We report the traditional weekly crypto market analysis based on the contribution by Aayush Jindal (Cryptonews.com). The analysis was made on May 22.
After a successful break below the key $9,550 support, bitcoin price extended its decline below the $9,200 support. BTC even spiked below 9,000 and tested the 8,800 support. The price is rising and it is trading above 9,000.
On the upside: an initial resistance is near 9,200 and 9,250. The main resistance is forming near 9,550.
On the downside: 9,000 is a short-term support. The key support is near 8,800, below which the price could decline towards 8,400.
Ethereum price followed bitcoin and declined sharply below the $200 support. ETH/USD even broke the 195 support, but it found a strong support near 192. The price is recovering and trading above 200.
To move back into a positive zone, the price must reclaim 202. The next key resistance may perhaps be near 205 and 206.
Bitcoin cash price dived below the $240 and $230 support levels. BCH tested the 220 support and it is currently rising. The price is testing 230 and it seems like it could correct further higher towards 235 and 240. On the downside, the main support zone for the bulls remain near 220.
Litecoin also declined sharply and broke the $43.2 support. LTC tested the 42.0 support zone and it is correcting higher.
On the upside, the price might struggle to move back above the 44.5 and 45.0 resistance levels.
On the downside: a break below 42.0 may possibly lead the price towards 40.0.
XRP price failed to stay above the $195 support zone and even spiked below 0.192. It tested the 0.190 support zone and then recovered. The price is trading above 0.195, but it is likely to struggle near the 0.200 and 0.202 resistance levels.
In the past few hours, a few small altcoins rallied more than +10.0%, including OMG, SOLVE, HC, BCN, ELF, STX, DGB, BHT, and ZIL. Conversely, THETA, STEEM, ZRX, LEND, and FXC declined more than -8.0%.
JPMorgan says hardly a digital dollar could save the US
Tim Alper (Cryptonews.com) reports the position by US investment giant JP Morgan on the ongoin debate on the possible introduction of a digital dollar in the United States.
“No country has more to lose” than the United States as central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) begin to roll out, claims US-based investment banking giant JPMorgan, which suggests that a “modest” digital fiat investment could potentially help safeguard dollar dominance for years to come.
Per Bloomberg, JPMorgan claims that the United States is currently in a very advantageous position, with the world using the dollar as its global reserve currency. But as digital currency progress continues to intensify, particularly in China and Europe, but also in South Korea and other areas, the greenback’s dominance could be challenged.
The media outlet says that Josh Younger, JPMorgan’s head of United States interest-rate derivatives strategy and Michael Feroli, its chief American economist, co-wrote a report claiming, “There is no country with more to lose from the disruptive potential of digital currency than the United States. Issuing the global reserve currency and the medium of exchange for international trade in commodities, goods, and services conveys immense advantages.”
However, rather than delivering a fast knock-out blow, JPMorgan says that dollar dominance will likely be undermined in more nuanced ways if and when CBDCs do roll out elsewhere in the world.
Particularly at threat, said the analysts, were “more fragile” aspects of the dollar dependence model, with trade settlements and the SWIFT payment system looking vulnerable.
The EU, which could look to issue a digital euro if French-led plans come to fruition, could be looking to distance itself from American economic dominance, with the analysts stating that SWIFT’s 2018 suspension of access for a number of Iran-based banks may have violated EU law.
SWIFT’s position would look increasingly precarious if digital currencies became the norm in major economies, meaning it would become harder for the United States to enforce economic sanctions on companies, individuals and states.
The report reflected opinions previously expressed by many central banks, with its authors writing, “For high-income countries and the United States, in particular, digital currency is an exercise in geopolitical risk management.”
The US Federal Reserve has admitted that it is looking into the possibility of digital dollar issuance but has been relatively non-committal in the matter thus far – in spite of calls from some politicians who want an American CBDC in place to fight any forthcoming coronavirus pandemic-induced financial slump.
The authors offered reasoning, writing, “Offering a cross-border payments solution built on top of a digital dollar would, particularly if designed to be minimally disruptive to the structure of the domestic financial system, be a very modest investment to protect a key means to project power in the global economy.”
The JPMorgan analysts concluded that there was a “reasonable case to be made” for central banks to introduce digital fiats, but CBDCs were unlikely to have the transformative impact that some people have previously forecasted.”
Tether becomes the third most valuable cryptocurrency
Tether has surged past XRP in market capitalization for the second time running, in less than 10 days, last week. It is now the third most valuable cryptocurrency. Its increase is due to the rush for digital coins with more stable prices.
Tether has a market capitalization of roughly $8.803 Billion, according to Coinmarketcap, bigger than XRP, whose market capitalization is roughly $8.58 billion.
Tether is currently second only to Ethereum as the most valuable altcoin. It is designed as a blockchain-based cryptocurrency whose digital coins are backed by the value of traditional fiat currencies, like the U.S dollar, Japanese Yen, or the Euro.
Meanwhile, XRP (Ripple’s currency) fell to the fourth place in the market capitalization ranking. The price of the digital coin has been a bit unimpressive lately. The growth of Tether’s market capitalization has largely resulted from tether seeing massive buying surge from countries like China, because of its advantage of being a stable coin.