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Over the past 24 hours, the price of Bitcoin has gained 3% and is trading at $8,214 representing a market cap of $139 billion. Even though a few days ago Bitcoin price dipped below $7,800, it immediately rebounded back above $8,000 with a relatively large spike in buy volumes across all major cryptocurrency exchanges.
It’s probably safe to say Bitcoin is headed towards an ascending channel and has found support at the mid-channel area of interest. Bulls look ready to take price up to the resistance around the $8500 level and beyond.
Currently, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) remains in the 56 mark, which signifies a neutral zone. Bitcoin is neither oversold or overbought, which is usually an optimistic indicator of short-term growth. Both exponential and simple moving averages demonstrate buy signals and suggest that the bitcoin price will likely record a rally throughout April 19.
As per Saxo bank, the sudden increase in demand for Bitcoin from institutional investors and retail traders cannot be dismissed, because major banks like Barclays have revealed their plans to set up cryptocurrency trading desks in the future. The entrance of large financial institutions show that the demand from institutional investors is real and that it is increasing at a rapid rate.
A new report stemming from a Quebec-based government office suggests that no credible link exists between Bitcoin and money laundering, as most criminals are turned off by Bitcoin’s “newfound” lack of anonymity.
As it turns out, while the currency has undoubtedly been considered non-transparent in the past, law enforcement agencies do have the capabilities to track and uncover transactions.
Current trends suggest that the next goal could be an even $10,000 granted it’s able to surpass the 50-day SMA. Major resistance is expected at approximately $12,700, which the currency isn’t expected to reach anytime soon.
Top Stories of the Crypto World
1. $50 Million Savedroid ICO makes apparent exit scam
The founders of cryptocurrency startup Savedroid appear to have exit-scammed investors following the conclusion of its initial coin offering (ICO). On Wednesday, the website for the German company unexpectedly went offline and has since been replaced by a single image — the “Aannd It’s Gone” meme, which first originated on South Park.
According to the local business news outlet WirtschaftsWoche, the Savedroid is estimated to have raised approximately 40 million euros, or about $50 million, through its ICO as well as external funding.
The company was supposedly building a savings app that would use artificial intelligence to help users automatically invest in curated portfolios of cryptocurrencies and related derivatives. Savedroid also said that it would produce a cryptocurrency-funded credit card, a claim that has proven to be quite common among ICOs that later turn out to be scams.
A good thing to know: Analysts watching this space closely expect many more ICOs to disappear in the next couple of years.
Update: Apparently it’s NOT gone. The founder claims it was just a marketing gimmick: https://ico.savedroid.com/
2. Bitcoin mining hardware thief escapes prison
Sindri Thor Stefansson, who is accused of stealing 600 cryptocurrency mining computers across at least four separate incidents between December 2017 and January 2018, allegedly flew to Sweden on a flight with Iceland’s prime minister.
Police arrested a further 22 individuals as possible accomplices, though it is unclear how many remain in custody.
The heist – which resulted in the theft of an estimated $2 million worth of mining hardware – is the largest in Iceland’s history, as previously reported. At the time, officials called it “a highly organized crime” that was coordinated “on a scale unseen before.”
While a warrant is out for Stefansson’s arrest in Sweden, his whereabouts are reportedly unknown at this time.
3. Kraken won’t answer New York AG’s inquiry, says CEO
San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange Kraken isn’t planning to respond to the New York Attorney General’s newly unveiled inquiry into the ecosystem.
Kraken was one of 13 exchanges that received a letter from New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman on Tuesday as part of his new inquiry into cryptocurrency exchanges. While most exchanges generally welcomed the inquiry and said they would fill out the attached questionnaire, Kraken took a different tack when reached for comment.
“Kraken’s BitLicense-prompted exit from New York in 2015 pays another dividend today,” CEO Jesse Powell said via email early Wednesday morning.
Powell made it clear that Kraken does not intend to answer the questionnaire, saying:
“I realized that we made the wise decision to get the hell out of New York three years ago and that we can dodge this bullet.”