Bitcoin prices are caught in a downdraft, after a series of rallies in recent weeks that repeatedly fizzled out at the $10,000 mark. 
“There is no clear understanding where bitcoin will go,” Yuriy Mazur, head of data analytics at cryptocurrency exchange CEX.IO told CoinDesk’s Omkar Godbole. “It may either retrace back to $6,500 or reach $10,000.”
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Source: TradingViewWith the near-term picture cloudy, some analysts are focusing on a longer-term trend that could be surprisingly bullish for bitcoin: the emergence of digital currencies issued by central banks. 
It’s not an obvious investment thesis, since bitcoin was invented to be used in an electronic peer-to-peer payment system that would be free of government control and operate outside of the traditional banking system. 
And most central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs for short, would, by their very nature, be issued and controlled by governments, and in many cases distributed through banks. 
But Jack Purdy and Ryan Watkins of the research firm Messari wrote last week in a report that the “coming digitization of money,” including the launch of CBDCs, could provide a “secular tailwind” for bitcoin. 
CBDCs have gained momentum over the past year, as countries consider whether to roll out digital versions of their currencies to keep up with Facebook’s proposed Libra and China’s forthcoming digital currency electronic payment, which is already in testing.
The journal Central Banking, which is supported by the Bank of International Settlements and the European Central Bank among others, found in a survey earlier this month that some 46 countries are considering CBDCs using a constrained form of distributed ledger technology. 
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told Congress in February that the U.S. central bank is in the early stages of researching digital currencies, and that having a “single government currency at the heart of the financial system is something that has served us well.” 
Even so, JPMorgan said last week in a report that “there is no country with more to losefrom the disruptive potential of digital currency than the United States,” as reported by Bloomberg News. “This revolves primarily around U.S. dollar hegemony.” 
The largest U.S. bank’s warning merely reinforces the urgency and significance of the efforts, and that’s what the Messari analysts were homing in on. 
“Catalyzed by bitcoin and the recognition of the benefits of blockchain technology, many countries and companies around the world have begun researching, testing and launching their own digital currencies,” the analysts wrote. 
“When these projects launch, they will have the combined effect of exposing billions of people to cryptocurrency-related technologies,” according to the report. “This will increase people’s comfort with and understanding of cryptocurrencies, get more people creating and using cryptocurrency wallets, and provide on-ramps into decentralized cryptocurrencies like bitcoin.”
So CBDCs might be used to facilitate purchases of bitcoin? That’s the idea.
Tweet of the dayBitcoin watchBTC: Price: $8,878 (BPI) | 24-Hr High: $9,011 | 24-Hr Low: $8,672
Source: TradingViewTrend: While bitcoin has recovered from two-week lows reached on Monday, the cryptocurrency is yet to beat key resistance above $9,300.
At press time, bitcoin is changing hands near $9,000, having put in a low of $8,630, according to CoinDesk’s Bitcoin Price Index. Prices need to cross Sunday’s high of $9,310. That would invalidate the lower highs setup on the 4-hour chart and confirm an end of the pullback from $10,000 and the revival of the bullish trend. 
However, as long as prices are held under $9,310, the bearish view put forward by Sunday’s downside break of the ascending trendline connecting March 13 and April 21 lows would remain valid. 
The uptick from $8,630 to $9,000 seen in the last 24 hours lacks substance, as volumes have remained low throughout the price recovery. A low-volume bounce is often short-lived. Hence, prospects of a strong move above $9,310 look bleak. 
Besides, higher time frame charts are reporting a failed breakout. “The previous weekly candle below the long-term downtrend line support (drawn from June 2019 and February 2020 high), which locally invalidates the bullishness,” said Adrian Zduńczyk, chartered market technician and CEO of trading community The BIRB Nest. 
So, another move lower toward $8,630 cannot be ruled out. A violation there would expose 78.6% Fibonacci retracement marked at 8524. “If that level is broken, it would result in tapping into range lows support $8,000-$8,100. The 50-day average at $8,300 could also offer support,” said Zduńczyk. 
