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Cryptocurrencies are still an unresolved fight between buyers and sellers. On Sunday, the buyers pushed the prices up, with Bitcoin gaining over 300 points and reaching its 10K momentarily, and the rest of the major cryptocurrencies experimenting advances of over three percent. Monday early morning, sellers came in and created a strong sell candle that pushed prices back and questioning the advances of the previous day. Currently, the drop is average for BTC (-2.54%) and Ethereum(-3.17%). The worst performers are Tezos(-6.06%) and ATOM (-6.5%). Most of the Ethereum-based tokens are also experiencing drops, with Link (-5.55%), BAT (-6.29%) and OMG(-5.24%) dropping hard, but there were also gainers, such as HEDG(+4%), CENNZ(+5.13%), and POWR(+19.8%).

The current market cap of the crypto sector is $283.3 billion, which is 1.43 percent higher than 24 hours before, but about three percent lower than at the beginning of the day. The volume for the last 24H period is $46.49 billion, which is 31 percent higher than the previous 24h cycle. The dominance of Bitcoin remains stable at 62.69 percent.

Japanese monetary authorities and the finance ministry leaders have had a series of meetings to assess the possible issuing of a Digital Yen in preparation for the Group of 20 meeting in Saudi Arabia that was held on Saturday 22 and Sunday 23. According to the information by the Japanesetimes, the BoJ has not begun any actual analysis on the matters regarding the creation of digital central-bank-issued currency. Still, BoJ Governor Mr. Haruhiko Kuroda said they want to be prepared from the legal and technical perspectives so they can move adequately when needed.

Bitcoin still keeps moving inside a slightly descending wedge. Sellers stepped in after another attempt to move above the 10K level and pushed the price to the middle of the channel and slightly below its 50-period SMA. Currently, the action takes place above the $9,730 support level. If this holds, BTC may create a second leg up, as the upward guideline is still in place. The odds are in favor of this scenario since the price continues crating higher highs and lows, the MACD is in a bullish phase, and the price is in the upper side of the Bollinger Bands. If the guideline is broken, there will be another test of the $9,500 level and also its 200-period SMA.

Support

Pivot Point

Resistance

9,730

9,860

10,100

9,500

10,300

9,300

10,500

Ripple has crossed the triangle formation to the upside, although with a not too convincing move. In the early morning, the price dropped to its base, after being rejected by the 50-period SMA and now is creating a doji figure. We think that Ripple will continue in a tight range between its 200- and 50-period simple moving averages, expecting direction from the general movement of the sector.

Support

Pivot Point

Resistance

0.2775

0.2815

0.2875

0.2710

0.2920

0.2670

0.3000

Ethereum continues moving following the guidance of the ascending trendline (blue), and in a triangular formation that is likely to be resolved to the upside. The price continues making higher lows and moves in the upper side of the Bollinger bands. The only concern is the sharp candlestick made in the early morning that engulfed the previous action, but as long as the upward trendline is respected, we consider the current trend as bullish.

Support

Pivot Point

Resistance

265

276

280

260

286

256

290

Litecoin has been strong in the last days, with the price breaking above the descending wedge and reaching the $80 level. In the early morning, it also suffered the selling pressure and dropped from the $80 level. Currently, it is moving in the $ 76 support level, above its 20-, 50- and 200-period SMA. Thus, the upward trend is still in place. That said, LTC could suffer a slight downside if the market does not shrug-off the last bearish push.

Support

Pivot Point

Resistance

73

76

80

71

83.5

69

87

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Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies, still directionless - FXStreet

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Bitcoin Gold (BTG)s price is being manipulated by a whale controlling close to half of the circulating supply. These are the findings of an analysis conducted by an independent trader and analyst, who preferred to remain anonymous.

He published his findings in a blog post, where he explained why he believes a single group of people accumulated their way into a huge Bitcoin Gold position, and are now using that supply to control the market.

The events started in August 2018, when Bitfinex margin long positions began its sharp ascent to include almost two million BTG. The exchange makes its margin data publicly available, which can help gauge the general trader sentiment in a particular coin for example by comparing the ratio of short and long positions.

BTG/USD Longs on Bitfinex. Source: TradingView.

