⌨️ Bitcoin, Ethereum Technical Analysis: BTC Consolidates, Ahead of Key Week of US Economic Announcements

🔽 Bitcoin hovered below $26,000 on Monday, as traders awaited a big week of economic announcements in the United States. The consumer confidence report will be released on Tuesday, with gross domestic product and nonfarm payrolls coming in the upcoming days. Ethereum was largely unchanged today.

➡️ Bitcoin started the week hovering around the $26,000 region, as markets prepared for a big week of economic data. Following a high of $26,406.15 on Sunday, BTC/USD dropped to an intraday low of $25,914.93 earlier in today’s session.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency has mostly consolidated around this level for the past ten days, since surging above $30,000 earlier in the month.

🪙 Bitcoin chart by TradingView

Since then a huge red wave has swept through the market, with BTC falling to a two-month low just over a week ago. Prices have continued to trend sideways as the 14-day relative strength index (RSI) has failed to break out of a resistance level of 30.00.

🔷 Ethereum chart by TradingView

Similar to bitcoin, the RSI has been unable to move past a ceiling of 33.00, which seems to be the main barrier to a bullish resurgence. In the event this level is breached in the coming days, ethereum will most likely move above $1,700.

🇿🇦 South African Crypto Premium Surge After Kraken Abruptly Starts Blocking Deposits by Local Residents

⬆️The premium on crypto assets listed on South African exchanges briefly surged to 3.5% after Kraken’s abruptly started blocking deposits from users based in the African country. Some South African crypto experts have linked Kraken’s decision to the Financial Action Task Force’s recent addition of the African country to its greylist.

📊 According to a report, the U.S.-based crypto exchange Kraken’s recent decision to stop accepting deposits from South African nationals briefly saw the premium on crypto assets like bitcoin surge to 3.5%. Before Kraken’s announcement, the premium or arbitrage, which is the gap between prices of crypto assets on global exchanges and South African exchanges, had reportedly ranged between 0.7% and 1.5%.

❌ As explained in a report published by Moneyweb, Kraken made the sudden decision to block South African deposits after its banking partner placed the African country on its anti-laundering blacklist.

➡️ Meanwhile, the report by Moneyweb suggested that Kraken’s abrupt decision had impacted many local crypto arbitrage market participants. However, according to the report, market participants such as crypto arbitrage and forex specialists like Future Forex have since found alternatives.

🔥 Bitwise Retracts Bitcoin and Ether Market Cap Weight Strategy ETF Registration

✔️ In a recent submission to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Bitwise has decided to retract its registration for its Bitcoin and Ether Market Cap Weight Strategy exchange-traded fund (ETF). The reasoning behind this action remains unknown, but Bitwise’s chief legal officer, Katherine Dowling, briefly noted that the company has postponed plans to launch the fund.

👉 Subsequent to the postponement of seven spot bitcoin ETFs, Bitwise Asset Management has rescinded its Bitcoin and Ether Market Cap Weight Strategy ETF, as stated in an SEC filing on August 31, 2023.

⚠️ Owing to the market cap of bitcoin (BTC) and ethereum (ETH), the combined allocation of these crypto assets within the proposed ETF would have been constrained at 75%.

➡️ Bitwise was one of the seven ETF filings that experienced a delay this past week, which encompassed Wisdomtree, Valkyrie, Fidelity’s Wise Origin, Vaneck, Blackrock, and Invesco Galaxy. Regardless of this setback, Bloomberg’s senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas mentioned that he and James Seyffart still assign a 75% probability for spot BTC ETF approval in 2023.

➡️ The Bitwise spot bitcoin ETF aspires to be listed on the NYSE Arca under the ticker symbol “BITW.” The ticker for the Bitwise Bitcoin and Ether Market Cap Weight Strategy ETF was going to be “BITC,” before the fund was withdrawn.

🗣 G20 Nations Actively Discussing Crypto Framework, Says Indian Finance Minister

➡️ The G20 countries are actively discussing a global framework for crypto assets under India’s presidency, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has revealed. “India’s presidency has put on the table key issues related to regulating or understanding that there should be a framework for handling issues related to crypto assets,” she emphasized.

