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Jan 23 2021

Bitcoin in jeopardy, Ether briefly breaks records, Biden takes action: Hodler’s Digest, Jan. 17–23

Coming every Saturday, Hodler’s Digest will help you track every single important news story that happened this week. The best (and worst) quotes, adoption and regulation highlights, leading coins, predictions and much more — a week on Cointelegraph in one link.

Top Stories This Week

Three reasons Bitcoin tumbled below $30,000 in a surprise overnight correction

Intensifying sell pressure saw Bitcoin briefly plummet below $29,000 for the first time since Jan. 5. The fall from $37,000, which happened within 48 hours, resulted in the biggest daily candle ever.

There have been some signs of institutional investors taking profit, as bulls attempt to cement $32,000 as a new support level. Analysts at QCP Capital are seeing signs of “institutional exhaustion,” and they warned the rally could be in danger if appetite for BTC slows down.

Of course, some institutions are indefatigable… with MicroStrategy “buying the dip” and snapping up 314 BTC at an average cost of $31,808 — a total spend of $10 million.

Bitcoin has lost 14% of its value over the past seven days. But over this period, many major altcoins haven’t been suffering sell-offs to the same extent. Ether is down just 2.6% on the week, Polkadot is actually up 1.5%, and XRP has fallen by 5.6%.

BTC/USD is in a corrective phase since the rally became overextended above $40,000. The question now is when this will end. If the $30,000 area doesn’t hold, a further drop to $24,000 becomes likely — resulting in a retrace of 40% since recent highs.

Guggenheim CIO expects Bitcoin to drop to $20,000

Just a month ago, Guggenheim’s Scott Minerd was anticipating that $400,000 was in sight for Bitcoin. How times have changed.

Speaking to CNBC, Guggenheim’s chief investment officer argued that BTC is now poised to drop to $20,000 — and Bitcoin is unlikely to climb any higher than $42,000 until 2022.

He said: “I think for the time being, we probably put in the top for Bitcoin for the next year or so.”

ETH finally beats its 2018 all-time high, surpassing $1,428

It’s been a long time coming. This week, ETH finally reached new all-time highs against the dollar — surpassing $1,428 on Bitstamp. Unfortunately, the major altcoin didn’t spend much time in uncharted territory — falling as low as $1,050 in the days that followed.

Are Ether bulls now in trouble? Well, the large drop after the ATH has been linked to how the Ether futures market was extremely overheated, with open interest on ETH hitting a record high of $1.8 billion.

At one point, Vitalik Buterin’s main wallet saw the ETH in his wallet amount to over $470 million. That’s a stark contrast to Jan. 2020, when his ETH fortune stood at just $58 million.

Strategists at Fundstrat Global Advisors believe that 2021 could be a year to remember for ETH. According to its researchers, the second-largest cryptocurrency could climb more than sevenfold to $10,500.

President Biden freezes FinCEN’s proposed crypto wallet regulations

Joe Biden wasted little time in getting to work following his inauguration on Jan. 20. One of the first actions the new president took on his first day in office was to freeze the federal regulatory process — and this is good news for the crypto community.

The freeze means that the controversial regulations surrounding self-hosted crypto wallets, proposed by former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, are now on ice for 60 days.

Compound Finance’s general counsel Jake Chervinsky lauded the move, declaring: “We fought hard & earned the right to take a breath & reset. Janet Yellen isn’t Steve Mnuchin. I’m optimistic.”

It’s fair to say that Yellen isn’t wild about Bitcoin, though. During her confirmation hearing with the Senate Finance Committee, she stated that cryptocurrencies are being used “mainly for illicit financing” — and that she wanted to “curtail” their use. She later clarified that she only wanted to clamp down on cryptocurrencies being used illegally.

The former chair of the Federal Reserve is now one step closer to earning the nomination after the Senate Finance Committee voted unanimously in her favor, paving the way for a full Senate vote.

Ripple pins hopes on Biden administration as co-founder sells 28.6 million XRP

As it readies itself to face a lawsuit from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, filed under Donald Trump’s administration, Ripple is hoping that Biden’s time in office will bring favorable changes in regulations.

