Over the last couple of days, the price of bitcoin failed to make much headway in either direction, although the overall tendency remained a bearish one. Technical analysis currently points to a possible break below the psychological support level of $10k, and the fundamentals aren’t really promising an impending upward move either.
Having at one point briefly dipped its toe into below-$10k waters, at press time, the price of bitcoin was back above the $11k mark, a significant support level breached yesterday, which – at the time – triggered a bit of a sell-off, sending the price tumbling further.
Technical analysis-wise, it is interesting that – as you will see on the attached chart – even the current, relatively meager bounce-back has sent the Stochastic Oscillator far into overbought territory. The downward sloping 5-day and 10-day MA’s reinforce the generally bearish feeling about all this, too.
While generally speaking, we do not put too much stock into the reliability of technical analysis when it comes to a virtual asset as capricious as BTC, in this instance, its lines still un-crossed, the Stochastic Oscillator’s alarm bell is already accompanied by the formation of a bearish candlestick at the 11,160 mark.
The Fundamentals
As said above, with technical analysis pointing below $10k, BTC’s fundamentals aren’t particularly rosy either. With all this on the table, we really cannot state that the massive correction of the crypto industry has bottomed out yet.
What exactly does the grapevine say though?
Goldman Sachs have been on what crypto enthusiasts call the FUD bandwagon for a while now, but today, their shrieking reached a crescendo. One has to wonder whether all this is orchestrated to some degree…
The global investment management firm released a report in which it derided bitcoin yet again, likening it to the famous Dutch tulip mania, and proclaiming it a bigger bubble than the dot com era. To place substance behind these attacks, Goldman Sachs have latched onto BTC’s shortcomings regarding the goals it had set for itself. Long story short: according to GS, bitcoin has failed as a global decentralized currency, its processing times ludicrous and its price varying massively from one exchange to the other.
The silver lining of the report was the conclusion that even in the case of a crash, cryptocurrencies would not impact the US or global economies in any significant way.
South Korea has not exactly been the bearer of good news cryptocurrency-wise lately, and today, the trend continued. The country’s financial watchdog has set the deadline for anonymous crypto trading accounts, dealing a major blow to all those still enthralled by the anonymous nature of cryptos. From January 30, Korean traders will have to use bank accounts in their real names, to be allowed to continue trading.
The move is allegedly aimed at curbing crypto speculation, but AML and KYC compliance is obviously also part of the picture.
What’s even worse for non nationals, who now trade through virtual bank accounts, is that the new rules will effectively shut them out of the South Korean cryto-trading scene.
The six banks that will be pushed into the crypto-fray by the Korean authorities, have also been named.
What About the Other Cryptos?
Like BTC, ETH, the second-largest crypto by market cap, also continued its struggle with the bears of correction. Having briefly dipped below $1,000, Ethereum is now walking a tightrope at $1,003.
Ripple seems to be the most consistent in its recovery-rally, though it too has quite a bit of ground left to cover to recoup its recent losses.
Forextraders' Broker of the Month
BlackBull Markets is a reliable and well-respected trading platform that provides its customers with high-quality access to a wide range of asset groups. The broker is headquartered in New Zealand which explains why it has flown under the radar for a few years but it is a great broker that is now building a global following. The BlackBull Markets site is intuitive and easy to use, making it an ideal choice for beginners.