First Mover: Bitcoin in Stasis as Crypto Bull Mike Novogratz Warns of Market Washout

PLUS: Bitcoin Struggles Around All-Time High Resistance; Support Within Reach

Everything you need to make sense of the crypto markets and beyond By the CoinDesk Markets Team Edited by Lawrence Lewitinn, Managing Editor, Global Capital Markets April 15, 2021 Sponsored by     Bitcoin (BTC) -2.9%  $62,240 Ether (ETH)  +2.4% $2,417 (Price data as of April 15 @11:00 UTC) If you were forwarded this newsletter and would like to receive it, sign up here.  Good morning. Here's what we're writing about: Market Moves: Bitcoin in Stasis as Crypto Bull Mike Novogratz Warns of Market Washout   Technician's Take: Bitcoin Struggles Around All-Time High Resistance; Support Within Reach   Check out the CoinDesk TV show "First Mover," hosted by Christine Lee, Lawrence Lewitinn and Emily Parker, at 9 a.m. U.S. Eastern time. Today the show will feature guests: Kathleen Breitman, Tezos Co-Founder & CEO Liz Bennett, Iowa House of Representatives Member Jason Lau, Crypto.com Chief Information Security Officer Biggest Movers These are the biggest movers in the CoinDesk 20 over the past 24 hours:   Gainers: Chainlink (LINK): +7.7% Cosmos (ATOM): +7.1% Ethereum Classic (ETC): +6.2% Losers:  XRP (XRP): -9.3% EOS (EOS): -4.6% Tezos (XTZ): -3.9%   The CoinDesk 20 are 20 digital assets filtered from the larger universe of thousands of cryptocurrencies and constitute roughly 99% of the market by volume at eight of the largest and most trustworthy exchanges. Market Moves by Omkar Godbole Bitcoin in Stasis as Crypto Bull Mike Novogratz Warns of Market Washout Bitcoin sits still near $62,500 and well within Wednesday's price range amid concerns of a broader market pullback in the wake of Coinbase listing on Nasdaq. "I've seen a lot of weird coins like dogecoin and even XRP have huge retail spikes, which means there's a lot of frenzy right now," bitcoin bull and CEO of Galaxy Digital Mike Novogratz told MarketWatch. "That never ends well, and so we'll probably have a washout at one point." Novogratz remains bullish on bitcoin and the cryptocurrency industry as a whole and foresees bitcoin at $500,000 by 2024. The U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase's shares (COIN) went live on Nasdaq on Wednesday, rising as high as $429.54 before closing the day at $328. Bitcoin broke out of its multi-week consolidation below $60,000 in the days leading up to the highly anticipated listing widely touted as a watershed moment for the cryptocurrency industry and clocked a record high of $64,801.79 on Wednesday. Corporate treasury money has been flowing into bitcoin mainly via Coinbase. Bitcoin's daily chart on Coinbase (Source: TradingView)   XRP, dogecoin, and few other cryptocurrencies, also rallied despite not being listed on Coinbase. XRP picked up a bid near $0.60 on April 5 and clocked a three-year high of $1.90 on Wednesday – a 220% gain in nine days. Dogecoin has surged by 85% in the past three days. As per Novogratz, that shows Coinbase's listing on Nasdaq created a lot of euphoria – a point of maximum financial risk where investors, primarily retailers, think good times will continue unchecked. It's usually the time when the market sees a temporary correction. Coinbase's shares witnessed a two-way business or indecisive price action on the first day of trading, as noted earlier. If the share price drops in the coming days, the cryptocurrency may test $58,820, according to crypto exchange Equos. Dips, however, are likely to be shallow.  Data released earlier this week showed the U.S. headline inflation rose to a 12-month pace of 2.6% in March, strengthening the case for continued investments in store of value assets such as bitcoin and gold.   Read the original story here: Bitcoin in Stasis as Crypto Bull Mike Novogratz Warns of Market Washout A message from Nexo Your digital assets deserve a savings account in their BEST INTEREST. Leading crypto lender Nexo treats you, your crypto and your fiat to industry-best Crypto & Fiat services, featuring:    * Up to 12% interest on digital assets, paid out daily! * Yields available on BTC, ETH, LTC, BCH, XRP, XLM, EOS, TRX, LINK, BNB, PAXG, USDT, USDC, TUSD, PAX, DAI, HUSD, GBP and EUR. * No minimum or maximum limits on funds deposited, offering infinite opportunities to earn. * #ZeroFees on all transactions. * Military-grade wallet security and top-tier insurance on all custodial assets with SOC 2 Type 2 certified crypto custodian BitGo. Get started at nexo.io Technician's Take by Damanick Dantes Bitcoin Struggles Around All-Time High Resistance; Support Within Reach   Profit taking continued during Asia hours, pressing bitcoin (BTC) down, now about 5% below its all-time high just shy of $65,000. The cryptocurrency is trading around $62,400 as of press time and support is nearby around $61,000. Hourly chart showing support and resistance levels with RSI (Source: TradingView) Buyers are losing strength as upside momentum slows. The relative strength index (RSI) on the hourly chart registered lower highs