.com
Photo by Ali Karimi on Unsplash
Ethereum Expected to Bounce as Price Cleanly Bounces Off $385

In a week where equity markets have stagnated, bitcoin bucked the trend as it pushed through the $12,000 resistance level, as well as touching and seeing some resistance at $13,000. Altcoins were buoyed by bitcoin’s rise, with ETH, XRP, LTC, and chainlink all showing upward trajectories too. 

Simon Peters, Analyst, eToro Shares His Opinion On BTC, Crypto Markets

Bitcoin Blasts Through $12,000 Barrier 

Bitcoin price action has dominated attention in the last week, rapidly reaching year to date highs. It approached and then subsequently smashed through the much-feted $12,000 mark with such strong momentum, there is every chance the crypto-asset could just push right on through to $14,000. 

If we were to see some pullback towards $12,000, I would urge investors not to be too worried. We may end up in a period of consolidation just above that level. I’ve highlighted many times in these pages that there is still time in 2020 for a bitcoin bull run, and my view remains the same (Will 2020’s Q4 be autumn of alts, or will they fall? 13th July). 

So, what instigated last week’s bullish run? A number of positive developments in the crypto space,  most notably PayPal announcing it would enable its users to pay for goods and services in crypto assets. This would introduce a massive user base to crypto, with PayPal boasting 346m active accounts, all of whom will be able to hold and shop using bitcoin, bitcoin cash, ETH, and litecoin once the service has been rolled out. 

This positive development was compounded by a discussion earlier in the week on the IMF’s Cross Border Payments Panel, in which Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell reiterated that a US CBDC continues to be on the radar, whilst also opening the door for private firms to get involved in the endeavor. 

These developments are further backed by positive statistical data. Glassnode’s investor sentiment index is gaining, open interest on bitcoin futures is increasing and short positions are unwinding. The combination of strong fundamentals and positive news for the crypto asset is providing the rocket-fuel needed for bitcoin’s blast-off. 

Here’s what David Derhy, analyst, eToro Has to Say 

Look to $20,000 instead of back at $12,000 

As Simon highlighted, the current run could simply push through all the way to $14,000. If that is the case, then the next level from a technical and fundamental perspective would be $20,000. With the US election coming up next month, further economic stimulus from the government is going to happen even if the size of that stimulus is still up for discussion. I am of the view that we won’t see a drop back down below $12,000 for a while yet. 

With the reduced volatility we are seeing, institutional investors are more and more interested in buying bitcoin. Combine this with the host of listed companies also looking to add bitcoin to their balance sheets, and the springboard for bitcoin prices continues to look very positive. 

Simon Peters, analyst, eToro

Stimulus Fears Could Stoke the Fire for Bitcoin 

With the ‘if’ of economic stimulus in the US out of the way, what matters now is the ‘how much’ and the ‘where’. How much money is the US government going to be pumping into the economy? What areas will they target and does that strengthen the use case for bitcoin? As David mentioned, the size is dependent on who wins the election, but any outcome will almost certainly lead to stimulus. If the Fed will be funding this by adding US treasuries to its balance sheets, then this would surely reinforce the argument for bitcoin as an alternative currency. Both sides have also agreed for another stimulus check of $1,200 to every citizen, but the rest will most likely go towards preserving jobs. 

If this is the case, then we may also see an uptick in inflation, another important aspect of Satoshi Nakamoto’s view of modern economies that drove him/her/to create Bitcoin. It will also be interesting to see how this impacts the correlation between bitcoin and equity markets. Both could rally on news of a fiscal stimulus package, but bitcoin could decouple from equity markets based on its own fundamentals. It has recently enjoyed its longest run of decorrelation with the S&P 500 over the past couple of weeks

We’re currently in a world of positive price movement, extensive fiscal stimulus, major central banks discussing digital currencies, and a range of altcoins successfully implementing logistical upgrades. It’s an exciting time to be a crypto asset investor.

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• Bitcoin has undergone a strong rally over the past few weeks.
• The market has dropped in the near term due to a strong decline in the Dow Jones and S&P 500 index.
• One crypto-asset analyst who called the V-shaped reversal that we saw in March remains bullish.
• He says that Bitcoin could undergo “50% pumps” heading into the end of Q4 and the start of 2021.

Bitcoin Will See a Big Q4, Analysts Say

Bitcoin has undergone a strong rally over the past few weeks that has brought it from $10,200 to highs of $13,350.

The coin currently trades for $12,900, having undergone a slight drop in the face of a strong decline in the Dow Jones and S&P 500 index.

While the weakness in the stock market is worrying for some, especially considering the severity of the move, analysts remain bullish.

One crypto-asset analyst who called the V-shaped reversal that we saw in March and into the spring and summer recently commented on the matter:

“$BTC about to light up. Finished my chart studies, will review in the morning and if all still makes sense, share my thoughts Looks like remaining of Q4 and early 2021 is going to be filled with volatility in both directions (50% pumps, 30+% dumps) – swing trade heaven.”

$BTC about to light up

Finished my chart studies, will review in the morning and if all still makes sense, share my thoughts

Looks like remaining of Q4 and early 2021 is going to be filled with volatility in both directions (50% pumps, 30+% dumps) – swing trade heaven

— //Bitcoin ?ack (@BTC_JackSparrow) October 25, 2020

As he explains, Bitcoin could undergo “50% pumps” heading into the end of Q4 and the start of 2021. He added that these 50% pumps will be marked by 30+% dumps as well, seemingly referencing how volatile the leading cryptocurrency was in 2017’s rally.

To elaborate on his legitimacy, this analyst wrote on March 14th, a day after the crash, that he expected a rapid recovery to $10,000 by May or June.

