Market Insights

This post is a translation of the weekly cryptocurrency analysis by Crypto Lab, a wholly owned subsidiary of Monex Group (Tokyo, Japan). Monex is the parent of TradeStation Group.

Summary

• Bitcoin (BTC) rose more than 10 percent in the last week percent in the last week as changes at Binance diverted capital from altcoins into BTC. Facebook (FB) also rolled out Project Libra.
• Attention now turns to the G20 summit on June 28-29.
• We’re watching $10,000 as the next price level to watch and $9,000 as a key support zone.

Market Trends This Week

BTC rose sharply, drawing funds from altcoins. That pushed it through the near-term resistance level of $9,200. After some short-term profit taking, it soon pushed toward $10,000.

One reason for the move was Binance, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, is restricting U.S. investors from trading altcoins in three months. The move is part of the company’s adjustments to regulatory demands as it looks to grow in the world’s largest economy. U.S. exchange Bittrex took similar steps. Both actions concentrated interest in BTC over rival tokens and helped triggered the breakout through $9,200.

FB’s Libra announcement was the other catalyst, although its impact on BTC was less significant.

Ripple (XRP) declined versus BTC, although it did gain overall on news of its investment in MoneyGram (MGI).

Topics of the Week

• Binance revises its terms of service to excludes the U.S. from serviced countries. (6/14)
• Google (GOOGL) works with Chainlink to make BigQuery data available on Ethereum (ETH) decentralized applications (DApps). (6/14)
• Nomura HD and Nomura Research Institute form a basic agreement on establishing a blockchain-related joint venture. (6/14)
• CLIC Technology and Opporty announce plans to create a browser extension for online payments using Ethereum (ETH). (6/14)
• Bittrex changes its U.S. terms of service, halting transactions in some altcoins. (6/15)
• Ripple (XRP) forms a strategic partnership with money-transfer company MGI. (6/17)
• Binance announces plans to issue tokens linked cryptocurrencies like BTC (BTCB) on on Binance Chain. (6/17)
• Litecoin Foundation announces plans to issue cryptocurrency debit cards. (6/17)
• Parity Technologies releases the new client Zebra for Zcash (ZEC). (6/17)
• Nikkei reports that 100 major Japanese manufacturers have entered a data-sharing agreement powered by blockchain technology. (6/17)
• Bloomberg reports that interdealer broker TP ICAP will sell CME’s Bitcoin futures (@BTC). (6/17)
• FB announces details of its Libra cryptocurrency and Calibra wallet. (6/18)
• Bancor announced that it will stop providing service to U.S. users on July 8. (6/18)
• International Business Machines (IBM) updates its blockchain platform to support Visual Studio code. (6/18)
• Microsoft (MSFT), Salesforce.com (CRM) and Ethereum Foundation join the open-source Hyperledger effort, along with five other organizations. (6/18)
• The U.S. Senate Banking Committee plans to hold a hearing in July about FB’s Libra project. (6/19)
• Cboe (CBOE) stops offering Bitcoin futures (@XBT). (6/19)
• PwC releases cryptocurrency-auditing software. (6/19)
• Bloomberg reports that the messaging app LINE could get permission to open a cryptocurrency exchange in Japan as early as this month. (6/20)

Market Forecast for Next Week

As outlined above, a lot of things are happening in crypto markets. FB’s Project Libra is gaining attention, Binance is expanding into the U.S. and LINE is on the verge of opening an exchange in Japan. There are also uncertainties at the macro level as the S&P 500 approaches its all-time highs and leaders prepare for the G20 summit. On top of that, we have increasingly dovish monetary policy from central banks around the world.

That backdrop has been positive for cryptocurrencies and may continue to prove bullish. We continue to watch $10,000 as the latest upside target and $9,000 as the main support line.

Next Week’s Topics

• 6/24-26: CloudEXPO 2019 to be held in Silicon Valley.
• 6/24-26: Crypt Valley Conference will be held in Zug, Switzerland.
• 6/25: TRON founder Justin Sun will host a Livestream.
• 6/25-26: The Bitcoin 2019 conference will be held in San Francisco.
• 6/26-27: Blockchain Summit 2019 will be held in London.
• 6/26-28: The MWC 19 technology and mobility conference will be held in Shanghai.
• 6/28-29: G20 summit in Osaka.