Bitcoin Clings to $44K

...and support is now at $42K, according to charts

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 August 19, 2021 Sponsored by     Bitcoin (BTC) -1.7%  $44,395 Ether (ETH)  -1.5%  $2,984 (Price data as of August 19 @ 11:00 UTC) If you were forwarded this newsletter and would like to receive it, sign up here.  Good morning, and welcome to First Mover. Here's what's happening this morning: Market Moves: Bitcoin Price Is Little Changed Above $44K Despite Hack of Japan's Liquid Exchange "We still have support at $44,000 and $42,000, which is the line in the sand for short-term momentum," said Zerocap's CIO. Technician's Take: Bitcoin Declines; Approaching Lower Support at $42K Support at $42K-$44K could stabilize the pullback.   And check out the CoinDesk TV show "First Mover," hosted by Christine Lee, Emily Parker and me at 9:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern time. Today the show will feature guests: Ryan Selkis, Messari Joseph McGill, TRM Labs – Lawrence Lewitinn Biggest Movers These are the biggest movers in the CoinDesk 20 over the past 24 hours:   Gainers: Algorand (ALGO): +9.3% Cardano (ADA): +5.5% The Graph (GRT): +5.5% Losers: Chainlink (LINK): -3.1% Uniswap (UNI): -2.8% Litecoin (LTC): -2.6%   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. A message from ByBit Earn up to $600 when you sign up with Bybit.   Bybit is one of the top crypto exchanges on Bloomberg.   Trade Bitcoin, Ether (ETH), Dogecoin (DOGE) and more!   Check out all of our exciting promotions! Lots of attractive bonuses are available when you sign up with us.   Spot, derivatives trading and other options available.   Sign Up Now! Market Moves by Sebastian Sinclair Bitcoin Price Is Little Changed Above $44K Despite Hack of Japan's Liquid Exchange Bitcoin held its ground above $44,000 even after Japan's Liquid exchange said a hacker had taken off with millions of dollars in crypto during Asia's trading hours.   The world's largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization is down 2% on the day after reaching a 24-hour high of around $45,986, CoinDesk data show. At press time, bitcoin was changing hands for around $44,400.   Bitcoin has fallen squarely back below the 200-day moving average, invalidating a prior break out, witnessed Aug. 13.   "We still have support at $44,000 and $42,000, which is the line in the sand for short-term momentum," Jon de Wet, CIO at digital asset firm Zerocap, told CoinDesk via Telegram. BTC/USD Daily Chart (Source: TradingView) The firm points toward safe-haven flows being bolstered by the instability in Afghanistan sparked by the exit of the U.S. military as well as concerns over the COVID-19 delta variant.   While headwinds in China, with a slowing economy and tech sector crackdown, are also impacting the crypto markets, the Liquid hack is so far having little impact. That's a sign of continuing bullish sentiment, the firm noted.   "A daily break below $42,000 would place some confidence in the bears, but on balance, we believe [the] price will hold above this level over the coming week," De Wet said.   On-chain indicators point to bitcoin holding above that level, at least in the short-term, as so-called smart-money flows out of exchanges continue to reign supreme, Glassnode data show. BTC/USD Daily Chart (Source: TradingView) Generally, "smart money" dominates exchange flows, according to Zerocap. If bitcoin is leaving exchanges, it can indicate an intention to hold. Conversely, when bitcoin moves onto exchanges, it can indicate an intention to sell.    "Ethereum even more so, with exchange balances hitting an all-time low this week," de Wet said. "Leverage is not excessive in this market right now – all very supportive of a buoyant week ahead, despite the macroeconomic landscape."   Other notable cryptocurrencies in the top 20 by market cap were mixed on a 24-hour basis with cardano, terra, and internet computer posting the highest gains while uniswap, polygon and chainlink were deep in the red.   Read the original story here: Bitcoin Price Is Little Changed Above $44K Despite Hack of Japan's Liquid Exchange Technician's Take by Damanick Dantes, CMT Bitcoin Declines; Approaching Lower Support at $42K Bitcoin (BTC) sellers were active over the past few days as short-term overbought signals appeared on the charts. The world's largest cryptocurrency was trading around $44,000 support at press time and is down about 2% over the past 24 hours.   