In Brief

• U.S. Banks can custody cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin
• The path to Ethereum 2.0 is steady; Beacon Chain mainnet may launch in November
• MakerDAO listed by Binance
• Chainlink continues to partner with key projects

Trending News: Bitcoin, Ethereum, MakerDAO, Chainlink

After weeks of consolidation, the prices of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and tokens of other leading projects have encouragingly recovered. Propping bulls are bullish developments including policy changes that cement the position of crypto in the economy.

On July 23, it was revealed that Banks would, going forward, be free to custody Bitcoin and other digital assets. This is after the United States’ Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), in a letter sent to an unnamed bank, allowed national banks and savings associations to secure digital assets including Bitcoin on behalf of clients, and participate in staking.

An upshot, this creates regulatory certainty since banks can now legally and compliantly engage in crypto operations; a major boost for cryptocurrencies. Before this seismic announcement, institutions and high Networth investors couldn’t freely invest or engage in crypto activities without first seeking regulatory approvals. 

The Road to Ethereum 2.0

As per the latest update from Danny Ryan—the launch coordinator of the Beacon Chain, the next Ethereum 2.0 multi-client testnet will be in roughly two weeks. 

This means Ethereum 2.0 Beacon Chain mainnet launch will probably launch in early November 2020. Regardless and being pessimistic– considering handling of past upgrades, it is highly likely that the Beacon Chain mainnet will launch in Q1 2021. 

At the moment, there have been three developer test networks running multi-clients. The Altona test network went live in early July.  

In a Proof-of-Stake (POS) network of which Serenity depends on for consensus, the value of ETH will play a big part in securing the network due to the removal of computing power and miners.

Chainlink Partnerships, MakerDAO (MKR) Binance Listing

Meanwhile, Chainlink continues to strike important partnerships with Binance the latest announcing their integration of the leading decentralized oracles services. 

Moreover, MakerDAO’s MKR is also rallying, adding 14 percent in the last trading week as the DeFi FOMO reaches fever-pitch. Tapping on the boom, Binance—on July 23, 2020, announced their support of MKR and DAI ERC-20 tokens.

Ethereum Price Analysis

Ether (ETH) is this week’s top performer. Up 12 percent against the USD, and eight percent against BTC, bulls are firmly in charge.

In the daily chart, not only has bulls broken above $250 (the main resistance level), but prices have most importantly broken above a $30 consolidation with caps at $220 and $250, respectively.

As such, and considering increasing trading volumes in the last week, ETH’s path of least resistance is northwards. This means every dip is potentially a buying opportunity with a modest target at $280—February 2020 highs. A close above this mark will open doors for $300 and even June 2019 highs of around $365.

Technical chart courtesy of Trading View

Disclaimer: Views and opinions expressed are those of the author. This is not investment advice. Do your own research.

Dalmas Ngetich

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.