Market update
Cointree Crypto Market Update - February 16th 2022
Market report for traders
What’s happening in the market?
Most smart contract platforms dip, while Avalanche bucks the trend
Trading between the range of AU$58,600 and AU$63,500 this week, bitcoin ended the week at roughly the same place at AU$60,972. Meanwhile, Ethereum dropped 4.2% and is sitting at AU$4,220. Similarly, most major layer 1 blockchains also fell slightly. Cardano is down 9.5%, Solana is down 14.2%, Terra is down 6.1%, and Polkadot is down 11.7%. Notably, Avalanche bucked the trend and is up 7%.
While this may seem gloomy for some investors, it seems others see it as an opportunity.
Intel, Blackrock, YouTube, Warren Buffett, and McDonald’s get into crypto
Some of the most renowned brands are entering the crypto space. Intel, the chip-making giant, is building energy-efficient crypto miners, while Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager, is planning to offer bitcoin trading. At the same time, YouTube is eyeing the “incredible potential” of web3 and NFTs.
Now, despite once calling bitcoin “rat poison squared”, Warren Buffett’s company Berkshire Hathaway has invested AU$1.4 billion in the bitcoin-friendly Nubank, while dumping AU$2.5 billion and AU$1.8 billion of Visa and Mastercard stock, respectively. If that wasn’t enough, McDonald’s is applying for patents so they can be the first restaurant in the metaverse.
Russia welcomes crypto, while Canada pushes back
It’s been an eventful week internationally. It was an interesting start for crypto when Russia announced it would recognise digital assets as a form of currency. President Putin then backed plans for regulating the mining industry.
Now, in the past few days, crypto has been caught up in the Canadian government’s response to the ongoing trucker blockades in the country’s capital, Ottawa. Overall, they’re broadening anti-money laundering and terror-financing rules to cover crowdfunding and payment providers linked to them. Notably, the Finance Minister noted that “These changes cover all forms of transactions including digital assets such as cryptocurrencies.”
Technician’s Take
Bitcoin raging for the week
Bitcoin has been ranging between AU$58,600 and AU$63,500 (an ~8% range) for the week, and for the most part, toying with the 50 day Moving Average. This is somewhat expected with the drop in volume this week.
The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is still climbing towards oversold and the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) is still bullish, although it’s now indicating that a little bit of squeeze is happening.
With tensions in Europe and uncertainty in a number of traditional markets, the drop in volume is somewhat expected. Any significant news in the world markets will almost certainly be a catalyst for any major moves for BTC, both positive or negative.
Currently, I’ll be looking for a break of the AU$64k resistance which could see a healthy push up. In the meantime, bounce trades are the order of the day, with tight stops and proper risk management as always. Volume will be key to any strong move in either direction, so I’ll be keeping a close eye on any increase in volume.
Beginners recap:
- Bitcoin (BTC) is ranging between AU$58,600 and AU$63,500 (an ~8% range).
- Relative Strength Index (RSI) is nearing the overbought level.
- Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) is very bullish but showing a squeeze.
- Volume has dropped off, watching for any influx of buying or selling volume.\
Disclaimer: Information provided is for educational purposes and does not constitute financial product advice. You should obtain independent advice from an Australian financial services licensee before making any financial decisions.\ As cryptocurrencies remain volatile, all prices and percentages may have changed since the time of writing.
