The ‘macroeconomic situations’ drive adoption into Bitcoin, says Binance CEO

Binance CEO, Changpeng Zhao says Bitcoin has strong support near or at the $20,000 price level, and believes the crypto market is generally likely to see further adoption catalysed by the macroeconomic environment.

Speaking in an interview with ‘Squawk on the Street’ on Thursday, the Binance chief noted that while no one can accurately predict the market – whether the next big move can be higher or lower – the $20k level offers a good buffer zone due to its psychological importance and the market cycle around it.

What next for Bitcoin?

Basically, noone can tell – it could go higher, or a retreat after relief bounce – but…

Nobody really forecasted NFTs [and] DeFi, which probably drove the last bull run,” Zhao told CNBC, adding that even the 2017 bull market rode on the ICO (initial coin offering) boom. And more likely, the 2017 all-time high is proving the new bottom from where bulls could retreat to before springing higher.

Also, even though the crypto market has grown significantly and it’s not easy to tell which sector will drive the next bull run, growth all across the industry shows we are “moving in a positive direction.”

The regulatory landscape is shaping to be quite well,” he added, with most countries and jurisdictions moving to adopt regulatory frameworks instead of undertaking outright bans on Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies.

These developments are key and can aid further growth in the industry, as well as buoy the next upside in prices, Zhao said.

According to the Binance CEO, a combination of macroeconomic situations, including high inflation and even talk of recession are all potential drivers of the next bull cycle. This week, Bitcoin rose sharply after the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 75 basis points, with BTC breaking above $24k on Thursday amid recession chatter.

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The industry will emerge stronger after crypto winter, says Valkyrie CEO

The cryptocurrency space has been in a bear market for the past few months, but some industry experts believe it will emerge stronger.

Valkyrie CEO Leah Wald told Blockworks in an interview that she believes the cryptocurrency market will emerge stronger from the ongoing crypto winter. 

The crypto market has lost more than 60% of its value over the past nine months. The total cryptocurrency market cap dropped from the all-time high of $3 trillion to currently stand around $1 trillion. Wald stated that;

“Having been through a couple cycles now, I think what’s most interesting to me that I also think we’ll see is just all the innovation that comes out of bear markets. There’s always a cleansing that happens of companies that were not well-suited from a foundational level, that were not strong, and that were fads, not trends.

So we’ll see various blockchains come out stronger than ever, and they’ll have more of a differentiated placement in everybody’s minds, rather than what I feel for the past year has been an undifferentiated understanding in the retail market of ‘crypto’ encompassing everything. There will be more of an understanding of who is strong, who needs to be watched and who wants to be a part of which ecosystem and why.”

The United States Securities and     Exchange Commission (SEC) has rejected numerous Bitcoin spot ETF proposals, including those submitted by Valkyrie. However, the CEO said she is not giving up on gaining the approval needed to list the spot Bitcoin ETF. she said;

“We absolutely are still working toward our goal of bringing the holy grail — a spot bitcoin ETF — to market, especially when considering how much demand bitcoin futures ETFs have seen.

We still think that until a crypto exchange registers with the SEC, we’re not going to see spot bitcoin ETF approval. So we’re definitely, unfortunately, in a holding pattern there waiting for an exchange. Exchanges can take 12 to 18 months for approval once registering with the SEC. Unfortunately, that’s probably a realistic timeline.”

Bitcoin is trading above the $22k level after recovering from the losses it recorded earlier this week. 

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Bitcoin pumps nearly 10% to above $22.5K as Fed hikes rates by 0.75%

Bitcoin (BTC) rose sharply on Wednesday to break above $22,000 as risk appetite resurfaced following the US Federal Reserve’s move to raise interest rates by 75 basis points.

BTC was trading around $22,575 at 15:20 pm ET on Wednesday, up nearly 10% in the past 24 hours. 

Of these gains, about 5% came on the back of Fed’s rate hike. Ethereum (ETH) also rose sharply amid the positive market reaction, breaking to highs of $1,580 with over 15% gains in 24 hours.

