Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse says the latest court ruling on Ripple’s securities lawsuit “is a big win.” He stressed that “absolutely nothing in the decision negates or changes the fact that XRP is, in and of itself, not a security.” The Ripple executive slammed allegations of misleading statements about his XRP position, stating that the […]
Bitcoin News
Bitcoin Price Could Attempt to Recover Lost Ground But Faces Many Hurdles
Bitcoin price is consolidating above the ,000 level. BTC could try to follow Ethereum and recover if it manages to clear the ,650 resistance zone.
- Bitcoin started a minor recovery wave above the ,000 level.
- The price is trading below ,500 and the 100 hourly Simple moving average.
- There is a short-term contracting triangle forming with resistance at ,400 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).
- The pair could start a recovery wave if it clears the ,400 and ,650 resistance levels.
Bitcoin Price Faces Resistance
Bitcoin price extended its losses and traded below the ,000 level. BTC even tested the ,000 zone. A low was formed at ,050 and the price is now correcting losses.
There was a minor recovery above the ,500 level. The price climbed above the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the recent drop from the ,255 swing high to the ,050 low. However, the bears are still active near the ,500 zone.
Bitcoin is now trading below ,500 and the 100 hourly Simple moving average. There is also a short-term contracting triangle forming with resistance at ,400 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair.
On the upside, the price is facing resistance near the ,400 level and the triangle trend line. The first major resistance could be ,650 or the 50% Fib retracement level of the recent drop from the ,255 swing high to the ,050 low. The next key resistance could be ,000.
A clear move above the ,000 resistance might start a steady increase and send the price higher. In the stated case, the price could rise and test the ,550 resistance. Any more gains might send BTC toward the ,500 resistance in the near term.
Another Decline In BTC?
If Bitcoin fails to climb above the ,650 resistance zone, it could start another decline. Immediate support on the downside is near the ,850 level.
The first major support is ,400. The next support is now forming near ,000. Any more losses might send the price toward the ,200 support zone in the near term.
Technical indicators:
Hourly MACD – The MACD is now losing pace in the bearish zone.
Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for BTC/USD is now above the 50 level.
Major Support Levels – ,400, followed by ,000.
Major Resistance Levels – ,400, and ,650.
Nigerian Fintech Firm Flutterwave Confirms Hacking Attempt, Says Users’ Funds Safe
The Nigerian fintech firm Flutterwave claimed on May 16 that it had foiled an attempt to breach its payments platform. Flutterwave asserted that the “unauthorized activities inconsistent with usual customer behavior” did not compromise users’ funds or data confidentiality. According to one report, over million was siphoned from Flutterwave following a cyberattack in April. […]
Bitcoin News
Nigeria Denies Binance CEO’s Claims of $150M Bribe Demand; Criticizes Attempt to Discredit Government
The Nigerian government has dismissed allegations from Binance CEO Richard Teng that representatives of the cryptocurrency exchange were solicited for a 0 million bribe by members of the House Committee on Financial Crimes (HCFC). A special assistant to the Nigerian Information Minister characterized Teng’s bribery claim as part of a coordinated international campaign by Binance […]
Bitcoin News
Bitcoin Technical Analysis: BTC Bulls Attempt to Push Prices Higher Post-Halving
As bitcoin fluctuates within a defined range, Monday’s technical analysis reveals a mixed bag of signals from oscillators and moving averages. Traders face a nuanced landscape on April 22, 2024, as various charts suggest both caution and opportunity. Bitcoin Bitcoin’s (BTC) price today stands at ,974, with a 24-hour trade volume of .6 billion and […]
Bitcoin News
Bitcoin Technical Analysis: BTC Bulls Attempt to Break Upper Resistance
The price of bitcoin is hovering just above the K range after a bullish trading day on Tuesday following U.S. Federal Reserve Governor Chris Waller’s dovish speech. Bitcoin’s 24-hour range has been between ,156 to ,450 and it currently has a market capitalization of around 5 billion.
