Bitcoin Buzz: Regulations, Innovations, and Security Worries
BTC/USD Price Action Becomes Murky. Mixed Signals and Potential Correction.
As Bitcoin is gathering its strength to possibly print a new All-Time High, the crypto world is buzzing with positive… and some negative vibes.
Ukraine plans to embrace cryptocurrencies by legalizing them in early 2025, aligning with global trends. At this time, the legislation is just a draft and is developed by the National Bank of Ukraine and the IMF. The main focus of the draft is to regulate digital assets but will not be offering any tax breaks and profits from crypto transactions will be taxed upon conversion to fiat currency, which is similar to how securities trading is treated.
Vancouver aims to be Bitcoin-friendly and their City Council recently approved a motion to explore Bitcoin integration into city finances. The initiative was proposed by Mayor Ken Sim and it aims to hedge against inflation. Potential plans include a Bitcoin reserve and payment options. According to Sim: “We have affordability challenges, and I truly believe that Bitcoin could be something that can solve our challenges, both financial and affordability”
The trend of embracing crypto continues with CFTC leadership potential: Brian Quintenz, former CFTC commissioner and current head of policy at Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto division, is reportedly a top contender for the CFTC chair role under Donald Trump’s administration. Quintenz is known for promoting financial innovation and regulatory clarity and previously supported integrating digital asset derivatives into federal frameworks.
Byte Federal Data Breach: Bitcoin ATM operator Byte Federal has revealed a data breach that may have impacted up to 58,000 customers. The breach, which occurred in late September but wasn’t discovered until November, exposed sensitive personal information such as names, addresses, IDs, and transaction details. In response, Byte Federal immediately shut down its platform and reassured customers that no funds or assets were affected.
Chart Analysis – BTC/USD
Bitcoin is currently trading at $99,970, which is close to the $103,650 ATH and although the speed of the climb has clearly diminished, we may very well see a new All-Time High. The overall sentiment surrounding Bitcoin is positive and institutional support is growing, as well as adoption.
The RSI has already shown bearish divergence (the price was making constant higher highs while the indicator was just printing lower highs) but we can also see hidden bullish divergence: the low created on December 9 is higher than the low at $90,700 but the RSI printed a lower low (see chart for visual representation).
So, we have both bullish and bearish divergences, which is not helping a lot in determining the next move. What is clear is that Bitcoin made historic advances and maybe it’s time for a correction. On top of that, the end of the year is approaching fast, so maybe some investors will be looking to take some profits, which will create bearish pressure. The main bias is clearly bullish.
