The probability on buyers’ side is higher, but the value of the Bitcoin must break the immediate support. Last week’s highest resistance matched that of the whole month, so the price will likely reach the target of USD 59,000.

The price of Bitcoin has steadily risen for almost a month and is a few steps away from USD 50,000.

The pioneering cryptocurrency is trading around USD 44,931 and has accumulated a loss of 2.5% in the last 24 hours. It had a bullish week since it grew by more than 4.74%, according to CoinGecko.

The period of high sales remains behind as more coins leave exchanges, putting pressure on the supply. Users withdraw between 75,000 BTC and 100,000 BTC every month.

Although the price has rebounded by 56% in a matter of 3 weeks, there still seems to be distrust among institutional investors. However, most of the on-chain data and the price action in recent days indicate that the bullish rally will continue.

Technical Analysis of the Price of Bitcoin as It Approaches USD 50,000

The BTC/USDT daily chart shows a clear bullish trend, with engulfing candlesticks eliminating minor setbacks in a matter of hours.

There is a decline in the price of Bitcoin that could be about to end, opening the way to momentum in search of USD 50,000.

Even though there could be a relevant correction soon, the probabilities are on the side of buyers. However, the value of the cryptocurrency must break the immediate support, which is currently at USD 44,400.

Right now, the runway for Bitcoin is clear to USD 50,000, so it would not be uncommon to see it reach that target this week.

The Weekly Performance of Bitcoin and the Predictions about Its Price

The BTC market has enjoyed a week during which its price has gone up from USD 43,000 to USD 48,000. There could be a maximum resistance of USD 49,947 and a minimum of USD 35,754 this month.

Last week, the maximum resistance was the same as that of the whole month. Therefore, the price of Bitcoin will very likely break it to reach the target of USD 59,000. However, it will need to pull back to USD 46,000 to bounce.

The BTC index of whales on exchanges reached 90%, the highest level since February 2020 before the massive dumping. When noticing this, it is necessary to be extremely careful. However, the market trend seems to be buying, as 14 technical indicators show, according to TradingView.

Analysts Have Divided Opinions on their Price Predictions

The remarkable rally above USD 46,000 has left analysts divided on the path that Bitcoin will take. Two polarized theories put it on either the way to new all-time highs or the brink of imminent collapse before the end of 2021.

First, Bitcoin may have entered the second stage of a two-year bullish run in which the price will reach above its USD 64,000 all-time high.

Second, the current price surge is a bullish trap pattern known as a dead cat bounce. That will cause Bitcoin to drop much lower than the USD 29,000 levels in late July.

According to Mike McGlone of Bloomberg Intelligence, Bitcoin will reach a price of USD 100,000. Likewise, Tom Lee of Fundstrat Global Advisors predicted that it would reach USD 100,000 by the end of 2021.

By Willmen Blanco

Argentine President Alberto Fernández spoke about the possible use of cryptocurrencies to combat inflation. Venezuelan authorities restored the electric service to disconnected Bitcoin miners so that they could operate again.

In the last week, there were prominent news events about Bitcoin adoption in Spanish-speaking countries. Especially in Argentina, Spain, and Venezuela, people bought and sold vehicles and real estate with the stablecoin Tether (USDT).

There were some government approaches towards Bitcoin, new regulatory obstacles for the Binance exchange, and the reactivation of disconnected Bitcoin miners.

Argentina Can Use Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies to Combat Inflation

The statements of Argentine President Alberto Fernández about Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies marked the week. He does not rule out the adoption of those assets to curb inflation in the South American country, although he considers them a care issue.

Renowned bitcoiner Rodolfo Andragnes refuted the statements of the Head of State. The founder of the NGO Bitcoin Argentina stated they would not become deflationary using cryptocurrencies. He said that the government should take a position against the excessive printing of money to help fight inflation.

Meanwhile, private businesses such as Grupo Dietrich continue adopting cryptocurrencies. The dealership finalized its first sale in cryptocurrencies of brand-new cars.

