Day: January 12, 2021
Trader comforts the market’s traumatized first timers amid falling prices
Known for its volatility, Bitcoin (BTC) recently fell more than $11,000 over a four-day period after weeks of soaring price action. Amid a fresh bull cycle, Bitcoin has likely picked up its fair share of new buyers — some of whom may not be familiar with the asset’s wild price swings, according to comments from Cheds, a crypto trader and analyst on Twitter. Cheds holds a level I CMT certification — a benchmark showing technical analysis knowledge.
“Given the recent surge in popularity of Bitcoin, we have many new investors and traders who have not been through any shock events, like that $8,500 daily range candle we just had,” Cheds told Cointelegraph.
Bitcoin surpassed its 2017 all-time price high in December 2020. In the following weeks, the asset doubled its former high near $20,000, tapping just shy of $42,000 on Jan. 8, based on TradingView.com data. This is likely due in part to big players from traditional finance buying Bitcoin in the second half of 2020. Metrics from crypto data site The Tie suggest a recent flow of retail money may be a contributing factor as well.
“The true believers and really anyone who understands the supply/demand imbalance loves these volatility events, because it allows them to re-enter or add on to previous positions,” Cheds explained.
“As institutional accumulation continues to increase and the daily active trading float continues to decrease, the upwards bias for Bitcoin should continue, and, in my views, all dips should be accumulated.”
Other industry participants have noted that Bitcoin dips are common, and are pointing to the recent correction to help guide expectations.
A visual of the 2016-2017 #bitcoin run up
Take away: Pullbacks are a part of any healthy bull market #HODL pic.twitter.com/W2F6T0zJxL
— Altcoin Daily (@AltcoinDailyio) January 11, 2021
Although Bitcoin has historically been synonymous with sizable price swings, its advancements past $20,000 have opened the door for higher dollar oscillations.
@PeterMcCormack @toutatis16 I have no interest in betting on Bitcoin prices, especially with strangers on Twitter. It makes no difference to me what price Bitcoin trades at in the future as I will not be buying any. But I’m already betting over $100 million of my net worth against Bitcoin by not owing any.
@TBoehmCrypto @PeterMcCormack @toutatis16 Only to be not smart enough to understand what’s going on.
@TTOTC1 Ha. I make him do everything himself.
@RFunzt @Cryptotyrion @HaloCrypto @Crypto__Bane @CryptoParadyme @Flourish_Venkat @GuruVedas @outthebull @MrCryptoWhite @SkateMoreSpots Deeming markets “bull” or “bear” is a bit of an oversimplification on a still very young crypto market, which can lead to dangerous assumptions. Thank you for your sentiments, regardless!
Yung Picasso just moved on from music to pursue a career in abstract art.
SEC Enforcer Behind $1.3 Billion Ripple Lawsuit Stepping Down
In brief
- Marc P. Berger is Acting Director of the Division of Enforcement at the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
- He played a major role in the SEC enforcement against Ripple Labs.
- He is leaving the agency this month.
Marc P. Berger, who was named Deputy Director of the Division of Enforcement at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in August 2020, is leaving the agency before the end of the month, according to an SEC press release. He was appointed acting director of the division after Stephanie Avakian departed from the SEC in December.
Though Berger’s time in the top position was short, it bears at least one major highlight: the SEC’s $1.3 billion lawsuit against Ripple Labs, CEO Brad Garlinghouse, and Executive Chairman Chris Larsen.
The lawsuit, which was unveiled at the tail end of Avakian’s tenure, alleges Ripple did not register the sale of XRP, the third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. The SEC views XRP as a security—a tradeable investment contract that raises funds for a business or organization.
Ripple was invented by Ripple founders Larsen, Arthur Britto, and Jed McCaleb, as well as current Ripple CTO David Schwartz. It aims to be a cryptocurrency enabling banks to more efficiently transfer money. But according to the SEC, Larsen and Garlinghouse sold XRP given to them by the company in order to get rich. The SEC also alleges that Ripple paid companies to use XRP and, therefore, prop up the price.
The lawsuit, filed in New York federal court on December 22, sent XRP’s price into a spiral. On December 21, the asset traded for as high as $0.55. It’s now at $0.29 and has been dropped by several exchanges, such as Coinbase.
Berger can also take partial credit for the SEC’s enforcement action against Telegram, which compelled the messaging software company to return $1.2 billion to those who invested in its cryptocurrency offering. “Grams” digital tokens never got off the ground.
In addition to ICO-related enforcement actions, Berger also played a role in enforcing securities laws and protecting investors, including by taking actions against prominent firms Robinhood Financial LLC, Deutsche Bank AG, and Luckin Coffee.
Things are in flux at the SEC as the federal government transitions from a Trump presidency to a Biden administration on January 20. President-elect Joe Biden is expected to name former Commodities and Futures Trading Commision Chair Gary Gensler to fill the role of SEC chair; Jay Clayton stepped down in December.
The SEC has not yet named a new enforcement director.
🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 3,485 BTC (116,874,920 USD) transferred from unknown wallet to unknown wallet Tx:
Tx: https://t.co/KAwOtgNSf1