Executives at the embattled company have predicted that Biden’s team will most likely “bring a renewed focus on regulation and enforcement in the crypto space.” The post said that fintech and blockchain players have been left “in a state of limbo” by the lack of a clear framework — and warned countries like the U.K. and Japan are “miles ahead.”

Ripple’s general counsel Stu Alderoty wrote: “Intelligent, well thought-out regulations communicated effectively and uniformly applied can help level the playing field and unleash innovation and further mainstream adoption here in the U.S.”

When Gary Gensler’s appointment as SEC chair was announced, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse tweeted: “Congrats to Gary Gensler! We’re ready to work with SEC leadership and the broader Biden administration to chart a path forward for blockchain and crypto innovation in the US.”

Is $1 billion a day in volume the “new normal” for Uniswap?

Uniswap is nearing an average of $1 billion a day in trading volumes during January.

It’s already surpassed the previous monthly trade volume record of $15.3 billion set in September during the DeFi boom.

Uniswap traders are spoiled for choice with 1,558 coins traded in more than 2,400 pairs, however, the majority tend to favor less risky trades. 

On one day this week, ETH pairings with stablecoins USD Coin, Tether and Dai made up 45% of the $1.1 billion traded.

Uniswap strategy lead Matteo Leibowitz has already declared that $1 billion volume a day is the new normal.

Winners and Losers

At the end of the week, Bitcoin is at $32,300.43, Ether at $1,250.90 and XRP at $0.27. The total market cap is at $944,648,313,957.

Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are Enjin Coin, Curve DAO Token and Decentraland. The top three altcoin losers of the week are IOST, Zcash and Dash.

For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraph’s market analysis. 

Most Memorable Quotations

“I think for the time being, we probably put in the top for Bitcoin for the next year or so. And we’re likely to see a full retracement back toward the 20,000 level.”

Scott Minerd, Guggenheim CIO

“Only by widening the playing field and facilitating more participation will crypto reach and maintain a market cap of $2 trillion and beyond.”

Aite Group

“Ethereum will continue to see demand outstrip supply as global adoption continues.”

Danny Ryan, Ethereum Foundation researcher

“We fought hard & earned the right to take a breath & reset. Janet Yellen isn’t Steve Mnuchin. I’m optimistic.”

Jake Chervinsky, Compound Finance general counsel

“We’ve obviously seen the price of Bitcoin rise quite a bit; we’ve seen a lot of activity in the DeFi space, and I think all of these things will provide a nice framework against which a new chairman can take a fresh look at questions across the board in the crypto space.”

“Crypto Mom” Hester Peirce, SEC commissioner

“I’m honestly loving how well $ETH is holding up in this climate.”

Neko, cryptocurrency trader

“There is an increasing amount of trader doubt that #Bitcoin will revisit $40,000. But according to address activity and trade volume, the long-term trend still looks plenty healthy. Keep a close eye on whether $BTC’s usage rate stays propped up.”

Santiment

“Congrats to Gary Gensler! We’re ready to work with SEC leadership and the broader Biden administration to chart a path forward for blockchain and crypto innovation in the U.S.”

Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple CEO

“Bitcoin is the best cryptocurrency suited for store of value. In terms of what the Bitcoin blockchain can currently handle from a latency and throughput point of view, Bitcoin is very strong.”

Konstantin Richter, Blockdaemon founder and CEO

“Grayscale were buying $251 million of #Bitcoin on avg per week in Q4 2020. Last week they did $700 million in one day… And today $590 million… Pay attention.”

Danny Scott, CoinCorner CEO

“The flow into the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust would likely need to sustain its US$100 million per day pace over the coming days and weeks for such a breakout to occur.”

JPMorgan

Prediction of the Week

Hedge fund predicts $115,000 Bitcoin price and the fall of “speculative” altcoins

New data from Pantera Capital this week suggested that Bitcoin’s current price action is closely following the stock-to-flow model’s trajectory.

The firm’s analysts believe BTC will have reached $115,212 by Aug. 1 and that its price will gain an average of more than $10,000 a month, hitting six figures in the early summer.

Pantera believes that a significant difference between this rally and 2017 is linked to the overall market composition and where value is located — with altcoins losing out.

