Month: August 2018

Bitcoin (BTC) Price Watch – Waiting for a Triangle Breakout

August 20, 2018 David

Bitcoin (BTC) Price Watch - Waiting for a Triangle Breakout

Bitcoin (BTC) Price Watch – Waiting for a Triangle Breakout

Bitcoin Price Key Highlights

  • Bitcoin price has formed higher lows and found resistance around $6,500 to create an ascending triangle pattern on its 1-hour chart.

  • Price is currently testing the resistance and is nearing the peak of the formation, so a breakout might be due soon.

  • Technical indicators are giving mixed signals on which direction the breakout might take.

Bitcoin price is consolidating inside an ascending triangle pattern and might be due for a breakout in either direction soon.

Technical Indicators Signals

The 100 SMA is above the longer-term 200 SMA to signal that the path of least resistance is to the upside. This suggests that an upside break is more likely to occur than a break lower. Also, the moving averages are near the triangle bottom to add to its strength as a floor around $6,400.

RSI is heading lower to signal that selling pressure is in play and that resistance would likely hold for now. Stochastic is also in the overbought region and turning lower suggests a pickup in bearish momentum. The chart pattern is around $600 in height so the resulting rally or selloff after a breakout could be of the same size.

 

Market Factors

Bulls continue to defend long-term support levels for bitcoin, so there’s a strong chance that the floor won’t be giving way anytime soon. Buyers now have another attempt to spur a larger rebound, possibly one that could last longer on a break of nearby resistance levels.

The anticipation for the SEC decision on the bitcoin ETF applications put on hold is building up as the end of the month nears and September approaches. However, a denial could still lead to another round of losses for bitcoin and its peers while approval might see sustained gains.

Other factors pushing bitcoin around include trade-related updates and potential contagion coming from Turkey, so price could stay sensitive to headlines from here.

 

SARAH JENN | AUGUST 20, 2018 | 4:38 AM

David – http://markethive.com/david-ogden

Bitcoin price analysis – Short term support helps, but bounce won’t be bigger

August 19, 2018 David

Bitcoin price analysis – Short term support helps, but bounce won't be bigger

  • BTC bounces from short term support line.

  • Oscillating between support and resistance.

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation and poster boy of the crypto world, managed to bounce from the short term support even as the bounce from this support won't be big enough as there's resistance too, not far away from current price.

BTC/USD is down 0.7 percent on day at $6,354 and trading in a narrow band of just about one percent for the day. On the 30-minute chart, BTC has managed to bounce from an ascending trendline even as the bounce from this support won't take it too far.

Descending trendline resistance would act as a barrier around $6,380-90 mark. Gven the range, it shouldn't surprise bulls and bears together if the largest crypto manages to give a break out on either side, which would give about 3-5 percent movement once the range is broken.

BTC/USD 30-minute chart:

 

 

Manoj B Rawal

FXStreet

David – http://markethive.com/david-ogden

Bitcoin Trend Chart Predicts 2020 Block Halving Could Be Massive For Price

August 18, 2018 David

Bitcoin Trend Chart Predicts 2020 Block Halving Could Be Massive For Price

Bitcoin Trend Chart Predicts 2020 Block Halving Could Be Massive For Price

The next Bitcoin block reward halving event could prove to be a watershed moment for its price, according to data currently circulating around social media.

 

$10 Million By 2023?

A summary of Bitcoin’s price at the first two block halvings uploaded to Reddit by Telegram news channel What’s On Crypto notes that Bitcoin prices increased by orders of magnitude in each period.

At the first halving on November 28, 2012, BTC/USD traded around $12. By the second, on July 9, 2016, it was $657. The third halving — due in mid-2020 or in 644 days — will see the block reward reduce from 12.5 BTC to 6.25 BTC, while What’s On Crypto suggests ongoing trends could see prices hit a giant $10 million by 2023.

The forecast came using a so-called ‘halving line,’ which demonstrates that between the first and second halvings, prices increased bilaterally — 200 percent per year or 3 times year on year.

 

‘Price Follows Hashrate’

Bitcoin users who had coins during the second halving will remember that contrary to expectations, the event had little impact on prices or market activity.

“In the months leading up to the last two halving events, we saw bitcoin’s price steadily trend upward, and then power higher following the reward halving,” Bitcoinist reported Blockchain research head Garrick Hileman as saying in May this year. Two years off the 2020 event, Hileman’s comments came as Bitcoin’s network hashrate continued breaking all-time highs.

