The crypto market has extended its bullish momentum despite recent tailwinds, Ethereum continues to lead in this recovery. The second crypto by market cap trades at $1,600 with a 35% profit in the past week.
Related Reading | Crypto Market On The Mend: ApeCoin And Curve DAO Show Gains
Trading firm QCP Capital shared a market update claiming the current bullish price action has been a “pleasant surprise for all”. This price action started on the back of the latest U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) print; a metric used to measure inflation.
The CPI stands at a 40-year high which was expected to have a negative impact on the crypto market. The opposite occurred, the trading firm claims, due to market participants expecting lower inflation in the coming months.
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This potential decline in inflation could give some room for risk asset to continue their rally and persuade the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) from ruling out a 100-basis point (bps) interest rate hike. The financial institution will announce its decision on July 27. QCP Capital said:
Currently, a 20% chance of 100bps is still being priced in but our view is that 75bps is the most the Fed will do. So expect another boost as 100 bps gets completely priced out.
Ethereum is leading the relief because there is more clarity around the upcoming “Merge”, an event set to combine this network’s execution layer with its consensus layer. Thus, consolidating Ethereum’s migration to a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus protocol.
“The Merge” has been tentatively scheduled for September which has contributed to the shift in the general sentiment across the crypto market and supported this rally. The bullish price action, QCP Capital said, has been “keenly felt in the options market”.
The sector saw a “rush” to purchase buy contracts (calls) for the September expiry. In other words, options traders are bullish on the potential impact that “The Merge” will have on Ethereum.
ETH’s price with minor gains on the 4-hour chart. Source: ETHUSDT Tradingview
Can Ethereum Extend Current Rally?
Conversely, the options markets hint at potential exhaustion for Ethereum in the short term. QCP Capital records an increase in calls selling for ETH’s price and believes insolvencies announcements from other companies could operate as tailwinds for the second crypto by market cap.
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Part of the contagion triggered by the default of crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC), which failed to honor billions in debts from their counterparties, many companies have been negatively impacted. This includes Celsius, BlockFi, Voyager, and Genesis.
These companies have had to halt their operations at some levels with new companies announcing that they have been affected by 3AC coming out almost every week. Yesterday, crypto exchange Zipmex suspended withdrawals, and there have been growing rumors about other companies taking similar measures.
Related Reading | Solana (SOL) To Hit $166 By 2025, Despite Current Bearish Conditions
QCP Capital said:
While the markets have been sanguine, it might not be completely free of the credit contagion yet. We have been adding to our downside skew position and we are keeping slightly long gamma and vega (longer term options).
Top 5 Crypto You Should Watch This Week, with many crypto altcoins producing price gains of two or more digits.
The recovery has sparked the excitement and belief that the bottom could be in for many crypto assets with the hope of a bull run in a short time. Let us discuss the top 5 crypto assets you should watch this week.
Disclaimer: The picks listed in this article should not be taken as investment advice. Always do your research and never invest more than what you can afford to lose.
Bitcoin (BTC) Price Analysis As A Top 5 Crypto
BTC Price Analysis On | Source: BTCUSDT On Tradingview.com
From the chart, the price of BTC has continued to show bullish strength after retesting the price of $25,200 and was rejected from that region.
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BTC is currently trading at $24,170 at the point of writing this article. The price of BTC is in a rising wedge; a breakout above the wedge could see the price of BTC going to the region of $27,000 – $28,500.
A breakout below this rising wedge could see the price of BTC retesting the support region of $21,400.
Price Analysis Of Ethereum (ETH) On The Daily (1D) Chart
ETH Daily Price Chart | Source On Tradingview.com
The price of Ethereum has outperformed BTC in the past few days after showing bullish strength to a region of $2,000.
ETH price was rejected from $2,000 with what seems to be a resistance for ETH price to trend higher.
The price of ETH is trading above the 50 Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at $1,886 at the point of writing.
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If the ETH price maintains its bullish structure, we could see the price breaking $2,000 to a region of $2,500, but If ETH gets rejected, the price of $1,622 corresponds to the 50 EMA, which would be good support for the ETH price.
Price Analysis Of Binance Coin (BNB) On The Daily (1D) Chart
BNB Daily Price Chart | Source On Tradingview.com
The price of BNB was rejected from its resistance of $327 and is currently trading at $316.
BNB has maintained its bullish structure despite the rejection. A break of about $327 could see the price of BNB retesting the region of $388.
If the price of BNB gets rejected, the price of $286 that corresponds to the 50 EMA will act as a support.
Price Analysis Of Sand Box (SAND) On The Daily (1D) Chart
SAND Daily Price Chart | Source On Tradingview.com
The price of SAND has continued to struggle above $1.3 support which corresponds to the 50 EMA; a break below this region could see the price of SAND retesting $1.18.