💬 Regarding crypto discussions at the G20, the Indian finance minister emphasized: “India’s presidency has put on the table key issues related to regulating or understanding that there should be a framework for handling issues related to crypto assets.”

💬 She also noted that crypto is both “a threat as well as an opportunity,” emphasizing: “As much as you build firewalls, there are more and more newer ways in which attacks are being made.”

🌍 India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said last month that crypto needs “a global framework and regulations.”

🪙 Bitcoin, Ethereum Technical Analysis: Price Movement in BTC

⚡️ Bitcoin consolidated for yet another week, as price entered Saturday around the same point at which it stood on Monday. Despite a brief rally on Thursday, which saw the price move above $28,000, the cryptocurrency has largely been unchanged.

🟢 Bitcoin started the weekend trading close to the $26,000 level, as bulls attempted to break into this price zone. Friday saw bitcoin peak at $26,414.01, however as the day progressed, price slipped, after bulls were unable to move past a key resistance point.

💲 BTC/USD was trading at a low of $25,730.12 earlier in today’s session, however it has marginally risen, and now sits at $25,862.51. The slight increase comes as the relative strength index (RSI) moved closer to a key resistance level of 45.00.

➡️ At the time of writing, the index is tracking at a reading of 39.66, after making a move towards a floor of 35.00 on Friday. The 10-day (red) and 25-day (blue) moving averages look set for a cross in the near future, which could trigger a rise in bullish sentiment.

🇹🇼 Report: More Than 50 Virtual Currency Platform Operators Want to Join the Taiwan Market

🟢 About 52 virtual currency operators have shown interest in joining Taiwan’s financial market, the Financial Supervisory Commission has said. The commission also said that it is planning to announce the region’s first virtual asset management guiding principles sometime in September.

⏳ As explained in one local report, the FSC made these revelations during a public hearing conducted by a local legislator Guo Guow. In addition, the regulator also revealed that it is planning to announce sometime in September the first virtual asset management guiding principles.

➡️ The report also suggested that authorities in the region have however not ruled out setting up laws specific to virtual assets. Yet, before such laws are enacted, virtual assets will reportedly be regulated under the Money Laundering Prevention Act.

⚫️ However, the report said under the current guidelines, aggrieved virtual asset investors cannot lodge complaints against operators with the Financial Review Center. Nevertheless, the FSC said it will still attempt to protect virtual asset users via other methods at its disposal. Some of these methods include asking operators to separate their assets from users’ funds.

⚡️ Transparency Report Reveals Backing for Paypal’s PYUSD Stablecoin

➡️ Paypal’s stablecoin, PYUSD, has been operational for 38 days. The token’s issuer, Paxos, has issued a transparency report related to the coin’s reserves. Much like many of today’s stablecoin industry leaders, PYUSD is supported by cash reserves and U.S. Treasury reverse repurchase agreements.

💲 As of August 31, 2023, $45.36 million supports PYUSD, which has a notional value of approximately $44.50 million. Paxos’ repurchase agreements are characterized by “overnight maturity with reputable financial institutions and overcollateralization with U.S. Treasuries,” as highlighted in the update.

💸 The report states that out of the total, $43.86 million is collateralized by Treasury notes, and $1.5 million is collateralized with cash reserves. “As all trades are overcollateralized, the risk of loss is not deemed to be material,” Paxos assures in the transparency report.

👉 Paxos also mentions that it collaborates with BMO Harris Bank, Customers Bank, and State Street Bank. “In order to support overnight and weekend liquidity, Paxos maintains balances in excess of FDIC insurance limits,” the company discloses.

Deciphering the Differences Between Proof-of-Stake and Proof-of-Work

✖️ As cryptocurrencies continue to evolve, two key consensus mechanisms have emerged for validating transactions on the blockchain: proof-of-work (PoW) and proof-of-stake (PoS). This explainer will examine how these protocols differ and the unique benefits and drawbacks of each.

