Bitcoin’s Back to $40K, Millions of Shorts Liquidated: The Weekly Crypto Recap

After weeks of prolonged consolidation and choppy sideways action in a very squeezed and narrow range, Bitcoin finally broke out. Fortunately, it was to the upside.

Over the past week, BTC is up by a considerable 20%. At the time of this writing, it’s trading at around $39K, having pulled back slightly from the psychological and technical resistance at the coveted $40K level. It’s also worth noting that we saw an increased trading volume over the past week, and even though it’s nowhere near the levels of April and May, it’s still an improvement.

The week started out with a promising ascend. By Sunday, BTC had already gained about $2.5K, but it was on Monday when the serious advance took place. The price skyrocketed from about $35,000 to $40,000, leaving millions worth of short positions liquidated. From there, it was an on and off battle with the coveted line, and eventually, BTC was unable to definitively conquer it. Today, we saw its price sliding down to $39K.

Most of the cryptocurrency market followed suit, and a lot of the altcoins charted impressive gains as well. Ethereum is up by 15.5%, BNB is up by 6%, ADA – by 7%, XRP – by 21%, and so forth. However, it became apparent that Bitcoin’s advance is stronger than that of the rest of the market as the BTC dominance index jumped by 2% over the week.

All of this happened on the back of some serious developments in the field. It appears that governments across the world continue to push for tougher crypto-related regulations across various fields, including taxation. After slashing its leverage down to 20x (from a max of 125x), Binance, for example, also revealed that it would be halting derivatives products in certain countries in Europe.

On a more positive note, a recent survey revealed that the number of cryptocurrency users more than doubled in the first half of the year. This is undoubtedly an impressive accomplishment in terms of overall mass adoption. America’s second oldest bank – State Street – doubled down on its involvement and said that it would be offering crypto services to its private fund customers.

In general, this week’s market performance was a breath of fresh air, especially coming after months of prolonged choppy action. Whether or not the positive momentum will continue, however, we have yet to see.

Market Data

Market Cap: $1540B | 24H Vol: 78B | BTC Dominance: 47.6%

BTC: $39,057 (+20.7%) | ETH: $2,347 (+15.5%) | XRP: $0.72 (+21%)

This Week’s Crypto Headlines You Can’t Miss

Binance Halts Derivatives Products for Users in Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands. The world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, announced that it would halt its derivatives products for users from Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands. This comes amid a broader regulatory clampdown on the entire industry.

Number of Crypto Users Doubled in Just 6 Months: Survey. Following the parabolic advance of the entire cryptocurrency market, the industry saw an influx of new users. As a matter of fact, a recent survey revealed that their number doubled in just six months.

For The First Time Since May 12th: Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index is Neutral. The Bitcoin Fear and Greed index became neutral for the first time since May 12th. Before that, the market was either in a state of fear or extreme fear. This shows that confidence has returned in the past few days.

Goldman Sachs Files for “DeFi” ETF to Track Tech Giants. The giant Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs has applied for an exchange-traded fund (ETF) for what it says is the decentralized finance (DeFi) space. However, things are a little bit different than what they seem to be.

Not Yet: Amazon Denies Rumours on Plans to Accept Bitcoin. The world’s largest online retailer, Amazon, has officially denied all rumors related to it accepting Bitcoin as a means of payment this year. A spokesperson definitively stated that the company has no such plans.

America’s Second Oldest Bank State Street to Provide Cryptocurrency Services to Private-Fund Customers. The second oldest bank in the United States, State Street, said it would offer cryptocurrency services to its private-fund clients. To do so, the institution partnered with the crypto-focused technology company Lukka Inc.