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) has fallen steadily in the last week, returning back below $9,000.
• BTC now has $9,000 as resistance and support at $8,400.
• Altcoins remain under pressure.

Market Trends this Week

After rallying for the last few weeks, BTC finally succumbed to selling pressure and dropped about 8 percent on the week. BTC lost the recent support level of $9,000 and stayed below it since Monday.

There was little explanation of the decline, aside from reports of a hacking attack at a small Vietnamese exchange. Global equity markets remained strong, although the Nikkei Average fell slightly as the yen (@JY) advanced. Ripple (XRP) bled lower as investors showed little excitement over last week’s Swell Conference. Weakness in XRP could also result from Binance working with Paxos to release a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin.

Other concerns include the recent stagnation in hash power because of challenges in the mining industry.

This Week’s Topics

• “Jet Token” raises $10 million to create a jet-leasing market powered by Ethereum (ETH). (11/8)
• After initially planning to phase out BTC mining, China’s government has reversed course. (11/8)
• Crypto exchange Binance is aiding the Ukrainian government in establishing new rules for digital currencies. (11/12)
• U.S.-based research firm ConsenSys announces stats on ETH network for October. (11/11)
• XRP announces “Ripple Net Home,” a service to analyze XRP transactions and predict market share. (11/8)
• Coinbase announces the first digital “staking service” that pays users for holding digital currency. (11/8)
• Binance is now offering traders the ability to traffic in six legal currencies in effort to increase its presence as a legal exchange. (11/8)
• Hackers stole at least $500,000 of cryptocurrency from Vietnamese exchange VinDax. (11/11)
• Reports claim North Korea is working on a blockchain platform to launder stolen crypto. (11/10)
• Inspired by Facebook’s (FB) Project Libra, U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) member Rohit Chopra pushes the Federal Reserve to create a real-time payment system. (11/10)
• Many ETH developers are using the Lightning network in effort to connect multiple cryptocurrencies. (11/11)
• Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray calls crypto a serious problem because it’s hard to trace, allowing potential use by terrorists. (11/11)
• INDETAIL is creating a new cold wallet card using fingerprint authentication. (11/11)
• Skill Co. has created a human-resource matching service using the blockchain to ensure the credibility and value of work history information. (11/11)
• Virtual-currency data shows that month-over-month transaction volume decreased in September. (11/12)
• A new regulation will treat cryptocurrency exchanges in Hong Kong as traditional securities brokers. (11/12)
• Tencent (TCEHY) plans to debut a blockchain-based virtual bank after receiving approval from authorities in Hong Kong. (11/12)
• Singapore’s central bank and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) plan to construct a payment system able to link to various blockchains. (11/12)
• Bakkt will now provide custody services to institutional investors. (11/11)
• XRP Xpring Platform will debut soon in Japan. (11/12)
• Hong Kong regulators urge their counterparts in other countries to streamline rules for cryptocurrencies like Libra. (11/12)
• The People’s Bank of China announces it will collect citizen’s information when its first digital currency is released. (11/12)
• CME (CME) announces it will launch options on BTC futures (@BTC) on January 13. (11/12)
• France’s central bank is seeking blockchain analysts to aid in the implementation of digital currency. (11/13)
• Alibaba’s (BABA) fintech wing has begun testing a blockchain offering for various businesses. (11/13)
• United Parcel Service (UPS) has begun tracking beef shipments to Japan with blockchain technology. (11/13)
• FB announces Facebook Pay, which is similar to PayPal’s (PYPL) Venmo payment service. (11/13)
• The new HTC smartphone will support Binance integration. (11/13)
• ETH releases Ethereum studio to encourage adoption of its technology. (11/11)
• Huobi Global’s blockchain platform is now open source. (11/13)
• Binance launches a legal-currency gateway between fiat currencies and stablecoins. (11/13)
• Yahoo! and LINE have made final adjustments for management integration. (11/13)
• University students in Higashiosaka, Japan, have developed a blockchain-based system for payments at campus food establishments. (11/13)
• The Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX) is testing a digital bond blockchain to determine whether there’s a benefit to market participants. (11/14)
• The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) hires a Canadian company to track oil shipments using blockchain technology. (11/14)

Next Week’s Market Forecast

Mixed sentiment in China has caused fluctuations in the market recently. BTC initially rallied after Premier Xi Jinping made positive comments on digital currencies. But then it fell amid talk that Chinese regulators will crack down on digital assets.

Moving forward, traders should watch the start of Bakkt and CME BTC option trading, which have the potential to impact the market.

Next Week’s Topics

• 11/18: MakerDAO will launch a new version of its programmatic stablecoin DAI.
• 11/19: LISK will a developer workshop in Berlin.