Andy Yee, a public policy director for Visa in China, tweeted: “This rally is different. Massive shift from high-speculative, non-functioning tokens in 2017 to #Bitcoin and #Ethereum today.”

FUD of the Week 

More institutions will warm up to crypto once market cap hits $2 trillion, eToro says

Barriers are still hindering institutional adoption of crypto, a new report commissioned by eToro suggests.

Researchers at Aite Group said the crypto market could reach a $2-trillion market cap if more institutional players were to get on board amid more favorable conditions. These firms would be more likely to adopt crypto if there was less regulatory uncertainty, a developed market infrastructure, and less risk surrounding security.

Tomer Niv, head of business development at eToro, said: “Only by widening the playing field and facilitating more participation will crypto reach and maintain a market cap of $2 trillion and beyond.”

The report also warned that “technical complexity” is an issue that needs to be addressed, with Niv adding: “More needs to be done from a market infrastructure point of view to make this group of investors feel comfortable joining the crypto ecosystem.”

83% of cryptocurrencies that peaked in 2018 are still down by 90%

More than 80% of crypto assets that hit all-time highs in January 2018 are still down by at least 90%, according to data from Messari.

The data set included 410 assets that posted record prices during 2017 or later, with 2018’s 157 star coins performing the worst with an average of -90.71% since the previous ATH. 

2017’s top cryptos have since crashed by 82% on average, while 2019’s crop is down 72%, and 2020’s standouts have shed 53%.

CMT Digital analyst Matt Casto, who spotted the data, tweeted: “Holding assets that hit high marks +3 years ago is proving to be a massive lost opportunity cost for deploying capital.”

Armed robbers steal $450,000 from Hong Kong crypto trader

A manhunt is underway after robbers posing as crypto buyers stole $450,000 from a woman in Hong Kong.

One member of the gang completed multiple transactions with the victim to win their trust, and an investigation has uncovered there were three previous deals ranging between $77,000 and $90,000.

On the day of the robbery, the other members of the gang rushed to the scene as soon as their colleague received the Tether tokens in exchange for the $450,000 payment.

Armed with knives, they proceeded to lock the woman in the office where the deal took place but not before snatching her iPhone and the cash.

According to The South China Morning Post, the woman was able to use her second phone to inform her husband, who contacted the police. Detectives said that the woman’s uncle, who chaperoned her to the meeting place, reportedly saw four men fleeing the scene.

Luckily, the woman was unhurt in the attack, unlike other victims who have suffered physical injuries and even death at the hands of bandits looking to steal cryptocurrencies.

Best Cointelegraph Features

Believing, not seeing: Institutions still predict $100,000 Bitcoin price

Even though Bitcoin has struggled to reclaim its recent high of $42,000, Shiraz Jagati says projections of BTC reaching $100,000 still seem achievable to some.

Access denied: Banks seem prone to cryptophobia despite growing adoption

Banks in many countries continue to either outrightly deny or limit their services to crypto exchanges.

Bitcoin as a last resort? Murmurs of crypto as a reserve currency abound

Could Bitcoin fulfill the key functions of a reserve currency? Andrew Singer talks to experts as he aims to find out whether BTC can find a new and unexpected role for itself.

Bitcoin in jeopardy, Ether briefly breaks records, Biden takes action: Hodler’s Digest, Jan. 17–23

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Written by bizbuildermike · Categorized: cryptocurrency · Tagged: 2017, 2020, 2021, Adoption, altcoin, altcoins, analyst, Analysts, appointment, Banks, Biden, bitcoin, Bitcoin Price, bitstamp, blockchain, Brad Garlinghouse, btc, business, Cash, ceo, china, Co-founder, Community, company, crypto, Crypto Wallets, cryptocurrencies, cryptocurrency, Currency, DAI, dao, data, deals, defi, digital, Dollar, enforcement, ETH, ether, ethereum, eToro, exchange, Exchanges, Federal Reserve, finance, fintech, founder, fund, Global, Grayscale, highlights, Hodler's, Hodler's Digest, Hong Kong, Infrastructure, innovation, institutional investors, investment, iPhone, japan, lawsuit, market, Microstrategy, Mnuchin, more, news, other, pantera capital, payment, police, Polkadot, president, Regulation, report, ripple, risk, said, SEC, securities, Securities and Exchange Commission, security, Space, stablecoins, step, steve mnuchin, story, Strategy, tether, The Fall, token, tokens, trade, trading, Transactions, u.s., uniswap, us, USD Coin, view, visa, wallet, Wallets, work, xrp