Bitcoin
As bitcoin’s price hovers around ,275, a detailed examination of oscillators and moving averages presents a compelling story for its current market position. Oscillators, key tools for identifying market momentum, are currently showing neutral signals, suggesting a stable market without overbought or oversold conditions. Simultaneously, moving averages across various time frames unanimously signal optimistic sentiment, indicating the possibility of a sustained bullish trend for bitcoin.
Oscillators, which include tools like the relative strength index (RSI), Stochastic, and commodity channel index (CCI), provide insights into Wednesday’s market dynamics. The RSI, at 62, is firmly in neutral territory, negating any immediate signs of overvaluation or undervaluation. This neutrality is echoed in the Stochastic and CCI readings of 78 and 166, respectively, both also signaling a balanced market state without immediate pressure for price correction.
The exponential moving average (EMA) and simple moving average (SMA), critical indicators for assessing long-term bitcoin price trends, are showing strong bullish signals across multiple time frames. The 10-day EMA and SMA stand at ,478 and ,421, slightly below the current price, reaffirming the positive sentiment. Similarly, the 20-day EMA and SMA, at ,876 and ,125, reinforce this bullish outlook, suggesting the possibility of continued upward momentum.
An examination of the longer-term moving averages further cements the positive outlook for BTC. The 50-day EMA and SMA, recorded at ,571 and ,120, are well below the current price, indicating that the mid-term trend is firmly in favor of the bulls. The 100-day and 200-day moving averages, traditionally seen as indicators of long-term market sentiment, also present a unanimous bullish signal, with values significantly lower than the current market price.
The unanimous signals across all major moving averages underscore a strong and enduring positive trend in the bitcoin market. This trend is not just a short-term spike but a sustained movement, as evidenced by the consistency in the indicators across the 30, 50, 100, and 200-day averages. The analysis of both oscillators and moving averages paints a picture of a stable yet growing market. While the neutral stance of oscillators calls for cautious optimism, the overwhelming bullish signals from the moving averages provide a strong foundation for the current price levels.
Bull Verdict:
The current neutral readings from oscillators such as RSI, Stochastic, and CCI, suggest a well-balanced market, free from overextension. This stability, combined with the consistent buy signals across all major moving averages, indicates a robust bullish trend.
Bear Verdict:
Despite the overall bullish indicators, a cautious approach leads to a bearish verdict. While oscillators show a neutral market, this can also be interpreted as a lack of strong bullish momentum, potentially signaling a plateau in price movement. The proximity of current prices to the short-term moving averages (10-day and 20-day) may suggest limited room for significant upward movement in the near term.
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What do you think about bitcoin’s market action on Wednesday morning? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
Bitcoin Makes Another Attempt At $28,000, Can Break Happen?
Bitcoin is currently trying to have another go at the ,000 level. Here’s what on-chain data says regarding whether a retest can be successful.
Bitcoin On-Chain Signals Are Not All Positive Right Now
In a new post on X, the on-chain analytics firm Santiment has looked into a couple of on-chain indicators that may provide some hints about whether BTC can sustain any bullish momentum currently or not.
The first metric of relevance is the “supply on exchanges,” which keeps track of the percentage of the total Bitcoin supply that’s currently sitting in the wallets of all centralized exchanges.
When the value of this metric decreases, it means that withdrawals are taking place on these platforms right now. Generally, investors take out their coins to self-custodial wallets whenever they intend to hold onto them for extended periods, so this kind of trend can have a bullish effect in the long term.
On the other hand, the reverse trend implies selling may be going in the market as holders are depositing a net amount of the cryptocurrency to the exchanges at the moment.
Now, here is a chart that shows the trend in the Bitcoin supply on exchanges over the past few months:
From the graph, it’s visible that the Bitcoin supply on exchanges has observed a constant decline during the past month. This naturally suggests that the investors are transferring a net number of coins out of these platforms.
As mentioned before, if the investors are accumulating with these withdrawals, the price could feel a bullish impact, although it may only appear in the long term. Therefore, these outflows may not directly be relevant to the current price surge.
Another way to look at the net withdrawals, however, is that at the very least net deposits aren’t taking place currently. As is visible from the chart, the recovery rally at the end of August very quickly died out as investors transferred a large amount of BTC toward exchanges.