Halvings can make mining Bitcoin less attractive due to a reduction in block reward size, yet hashrate rarely suffers as a result due to difficulty adjustments. “I do not anticipate a significant change in the total mining hash rate due to the halving, at least not in the short run,” Hileman added.

David – http://markethive.com/david-ogden

Did Tether Trigger a Short Squeeze or a Dead Cat Bounce

August 17, 2018 David

Did Tether Trigger a Short Squeeze or a Dead Cat Bounce

Did Tether Trigger a Short Squeeze or a Dead Cat Bounce?

This time yesterday it appeared that all was lost, as Bitcoin price slipped within $100 of the current 2018 low. Then something unexpected occurred. Perhaps shorts got squeezed out of their loftily precarious positions or was it Tether’s newly minted $130 million USDT that saved the day?

Bitcoin Price Market Overview

Bitcoin 00 spent the better part of the day fighting off bears and the cryptocurrency managed to post an impressive 10% gain as it briefly crossed above $6,600. Eventually, buyers became exhausted and BTC pulled back to the $6,200 to $6,300 range.

While today’s rally was pleasantly surprising, a bullish reversal is yet to be confirmed and just like last week, its possible that Tether could have intervened to save the day by injecting $130 million of newly minted USDT into the cryptocurrency market. Perhaps this is why we see BTC price quickly cooling off after such an impressive run.

For those that believe today’s movement was the result of shorts being tapped out of their positions, feel free to have a look at the fantastic BTC Shorts vs Longs piece FilbFilb concocted earlier this week. It’s not likely that shorts were squeezed out of their positions as today’s $500 gain was drawn out over a series of hours rather than the lightning quick ascension that is characteristic of a short squeeze.

In other news, Arthur Haynes is feeling mighty confident as today he prophesied Ethereum 00 could drop as low as $100 before the bear market ends.

At this point, a conspiracy theorist might began to propose that billionaire cryptocurrency exchange owners are walking the dog on a tightly tethered leash — but we digress and deviate from the main purpose of this piece…

Daily Chart

A clear divergence can be seen on the RSI which when compared to BTC price action in the daily chart signaled the possibility of a bull breakout. Around the same time, the MACD exhibited a bullish crossover in spite of BTC declining.

While $6,300 is probably not the bottom, it has thrice served as a strong support and pivot point for BTC and today was no exception to the rule. Today’s pop brought BTC above the 23.6% Fib retracement level and slightly above the $6,651 resistance for a moment.

A move above the key resistance at $6,800 would place BTC within earshot of the 20 and 50-day moving averages which are also set slightly above the 38.2% Fib retracement level, and right at the upper trend line of the 8-month old descending channel.

In the current climate, BTC 00 tends to quickly pull back below the closest moving average(s) after high volume spikes such as the one experienced today. Thus, a daily higher low, followed by a higher high is required to inspire further confidence in the bulls and set the pattern of price consolidation that will help bitcoin move up another leg.

4  hour chart

The completion of an inverted head and shoulders formation failed to lead to an upside move for BTC but yesterday the 4-hour chart showed the development of an inside bar (1st yellow sphere) and the beginning of a bull flag (upward trendline in the first sphere) pushed BTC over the $6,545 resistance.

Strong follow through from buyers and a bullish cross of the 5 and 10-hour MA allowed BTC to reach the neckline of the cup at $6,503. The ensuing price gains led to the near completion of a rather sloppy cup and handle pattern and currently we are waiting for bulls to follow through and complete the upper half of the handle at $6,503.

As with the daily chart, a 4-hour higher low, followed by a higher high would help BTC to consolidate in preparation for reaching the next price shelf.

At the time of writing, BTC is pinned between the 20 and 50-day MA and needs to sustain above one of the two in order to maintain momentum, but the pattern of rejection at the moving averages still rings true when observing price action on the 15 minute, 30 minute, 1-hour, 4-hour and daily chart.

Looking Ahead

BTC 00 has shown relatively consistent support at $6,300 and $6,100.

Similar to the weekend, BTC could return to its pre-Tether inoculation range of $6,100 – $6,350 and trade indecisively before making a move.

We need to see bulls follow through by setting a higher low, followed by a higher high on the daily chart in order set the pattern of consolidation that will move BTC up another leg.

A move above the key resistance at $6,800 would place BTC above the 38.2% Fib retracement level and slightly above the descending trend line.

As mentioned over the past few weeks, ambitious traders could continue to execute relatively easy trades as BTC bounces from the $6,000 – $6,100 support and also has support at $6,300.