Jan 22 2021

VanEck Launches New Bid for Crypto ETF

VanEck, a top investment management firm, has been fighting to get the first crack at a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) for years now. With a new set of hands helming the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the firm is giving its pursuit another try.

Switching Things Up

Earlier this week, the New York-based investment firm filed for a new Bitcoin ETF with the SEC. Dubbed the Digital Assets ETF, the financial product is designed to monitor the performance of the Global Digital Assets Equity Index.

Launched in 2018 by VanEck’s subsidiary MV Index Solutions, the Digital Assets Equity Index gets equities prices from three over-the-counter (OTC) trading desks – Cumberland, Genesis Trading, and Circle Trade. 

It provides a reliable pricing index for institutional investment tools like ETFs while also allowing investors to execute institutional size trades more transparently.

Speaking about its new product, VanEck explained that the Digital Assets ETF would invest at least 80 percent of its assets in securities that make up its benchmark index. The index itself tracks digital asset companies’ performances – firms that operate crypto exchanges, payment gateways, mining operations, technology services, and more to the crypto industry and others.

Prospective companies would need to get at least half of their revenues from digital asset projects, or projects that could potentially generate such revenues. VanEck’s filing added:  

“Companies with less than 50% of their revenues from the global digital assets segment, including semiconductor and online money transfer companies, may be added to the Index to reach a minimum component number.”

A Lingering Lawsuit

The new ETF attempt will be the latest in a long line of trials from VanEck. Many of its previous attempts were either blocked by the SEC or withdrawn due to frustration with the agency. However, the SEC is undergoing a shakeup, with former Chairman Jay Clayton vacating his position at the turn of the year and reports of a pro-crypto candidate set to replace him.  

Now, the investment management firm appears to fancy its chances at another go. Still, this trial isn’t without its controversies.

Weeks back, SolidX Partners, a software development firm with ties to VanEck, sued the company for violating their partnership in a recent ETF filing. VanEck and SolidX had partnered to apply for the VanEck SolidX Bitcoin Trust, a Bitcoin ETF, back in 2018 after the former’s initial failures. Still, their efforts didn’t mean much as the SEC remained a sound barrier between them and their aspirations.

The partners eventually aerated in August 2020, and VanEck immediately announced that it would file a new ETF – presumably, the Digital Assets ETF – on the last day of the year.

In its suit, SolidX Partners alleged that VanEck had taken parts of its work in ETFs and repackaged them into its filing. The software development firm added that VanEck worked on its ETF while the two were still partners. It added that the latter’s ETF filing structure was similar to that of the VanEck SolidX Bitcoin Trust, and that VanEck’s actions can easily be seen as plagiarism.

VanEck Launches New Bid for Crypto ETF

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Written by bizbuildermike · Categorized: cryptocurrency · Tagged: 2020, bitcoin, circle, company, crypto, digital, digital asset, digital assets, ETF, exchange, Exchanges, fund, Global, Go, index, investment, Investment Management, Jay Clayton, LINE, mining, money, more, partnership, payment, product, SEC, securities, Securities and Exchange Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Software, SolidX, Technology, trade, trading, VanEck, work

Jan 20 2021

Indiegogo’s New Partnership with Japanese Pre-Order and Support Platform Makuake

Today we’re excited to announce a new partnership with Makuake, the leading pre-order and support platform in Japan, to empower entrepreneurs and consumers worldwide to unite around unique product ideas and, together, bring them to life.

Through this partnership, Makuake and Indiegogo will be combining resources, expertise, and a global network of communities to connect forward-thinking entrepreneurs in Japan with enthusiasts who power their innovation. The partnership will also allow successful campaigners on Indiegogo to find new audiences in Japan.

