First Mover: Upside Elusive for Bitcoin as Yellen Says Fed Rate Hike a ‘Plus’

PLUS: Bitcoin Struggles Below $40K; Upside Limited as Trend Weakens

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 June 7, 2021 Sponsored by     Bitcoin (BTC) +1.5%  $36,533 Ether (ETH)  +4.2%   $2,820=9 (Price data as of June 7 @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: Upside Elusive for Bitcoin as Yellen Says Fed Rate Hike a 'Plus'   Technician's Take: Bitcoin Struggles Below $40K; Upside Limited as Trend Weakens Check out the CoinDesk TV show "First Mover," hosted by Christine Lee, Lawrence Lewitinn and Emily Parker at 9:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern time. Today the show will feature guests: Jesse Proudman, Makara CEO Nischal Shetty, WazirX CEO Dave Jevans, CipherTrace CEO Michael Peterson, Bitcoin Beach Director Biggest Movers These are the biggest movers in the CoinDesk 20 over the past 24 hours:   Gainers: Tezos (XTZ): +17.3% Algorand (ALGO): +7.7% The Graph (GRT): +6.9% Aave (AAVE): +5.1%   Losers: NuCypher (NU): -4.3%   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 Upside Elusive for Bitcoin as Yellen Says Fed Rate Hike a 'Plus' Bitcoin struggled to gather upside traction as U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen kept the market from cheering El Salvador's plans to adopt the leading cryptocurrency as legal tender.   In a taped announcement on Saturday, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele said he plans to submit legislation that will make bitcoin (BTC) legal tender. The announcement lifted sentiment, with some calling a potential adoption at the government level a major bullish development.   However, the cryptocurrency remains locked well within Saturday's trading range of $34,900 to $37,900. At press time, bitcoin is changing hands near $36,200 according to the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index, up 1% on the day. Bitcoin prices, June 6 - 7, 2021 (Source: CoinDesk) China's regulatory crackdown and U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's latest comments on interest rates could be capping the gain.   On Sunday, Yellen told Bloomberg that President Joe Biden's $4 trillion spending proposal would be positive for the country, even if it leads to a rise in interest rates. "If we ended up with a slightly higher interest-rate environment, it would actually be a plus for society's point of view and the Federal Reserve's point of view," Yellen said.   A rate increase dilutes the appeal of perceived inflation hedges such as bitcoin and gold.   China stepped up its crackdown on bitcoin trading and mining over the weekend, blocking many cryptocurrency "key opinion leaders" on Weibo. The move comes weeks after China reiterated its long-standing ban on cryptocurrency trading and mining, sending the price of bitcoin lower. Read the original story here: Upside Elusive for Bitcoin as Yellen Says Fed Rate Hike a 'Plus' 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, CMT Bitcoin Struggles Below $40K; Upside Limited as Trend Weakens Bitcoin (BTC) failed to sustain moves above $39,000 last week which was followed by a series of lower price highs. There is strong resistance around $37,600 which could limit upside this week.   At press time, the largest cryptocurrency was changing hands around $36,500.   While the long-term uptrend remains intact, slowing momentum and tighter trading ranges are keeping buyers on the sideline.   Hourly bitcoin chart shows short-term support and resistance levels with RSI (Source: TradingView) Bitcoin (BTC) failed to sustain moves above $39,000 last week which was followed by a series of lower price highs. There is strong resistance around $37,600 which could limit upside this week. At press time, the largest cryptocurrency was changing hands around $36,500. While the long-term uptrend remains intact, slowing momentum and tighter trading ranges are keeping buyers on the sideline.   Read the original story here: Bitcoin Struggles Below $40K; Upside Limited as Trend Weakens     A message from Farsite Ever dreamed of owning a spaceship? It is possible in Farsite - upcoming DeFi powered MMO RTS, where NFTs acquired a new meaning. Designed for Ethereum 2.0, Farsite runs cNFT protocol to allow collateral staking against game assets. Explore a myriad of galaxies in the everlasting search for rare resources, modernize your vessel, and trade assets on the open market. Preorder launches May 31 - join the Airdrop to charter your first spacecraft, traveler, the countdown begins. BOLO Be on the look out for some of these upcoming events:   No major data expected to be released today.  The cryptocurrency movement has never been so sprawling, reaching every corner of the planet. Crypto State by CoinDesk aims to connect with local communities to explore this movement of financial disruption and how it trickles down to every corner of the globe, from DeFi investment opportunities to alternative ways to transact and store wealth. We're making virtual stops with audiences in Nigeria, the Middle East and Southeast Asia this year. Register for the Crypto State virtual tour. ICYMI In case you missed it, here are the most recent episodes of "First Mover" on CoinDesk TV:   Crypto Community, Industry Leaders Respond to Musk 'Broken Heart' Bitcoin Tweet, Market Drop Elon Musk does it again, sending crypto markets moving with a single tweet. This time it was a broken heart emoji that knocked bitcoin down, and other crypto prices followed suit. Joining the show with their reactions to the "Musk effect" and to discuss other markets and industry news are Ray Youssef of Paxful, Jeffrey Wang of Amber Group and Kathleen Breitman of Tezos. CoinDesk's new reward token soft-launched at Consensus 2021, but $DESK lives on. Attendees can still cash in at the $DESK store, or hodl and accumulate. Join the Telegram group for announcements and airdrops. Latest Headlines   Auction House Phillips to Accept Crypto for Banksy Artwork Worth Millions The 225-year-old auction house joins the likes of larger rivals Christie's and Sotheby's in offering the ability to pay in crypto.   21Shares to List Bitcoin ETP in London on Aquis Exchange Both 21Shares and ETC Group will be launching crypto ETPs on the Aquis Exchange Multilateral Trading Facility for U.K. investors.   Austrian Blockchain Company Builds Platform to Tokenize Solar Energy The platform tokenizes output of solar-panel assets and allows customers to pay bills according to the power produced. Remember JPM Coin? Next Step Is Programmable Money, Bank Exec Says The global bank is also "keeping a very close eye" on DeFi, says Umar Farooq, head of JPMorgan's Onyx blockchain team. CoinShares Issues Three Crypto ETNs on Deutsche Börse The three CoinShares ETNs are tracking bitcoin, ethereum and litecoin. Bitcoin, Gold Are Likely to Withstand Fed Taper, SkyBridge Capital Says They will show resilience even if the central bank curtails its monetary stimulus program.   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.