For now, it would appear that such a selloff isn’t taking place, which could potentially allow for the asset’s run to continue. There is another indicator highlighted in the graph, but unlike the supply on exchanges, this one doesn’t seem to be showing a positive trend.
This metric is the “daily active addresses,” which keeps track of the unique number of addresses that are participating in transaction activity on the blockchain. This indicator has now plunged toward the lowest levels since late August, implying that user interest in the asset is low currently.
Historically, rallies have only been sustainable when they have been able to amass a large amount of trader attention, as such moves typically require a high amount of fuel. At present, the current recovery move lacks such investor activity.
On top of this, the ,900 level is currently a point of major resistance, as that’s where the average cost basis of the short-term holders lies, as CryptoQuant analyst Maartunn has pointed out.
All in all, it looks like a significant break above the ,000 level could prove to be quite tricky for the cryptocurrency in the near future unless things can turn around fast in terms of user interest.
BTC Price
Bitcoin’s latest attempt may be ending in failure once again as its price has now retraced towards ,600.
Bankman-Fried’s Lawyers Seek Another Attempt at Temporary Release
Lawyers for Sam Bankman-Fried are making another attempt to have the disgraced FTX founder temporarily released from jail before his October trial, claiming he needs better access to prepare his defense properly.
Lawyers Cite Bankman-Fried’s Indispensable Knowledge for Complex Trial Preparation
In a letter to U.S. judge Lewis Kaplan filed Monday, Sam Bankman-Fried’s attorneys argued that the current restrictions on meeting with their client at Manhattan’s Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) are “not workable” for a case this complex.
“This case is highly technical and complex, and we need our client to help us understand the facts and explain many of the issues,” lawyers state in the letter. “He alone knows the facts which are also critical in preparing his defense. Unfortunately, his knowledge and insight cannot be replicated by third-party experts as they are not familiar with the underlying facts and cannot provide the necessary help.”
Bankman-Fried’s lawyers say they need more time with him outside of jail in the evenings and weekends to go over each day’s testimony and exhibits. They claim that Bankman-Fried has indispensable knowledge of the facts that outside experts lack.
The lawyers further proposed strict conditions for Bankman-Fried’s release, including private security, no computers or phones, and a gag order prohibiting him from speaking with anyone but his lawyers and family. Bankman-Fried’s legal council says:
[A] security guard will remain with Mr. Bankman-Fried in the temporary residence throughout the evening and will ensure that Mr. Bankman-Fried does not have access to any computers, cell phones, the Internet, television, or any electronic devices. Mr. Bankman-Fried will not be permitted any visitors in his temporary residence.
This marks the third attempt to have Bankman-Fried released after Kaplan revoked his 0 million bail in December over concerns he could still access funds and flee. Kaplan has repeatedly denied requests for release, while acknowledging the challenges of preparing for a complex trial.
In their latest letter, the defense team notes this does not prevent them from applying again. They argue having insufficient access to Bankman-Fried could raise appellate issues. The lawyers say detaining Bankman-Fried during the trial will leave them little opportunity to confer outside of mornings.
If found guilty of fraud and money laundering, Bankman-Fried could serve a staggering 115 years behind bars. The jury selection kicks off on October 3, and the trial is anticipated to span anywhere from six weeks to several months.
What do you think about Bankman-Fried’s lawyers requesting that he be released before trial? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
Kenyan Minister: US Government Recently Foiled Attempt to Detain Worldcoin Representatives
Kenyan law enforcement recently detained two Worldcoin executives as they attempted to depart the country. According to the Kenyan Interior Minister, the duo were eventually let go after the U.S. government’s intervention.
U.S. Government Reportedly Intervenes in Worldcoin-Related Detainment Attempt
The Kenyan Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki has said the U.S. government recently foiled local law enforcement’s attempts to arrest and detain Worldcoin executives. According to a report in The Nation, the U.S. insisted that the departing executives had not done anything wrong to warrant the arrest. However, the U.S. government undertook to avail the executives as and when they were needed.
As reported by Bitcoin.com News, Kenyan authorities have been coming down hard on the crypto project. However, in their attempt to appease the Kenyan government, the Worldcoin representatives led by Alex Blania recently appeared before a parliament committee tasked with investigating the crypto project’s activities.
