The U.S. dollar currency index (DXY) turned down sharply after rising above 101 on April 20 but this weakness in the dollar has not helped Bitcoin (BTC), possibly because the S&P 500 is struggling to build upon its strong rally on April 19. This indicates that Bitcoin remains tightly correlated with the U.S. equity markets. Irrespective of the lackluster price action, research projects several positives for Bitcoin this year. A report by Insider Intelligence shows that the number of adult crypto users in the U.S. could surge from 28.3 million in 2021 to 33.7 million in 2022. Along with the …

Ethereum's native token Ether (ETH) has dropped by nearly 20% in the last three weeks, hitting monthly lows near $2,900 on April 19. But despite rebounding above $3,000 since then, technicals suggest more downside is possible in the near term, according to a classic bearish pattern. Ethereum price 'bear flag' setup activated Dubbed "bear flag," the bearish continuation signal appears as the price consolidates higher inside an ascending parallel channel after a strong downward move (called the flagpole). It resolves after the price breaks out of the channel to drop further. ETH's price turned lower after testing its bear flag's …

Bitcoin (BTC) and most major altcoins have started the new week on a soft note and the Crypto Fear and Greed Index has dropped into the “extreme fear” zone, suggesting that investors are still nervous. Bitcoin has declined about 17% year-to-date while the Nasdaq 100 has dropped about 16% during the same period, indicating a tight correlation between the two. In comparison, gold has risen more than 10% in 2022 and its 50-day correlation coefficient with Bitcoin “is around minus 0.4, the lowest since 2018," according to journalist Colin Wu. Although the crypto price action has remained bearish, the declining …

The rollout of Ethereum 2.0, or Eth2, includes a transition from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake that will supposedly transform Ether (ETH) into a deflationary asset and revolutionize the entire network. The event has been a trending topic for years and while anticipation for “The Merge” has been building over the past couple of months, this week Ethereum core developer Tim Beiko informed the world that “It won’t be June, but likely in the few months after. No firm date yet.” Delays in Ethereum network upgrades are nothing new and so far, the immediate effect on Ether’s price following the revelation has …

Bitcoin (BTC) remains closely correlated with the S&P 500 but the institutional investors do not seem to be waiting for a turnaround in the United States' equities market or decoupling to happen before buying more Bitcoin. Notably, 30,000 Bitcoin moved out of Coinbase Pro in a single day, suggesting strong institutional demand. MicroStrategy, the publicly listed company, which is the largest single-wallet holder of Bitcoin, does not seem to be content with its stash of 129,219 Bitcoin. In a letter to shareholders, the firm’s CEO Michael Saylor said that the company aims to “vigorously pursue” and “increase awareness” about its …

The long-awaited Ethereum Merge is set for yet another delay, with developers working on the upgrade estimating a completion time a “few months after” June. Owing to the success of testing, there was a general expectation the Merge would go through mid year, however the latest setback is unsurprising given that Proof of Stake has been delayed constantly ever since it was first proposed. That said, the signs are promising that the Ethereum mainnet will actually merge with the beacon chain to become a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) network this year. For real. Ethereum developer Tim Beiko provided the updated timeline via …

Bitcoin (BTC) and major altcoins are attempting a recovery after the sharp fall on April 11. According to Glassnode’s recent weekly report, Bitcoin has witnessed a “modest volume of profit-taking by investors” since mid-February which could “be providing sufficient headwinds to prices.” While some investors are booking profits, the Luna Foundation Guard, the nonprofit organization attached to Blockchain protocol Terra, has continued to grow its stockpile of Bitcoin. Terra added 2,508 Bitcoin on April 13 to take its total holding to 42,406 Bitcoin, just shy of Tesla’s corporate treasury at 43,200 Bitcoin. Larger investors do not seem to be perturbed …

Ether (ETH) lost the critical $3,000 psychological support level on April 11 after a 16% weekly negative performance. Bulls were definitively caught by surprise as $104 million in leveraged long futures got liquidated on Monday. Ether's downturn also followed a decline in the total value locked (TVL) in Ethereum smart contracts. The metric peaked at 40.6 million Ether on Jan. 27, and has since dropped by 22%. This indicator could partially explain why Ether could not withstand the adversity brought by Bitcoin's (BTC) 13% weekly negative move. However, the leading altcoin has catalysts of its own because Ethereum developers implemented …

Ethereum's native token Ether (ETH) has dropped about 17% against the U.S. dollar in the last two weeks. But its performance against Bitcoin (BTC) has been less painful with the ETH/BTC pair down 4.5% over the same period. The pair's down-move appears as both ETH/USD and BTC/USD drop nearly in lockstep while reacting to the Federal Reserve's potential to hike rates by 50 basis points and slash its balance sheet by $95 billion per month. The latest numbers released today show that consumer prices rose 8.5% in March, the most since 1981. ETH/BTC triangle breakout Several technicals remain bullish despite …

Ethereum developers implemented the network’s first-ever “shadow fork” on Monday, marking an important milestone in the ongoing shift to proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus. The shadow fork provides a venue for developers to stress test their assumptions around the network’s complex shift to PoS, according to Ethereum Foundation developer Parithosh Jayanthi. “The aim of the Kiln merge testnet was to allow the community to practice running their nodes, deploying contracts, testing infrastructure, etc.,” he tweeted on Sunday. Wondering what the #TestingTheMerge team has been up to? The aim of the Kiln merge testnet was to allow the community to practice running their …

Bitcoin (BTC) and most major altcoins have broken key support levels to start the week on a weak note. The crypto markets seem to be following the U.S. equity markets lower which are being pulled down as investors reduce exposure to risky assets because of rising rates. Arthur Hayes, ex-CEO of derivatives giant BitMEX, said that with rates moving higher and the Fed tapering its asset purchases, the equity markets could witness a meltdown. If that happens, Hayes expects the crypto markets to continue lower and Bitcoin to drop to $30,000 and Ether (ETH) to $2,500 by June of this …

After a 42% rally over a three week period, Ether (ETH) peaked at $3,580 on April 3, and since then a 12% correction to $3,140 has taken place. Tech giants launching their own smart contract platforms and regulatory uncertainty might have impacted investors’ sentiment and derivatives metrics also show worsening conditions which confirm professional traders' shift toward bearish sentiment. On April 6, Financial Times reported that Meta is reportedly planning to introduce virtual currency and lending services. This move is aimed at exploring alternative sources of revenue for Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger. United States Senator Pat Toomey, the ranking …