XRP Eyes 'Death Cross'

PLUS: Bitcoin on its way to worst week in over a month

Everything you need to make sense of the crypto markets and beyond By the CoinDesk Markets Team Edited by Lawrence Lewitinn, Managing Editor, Global Capital Markets July 16, 2021 Sponsored by     Bitcoin (BTC) -2.8%  $31,298 Ether (ETH)  -4.3%  $1,860 (Price data as of July 16 @10:30 UTC) If you were forwarded this newsletter and would like to receive it, sign up here.  Good morning, and welcome to First Mover. Here's what's happening this morning: Market Moves: Bitcoin Heads for Its Worst Weekly Close in Over a Month Should the cryptocurrency close at or below current prices, that would represent the steepest weekly sell-off since June 14.   Technician's Take: XRP Eyes 'Death Cross;' Has Support at $0.51 It's a signal analysts consider to be a bear market indicator And check out the CoinDesk TV show "First Mover," hosted by Christine Lee, Emily Parker and me at 9:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern time. Today the show will feature guests: Timothy Massad, CFTC Former Commissioner and Harvard University Research Fellow Guy Hirsch, eToro US Managing Director   – Lawrence Lewitinn Biggest Movers These are the biggest movers in the CoinDesk 20 over the past 24 hours:   Gainers: Stellar (XLM): +1.3% Losers: Uniswap (UNI): -7.8% Polkadot (DOT): -7.1% The Graph (GRT): -6.9% The CoinDesk 20 are 20 digital assets filtered from the larger universe of thousands of cryptocurrencies and constitute roughly 99% of the market by volume at eight of the largest and most trustworthy exchanges. A message from ByBit Earn up to $600 in rewards when you sign up with Bybit!    Top crypto exchange featured on Bloomberg. Trade Bitcoin, Ethereum, Doge, and more!   Check out all our exciting promotions just for you! Lots of attractive bonuses available when you sign up with us.    Spot, derivatives trading and other options available.    Sign Up Now!    Market Moves by Sebastian Sinclair Bitcoin Heads for Its Worst Weekly Close in Over a Month Bitcoin is heading for its lowest weekly close in more than a month as selling pressure continues to drive prices toward $30,000. At press time, the cryptocurrency is changing hands for $31,680.31, a 2.9% decline from the 24-hour top of $32,614.24, CoinDesk data show. Should the current candle close at or below this level, that would mark the steepest weekly sell-off since June 14. Thursday's drop was bitcoin (BTC)'s biggest in over 10 days, as it fell, once again, alongside the U.S. equities market. Bitcoin weekly chart (Source: TradingView) A drop below the $31,000 daily support level may result in a deeper drawdown to $28,600 based on June 22's prior low. Low volume, as indicated in Thursday's four-hour view, is consistent with a lack of trading interest in the short-term. Traditional equities in Asia were mixed, with most markets reflecting a change of less than 1%. Read the original story here: Bitcoin Heads for Its Worst Weekly Close in Over a Month The CoinDesk Quarterly Review 2021 Q2 After two consecutive quarters of strong price gains for most of the top crypto assets, Q2 2021 finally brought an end to market euphoria with a resounding crash. Most CoinDesk 20 assets, which constitute 99% of the crypto market by verifiable volume, ended the quarter with negative returns. Meanwhile, protocol development for the world's largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, Bitcoin and Ethereum, reached new milestones. CoinDesk Research's latest Quarterly Review dives into the trends, developments and technological progress that shaped the crypto markets from April to June 2021. The full report is now available from the CoinDesk Research Hub. Technician's Take by Omkar Godbole XRP Eyes 'Death Cross;' Has Support at $0.51 XRP's price chart looks set to produce the first "death cross" in five months, a signal analysts consider to be a bear market indicator.   The 50-day simple moving average (SMA) of XRP's price is expected to cross below the 200-day SMA in the next day or two, confirming the so-called bearish death cross. While in theory, the pattern implies a deeper sell-off, historical data suggests otherwise.   Previous occurrences observed in early February 2021, March 2020, August 2019, April 2018, January 2017 and May 2016 marked major or interim price bottoms. One in May 2014 brought immediate selling pressure to the market.   