 

Source: coinnewstelegraph.com

David – http://markethive.com/david-ogden

Bitcoin Cash Price Analysis – BCH/USD Upsides Capped Near 100 SMA

August 16, 2018 David

Bitcoin Cash Price Analysis - BCH/USD Upsides Capped Near 100 SMA

Bitcoin Cash Price Analysis – BCH/USD Upsides Capped Near 100 SMA

Key Points

· Bitcoin cash price recovered further, but it failed to move above the $540 resistance area against the US Dollar.

· There is an expanding triangle forming with current support at $492 on the hourly chart of the BCH/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).

· The pair could bounce back once again, but it has to break the $530-540 resistance zone for more gains.

Bitcoin cash price failed near a key resistance at $540 against the US Dollar. BCH/USD has to surpass the 100 hourly SMA to gain bullish momentum.
 

Bitcoin Cash Price Upside Hurdle

Yesterday, there was a decent recovery in bitcoin cash price above the $500 resistance against the US Dollar. The BCH/USD pair moved higher and broke the $510 and $5220 resistance levels. There was even a spike above the 50% Fib retracement level of the last drop from the $595 high to $473 low. However, the price failed near a key resistance at $540 and the 100 hourly simple moving average.

It started trimming gains and moved below the $525 level. It also broke the 38.2% Fib retracement level of the last wave from the $473 swing low to $541 high. At the moment, the price is trading near the $500-505 support area. There is also an expanding triangle forming with current support at $492 on the hourly chart of the BCH/USD pair. More importantly, the 50% Fib retracement level of the last wave from the $473 swing low to $541 high is acting as a support near $506. As long as the price is above the triangle support and $490, it could bounce once again.

Looking at the chart, BCH price attempted a nice recovery, but failed to clear offers near $540. On the downside, supports are seen at $500, $492, $490 and $480.

Looking at the technical indicators:

Hourly MACD – The MACD for BCH/USD is slightly placed in the bearish zone.

Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for BCH/USD is currently just below the 50 level.

Major Support Level – $492

Major Resistance Level – $540

 

AAYUSH JINDAL | AUGUST 16, 2018 | 4:08 AM

David – http://markethive.com/david-ogden

Bitcoin price analysis – Bullish divergence in play above $6,300; BTC/USD jumps 2% on the day

August 15, 2018 David

 

Bitcoin price analysis – Bullish divergence in play above $6,300; BTC/USD jumps 2% on the day

  • Bitcoin price welcomes the bullish trend, clears the resistance at $6,300 and targets $6,400 in the near-term.

  • BTC/USD Must find support above the 61.8% Fib level above $6,300, although other support levels will come in handy if a reversal occurs.

  •  

Bitcoin price appears to have curved another trajectory path and this time the rendezvous point is $6,400 in the short-term. The largest crypto by market capitalization dipped below $6,000 yesterday adding sorrow to an already gloomy market. The trading on Wednesday 15 Asian hours is strongly bullish as the chart shows a clear divergence with support at $6,000.

The stochastic is showing higher highs as it advances into to overbought region, which means that buying power is rising again. In fact, Bitcoin has broken the trendline resistance at the 23.6% Fib retracement level at $6,069.35. This has triggered a break above the resistance at $6,200 as well as that at $6,300.

Bitcoin is currently trading above the 61.8% Fib retracement level with the last swing high of $6,545.86 and a swing low of $5,921.42 at $6,307.21.The trend is strongly bullish at the time of press, besides the next resistance target is at $6,400 while the buyers are psychologically eyeing $6,500.

On the flip side, a support must be formed above the 61.8% Fib level and preferably at $6,330. This will give the buyers time to regroup and gather the strength to attack $6,400 and test $6,500 in the medium-term. Other support areas include $,6,300 and $6,250 respectively.

BTC/USD 15-minutes chart

 

 

John Isige

FXStreet

Bitcoin price analysis - Bullish divergence in play above $6,300; BTC/USD jumps 2% on the day

David – http://markethive.com/david-ogden

Bitcoin’s value will come in time, even if investors are spooked now, crypto advocate says

August 14, 2018 David

Bitcoin's value will come in time, even if investors are spooked now, crypto advocate says

  • Bitcoin's narrative is hard to pin down, but as with early internet stocks, real traction will come in time, cryptocurrency investing strategist Meltem Demirors told CNBC on Monday.

  • Despite bitcoin's aspiration to be a safe haven asset, the cryptcurrency has not seen a rally with the stumble of the Turkish lira.

  • But crypto bulls are still expecting to see real traction and growth in time.

