JP Morgan Sees Problems With El Salvador Adopting Bitcoin
  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 July 12, 2021 Sponsored by  (Price data as of July 12 @11:00 UTC) If you were forwarded this newsletter and would like to receive it, sign up here.
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Biggest Movers These are the biggest movers in the CoinDesk 20 over the past 24 hours:
Gainers: Losers: 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.
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Market Moves by Sebastian Sinclair El Salvador Could Face 'Limitation' on Bitcoin's Use as Medium of Exchange: JPMorgan Global investment bank JPMorgan says bitcoin (BTC)'s use in El Salvador's economy faces headwinds, suggesting a potential "limitation" on its use case as a medium of exchange may emerge.
In a report by the bank on Thursday and reported by Bloomberg Sunday, JPMorgan said problems could arise due to the fact that much bitcoin is tied up in illiquid entities, 90% of which hasn't changed hands in over a year.
The bank points to daily payment activity in the country which would represent around 4% of recent on-chain transaction volume and over 1% of the total value of tokens that have transferred between wallets in 12 months.  Bitcoin prices since Pres. Bukele announced his intentions to make it legal tender in El Salvador (source: CoinDesk) This represents "potentially a significant limitation on its potential as a medium of exchange," JPMorgan said.
El Salvador's legislature voted and passed its Bitcoin Law on June 8 that will see the country formally adopting the crypto as legal tender on Sept. 7.
Some critics are questioning the move by the country's President Nayib Bukele, who initiated the bill, while others argue it violates their constitutional rights.
Read the original story here: El Salvador Could Face 'Limitation' on Bitcoin's Use as Medium of Exchange: JPMorgan
 The CoinDesk Quarterly Review 2021 Q2
Most CoinDesk 20 assets, which constitute 99% of the crypto market by verifiable volume, ended the quarter with negative returns. Meanwhile, protocol development for the world's largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, Bitcoin and Ethereum, reached new milestones. CoinDesk Research's latest Quarterly Review dives into the trends, developments and technological progress that shaped the crypto markets from April to June 2021. The full report is now available from the CoinDesk Research Hub.
Technician's Take by Omkar Godbole  Bitcoin Listless as New 'Bearish Crossover' Looms Bitcoin continues to be in a lull, with prices locked in the narrow range of $32,000 to $35,000 for over two weeks. Due to prolonged consolidation, popular indicators like the relative strength index are no longer suggesting directional bias.
However, a chart analysis of long-term moving price averages suggests more bearishness ahead. The cryptocurrency's 100-day simple moving average (SMA) is about to cross below the 200-day SMA for the first time since May 2020.
The so-called bearish crossover comes weeks after the 50-and 200-day SMAs charted the "death cross." Bearish crossovers of longer duration averages often lag price action and trap traders on the wrong side of the market.
For instance, bitcoin (BTC) barely saw any bearish move following the previous bear cross of 100- and 200-day SMAs in May 2020. A similar bear cross was observed in April 2018, October 2014, and April 2014, coinciding with interim price bottoms. The one observed in November 2019 was followed by a deeper price decline.
 Bitcoin's daily chart (Source: TradingView) That said, the absence of solid follow-through to the repeated defense of the $30,000 support in the past few weeks is a cause for concern.
According to Katie Stockton, founder, and managing partner of Fairlead Strategies, a move above the 50-day SMA resistance at $35,621 may bring more buyers, lifting prices above $40,000.
The immediate support is seen at $32,100 (July 8 low) followed by $30,000. At press time, bitcoin was trading near $33,700, representing a 1.5% drop on the day, according to CoinDesk 20 data.
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BOLO Be on the look out for some of these upcoming events:
 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:
Jeremy Allaire on Circle Going Public, Providing Transparency and More "First Mover" discusses a major milestone in the history of cryptocurrencies with the stablecoin leader in the spotlight, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire. Also joining the show, crypto markets commentator and popular YouTuber Nicholas Merten and Bill Barhydt of Abra.
 The Investor's Perspective on the Bitcoin Taproot Upgrade
Taproot is a bundle of three upgrades to Bitcoin aimed at improving network security, privacy and scalability. At the same time, it poses some potential drawbacks to Bitcoin including risks of low adoption, unintended privacy shortcomings and Bitcoin community disappointment and fracturing. CoinDesk Research's newest report dives into the economic impact and investment implications of the Taproot upgrade.
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