Category Archives: Bitcoin
Beat the USA to the punch: HSBC Hong Kong now allowing trades of Bitcoin and Ether ETFs – Fortune
HSBC Hong Kong, the biggest bank in the special administrative region of China, is now permitting trades of Bitcoin and Ether ETFs.
On Monday, crypto outlets The Block and CoinTelegraph, citing a tweet from Chinese blockchain journalist Colin Wu, reported that HSBC had become the first bank there to let customers trade Bitcoin and Ether ETFs listed on Hong Kongs exchange.
Wu added in a tweet that some of the crypto ETFs listed in Hong Kong include the CSOP Bitcoin Futures ETF, CSOP Ethereum Futures ETF, and Samsung Bitcoin Futures Active ETF.
The news comes after the regions banking regulator earlier this month pressured several of the biggest banks in Hong Kong, including HSBC, to accept crypto exchanges as clients. In an April letter sent by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to the banks, the regulator said that due diligence should not create an undue burden to accepting crypto clients, the Financial Times reported.
Hong Kong has recently warmed to crypto publicly, in contrast with the outwardly cold stance taken by leaders in mainland China. Earlier this month, Hong Kong instituted a licensing scheme for crypto exchanges and reinstated retail crypto trading for select cryptocurrencies.
Some in the industry have speculated that Hong Kongs openness to crypto could eventually lead to a thaw in mainland Chinas cryptocurrency ban.
Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Commission is reviewing several applications for a spot Bitcoin ETF, including from the worlds largest asset manager, BlackRock. The SEC has so far denied all such previous applications.
Crypto industry players hailed the move on Monday. Tyler Winklevoss, CEO of crypto exchange Gemini, said in a tweet that the development was more evidence that Asia is overtaking the U.S. when it comes to crypto.
Hong Kong has just beat the USA to the punch on a bitcoin ETFand ether ETF, Winklevoss wrote.
Bitcoin and Ether on Monday morning were trading down, about 1%, near $30,300 and $1,800, respectively.
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Beat the USA to the punch: HSBC Hong Kong now allowing trades of Bitcoin and Ether ETFs - Fortune
BlackRocks ETF application led to the biggest crypto inflows in a year. But how much Wall Street influence is too much? – Fortune
After a year of falling prices, SEC lawsuits, and company failures, news of BlackRocks spot Bitcoin ETF application earlier this month was a welcome reprieve: Bitcoin hit a 52-week high.
The news helped fuel the highest inflows to cryptocurrencies in a yearnearly $200 million, according to a report by CoinSharesbut thats not without risk. Despite support from the market, BlackRock still faces an uphill battle. The Securities and Exchange Commission has never approved a spot Bitcoin ETF, rejecting at least 30 attempts in the past, according to Bloomberg, mostly because the agency says its concerned about market manipulation.
In the best-case scenario, BlackRocks spot Bitcoin ETF, along with any others that get approved, may lead to a rush of investment and a new bull market that sends the price of Bitcoin soaring. At the same time, market players say Wall Street effectively controlling millions of tokens as portfolio assets could give TradFi firms outsize influence over the space.
Including even one-third of all Bitcoin in financial products could be harmful to the overall network, causing it to deviate from its original purpose, said Steven Lubka, head of Swan Private at Swan Bitcoin, a financial services firm.
You always want to see a world where a healthy amount of people own Bitcoin and self-custody and use it directly, for the network to kind of truly maintain what is, in my opinion, its original purposeand what gives it value, he told Fortune.
Theres also the risk that BlackRock and its peers could use their influence to push for changes to the underlying Bitcoin blockchain, such as pushing for a fork that would create two separate cryptocurrencies, Lubka added. Bitcoin was forked once before, after users and developers disagreed over its future, resulting in the creation of a new coin, Bitcoin Cash.
If there was another fork, BlackRocks ETF prospectus says it gets to decide which of the two cryptocurrencies is the real Bitcoin, despite what investors or other users of the blockchain think, Lubka said. This likely would lead the firm to dump all of its holdings in whichever coin isnt selected.
If theyre sitting on 5 million Bitcoin, that means theyre going to sell 5 million of the other fork, Lubka said. Theyre going to tank the price.