Bitcoin's narrative is hard to pin down, but as with early internet stocks, real traction will come in time, cryptocurrency advocate Meltem Demirors told CNBC on Monday.

"New technologies that shift the paradigm take a long time to really understand," Demirors, who acts as chief strategy officer at digital asset manager CoinShares, said on CNBC's "Fast Money."

Despite bitcoin's aspiration to be a safe haven asset, the cryptcurrency has not seen a rally with the stumble of the Turkish lira, which hit a fresh all-time low against the dollar on Monday.

Except for a brief rally in July, bitcoin has been on a near-steady downward slide since briefly topping $19,000 in December. Even the announcement more than a week ago — that the Intercontinental Exchange would help create an open and regulated digital asset ecosystem — brought little movement in bitcoin's price.

Despite that, crypto bulls hailed it as a step toward legitimizing the cryptocurrency. Bitcoin was last down about 0.6 percent at $6,277.

 

This might be an opportune time, but no one is viewing bitcoin as a store of value because the cryptocurrency is struggling with a narrative problem, Demirors said.

"The narrative around bitcoin is still really hard to grasp," Demirors said. "Really the only metric we have for most cryptocurrencies is the price, and price is such an imperfect metric. What does actual utilization look like? That's really the struggle for crypto right now."

Demirors suggested institutional and retail investors should ignore the price and think of cryptocurrency in similar terms to an early internet stock, such as Amazon, Intel or Microsoft. Although successful now, it took years for those stocks to recover from initial highs after the dotcom bubble burst.

"What we saw in crypto was this massive run-up, where everyone got 'FOMO,' or fear of missing out, as we like to say. What it caused is a speculative bubble," she said.

But now that the bitcoin bubble has burst, Demirors said capital is starting to get deployed into "building real businesses that serve a real purpose."

Demirors said it isn't clear when bitcoin might begin to regain value, or what that might look like, but progress will depend on determining which metrics are best for measuring cryptocurrency's growth.

"We are starting to see real traction. A lot of it is really dependent on finding those data points, those metrics, that are going to drive that growth story," she added.

 

 

Chloe Aiello

News Associate for CNBC.com

David – http://markethive.com/david-ogden

Bitcoin (BTC) Price Watch – Still Waiting for Directional Clues

August 13, 2018 David

Bitcoin (BTC) Price Watch - Still Waiting for Directional Clues

Bitcoin (BTC) Price Watch – Still Waiting for Directional Clues

Bitcoin Price Key Highlights

  • Bitcoin price is trending below a short-term descending trend line as it hovers at the long-term floor.

  • Traders are likely waiting for the next catalysts to decide which direction the breakout could take.

  • Technical indicators appear to be suggesting a slowdown in bullish momentum soon.

Bitcoin price is still trending lower on the short-term time frame but buyers are defending the long-term floor.

 

Technical Indicators Signals

The 100 SMA is still above the longer-term 200 SMA but is gearing up for a bearish crossover to signal a pickup in selling momentum. In that case, price could have stronger odds of breaking below the $6,000 support zone and trending lower.

Price is also moving below a short-term descending trend line, which is keeping near-term gains in check. A break past this level could still encounter some selling pressure at the dynamic inflection points on the moving averages.

RSI is turning higher after previously climbing out of the oversold area, though, so there may still be a pickup in buying pressure from here. Stochastic is also heading higher to suggest that buying momentum could stay in play for a bit longer. Once both oscillators reach overbought levels and turn lower, selling pressure could return.

Market Factors

Bitcoin price continues to struggle to keep its head afloat after a couple of rough weeks, the latest of which featured a decision by the SEC to delay their ruling on remaining bitcoin ETF applications.

With that, traders could stay on edge until September or when the decision is announced. Even then, another denial for the proposed rule change could mean more losses for bitcoin price and the rest of its cryptocurrency peers. Approval, on the other hand, could be the positive catalyst that investors are waiting for in order to sustain the expected rebound for the remainder of the year.

SARAH JENN | AUGUST 13, 2018 | 4:08 AM

David – http://markethive.com/david-ogden

Bitcoin – Can the Bulls Prize Out a Late Weekend Rally

August 12, 2018 David

Bitcoin – Can the Bulls Prize Out a Late Weekend Rally

Bitcoin – Can the Bulls Prize Out a Late Weekend Rally?

Bitcoin finds support early to hold on to $6,200 levels, though a move through $6,300 levels is going to be needed to avoid a pullback later in the day.

Bitcoin gained 1.5% on Saturday, partially reversing Friday’s 5.77% slide, to end the day at $6,239.

