Currency

Bitcoin price circles $44K as analyst asks, ‘Who remains to sell here?’

Bitcoin (BTC) broadly held levels at $44,000 and above on Feb. 16 amid fresh optimism that another macro low would be avoided.

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD rebounding after an overnight dip to $43,725 on Bitstamp.

In a tightening range, the pair looked increasingly primed for a breakout up or down Wednesday, as support and resistance levels stayed within a short distance of spot.

While fears that a stocks correction could cause fresh pain for bears remained, one analyst, in particular, argued that there was now hardly any impetus to sell BTC after three months of downside.

“When I consider everything BTC HODLers withstood in 2021- When I observe global de-risking for 3+ months- When I see 48% of Realized Cap STILL held from 3–12 months ago after a $33k scare- I ask: with all existing FUD priced in, barring surprises, who remains to sell here?” TXMC argued…read more.

TMX Group Canada to unveil crypto futures product later this year

In response to institutional investors’ concerns about the risks of trading in a new asset class, TMX Group, Canada’s major stock market operator, has revealed plans to launch its first-ever crypto futures product.

While speaking to Reuters, TMX Group’s John McKenzie said that the firm plans to release the product on the Montreal Exchange later this year. According to Mackenzie, “more institutional investors and dealers are […] holding more crypto assets within their portfolios or for their clients or in ETFs,” adding they are working on how to mitigate risk due to crypto’s huge volatility.

Cointelegraph reached out to TMX Group for more details regarding this development. This article will be updated pending new information.

Cryptocurrency assets have suffered significant drops in recent months as investors sought safer investments amid expectations of interest rate hikes by central banks. They’ve made progress in recovering some of their losses in recent weeks, with Bitcoin (BTC) regaining past the $42K mark and the price of Ether (ETH) pulling back to retest $3,000 support levels…read more.

Canada Should Plant a Flag in Crypto, Says Wealthsimple’s CEO

By opening its arms to the world of crypto, Canada could attract a lot of smart people, who are part of the ecosystem, said Katchen.

Michael Katchen – the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at the Canadian investment management firm Wealthsimple – believes local authorities and regulators should create a crypto-friendly ecosystem. He added that blockchain technology is “wildly exciting,” while some of the smartest people in the tech industry “are flocking” into the digital asset space.

Canada Should Become a Crypto Hub

In a recent interview for Bloomberg, Katchen called upon the Canadian policymakers to increase the country’s presence in the cryptocurrency industry. In his view, the asset class needs to be put under comprehensive supervision as it has been rapidly expanding.

According to Wealthsimple’s CEO, many intelligent individuals have been shifting towards the space lately. As such, Canada “could plant a flag” and open its doors to those people:

“The smartest people in technology and the smartest engineers are flocking to build applications in this space, which is generally the thing that we see at the cusp of any major technology revolution. Canada could plant a flag and say, ‘We want to help the smartest people that want to be working on crypto projects, companies on the blockchain – do it from Canada.’”

Katchen also touched upon bitcoin, envisioning it could become a reserve currency in the future. However, he sees “a heck of speculation” surrounding the primary digital asset and highlighted Wealthsimple’s efforts to educate users on how to invest responsibly…read more.

BTC price hits $38K as Bitcoin analysts focus on weekly close

Bitcoin (BTC) staged new retests of $38,000 resistance on Jan. 26 as optimism increased over a potential recovery to $40,000 and higher.

Next stop a $40,000 retest?

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView followed BTC/USD as it continued the rebound that began on Monday.

At the time of writing, two breakthroughs of $38,000 had occurred, with the pair lingering just below that level amid further direction cues.

For Cointelegraph contributor Michaël van de Poppe, the signs were encouraging, with the stage being set for a potential exit from the $30,000–$40,000 corridor.

“Bitcoin held $36K and tested $38K already. If that one tests again, we are likely to get a breakout and potentially test $40.7K,” he told Twitter followers.

Almost as bullish on short timeframes was trader, analyst and podcast host Scott Melker, known as the “Wolf Of All Streets.”

“Target is $39,600, which as you know is ‘coincidentally’ the key resistance on higher time frames,” he said as part of his latest Twitter update, identifying a cup and handle pattern on the hourly chart…read more.

Bitcoin recovers from 6-month low as investors buy the dip, cosmos leads gains in altcoins

Cryptocurrencies rebounded strongly on Tuesday, breaking a string of heavy losses over the previous few days and defying broad weakness on the stock market.

Financial markets have experienced wild volatility as investors await the outcome of the Federal Reserve’s first policy meeting of the year this week. Investors will scour policymakers’ comments to gauge how quickly the central bank is likely to raise interest rates this year and withdraw the economic stimulus put in place during the depths of the pandemic.

The era of ultra-low interest rates and benign inflation appear to be coming to an end, which has rattled the asset classes that benefit most from this combination, such as technology stocks and speculative assets like bitcoin. The Nasdaq 100 index of tech stocks is now firmly in correction territory, while bitcoin is now worth less than half of what it was when it hit a record of around $69,000 in November.

Leading digital currency bitcoin was up 8% in the last 24 hours to $36,455, having hit a six-month low below $33,000, which analysts said may leave it vulnerable to another selloff. Ether was up 7% on the day at around $2,417, but was still nursing a weekly loss of 23%, according to CoinMarketCap…read more.