Bitcoin and Ethereum Under Pressure, DeFi Rejuvenated, but Will NEO Pump?
Key Highlights:
- Institutions are bullish on Crypto
- Bitcoin tapers, is $9,000 inbound?
- Ethereum price guides DeFi
Trending News: Bitcoin, MicroStrategy, Ethereum, DeFi, NEO, Flamingo Finance
Bitcoin remains the most dominant coin in the last week of trading.
With a market dominance of 65 percent, the flagship Cryptocurrency is one of the most active.
MicroStrategy Doubling Down on Bitcoin
And their stance will likely be emboldened following comments from Michael Taylor, the CEO of the NASDAQ listed MicroStrategy.
That a publicly listed company decided to allocate a big portion of their treasury in Bitcoin could be a well-calculated risk and an overt endorsement of Bitcoin and Crypto.
The CEO has been loud in Crypto Twitter as well, bashing Fiat and lauding Bitcoin’s security.
Although this may be a gambit meant to spark demand and push prices (and bolster their treasury reserves), Bitcoin’s fundamentals remain firm.
For instance, amid MicroStrategy’s decision to double down on Bitcoin and purchase more coins, there was a spike in Bakkt’s trading volumes.
Combined, statistics from Skew reveals that on Sep 17, Bakkt Bitcoin Futures from physical and cash-settled volumes rose to $191 million. Meanwhile, the number of open positions rose to new Sep 2020 highs of $9.3 million.
Will ETH Bears Deflate DeFi?
Despite the drop in ETH prices this week, the DeFi scene remains stable.
Following sharp losses of Sep 21, which shredded governance tokens of leading open finance protocols, more ETH continues to flow and is under the management of these DeFi dApps.
While candlestick arrangements could point to bears, fundamentals remain positive. Affirming this are rumors that Eth2 will launch in November, not early next year as initially thought.
Prepping ETH bulls is next month’s scheduled activation of the Spadina testnet and the Rocket Pool 2.5 beta launch of Medalla.
Before this, there were hitches in the multi-client test net following time server troubles from the Prysmatic Lab client.
NEO Pumping Ahead of Flamingo Finance Launch
Challenging bears in the last trading day is NEO. The coin is up five percent against the greenback, outperforming both BTC and ETH on the last day of trading.
The smart contracting network plans to build the first in-house and interoperable DeFi platform called Flamingo Finance.
Preceding its launch will be a Mint Rush where users will stake assets in exchange for FLM tokens.
Bitcoin Price Analysis
At the time of writing, the Bitcoin price is trading at $10,300, down five percent in the last trading week against the greenback. However, it is up by the same margin against ETH.
Candlestick arrangements in the daily chart suggest weakness. Notably, bears continue to press lower, mirroring steep losses of Sep 21. The 20-day moving average (middle BB) and Sep 3 highs of $11,500 are the immediate resistance levels.
Unless there is a sharp, high-volume reversal of Sep 3 losses, bears are in control from an Effort-versus-Results perspective. A dip below the 61.8 percent Fibonacci retracement level of the June to Sep 2020 trade range could usher in the next wave of liquidation. Consequently, the Bitcoin price may fall to the primary support zone sandwiched between $8,500 and $9,000.
Conversely, a strong bounce from spot levels could build an impetus for $11,500 and $12,500 in a bull trend continuation pattern.
Technical chart courtesy of Trading View
Disclaimer: Views and opinions expressed are those of the author. This is not investment advice. Do your research.
Dalmas is a very active cryptocurrency content creator and highly regarded technical analyst. He’s passionate about blockchain technology and the futuristic potential of cryptocurrencies.