Others like Jay Jog, cofounder of Sei Labs, disagree. Jog said Wall Street firms may gain more influence with the approval of these ETFs, but its doubtful companies like BlackRock would push for major changes to Bitcoin because of the myriad potential legal and financial implications.
These entities, theyre going to have so much money at stake, Jog told Fortune, that even if there is the possibility for them to act maliciously by taking advantage of their stake in the network, from an economic standpoint, it makes no sense for them to do that.
While there is some risk, both Lubka and Jog ultimately believe that the entry of traditional financial firms is something that will benefit Bitcoinand crypto overall.
The entry of traditional financial firms to the market has often spurred big inflows. When ProShares, the manager of several traditional finance ETFs, launched one of the first Bitcoin futures ETFs, in 2021, there was an influx of $1 billion into digital assets in a single week, according to James Butterfill, head of research at CoinShares.
On the back of the spot ETF application by BlackRock, Invesco and WisdomTree each filed its own, soon followed by that $199 million deluge of inflows94% of which went into Bitcoinaccording to CoinShares.
Participation among institutional investors has been scant so far, mainly due to reputation concerns associated with such investments, Butterfill told Fortune in an email. But now, with BlackRock deciding to launch an ETF, many anticipate other institutions to follow suit.
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BlackRocks ETF application led to the biggest crypto inflows in a year. But how much Wall Street influence is too much? - Fortune
The first leveraged bitcoin futures ETF is hitting the market as crypto … – CNBC
Traders will soon have a new way to bet on bitcoin while Wall Street waits to see if the long-awaited spot bitcoin funds are approved by federal regulators. The Volatility Shares 2x Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITX) is set to launch Tuesday. There are already several bitcoin futures funds on the market, including the $1 billion ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) , but BITX will be the first leveraged exchange-traded fund in the space. "There's a big audience that's already out there for leveraged-type products, and to sort of marry that with the intrinsic interest that there is in all things crypto that's why we feel that there's a pretty good audience out there for this," said Chang Kim, chief operating officer of Volatility Shares. The launch comes shortly after BlackRock's application for a spot bitcoin ETF has renewed interest in crypto funds. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has long opposed a spot bitcoin fund and is in a legal fight with Grayscale over a similar proposal, but several other firms quickly followed BlackRock with their own applications. The price of bitcoin has also gained steam since the BlackRock filing and was trading above $30,500 Tuesday. BTC.CM= 1M mountain The price of bitcoin has climbed since BlackRock's filing on June 15. Kim said the Volatility Shares fund and the proposed spot bitcoin ETF are "completely different products" with different use cases. BITX, which uses margin accounts to gain leverage, is designed to be a short-term trading vehicle, and the fund's prospectus cautions the promised two-times return is only applicable over one-day periods. Similar to many leveraged products, BITX is more expensive than traditional ETFs with a management fee of 1.85%. Volatility Shares is a small ETF manager, and BTIX will be its first crypto-related fund. Its biggest fund is the 2x Long VIX Futures ETF (UVIX) , which has just under $100 million in assets. "Though this is our first foray into bitcoin per se, we are very well-versed in managing ETFs that invest in futures," Kim said.
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The first leveraged bitcoin futures ETF is hitting the market as crypto ... - CNBC
Leak Reveals Enormous China Earthquake Could Be About To Hit The Price Of Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB, XRP, Cardano, Dogecoin, Polygon And Solana – Forbes
BitcoinBTC, ethereum and other major cryptocurrenciesincluding BNBBNB, XRPXRP, cardano, dogecoin, polygon and solanahave exploded back into the limelight this month (just as the IMF made a surprise crypto about-face).
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The bitcoin price has seen its price almost double this year despite growing fears a U.S.-led crypto crackdown could be about to escalate. EthereumETH and other top ten coins BNB, XRP, cardano, dogecoin, polygon and solana have also surged but have mostly failed to keep pace withe bitcoinas bullish investors make huge price predictions.
Now, the chief executive of the stablecoin issuer Circle, Jeremy Allaire, who oversees the $28 billion USDCUSDC stablecoin, has said he sees "enormous demand" for digital assets in emerging markets, with China and Asia at the "center."
