Cryptocurrency Market News: $10,000 a pipe dream for Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple settle for consolidation

Here is what you need to know on Thursday, June 18, 2020.

Markets:

Bitcoin has not been able to return to levels above $10,000 since the rejection at $10,400. Declines slipped under $9,000 earlier this week but support at $8,900 came in handy. Buyers have been focused on pulling Bitcoin back to the ‘glorious’ levels above $10,000. Unfortunately, the resistance at $9,600 is an uphill task. For now, Bitcoin bulls have been reduced to defenders as they struggle to keep the price above $9,400. As shared in the price prediction article, Bitcoin investors remain bullish on the asset despite the failure to rise above $10,000.

Related content: Bitcoin Price Prediction: BTC/USD stuck under $10,000, on-chain data shows its maturing as an asset

Ethereum’s trend is also closely related to Bitcoin’s. A fall under $220 earlier this week was a wake-up call for the bulls. A reversal ensued sending Ether past $230 and $235. However, the largest altcoin lost steam before hitting $240. ETH/USD is now trading at $232 after correcting from an intraday high at $234.48.

Ripple stepped above $0.1950 on Wednesday but because of the generally bearish climate in the market, gains were limited towards $0.20. Instead, the crypto tumbled back to $0.19. After losing 0.84% of the value on the day. XRP/USD is focused on defending $0.19 support at all costs. This would help avert possible declines to $0.1850 support and allow the bulls a fighting chance towards $0.20.

A wider scope of the market reveals some assets that have managed to ignore the bearish wave. Some of these digital assets include Seele-N (10.46%), SwingpBorg (25.87%), Aave (10.21%), Nano (7.82%), ICON (7.52%), and Algorand (7.24%).

Chart of the day: BTC/USD daily

Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum reckons that the people saying Ethereum is run by “inflationist technocrats” are misinformed. He pointed out in a tweet that at the moment, Ethereum's total supply is 40 million less than the 150 million envisioned in the whitepaper.

The whitepaper was extrapolating Ethereum supply 5 years out. Cryptocurrencies usually stand out against their fiat counterparts for their deflationary nature. Unfortunately, Buterin did not make the comparison taking into account the state of Ethereum network as at now as opposed to just comparing the supplies five years apart.

Industry:

Cardano, the current tenth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization has hit a significant milestone with the Shelley testnet. The testnet currently boasts of 200 staking pools that are active and running. The Shelly network upgrade is one of the most anticipated events in the cryptocurrency industry. It will see the token, ADA become more decentralized (proof-of-stake protocol) while allowing the building and hosting of smart contracts. The staking is another significant feature that will see users of ADA stake tokens to power the network and earn rewards in return.

The upgrade is expected to commence on June 30 and finish on July 7. Since the launch was announced Cardano has continued to perform excellently with the price hitting a monthly high above $0.90. Cardano also displaced Tezos from the tenth spot by market capitalization. ADA is expected to breakout for another rally as the launch nears.

Regulation

Malta-based Binance is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the industry by adjusted trading volume and number of users. The exchange powerhouse has announced that it will be joining the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) in a bid to cultivate a closer relationship with India’s crypto users. The organization is known for representing the interests of cryptocurrency firms and startups in India’s Supreme Court.

IAMAI was one of the main parties that fought for the removal of the partial ban the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had imposed in 2018. With Binance on the team, IAMAI could have more strength engaging regulators in regard to favorable rules and guidelines that do not stifle innovation in the crypto industry. A statement by IAMAI says that organization will:

Work with Binance and other industry players in developing a constructive policy framework for crypto assets in India, helping other exchanges operate in India compliantly and developing a strong framework to foster innovation while managing potential risks.

Quote of the day:

“What is fascinating about BTC are the multiple short-term correlations that emerge. We have witnessed strong, short term correlations to Gold, to USD/CNY, and most recently US Equities. These signals an expanded breadth of market participants owning Bitcoin.” (@Matt D’Souza, CEO of Blockware solutions).