🆕 Proof-of-work (PoW), first introduced by Bitcoin in 2009, requires miners to compete to add new blocks to the blockchain. By expending significant computational power, miners prove that the work was done to validate transactions. The first miner to win the race and discover a block is rewarded with newly minted cryptocurrency.

➡️ Rather than miners, PoS networks have “validators” who stake or lock up their coins to participate in transaction validation.

⚫️ The idea is that staking coins aligns incentives between token holders and the network. In some versions of PoS, validators are randomly selected to propose new blocks, rather than competing to discover them.

✅ PoS advocates consider this much less computationally expensive. However, PoS networks are considered susceptible to various attacks, like censorship, whales manipulating consensus, Sybil attacks, and the nothing-at-stake attack.

🟢 PoS proponents believe proof of stake is the future, enabling faster, cheaper transactions. Both have trade-offs. Hybrid models aim to combine the best of both worlds.

⏰ Awakening of 2012 Bitcoins: 8 Transfers Mobilize 520 BTC After 11 Years

🗓 In September 2023, a flurry of dormant so-called “sleeping bitcoins” from 2012 stirred to life. On September 18, a whopping 909 BTC worth more than $24 million changed hands. Not resting there, the momentum carried into the next day when vintage transfers from 2012 mobilized 519.95 bitcoin, boasting a value of over $14 million.

⏺ Following the five BTC transactions from 2012 executed on Monday, Tuesday saw another burst, moving an additional 519.95 BTC. At block height of 808,426, the address “15ZuB” sprang into action, shifting ten bitcoin valued at a cool $270K.

⏺This digital wallet came into existence on October 7, 2012. After, block 808,437 witnessed another ten bitcoin from 2012 being unleashed from “1MLs3,” an address originating on November 11, 2012. Then, in another twist, block 808,438 experienced a similar movement, with yet another ten bitcoin on the move.

⏺ This vintage transfer came from the “1365X” address, created on December 12, 2012. The trio of transactions each boasted a “moderate” privacy rating of 55, as evaluated by blockchair.com’s privacy assessment tool.

⏺A while later, at block 808,493, a set of three transactions from 2012 were spent. The legacy addresses were created on September 10 and 11, 2012. The address “1BEFy” spent 99.89 BTC, “1G2j4” moved 99.99 BTC and the final address “1ucmw” moved 100.09 BTC. All eight transfers from 2012 were caught by btcparser.

🔍 Bitcoin, Ethereum Technical Analysis: BTC Establishes a New Support Point on Saturday

🪙 Bitcoin started the weekend in consolidation, as traders seemingly found a new price floor at $26,500. The price uncertainty comes as markets settled following a volatile week, which was headlined by the Federal Reserve rate decision. Ethereum remains below $1,600.

💲 Bitcoin consolidated for a second straight session, with the cryptocurrency hovering around a floor at $26,500. Following a high of $26,786.10 on Friday, BTC/USD slipped to a low of $26,389.30 earlier in the session.

➡️ The price of bitcoin has since rebounded, and at the time of writing this is trading at the $26,581.84 level. It appears that the rebound came as the relative strength index (RSI) failed to break out of its own floor at 50.00.

⚫️ At the time of writing this, price strength is tracking at 50.01, and should this hold, bulls could be tempted to reenter the market. Moving averages continue to signal that there could be an incoming uptrend, with the 10-day (red) trend line still higher.

🔷 Ethereum (ETH) remained under the $1,600 on Saturday, despite attempts by bulls to reenter this region. ETH/USD dropped to a low of $1,587.43 to start the weekend, hours after bulls pushed price to an high of $1,599.97.

💲 However, it appears that there could be another attempt to move past this level, with ethereum currently trading at $1,593.07. Unlike bitcoin, an upwards crossover of moving averages has yet to occur, however it seems like this could happen at any point.

🪙 Bitcoin, Ethereum Technical Analysis: BTC, ETH Rebound Ahead of US Consumer Confidence Data

👉 Bitcoin rebounded from a multi-week low on Tuesday, as markets awaited the latest consumer confidence report in the United States. The latest figures from the Conference Board are expected to show a slight decline, with a reading ofи This will be down from 106.1 the month prior.