However, if prices rise above $9,300 with strong volumes, a falling wedge breakout would be confirmed on the 4-hour chart. That would open the doors to a re-test of $10,000. 
Sign up to receive First Mover in your inbox, every weekday.Disclosure Read More The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.

Crypto businesses may soon be offered a regulated path to legalization in the state of Louisiana.
The state of Louisiana may soon pass a bill, that was filed earlier this year and will allow crypto-businesses to operate legally under a state license.
The proposed bill has been backed by Louisiana state representative Mark Weight. Should the bill be passed, the state would have a regulated crypto framework to operate within and would provide an official definition of traditionally ambiguous cryptocurrency-related terms.
Unanimous Approval
The crypto-license bill was unanimously approved in Louisiana’s House of Representatives last week. A positive sign for potential cryptocurrency providers, but it will now have to pass through the State Senate, and then to the Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and finally International Affairs before final approval.
The new bill is a breath of fresh air for US virtual asset providers, who historically have been forced to set up in crypto-friendly jurisdictions like Malta and Switzerland. This has been due to the restrictive and heavily-enforced overarching US regulatory agenda to prevent cryptocurrencies from being used illegally for money laundering, purchasing contraband, and illicit content.
Louisiana appears to be the next US state demanding clarity on regulations for cryptocurrency business and BitLicenses. So far, New York has been the most active state in seeking regulatory clarity and the state has approved 18 Bitlicenses since 2015.
 
Image via Shutterstock

Bitcoin moved back over $9,000 earlier on Tuesday alongside signs of an improved risk appetite in the traditional markets. 
Prices rose to a high of $9,010 at 08:05 UTC, but quickly fell back below $8,900, pouring cold water over excitement generated by Monday’s 2.3% bounce from the two-week low of $8,630. 
At press time, the number one cryptocurrency by market value is changing hands near $8,860, according to CoinDesk’s Bitcoin Price Index. 
Meanwhile, the futures tied to the S&P 500, Wall Street’s equity index, are reporting over 2% gains Tuesday. Major European equity indexes are flashing green, too, with the U.K.’s FTSE index leading the way with a 1.33% gain, as per Investing.com.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude, North America’s oil benchmark, has so far scored a 2.4% gain on the day, while safe havens like gold, Japanese yen and the U.S. dollar are nursing losses. 
Risk sentiment seems to have been buoyed by reports of a potential coronavirus vaccine. U.S.-based biotech company Novavax said on Monday that it is beginning a phase 1 clinical trial of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate in Australia. Results are expected in July. 
Bitcoin closely tracked action in the equity markets in March and April before decoupling in the two weeks leading up to the reward halving event on May 11. With halving behind us, the cryptocurrency may again start taking cues from equities. 
As a result, some traders may expect the cryptocurrency to chart a strong break above $9,000 during the day ahead. However, major exchanges like Bitstamp, which is included in the calculation of Bitwise’s “real” bitcoin trading volume figures, have registered low volumes during the last 24 hours. 
That may gloomy news for the bulls, as a low-volume move is often short-lived, according to technical analysis theory. Thus, the sustainability of the recovery toward $9,000 is in question. 
Further, the short-term bias looks to have turned bearish due to cryptocurrency’s recent violation of a two-month bullish trendline.
“The steep upwards trend was broken this weekend, and the BTC price crossed the line which has acted as support several times over the past month. If the downwards price action continues, the lower $8,000 area is an important support zone for the price and should see a lot of buyers coming in,” said a weekly update produced by the cryptocurrency exchange Luno and Arcane Research. 
Adrian Zdunczyk, a chartered market technician and CEO of trading community The BIRB Nest, also cited the $8,100–$8,000 area in a weekly update. Zdunczyk, however, is still bullish for long-term, as are most observers. 
Investors seem to be accumulating coins amid the price drop. On-chain data provided by blockchain intelligence firm IntoTheBlock shows the number of bitcoin addresses holding coins for over a year has reached a new record high of 19.44 million this month, toppling the previous lifetime high of 19.08 million in April. 
