Decentral Block Post

Bitcoin (BTC) and other bulls will not benefit from a major change in United States inflation policy in 2023, one analyst says.

In a Twitter thread on Dec. 20, Jim Bianco, head of institutional research firm Bianco Research, said that the Federal Reserve would not “pivot” on rate hikes next year.

Bianco: Japan YCC move "matters for all markets"

In light of the surprise yield curve control (YCC) tweak by the Bank of Japan (BoJ), analysts have become all the more bearish on the prospects for risk assets this week.

As Cointelegraph reported, the move spelled immediate pain for the U.S. dollar, and with the Wall Street open in sight, equities futures were trending down in step at the time of writing.

For Bianco, the fact that the BoJ was now seeking to follow the Fed in tightening policy to ward off inflation meant that the latter was unlikely to loosen its own policy.

Sasha Ivanov, founder and CEO of the Waves blockchain platform, is planning to launch a new stablecoin amid the ongoing crisis of the Waves-backed stablecoin, Neutrino USD (USDN).

Ivanov took to Twitter on Dec. 20 to announce the USDN situation resolution plan alongside a new stablecoin project.

“I will launch a new stablecoin,” Waves founder wrote, adding that there is going to be a “USDN situation resolution plan set in motion before.” He stressed that nothing new will be launched or announced until the USDC plan resolution is set in motion.

Without specifying the details on the nature of the upcoming stablecoin, Ivanov promised that the stablecoin will be “undepeggable.” 

“The most important thing is to make people whole eventually, let's focus on that.”

BNB (BNB), the native token of the Binance crypto exchange, is under threat of undergoing a significant price correction in the coming weeks, based on a mix of technical and fundamental indicators.

BNB triangle breakdown continues

From a technical perspective, BNB has entered the breakdown stage of its multi-month ascending triangle pattern, a trend continuation indicator. The breakdown could last until the price reaches the level that comes to be at the length equal to the triangle's maximum height.

In other words, BNB's ascending triangle breakdown target is near $170, down about 30% from the current price levels, as shown below. The BNB/USD pair could drop to the said level by January 2023.

For now, BNB's breakdown move appears to be halting near $222, which has served as a strong support level in  recent history, including the declines witnessed in the aftermath of the Terra (LUNA) collapse in May 2022.

BNB could retest the $222 as support, based on a rising wedge technical setup forming on the four-hour chart, as shown below. 

BNB (BNB), the native token of the Binance crypto exchange, is under threat of undergoing a significant price correction in the coming weeks, based on a mix of technical and fundamental indicators.

BNB triangle breakdown continues

From a technical perspective, BNB has entered the breakdown stage of its multi-month ascending triangle pattern, a trend continuation indicator. The breakdown could last until the price reaches the level that comes to be at the length equal to the triangle's maximum height.

In other words, BNB's ascending triangle breakdown target is near $170, down about 30% from the current price levels, as shown below. The BNB/USD pair could drop to the said level by January 2023.

For now, BNB's breakdown move appears to be halting near $222, which has served as a strong support level in  recent history, including the declines witnessed in the aftermath of the Terra (LUNA) collapse in May 2022.

BNB could retest the $222 as support, based on a rising wedge technical setup forming on the four-hour chart, as shown below. 

Cointelegraph Markets Pro, a data platform designed to level the playing field for cryptocurrency market participants, has been available to the public for nearly two years now.

The platform, which took a year to develop, is the result of an exhaustive analysis of crypto markets and the key drivers of asset price movements.

It was developed jointly by Cointelegraph and The Tie, the most comprehensive and actionable digital asset information provider trusted by 100+ institutional clients.

Testing the VORTECS™ Score

At the heart of the platform is the VORTECS™ Score, which compares current market conditions for over 420 crypto assets to historically similar marketscapes.

A proprietary algorithm analyzes those historic conditions, seeking consistent patterns in market behavior in the following days.

More than six months after the collapse of the Terra ecosystem, South Korean authorities continue to investigate and freeze the funds of persons involved in Terra.

After seizing 140 billion won ($108 million) from Terra co-founder Shin Hyun-Seong in November, the Seoul Southern District Court has recently ruled to confiscate more assets related to Terra.

The South Korean court has ordered to freeze of 120 billion won ($92 million) in assets of former and incumbent CEOs of Terraform Labs’ affiliate firm Kernel Labs, The Korea Economic Daily reported on Dec. 20.

Founded in 2018, Kernel Labs is a blockchain consultancy firm focused on decentralized applications and blockchain payment systems. Kernel Labs is believed to have close ties with Terraform Labs, as CEO Kim Hyun-joong once reportedly served as vice president of engineering at Terraform Labs. According to some sources, Kernel Labs employees also worked at the South Korean office of Terraform Labs.

According to the new report, the Seoul Southern District Court has accepted the prosecution's request to seize property of seven people involved in selling pre-issued Terra (LUNA) tokens to make astronomical profits.

Bitcoin (BTC) recovered from an overnight dip on Dec. 20 as Japan’s central bank sparked chaos on global financial markets.

Analyst likens BoJ policy to FTX

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD returning to near $17,000 after falling over 3% through the course of Dec. 19.

The largest cryptocurrency benefitted from the flash United States dollar weakness, this coming on the back of a surprise policy tweak from the Bank of Japan (BoJ).

Long a deflationary environment with ultra-low interest rates, Japan woke up to a sea change on the day as policymakers lifted the cap on bond yields. The yen instantly gained against the USD, while Japan’s Nikkei plummeted.

Reacting, Bitcoin analysts were anything but jubilant despite the short-term benefits for BTC/USD.

While self-custody is considered the ultimate way to secure one’s funds, many fail to acknowledge the risks associated with physically storing seed phrases. A search conducted by the State Police agency for Nevada ended up making a suspect’s seed phrase public after being picked up by the body cam.

A viral video making rounds on Twitter showed two police officers searching a suspect’s car and coming across pieces of paper. It turns out, the suspect was a strong believer in self-custody as unfolding the pieces of paper revealed the suspect’s seed phrase, which was hand-written — a popular method to prevent online compromises.

As the incident got recorded by one of the officer’s body camera, the suspect’s seed phrase has now become public information.

Binance CEO Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao saw the video and warned investors about learning the various risks involved in different methods of storing cryptocurrencies. He said:

“I am a proponent of free choice. Feel free to hold your crypto anyway you wish. But learn the risks of each method.”

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has pushed for stricter regulations on centralized crypto actors but says decentralized protocols should be allowed to flourish given that open-source code and smart contracts are “the ultimate form of disclosure.”

Armstrong shared his views on cryptocurrency regulation in a Dec. 20 Coinbase blog where he proposed how regulators can help “restore trust” and move the industry forward as the market continues to recover from the damage done by FTX and its shock collapse.

But decentralized protocols aren’t part of that equation, the Coinbase CEO emphasized.

“Decentralized arrangements do not involve intermediaries [and] open-source code and smart contracts are “the ultimate form of disclosure,” Armstrong explained, adding that on-chain, “transparency is built in by default” in a “cryptographically provable way” and as such should be largely left alone.

The Coinbase CEO said that “additional transparency and disclosure” checks are needed for centralized actors because humans are involved, with Armstrong hoping FTX’s fall “will be the catalyst we need to finally get new legislation passed.”