The United States equities markets shrugged off the hotter-than-expected labor data on Dec. 2 and recovered sharply from their intraday low. This suggests that market observers believe the Federal Reserve may not change its stance of slowing the pace of rate hikes because of the latest jobs data. Although the FTX crisis broke the positive correlation between the US equities markets and Bitcoin (BTC), the recent strength in the equities markets shows a risk-on sentiment. This could be favorable for the cryptocurrency space and may attract dip buyers. The broader crypto recovery may pick up steam after more clarity emerges …

Are margin and futures trading risky tools? While investors find margin trading and futures very attractive because of their potential returns, they should be cautious and consider all the risks before adopting them. Risks associated with margin trading Crypto margin trading is riskier than standard trading because of the leverage component, which may lose the investor more money than they held initially. Especially considering that cryptocurrencies are very volatile and unpredictable assets, the investor may have to provide extra funds to the collateral to avoid being forced to sell. Investors start paying interest on the loan they took up to …

United States Senator Ted Cruz wants to make the American state of Texas an oasis for Bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrencies. Speaking at the Texas Blockchain Summit 2022 in late November, the politician empathized how the crypto industry can be strategic for the U.S. energy supply and technological development. Cruz argued that Bitcoin mining could be used to monetize energy created from oil and gas extraction, rather than burning it. In addition, he emphasized how mining activity can be used as an energy storage and supply alternative: "The beauty of it [Bitcoin mining] is when you've got substantial investment, as we …

Bitcoin (BTC) trades 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It is a market that never sleeps, and the BTC price is constantly changing. It doesn’t matter which currency or commodity is used to measure how much a bitcoin is worth — BTC is always live and the market is always open. It wasn’t always that way — in the beginning, before around 2010, there were no exchanges or even reliable price information, and BTC/USD traded at tiny prices — at one point even less than a single U.S. dollar cent. Since those days, however, the Bitcoin price has …

Bitcoin (BTC) bulls attempted to retake $17,000 into the Dec. 4 weekly close as volatility looked set to return to the market. Bollinger Bands demand BTC pricevolatility Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD crisscrossing the $17,000 mark — a focal point throughout the weekend. With macro cues still to come, Bitcoin looked for catalysts as signs of volatility crept into low timeframes. Among those eyeing a potential break of the status quo was popular trader Cheds, who noted that the Bollinger Bands volatility indicator was flashing on the 4-hour chart. Bollinger Bands constricting signals that volatility is …

Online forums are integral to the Bitcoin origin story, where Satoshi Nakamoto and early contributors collaborated to discuss and create a disruptive financial system from scratch. One of the oldest Bitcoin forums — bitcointalk.org — still preserves historical discussions around creating the Bitcoin (BTC) logo and the payment system. A curious member of the bitcointalk.org forum recently sought to identify Bitcoin miners from the early days. To their surprise, an anonymous member shared a signature dating back to January 2009, just a week after Bitcoin came into existence. “Maybe OP is inviting Satoshi?” questioned another member after confirming the legitimacy …

Bitcoin (BTC) is a dynamic monetary asset with the potential of being both — a commodity and a currency. For instance, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) classified BTC as a commodity, whereas El Salvador made Bitcoin a legal tender in 2021. So, does this make BTC a store of value or a medium of exchange? It can do both — On one hand, BTC can be added to treasuries as an inflationary hedge. On the other hand, it could also serve the retail purpose of paying for routine expenses. Almost over a decade ago, the first person to utilize …

The fall of the FTX crypto exchange forced many to reconsider their overall approach to investments — starting from self-custody to verifying the on-chain existence of funds. This shift in approach was driven primarily by the lack of trust crypto investors have in the entrepreneurs after being duped by FTX CEO and co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF). FTX crashed after SBF and his accomplices were caught secretly reinvesting users' funds, resulting in the misplacement of at least $1 billion of client funds. Efforts to regain investor trust saw competing crypto exchanges proactively flaunting their proof-of-reserves to confirm users' funds' existence. However, …

On Dec. 2, the United States dollar index (DXY), an index that measures the dollar's strength against a basket of top foreign currencies, reached 104.40 which was the lowest level seen in 5 months. To recap, the U.S. dollar's weight against the basket of top foreign currencies grew by 19.6% in 2022 until late September as investors looked for protection against the impact of a hawkish Federal Reserve and, more recently, the rising energy costs and effect of high inflation. The U.S. dollar's retreat may have been an interim correction to neutralize its "overbought" condition, as the 114.60 peak was …

Non-farm payrolls in the United States rose by 263,000 in November, exceeding economists’ expectations of an increase of 200,000. Analysts believe that the numbers remain hot and do not allow much scope for the Federal Reserve to slow down its aggressive rate hikes. This is contrary to Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s remarks delivered at the Brookings Institution where he said that the central bank could reduce the pace of rate hikes “as soon as December.” That triggered a sharp rally in risk assets. After the latest jobs report, the market participants will closely watch the Fed’s comments and decision in …

The downfall of FTX and a number of other CeFi platforms in 2022 has reinforced a Bitcoin maximalist narrative, according to which most of the crypto ecosystem will eventually collapse due to its centralization. Jeff Booth, Bitcoin proponent and author of "The Price of Tomorrow", believes centralized crypto platforms such as FTX and Celsius have ended up replicating the traditional financial system with all its inherent flaws. "All of crypto is trying to rebuild a financial system that we already have based on manipulation and centralization," said Booth, in an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph. Even Defi platforms, which seek to …

Bitcoin (BTC) continued to hold key support on Dec. 2 as United States stocks fell on the Wall Street open. DXY weakness offers hope of "Santa rally" Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView followed BTC/USD as bulls bought time between $16,800 and $17,000. Analysts had earmarked the former as a key level to retain, this nonetheless in question at the time of writing as stocks shed 1% to start the session. Popular crypto analytics account Nunya Bizniz queried whether it was time for a “decision” on S&P 500 performance, eyeing a pattern which suggested a local top may soon …