Addresses holding bitcoin for more than a yearSource: IntoTheBlockThe metric has been on an upward trajectory for 12 months and is indicative of a strong holding sentiment.
“Record-high long-term holders not only shows the growth of bitcoin’s store-of-value use case, but it also demonstrates the fierce conviction of investors who held tight during the 50% market drop, believing it to be a reliable long-term haven against increasingly unpredictable public markets,” said Jehan Chu, co-founder, and managing partner at Hong Kong-based blockchain investment and trading firm Kenetic Capital.
There’s a general consensus in the investor community that bitcoin is a hedge against the fiscal and monetary imprudence practiced by governments and central banks over the years, and more so, recently in the efforts to combat the coronavirus-led slowdown in the global economy. 
“Investing in tech companies is no longer good enough; investors are now choosing to invest directly in the crypto infrastructure the future will run on,” Chu said.
From a technical analysis standpoint, the overall bias would once more turn bullish if and when prices rise above $10,000. The immediate bearish bias would be invalidated if the risk-on seen in traditional markets powers the cryptocurrency above $9,310.
Disclosure: The author holds no cryptocurrency at the time of writing.
Disclosure Read More The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.

India’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, CoinDCX, has secured a $2.5 million strategic investment led by Polychain Capital with support from Coinbase Ventures.
The investment aims to reinforce the exchange’s efforts to drive cryptocurrency adoption in the country after a major legal victory in March. CoinDCX’s #TryCrypto campaign seeks to bring the total number of crypto users in India to 50 million.
Specifically, the financing aims to bolster CoinDCX’s meetup events, community engagement efforts, educational programs and consumer campaigns, the company said.
“This new strategic investment into CoinDCX is a shot of confidence in our roadmap toward bringing the crypto asset class to a largely untapped Indian market. We look forward to our investors’ continued counsel,” said Sumit Gupta, CEO and co-founder of CoinDCX.
Polychain’s investment is in addition to its participation in a $3 million Series A funding round for the Mumbai-based exchange, which occurred in late March, weeks after a banking ban for cryptocurrency businesses was overturned by the country’s Supreme Court.
Following the lifting of the banking ban in March, CoinDCX has seen a 47% growth in trading volumes and a 150% growth in daily active users. CoinDCX said it was one of the first cryptocurrency exchanges in India to integrate bank account transfers.
“As India continues to close the gap between the crypto economy and the mainstream market, CoinDCX is strongly positioned to become the leading platform that consumers in the country interact with crypto through,” said Shan Aggarwal, head of Coinbase Ventures.
Disclosure Read More The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.

Binance is forced to “technically” support last week’s hard fork of the Steem blockchain, according to the crypto exchange’s CEO, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao.
In a statement on the company’s official blog Sunday, CZ said that, while the exchange is “very much against zeroing other people’s assets on the blockchain,” to not support it would mean that Binance users would not be able to withdraw their steem tokens.
The result of a dispute in the Steem community over the acquisition of SteemIt – the blockchain ecosystem’s biggest and more powerful application – by Tron and Justin Sun, the hard fork was used as a tool to strip 64 dissenters of their token holdings. At the time around $6.3 million-worth of cryptocurrency was grabbed, with one of the affected parties, Dan Hensley, saying he alone had lost around $1 million of the total.
Wiping out people’s token holdings “goes against the very ethos of blockchain and decentralization,” said CZ. The fact that this can happen on a blockchain means it is overly centralized.”
The fork put Binance in a “tricky” situation, he continued. While the exchange would not otherwise support the fork, “if we don’t support it (technically), no users can withdraw any STEEM coins.”
CZ explained that Binance had waited to see how other exchanges reacted to the fork, saying that soon some had enabled the upgrade. He added that users had been demanding support for the fork too.
Reading between the lines, CZ appears to be encouraging users to withdraw their steem tokens, mentioning several times in the post that support that supporting the fork would allow withdrawals – of course, it could allow continued holding or trading too.