Stocks also rallied after the rate hike and as Fed Chair Jerome Powell confirmed the central bank’s desire to battle inflation. The S&P 500 was up 2.43%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had added more than 450 points while the Nasdaq was 3.9% higher.

Among crypto stocks, Coinbase (COIN), which tanked more than 21% on Tuesday to hit lows of $52.93, was up more than 11% at the time of writing. The Coinbase stock was trading around $54.84.

Fed hints at further rate hikes

This is the second time the Fed has increased the interest rates by 0.75% and has the rate at levels monetary policy makers and economists see as neutral.

However, Powell noted in a speech after the Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) meeting that inflation remained well above 2%, hinting at further hikes.

“Today, the FOMC raised its policy interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point and anticipates that ongoing increases in the target range for the federal funds rate will be appropriate,” Powell said.

Powell did note that it is possible policymakers would look to slow down on the rates in the near future.

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Bitcoin eyes the $22k resistance level as the broader market recovers

The cryptocurrency market is having an excellent Wednesday after underperforming over the past two days.

The cryptocurrency market is recovering from the losses it recorded earlier this week. After dropping below the $1 trillion mark earlier this week, the total cryptocurrency market currently stands above $990 billion after adding more than 3.5% to its total value.

Bitcoin, the world’s leading cryptocurrency by market cap, has also been performing well over the past 24 hours.

After losing its value above the $23k level, Bitcoin risked dropping towards the $20k support level.

However, BTC has added more than 3% to its value in the last 24 hours and is currently trading at around $21,700 per coin. 

The market has been bullish so far today, and that could see Bitcoin perform well in the coming hours.

The United States Federal Reserve is expected to hike interest rates later today, and that could affect Bitcoin’s performance in the short term.

Key levels to watch

The BTC/USD 4-hour chart is bearish despite Bitcoin performing well over the last 24 hours. The technical indicators show that BTC is currently recovering from its recent losses.

The MACD line remains below the neutral zone, indicating that the bearish momentum is not over. The bulls would need to push Bitcoin higher over the coming hours or days for the MACD to move into the positive zone.

The 14-day RSI of 48 shows that Bitcoin is no longer in the oversold region. Further rally could see the RSI surge towards the 60 mark in the coming hours. 

At press time, BTC is trading above $21,699 per coin. If the rally continues, BTC could surge past the $22k resistance level before the end of the day. 

However, it would need the support of the broader market to make a move towards the $23k resistance level in the short term. 

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Bitcoin risks dropping below $22k as the broader market retraces

The broader cryptocurrency market is down by more than 2% in the last 24 hours.

The cryptocurrency market has been underperforming over the past 24 hours. Following last week’s rally, the broader market started this week in a bearish fashion.

The crypto market has lost more than 2% of its value in the last 24 hours, with the total market cap still above the $1 trillion mark.

Bitcoin rallied close to the $24k mark last week, adding more than 10% to its value within seven days. However, it has shed some of its gains and is down by more than 2% in the last 24 hours.

At press time, Bitcoin is trading above the $22k level and risks dropping below this psychological point if the broader cryptocurrency market continues to underperform.

Key levels to watch

The BTC/USD 4-hour chart has turned bearish as Bitcoin has been underperforming over the past 24 hours. The technical indicators show that Bitcoin has been struggling over the past few days. 

The MACD line has dropped below the neutral zone, indicating that the bears are currently in control of the broader cryptocurrency market.

The 14-day relative strength index of 39 shows that Bitcoin could enter the oversold region if the bears remain in control.

At press time, Bitcoin is trading around $22k per coin. If the bearish sentiment continues, the leading cryptocurrency could drop below the $21,549 support level. 

In the event of an extended bearish performance, BTC could drop below the $21k support level for the first time in a week. 

However, the bulls were able to pull BTC above $20k a week ago and could regain control of the market in the short term. If that happens, BTC could surge past the $22,500 resistance level again before the end of the day.

Unless there is an extended bullish momentum, BTC could find it hard to move past the $23,500 resistance level in the short term. 

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