As the biggest pre-order and support platform in Japan, Makuake has an extensive track-record of supporting Japanese creators in developing and launching their products. We’ve done the same on the global stage over the last 12 years, having helped over 900,000 entrepreneurs successfully raise a total of more than $2 billion in funds directly from customers. Now our two platforms will join forces, bridging the gap between previously disparate crowdfunding markets. 

This announcement comes hot on the heels of a series of Japan-oriented developments to the Indiegogo platform — including an expansion of the Indiegogo Global Fast Track Program into the Japanese market, which aims to help Japan’s top innovators build international brands faster; a partnership with the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) to give Japanese entrepreneurs additional support for launching successful crowdfunding campaigns; and a new option for entrepreneurs to receive their funding directly in Japanese yen when their campaign ends.

These improvements, along with our latest partnership with Makuake, will grant consumers access to products that were previously out of their reach and give entrepreneurs in Japan a seamless way to raise funds for their products from backers around the world.

“Millions of people around the world visit Indiegogo to find clever and unconventional things that solve everyday problems large and small,” says Andy Yang, CEO of Indiegogo. “We are very excited to partner with Makuake, who share a very similar mission with us, so that together we can unite the world through bright ideas, all while providing the best opportunities for our creators and entrepreneurs to reach their goals.” 

“Our mission is to connect the world through the creation of new things,” says Makuake CEO Ryotaro Nakayama. “This partnership between Makuake and Indiegogo lays the groundwork for Japanese makers and creators to spread their innovative products and passion throughout the global market. In addition, Japanese consumers will be able to discover more global innovative products in Makuake.”

Want to learn more? Find additional information in the Indiegogo Japanese Crowdfunding Field Guide. 

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Written by bizbuildermike · Categorized: Crowdfunding · Tagged: brands, ceo, Crowdfunding, Entrepreneurs, funding, Global, html, ideas, IGG, information, innovation, international, japan, market, markets, more, partnership, platforms, product, Products, trade, us, world

Jan 20 2021

Price analysis 1/20: BTC, ETH, DOT, XRP, ADA, LTC, BCH, LINK, XLM, BNB

When an asset is in an overbought condition and traders are sitting on large profits, even minor negative news and events could trigger profit-booking. This seems to have happened following Janet Yellen’s adverse comments on cryptocurrencies during a virtual hearing with the U.S. Senate Finance Committee.

In the same meeting, Yellen also told Congress to “act big” in order to support the U.S. economy. Another round of stimulus would probably further weaken the U.S. dollar and drive investors into assets that are considered as a store of value. This means Yellen’s comments may have inadvertently boosted the sentiment surrounding gold and Bitcoin (BTC).

Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360

As the fundamental factors supporting the current bull run are still intact, the institutional investors who had missed out on the rally at lower levels may use the current dip to build positions.

Glassnode data shows that large investors have been aggressively adding Bitcoin to their portfolios and the number of wallets holding over 1,000 Bitcoin has risen to a new all-time high. Since the start of 2021, 164 new wallets with over 1,000 Bitcoin have been created, indicating that whales are bullish despite the current BTC price correction.

Let’s study the charts of the top-10 cryptocurrencies to spot the critical support levels where buyers may start cherry-picking.

BTC/USD

Bitcoin has broken below the symmetrical triangle pattern but the bulls are currently attempting to defend the 20-day exponential moving average ($34,626). In an uptrend, traders buy the dip to the 20-day EMA as it offers a low-risk entry opportunity and a bounce off it reiterates the strength in the trend.

BTC/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView

The 20-day EMA is flattening out and the relative strength index (RSI) has gradually dropped from the deeply overbought territory to the midpoint, which suggests a balance between supply and demand.

If the BTC/USD pair sustains below the 20-day EMA, it could drop to the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level at $29,688.10. The bulls are likely to defend this support aggressively. If they succeed, this level may act as the support of the range while $40,000 could act as the resistance.

The positive view could be negated if the bears sink the price below the 50-day simple moving average ($27,596). Such a move could open the possibility of a fall to the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level at $22,106.73.

