Market Insights

This post is a translation of the weekly cryptocurrency analysis by Block Insight, a wholly owned subsidiary of Monex Group (Tokyo, Japan). Monex is the parent of TradeStation Group.

Summary

• Bitcoin (BTC) surrendered some gains after briefly surpassing $9,000.
• Binance, Z Holdings, and TaoTao plan a strategic partnership in Japan.
• Cryptocurrencies may experience light trading with Chinese New Year next week.

Market trends this week

BTC halted after two weeks of healthy gains. Prices briefly topped $9,000 but then bled lower.

Some good news in the industry spurred optimism. Binance, one of the world’s largest crypto-exchange operators, announced negotiations with Z Holdings (formerly Yahoo Japan) and TaoTao to form strategic partnership in the Japanese market. The collaboration would aim to develop advanced trading systems.

Although this was initially bullish, sellers quickly emerged to take profits following BTC’s recent gains.

This Week’s Topics

• Liquid Global cancels a planned sale of Gram tokens provided by Telegram. (1/17)
• The Sacramento Kings auction off Buddy Hield’s jersey using Ethereum (ETH), supported by project incubator ConsenSys. (1/17)
• Binance, Z Holdings and TaoTao agree to begin negotiations for a strategic partnership with Japan. (1/17)
• Facebook’s (FB) Libra establishes a technology steering committee for platform design. (1/17)
• The exchanges Zaif and FISCO announce their integration will occur on February 12. 1(/17)
• Grayscale Bitcoin (GBTC), the world’s largest BTC investment trust, experiences inflows of $608 million. That was more than the total of the previous six years. (1/17)
• JCB and Fujitsu begin collaboration on a new payment-integration platform. (1/17)
• SBI will establish MoneyTap to provide next-generation financial infrastructure. (1/17)
• A PwC survey of 508 executives suggests closer integration is still needed between finance and technology (FinTech). (1/19)
• Former Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo and Accenture (ACN) have formed the Digital Dollar Foundation. The organization will design and promote a Central Bank Digital Currency in the U.S. (1/20)
• Crypto payment provider BitPay will launch a gift-card purchase service for Ripple (XRP). (1/20)
• South Korea is considering a 20 percent tax on virtual-currency profits. (1/21)
• The exchange site VALU will discontinue service in March, citing regulatory obstacles. (1/20)
• Crypto-skeptic Peter Schiff tweets that his BTC wallet was corrupted and he lost access to his holdings. (1/21)
• Switzerland, the home of Libra’s governing body, raises new questions about the proposed cryptocurrency as an international currency. (1/21)
• Open interest in CME’s (CME) BTC futures (@BTC) doubles in the first few days of 2020. (1/21)
• Cambodia’s central bank plans to launch the cryptocurrency Bakong to promote inclusion, strengthen of its domestic currencies and simply payments. (1/21)
• BTC miner Argo Blockchain announces tenfold revenue growth in 2019 from the previous year. (1/22)
• Access to global finance apps more than doubled since 2017, according to research firm App Annie. (1/22)
• Vodafone (VOD) withdraws from FB’s Libra project. (1/22)
• The Reserve Bank of India bars financial institutions from handling cryptocurrencies, citing potential reputational, legal and operational risks. (1/22)
• Dentsu plans to research the use of blockchain technology for monetizing content. (1/22)
• Early Works and Japanese telecom giant NEC start joint research on an “ultra-high-speed next-generation hybrid database” using blockchain technology. (1/22)
• Gita Gopinath, chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, says Central Bank Digital Currencies face many challenges. (1/23)

Next Week’s Market Forecast

Crypto prices may remain quiet as the Chinese New Year approaches. After a sharp rise in recent weeks, BTC finally pulled back to digest its gains. Volume in @BTC continues to increase. There’s also been growing talk of Central Bank Digital Currencies. Investors will additionally watch for more news about the relationship between Binance and Z Holdings.

The $9,000 level will likely serve as resistance for BTC. Downside support is around $8,300.

Next Week’s Topics

• 1/29-31: Crypto 2020 Summit will be held online.

Note: Equities and Futures accounts are offered by TradeStation Securities, Inc. Crypto accounts are offered by TradeStation Crypto, Inc.

TradeStation Securities, Inc., TradeStation Crypto, Inc., and TradeStation Technologies, Inc. are each wholly owned subsidiaries of TradeStation Group, Inc., all operating, and providing products and services, under the TradeStation brand and trademark. You Can Trade, Inc. is also a wholly owned subsidiary of TradeStation Group, Inc., operating under its own brand and trademarks. When applying for, or purchasing, accounts, subscriptions, products and services, it is important that you know which company you will be dealing with. Please click here for further important information explaining what this means.