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The price of Bitcoin is on its way to test the $10,000 mark in the next few days. Following a sharp price spike, the largest cryptocurrency is trading at $9,378 – an increase of 6% in the past 24 hours – representing a market cap of $159 billion. This has also brought the entire cryptocurrency market above $400 billion once again.
While the bullish trendline is likely to continue, however, Bitcoin may face stiff resistance at $10,000. Currently, BTC is trading very close to the resistance at $9,278. Further, $9,280 marks the neckline of the bearish double-top pattern seen in the first quarter.
Investors have started to spot a trend in the market in the past two weeks; when the bitcoin price surges, altcoins and tokens tend to surge by bigger margins and when the bitcoin price falls, altcoins drop by larger percentages.
After this market surge, analysts and investors alike have become more and more optimistic about Bitcoin. Bill Baruch of Blue Lines Futures, for instance, sees the crypto sector as continuing to rise in the long term, with the “ultimate upside” for Bitcoin (BTC) being between $11,500 and $11,800 early next month.
Bitcoin will likely cross the resistance around $9,480 in a convincing manner and test the 200-day moving average of $9,808 in the short-run. Acceptance above the long-term moving average would further strengthen the bull grip. In such a case, BTC may rise to $10,300.
In case of rejection happens at $9,480, despite the bull pennant breakout, followed by a drop below 8,930, could yield a pullback to $8,550.
Top Stories from the Crypto World
1. Japan’s 16 licensed crypto exchanges launch self regulatory body
A concentrated effort among 16 licensed Japanese cryptocurrency exchange operators to ‘restore confidence’ in the sector following the $530 million Coincheck theft in January has finally seen the launch of a self-regulatory body.
The total of 16 cryptocurrency exchanges currently registered and licensed by the Financial Services Agency (FSA), the country’s financial regulator, have launched a self-regulating body that will be known as the ‘Japanese Cryptocurrency Exchange Association’.
In addition to developing standards for the wider industry, the new body will also create and establish guidelines for initial coin offerings (ICOs) in Japan by working alongside the FSA.
A good thing to know: the new body is a unification of the Japan Blockchain Association (JBA) and the Japan Cryptocurrency Business Association (JCBA) , the country’s two major cryptocurrency trade bodies that will now come together under a single roof.
2. Capital Group bars employees from investing in ICOs
Capital Group, an 87-year-old financial services company with $1.7 trillion in assets under management, has barred its associates from investing in initial coin offerings (ICOs).
The firm outlined the policy in an updated code of ethics that was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on April 19. Capital Group’s website includes a previous version of the document, which is dated October 2016 and does not include any mention of ICOs.
The updated code of ethics says, “All associates and immediate family members residing in the same household may not participate in IPOs or ICOs.”
It goes on to explain that investing in initial public offerings (IPOs) may be acceptable under certain circumstances, but does not provide exceptions for investing in ICOs.
In a separate section, the document says, “The following transactions are prohibited: […] Initial Coin Offering (ICO) investments (this prohibition applies to all Capital associates).”
3. Walmart ready to use Blockchain for its live food business
Frank Yiannas, Walmart Vice President of Food Safety and Health, made the announcement Monday at the MIT Technology Review’s Business of Blockchain conference in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Yiannas said that Blockchain was able to shorten the time it took to track produce from six days to two seconds. Walmart is getting suppliers to put food on a Blockchain, which it says will reduce waste, as well as improve contamination management and transparency.
Walmart, in collaboration with IBM, began to test the technology to identify and remove recalled foods from its products list in 2016. With a Blockchain-based system, the company reportedly is able to verify any information about products and, thanks to the technology’s decentralized nature, is protected from hacking attacks and data alterations.
Interestingly, JD.com, the leading Chinese e-commerce site, is also implementing Blockchain technology to assure the quality and origin of meat.