ETH/USD

Ether (ETH) rallied to a new all-time high on Jan. 19, indicating that the bulls are in command. The upsloping moving averages and the RSI near the overbought territory suggest the path of least resistance is to the upside.

ETH/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView

Usually, after every breakout from a resistance, the price returns to retest the level. The same has happened in the ETH/USD pair where the bulls are trying to flip $1,300 into support. If they succeed, this level will act as a new floor.

The long tail on today’s candlestick suggests traders are buying on dips below $1,300. If they manage to close the price above $1,300, the pair may attempt to resume the uptrend. If the bulls push the price above $1,438.318, the pair could rally to $1,675.

Contrary to this assumption, if the pair sinks and sustains below $1,300, the next drop is likely to be the 20-day EMA ($1,129). A bounce off this support will suggest the sentiment remains bullish, but if the bears sink the pair below the 20-day EMA a short-term top may be in place.

DOT/USD

After the sharp rally of the past few days, Polkadot (DOT) has entered a minor correction. The altcoin had today dipped to the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level at $14.7259, which is acting as a strong support.

DOT/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView

The long tail on today’s candlestick shows that traders are not waiting for a deeper correction to buy as they anticipate higher levels in the future. If the bulls can push the price above $19.40, the uptrend could resume with the next target objective at $24 and then $30.

Contrary to this assumption, if the bears sink the price below $14.7259, the selling may intensify and the pair could drop to the 50% retracement level at $13.2821 and then to the 20-day EMA ($12.32).

If the pair rebounds off the 20-day EMA, it will suggest the uptrend remains intact but if this support cracks, the decline could extend to $11.8383. The deeper the correction, the longer it is likely to take for the uptrend to resume.

XRP/USD

XRP rose above the 20-day EMA ($0.297) on Jan. 19 but the bulls could not sustain the higher levels, indicating traders are offloading their positions on every minor attempt to rally.

XRP/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView

The price action of the past few days has formed a descending triangle pattern. If the bears sink the price below the $0.25 support, the XRP/USD pair could drop to the critical support at $0.169. A break below this level could resume the downtrend with the next target objective at $0.10.

On the other hand, if the bulls defend the $0.25 support and push the price above the downtrend line, the pair may rise to $0.385 and stay range-bound between these two levels for a few more days. A new uptrend could begin on a breakout and close above $0.385.

ADA/USD

Cardano (ADA) has pulled back from the stiff overhead resistance at $0.40, which shows short-term traders may be booking profits. The shallow correction and the long tail on the day’s candlestick show the bulls are attempting to flip the previous resistance at $0.34 into support.

ADA/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView

If they succeed, the bulls will make one more attempt to thrust the ADA/USD pair above the $0.40 resistance and resume the uptrend. If they manage to do that, the next stop could be the psychological resistance at $0.50.

The upsloping moving averages suggest the trend remains in favor of the bulls but the negative divergence on the RSI indicates the momentum may be weakening. If the price sustains below $0.34, a drop to the 20-day EMA ($0.30) is likely.

A strong rebound off this support will indicate the uptrend remains intact but a break below it will suggest the possibility of a deeper correction to $0.26.

LTC/USD

The bulls pushed Litecoin (LTC) above the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level at $157.6904 on Jan. 19 but could not sustain the higher levels due to the bear onslaught, as seen from the long wick on the day’s candlestick.

LTC/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView

If the bears can sustain the price below the 20-day EMA ($145), the LTC/USD pair could drop to $130 and then to $120. This is an important support to watch out for because a break below it could signal the bears are back in the game.

The flat 20-day EMA and the RSI close to the midpoint suggests a balance between supply and demand. This could keep the pair range-bound between $130 and $160. On the upside, a breakout and close above $160 may resume the uptrend.

BCH/USD

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) broke above the $539 resistance on Jan. 19, but the long wick on the day’s candlestick suggests the bears had other plans as they sold aggressively, trapping the bulls who may have purchased the breakout.

BCH/USD daily chart. Source: TradingView

The BCH/USD pair dipped to the uptrend line but the long tail on today’s candlestick suggests the bulls aggressively defended this support. If the bulls can push the price above $539, a rally to $630 is possible.

