Weekly market analysis of cryptocurrencies
We report the traditional weekly crypto market analysis based on the contribution by Aayush Jindal (Cryptonews.com). The analysis was made on April 24.
In the past few hours, bitcoin price followed a strong bullish path above the $7,200 resistance. The BTCUSD extended its rise and surpassed 7,550 weekly resistance. It traded close to 7,750 and recently corrected lower.
On the downside: an initial support zone is near 7,500, followed by 7,420. The main support is seen near 7,200.
On the upside: an initial resistance for the bulls is near 7,620, above which there are high chances of a strong rise towards 7,800 and 7,850.
Ethereum price is following bitcoin and it climbed above the $185 resistance. The ETHUSD is currently struggling to clear the 190 and 192 resistance levels, above which the price is likely to accelerate higher towards 200.
On the downside, 185 is an initial support and buy zone. The main support is now forming near 180 and 178, below which the bulls could lose control.
Bitcoin cash price gained momentum above $240, but it failed to accelerate above the 245 resistance. The BCHUSD must settle above the 245 and 250 resistance levels for upside continuation. The next major resistance above 250 is near 275.
Litecoin is up more than 5% and it broke the $42.0 and 42.2 resistance levels. The LTCUSD is now testing the 44.5 and 45.0 resistance levels. A successful close above 45.0 could open the doors for a move towards 48.5. On the downside, an initial support is near 43.2, but the main support is near 42.2.
XRP price started gaining traction and it cleared the $0.190 and $0.192 resistance levels. The price is now trading near 0.195 and it might soon test the 0.200 and 0.205 resistance levels. Any further gains could lead the price towards 0.212.
In the past two sessions, many altcoins rallied more than +10.0%, including DGB, LEND, ADA, MATIC, STX, UBT, XTZ, SNT, ENJ, ZIL, ICX, HYN, NEO, and ALGO. Out of these, DGB performed very well for the second day in a row and rallied close to +40.0%.
Bitcoin price could reach $1M, Pal says
Cryptonews.com reports an interview to Raoul Pal, CEO of Global Macro Investor, a prominent Bitcoin bull. He said he believes bitcoin can reach a price of $1 million within the next few years, following on from magnate John McAfee, who has predicted the most famous crypto would hit this meteoric landmark by the end of 2020.
Global Macro Investor has recently produced a report on the state of (and the future of) investment.
“Pal predicts that the conventional economic system of money “fail more or less dramatically” in a “long, drawn-out bleed,” that will involve it “without becoming more of a Frankenstein’s monster.” He writes, “[Cash] is already is a deformed beast after the last crisis and barely functions.”
Bitcoin, he says, will come to the rescue, as will gold, which he claims is working well against all global currencies and “will continue to do so.” He notes, “Gold is the protection of our assets. Bitcoin is the call option on the future system. Both are going to save us and probably make us rich.”
In terms of concrete predictions, Pal claims that gold “can go up 3x or 5x in the next three to five years” – and says he thinks BTC “can get to $1m in the same period.” He enthuses, “Bitcoin is nothing short of the future of our entire medium of the exchange system, and of money itself and the platform on which it operates.”
Pal then goes on to rave about altcoins, central bank digital currencies and tokens such as Facebook’s Libra project. “All of that combined,” he states, “will be the next $100tn+ financial system.” Bitcoin, says Pal, was built to thrive in the most challenging of times.
He writes, “[Bitcoin] was born out of the financial crisis for exactly what is about to come in this crisis. This is literally what bitcoin was invented for.”
Pal doesn’t stop there. He writes, “I think it hits $100,000 in the next two years alone. But it could go to $1M in the same time period.” Pal concludes by suggesting that everyone “needs to have bitcoin,” and suggests the following portfolio makeup: “The allocation I am personally aiming for, on my total available liquid assets, is 25% trading investments, 25% cash (all USD), 25% gold, 25% bitcoin. I’m putting my money where my mouth is.”
However, in a somewhat deflationary disclaimer after all this dizzying rhetoric, he adds, “I want to be clear that forecasting out beyond a few months is a complex and risky affair in an environment like this. I can only offer what I think is the most likely outcome at this stage. I think I’m going to be right, but I sure as hell don’t know it. But I’d give it a 60%+ chance.”
“Let’s see how this all pans out,” he concluded.
Bitcoin jumps, as traders focus on May halving
Coindesk.com reports an interesting article on how Bitcoin, after having stagnated over the past few weeks, finally broke out of its range, jumping to the upside.
“Kevin Kelly, co-founder of Delphi Digital, a digital-asset research firm, said the price surge was consistent with historical patterns where volatility tends to pick up whenever the bitcoin futures contract on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange is nearing expiration. The April contract is scheduled to expire Friday.
The move upward may have been fueled by traders keying off market signals, according to Joe DiPasquale, CEO of cryptocurrency hedge fund BitBull Capital. Prices found a floor at the 50-day moving average around $6,800, breached a resistance level at $7,300 and now appear on track to push toward the 150-day moving average around $7,800, he wrote in an email to CoinDesk.
“As is often the case, the line acted as a resistance level on the way up, and now that we’re above it the line is currently being tested as a level of support,” Mati Greenspan (Quantum Economics), wrote in an email to clients.
Bitcoin is now up 5.1% for the year to date, a performance that looks impressive compared with the 13% drop in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. The cryptocurrency still trails gold, up 14% on the year.
DiPasquale predicts that “after some consolidation” bitcoin prices could rise toward $9,000.
From a fundamental perspective, bitcoin is now just a few weeks from its once-every-four-years “halving,” when the pace of issuance of new units of the cryptocurrency decreases by 50%.
German bank BayernLB predicted last year bitcoin’s halving could drive its price to $90,000, roughly 12 times the current level, but some traders say that the well-telegraphed event is already baked into market expectations.
What’s clear is governments and central banks around the world are pushing to pump additional fiscal and monetary stimulus into the global financial system. Cryptocurrency traders are tracking the money injections, which could eventually lead to inflation, since bitcoin is often seen as a hedge against inflation, similar to gold.
Fitch Ratings said this week in a statement that an “unparalleled global recession” is underway, with global gross domestic product set to contract by 3.9% this year, the biggest drop in the post-war period. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told Fox Business that “we need to spend what it takes to win the war” against the coronavirus.
The Federal Reserve, which is indirectly providing financing for government emergency programs, including through purchases of U.S. Treasury bonds, said its total assets surged this week past $6.5 trillion for the first time in the central bank’s 107-year history. That’s an increase of more than $2 trillion in just six weeks.
Yet, an analysis by The TIE, a research firm, showed some traders might be shifting their focus toward the halving. In tweets mentioning the word “bitcoin,” those that included the term “halving” surged by 63% on Thursday to 1,058. Bitcoin-related tweets mentioning gold slipped by 8.1% to 634.
Cryptocurrency analysts have latched onto the contrast between the tightening supply of bitcoin and the Fed’s loose monetary policy”, as the May halving is approaching, ensuring the increased scarcity in a monetary environment where money supply of fiat currencies is drastically increasing.