Monero succumbed to yet another support level as the price moved below $134.4. Aave retraced from record levels, but the market still belonged to the bulls and the price could surge to fresher highs over the next few trading sessions. Finally, ENJ showed signs of a bearish pullback and a southbound move could see the price test the $0.375-support level.

Monero [XMR]

Source: XMR/USD, TradingView

After dropping below the $152.7-mark, Monero fell below several support levels and was unable to revisit the levels seen in mid-January. A look at its 4-hour chart showed a bear market for XMR as the price traded below the 200-SMA (green). The bearishness also had a negative result on the price as XMR found itself among the top losers for the month. At the time of writing, the price had slipped below yet another support level at $134.4 and was heading towards the next line of defense at $128.8.

The MACD’s bearish crossover suggested that sellers could control the price moving forward.

The Relative Strength Index headed lower towards the oversold zone, underlining the weakness in price.

Aave [AAVE]

Source: AAVE/USD, TradingView

Aave seemed to cool off from its all-time high as buying activity and trading volumes dipped slightly over the last 24 hours. However, momentum was still strong on the bullish side and an extended rally could see AAVE hit fresher highs over the next few sessions. On the other hand, a fall below the $244.9-support could indicate a reversal and a shift in momentum towards the bears.

The Awesome Oscillator showed that momentum remained strong on the bullish side.

Although the On Balance Volume moved slightly lower over the last few sessions, it still presented a healthy number of buyers in the market.

Enjin [ENJ]

Source: ENJ/USD, TradingView

Despite Enjin falling by over 13% from its all-time high, the gaming token’s price soared by 184.5% in the last 30 days. The uptrend can also be seen on the charts as ENJ snapped higher highs and higher lows. While the bulls were in control of the market, some selling pressure was witnessed over the past couple of days as the price traded close to the $0.402-support. A deeper correction could see ENJ fall below its press time support level and move towards the next barrier at $0.375.

Although the Stochastic RSI traded in the oversold zone and seemed primed for a reversal, a bearish crossover meant that the index could linger in the area before changing direction.

The Parabolic SAR’s dotted markers were above the candlesticks, a sign that ENJ was bearish over the last few days.

Enjin coin made the news recently after it was granted legal status by the Japan Virtual Currency Exchange Association – Japan’s crypto-regulator. The platform also announced a listing on Coincheck, a Japanese exchange platform.

Source: https://ambcrypto.com/monero-aave-enjin-price-analysis-27-january/

United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged a cryptocurrency trader for allegedly being involved in a ponzi scheme defrauding more than $5 million from over 170 investors. The accused, Jeremy Spence, who goes by the name “Coin Signals,” was charged in Manhattan Federal Court for “soliciting funds” for various crypto funds that he operated. 

Federal authorities claimed that Spence operated a Ponzi scheme and that his offenses include “commodities fraud and wire fraud.” According to SEC, investors transferred Bitcoin and Ethereum to Spence, so that he could invest the assets on their behalf.  

Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) Assistant Director-in-Charge William Sweeney Jr claimed that Spence enticed investors by giving them false information about the “success of his investment platform.” The trader allegedly used money from new investors to pay off others in order “to keep his plan moving” which the FBI Director said was “a  typical marker of a Ponzi scheme.”

The official complaint read:

Spence solicited investments for several Funds, the largest and most active of which were the Coin Signals Bitmex Fund, a/k/a the “CS Mex Fund,” the Coin Signals Alternative Fund, a/k/a the “CS Alt Fund,” and the Coin Signals Long Term Fund. 

Manhattan US Attorney Audrey Strauss alleged that Jeremy Spence lured investors to his crypto “investment scam” by promising returns of up to 148%.  The Attorney further said:  

Spence’s investments not only failed to reach his audacious claims, they consistently lost money, leaving a $5 million void in his clients’ crypto accounts.

According to the Commission, Spence was arrested this morning in Rhode Island. He could face nearly 30 years in prison if authorities convict him on all charges. 

Source: https://ambcrypto.com/us-sec-charges-crypto-trader-coin-signals-in-5-million-fraud-case/

Anthony Scaramucci, former White House Communications Director, and founder of SkyBridge hedge fund made bullish statements about Bitcoin and called it “a good long-term investment.”

While predicting upcoming volatility and correction, Scaramucci believed the digital asset would only increase in price.

