Bitcoin Pulls Back From $40K; Ether off 2-Month Highs

PLUS: Charts show BTC support at $34K-$36K

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 August 5, 2021 Sponsored by     Bitcoin (BTC) -0.1%  $38,034 Ether (ETH)  +4.3%  $2,615 (Price data as of August 5 @11:00 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 Again Falters at $40K as Ether Retreats From Two-Month High Ether has rallied almost 60% in two weeks. Technician's Take: Bitcoin Oversold Bounce Fades; Support at $34K-$36K Initial support around $34K could stabilize the pullback. 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: Katie Stockton, Fairfield Strategies Christine Kim, CoinDesk Research – Lawrence Lewitinn Biggest Movers These are the biggest movers in the CoinDesk 20 over the past 24 hours:   Gainers: Aave (AAVE): +13.8% Uniswap (UNI): +6.3% Polkadot (DOT): +5.6% Losers: Chainlink (LINK): -0.5% Bitcoin Cash (BCH): -0.4% Bitcoin (BTC): -0.1% 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 AAX Powered by London Stock Exchange Group Technology, AAX offers a wide range of crypto products and services, including spot and futures for over 60 trading pairs, P2P fiat trading, high yield savings, research, education, OTC and more institutional offerings.    - 110 USDT futures bonus upon registration - Trade at $0 fees (limited-time offer) - 10% APY on AAX Savings (limited-time offer) - Lucrative price prediction campaigns - Support for 20+ fiat currencies - 24/7 customer service - Arguably the finest crypto trading app in the space   Make the most out of your crypto holdings. Grow with AAX. Sign up now. Market Moves by Omkar Godbole Bitcoin Again Falters at $40K as Ether Retreats From Two-Month High Bitcoin and ether (ETH) erased Wednesday's gains as Ethereum's highly-anticipated London hard fork, or backward-incompatible upgrade, neared.    Having faced rejection at $40,000 early Thursday, bitcoin (BTC), the top cryptocurrency by market value is currently trading near $38,000. The 4% drop has nearly reversed Wednesday's rally from $37,500.  Bitcoin prices, Aug. 4-5, 2021 (CoinDesk) Ether is also down 4% near $2,600 at press time after having jumped 8% to $2,770 on Wednesday and hitting the highest level since June 7, according to CoinDesk 20 data.    The London hard fork, which includes four Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIP), is scheduled for implementation around 12:30 UTC, according to etherscan.io. One of the proposals, EIP 1559, will introduce a mechanism to burn a portion of fees paid to miners, thereby curbing ether's supply growth over time and bringing store-of-value appeal to the native token of Ethereum's blockchain.  Ether prices, Aug. 4-5, 2021 (CoinDesk) Some analysts have cautioned that the upgrade's positive effect will be seen over time, and there may be little or no immediate price action.    Ether has gained nearly 60% in the two weeks leading up to the upgrade. As such, it looks prone to a "sell-the-fact" trade. "Buy the rumor, sell the fact" refers to a situation where some traders buy an asset in the run-up to a supposedly bullish event and sell after it occurs.   However, technical charts are painting a bullish picture. "A new oversold upturn in the weekly stochastics [indicator] suggests ether can clear a 38.2% Fibonacci resistance level near $2724 for a target of a 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level near $3356," Katie Stockton, founder and managing partner of Fairlead Strategies, said in the weekly research note published on Monday.    As for bitcoin, Stockton expects consolidation for a while longer before extending the recent recovery rally from $30,000. Bitcoin jumped over 12% last week, its best weekly performance in three months. The momentum, however, has faltered this week, with prices falling to $37,500 on Wednesday.    "We expect the pullback to mature in 1-2 weeks near the 50-day MA (~$34,800), after which bitcoin is likely to clear $42,600 for a revised upside target of a secondary Fibonacci retracement level near $51,000," Stockton noted, referring to the 50-day moving average.    The options market seems to agree with Stockton's bullish view. While last week's aggressive call buying has cooled, the demand for puts, or bearish bets, remains low. The put-call open interest ratio continues to slide, hinting at fading fears of a deeper price drop, as Delphi Digital noted in its daily analysis.    Newsflow continues to be positive, highlighting traditional investors' growing appetite for cryptocurrency. JPMorgan has started pitching a passive bitcoin fund to private clients, CoinDesk reported early today.    