CryptoNews of the Week


- As expected, on April 20, the fourth halving occurred on the bitcoin network at block #840000. The reward for mining a block has been reduced from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. It's worth reminding that a halving is the event that reduces the reward for mining new blocks in the bitcoin blockchain by half. This event is encoded in the code of the first cryptocurrency and occurs every 210,000 blocks: until the mining of 21 million coins, presumably in 2040, when the cryptocurrency's emission will end. The fourth halving will ensure that about 95% of all bitcoin emission is mined, with approximately 99% of all coins mined by 2033-2036. Following that, the emission will gradually move towards zero.
Economist and author of the cult book "The Bitcoin Standard," Saifedean Ammous, congratulated the crypto community on the halving. "For the first time in history, people have a form of money whose supply increases by less than 1% per year. [...] The harder the money, the slower its supply increases, the better it retains value in the future, and allows for planning and securing the future," he wrote.

- In the days following the halving, there was no increase in volatility. The price of bitcoin slowly and lazily moved upwards, reaching $66,000 at the time of writing this review. It seems that market participants are frozen in anticipation of who will start buying or selling the main cryptocurrency en masse. However, the founder of venture company Pomp Investments, Anthony Pompliano, believes that within 12-18 months, the coin is likely to first undergo a correction and then rise to $100,000 with chances of reaching $150,000-200,000. "At the moment, the probability of a decrease is quite small. [...] I see no reasons for the rate to drop below $50,000. I think we have already crossed this Rubicon," the entrepreneur believes.
Pompliano recommended buying gold to those looking for capital protection from the fall and the first cryptocurrency to those aiming to increase their purchasing power. "After the previous halving, the first cryptocurrency appreciated eightfold despite volatility. Name any other asset that has shown such high returns over a four-year cycle," he stated, revealing that he invested about half of his personal funds in the first cryptocurrency.

- Analysts at QCP Capital believe that bitcoin optimists will need to wait at least two months before assessing the impact of the recent fourth halving. "The spot price has only grown exponentially 50-100 days after each of the previous three halvings. If this pattern repeats, bitcoin bulls still have weeks to build a larger long position," their report states.

- According to Bitfinex experts, the post-halving supply restriction will stabilize the price of the first cryptocurrency and may contribute to its growth. "The decrease in the pace of bitcoin issuance after halving, which will amount to $30-40 million per day, sharply contrasts with the average daily net inflow of $150 million into spot ETFs. This underscores a significant demand and supply imbalance which may contribute to further price growth," the Bitfinex report indicates.

- A sharp increase in transaction fees on the day of the halving gave Euro Pacific Capital president and "gold bug" Peter Schiff another reason to declare the failure of the first cryptocurrency. On April 20, amid the reduction of the block reward, the average size of fees in the network jumped to a record $128.45. Experts largely linked this to the hype associated with the event around the launch of the Runes protocol.
"The cost of completing a transaction now stands at $128, and its processing takes half an hour. This is another reason why bitcoin cannot function as a digital currency. The costs of using it in this capacity are disproportionately high. This is a failure," Schiff declared. (And he was wrong. Shortly thereafter, the rate dropped nearly 73% to $34.86.)
In the comments, users asked the well-known gold advocate how much it would cost to safely deliver a pound of precious metal around the world. An estimate ranging from $800,000 to $2.3 million depending on the method and speed was voiced. "Remind me, how much does it cost to transport a gold bar to the other end of the world in half an hour?" Jameson Lopp, co-founder of Casa, sarcastically remarked about speed. Schiff responded that it didn't matter since people no longer use precious metal as currency.

- Speaking at a pre-election rally in Michigan, Robert Kennedy Jr. announced to the attendees that if he is elected President of the USA, every American will have the opportunity to review any budget item. "I will move the entire US budget to the blockchain, and we will have 300 million observers over it. If someone spends $16,000 on a toilet seat, everyone will find out!" he declared.
The presidential candidate believes that taxpayers have the right to know exactly what their money is being spent on. According to the politician, blockchain and cryptocurrencies should help the USA remain a leader in innovation and maintain the financial freedom of its citizens. Robert Kennedy Jr. had previously supported bitcoin, stating that the first cryptocurrency takes financial control away from the government and the monopolistic banking system.