Alongside SkyBridge Partner and the Chief Operating Officer, Brett Messing, Scaramucci claimed that the asset declined in risk and was as safe as owning bonds and gold. The duo argued: 

Increased regulations, improved infrastructure and access to financial institutions — like Fidelity — that hold investors’ money have made bitcoin investments as safe as owning bonds and commodities like gold, which are also used to balance portfolios.

In short, bitcoin has matured — though it’s still in an early adoption phase — and now offers significant long-term value.

Recently, former senior chairman of Goldman Sachs, Lloyd Blankfein shared his opinion on how government regulations could get in Bitcoin’s way. The investment banker thinks that in such an event, perhaps investors could comply with new rules, but it would cost them their privacy, a key property that attracts investors to Bitcoin, in the first place. 

However, according to Scaramucci the value of the digital asset had strengthened because of increased regulation and scrutiny. In his latest opinion piece, Scaramucci said Bitcoin was a viable hedge against inflation for long-term investors.

Additionally, the exec believed that Bitcoin’s market capitalization was the strongest indicator of its value:

If we were to look at that through the prism of the S&P 500, it would make bitcoin a top 10 company in the world, having gone from zero to half a trillion in just 12 years. Only a few companies, like Facebook and Tesla, have grown that fast.

A month ago, Anthony Scaramucci planned to launch a new Bitcoin fund – named SkyBridge Bitcoin Fund L.P, which could seek “exposure to digital assets.”

Source: https://ambcrypto.com/bitcoin-has-become-a-good-long-term-investment-former-white-house-communications-director/

Grayscale’s dropping BTC premium is sounding alarm bells for investors and traders alike. Alarm bells isn’t an understatement, especially since the premium plummeted to 2% from about 30% back in December 2020. What does this mean? Well, the premium may have been the only motivation for institutions to invest in GBTC, and not Bitcoin.

This irrational motivation and market were explored by Peter Schiff during a recent talk. Drawing a parallel between Bitcoin and Gamestop, Schiff highlighted the red flags in Michael Saylor’s argument for buying Bitcoin using cash from the balance sheet of institutions. Saylor had underlined this move as a hedge against inflation. According to Schiff, however, if you buy Bitcoin under the flawed line of reasoning that its price will go up in the future, relying on future buyers to generate demand and buying is just as good as buying Gamestop. 

Source: YCharts

This fuels the question – What makes Bitcoin different this time around, and why buy now and not before?

The argument is that Bitcoin’s price rally is centered on institutional buying and the digital gold narrative. The key here is that institutional buying is an investment in GBTC, and institutions are buying GBTC for a premium. Once the premium drops, the demand is expected to drop, and the same is what has happened.

What does this entail? Well, the drop in demand suggests that there may be a pause, or worse, a stop in institutional buying of GBTC, and this also highlights the possibility of the siphoning off of Bitcoin demand. As expected, this may lead to a drop in price. The price drop will be followed by a further drop in demand, and the direction of investment flows would change to accommodate the next best opportunity – If not a premium, then a discount. 

Just as institutions lined up for Grayscale’s premium (That was the equivalent of free money to most as the profits from the appreciation in Bitcoin’s price were passed on to them), they may line up for discounts. Seeing that Grayscale has been the largest buyer, pooling institutional investor resources in GBTC, a drop in demand from Grayscale may be the final nail in the coffin for Bitcoin’s demand.

The price hasn’t experienced a free fall as of now, but it wouldn’t be wrong to say that there is a probability that there may be one in the future. A drop in premium may lead to a point where GBTC is discounted, and this could be the turning point for Bitcoin. The leftover demand may move towards GBTC, siphoning off further demand and the price of Bitcoin.

Simply put, GBTC that fed Bitcoin with demand and a price rally for all of retail and institutions, may turn against it, and with the changing tide, it might take demand and investment flows away from Bitcoin. Does this mean that GBTC will replace BTC altogether? That’s a tricky question to answer, but for institutions, Bitcoin may become synonymous with GBTC, instead of the other way round. 

Such a hypothesis posits an uncertain future for Bitcoin’s price and for institutions and retail traders buying Bitcoin at the press time price level. However, this may only be the beginning. If GBTC premiums drop further, a different story may unravel.

Source: https://ambcrypto.com/the-gbtc-story-how-grayscale-determines-bitcoins-price-future/