Bitcoin's immediate prospects will turn bleak if the 50-day moving average support at $34,800 is breached. Read the original story here: Bitcoin Again Falters at $40K as Ether Retreats From Two-Month High The CoinDesk DeFi Index (DFX), benchmarking the investable DeFi sector, is now available for investors watching decentralized finance, the first true "sector" in cryptocurrencies. It is the latest index by CoinDesk Indexes, the market standard for crypto assets since 2014. The DFX provides a market-cap-weighted benchmark for a representative basket of DeFi-sector cryptocurrencies, composed of assets suitable for long-term holding. Find out more at coindesk.com/indexes/dfx, or email indexes@coindesk.com.  Technician's Take by Damanick Dantes, CMT Bitcoin Oversold Bounce Fades; Support at $34K-$36K Bitcoin (BTC) sellers returned during Asia hours given strong resistance near the $40,000 level. The cryptocurrency was trading around $38,000 at press time and is down 5% over the past week. Initial support is seen around $34,000 and $36,000, which could stabilize the pullback. Bitcoin four-hour price chart shows short-term support and resistance levels with RSI (Source: TradingView) The relative strength index (RSI) on the four-hour chart made a series of lower highs as upside momentum slowed. Short-term buyers responded to oversold conditions on Wednesday but failed to push past $40,000 resistance. Initial support is seen at $36,000, which is near the 100-period moving average on the four-hour chart. Buyers will likely defend support above $30,000 as bitcoin (BTC) remains in a consolidation phase. Bitcoin's intermediate-term downtrend remains in effect despite the near 30% short-squeeze rally over the past two weeks.   Read the original story here: Bitcoin Oversold Bounce Fades; Support at $34K-$36K A message from Worldpay Worldpay from FIS and Forter have teamed up to explore the evolution of the adoption of digital assets in the eCommerce industry, and how 21st century security measures can tackle the threat of fraud in card-to-crypto payments. Read the insights now BOLO Be on the look out for some of these upcoming events: 12:30 UTC (8:30 a.m. ET): Initial jobless claims (July 31). Est: 385,000 14:00 UTC (10:00 a.m. ET): Federal Reserve Vice Chair Richard H. 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ICYMI In case you missed it, here are the most recent episodes of "First Mover" on CoinDesk TV:   Dissecting SEC Chair Gensler's Crypto Remarks With EY's Paul Brody, Ethereum London Hard Fork Update "First Mover" dives into today's top stories, including the industry's response to SEC Chair Gary Gensler's remarks regarding cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, DeFi platforms and more. Also, the latest on the Ethereum London Hard Fork launching Thursday. Guests include Paul Brody of Ernst & Young, Lex Sokolin of ConsenSys and Sam Trabucco of Alameda Research. A Paradigm Shift in Mining The dynamic crypto mining industry has been even more active following China's crackdown. The global hashrate has largely shifted to North America, making the U.S. a key mining hub where institutions now take central stage. In this sponsored webinar on Aug. 10, Foundry CEO Mike Coyler explains how this new demographic of miners have special requirements, which the company has been catering to through its rapidly growing Foundry USA Pool and other services. Register for free. Latest Headlines JPMorgan Launches In-House Bitcoin Fund for Wealthy Clients The mega-bank has started pitching Private Bank clients on a passive bitcoin fund in partnership with NYDIG. CoinShares Earnings Surge in First Half Comprehensive income, a profit measure that includes the change in the value of digital assets, climbed more than fivefold. French Asset Manager Wins Approval to Launch Bitcoin ETF in EU Among stocks the fund will track are Argo Blockchain, Riot Blockchain, Galaxy Digital and Voyager Digital. Disclaimer: The information presented in this message is intended as a news item that provides a brief summary of various events and developments that affect, or that might in the future affect, the value of one or more of the cryptocurrencies described above. The information contained in this message, and any information liked through the items contained herein, is not intended to provide sufficient information to form the basis for an investment decision. The information presented herein is accurate only as of its date, and it was not prepared by a research analyst or other investment professional. You should seek additional information regarding the merits and risks of investing in any cryptocurrency before deciding to purchase or sell any such instruments.  First Mover A newsletter from CoinDesk Copyright © 2021 CoinDesk, All rights reserved.  250 Park Avenue South New York, NY 10003, USA You can manage your preferences here or unsubscribe from all CoinDesk email.