Decentral Block Post

The major United States stock market indices continued their decline last week as worsening macroeconomic conditions increased concerns of a global recession. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at its lowest level in 2022 and major indices recorded their fifth weekly close in the past six weeks.

Although Bitcoin (BTC) has only declined marginally this week, it risks closing at the lowest level since 2020. While a new multi-year weekly close is a negative sign, sellers will have to sustain the lower levels or else it may turn out to be a bear trap. The price action of the next few days is likely to witness heightened volatility as both the bulls and the bears battle it out for supremacy.

Several investors miss opportunities to buy during sharp corrections because they try to catch the bottom. Traders should rather focus on the projects they like and accumulate the coins in a phased manner lasting a few weeks or months. All coins do not bottom at the same time, hence it is better to focus on individual cryptocurrencies that show strength.

While Bitcoin is nearing its yearly lows, certain altcoins are holding up well. Let’s look at the charts of five cryptocurrencies that look interesting in the near term.

BTC/USDT

The Bitcoin bulls have successfully defended the $18,626 to $17,622 support zone in the past few days but they continue to face strong selling at the 20-day exponential moving average ($19,720). This suggests that bears continue to sell on minor rallies.

Bitcoin (BTC) headed for its lowest weekly close since 2020 on Sep. 25 as a week of macro turmoil took its toll.

Trader prepares for "important week" for BTC

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD trading near $19,000 with hours left to run on the weekly candle.

While only down $400 since the week began, the pair offered traders little optimism amid fears that the coming days would continue the bleedout across risk assets.

“The whole week traded within the monday range. Weekly close gonna be bearish, looking like a pin bar,” popular trading account Crypto Yoddha told Twitter followers in a summary post.

“Also consolidating at the range low. So need a bounce first before taking a position. Next week is gonna be important. (Q3 close + Monthly close).”

Bitcoin (BTC) headed for its lowest weekly close since 2020 on Sep. 25 as a week of macro turmoil took its toll.

Trader prepares for "important week" for BTC

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD trading near $19,000 with hours left to run on the weekly candle.

While only down $400 since the week began, the pair offered traders little optimism amid fears that the coming days would continue the bleedout across risk assets.

“The whole week traded within the monday range. Weekly close gonna be bearish, looking like a pin bar,” popular trading account Crypto Yoddha told Twitter followers in a summary post.

“Also consolidating at the range low. So need a bounce first before taking a position. Next week is gonna be important. (Q3 close + Monthly close).”

The infamous collapse of the Terra ecosystem, which erased market prices of TerraUSD (UST) and LUNA tokens, continues to trouble anxious investors as co-founder Do Kwon, crypto exchanges and the community together tries to identify the best route for a sustainable price recovery.

Most recently, Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao, the CEO of crypto exchange Binance, recommended a flat 1.2% trading tax on LUNC trades that could be burned to reduce the token’s total supply and improve its price performance. Addressing the community, CZ stated:

“We will implement an opt-in button (on the Binance exchange), for people to opt-in to pay a 1.2% tax for their LUNC trading.”

However, the exchange would begin the taxation for opt-in traders following the consensus of 25% of the LUNC investors, making sure that early adopters “are not the only few paying an extra 1.2%.”

A blanket trading tax of 1.2% will be implemented for all LUNC trading only after opt-in traders reach 50% of the total LUNC trading volume on the exchange.

Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), a cryptocurrency fund that currently holds 3.12% of the total Bitcoin (BTC) supply, or over 640,000 BTC, is trading at a record discount compared to the value of its underlying assets.

Institutional interest in Grayscale dries up

On Sep. 23, the $12.55 billion closed-end trust was trading at a 35.18% discount, according to the latest data.

To investors, GBTC has long served as a great alternative to gain exposure in the Bitcoin market despite its 2% annual management fee. This is primarily because GBTC is easier to hold for institutional investors because it can be managed via a brokerage account. 

For most of its existence, GBTC traded at a hefty premium to spot Bitcoin prices. But It started trading at a discount after the debut of the first North American Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in Canada in February 2021.

Unlike an ETF, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust does not have a redemption mechanism. In other words, GBTC shares cannot be destroyed or created based on fluctuating demand, which explains its heavily discounted prices compared to spot Bitcoin.