On Oct.4 and Oct. 5 Bitcoin (BTC) took another step through the $20,000 mark, bringing the price above a long-term descending trendline that stretches all the way back to Apr. 22, or Nov. 15 depending on one’s style of technical analysis. Some traders might be feeling a bit celebratory now that price trades outside of the descending trendline, but have any relevant metrics or macro factors changed enough to support a bullish point-of-view for Bitcoin price? In reality, BTC price simply “consolidated” its way through the trendline by trading in a sideways manner where price has been range bound between …

For bulls, Bitcoin’s (BTC) daily price action leaves a lot to be desired, and at the moment, there are few signs of an imminent turnaround. Following the trend of the past six or more months, the current factors continue to place pressure on BTC price: Persistent concerns of potential stringent crypto regulation. United States Federal Reserve policy, interest rate hikes and quantitative tightening. Geopolitical concerns related to Russia, Ukraine and the weaponization of high-demand natural resources imported by the European Union. Strong risk-off sentiment due to the possibility of a U.S. and global recession. When combined, these challenges have made …

Central bank digital currencies (CBDC) can work well with decentralized finance (DeFi), and they have a lot of potential to boost DeFi adoption, according to a Swiss central bank official. Among many various types of digital currencies, it is CBDC that could provide more stability and lower risks to the development of DeFi, according to Thomas Moser, a governing board member at the Swiss National Bank (SNB). In order to grow, DeFi needs stable money, which is why stablecoins were invented, and stablecoins clearly helped DeFi to become more popular, Moser told Cointelegraph. Despite being polar opposites, centralization and decentralization …

The Caribbean region is in a tough situation for banking. The 35 nations comprising the region face challenges common to many tiny economies, such as dollarization and dependence on foreign trade and remittances. In addition, the increasingly common banking practice called de-risking is taking a heavy toll. So, it is probably no coincidence that the region is also at the forefront of digital currency adoption. Carmelle Cadet, the founder and CEO of banking solutions company Emtech, is a native of Haiti who has experience working with central banks in Haiti and Ghana. Her company is also a member of the …

The Bank for International Settlements, or BIS, has reported it will be partnering with the central banks of Israel, Norway and Sweden to explore international retail and remittance payments use cases for central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs. In a Sept. 28 announcement, the BIS said the collaboration — named Project Icebreaker — will involve the bank’s Innovation Hub Nordic Centre testing key functions and the technological feasibility of interlinking domestic CBDC systems. The central banks will develop a new hub in which the Central Bank of Norway, Bank of Israel, and Sveriges Riksbank can connect their proof-of-concept CBDC systems. …

A multi-jurisdictional Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) pilot has been marked “successful” by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) after a month-long test phase that facilitated $22 million worth of real-value cross-border transactions. The central banks of Hong Kong, Thailand, China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) took part in the pilot program along with 20 commercial banks from those regions. More than $12 million worth of value was issued onto the test platform, which facilitated 164 foreign exchange transactions and cross-border payments between the participating firms totaling over $22 million worth of value according to a Tuesday LinkedIn post …

Michael J. Burry, the financial wizard who was portrayed in the movie "The Big Short", is known for predicting crises. For instance, his investment fund made billions from the 2008 housing crash, and Burry liquidated almost all his entire portfolio during the 2Q of 2022. Given that no one seems to know whether traditional markets will bounce before entering a further recessive environment, it might be a good time to consider investing in cryptocurrencies. Below are some examples on how experienced investors sometimes miss incredible rallies. In May 2017, Burry said people should expect a "global financial meltdown" and World …

Cryptocurrency adoption continues growing in the Kingdom of Bahrain, with local companies enabling payments in crypto like Bitcoin (BTC). EazyPay, an online payment platform regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), has partnered with Binance Pay to enable crypto payments in the country, EazyPay CEO and founder Nayef Tawfiq Al Alawi announced on Wednesday. The newly launched crypto payment option will be available in more than 5,000 point-of-sale (POS) terminals and online payment gateway across Bahrain, the CEO said. Major local merchants and firms, including Lulu Hypermarket, Sharaf DG, Al Zain Jewelry and Jasmi’s, will be able to accept …

Can we all agree that the Federal Reserve has a plan to combat runaway inflation? They do. Chair Jerome Powell has all but admitted it. After tempering his comments before previous rate hikes, allowing wiggle room which gave way to market rebounds, Powell has left no bones about this one. It is necessary to wreak some havoc on the economy and put downward pressure on the labor markets and wage increases to stop the creep of inflation. Whether you buy into that logic or if you believe — like Elon Musk — that such movements could result in deflation — …

$20,000 is no longer support. $100,000 didn’t happen. The Bitcoin halving is 562 days away. Bears simply refuse to release their vice grip on the market and the Federal Reserve’s policy of interest rate hikes and quantitative tightening is adding fuel to the fire. Despite these challenges, in a Sept. 15 Twitter Space hosted by Cointelegraph, Capriole Fund founder Charles Edwards explained why he is still bullish on Bitcoin. Edwards suggested that several on-chain metrics suggest that BTC is undervalued and he said: “I see incredible deep value and I kind of call it a trifecta and that we have …

Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum's native token, Ether (ETH), started the week on a depressive note as investors braced themselves for a flurry of rate hike decisions from central banks, including the U.S. Federal Reserve and Bank of England. Bitcoin price fails to hold $20,000 On Sep. 19, BTC's price has failed to regain the $20,000 psychological support zone. The BTC/USD pair slipped by 6.5% to around $18,250, while ETH dropped 4% to approximately $1,280. Their gloomy performance came as a part of a broader decline that started in mid-August, wherein BTC and ETH wiped a total of 28% and 37% …

With the Trade Ministry officially approving the use of cryptocurrencies for foreign trade, Iran will become the first-of-a-kind adopter in the world. The obvious problem with the news is that the country’s innovative policy obviously aims at circumventing financial sanctions that have been hampering its participation in the global economy for many years. These circumstances set an ambivalent tone for Iran’s experiment — while for some, it could prove crypto’s emancipating ability to shirk the all-too-real hegemony of the United States political will and international financial institutions that enforce it, hardline crypto skeptics could get the proof they need for …