Crypto Today: Bitcoin back inside the old range after a swift recovery above $6,000

Here’s what you need to know on 

Markets:

BTC/USD is changing hands at $6,200 after a short-lived dip below $6,000. The coin has gained over 5% since the beginning of the day, thought it is still down 1% on a day-to-day basis. BTC hit the intraday low at $5,854 but managed to regain the ground. 

ETH/USD still hovers below $130.00, down 1% on a day-to-day basis. The second-largest coin hit the Asian low at $124.00 and recovered to $129.70 by press time. Now ETH/USD is moving in a short-term bullish trend amid shrinking volatility.

XRP/USD struggles to stay above $0.1700. The coin tested a low of $0.1625 during early Asian hours before recovering to $0.1690 at the time of writing. XRP has lost over 4% since this time on Sunday.

Among the 100 most important cryptocurrenciesEnergi (NRG) $1.73 (+10.3%), Nervos Network (CKB) $0.0042 (+7.6%) and Verge (XVG) $0.0024 (+4.5%) are in the green zone. The day’s losers are  Steem (STEEM) $0.1631 (-9.4%) Bytecoin (BCN) $0.00019 (-7.9%), aelf (ELF) $0.0544 (-6.8%).

Chart of the day:

BTC/USD, 30-min chart

Market:

The cryptocurrency industry may be in big trouble if it fails to capitalize on the current situation, according to a prominent trader and investor Peter Brandt. He believes that COVID-19 pandemic and the global financial crisis creates an ideal storm for the first cryptocurrency and may either take it to a new evolutionary stage or make it a part of history.

For BTC, this is the perfect storm. If Bitcoin cannot rally on this, then crypto is in BIG trouble.

Recently, Peter Brandt also mentioned that Bitcoin experienced an identity crisis as a safe-haven asset.

Cryptocurrency traders say that Bitcoin’s sell-off towards $4,000 is not entirely out of the question. While the first digital asset is changing hands at above $6,000, some traders point out that the technical picture implies more bearish momentum in the nearest future. Thus, a crypto trader Big Cheds noted that the last time 4-hour Bollinger Band became so narrow, BTC/USD crashed from $8,000. While price consolidation under the upper line of the Band is considered a bullish signal, several unsuccessful attempts to break higher is a red flag for buyers.

Industry

One of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, announced the delisting of leveraged tokens issued by FTX platform. The head of the exchange, Chanpeng Zhao explained that the instruments were too complicated and risky for an ordinary player, that’s why they decided to scrap them. The community was frustrated by the decision as many traders reported losses due to the upcoming listing. According to the official announcement, traders should withdrawal their leveraged tokens until March 31. Otherwise, they will be exchanged into BUSD and credited to their accounts.

Liquid Network now has 45 members as ten companies joined the initiative recently. The solution developed by blockchain startup Blockstream as a faster and more efficient alternative to Lightning Network, is now more decentralized as management functions have been transferred from  Liquid Membership Board to Liquid Federation. Commenting on the announcement, Samson Mow, CSO of Blockstream, said that Liquid adoption was accelerating at this critical juncture in Bitcoin’s history.

A growing number of Liquid members shows that the cryptocurrency market is actively preparing for Bitcoin’s third halving and increased trading volume. With Liquid, traders no longer have to worry about the frustrations of network congestion and slow confirmations as seen in prior bull markets, and they will benefit from enhanced confidentiality and self-custody solutions.

Regulation

Singapore’s financial regulator, MAS, permitted Ripple Labs, Coinbase, Binance and Gemini among others to operate in the country without a license. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) underlined that the exemption was temporary and at the end of the exemption period, the companies will have to apply for a license in order to carry out their offers and services.

Please note that these entities are not licensed under the PS [Payment Services] Act to provide the specific payment services, but are allowed to continue to provide the specific payment services, the regulator said