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"Hong Kong is clearly looking to establish itself as a very significant center for digital assets markets and stablecoins and we are paying very close attention to that," Allaire told Bloomberg at the World Economic Forum in Tianjin, China, calling Asia a "huge area of focus" for the company. "We see enormous demand for digital dollars in emerging markets and Asia is really center of that."
This month, Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, began a new crypto licensing regime that is expected to open the city up to bitcoin, ethereum and crypto trading. The move comes amid a crypto crackdown in the U.S. that's sent some of the biggest U.S. bitcoin and crypto companies scrambling to find new homes around the world.
"Whats happening in Hong Kong may be a proxy for ultimately how these markets grow in greater China," Allaire said.
This week, a leak revealed HSBCHBA Hong Kong, the city's biggest bank, has reportedly begun allowing its customers to trade bitcoin and ethererum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) listed on Hong Kong's stock exchange.
"The move will expand local users' exposure to cryptocurrencies in Hong Kong," local journalist Colin Wu posted to Twitter alongside leaked images.
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HSBC's bitcoin, ethereum and crypto ETF news comes as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) comes under renewed pressure to approve a U.S. spot bitcoin ETF following an application from the world's largest asset manager, BlackRock.
The SEC has so far denied all such previous spot bitcoin ETF applications and remains at war with many crypto companies in the country, accusing some of the largest of allowing the trading of unregistered securities.
"The crypto market is proving remarkably resilient in light of recent SEC announcements, with bitcoin seeing a 13% rally in the last week," Katharine Wooller, a director at crypto security company Coincover, said in emailed comments.
"The 30-day low has now seen prices rise from $25,000 to $31,395 with bitcoin dominance at a high for the year as traders pursue a flight to quality. For long-term holders, bad news from a regulator is far from unusual, and the U.S. is only a small market for a truly global asset. With proper protection for digital assets and regulatory frameworks being established in a number of jurisdictions, reputable crypto is firmly in 'business as usual' territory."
I am a journalist with significant experience covering technology, finance, economics, and business around the world. As the founding editor of Verdict.co.uk I reported on how technology is changing business, political trends, and the latest culture and lifestyle. I have covered the rise of bitcoin and cryptocurrency since 2012 and have charted its emergence as a niche technology into the greatest threat to the established financial system the world has ever seen and the most important new technology since the internet itself. I have worked and written for CityAM, the Financial Times, and the New Statesman, amongst others. Follow me on Twitter @billybambrough or email me on billyATbillybambrough.com.Disclosure: I occasionally hold some small amount of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
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Leak Reveals Enormous China Earthquake Could Be About To Hit The Price Of Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB, XRP, Cardano, Dogecoin, Polygon And Solana - Forbes
Blur, Pepe Lead Altcoin Action as Bitcoin Settles Above $30K – Decrypt
As Bitcoin stays above the $30,000 mark, a number of usually quiet altcoins are surging. In the past 24 hours, CoinGecko data shows that NFT marketplace and aggregator Blur's native BLUR token is up more than 11%.
Blur, which launched an airdrop in February, is the the largest recent rival to market leader OpenSea. In the past week, it is up 15%, trading for $0.39.
Other alts experiencing a surge include the new meme coin Pepe, which launched in April and is based on the Pepe the Frog internet meme. It's up modestly by nearly 2% in the past 24 hours, trading for $0.00000162.
But compared to the past week it's a winnerhaving surged by 74% in the past seven days.
Also up significantly is Flex Coin, the native token of crypto exchange CoinFLEX: it's up over 21% in 24 hours and 62% in the past seven days.
And Arbitrum, a layer-2 rollup on Ethereum, is also doing well in the past day, having jumped nearly 6% in 24 hours. The project in March launched its native governance token ARB.
Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market cap, was up 1.6% in the past 24 hours at the time of writing.
The world's largest and oldest cryptocurrency broke past $30,000 last week, then $31,000 for the first time in over a year. It since then it's mostly been able to stay above $30,000.
The surge in investment comes after the world's biggest asset manager BlackRock applied to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a spot Bitcoin ETFsomething that the regulator is yet to approve. Investors think the Wall Street giant has a better chance than anybody to get the approval stamp on the product.
Bitcoin's rally is also in part driven by the launch of a new digital asset exchange, EDX Markets, which is backed by the likes of Fidelity, Charles Schwab, and Citadel Securities.
