Cryptomarket began the week with a slight correction, following a week of an uptrend. As usual, there were events that increased volatility in the market. TMX Group, which operates the Toronto Stock Exchange, is planning to establish a crypto brokerage service. In this regard, they have joined hands with another Toronto based company named Paycase, a decentralized financial service provider.
In the US, the CLOUD Act, which gives practically unlimited freedom for law enforcement authorities to access all forms of online data, was passed without any major resistance from the opposition. The act, most freethinkers believe, is a violation of the Fourth Amendment that gives the right to communication privacy. The law allows obtaining data from servers located outside the US. Additionally, the law provides exclusive powers to the US President to enter into an agreement, unilaterally with any country or even a ruler accused of human rights violation.
Here is a summary of trending cryptocurrencies this week:
Bitcoin (BTC)
The social media platform Reddit no longer accepts Bitcoin (BTC) as payment. Cryptocurrency investors became disappointed initially when the information was revealed. However, a moderator of several subreddits clarified that the change was due to Coinbase’s decision to retire Coinbase Merchant Tools in place of Coinbase Commerce. In Australia, two sitting legislators from the state of Queensland have announced that they hold Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies privately.
The details came out when the legislators declared their assets to the state’s register of members’ interests, according to the Australian law. In Africa, the popularity of Bitcoin continues to soar. Paxful, the popular P2P cryptocurrency exchange, has revealed that $40 million worth of Bitcoin is traded every month through it. The exchange has become a big hit because it facilitates practically hundreds of methods to trade Bitcoin. Many in Africa still do not have access to a banking facility. Therefore, the service has turned out to be a big hit.
Litecoin (LTC)
Litecoin Foundation announced yesterday that LitePay, a wannabe merchant payment processing service, has ceased operations and its founder Kenneth Asare has offered the company for sale. Litecoin Foundation had invested $50,000 in the venture. Unfortunately, right from day one, there was a total lack of transparency as Asare never disclosed any detail about his organization.
When the Foundation expressed its concerns over lack of transparency, Kenneth asked for more funds to continue with the operations. The Foundation refused as Asare failed to provide any evidence for the expenses incurred earlier on. Furthermore, Asare was not willing to divulge any information regarding the company. Charlie Lee, the creator of Litecoin, had apologized to the community. The ‘LitePay’ saga has turned out to be an embarrassment to Litecoin Foundation.
NEM (XEM)
On Monday, the team behind NEM, the p2p blockchain platform facilitating payments and asset making, announced the beta launch of Catapult (also known as mijin v.2), an update to the NEM blockchain run by Tech Bureau. Select community members, partners, and customers can now request access to Catapult. NEM (XEM) became popular even among non-crypto enthusiasts, when Coincheck, a Japanese cryptocurrency exchange was hacked on January 26th. The exchange lost $533 million worth of NEM (XEM) tokens. The NEM community has officially announced that the hackers have moved all the stolen tokens out of their wallets. The tracking was officially abandoned last week.
Our Forex Trading Plan
Ethereum. The ETHUSD pair is showing signs of a bullish trend reversal on the chart. The Williams’ Percentage Range indicator reflects an extremely oversold situation. The cryptocurrency pair also has firm support at 410 levels. Therefore, we are expecting an uptrend to begin soon.
By opening a long position in the ETHUSD pair, we are planning to capitalize on the probable trend reversal. Through the trading platform offered by a Forex broker, we prefer to establish a long position near 410. To negate risk, we are planning to place a stop-loss order near 330. We would also place an order to book profit near 600.
Our Binary Options Trading Plan
Litecoin. The LitePay episode has turned Litecoin weak, at least temporarily. The cryptocurrency is forming a descending triangle pattern, as shown in the image below. The negative reading of the moving average of the oscillator’s histogram confirms bearishness in the cryptocurrency. Therefore, we are expecting the downtrend to continue.
To profit from the current downtrend, we are planning to invest in a put option. The contract should remain active for one week. Furthermore, we would invest only if Litecoin trades at about $135 in the crypto market.
Disclaimer: Any financial trading analysis offered here is our opinion and is not intended as advice or direction for investors. We cannot guarantee the success of any trades made as a consequence of this article, and we encourage traders to incorporate a strong money management strategy to limit losses when they enter the markets. Please use this article as part of your own research before formulating strategies prior to trading.