Confirming the botched plan to indefinitely hold Blania and his fellow Worldcoin executives, Kindiki said:
“They [Worldcoin executives] tried to leave the country but were stopped and put in custody. However, the U.S. government intervened saying they should be allowed to leave because they haven’t yet been found guilty of committing a crime and gave an undertaking that it will produce them when required.”
According to the report, Thomas Scott, the legal spokesperson for Tools for Humanity, is the other Worldcoin representative who was detained along with Blania.
The Kenyan government’s attempt to arrest the duo came just days after Kindiki sought to tie crypto-related activities to money laundering and terror funding. During his own appearance before the parliament’s investigating committee, Kindiki reportedly said the Worldcoin debacle vindicates his government’s stance towards cryptocurrencies in general.
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Binance CEO Shares Details Of $20 Million Scam Attempt
Binance CEO, Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao has recently provided details on a failed million scam attempt in a bid to keep the crypto community on alert for future occurrences.
Crypto Scammers Are “So Good Now,” Binance CEO Says
In a tweet on August 2, Changpeng Zhao described a recent scam attempt as “clever,” stating that it was “luckily” prevented as the bad actors in the crypto space seem to have gotten better.
Related Reading: Curve DAO (CRV) Price Recovery Post-Exploit: What Would Be A Realistic Scenario?
Specifically, the Binance CEO drew attention to how these scammers now generate addresses with identical starting and ending letters as other wallet addresses.
Using these new addresses, they then proceed to impersonate other network participants and swindle unsuspecting crypto users. Technically, these kinds of scams are referred to as “zero-transfer phishing attacks.”
I want to share this (luckily) unsuccessful, but very clever and close scam incident from yesterday
. Saved m. Hope it may also save you one day.
The scammers are so good now they generate addresses with the same starting and ending letters, which is what most people check… https://t.co/DFpdX8aNay
— CZ
Binance (@cz_binance) August 2, 2023
Changpeng Zhao noted that these scams are particularly effective as most crypto users only confirm the first and last characters of an address when conducting transactions.
In fact, he stated that most wallet designs exclude the middle parts of addresses in an attempt to offer a better user interface to users
Asides from creating similar wallet addresses, the Binance CEO mentioned that these scammers would send “dust transactions” so they could be registered in their targets’ transaction history.
To explain, dust refers to a minute amount of cryptocurrency, usually valued at less than a cent, and cannot be traded on any exchange.
With the scammer’s address now present in their target’s transaction history, one can unknowingly transfer assets to these bad actors, especially if the impersonated address is one they constantly transact with.
Fast Response Helped Thwart Zero-Transfer Phishing Attack
Changpeng Zhao stated that a zero phishing attack happened to a veteran crypto operator on Aug 1 in which they transferred million worth of USDT to the wrong address.
For context, the original wallet address was 0xa7Bf48749D2E4aA29e3209879956b9bAa9E90570, while the phishing address was 0xa7B4BAC8f0f9692e56750aEFB5f6cB5516E90570.
Luckily, the operator detected the scam quickly, and Binance was able to officially request for Tether to freeze the stolen USDT. The stablecoin operator responded promptly by blacklisting the wallet to prevent any further deposit or withdrawal.
Related Reading: Ethereum DeFi Coins Plunge As Curve Concerns Threaten Major Market Crash
The Binance CEO rounded off his tweet by stating that a fast reaction was vital to reclaiming users’ funds in these kinds of attacks. However, he did state that the assets recovery may take some time as the sender would have to complete a number of processes, including submitting a police report.
It is no news that the crypto space is riddled with heists, scams, and attacks which result in the loss of millions of dollars yearly. And these crypto scams are considered one of the major plagues in the crypto space.
According to data from Certik Security, crypto scams and hacks claimed over 3 million in just Q2 2023 alone. Another report from TRM Labs in June 2023 said that over billion was lost to various scams and frauds in 2022. A huge portion (around .8 billion) of this figure was lost to Ponzi schemes alone, TRM added.
Featured image from Binance, chart from Tradingview