- The crypto exchange CoinEx has put up for sale the first satoshi mined after the halving. Buyers can place bids in bitcoins on the auction page. A satoshi is one-hundred-millionth of a bitcoin (0.00000001), and the organisers of the auction hoped that collectors would pay several tens of millions of dollars for this "epic" coin. However, at the time of publication, the highest bid is only 2.5 BTC, which is about $165,000, although this price exceeds the value of one ordinary satoshi by 250 million times. The auction will end on April 26. The exchange will notify participants of the results via a message on the website and by email.

- Fidelity Digital Assets, a leading issuer of one of the spot BTC-ETFs, has revised its mid-term forecast for bitcoin from positive to neutral. The reason for the departure from optimistic views is several worrying trends in the crypto market. Fidelity analysts noted the growing interest in selling from long-term bitcoin hodlers. A large percentage of profitable addresses is currently noted in the report. This means that holders may want to lock in profits and start selling BTC. On the other hand, on-chain data also indicate that small investors continue to accumulate the first cryptocurrency. Since the beginning of the year, the number of addresses holding at least $1,000 in BTC has increased by 20% and reached a new all-time high. "This trend may indicate the growing proliferation of bitcoin and its acceptance among 'average' users," Fidelity notes.

- Investments in bitcoin by "new" whales have almost doubled the indicator of "old" major players. These assessments were shared by the CEO of CryptoQuant, Ki Newbie trader Ju. The expert attributed to the "whale" addresses not associated with CEX and miners with a balance of over 1000 BTC. The "new" category includes owners of coins "aged" less than 155 days; "old" exceed this term.
Specialists at CryptoQuant examined the dynamics of the 7DMA ratio of the SOPR indicator applied to these categories of investors and made conclusions similar to those of their colleagues from Fidelity. The elevated metric value showed high profitability of "old" hodlers compared to "newcomers," which could lead to the formation of price peaks. Analysis of the current situation also speaks of the need to exercise caution in anticipation of possible corrections and increased volatility.
Recall that earlier, specialists from JPMorgan noted that digital gold is in an overbought state. And CMCC Crest co-founder Willy Woo warned that if bitcoin falls below $59,000, the market risks entering a bear phase.

- Representatives of the initiative group of cryptocurrency supporters want to convince the Swiss Bank board to add bitcoins to the CB's reserves. The meeting on this issue will take place on April 26, where the concept of supporters of digital gold will be presented. In their opinion, such a step will strengthen the independence and neutrality of the state. Including BTC in its reserves, Switzerland would show the world that it has an independent financial policy from the European Central Bank.
Recall that back in 2022, the initiative group recommended the country's central bank to buy bitcoins for 1 billion Swiss francs (about $1.1 billion) instead of German government bonds, but the regulator ignored this proposal. However, now everything may change. Recently, Switzerland has been providing the most favourable conditions for the development of the cryptocurrency industry, which is why the government of El Salvador even opened its office in the country to jointly develop initiatives related to bitcoin.

- Christian Langlois, also known as Bitcoin Sign Guy, made headlines in 2017 when he displayed a notebook page with the message "Buy Bitcoin" behind Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen. At that moment, the FRB Chair was testifying about the state of the US economy. This image instantly spread across the network and became one of the symbols of the emerging crypto industry.
For his act, the 22-year-old intern Langlois was disgracefully expelled from the hearings. But after this episode was broadcast on television, enthusiasts sent seven BTC to his crypto wallet to thank the Newbie trader man for his bold move. Four years ago, Christian sold 21 copies of the notable sheet at an average price of 0.8 BTC each, thus earning an additional 16.8 BTC. As a result, his total earnings reached 23.8 BTC, which is more than $15 million at the current rate.
And just a few weeks ago, Langlois was offered another 5 bitcoins for the original, but he refused to sell the sheet. Nevertheless, Christian liked the idea of further monetizing the self-created object of "artistic and historical heritage," and he decided to sell it at an auction. The winner's name will be announced late in the evening on April 24 at the New York snack bar Pubkey, and the Newbie trader man plans to direct the proceeds to finance his startup, Tirrel Corp. At the time of writing the review, the sheet is offered for $140,000, but the auction is not yet over.


Notice: These materials should not be deemed a recommendation for investment or guidance for working on financial markets: they are for informative purposes only. Trading on financial markets is risky and can lead to a loss of money deposited.