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If the price of SAND breaks above the resistance of $1.4, we could see the price trending higher to a region of $2.
STEPN (GMT) Price Analysis As A Top 5 Crypto
GMT Daily Price Chart | Source On Tradingview.com
GMT has formed a bullish wedge as prices continue to range and bullish strength ahead of a breakout. A breakout to the upside could see the price of GMT trending to a region of $1.5.
The trendline on the daily chart for GMT price acts as support.
Featured image from Cryptimi, Charts from TradingView.com
Bitcoin was trading lower to start the week, after the token briefly rose above $25,000 during Sunday’s session. As of writing, the global cryptocurrency market cap is currently trading 2.85% lower. Ethereum also dropped lower on Monday, with prices moving away from a recent high above $2,000.
Bitcoin
After a brief stint above $25,000 over the weekend, bitcoin (BTC) was trading in the red to start the new week.
On Sunday, BTC/USD hit an intraday high of $25,135.59, however the world’s largest token slipped to a bottom of $23,960.03 today.
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Sunday’s high was the most bitcoin has traded at since June 14, when prices of the token were over $26,700.
BTC/USD – Daily Chart
Looking at the chart, today’s decline in price comes after a resistance level of $24,800 was hit over the weekend, with bulls unable to sustain the uptrend required to push prices higher.
In addition to this, the 14-day relative strength index (RSI) is tracking at 56.44, which comes after failing to break out of a ceiling of 61.80.
This continues to be the main obstacle in the way of BTC rising back above $25,000 for a longer period of time.
Ethereum
In addition to BTC falling below $25,000, ethereum (ETH) also slipped to start the week, as the token dropped below $2,000.
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Over the weekend, prices of the world’s second-largest token by market capitalization moved above $2,000 for the first time since May.
However, on Monday, ETH/USD dropped to a low of $1,887.82, which was less than a day after trading at a high of $2,007.21.
ETH/USD – Daily Chart
This bearish turn in ethereum also comes as a result of the RSI being overbought, as it climbed above 71, which was its highest point since April 4.
As of writing, the index is tracking at 62, which comes as bearish sentiment swept through markets to start the week.
Prices will now be tested, with the index now close to a floor of 61, and should momentum move below this point, then we could see further declines.
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Can ethereum climb back above $2,000 this week? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
Eliman Dambell
Eliman brings a eclectic point of view to market analysis, having worked as a brokerage director, retail trading educator, and market commentator in Crypto, Stocks and FX.
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Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons
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Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.
Vaculug, a British company that brands itself as Europe’s largest independent tire retreader, will now accept cryptocurrencies for its products and services. Its management says the business must move with the times and offer customers more options than pounds and pence.
Vaculug to Take Major Coins, Offer Contracts in Cryptocurrency
U.K.-based tire retreading firm Vaculug has announced it will accept two leading cryptocurrencies, bitcoin (BTC) and ethereum (ETH) as a means of payment for tires and related services. The company claims it’s the first in the industry to do that.
In a press release, Vaculug also revealed it intends to sign fixed price contracts in ‘crypto per kilometer’ and ‘crypto per vehicle’ formats, if customers would like to fix or link them to the prices of the two supported cryptocurrencies.
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Blockchain is not the future but the now, says Vaculug’s IT manager Jason Humphries. “We believe that all companies will have to accept cryptocurrencies in the near future and we are proud to be the first retreader to do so,” he commented.
Humphries thinks the company, which he describes as customer-centric, must move with the times and offer clients “more options than just pounds and pence.” He also insists that crypto payments will lower transaction costs for both sides while providing more value to the buyer.
“We are proud to have partnered with Vaculug to develop the modules required for their industry leading VMS management system to be able to receive secure payments through the blockchain,” said Sam Dunross, the CEO of Dunross and Chan Ltd. which will process the crypto transactions. He added that its platform has been developed with cybersecurity firms from Israel to ensure it’s secure.
Despite the latest crypto market downturn, the number of businesses introducing bitcoin payments has continued to grow. For example, Swiss luxury watchmaker TAG Heuer announced earlier this year that it accepts a dozen coins in the U.S. through an integration with Bitpay. And a survey conducted by financial services firm Deloitte and payment processor Paypal showed that 85% of merchants consider enabling this payment method a high priority.
Do you expect increased adoption of crypto payments after this month’s relatively positive developments in the markets of major coins like bitcoin and ether? Tell us in the comments section.
Lubomir Tassev
Lubomir Tassev is a journalist from tech-savvy Eastern Europe who likes Hitchens’s quote: “Being a writer is what I am, rather than what I do.” Besides crypto, blockchain and fintech, international politics and economics are two other sources of inspiration.
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Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, celio messias silva
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.