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Prices: As Asia's trading day begins, bitcoin drops 4% to $27,981, and ether declines 2.45% to $1,824

Insights: The West will still lead Crypto's future, but the East is going to play a major role, argues the co-founder of Taipei-based Woo Network, Jack Tan.

CoinDesk Market Index (CMI)

1,197

49.3 4.0%

Bitcoin (BTC)

$27,981

1446.4 4.9%

Ethereum (ETH)

$1,824

72.3 3.8%

S&P 500

4,167.87

1.6 0.0%

Gold

$1,991

+0.4 0.0%

Nikkei 225

29,123.18

+266.7 0.9%

BTC/ETH prices per CoinDesk Indices, as of 7 a.m. ET (11 a.m. UTC)

Good Morning Asia.

Bitcoin is opening the trading day in Asia at $27,981, down 4.9% in the last 24 hours, while Ether is down 3.8% to $1,824.

Despite this slow retreat from $30,000, co-founder and CEO of research platform The Tie Joshua Frank pointed out on a recent appearance on CoinDesk TVs All About Bitcoin that there are still many positive market indicators for bitcoin.

Bitcoin's market cap dominance is surging again, nearing June 2020 highs, he noted, but liquidity remains a challenge.

"I think a lot of institutions are excited about bitcoin. I think that the risk-off narrative is resonating right now. Just like it did in 2021," he said, while explaining that a shortage of liquidity remains a challenge for the market but is also leading to bitcoins overall outperformance.

"Bitcoin is outperforming due to several reasons, including market consolidation, low trading volume, and banking uncertainty, he said. "In the short term, Bitcoin is more correlated to gold. However, the U.S. regulatory environment is unenthusiastic and negative towards crypto, contributing to low liquidity.

Story continues

As the week continues, traders will be looking to U.S. job openings on Tuesday and news from the Fed about interest rate moves on Wednesday.

There are no gainers in CoinDesk 20 today.

By: Jack Tan, co-founder of Woo Network

Crypto companies may have to move from the U.S. due to stifling regulations.

However, Western founders and teams may continue to dominate innovation by looking East, where governments are embracing new technologies.

These countries and jurisdictions have passed more crypto-friendly laws and created a welcoming business environment for firms in the digital asset space. The mix for Western companies with talent and other resources can be potentially powerful.

Regulation has become a central issue in the crypto asset space as the U.S. responds to multiple debacles that have undermined confidence in crypto. The Biden administration recently shifted its position on crypto from neutral to negative through its White House Council of Economic Advisers, which said that crypto-assets do not appear to offer investors any fundamental value to date.

Exodus of talent, capital

Major crypto players no longer look to the U.S. for leadership, and they have been seeking other jurisdictions from which to grow. For example, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the crypto industry has already started moving outside the U.S., while crypto exchange giant Coinbase, whose once upbeat outlook aboutU.S. regulation has soured, may start an overseas trading desk. AndCircle is opening a new office outside the States.

Its hard to imagine that they would go to the E.U. because even the G7, an intergovernmental political forum consisting almost entirely of Western countries, is outlining tougher regulations for digital assets. A French bill, for example, stipulates that companies will have to meet extra rules on internal controls, cybersecurity and conflicts of interest.

Why move East?

Regulators are more supportive in Asias financial centers. Japan recently relaxed token listing requirements. Hong Kong announced it was open to crypto firms, Thailand said it would waive taxes for initial coin offerings (ICOs), and Dubais regulatory framework hopes to become a global crypto hub.

The East is also l playing a bigger role in cultivating crypto innovation by spurring higher crypto adoption rates. The East dominates analytics firm Chainalysis top 20 global crypto adoption index, including Vietnam, the Philippines, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Indonesia, and China.

Additionally, money is flowing into the region. China's third largest state-owned insurance institution Pacific Insurance Investment Management Hong Kong Branch and Waterdrop Capital unveiled compliant blockchain venture capital and POS token income enhancement funds, respectively. Dubai-based Cypher Capital is looking to raise over $100 million for a new venture capital fund to target "Asian technology tycoons." HashKey Capital, which is instrumental in moving crypto forward in Hong Kong, has closed its third blockchain funding at $500 million with a focus on growth opportunities in emerging markets.

How could the West still dominate?

A more open regulatory environment, faster crypto adoption, and flow of funds to the region do not necessarily translate to the East having dominant market players in the crypto space. And Western countries still have relatively stronger economies, and cultivate exceptionally brilliant talents through an ingrained culture of innovation, and the strongest financial markets.

Westerners have founded the most innovative firms in the crypto space. For example, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin and Binance founder Changpeng Zhao were raised and educated in Canada. The founders at Coinbase, Grayscale, OpenSea, Gemini, Kraken, Uniswap, and Chainalysis are mostly from the U.S. and educated in the US.

The West dominates the top 10 rankings of the most innovative economies as measured by the Global Innovation Index, including Switzerland, the United States, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Finland, and Denmark. We would expect that innovative crypto projects would continue to originate from these locations.

The crypto space needs the support of the financial and fintech centers, and the majority of the top-ranking ones are still from the West. In the Global Financial Centres Index released last month, 14 of the top 20 financial centers are from the West, including New York, San Francisco, London, Los Angeles, Boston, and Washington DC.

The importance of a robust, risk-reward framework

Having worked in the finance industry all my professional life, I have witnessed how innovations are borne from crises and deeply stressful situations. Innovation is often messy..

Companies and governments forget this, and often, its the leaders that enact policies that lean too heavily toward protecting the status quo by limiting risk. Weve seen once innovative companies like Kodak and IBM lose their edge as they focus more on stability and the bottom line for shareholders. Meanwhile, scrappy startups with vision, talent, and nothing to lose sometimes succeed wildly provided they can operate in nurturing environments.

An East-West partnership may be cryptos model for the future.

MicroStrategy World 2023

Web Summit Rio 2023

1:00 p.m. HKT/SGT(5:00 UTC) Eurozone Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (YoY/April)

In case you missed it, here is the most recent episode of "First Mover" on CoinDesk TV:

JPMorgan Chase to Take Over Most of First Republic Bank's Assets; Consensus 2023 Highlights

Another major bank has been taken over by federal regulators, resulting in the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history. Jason Brett, Key Bridge Advisors managing director and former U.S. Regulator at the FDIC, along with tastycrypto Head of Digital Assets Ryan Grace, joined "First Mover" to discuss how the crypto markets are reacting after most of First Republic Bank's assets and deposits will now be acquired by JPMorgan Chase. Plus, CoinDesk's managing editor for global policy and regulation Nikhilesh De shared a recap of CoinDesks yearly Consensus conference.

Bitcoin Set New Record of Daily Transactions the Same Day the U.S. Government Quietly Engineered a Bank Buyout: The events are unconnected, but crypto has a role to play in the wider political realignment questioning the sanctity of central banks and established powers.

Sotheby's Launches On-Chain Secondary NFT Marketplace: Sothebys Metaverse will now offer a curated, peer-to-peer marketplace via the Ethereum and Polygon networks.

'Shark Tank' but Make It Crypto: CoinMarketCap Launching Competition TV Show: "Killer Whale" will allow entrepreneurs to pitch ideas for new Web3 products and projects to a panel of judges.

Justin Sun to Reverse $56M Binance Transfer After CEO Zhao Warns Against Potential SUI Token Grab: "Binance Launchpool are meant as air drops for our retail users, not just for a few whales," Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao tweeted after Sun transferred $56 million in TUSD to Binance.

NFT Marketplace Blur Launches Blend, a Peer-to-Peer Lending Platform: Short for Blur Lending, Blend will allow collectors to buy blue-chip NFTs with a smaller upfront payment, similar to a down payment on a house.

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First Mover Asia: Bitcoin Market Cap Is Surging, but a Retreat From $30K Continues - Yahoo Finance

Risky assets marginally extend their up-move in April. The S&P 500 Index rose around 1.5% in April while Bitcoin (BTC) is on track to end the month with gains of more than 4%. Could the rally continue in May or is it time for a pullback?

The recovery could face headwinds if the United States banking woes escalate further. JPMorgan Asset Management chief investment officer Bob Michele said in an interview with Bloomberg that the turmoil at First Republic Bank is unlikely to be limited to the bank only, and could cause a domino effect.

If that happens, then the U.S. equity markets may witness a correction. However, it is difficult to predict how Bitcoin will react to such a crisis because, in the past few days, BTC 65trose while legacy banking troubles deepened. But in case of a major upheaval in the U.S. banking sector, it is possible that Bitcoin will also face a correction sooner or later.

In the near term, Bitcoin and select altcoins are showing strength. Lets study the charts of five cryptocurrencies that may outperform over the next few days.

After two days of low volatile trading in Bitcoin, the bulls are trying to assert their supremacy on April 30.

The 20-day exponential moving average ($28,783) has started to turn up gradually, and the relative strength index (RSI) is in the positive zone, indicating that the path of least resistance is to the upside.

If bulls kick Bitcoins price above $30,000, the BTC/USDT pair may climb to the overhead resistance zone of $31,000 to $32,400. Buyers may face formidable resistance at this zone, but if it is crossed, the pair can soar toward $40,000.

The 50-day simple moving average ($28,026) is the important support to keep an eye on. If BTC price collapses below this level, the bears will sense an opportunity and try to sink the pair to $25,250.

The bears tried to yank the pair below the 20-EMA but the bulls held their ground. This may have attracted further buying and the bulls will next try to drive the price above $30,000. If they succeed, Bitcoin can rise to $30,500, or even $31,000.

Conversely, if the price turns down and breaks below the 20-EMA, it will suggest that bears are selling near overhead resistance levels. The pair may then slip to the 50-SMA.

The bulls will try to protect this level but if bears overpower them, the next stop is likely to be $27,000. Buyers are likely to defend the zone between $27,000 and $25,250 with all their might.

The bulls did not allow Solana (SOL) to break back below the downtrend line during the most recent leg of the correction, indicating demand at lower levels.

Buyers will next try to propel the price to the overhead resistance at $27.12. This remains the key resistance to watch for in the near term because if bulls catapult the price above it, the SOL/USDT pair may accelerate toward $39.

This bullish view could invalidate in the near term if the price turns down and breaks below the moving averages. The pair could then plummet to the crucial support at $18.70. If the price rebounds off this level, it will signal that the pair may oscillate inside the large range between $18.70 and $27.12 for some time.

The moving averages on the four-hour chart have started to turn up and the RSI is in the positive territory, indicating that buyers are in control. The bears are trying to stall the recovery at $24 but if bulls overcome this barrier, the pair may pick up momentum and rally toward $25.50.

If the bears want to prevent the rally, they will have to quickly tug the price back below the 20-EMA. The 50-SMA will be the support level to watch here if price begins to slide.

The long tail on Cosmos (ATOM) April 26 candlestick shows that the bulls are fiercely defending the support at $10.20.

Buyers have pushed the price above the moving averages and will try to reach the downtrend line. This is an important level to keep an eye on because a break and close above it will open the doors for a potential rally to $13.50 and then to $15.50.

On the other hand, if the ATOM/USDT pair reverses direction from the downtrend line, it will suggest that bears are trying to form a descending triangle pattern. A decline below the moving averages will open the doors for a possible retest of $10.20.

The 20-EMA on the four-hour chart has turned up, and the RSI is near the overbought zone, indicating that bulls are in control. There is a minor hurdle at $12.13, but that is likely to be crossed. ATOM price may then rise to test the downtrend line.

Instead, if the price turns down from $12.13, the bears will again try to sink the pair below the 20-EMA. If they manage to do that, it will suggest that the buyers may be losing their grip. The pair then risks a slide to the 50-SMA.

Related: Good luck bears Bitcoin traders closely watch April close with BTC price at $29K

Internet Computer (ICP) slipped below the 50-day SMA ($5.38) on April 26 but that proved to be a bear trap. The price turned up on April 27 and started a strong recovery.

The 20-day EMA ($5.74) has started to turn up and the RSI has jumped into positive territory, indicating that bulls have a slight edge. If the price does not give up much ground from the current level or rebounds off the 20-day EMA, it will suggest that the bulls are buying the dips.

That will enhance the prospects of a rally to the downtrend line where the bears will again mount a strong defense. On the downside, a break below the 50-day SMA will tilt the advantage in favor of the bears.

The four-hour chart shows that the ICP/USDT pair is in a corrective phase. The first support is at the 20-EMA, which is close to the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level of $6.14. If the price bounces off this support, the pair may rally to $7.23 and eventually to $7.70.

Contrary to this assumption, if the price continues lower and breaks below the 20-EMA, it will suggest that the short-term bulls may be booking profits. That could pull the price to the 50-SMA, which is near the 61.8% retracement level of $5.72.

The bears repeatedly tried to sink Hedera (HBAR) below $0.06 but the bulls held their ground. The failure to break the support attracted buyers who will try to push the price above the downtrend line.

The 20-day EMA ($0.06) is flattening out and the RSI has climbed above the midpoint, indicating that the selling pressure is reducing. If buyers thrust the price above the resistance line, the bullish momentum may pick up and the HBAR/USDT pair could rally to the overhead resistance at $0.08.

Contrarily, if the price turns down from the current level or the resistance line, it will suggest that the bears remain active at higher levels. That increases the possibility of a break below $0.06.

The four-hour chart shows that the bulls flipped the moving averages into support and have launched an up-move that is likely to reach the resistance line. This level is expected to act as a strong resistance but on the way down, if the pair rebounds off the 20-EMA, it will suggest a change in sentiment from selling on rallies to buying on dips.

The pair may then break above the resistance line and start its journey to $0.07 and subsequently to $0.08. If the bears want to gain the upper hand, they will have to quickly pull HBAR price below the moving averages.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

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Just Bitcoin or diversify? 5 cryptocurrencies to watch in the next few days - Cointelegraph

Key Takeaways

Hackers revealed that 986 unique BTC wallets have allegedly been used by Russian state intelligence groups, amid the complicated relationship between crypto and the Russian government.

A recently deleted Chainalysis report from April 26 revealed that by using the blockchain feature OP_RETURN, which allows senders to attach messages on transactions, Bitcoiners could trace the more aggressive usage of BTC by Russian State intelligence groups. Almost 1000 wallets were linked to Russias Foreign Military Intelligence Agency (GRU), Federal Security Service (FSB), and Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR).

The OP_RETURN feature, according to the Bitcoin Wiki, allows a user to void the transaction and has at times been used to convey additional information needed to send transactions, meaning that burned transactions can also broadcast and keep added messages on the blockchain forever. The so-called OP_RETURN vigilante burned over $300,000 in BTC to send messages via BTC transactions to these addresses between February 14, 2022 and March 14, 2022putting the start of Russias Ukraine invasion right in the middle of the informants quest.

The transactions included the four following texts in Russian:

Whats more, the vigilante is suspected to have gained access to the private keys of these wallets marked with the above four messages because the vigilante returned in April 2022 to send money from these wallets to Ukrainian aid addresses.

The possibility that the OP_RETURN sender acquired private keys for Russian-controlled addresses also suggests that the Putin regimes crypto operations arent secure, Chainalysis reported.

At least three of these wallet addresses are confirmed to be owned by Russian agencies, according to the report. Wallets ytPm and 2uPf are owned by the SVR, cybersecurity firm HYAS confirmed in a now-archived post. Wallet 4hDH is owned by the GRU, which was confirmed by the wallets connection to DCLeaks.com that had spread disinformation about U.S. politicians leading up to the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

While the Russian government agencies have yet to respond to the validity of the claims above, blockchain sleuths and hackers found a way to hypothesize how Russia has been using crypto to its advantage in its war against Ukraine.

Those OP_RETURN message will be there forever no government or corporation can take them down, the Chainalysis report reads, highlighting how government officials can have trouble grasping basic principles of blockchain technology.

Ukraine has fully embraced the use of crypto since the start of the war as an easy way for people to donate to Ukrainian war efforts. The Ukrainian government managed to collect $600,000 in donations in a matter of days and over $70 million within a few weeks of the war, with notable names such as Vitalk Buterin, the Canadian-Russian head of Ethereum, tweeting in support of Ukraine.

Over the border, the Russian government has been uncertain about crypto adoption. In July 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a crypto ban on the payment of goods and services. Meanwhile, the Russian Duma expressed interest in developing a digital ruble CBDC for 2023 to be used only for specified goods and services.

The information on or accessed through this website is obtained from independent sources we believe to be accurate and reliable, but Decentral Media, Inc. makes no representation or warranty as to the timeliness, completeness, or accuracy of any information on or accessed through this website. Decentral Media, Inc. is not an investment advisor. We do not give personalized investment advice or other financial advice. The information on this website is subject to change without notice. Some or all of the information on this website may become outdated, or it may be or become incomplete or inaccurate. We may, but are not obligated to, update any outdated, incomplete, or inaccurate information.