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AUD/USD Rises Sharply on Inflation News


The Consumer Price Index for Australia was released this morning. According to ForexFactory:

→ CPI in quarterly terms: actual = 1.0%, expected = 0.8%, previous value = 0.6%;
→ CPI in annual terms: actual = 3.5%, expected = 3.4%, previous value = 3.4%.

Rising inflation figures suggest that the Reserve Bank of Australia's tight monetary policy may continue beyond expectations - which is why the Australian dollar has jumped higher relative to other currencies.

Thus, from the minimum of the year against the US dollar, recorded on April 19, the Ausssie rose in price by more than 2%.



TO VIEW THE FULL ANALYSIS, VISIT FXOPEN BLOG

Disclaimer: This article represents the opinion of the FXOpen INT company only. It is not to be construed as an offer, solicitation, or recommendation with respect to products and services provided by the the FXOpen INT, nor is it to be considered financial advice.

Market Analysis: Gold Price Corrects Gains While Oil Price Regains Strength


Gold price rallied above $2,400 before correcting lower. Crude oil price is rising and it could climb further higher toward the $85.50 resistance.

Important Takeaways for Gold and Oil Prices Analysis Today

• Gold price rallied significantly above $2,400 and recently corrected lower against the US Dollar.
• It cleared a key bearish trend line with resistance at $2,310 on the hourly chart of gold at FXOpen.
• Crude oil prices are moving higher above the $82.00 resistance zone.
• There was a break above a connecting bearish trend line with resistance at $82.00 on the hourly chart of XTI/USD at FXOpen.

Gold Price Technical Analysis

On the hourly chart of Gold at FXOpen, the price was able to climb above the $2,350 resistance, as mentioned in the previous analysis. The price even broke the $2,400 level before the bears appeared.

The price traded close to the $2,420 zone before there was a downside correction. There was a move below the $2,355 pivot zone. The price settled below the 50-hour simple moving average and RSI dipped below 50. Finally, it tested the $2,290 zone.

The price is now correcting losses above the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $2,417 swing high to the $2,291 low. It surpassed a key bearish trend line with resistance at $2,310.

Immediate resistance on the upside is near the 50-hour simple moving average and $2,330. The next major resistance is near the 50% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $2,417 swing high to the $2,291 low at $2,355.

An upside break above the $2,355 resistance could send Gold price toward $2,400. Any more gains may perhaps set the pace for an increase toward the $2,420 level. If there is no fresh increase, the price could continue to move down.

Initial support on the downside is near the $2,310 level. The first major support is $2,290. If there is a downside break below the $2,290 support, the price might decline further. In the stated case, the price might drop toward the $2,265 support.

TO VIEW THE FULL ANALYSIS, VISIT FXOPEN BLOG

Disclaimer: This article represents the opinion of the FXOpen INT company only. It is not to be construed as an offer, solicitation, or recommendation with respect to products and services provided by the the FXOpen INT, nor is it to be considered financial advice.

Volatility in the Pound Is Rising, the Euro is Consolidating


GBP/USD
At the end of last week, the British currency fell sharply, testing a significant support level at 1.2300. The resumption of the downward trend for the pair became possible after some statements by British officials:

On Wednesday, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said he expects a strong decline in inflation from next month.
Dave Ramsden, Deputy Chairman of Markets and Banking, was also quite optimistic, noting that the recently published UK core CPI data was nothing more than a “glitch” in the deflationary process, and risks to sustainability and domestic inflationary pressures were beginning to recede.
After such statements by British officials, expectations for a rate cut on the pound shifted to August, and since the Fed does not plan to cut the rate before September, the GBP/USD pair continues to suffer losses.

GBP/USD technical analysis indicates further development of the downward trend, as the price has consolidated below the alligator lines on higher time frames, the AO oscillator is red and below zero. At the same time, before a new downward impulse, a corrective growth in the direction of 1.2420-1.2400 is possible.

If pound sellers manage to refresh the recent low at 1.2300, the pair could test 1.2220-1.2140.



TO VIEW THE FULL ANALYSIS, VISIT FXOPEN BLOG

Disclaimer: This article represents the opinion of the FXOpen INT company only. It is not to be construed as an offer, solicitation, or recommendation with respect to products and services provided by the the FXOpen INT, nor is it to be considered financial advice.

Here are the best places in the world to do business

"Singapore will remain the best geography in the world to do business, as it has for the past 16 years," according to the EIU's business environment ranking.
Source: Here are the best places in the world to do business