CRYPTO UPDATE: BTC dips to USD 95k, Trump to appoint Bo Hines for head of a new "Crypto Council"

24 Hour Prices:

• 
  Bitcoin is on the backfoot, but ultimately fairly steady today and trades within a relatively tight USD 93,639-96,420 given the holiday-thinned conditions and lack of pertinent newsflow; the trough for the day coincides with its 50 DMA at USD 93,464.


• In terms of technical levels, the coin is currently garnering some fairly strong support at its 50 DMA. The 14d RSI (44) currently sits above "oversold" territory.


• On Friday, Bitcoin sharply fell to USD 92,600; a level which has acted as a strong support level (on a 4h chart) for several weeks now. Sticking with the 4h time-frame, the coin now seems to be supported in a range between USD 94.3-95k.

What banks/analysts are saying:

• 
  Analysts at Man Group write that cryptocurrencies provide a good opportunity to follow trends due to its inherent liquidity and lack of fundamental valuation anchors. Analysts find that peak risk-adjusted returned occur with around 10-15 coins and beyond this point, transaction costs/liquidity constraints outweigh diversification benefits.


• 
  JPMorgan brings to focus crypto-regulation in a recent note, highlighting what has happened thus far and their ideas on what is to come. (a) Firstly, analysts highlight the Trump victory as the first floor of legitimacy for the complex, with analysts suggesting that the crypto-ecosystem will become a safer and more productive industry, from a regulatory perspective. (b) Analysts believe the expected timeline for real policy impact is likely to be enacted (atleast) 9-12 months into his term. (c) JPM analysts are looking out for the nomination for Trump’s CFTC/FDIC/OCC Chair nominations, which could have an impact on BTC/ETH regulation ahead.

In the news:

• 
  WSJ says the emergence of quantum computing chips, like Google’s "Willow", could one day enable hackers to break the encryption that keeps bitcoin secure. Such a hack could torpedo bitcoin’s price, by allowing thieves to swipe coins out of supposedly secure digital wallets.


• 
  Trump appoints Republican House nominee Bo Hines to head the administrations new "Crypto Council". Hines will work with Sacks to innovate growth within the digital asset space, said the President-elect Trump. (Cointelegraph). Appoints Stephan Miran as Chair of Council of Economic Advisors Miran served during the first presidency and is reportedly “Crypto-Friendly".
  


• 
  MicroStrategy (MSTR) bought 5,262 Bitcoin for USD 561mln between Dec 16-22 for an avg. price of USD 106,662/BTC.


• The US and South Korea have reportedly partnered to develop technology aimed at countering crypto theft, this comes as the total amount of crypto stolen by hackers nears USD 1.6bln this year alone, according to Crypto News. (Crypto News)

Macro: Light docket given the Christmas period

Liquidation data, via Coinglass:

• Bitcoin (BTC) 24h Long: USD 43.30M / 24h Short: USD 18.76M


• Ethereum (ETH) 24h Long: USD 41.62M / 24h Short: USD 19.27M


• Solana (SOL) 24h Long: USD 10.29M / 24h Short: USD 6.90M


• Ripple (XRP) 24h Long: USD 4.70M / 24h Short: USD 1.65M


• Dogecoin (DOGE) 24h Long: USD 11.33M / 24h Short: USD 6.65M

23 Dec 2024 - 14:01- ForexResearch Sheet- Source: Newsquawk