- The Bitcoin price dropped during the ongoing session, as the price fell by over 1% during the current session.
- BTC has been relatively bullish during recent sessions and had pushed up by over 11% on Friday.
The Bitcoin price fell back during the ongoing session, as sellers pushed BTC back below $44,000. BTC, after the price had risen to $44,116 on Tuesday. BTC had ended the weekend on a fairly positive note, rising by over 2% and moving to $42,409. Monday saw BTC push up by over 3%, moving past the 50-day SMA and settling at $43,886. BTC registered a marginal increase on Tuesday, pushing past $44,000 before dropping back during the current session.
Bitcoin Price Chart Indicates BTC Could Drop To $43,000
The Bitcoin price ended the previous weekend on a fairly bearish note, dropping by 0.89% and falling to $37,944. BTC recovered on Monday, rising by 1.42% and then rising by 0.72% on Tuesday, moving to $38,760. At this level, the 20-day SMA was acting as resistance, and the price fell back, dropping by nearly 5% on Wednesday, slipping below $37,000 and settling at $36,986. On Thursday, the price pushed back up, recovering by 0.98% and then surging by over 11% on Friday, moving to $41,623.
Image: BTC/USD daily
After registering a significant increase on Friday, the Bitcoin price fell back on Saturday, dropping by 0.49%, before recovering on Sunday and ending the weekend at $42,409. Monday saw BTC continue to remain in the green, as the price pushed above the 50-day SMA and rose to $43,886. Tuesday saw BTC push past $44,000, as BTC rose to $44,116, before dropping back during the current session.
We can see that the MACD is bullish, but if BTC continues to drop, we could see the MACD flip to bearish.
Looking at IntoTheBlock’s IOMAP for the Bitcoin price, we can see that BTC faces strong resistance at around $48,106. At this price level, over 2.2 million addresses have sold more than 1 million BTC.
Image: IntoTheBlock
The 4-hour Bitcoin price chart shows us that BTC had dropped to $36,986 on the 3rd, slipping below the 50-bar SMA. The price continued to drop from this level, dropping to $36,559. BTC made a fairly strong recovery from this level, as the price pushed back above the 20 and 50-bar SMAs and surged to $39,497. BTC continued to push higher from this level, going past the 200-bar SMA on the 5th, rising to $41,623. BTC registered a marginal drop from this level before recovering and surging to $44,951 on the 8th. The price fell back from this level, dropping to $43,027 and then moving to its current level of $43,581.
We can see that the MACD and Parabolic SAR have flipped to bearish, indicating that we could see the price drop further.
Image: BTC/USD 4-hour
Wells Fargo: Crypto Market Could Soon See ‘Hyper-Adoption Phase’
A new report published by financial services and banking giant Wells Fargo suggests cryptocurrencies could be near a “hyper-adoption phase” similar to the one that the internet saw during the mid-to-late 1990s.
According to the report from the bank’s Global Investment Strategy Team, Wells Fargo believes cryptocurrencies are “viable investments today,” even though they “remain in the early stages of their investment evolution.”
Analysts at Wells Fargo recommend investors stick to “professionally managed private placements for now” as the investment landscape for cryptocurrencies is still maturing. They added they do not recommend “any of the other current investment options” including mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), grantor trusts, and even individual cryptocurrency speculation.
According to the report, analysts are “hopeful” this year can bring greater clarity to cryptocurrency regulations, which could lead to “higher quality” investments. Addressing the argument that it may be too late to invest in the crypto asset space, Wells Fargo noted it understands it but does not “subscribe to it.”
The analysts argued that crypto’s performance numbers are skewed as the assets grew from “virtually zero” to where they are now. The bank points out that the cryptocurrency industry is “relatively young,” and most projects within are less than five years old.
In the report, Wells Fargo argued that there’s a need for investment education when it comes to cryptocurrency space and pointed out that the market’s adoption rates are similar to those of the internet in the mid-to-late 1990s. The bank’s report compared the internet’s adoption during that time to that of the cryptocurrency space. It added that this means there is “no doubt that global cryptocurrency adoption is rising, and could soon hit a hyper-inflection point.”
Russia Set To Recognize Crypto As a Form of Currency: Report
Authorities in Russia are set to recognize digital assets as a form of currency, according to local news reports. Russian newspaper Kommersant reported that the government and the Bank of Russia have reached an agreement on regulating cryptocurrencies. They are now preparing a draft law, expected by February 18, which will define crypto as an “analog of currencies” rather than as digital financial assets.
The report further stated that it would only be possible to use crypto “in the legal sector” with identification, through the banking system or via licensed intermediaries.
The news comes just weeks after the Bank of Russia pushed for a blanket ban on crypto in a report issued in January, arguing that the speculative nature of the industry posed a significant threat to the financial stability of citizens.
As part of that proposal, the central bank also said that financial institutions should be stopped from facilitating crypto transactions. Separate reports suggest that President Putin is backing plans for regulating the country's crypto mining industry.
Further details from the Kommersant report suggest that crypto transactions of over 600,000 rubles (roughly $8,000) will have to be declared or constitute a criminal offense. Fines will also be levied on those who illegally accept crypto as a means of payment.
Meet The ‘Comedic Rapper’ Charged Over Bitfinex Hack Laundering
On Tuesday morning, United States Federal Bureau of Investigation agents arrested Heather Morgan and her husband Ilya Lichtenstein for allegedly conspiring to launder crypto connected to the 2016 Bitfinex hack that saw 119,756 Bitcoin (BTC) drained from the crypto exchange.
New York resident Morgan claims to be many things: “a serial entrepreneur, prolific writer, irreverent comedic rapper, and investor in B2B software companies with high growth potential.” The pair have proclaimed their innocence during a recent New York court appearance and were released on multi-million-dollar bonds.
The 119,756 BTC stolen from Bitfinex was worth $72 million in August 2016 but is now valued at more than $5.1 billion. Since the 2016 hack, individuals connected to the stolen coins have periodically moved small amounts of BTC in separate transactions, leaving the bulk of the funds untouched.
The U.S. Department of Justice reported that it had traced 25,000 BTC of these transferred funds to financial accounts controlled by Lichtenstein and Morgan. Special agents were then able to gain access to and seize more than 94,000 BTC (worth $3.6 billion at the time) from Morgan and Lichtenstein after a search warrant allowed them to view files containing private keys to the wallet.
According to the DoJ complaint, the pair is charged with laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to defraud the United States. However, they are not charged with carrying out the hack itself. The first charge can be punished by up to 20 years in jail and the second by five years.
Bitcoin Price Is Expected To Reach These Levels
Looking at the Bitcoin price chart, we can see that BTC has registered a fairly significant drop during the current session. If sellers retain the session, we could see BTC drop to $43,000.