On the contrary, if the pair breaks below the uptrend line, it will suggest the bears have overpowered the bulls. This will signal a possible trend change and the pair could then drop to the next critical support at $370.

LINK/USD

Chainlink (LINK) is currently correcting the sharp up-move of the past few days. Aggressive profit-booking by traders had pulled the price below $20.1111, but the long tail on today’s candlestick suggests strong buying at lower levels.

LINK/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView

Both upsloping moving averages and the RSI in the positive zone suggest bulls have the upper hand. If the LINK/USD pair rebounds off the current levels, the bulls will try to push the price above $23.767 and resume the uptrend. The next level to watch on the upside is $27 and then $30.

Contrary to this assumption, if the bears sustain the price below $20.1111, the pair may drop to $17.7777, which is just above the 20-day EMA ($17.58). If the pair rebounds off this level and rises above $20.1111, the bulls will try to resume the uptrend.

This positive view will invalidate if the selling breaks the 20-day EMA support. Such a move will indicate the bulls are not buying the dips anymore, signaling a change in sentiment.

XLM/USD

Stellar Lumens (XLM) continues to trade inside the $0.26 to $0.325 range. The bulls tried to push the price above the range on Jan. 19 but failed, which shows the bears are active at higher levels.

XLM/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView

The sellers will now try to sink the XLM/USD pair below the support of the range, but they are likely to encounter strong buying from the bulls. The upsloping moving averages and the RSI in the positive zone suggest the bulls are unlikely to give up easily.

A strong rebound off the 20-day EMA ($0.263) could extend the consolidation by a few more days. Contrary to this assumption, if the bears sink the price below the $0.26 support, the selling could intensify and that may pull the pair down to the 50-day SMA ($0.201).

BNB/USD

Binance Coin (BNB) tried to resume the uptrend on Jan. 18 and 19 but the bulls could not sustain the higher levels. Aggressive profit-booking on Jan. 19 started a correction that has reached the 20-day EMA ($40.99).

BNB/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView

If the bears can sink and sustain the price below the 20-day EMA, the BNB/USD pair may drop to the support line of the ascending broadening wedge pattern. The bulls will attempt to defend this support and if they succeed, the pair may extend its stay inside the pattern.

Conversely, if the bears sink the price below the support line, it will complete the bearish setup, which has a target objective at $26.7273. But the pair is unlikely to plunge to the target level in a hurry because the bulls could offer strong support at $35.69.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph. Every investment and trading move involves risk. You should conduct your own research when making a decision.

Market data is provided by HitBTC exchange.

Price analysis 1/20: BTC, ETH, DOT, XRP, ADA, LTC, BCH, LINK, XLM, BNB

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Written by bizbuildermike · Categorized: cryptocurrency · Tagged: 2021, ada, altcoin, altcoins, analysis, author, BCH, binance coin, bitcoin, bitcoin-cash, bnb, btc, btc price, BTC/USD, cardano, Cash, Chainlink, Congress, cryptocurrencies, cryptocurrency, data, Dollar, economy, ETH, ethereum, events, exchange, finance, Future, game, gold, index, institutional investors, investment, LINE, Litecoin, LTC, LTC/USD, market, markets, more, news, opinions, other, Polkadot, Price Analysis, research, returns, ripple, risk, stellar, Study, target, trade, trading, u.s., upside, view, Wallets, watch out, xlm, xrp, XRP/USD

Jan 20 2021

Elaborate Scam App Impersonates Leading Asian Bank; Victims Duped into ‘Investing’

Elaborate Scam App Impersonates Leading Asian Bank; Victims Duped into ‘Investing’Elaborate Scam App Impersonates Leading Asian Bank; Victims Duped into ‘Investing’

Zimperium, in collaboration with a leading Asian bank, have uncovered the early stages of a coordinated effort by scammers to defraud existing and new bank customers. In this blog, we will:

  • Alert the general public about the scam before it gains traction; 
  • Outline the entire scam around the fake bank app; and
  • Show how it is also targeting other financial services, including another bank.

The campaign coincided with the bank’s announcement about its development of a digital exchange, enabling institutional investors and accredited investors to tap into a fully integrated tokenization, trading, and custody ecosystem for digital assets. 