The exchange offers investors four coins: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash.
All have experienced price surges in the past week, especially Bitcoin Cashwhich is up over 118% in the past seven days, trading hands for $232.57.
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Blur, Pepe Lead Altcoin Action as Bitcoin Settles Above $30K - Decrypt
Magic Eden Dives Deeper Into Bitcoin With BRC-20 Tokens – Decrypt
Multi-chain NFT marketplace Magic Eden on Tuesday announced support for BRC-20 tokens, expanding its Ordinals offerings to include the class of tokens built on top of Bitcoin. BRC-20 support will be added at 8pm ET on Tuesday, a spokesperson toldDecrypt.
In addition to letting users trade BRC-20 tokens on the secondary market, the move lets people create their own new tokens on Bitcoin and let traders mint them directly through its launchpad. Magic Edens launchpad is offered as a premium service for creators with marketing and strategy support.
Magic Eden established itself as a leading venue for Bitcoin-based collectibles not long after its Ordinals marketplace debuted in March, moving early to support the NFT-like Ordinals amid growing hype and leveraging its established name in a nascent space.
The inclusion of BRC-20 tokens represents a push deeper into the emerging frontier for assets built on Bitcoin, as Magic Edenoriginally a marketplace for NFTs on Solanaaims to hold onto its newfound lead by effectively becoming a crypto token exchange on top of an NFT marketplace.
This is yet another step at the beginning of our journey to build the best NFT platform for the Bitcoin ecosystem, said Magic Eden co-founder and COO Zhuoxun Yin, in a release.
In terms of transaction volume for Ordinal inscriptions, Magic Eden and crypto exchange OKX are currently duking it out for the top spot, posting comparable flows over the past week according to public blockchain data collected via a Dune dashboard.
Magic Eden's Bitcoin GM Chris Akhavan toldDecryptthat the marketplace will charge a small transaction fee on BRC-20 trades. For newly-inscribed BRC-20 tokens offered through the launchpad, Magic Eden will donate half of the associated fees to the Ordinals protocol team.
We believe its important to support builders in the space and the Ordinals team makes all of this possible, he said. We have a strong conviction that building on Bitcoin is here to stay.
Akhavan noted that Magic Eden's Ordinals launchpad has been used by over 40 different creators, adding that he believes that its smooth user experience and massive reach has made it a favorite amongst creators.
Launched earlier this year by developer Casey Rodarmor, Ordinals is a protocol that allows for the creation of NFT-like assets on Bitcoin by inscribing data to individual satoshi, the smallest unit of currency that a Bitcoin can be divided into.
This data can include images, which Bitcoin users gravitated toward early on. Yet, after BRC-20 tokens were pioneered by the pseudonymous on-chain data enthusiast Domo, who took inspiration from ERC-20 tokens on Ethereum, text-based inscriptionsused to create, trade, and mint BRC-20 tokenstook off.
Showcasing the shift, around 85,000 text-based inscriptions were made on Monday compared to around 3,600 images committed to individual satoshi, according to a Dune dashboard.
The fervor for BRC-20 tokens has weighed significantly on the Bitcoin network at times. Bitcoin transaction fees skyrocketed last month amid a flurry of text-based inscriptions, drawing criticism from some Bitcoiners.
The market capitalization of BRC-20 tokens has grown to $261 million since they were introduced, comprised mostly of ORDI, the initial BRC-20 created by Domo and valued at $155 million, according to CoinGecko.
At its peak, ORDI traded hands at $28.51, but the coin has since sunk to $7.44, as of this writing. Over the past 24 hours, ORDI has seen nearly $20 million worth of trading volume.
While Magic Eden is the latest player in the crypto space to announce support for BRC-20 tokens, its not the first. ORDI was listed on several crypto exchanges, such as Crypto.com and Gate.io last month.
However, Yin of Magic Eden believes the marketplaces move will make its platform distinct, catering to JPEG enjoyers and a menagerie of meme coins built on Bitcoin at the same time.
Since Bitcoin Ordinals and BRC-20 began gaining traction earlier this year, we noticed that the user experience was lacking as the two technologies are broken up and lack fluidity, Yin said. With the introduction of BRC-20 on our platform, we hope to seamlessly merge the two.