➡️ Bitcoin was back in the green on Tuesday, as its price rebounded from a multi-week low during yesterday’s session. BTC/USD peaked at $26,421.51 earlier today, which comes following a low of $26,011.47 the day prior.

⚫️ Monday’s low saw the world’s largest cryptocurrency trade at its weakest point since September 13, after dropping below $25,800. From the chart, it appears that the rebound in price came as a result of the relative strength index (RSI), finding a floor of its own at 45.00.

💲 As of writing this, price strength is now tracking at 45.84, with the next visible point of resistance at the 55.00 mark. Should bulls reach the 55.00 level, there is a strong possibility that BTC will move close to the $27,000 zone.

🔷 Ethereum (ETH) also rose higher on Tuesday, after dropping to a key point of support to start the week. Following a low of $1,565.03 on Monday, ethereum rallied to an intraday high at $1,598.10 less than 24 hours later.

❕ Not only did ETH bulls reject a breakout below a floor at $1,565, but also used this as a point of reentry, buying the dip in price. Similar to bitcoin above, the surge came as a floor of the RSI also held firm, acting as a springboard for traders.

💲 ETH continues to hover below the $1,600 level, however, this could change following this afternoon’s consumer confidence report.

💰 Bitcoin, Ethereum Technical Analysis: BTC Above $27,000, ETH Reaches 1-Month High

➡️ Bitcoin continued to trade above the $27,000 level on Friday, after a surge beyond this point towards the end of yesterday’s session. Ethereum rallied to a one-week high. Bitcoin remained above the $27,000 level on Friday, following a late rise in bullish sentiment towards the end of Thursday’s session.

💵 Following a low of $26,424.95 on Thursday, BTC/USD raced to an intraday high of $27,259.50 earlier in the day. As a result of the move, bitcoin rose to its highest level since September 20, when price peaked at $27,393.00.

🪙 Bitcoin chart by TradingView

⚫️ However, earlier gains have since edged lower, largely due to a collision which took place on the relative strength index (RSI). Looking at the chart, the index was unable to push past a resistance level of 58.00, and has since fallen to a reading of 56.57.

⚫️ Traders could be awaiting the release of this afternoon’s consumer sentiment report in the United States, prior to deciding their next move.

🔷 Ethereum chart by TradingView

⚫️ Ethereum (ETH) continued to trend higher on Friday, breaking out of a key resistance level in the process. ETH/USD peaked at $1,687.28 earlier in today’s session, which comes a day after trading at a low of $1,620.68.

⚫️ This surge has resulted in ethereum climbing over a long held ceiling at $1,670, hitting a one-month high in the process. The latest uptrend coincided with the relative strength index moving beyond a ceiling of its own at 57.00. It is now tracking at 58.61.

🇰🇿 Crypto Miners Blame ‘Exorbitant Taxes’ for Kazakhstan Exodus

➡️ Licensed crypto mining companies have urged the government in Kazakhstan to revise its taxation policy regarding the sector, which they say is in dire straits. The largest mining firms plan to leave the Central Asian nation by the end of this year, warned the members of the industry.

💲 Crypto mining businesses, authorized to operate in Kazakhstan, have complained about the high production costs since the government limited their access to subsidized electricity and imposed a progressive scale for a surcharge they are required to pay for the power they use.

📝 The miners highlight that their activities are carried out under license, their data centers are legally connected to the power grid and their computing equipment is duly registered.

❕ The crypto firms also point out that they have voluntarily cooperated with the government in its attempt to regulate the market but noted that the positive effect of this is being undermined by the “ineffective and unbalanced” tax policy, Kazakhstan’s Digital Business news portal reported.

✔️ South African Crypto Exchange Valr Receives 'Initial Approval' From Dubai Virtual Assets Regulator

🌟 The South African cryptocurrency exchange, Valr, recently said it had “won an initial approval” from Dubai’s crypto assets regulator, the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). According to the crypto exchange, winning this approval is a critical step for Valr which is seeking to establish a presence outside South Africa. The approval however does “not allow Valr to undertake any virtual asset services yet.”