Death cross' dismal record as a reliable indicator is hardly surprising, as moving-average studies are based on backward-looking data. In other words, death crosses are the result of a prolonged sell-off and have limited predictive powers. More often than not, the market is oversold by the time the crossover happens.   XRP's daily chart (Source: TradingView) The previous bearish crossovers (above left) were accompanied by an oversold, or below-30, reading on the relative strength index (RSI).   This time, however, the RSI is biased bearish. So, the possibility of the death cross inviting stronger chart-driven selling cannot be ruled out.   Immediate support is at the June 22 low of $0.51, followed by $0.43, which is the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement of the December to April bull run. The June 29 high of $0.73 is the level to beat for the bulls.   Read the original story here: XRP Eyes 'Death Cross;' Has Support at $0.51 A message from zkTube zkTube, an Ethereum Layer2 scaling solution that focused on using zero-knowledge proofs to solving the congestion and high gas fees problem, has been combined cutting-edge cryptography and ZK-Rollup to improve throughput and TPS. zkTube is focusing on the development process to complete "cross-rollup". zkTube is the first application to adopts (PLONK) technology into mining functions. It is an environmentally friendly mining mechanism based on decentralized distributed energy management. BOLO Be on the look out for some of these upcoming events: 12:30 UTC (8:30 a.m. ET):  Retail sales (June). Est: -0.4% Retail sales ex-autos (June). Est: +0.4% The cryptocurrency movement has never been so sprawling, reaching every corner of the planet. Crypto State by CoinDesk aims to connect with local communities to explore this movement of financial disruption and how it trickles down to every corner of the globe, from DeFi investment opportunities to alternative ways to transact and store wealth. We're making virtual stops with audiences in Nigeria, the Middle East and Southeast Asia this year. Register for the Crypto State virtual tour. ICYMI In case you missed it, here are the most recent episodes of "First Mover" on CoinDesk TV:   Crypto OG ShapeShift Is 'Decentralizing' Itself into Inexistence, Crypto Community Reacts to Powell's Congressional Hearing Crypto OG ShapeShift CEO Erik Voorhees joins "First Mover" as the company shuts down and plans to airdrop 340 million FOX tokens across DeFi. Coindesk's Nikhilesh De reacts to Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell's comments on crypto regulations from the House Financial Services Committee hearing. The Investor's Perspective on the Bitcoin Taproot Upgrade   Taproot is a bundle of three upgrades to Bitcoin aimed at improving network security, privacy and scalability. At the same time, it poses some potential drawbacks to Bitcoin including risks of low adoption, unintended privacy shortcomings and Bitcoin community disappointment and fracturing. CoinDesk Research's newest report dives into the economic impact and investment implications of the Taproot upgrade.   Download the full report. Latest Headlines Amid Health Crisis and Economic Embargo, Cubans Are Using Cryptocurrencies to Help Compatriots Bitcoin, USDT, litecoin, tron and bitcoin cash can be used to donate to Cubans. Blockchain Protocol Thorchain Loses 4K Ether in Attack The company will provide a more detailed assessment of the breach soon. Ripple Can Depose Former SEC Official in Lawsuit: Report A U.S. judge ordered William H. Hinman, the former chief of the commission's corporate finance division, to sit for questioning. Japan Increasing Efforts to Regulate Digital Currency: Report The Financial Services Agency has created a new division and the Ministry of Finance is considering boosting staff numbers. Digital Yuan Used in $5 Billion of Transactions: PBOC The PBOC also said the central bank digital currency will be compatible with smart contracts. Bitcoin to Become Dominant in Global Finance by 2050, Most Panelists in New Study Say The "Bitcoin price prediction report," canvassed 42 panelists from finance, technology and academia. Binance to End Support for Stock Tokens The crypto exchange said that stock tokens are unavailable for purchase on its website effective immediately. 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