“We do not want to block people’s funds. In this case, we should allow users to withdraw their funds, whether we willingly support this hard fork or not,” reads one of his lines.
The issue of the hard fork – launched apparently with the sole purpose of confiscating the holdings of key community members who were unhappy with Justin Sun’s power in the ecosystem and how he was wielding it – followed a previous hard fork that saw some Steem users create a new blockchain called Hive. The new chain copied over all the tokens from Steem, but not those of Sun and some Steem witnesses.
While the tit-for-tat fork may seem to some a fair reprisal, it’s worth noting that Hive’s tokens were effectively a free copy, while original holdings on Steem were obtained through genuine investments.
In the post, CZ notes that crypto advocate and author Andreas Antonopoulos had suggested in a tweet that Steem’s latest fork would likely result in litigation, with supporting exchanges also to be included as defendants.
The Binance CEO said:” I would have thought that [a class-action lawsuit] would go against everything he is preaching. In a decentralized world, anyone should be able to support any fork. Exchanges providing choices for users to get a ‘forked coin’ is no different by definition.”
The Steem saga illustrates that decentralization is not a utopia and that the community must work together “build a healthier decentralized ecosystem,” he concluded.
Disclosure Read More The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.

The credibility of Craig Wright – the Australian tech entrepreneur who controversially claims to be bitcoin’s pseudonymous inventor, Satoshi Nakamoto – has taken another blow.
After a list of bitcoin addresses Wright had provided as being his holdings in an ongoing court case were briefly and “inadvertently” made public by plaintiffs on May 21, 145 of the addresses were used to sign a public message both calling Wright a “fraud” and making it plain that he does not in fact own or control them.
The court case was brought by Ira Kleiman, the brother of Wright’s former business partner, David Kleiman, and seeks half of 1.1 million bitcoin (worth around $9.6 billion) the two allegedly mined in the early days of the cryptocurrency, as well as intellectual property. The case hinges on whether Wright can prove he has the keys to the trove of cryptocurrency.
“Craig Steven Wright is a liar and a fraud. He doesn’t have the keys used to sign this message. The Lightning Network is a significant achievement. However, we need to continue work on improving on-chain capacity. Unfortunately, the solution is not to just change a constant in the code or to allow powerful participants to force out others. We are all Satoshi”Some of the many addresses in the court filing published on Court Listener are indeed used to sign the message.
The message was first brought to wider attention on Reddit, with the claim that the addresses are for bitcoin mined in 2009 and that have not been moved since.
BitMEX Research tweeted that it had taken “a random sample of 20” of the addresses and found they did not match the holdings of the “dominant” early bitcoin miner in 2009, who many think was Satoshi. The firm’s earlier research on this is to be found here.
Wright had claimed in court that his billions in bitcoin were held for him in so-called Tulip Trusts, but that he could not prove his control of the keys due to attorney-client privilege. He has been accused by the judge of “abusing” client-attorney privilege to withhold documents and “obfuscate” proceedings elsewhere in the case.
Last August, the judge also found Wright had argued in bad faith, perjured himself and admitted false evidence.
In another filing on May 21, the Kleiman team filed an omnibus motion for sanctions against Wright, claiming: “Wright has engaged in a sustained pattern of perjury, forged evidence, misleading filings, and obstruction – this included submission of false evidence which, if not unmasked, could have resulted in Plaintiffs being deprived of their day in court.”
Saying the abuses are “undeniably directed at the singular goal of making it impossible for Plaintiffs to prevail at trial,” defendants seek sanctions and a default judgement against Wright.
If the judge rules in favor of Wright on this matter, Dr. Ami Klin “will testify that he has diagnosed Dr. Wright with Autism Spectrum Disorder with high intellectual skills. Dr. Klin’s testimony will help the jury understand how this disability affects behavior.”
Another of Wright’s experts would testify on whether David Kleiman “had the requisite skills and experience to have written or significantly have contributed to the original Bitcoin software application released in 2009.” The Kleiman team is seeking to block the appearances of the four expert witnesses.
Disclosure Read More The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.