Thus far, dozens have downloaded the app and have lost an average of $1,500 each. The app – first seen on VirusTotal on December 22, 2020 – has still not been identified as malware or scamware by any anti-virus companies. 

The campaign remains active and is, in fact, growing:

  • It appears to be downloadable via third party sites and/or phishing links;
  • The command and control servers are still operational;
  • The elaborate scam itself features, among other aspects, active customer support; and 
  • We’ve learned of a similar campaign targeting a second bank. We are reaching out to that bank directly, before revealing the name.  

Downloading the app

Once the app is downloaded from a third party store or phishing link and is opened, the victim is presented with the following login page:

Figures 1, 2: Fake login and registration page along with the “password retrieval” option

As part of the registration process, users are asked to provide an email address, account number, “rganization code” (note the typo appears in the app itself) and other details. 

In an attempt to appear legitimate, registration generates an automated email containing a verification code trying to impersonate a legitimate email from the bank (including using the bank’s name in the email address). We received verification codes when we registered with legitimate and fake information.  

Figure 3: Fake email for registration with verification code. (Note: “If not my operation”)

The entire communication takes place with a server that does not belong to the impersonated institution. Instead, the user has unknowingly shared personal and financial information with the attackers. 

Figure 4: The communication with C&C when trying to login with credentials

App experience

Once logged in, the application presents the victim with a seemingly legit cryptocurrency trading platform using the brand value of the impersonated organization as a lure. It looks more convincing with the dynamically changing prices.

Figures 5, 6: The Home and Trade pages that make use of information from Figure 8

Figure 7: The continuous pings to get the updated prices as seen in Figure 7

Customer support

Moreover, the presence of a customer support option provides the victim with additional confidence of being able to contact the financial institution (the scammers) with any questions or issues.

When we attempted this, we received the following:

Figures 8, 9: The customer support chat box presents the offer image and convincing text

Figure 10: Scam poster encouraging victims to “invest”

Customer support would be the first choice for the victim to complain about discrepancies, but the scammers cleverly set it up in such a way that it convinces the victim to “Recharge” and invest to reap (non-existent) benefits.

Making use of legitimate platforms that offer services to communicate with customers through customer support, the scammers offer “Customer Service Solutions” as seen below with this command and control’s response:

Figure 11: The URL for customer support as received from the C&C server

If the upward trend makes the victim interested in investing, the scammers have set up a “Funds Management” page allowing for the continued exploitation of the victim as seen below:

Figures 12, 13: The option to recharge and add funds to the account

The Recharge option mentioned above is the first go-to for a new victim to begin investing through the platform. 

The two investment options offered are “Online Pay” and “USDT,” where the victims were asked to chat with the customer support and pay online or transfer the funds to a provided BTC or ETH wallet and attach proof of the transaction.

Figures 14, 15, 16: The recharge options- Online Pay, BTC, ETH with “Important Notice”

Figures 17, 18: The BTC and ETH wallet’s transactions

What can you do?

It’s clear this campaign is just beginning and – as we mentioned – targeting a different bank already. Here’s what you can do:

From a consumer perspective, never download apps from third-party sites; rely solely on the App Store and Google Play. Be leery of apps that may have grammatical or other errors  – like “rganization code” which appeared in the app itself.  

From an enterprise perspective, Zimperium is the global leader in mobile device and app security, offering the only real-time, on-device, machine learning-based protection against Android, iOS and Chromebooks threats. We detect this attack and others like it. 

Please contact us to learn more. 

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Elaborate Scam App Impersonates Leading Asian Bank; Victims Duped into ‘Investing’

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Written by bizbuildermike · Categorized: Mobile Security · Tagged: 2020, android, App Security, App Store, Apps, banking apps, blog, btc, chat, Chromebooks, cryptocurrency, custody, digital, digital assets, email, Enterprise, ETH, exchange, financial services, gains, Global, Google, information, institutional investors, Investing, investment, iOS, malware, Mobile, Mobile Security, more, note, other, perspective, Phishing, platforms, research, scam, scamware, security, tokenization, Traction, trade, trading, transaction, verification, wallet, ZIMPERIUM, zLabs

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