Crypto Today: Bitcoin hits a pause button before another assault at $8,000

Here's what you need to know on Tuesday

Markets:

• The BTC/USD is currently trading at $7,876 (+1.4% since the start of the day). The coin has been moving within a strong bullish trend in Asian amid rising volatility and tested area above $8,000.
• The ETH/USD pair is currently trading at $143.0 (-0.8% since the start of the day). The Ethereum retreated from the intraday high of $145.13; now, it is moving within a short-term bearish trend amid shrinking volatility. 
• XRP/USD settled at $0.2155 after a spike to $0.2255 during early Asian hours. The coin is down 3.5% since the beginning of the day.
• Among the 100 most important cryptocurrencies, the best of the day areCentrality (CENNZ) $0.0961 (+22.5%), Ren (REN) $0.0426 (+11.3%), BitShares (BTS) )$0.0172 (+10.33%). The day's losers are Synthetix Network Token (SNX) $0.8793 (-19.25%), Molecular Future (MOF) $1.68 (-14.9%) and MaidSafeCoin (MAID) $0.0873 (-10.1%).

Chart of the day:
XRP/USD, 4-hour chart

• BitEXX research department put on their Ethereum shorts, hinting on their bearish forecasts on the second-largest digital coin. 

"When we made our 2020 predictions, we didn't mention $ETH. Now 2020 is here, following @udiWertheimer's advice & despite the cold, we are about to put on our $ETH shorts. The challenging part will be knowing when to take them off"

In a bunch of other predictions, the experts said that Bitcoin market dominance would not exceed 75%, while the price recovery would be capped by $15,000.

• As Bitcoin halving is getting closer, market experts try to figure out how it will affect the price. The opinions range from the "trip to the moon" to total indifference. The latest research, performed by analytical company Skew supports the later point of view.

Industry:

• Binance got its proprietary USD-backed stablecoin approved by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). The coin was issued in September 2019 in partnership with Paxos, which is responsible for stablecoin issuance and custody services for fiat reserves. At the time of writing, the current market capitalization of the coin is $17.1 million; it takes 151st place in the global rating.
• In a separate development, Binance delisted several trading pairs with USDC, the stablecoin issued by Coinbase. The company explained the decision by low trading volumes and non-existent liquidity; however, the market participants suspect that the decision is about competition between Coinbase and Binance US. The companies have a history of rivalry.

Regulation:

• The creator of Telegram and the head of TON (Telegram Open Network) testifies on Telegram ICO in Dubai on January 7 and 8. According to the document filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the regulator wants to get detailed information about TON's investors and know how the company used the funds raised during the ICO.

Quote of the day: