Bitazza Crypto Weekly: Bitcoin Outperforms Other Assets, Returning up to 70% This Year

Crypto Weekly: 27 March – 2 April 2023

Goldman Sachs has revealed data highlighting Bitcoin as the best-performing asset since the start of 2023. Bitcoin has outperformed other assets, including the Nasdaq 100, S&P 500, gold, and other investment assets, with a year-to-date return of 70%.

Ryan Selkis, CEO of popular crypto market research firm Messari, predicts that Bitcoin’s price will reach the $100,000 mark within the next 12 months amidst the issues affecting the financial world, particularly the recent collapse of the banking sector.

NASDAQ is waiting for approval from the New York Department of Financial Services by the end of June to begin offering crypto custody services to institutional clients. NASDAQ executives are confident that institutional investors remain interested in the crypto market and will prioritize investing with trustworthy service providers/operators.

Cathie Wood, CEO of Ark Invest, believes that as Bitcoin’s price rises during financial crises, more institutional investors will enter the crypto market to escape volatile stock markets. Wood floated the idea of allocating 2.5%-6.5% of the total investment portfolio to crypto.

The Crypto Fear and Greed Index has climbed to 66, its highest level this year and the peak since November 2021, indicating that investors in the market are becoming more greedy.

Telegram announced the addition of USDT coins to its @wallet bot feature, allowing users to send and receive USDT in addition to Bitcoin (BTC) and Toncoin (TON). Specifically, the wallet bot function supports USDT-TRON on the Tron network. While Tether’s stablecoin runs on a number of different blockchains, for now, Telegram will only support the asset on TRC20, with no official announcements of additional support.

Mastercard is partnering with Australian stablecoin platform Stables to enable USDC coin payments. Stables will create a dedicated wallet for stablecoins along with a virtual card created by Mastercard. USDC will automatically convert to cash when paying for goods on Mastercard’s network.

Popular Ethereum Layer 2 Arbitrum broke its all-time record for DEX trading volume after announcing an airdrop of its ARB tokens on 23 March. According to data, the trading volume of ARB on DEXs surged by a whopping 32%, with Arbitrum’s transaction volume surpassing Binance’s BNB chain, coming in second only to Ethereum.

USDT issuer Tether announced that it expects to make a $700 million profit in the first quarter of 2023, equaling its profit in the last quarter of 2022, raising the company’s equity to $1.7 billion, more than 100% of its reserve capital.

Sony Interactive Entertainment, the maker of the popular PlayStation videogame console, has filed a patent for NFTs to allow gamers to use NFTs in games and various platforms. Sony acknowledges that in-game digital assets and NFTs are a significant evolution in the gaming industry.

South Korean gaming studio Nexon, creators of 180 million players-strong MMORPG MapleStory, will use Polygon supernet to create NFTs for their games, allowing players to collect NFTs through gameplay to unlock and benefit from various features and perks.

James Tromans, head of Google Cloud Platform for Web3, said the company is developing new products to meet the demands of the crypto community without involving existing products. Last year, Google Cloud launched its Blockchain Node Engine to help Web3 developers create and deploy new products on the blockchain and announced a cloud system partnership with Coinbase.

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Weekly Technical Analysis: 27 March – 2 April 2023

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Bitcoin (BTC)

Bitcoin (BTC) Over the past week, Bitcoin’s price movements have been directionless after breaking through a significant resistance level. The support level to watch is at $25,200, which could be a potential buying point if it holds. The short-term resistance level is expected to be around $30,000. The upside potential may be limited due to possible selling pressure before the release of key economic indicators later this week. However, if the support level holds, there could be a buying opportunity in the market.

Ethereum (ETH)

Ethereum’s price has been moving within a narrow range following a strong rally the previous week. The short-term target for the market remains at $2,000. At the same time, it is crucial to watch the support level at $1,650. The price trend is expected to follow Bitcoin’s movements before the mid-April unlocking of staked ETH.

Ripple (XRP)

XRP is up by +15.2% over the past week; however, its overall trend remains bearish. The support level to watch is at 14 THB; if it fails to hold, the primary trend will be considered bearish. If it breaks through the resistance level at 17 THB, the primary trend could shift to bullish.

Cardano (ADA)

ADA is up by + 4.1% over the past week, but its price remains highly volatile. The critical support level to watch is at 11.5 THB; if the price falls below this level, the overall market trend could shift towards cutting losses. The short-term resistance level is at 13 THB; if it is surpassed, the next resistance level will be at 14.5 THB, and the market could lean towards buying when the price retraces.

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Trading and Investment Considerations For The Week

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The US Federal Reserve has decided to raise interest rates by 0.25% as expected by the market. This has resulted in a sideways movement of Bitcoin prices, as the market had already absorbed the news and adjusted prices accordingly. However, Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve Chairman has stated in an interview that the interest rate hikes may soon come to an end, and there is a possibility of only one more rate hike this year.

A pressing issue for the market are signals that although interest rate hikes may be slowed down, there will be no interest rate cuts this year. This has somewhat disappointed the market, as it contradicts previous various indicators that suggest investors believe there will be a rate cut this year. This issue will require close monitoring moving forward.

Another important point to watch is the resolution of financial institution issues in the US. If these problems persist, it could prompt the Federal Reserve to ease up its monetary policy, which could positively impact Bitcoin prices. Historical data has shown that when the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet increases, Bitcoin prices tend to rise accordingly.

This week, key economic figures will be announced. On Thursday, March 30, the US Q4 GDP figures will be released, with the market expecting a 2.7% growth rate, down from 3.2% in the previous quarter. In addition, on the same day, Initial Jobless Claims are expected to be announced at a rate of 196,000, up from the previous figure of 191,000. On Friday, March 31, the Core PCE Index will be released, which will serve as an indicator for the Consumer Price Index (CPI Index).

Disclaimer:
-Cryptocurrency and Digital tokens are highly risky; investors may lose all investment money. Investors should study information carefully and make investments according to own risk profile.
– Past Returns/Past Performance does not guarantee future returns/performance.

*Materials on Bitazza Weekly Newsletter are intended to be used and must be used for informational purposes only. The views, information, or opinions expressed are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of Bitazza and its employees. The information contained herein is not intended to be a source of advice or financial analysis with respect to the material presented, and the information and/or documents contained in this website do not constitute investment advice.

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