You should never make an investment decision on an ICO, IEO, or other investment based on the information on this website, and you should never interpret or otherwise rely on any of the information on this website as investment advice. We strongly recommend that you consult a licensed investment advisor or other qualified financial professional if you are seeking investment advice on an ICO, IEO, or other investment. We do not accept compensation in any form for analyzing or reporting on any ICO, IEO, cryptocurrency, currency, tokenized sales, securities, or commodities.

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Hundreds of Bitcoin Wallets Controlled by Russian Intelligence ... - Crypto Briefing

Dogecoin price has always been a leader in the meme coin space, but the emergence of PEPE challenged the supremacy of the cryptocurrency. The OG meme coin continues to fail to breach an important resistance level, but the altcoin might have found its way around the bearishness surrounding it.

Dogecoin price over the last week has had a rather less volatile, sideways movement in comparison to Bitcoin prices rise to $30,000 and the subsequent decline. The latter noted another 4% crash on May 1, while DOGE stood virtually unchanged at $0.0789.

Given that the altcoins currently lack the strength to mark an alt season, all the cryptocurrencies are bound to follow Bitcons lead. However, DOGE is one of the altcoins refraining from doing so, given its correlation to the asset stands at a low of 0.3. This is the same reason why the meme coin did not observe much decline over the last 24 hours, even as BTC slipped to $28,000.

Dogecoin correlation to Bitcoin

Read more - MicroStrategy outperforms Apple, Google and Bitcoin price despite BTC dip to $28,000

But beyond a low correlation, Dogecoin needs the support of its investors, that have been disappearing over the last ten days. The addresses conducting transactions on the network declined from an average of 142,000 throughout April to 112,000 for the last couple of days.

Dogecoin active addresses

One of the potential reasons behind this is the absurdly successful meme coin, PEPE, which boasts a market cap of $481 million that it gained over the last two weeks. The hype surrounding the joke coin has been such that the 24-hour trading volume of PEPE surpassed that of Dogecoin.

While DOGE noted a total of transactions worth $321 million conducted in the last day, PEPE traders and holders moved around $521 million worth of supply in the same duration. The trading volume of PEPE even exceeded the total diluted market cap, which speaks volumes to the sensibility and loyalty of meme coin holders.

Dogecoin vs. PEPE 24-hour trading volume

Regardless, DOGE might have a shot upon the PEPE hype easing; until then, not following Bitcoin is likely the best option for the cryptocurrency.

Read more:

Dogecoin price defying Bitcoins lead might be the key to its recovery - FXStreet

The price of Bitcoin (BTC), after a sharp increase on April 25 and 26, BTC underwent days of relative stability, only to drop by over 4% as last weekend came to a close.

In a tweet on April 30, crypto analyst Ali Martinez put forward an observation regarding Bitcoins price direction, highlighting two critical levels that may play a role. Martinez notes that a significant support level is evident, with 1.85 million addresses purchasing 650,000 BTC between the price range of $27,440 and $28,315.

Additionally, Martinez identifies a key resistance level, with 1.37 million addresses having acquired 530,000 BTC between $29,260 and $30,130. These levels could potentially influence Bitcoins future price action.

At the time of writing, Bitcoins price sits at $28,551, placing the digital asset just above the support level mentioned in the tweet.

After initially rising from $27,400 on April 25, Bitcoin reached a resistance just below $30,000 on April 26, and the coin spent the weekend trying to breach the resistance at $29,260. BTC reached the height of $29,800 on three occasions over the past week Once on April 26, another time on April 27, and one last time on April 30.

However, with the arrival of the new week, Bitcoins price dropped to roughly $28,500, which is where it sits at the time of writing. In the past 7 days, BTC price has grown by 4.13%, but on a 24-hour chart, it is 2.35% down.

The price drop comes ahead of the Federal Reserves monetary policy decision, which is expected to be made on Wednesday, May 3. The uncertainty has caused the majority of crypto assets to trade in the red, moving toward neutralizing the weekly gains seen in the final days of April.

For now, traders are waiting for one of the levels to break. However, it remains to be seen which level will break first.

Disclaimer:The content on this site should not be considered investment advice. Investing is speculative. When investing, your capital is at risk.

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2 key levels that will decide Bitcoin's future price - Finbold - Finance in Bold