The next level of support is seen at the $42,000 breakout level, which could stabilize the pullback. Bitcoin four-hour price chart shows short-term support and resistance levels with RSI. (Source: TradingView) The relative strength index (RSI) is approaching oversold levels on the four-hour chart, similar to August 3, which preceded a price bounce. On the daily chart, the RSI is neutral after reaching overbought levels over the past two weeks. Bitcoin will need to remain above $40,000-$42,000 in order to resume  the uptrend towards $50,000-$55,000.   Read the original story here: Bitcoin Declines; Approaching Lower Support at $42K A Message from ErisX ErisX operates a high performance exchange with a fully transparent order book. We don't trade against our customers - no conflicts of interest.  Our low latency, high throughput platform maintains uptime and performance, even during market volatility.  A modern trading UI and standard APIs enable seamless and secure workflow integrations for retail and institutional traders, and technology vendors.   Open an account directly, or access the exchange through a broker.   Sign up for our weekly newsletter. Less Fees = More Bitcoin. BOLO Be on the look out for some of these upcoming events: 12:30 UTC (8:30 a.m. ET): Initial jobless claims (Aug 14). Est: 365,000 A Message from CoinDesk The CoinDesk DeFi Index (DFX), measuring the investable DeFi market, is now available for investors watching decentralized finance.   It is the latest index by CoinDesk Indexes, the market standard for crypto assets since 2014. The DFX provides a market-cap-weighted index for a representative basket of DeFi-sector cryptocurrencies that is designed to be investable and replicable for professional investors.   Find out more at coindesk.com/indexes/dfx, or email indexes@coindesk.com.  ICYMI In case you missed it, here are the most recent episodes of "First Mover" on CoinDesk TV:   TaxBit Reaches Unicorn Status After Raising $130M, Bitcoin Testing Lower Level Supports "First Mover" talks to TaxBit CEO Austin Woodward as the company newly rises to unicorn status, valuing at $1.3 billion. Plus, bitcoin price analysis and outlook from Michele Schneider, managing director of MarketGauge Group and a regulatory update from CoinDesk Global Policy & Regulation Managing Editor Nikhilesh De. Latest Headlines Poly Network Attacker Threatens to Delay Return of Funds "WHAT A FUNNY GAME," the Poly Network attacker wrote into a transaction on the Ethereum blockchain. ¿Qué es un token cripto semifungible? Tras el boom de los NFTs, ahora los SFTs representan un grupo relativamente nuevo de tokens que pueden ser tanto fungibles como no fungibles. Bitcoin Use Will Be 'Totally Optional' in El Salvador, Finance Minister Says According to Alejandro Zelaya, the use of the cryptocurrency will be optional, and businesses will not be penalized if they do not accept it. Coinbase Names Mitsubishi UFJ as Banking Partner in Exchange's Japanese Expansion Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group will provide Coinbase's Japanese customers access to the exchange via its MUFG Quick Deposit product. Nvidia Q2 Revenue Jumps 68% but Crypto-Related Earnings Fall Short of Expectation The California-based company generated $266 million in revenue from its crypto mining cards, more than $130 million below its forecast earlier this year. Japan's Liquid Global Exchange Hacked; $90M in Crypto Siphoned Off While the total amount stolen is yet to be determined, the value taken could be upward of $90 million. Thailand Retail CBDC Trial to Test Use as Cash Substitute The CBDC will be used for "cash-like activities within a limited scale," such as paying for goods and services. London School of Economics Joins Hedera Hashgraph as Council Member Existing members include Google, IBM and Deutsche Telekom. Crypto ETPs Cost Institutions 6 Times More Than Third-Party Custodians Research from custody firm Finoa finds it cheaper for big investors to just hold crypto. Binance Extends Restrictions on Derivatives Offering in Australia The move is the latest by Binance to address regulatory and compliance concerns proactively in response to intense regulatory scrutiny. Justin Sun's Weibo Account Among Seven That Seem to Be Blocked News source BeatleNews is also among those flagged as violating platform rules. DeFi Not Immune to SEC Oversight, Gensler Says: Report DeFi projects that reward participants with incentives or digital tokens could be subject to SEC regulation, Gensler said. 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.  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.