Bitcoin did so, proceeding to rally from the lows of $3,500 to $10,000 by the range in time he specified.

Expect Some Volatility Ahead of the Futures Close

While he does expect Bitcoin to move higher in the medium-term, he did note that investors should expect strong price action to the upside an downside as futures expiries come in:

“There is volatility for the CME October contracts to be expected, that haven’t rolled over to November or December yet, expiring end of this week. ~40K worth of BTC ($500M) still open with 5 trading days to go. Deribit also has about 40K BTC option contracts expiring on Friday.

Table of BTC's CME futures data for the next year. Chart from Bitcoin Jack (@BTC_JackSparrow on Twitter).

There is also some volatility to expected in the near term due to the presidential election, along with uncertainty about the next fiscal stimulus bill.

Photo by Paweł Czerwiński on Unsplash
Price tags: xbtusd, btcusd, btcusdt
Charts from TradingView.com
Analyst Who Called Bitcoin's V-Shaped Reversal Thinks Q4 Will Be Big for Bulls

• Ethereum is seeing some technical weakness today despite the strength seen by Bitcoin
• Some bearish events within the DeFi sector may be contributing to this, including a massive smart contract exploit that cost investors millions
• This has caused it to see some notable underperformance of Bitcoin throughout the past 24 hours
• Despite this short-term technical weakness, one analyst is still noting that the bull case is growing stronger each day
• He notes that a move to $3,600 could come about in the next year or so, which would mark a roughly 400% rise from its all-time highs that were set in the first week of 2018

Ethereum is struggling to gain any momentum as its price drifts down towards its support around $400.

The cryptocurrency has been trading at this level for quite some time, with bulls struggling to break above the heavy resistance at $420.

The rejections it has posted at this level have contributed to its technical weakness, and the spotlight is once again being directed onto Bitcoin as the crypto tries to break above its crucial $13,200 resistance level.

One analyst is noting that Ethereum’s technical outlook remains highly bullish despite this short-term setback.

He is setting his sights on a move to $3,600 in 2021, noting that its macro market structure justifies this extremely bullish sentiment.

Ethereum Struggles to Gain Ground Against Bitcoin 

At the time of writing, Ethereum is trading up marginally at its current price of $406. This is around the price at which it has been consolidating for the past day.

It is important to note that $420 is the key level that must be shattered in the near-term. Each tap of this level has sparked a flurry of selling pressure that sends ETH reeling lower.

This may soon change, as Bitcoin’s attempt to break above its key resistance could create a tailwind for ETH.

Analyst: ETH Poised to See Serious Gains in Coming 14 Months

2021 could be a great year for Ethereum – according to one analyst who is expressing a hyper-bullish outlook on the crypto.

He contends that a move towards $3,600 is in the cards.

“ETH HTF Analysis: My original opinion that Ethereum was heading to $3000 could have been a little conservative thinking back. $1100 > $2800 > $3600 price discovery resistance levels. Excited to see that 2021 brings in terms of PA.”

Image Courtesy of Cactus. Source: ETHUSD on TradingView.

If this possible path forward does play out, it hinges on Bitcoin and the rest of the crypto market also entering a parabolic bull market.

Featured image from Unsplash.
Charts from TradingView.

Bullish headlines are sending Bitcoin to the skies, with large-cap coins surging to new 2020 highs after PayPal announced on Wednesday it will be integrating cryptocurrency.

The good news continued as the week progressed. America’s biggest bank JP Morgan released a report on Friday claiming Bitcoin is a better investment prospect than gold, and Kanye West dropped Bitcoin bombs on the world’s biggest podcast — telling Joe Rogan that Bitcoiners “really have a perspective on what the true liberation of America and humanity will be.”

As the cryptocurrency market surged, Bitcoin cast off the shackles of its recent correlation with the S&P 500. This fulfills the prophecy of legendary investor Paul Tudor Jones, who called Bitcoin the “fastest horse in the race” back in May, and appeared on CNBC on Thursday to reaffirm his commitment.

This Week’s Highlights

• PayPal Embraces Bitcoin
• JP Morgan Flips Bullish

PayPal Embraces Bitcoin

487 million US citizens will be brought to the crypto table over the next few weeks as payment giant PayPal gradually rolls out functionality allowing users to buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin.

Bitcoin, which had been steadily climbing before the announcement on Wednesday, treated the news like rocket fuel: The price jumped vertically as the news hit, and quickly broke resistance at $13K.

Yet while Bitcoin has made 12% gains over the last seven days, the leading cryptocurrency has fallen behind Litecoin, which soared over 21% on the news.

JP Morgan Flips Bullish on BTC

JP Morgan, the investment bank that claimed Bitcoin was a “fraud” back in 2017, has changed its tune.

The Wall Street giant released a report on Friday singing the praises of Bitcoin, and suggesting that the cryptocurrency has distinct advantages over gold as a safe haven asset. 

Looking ahead, the bank claims that Bitcoin could have “considerable long-term upside”, with the market cap needing “to rise 10 times from here to match the total private sector investment in gold via ETFs or bars and coins.”

The Week Ahead

Although a pullback could be expected after such a strong rally, BTC’s exuberance shows no sign of abating.

Speaking on CNBC on Thursday, billionaire investor Paul Tudor Jones said the rally is in its “first inning.” He expects more upwards momentum as investors start buying up the cryptocurrency as an inflation hedge.

If the rally continues, the next stop could be the 2019 high of $13,900. Beyond this milestone, the price is almost hitting open sky. As there is little trading history past this point, we could see heightened volatility as the cryptocurrency seeks to establish itself at this new elevation.