First Mover: Ether Price Hits New Record High as Analysts Anticipate Supply Drop

PLUS: Bitcoin Consolidates Below $56K Resistance As Buyers Lose Strength

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 22, 2021 Sponsored by     Bitcoin (BTC) -1.9%  $53,928 Ether (ETH)  +11.0%  $2,516 (Price data as of April 22 @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: Ether Price Hits New Record High as Analysts Anticipate Supply Drop   Technician's Take: Bitcoin Consolidates Below $56K Resistance As Buyers Lose Strength   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: Steve Ehrlich, Voyager Digital Co-Founder & CEO Ben Reynolds, Silvergate Chief Strategy Officer Jesse Phillips, Binance Mining Pool Business Development Manager Biggest Movers These are the biggest movers in the CoinDesk 20 over the past 24 hours:   Gainers: Ethereum Classic (ETC): +15.1% Ether (ETH): +11.0% Litecoin (LTC): +9.3%   Losers:  Kyber Network (KNC): -6.5% Orchid (OXT): -4.6% XRP (XRP): -4.0%   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   Ether Price Hits New Record High as Analysts Anticipate Supply Drop   Ether (ETH) rallied to new lifetime highs on Thursday on speculation that an impending blockchain upgrade might result in a drop in supply.   The native cryptocurrency of Ethereum's blockchain rose to a record high of $2,564 during European trading hours, toppling the previous peak price of $2,546 reached on April 16, according to CoinDesk 20 data.   "Ethereum's net annual issuance will drop substantially following the Phase 1.5 ETH 1 to ETH 2 merger," Messari's research Wilson Withum tweeted.   With the upcoming EIP 1559 upgrade, ether will "become a deflationary asset," Nick Spanos, co-founder of Zap Protocol, told CoinDesk. "This feature will reduce the coin supply and have a corresponding effect on the price, creating an attraction point for more buyers."   Ether issuance (Source: Messari)   Ether has been on a tear of late, outperforming bitcoin by a wide margin. While the native cryptocurrency of Ethereum's blockchain has gained 35% this month, bitcoin is down about 8%.   Analysts studying ether-bitcoin (ETH/BTC) chart patterns say ether's outperformance could continue in the near term.   Ether/bitcoin pair over the past 30 days on Coinbase (Source: TradingView)   "ETH/BTC is getting a lot of attention as it broke above its long-term resistance of 0.04," Pankaj Balani, co-founder and CEO of the Singapore-based Delta Exchange, said. "We might see ETH-BTC push through 0.10. Expect sharp moves though, first to 0.06 in the coming weeks and subsequently to 0.1."     ETH/BTC is currently trading at 0.046 on Binance, according to data provided by TradingView.     Read the original story here: Ether Price Hits New Record High as Analysts Anticipate Supply Drop 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 Consolidates Below $56K Resistance As Buyers Lose Strength   Bitcoin (BTC) is holding short-term support and was trading around $54,000 at press time. The cryptocurrency is now below the 50-day moving average as upside momentum continues to slow. Buyers will need to defend support around $51,000 to stabilize the long-term uptrend.   Daily BTC chart shows support and resistance levels with 14-period RSI (Source: TradingView) The relative strength index (RSI) on the daily chart has made a series of lower highs this year, which reflects slowing upside momentum. BTC has remained in a consolidation phase since February as buyers were quick to take profit around the $60,000 resistance zone. The daily RSI is approaching oversold territory, which will likely occur as price continues to drift below the 50-day moving average.   Lower support is around $42,000 similar to February 28, which preceded a price rally. Original story found here: Bitcoin Consolidates Below $56K Resistance As Buyers Lose Strength A message from Residual Our software platform leverages blockchain's near instantaneous, immutable settlement capabilities and eliminates latency and costly transaction fees. By bridging the gap between traditional financial services and today's cutting edge technology, unFederalReserve can help thousands of non-bank lenders and borrowers around the world. The eRSDL community is diverse and inclusive, encourages engagement and ongoing support for each other, and is dedicated to DeFi projects that de-risk at every opportunity. We are pleased to welcome the first product in our ecosystem, the Reserve Lending platform - the beginning of a robust treasurer's tool kit that will streamline future banking transactions. BOLO Be on the look out for these upcoming events: 12:30 UTC (8:30 a.m. ET): Initial jobless claims. Forecast: 603,000 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:   J. Christopher Giancarlo on Why He's Joining BlockFi; DeFi News With Erik Voorhees J. Christopher Giancarlo, the former chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), aka "Crypto Dad," has joined BlockFi's Board of Directors. Giancarlo discusses his new role, where his digital dollar initiative stands and his thoughts on bitcoin's future. Shapeshift CEO Erik Voorhees shares details of his new product Thorchain and why he's convinced such decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms will decrease interest in any crypto ETFs. Plus, why is Deutsche Telekom, Europe's largest telecom by revenue, purchasing a significant amount of tokens native to Celo, a decentralized payments network for cell phones? We hear from Celo Co-founder Rene Reinsberg. 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.   Latest Headlines   Binance's Tesla Stock Token May Have Raised Regulatory Red Flags: Report Binance may need a license to market security tokens to the Hong Kong public. Maker Price Passes $4K for First Time, as MakerDAO Brings Real Estate to DeFi "Real world" assets have entered DeFi, as the Maker protocol reportedly just minted $38,000 of dai stablecoins to finance a mortgage loan. Huobi Asset Management Raises $50M for Crypto 'Tracker' Funds The four funds will buy bitcoin, ether and equity in crypto or mining firms. Fireblocks, Celsius Back Zero-Knowledge Credit Scoring for Institutional Crypto Traders X-Margin's real-time risk solution is working with crypto hedge fund Dunamis Trading. UK Bank NatWest Will Refuse Business Customers Who Deal in Crypto: Report This follows HSBC stating it would not be facilitating exposure to Coinbase or any other crypto-centric business. BitMEX to Offer Custody, Spot Trading to Expand Beyond Crypto Derivatives Derivatives are to remain at "the heart" of BitMEX's business, however. Grayscale Added Nearly $1B in Crypto in 24 Hours The digital asset manager added large numbers of altcoins to its holdings including horizen and livepeer. Ark Investment Management Increases Coinbase Holdings to 1.5M Shares Three ARK funds also sold a combined 233,147 shares in NVIDIA worth around $13.4 million. Binance's Tesla, Coinbase Stock Tokens Under Scrutiny From UK Regulator: Report The Financial Conduct Authority is working with Binance to "understand the product," according to the FT. Ripple's Chris Larsen Says Bitcoin Should Move Away From Proof-of-Work Larsen said PoW is a massive drain on power consumption and a "growing source" of CO2 emissions.   3iQ Plans to Raise $200M+ From Bitcoin ETF's Dubai Listing: Report 3iQ has received regulatory clearance for the dual listing of its bitcoin ETF on Nasdaq Dubai.   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. The information contained in this message, and any information liked through the items contained herein, is not intended to provide sufficient information to form the basis for an investment decision. The information presented herein is accurate only as of its date, and it was not prepared by a research analyst or other investment professional. You should seek additional information regarding the merits and risks of investing in any cryptocurrency before deciding to purchase or sell any such instruments.  ATTENTION: Scammers have been sending fraudulent emails with links to sites disguised to look like coindesk.com. If you are in doubt about a link, type https://www.coindesk.com directly into your browser; do not copy and paste. Remember, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. First Mover   A newsletter from CoinDesk Copyright © 2021 CoinDesk, All rights reserved.    250 Park Avenue South New York, NY 10003, USA You can manage your preferences here or unsubscribe from all CoinDesk email.