Will Samsung trigger next crypto price rally?

Weekly Comment

Another week in crypto and another obituary for Bitcoin makes its way onto the internet. It seems that for every evangelist that speaks about the glowing future of cryptocurrency and Bitcoin particularly, there is a commentator who speaks of its apparent death or impending doom. In fact, there is even a dedicated page on a website now that catalogues every Bitcoin obituary going back as far as 2010 (current known obituary count currently stands at 345 for those of you that are interested!).

The reason that we mention this is that amongst the cited reasoning behind the perceived problems with Bitcoin, "adoption" seems to get some regular airtime.  It does make sense that if adoption doesn't take place of this new technology then its advances and projected domination will be muted.  For all the murmurings of big companies getting involved in the space and embracing crypto, we are still yet to see a big real world statement that is hard to be avoided. However, there is a chance that all this could yet be about to change and very soon.  We mention below a story (in the Philippines) about the launch by a bank of their crypto ATM machines that enable swift transfer and withdrawals into and out of Fiat currency- something which no doubt will push the adoption of crypto further in that part of the world.  More pertinently for us over here in the West, there are rumours abound of the new Samsung Galaxy S10 containing a cryptocurrency wallet which is due for launch at the end of February.  If these rumours are to be believed, then it signals a huge statement that will inevitably see their rivals follow suit and also make cryptocurrency readily accessible for millions of Samsung users everywhere.  The simple fact is that this move could be the first domino falling for greater mass adoption for real world use, and so whilst the end of February has the important business of the Ethereum Constantinople fork and the Van Eck ETF decision, don't take your eyes off Samsung’s S10 launch on the 20th!

BTC Price:  $3,661

Last 7 Days: 5.5%
1month: -0.8%
12months: -53.97%

BTC Technicals

Despite a boost up on Friday night which added $10 billion to BTC and clearly improved momentum, the overall range for the largest crypto still remains in tact with the more recent low of $3,183 (17th Dec) and high of $4,234 (24th Dec).  As such, we are still very much range-bound and this will remain the case until we can see a concerted break to the upside of $4,000 or $3,000 to the downside.

BTC Volume:

4th February:     $5,140,428,005 (BTC price of $3,453)
11th February:   $6,241,497,691 (BTC price of $3,661)
17.64% increase in trading volume in the last 7 days 

ETH Price: $121.04

Last 7 Days: 12.04%
1month: -6.37%
12months: -84.74%

Ethereum Technicals

Once again, Ethereum gains the higher ground in ranking against XRP as the past seven days saw an initial move up toward the $120 level before eventually breaching to a high of $124. Next levels to the upside, if the bulls can remain in charge are targeted at $134 followed by resistance at $167.

Past Week Talking Points

• Rumours abound that Facebook have made its first blockchain-related acquisition in the form of blockchain startup Chainspace.  The acquisition is said to be more for the skills and expertise of the staff as opposed to the company's service or products.

• CEO of Binance Changpeng Zhao has been quoted as saying: "Amazon will have to issue a currency sooner or later".

• The Union Bank of Philippines, one of the largest commercial banks in the Philippines, which has taken a proactive stance towards regulating the local cryptocurrency industry has launched the country's first crypto ATM machine.

• "Eventually, do I think someone will satisfy the standards we've laid out there? I hope so, yes, and I think so" SEC's only democratic commissioner Robert J. Jackson Jr speaking about Bitcoin ETFs.

Last 7 Days Big Market Movers

INO Coin                                     INO              UP 271%         Price: $0.66
Twinkle                                       TKT              UP 189%         Price: $0.004
Abulaba                                      AAA             UP 137%         Price: $0.0001

Market Cap. Dominance

BTC: 52.9%
ETH: 10.43%
XRP:  10.30%
Other ALT-Coins: 26.37%