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Magic Eden Dives Deeper Into Bitcoin With BRC-20 Tokens - Decrypt
Bitcoin rallies 17% this week as institutional interest in the asset … – CNBC
For many crypto investors, this week felt like the beginning of a new era and ironically, it was driven by the old guard of financial institutions. Bitcoin ended the week up 17.1% at $30,864.67, according to Coin Metrics, for its best week since March 17. At one point on Friday, bitcoin rose to as much as $31,412.72 , its highest level since June 8, 2022. In altcoins: the tokens tied to Solana and Cardano gained roughly 12% this week, while Polygon advanced more than 13%, as of Friday evening. These are the same tokens that were under pressure earlier this month after the Securities and Exchange Commission referred to them as crypto asset securities in lawsuits brought against the biggest exchanges Binance and Coinbase . Meanwhile, each of the major averages posted their worst weekly performance since March. The S & P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite fell three our of four trading days this week, with the Nasdaq snapping an eight-week winning streak. "Amid strengthening regulatory scrutiny from the SEC, bitcoin was hoisted above $30k as a number of TradFi [traditional finance] players have followed BlackRock's move to file for spot bitcoin exchange traded funds this week," said Yuya Hasegawa, crypto market analyst at Japanese crypto exchangeBitbank. BlackRock filed an application for its spot bitcoin ETF June 15, spurring a flurry of fund filings from other asset managers. In this holiday-shortened week alone, institutions like WisdomTree and Invesco have filed or refreshed bitcoin ETF applications . BTC.CM= 5D mountain Bitcoin this week Meanwhile, an institutional-only crypto exchange called EDX Markets, backed by Fidelity Digital Assets, Charles Schwab and Citadel Securities, announced that it has gone live with bitcoin and ether trading. And finally, JPMorgan confirmed to CNBC's "Crypto World" that it began allowing euro-denominated payments for corporate clients to make wholesale payments using its JPM Coin . This week's price action brings bitcoin's year-to-date gains to about 85% and advanced the cryptocurrency nearly 8% for the quarter, as of Friday evening. Still, for crypto, the period since the end of this year's banking crisis has been marked by low trading volume, even as it's moved in a positive direction recently. In the past two weeks, bitcoin's trading volume has increased 0.5% on a week-over-week basis, according to JPMorgan. That contrast could mean bitcoin hasn't attracted new money or investors into the crypto market, according to Owen Lau, an analyst at Oppenheimer. With a lot of good priced in this week, don't be surprised to see a minor pullback in the week ahead, Lau said. There isn't much on the calendar in the coming days, and investors "may just sell the strength and wait for the next catalyst." From a technical point of view, Hasegawa said bitcoin's breakout "from the two-month long descending channel is a bullish sign, especially since bitcoin's trading volume has noticeably increased, but from a macro perspective, a continued cash inflow may not be likely." "Bitcoin may be able to print another leg up to around $32,000 in the short term due to technical reasons, but it feels like the current recovery has a short expiration date," he added.
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Bitcoin rallies 17% this week as institutional interest in the asset ... - CNBC
Greed Takes Over Crypto Market as Bitcoin (BTC) Prints Big Green Candle – U.Today
Gamza Khanzadaev
BTC shoots up with massive green candle as greed expands into crypto market
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In an interesting turn of events, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index, widely regarded as a crucial market indicator, has once again flashed the signal of "greed." The index, which previously hovered in neutral territory, now stands at 59, marking a significant shift in market sentiment. Not counting the previous week, the last time this counter signaled was in early May, at the height of the Pepe coin (PEPE) hype.
This notable change comes on the heels of Bitcoin's (BTC) impressive surge of over 1.5% within a single day, catapulting the price of the leading cryptocurrency to $30,800.
For several days, Bitcoin has flirted with breaching this critical resistance level, only to falter and retreat. However, if it manages to establish a foothold above this threshold, it is believed that theBTC price could be poised for even greater heights, with some anticipating prices of at least $32,400 per coin.
The timing of the Crypto Fear & Greed Index's inclination toward greed raises intriguing questions about its impact on market dynamics. Is this indicator a reliable harbinger of future developments, or merely a retrospective measure?