despite the breakout above $61,000 on Tuesday. Overbought signals on the RSI typically result in brief pullbacks, such as the 5% drop in BTC back on March 10. The RSI is not yet oversold, although support near the 200-period moving average on the hourly chart could attract buyers. The recent all-time high around $64,800 is now resistance; buyers will need to push past this level to resume the long-term uptrend. Wednesday's re-test of the $61,000 breakout level is constructive and suggests selling pressure will remain limited over the short-term. Original story found here: Bitcoin Struggles Around All-Time High Resistance; Support Within Reach A message from FBG Capital FBG is a leading digital asset manager and investment firm focused on blockchain and cryptocurrency. Founded in 2017, FBG has supported hundreds of innovative global blockchain projects and is one of the largest liquidity providers on major Crypto exchanges in Asia/World. BOLO Be on the look out for these upcoming events:  11:00 - 13:30 UTC (7:00 - 9:30 a.m. ET): Bank and financial institutions earnings: Bank of America (BAC): EPS est.: $0.66 BlackRock (BLK): EPS est.: $7.75 Citigroup (C): EPS est.: $2.60 U.S. Bancorp (USC): EPS est.: $0.96 12:30 UTC (8:30 a.m. ET): Initial jobless claims. Forecast: 710,000. A message from CoinDesk CoinDesk's Quarterly Review Webinar Series   The suits are here to stay, but retail isn't going away. While Q1 saw the emergence of retail investors as a market driver, crypto caught explosive interest through non-fungible tokens from investors, celebrities and the general public.   Every Monday at 11:30 a.m. ET, crypto analysts Noelle Acheson and Christine Kim will discuss the performance and milestones of bitcoin and ether compared to macro and other crypto assets, along with important developments in the emerging DeFi and NFT sectors. Each episode in this four-part series will reference key findings from the latest CoinDesk Quarterly Review report and a live Q&A.   Sign up for CoinDesk's Quarterly Review Webinar Series, every Monday from April 12. ICYMI In case you missed it, here's the most recent episode of "First Mover" on CoinDesk TV:   The Listing of a Lifetime; DCG's Barry Silbert on Coinbase's Public Debut Today's the day Coinbase goes public. Digital Currency Group (DCG) CEO Barry Silbert joins "First Mover" to discuss this milestone in the history of finance. CoinDesk's Chief Content Officer Michael Casey also reflects on this defining moment while we monitor Nasdaq and the start of COIN stock live trading. Plus, markets analysis with Stacks CEO Muneeb Ali and Transform Group CEO Michael Terpin as bitcoin, ether and other cryptos soar to new all-time highs. A message from CoinDesk Investor Momentum to NFT Boom: CoinDesk Research's Quarterly Review   Introducing CoinDesk Research's quarterly review, covering the main developments over the first three months of 2021 in Bitcoin, Ethereum, DeFi, stablecoins and – of course – NFTs.   The report presents over 100 insights on how retail investors are picking up market momentum, how Ethereum activity is not being driven by NFTs as much as one might think, how stablecoins have responded to increased activity, how DeFi is for now the realm of decentralized exchanges and more.   Download the CoinDesk Quarterly Review, First Quarter 2021. Latest Headlines   $623M in Bitcoin From 2016 Bitfinex Hack Moved Under Cover of COIN Hype But the impact on the market may be little. ePIC Blockchain Raises $7.5M to Manufacture ASIC Crypto Miners in North America North America has miners and an abundance of energy, but it's lacking one ingredient for a true mining boom: an ASIC manufacturer close to home. AXA Switzerland Allows Customers to Pay in Bitcoin The insurance provider says it will have the crypto converted into Swiss francs, instead of carrying BTC on its balance sheet. DeFi Token YFI Rises Above $50K for the First Time Since February A "Buy Back and Build" proposal approved in January aims to bolster the project's treasury and generate value for all stakeholders. Ark Investment Funds Bought $246M Worth of Coinbase Shares on First Day of Trading Three Ark ETF funds bought over 749,000 shares of COIN. Japanese Internet Giant Taps Zero Hash for Settlement in Yen, US Dollar Stablecoins The companies say the move will eliminate bottlenecks in the moving and settling of Japanese yen associated with traditional financial rails.   Introducing Unlocked 101 at Consensus by CoinDesk 2021 New to crypto? Here's a crash course. Unlocked 101 is a free educational series of sessions designed to give you the tools to navigate crypto. Sessions will be hosted May 4–20 to prepare you for Consensus by CoinDesk 2021, our virtual big-tent event. Register for Unlocked 101 this May.   Disclaimer: The information presented in this message is intended as a news item that provides a brief summary of various events and developments that affect, or that might in the future affect, the value of one or more of the cryptocurrencies described above. 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