🌐 Explaining the rationale behind the decision to seek an operating license from VARA, the crypto exchange’s CEO Farzam Ehsani highlighted VARA’s role as a world-leading regulator and his firm’s desire to reach a more global audience.

❕ “For the past 5 years, VALR has been working closely with regulators to inform regulatory frameworks that protect the public while allowing responsible innovation to flourish. This initial approval from VARA is a significant milestone for VALR to bring our products and services to a more global audience under the auspices of a world-leading regulator,” Ehsani said.

💰 Commenting on Valr’s pivot to the Middle East, the crypto exchange’s Head of Growth, Blake Player, cited the region’s significant crypto flows and in particular Dubai’s growing reputation “as a forward-thinking and pragmatic jurisdiction.”

❕ “Setting up in Dubai provides an excellent opportunity to serve the regional market and a global customer base from a crypto and business-friendly jurisdiction,” Player added.

📉 The Rise and Retreat: Bitcoin’s Ordinal Inscription Wave Ebbs

➡️ With more than 35 million Ordinal inscriptions now on record, the inscription surge we’ve been witnessing is showing signs of slowing. Following that day, inscriptions skyrocketed at a significant pace.

💲 However, merely ten days later, the landscape shifted dramatically. Moreover, inscribers are shelling out fewer fees to miners. As of now, miners have pocketed approximately 2,120.92 BTC, translating to around $59 million, from processing inscription transactions. Close behind, 42.4% are labeled “text/plain,” adding up to about 14.93 million inscriptions.

🔴Ordinal inscription sales have taken a notable dip, with a marked drop in sales since the close of June.

❕Yet, there’s a silver lining. The BRC20 token market has experienced a modest uptick of about 3% this week, reaching a value of $180.31 million. However, the lot of BRC20s today have lost 0.6% in 24 hours.

🔷 Standard Chartered’s Research Predicts Ethereum to Hit $8K by 2026 and Eyes $35K Long-Term

📈 After the financial behemoth’s prior forecast of bitcoin (BTC) potentially hitting $50K by year-end and surging to $120K in 2024, Geoffrey Kendrick and his team at Standard Chartered are back with a new report, this time spotlighting ethereum (ETH).

👉 Notably, this $8K projection is merely a precursor to the bank’s ambitious long-term forecast of an ether valued between $26,000 and $35,000.

🌟 Yet, it’s worth noting that while the $8K estimate is slated for 2026’s conclusion, the grander valuation is pegged for 2040.

⚡️ Standard Chartered’s forex and crypto research lead further opined that U.S. regulations around spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) potentials will likely fortify both BTC and ETH.

💬 “The gap between traditional finance and the digital world is narrowing by the day,” Eric Robertsen, the global head of research and chief strategist for Standard Chartered said at the time.

🇳🇬 Nigerian Central Bank Lifts Forex Restrictions on 43 Items — Market Forces to Determine Exchange Rate

🏦 The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced on Oct. 12 that it had lifted foreign exchange restrictions “hitherto placed on the importation of 43 items.”

💬 In a statement that addresses why the restrictions (initially imposed on June 23, 2015) have been removed, the CBN claimed the measures were forcing importers to source the scarce resources on the parallel market.

💲 On the parallel market where the greenback was, and still is widely available, importers were forced to pay premiums starting from 20% to get U.S. dollars. Some experts on the Nigerian economy insisted then that the official exchange rate greatly overvalued the local currency.

❎ However, immediately following his inauguration as Nigeria’s new leader, Tinubu reportedly ordered the CBN to abandon the fixed exchange rate regime.

➡️ The central bank, which is now led by Olayemi Michael Cardoso, said the growing gap between the official and parallel market exchange rate could well indicate that the rate “has not been setting a clearing price.”

✔️ The CBN also said the removal of the restrictions would benefit local producers in the form of cheaper imported inputs while consumers are expected to “benefit from cheaper retail products.”