As Bitcoin keeps printing remarkable green candles on the chart, the dominance of greed on the crypto market becomes apparent. All eyes are now fixed on Bitcoin's ability to maintain its momentum and transcend the resistance barriers that have thus far impeded its ascent.
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Greed Takes Over Crypto Market as Bitcoin (BTC) Prints Big Green Candle - U.Today
Analysis: Fever over BlackRock’s bitcoin fund faces chill of rate hikes … – Reuters
[1/3]Some of Bitcoin enthusiast Mike Caldwell's coins in this photo illustration at his office in Sandy, Utah, September 17, 2013. REUTERS/Jim Urquhart/File Photo
LONDON, June 26 (Reuters) - BlackRock's plans for a bitcoin fund have helped push the world's largest cryptocurrency to its highest in a year, but rising interest rates and a regulatory crackdown could choke off the rally, analysts and industry insiders say.
Bitcoin jumped more than 15% last week, rising above $30,000 for the first time since April, its best week since March, in large part driven by BlackRock (BLK.N) filing an application with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to launch an exchange-traded fund (ETF) backed by bitcoin.
If approved, a bitcoin ETF from the world's biggest asset manager could attract investors reluctant to buy the high-risk cryptocurrency directly.
The industry has been hit by a loss of investor confidence and heightened regulatory scrutiny this year after a series of collapses at major crypto firms in 2022 left investors saddled with losses.
In a market driven by sentiment, with sky-high valuation predictions not uncommon, the crypto industry saw BlackRock's application as a sign that Wall Street is coming round to bitcoin, a view bolstered by the launch of a crypto exchange backed by Citadel Securities, Fidelity Investments and Charles Schwab.
But economic stresses could thwart hopes for a sustained rally, analysts say. Bitcoin's gains slowed towards the end of the week, and on Monday it was trading at $30,405.
"Sticky inflation and economic recession concerns are still longer-term risks that we have to be cautious about," said Youwei Yang, chief economist at bitcoin miner BTCM.
"From our perspective, and based on conversations with sell-side desks, this rally was led by institutional buyers," said Wes Hansen, head of trading and operations at crypto hedge fund Arca.
At crypto broker Genesis Trading, "dozens" of top-tier clients have increased their exposure to bitcoin following the BlackRock filing, said Gordon Grant, managing director of sales and trading.
A spot bitcoin ETF could rebuild investors' confidence in their ability to move U.S. dollars in and out of cryptocurrency, after the collapse of crypto lenders Signature, Silvergate and Silicon Valley Bank in the United States earlier this year, Grant added.
"The market is now pricing an ability to put a significant amount of fiat - if there is the volition to do so - into bitcoin, and that is such a significant development."
Luuk Strijers, chief commercial officer of crypto derivatives exchange Deribit, said that he'd seen a significant increase in call buying, pointing to "bullish momentum."
To be sure, the SEC has yet to approve BlackRock's application and it has so far rejected proposed ETFs that track bitcoin from the likes of Fidelity and Cboe Global Markets. The SEC has cited concerns about market manipulation in such products. Digital asset manager Grayscale had its proposal for a spot bitcoin ETF rejected last year.
"In previous spot ETF rejections, the SEC has cited concerns about market manipulation, and BlackRock's application appears to take a different approach to address this sticking point," said Riyad Carey, a research analyst at Kaiko.
After surprise rate hikes in Australia and Canada, and as the Federal Reserve forecasts two more hikes, investors are now betting that interest rates will remain higher for longer.
Bitcoin had benefited from ultra-low interest rates, which incentivised investors to take riskier bets in search of returns.
Genesis Trading's Gordon Grant said higher rates mean investors can get returns in other assets.
"A lot of liquidity, nominally, has been withdrawn from the system... There's just less capital overall, and not only that, cash is now no longer trash."
Although bitcoin has recovered from last year's low of $15,479, it still trades at less than half of its all-time high of $69,000, reached in late 2021.
Analysts say prices have also been depressed by regulatory uncertainty, as the SEC is increasingly cracking down on what it sees as a culture of rule-breaking across the industry. The SEC earlier this month sued major exchanges Coinbase and Binance.