An early pullback to an intraday low $6,008.1 saw Bitcoin manage to yet again steer clear of sub-$6,000 levels, with the day’s first major support level at $5,919.73 left untested as the broader market continued to decline through the early part of the weekend, sliding through support levels on the way.

Tracking the broader market trend, a sharp move in the late afternoon saw Bitcoin break through the first major resistance level at $6,483.53 to an intraday high $6,499.5, before pulling back late in the day to $6,200 levels.

In spite of the late afternoon move, Bitcoin fell short of $6,500 levels for the first time since 15th July, with the downward trend on intraday highs and lows continuing since late July.

Falling short of the 23.6% FIB Retracement Level of $6,757 and with another week of heavy losses on the cards, left the extended bearish trend intact, with Bitcoin needing to break back through to $7,000 levels to begin a near-term bullish trend formation.

There was no materially negative news hitting the wires at the start of the weekend to influence, with Bitcoin likely to find its true test in the coming week as the global financial markets face a number of geo-political storms, with Turkey, Iran, Russia and China in the mix.

The much debated theory that Bitcoin could replace gold and other safe havens has yet to be proven and, with capital flow restrictions in place and sanctions being handed out like candy, there’s no better time for Bitcoin and the broader market to prove its worth.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin was up 0.59% to $6,269.6, with Bitcoin tracking the broader market in the early hours following Saturday’s trend bucking gain.

A start of a day dip to a morning low $6,162 saw Bitcoin hold well above the day’s first major support level at $5,998.23 to recover to $6,200 levels and break through to an early $6,320.6 morning high before easing back, the early high leaving the first major resistance level at $6,489.63 untested.

For the day ahead, a hold above $6,248.87 through the morning would support a run at the early morning high $6,320.6 to bring $6,400 levels and the day’s first major resistance level at $6,489.63 into play, though Bitcoin will need support from the broader market, with the majors needing to hold on to early gains to avoid a shift in sentiment later in the day.

Failure to hold above $6,248.87 and move through to $6,300 levels could see Bitcoin move into reverse later in the day, with the day’s first major support level at $5,998.23 in play in the event of a broad based market sell-off.

As things stand, we would expect Bitcoin to avoid sub-$6,000 levels, while the extended bearish trend remains intact, Bitcoin sitting well short of the 23.6% FIB Retracement Level of $6,575, with more than a late weekend rally needed to get there.

 

 

 

Bob Mason

 

David – http://markethive.com/david-ogden

Crypto Prices Plunge as SEC Postpones Bitcoin ETF Decision

August 8, 2018 David

 

Crypto Prices Plunge as SEC Postpones Bitcoin ETF Decision

Investing.com – Cryptocurrencies prices plunged on Wednesday, with Ripple down more than 16% after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) postponed a decision on the listing of a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).

Bitcoin slumped 6.4% to $6,522.8 at 12:20AM ET (04:20 GMT) on the Bitifinex exchange.  

Ethereum fell 8.3% to $374.39 on the Bitifinex exchange.  

Ripple plunged 16.0% to $0.35316 in the last 24 hours on the Poloniex exchange, while Litecoin also lost 11.1% to $66.283.  

The SEC would decide whether to allow the fund from VanEck Associates Corp and Solid Partners Inc to list by the end of September, according to a statement on Wednesday. An initial deadline was due to expire next week.

“Accordingly, the Commission, pursuant to Section 19(b)(2) of the Act,6 designates September 30, 2018, as the date by which the Commission shall either approve or disapprove, or institute proceedings to determine whether to disapprove, the proposed rule change,” the SEC said.

The authorities denied an exchange’s request to list a similar fund run by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss in July.

Traders had previously hoped the proposals from VanEck was more likely to be approved as it has plans for a higher minimum share price that some believe would discourage retail investors and insurance, according to Bloomberg.

Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies prices received some support in the previous session amid reports that U.K.-based bank Barclays (LON:BARC) is exploring how it can trade cryptocurrencies.

Two employees are working on a project to integrate virtual currencies into the banks trading operations, according to their LinkedIn (NYSE:LNKD) profiles, Barrons reported, although Coinbase later reported that Barclays said it has no plans at the moment to build a digital coin trading desk.

Other financial institutions are also looking into using cryptocurrencies and blockchain, the technology behind digital coins. On Monday, news broke that Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) is exploring ways to offer custody for crypto funds.

Crypto Prices Plunge as SEC Postpones Bitcoin ETF Decision

David – http://markethive.com/david-ogden