Crypto Today: Bitcoin bears step in at big barrier

Here's what you need to know on Monday

Markets: 

• BTC/USD is currently trading at $7,400 (-1.50%) in the afternoon in U.S. hours, as the price runs into selling pressure in a big supply area. 
• ETH/USD is currently trading at $128.20 (-2.80%), big rejections were seen at $135 resistance.
• XRP/USD is currently trading at $0.1940 (-2.25%), the price remains vulnerable to downside underneath $0.2000.
• Among the 100 most important cryptocurrencies, the best of the day are BCN $0.000300 (+12.40%), LUNA $0.291124 (+10.90%) and VET $0.00652 (+9.35%). The day's losers are ZEN $6.80  (11.10%), ADK $1.35 (-8.20%) and SEELE $0.353627 (-8.00%).

Chart of the day:

BTC/USD 4-hour chart

Market:

• Bitcoin's hashrate just hit a new all-time high.111,000,000,000,000,000,000 hashes per second according to data by RhythmTrader.
• The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), a significant player in the Bitcoin futures contract market, releases a weekly report that shows the commitment of the traders. The report is referred to as the Commitment of Traders (COT). The latest report suggests that institutional investors are not convinced that Bitcoin has reversed the downtrend and has an aggregate position of -1,250 BTC. The aggregate is the lowest in more than a year in spite of the two consecutive recovery cycles Bitcoin has experienced in less than a week.

Regulation:

• Australia’s financial watchdog, the Australian Transactions Report and Analysis Center (AUSTRAC) recently announced the withdrawal of licenses previously issued to three cryptocurrency exchanges. According to the anti-money laundering (AML) agency, the affected crypto exchanges were alleged to be connected to criminal activities.
• Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard warned about the use of bitcoin in illicit activities. Brainard explains how over a quarter of bitcoin users are associated with illegal activity. Further adding to these problems is the fact of mot exchanges not requiring KYC and AML verification.

Industry:

• Head of the People’s Bank of China’s (PBoC) Digital Currency Research Institute, Mu Changchun, detailed that the country’s digital yuan is finally ready for trials. The central bank digital currency (CBDC) will, as per the announcement, not come as a volatile asset like Bitcoin or some other known stablecoins, and will not be pegged for currency basket as the back-up.
• South Korea is now working on developing a blockchain-based local currency that works like Bitcoin and other real DLT-based cryptocurrencies, as reported in local press.

Quote of the day:

 

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