"The uncertainty around SEC activity had led to softness around price action, with Blackrock coming out in support it feels a little different," said Usman Ahmad, CEO of Zodia Markets, the crypto exchange of the venture arm of Standard Chartered (STAN.L) and Hong Kong crypto firm BC Technology.
"Albeit - there are likely to be further challenges with interest rates continuing to increase," he said.
Reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft, additional reporting by Tom Wilson, Editing by Louise Heavens
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Analysis: Fever over BlackRock's bitcoin fund faces chill of rate hikes ... - Reuters
Top 3 Price Prediction Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple: BTC flatlines while altcoin bulls rethink their strategy – FXStreet
Bitcoin (BTC) price continues to resist falling under bears control as it hovers around the $30,000 psychological level. While the initial run-up in BTCbenefitted altcoinslikeEthereum(ETH) and Ripple (XRP), the current state of struggle for BTC has caused many altcoins to remain flat. Some altcoins even look primed for a correction as many sell signals erupt on the four-hour and daily time frames.
Also Read: Week Ahead: Buy the dip or sit on your hands?
Bitcoin (BTC) price contraction could be a good thing or spell doom for investors depending on how investors play their hand. The king of crypto soared 25% since June 15 to record an intra-day high of $31,431 on June 23 before pulling back 5% to the current price of $30,097.
Based on the Relative Strength Index (RSI) trajectory after breaking below the 70 level, Bitcoin price is suffering in the wake of an overbought market, confirming a sell signal according to Well Wilders thesis.
Nevertheless, as bulls look for an entry point, an increase in buyer momentum could see Bitcoin price break into the crucial zone between $31,800 and $35,300. Escaping this zone could clear the path for the flagship cryptocurrency to target higher levels.
The up-facing Exponential Moving Averages (EMA) and the Awesome Oscillators (AO) above the midline suggest that the bulls are still in the lead.
BTC/USDT 1-Day Chart
Conversely, BTC bulls failing to re-enter the market could see bears gain control, with the ensuing pressure sending the king of crypto to the 50- and 100-day EMA at $27,614 and $26,908 levels, respectively. In the dire case, BTC could break below the support confluence between the 200-day EMA and the uptrend line at $25,647, exposing it to the $24,000 lows seen in mid-March.
Also Read: Bitcoin price breaches $31,000 as the IMF attests to the flagship crypto being unstoppable
Ethereum (ETH) price is $1,852 at the time of writing, on course to test the 50-day EMA at $1,821. Unless the prominent altcoin breaks its current correlation to BTC and heads north, its fate is certain. A decisive daily candlestick close above $1,941 could clear the path for a rally to $2,128.
This is plausible considering the AO indicator is still in the positive zone, and the largest altcoin by market capitalization is also enjoying robust support offered by the 100- and 200-day EMA at $1,794 and $1,736 in addition to the 50-day EMA.
ETH/USDT 1-Day Chart
On the flip side, the down-facing RSI suggests fading momentum among ETH bulls, which could give room for bears to take over. Such an outcome could see the PoS token lose all the ground covered over the past two weeks.
Also Read: China crypto narrative is alive as HSBC supports trade in Bitcoin and Ethereum Futures ETF in Hong Kong
Ripple (XRP) price is trading with a bearish bias, having lost all the ground covered since June 17. The latest downtrend has seen the remittance token flip the 50-EMA support at $0.487 resistance, setting the tone for a continued downtrend.
Amid falling buyer momentum indicated by the dropping RSI and growing overhead pressure as XRP keeps flipping support levels into resistances, Ripple price could break below the 100- and 200-day EMA at $0.471 and $0.454 to retest the $0.402 swing low. Such a move would denote a 15% slump.
This outlook is bolstered by the AO, steadily edging farther away from the midline.
XRP/USDT 1-Day Chart
On the flipside, Ripple price could correct if XRP bulls capitalize on the 100-day EMA support as an entry point, with the subsequent buying pressure restoring the payments token above the $0.495 hurdle. Nevertheless, the bearish thesis would only be invalidated upon a decisive candlestick close above the $0.550 resistance level.
Also Read: XRP sees inflow of $240,000 in a week as crypto funds record largest influx of capital in 2023
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Top 3 Price Prediction Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple: BTC flatlines while altcoin bulls rethink their strategy - FXStreet