In Bitcoin Golds case, the strong increase in margin positions was accompanied by lackluster price action. While the coin generally followed the broader crypto market, the price eventually spiraled downward.

BTG/USD on Bitfinex. Source: TradingView.

The analyst estimated that the 1.9 million BTG held at some point in Bitfinex represents between 38% and 48% of its total circulating supply.

Bitcoin Gold was born in 2017 after a network fork from Bitcoin (BTC), thus maintaining its original history up until that point. This means that Bitcoin Gold contains at least as many inactive coins as its parent, including Satoshis cache.

He further elaborated how he reached that figure:

Over 11 million Bitcoins (BTC) havent moved in the last year. Considering big wallets unwillingness to claim their coins due to fear of private key leak for a minimal return, it can be argued that a number even larger than 11 million BTGs are inactive or lost forever.

He then estimated a figure of 4 to 5 million active BTG. When asked by Cointelegraph why he is so certain that this is the work of one whale, he explained:

The accumulation was very consistent and systematic over the course of almost a year, it would be almost impossible for it to be a coincidence that multiple entities were using the exact same system to accumulate.

The analyst also conducted a manual analysis of the average entry price for the whale. By comparing the number of coins bought each day with their price, he arrived at a figure of $22.86 as the break-even price.

Following the extensive accumulation, the whale began using its position to influence markets. In early January, Bitcoin Golds price rose in consecutive moves by up to 200%, from $5 to $15. Margin positions dropped precipitously just as the upward move was complete.

BTG/USD Longs with price superimposed. Source: TradingView.

No major announcements were posted at the time on Bitcoin Golds Twitter account, which highlights the potential for fabricated price action. The analyst further noticed that Bitfinexs wallets were subsequently drained of a significant chunk of BTG.

He conducted a test on Binance, which showed that it was not the destination wallet. A volume comparison points to Korean exchange Bithumb as the likely receiver of these funds. The analyst argues that this is part of the whales distribution strategy, which would have external retail traders join in a fabricated pump to let the whale offload the coins.

Comparison of exchange activity. Source: Onlyforesight.com and TradingView.

The price was, however, held back from rising due to a powerful sell wall on Bitfinex, around $15. The increased activity on Bithumb led the analyst to conclude that the whale could be Korean, as the exchange requires a national Social Security Number to create an account.

The sudden decrease in Bitfinex margin could also be explained by the whale divesting from BTG. The analyst argues that the trading group simply claimed its position:

I think the whale was planning on selling on Bitfinex originally, and then realized there wasn't enough liquidity to exit there, so now they're forced to send their coins to another exchange (by first 'claiming' their margin position, and then withdrawing).

Claiming is the act of settling a margin position by compensating the amount loaned in full.

These market manipulation tactics have since been observed on Binance. As the analyst explained:

Bitfinex acts as a suppression mechanism; every time the price tries to increase on Binance, Bitfinex holds it back. People (and bots) see the difference, and try to pounce on the arbitrage opportunity. However, by the time people transfer their BTGs from Bitfinex to Binance, the gap has already closed and the prices equalize.

This can be clearly seen in Feb. 10 trading. As shown in the picture below, candles on Bitfinex have a clean cut around $13.8, while the price on Binance clearly moved past the barrier.

BTG/USD on Bitfinex and Binance (orange line), H1 candles on Feb. 10. Source: TradingView.

Given the scale and amount of time invested into BTG accumulation, the analyst argued that the traders will seek a substantial profit:

It is expected that the price of BTG will multiply in value from the current value of ~$12 (as of this post) and increase a substantial amount from the $22.86 projected breakeven price.

He conjectured that a potential target could be $100, which could result in a maximum profit of $150 million. The current attempts at price suppression are necessary to not let interest burn out too quickly, as the analyst explained:

If the price rises too fast, its destined to downtrend for an extended period as people gradually take profits and there is no-one to buy up the increasing supply hitting the market.

There are currently no signs that point to the Bitcoin Gold team having anything to do with this market manipulation. The developers did not respond to Cointelegraphs request for comment.

Read more:
Bitcoin Gold Is Held Captive by Whale With Almost Half the Supply - Cointelegraph

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