Besides, the president of the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic talked about Bitcoin. Even though he does not consider it a financial asset, he thinks it can affect the country’s foreign exchange market.

Finally, mining company Bitfarms, which Argentines founded in Canada, exceeded USD 1 billion in capitalization.

Chile Does Not Allow Binance to Operate in Its Territory

There were not many news events about Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in Chile, but the one occurring is weighty. The Commission for the Financial Market of the country stated that Binance could not operate in the territory.

The official statement does not mean banning or blocking the Binance website for Chileans. However, it is a new regulatory setback for the exchange, which has faced several obstacles in other countries.

Spain Installs New Bitcoin ATMs in Madrid

Spain, the Spanish-speaking country with the most Bitcoin ATMs, added three new machines during the week. BitBase, the company with the most devices operating in the territory, installed all of them.

The new ATMs in Madrid mean that the company has six in the Spanish capital. In total, the city has 14 of the 116 ATMs that there are throughout Spain.

Disconnected Bitcoin Miners Venezuela Start Operating Again

A Venezuelan citizen paid for an apartment entirely with the stablecoin Tether (USDT) in Barcelona, the east of the country. Both the buyer and the seller used the exchange Binance as an intermediary to conduct a transaction of USD 12,000.

A less pleasant report indicates that some criminals kidnapped and killed a merchant from Zulia state, the westernmost part of the country. The kidnappers requested a ransom of 0.5 BTC, equivalent to more than USD 23,000, which his family failed to complete.

Finally, the Bitcoin miners from Carabobo state, whose electric service the regulators had suspended, reconnected their equipment. After a meeting, the authorities from the Superintendency of Crypto Assets allowed them to operate again.

By Alexander Salazar

Some miners would have to move to more suitable facilities to stabilize their electricity consumption and impact on the grid. Nine mining groups are taking advantage of the opportunity to regularize their legal situation.

Authorities of Carabobo, Venezuela, had suspended the electric service to the Bitcoin mining farms in that state on August 7^th. After a meeting with those groups, the regulators allowed them to continue using the energy to reconnect and restart their activities.

Superintendent Joselit Ramirez represented the Crypto Assets Superintendency (Sunacrip) at the meeting. Likewise, representatives of the National Association of Cryptocurrencies (Asonacrip) were present.

The authorities had suspended the electricity service to cryptocurrency miners but promised to restore it, as has indeed been the case.

Mining Groups Seize the Opportunity to Regularize their Legal Situation

Nine mining farm operators are taking advantage of the approach to the authorities to regularize their legal status. The regulators did not impose fines or penalties on that group of miners.

Additionally, some miners may have had to move to other industrial parks within the state. The purpose would be to stabilize their consumption and impact on the electricity grid, depending on their available capacity.

In the announcement at the meeting, Asonacrip noted that miners contribute their income to the recovery of the national electricity system. Analysts believe that multiple reasons have led to severe problems and instability in this service in recent years.

Although there is less energy demand due to the economic crisis and the quarantine, the failures in the electricity service have intensified. That creates problems with the water, telephone, Internet, subway, and train services, which operate with electricity. The electrical issues are due to energy generation, transmission and distribution to consumers.

In recent days, the National Electricity Corporation (Corpoelec) of Venezuela proposed to collect taxes from the miners of Carabobo state. That government company was absent at the meeting and has not issued any statements on this point.

Incidents between Cryptocurrency Miners and Authorities in Venezuela

Anonymous sources have revealed that there have been sporadic incidents between legally-established miners and police and military officials. The Carabobo Government and Corpoelec have also participated in those events, but no one has reported them publicly.

Throughout 2021, several of these episodes have recurred in Carabobo state. For example, the authorities seized nearly 40 mining devices in a police raid in January.

The operation took place in the El Encanto urbanization, Tocuyito, according to the police authorities. They did not identify the arrested person, only saying that he was a 53-year-old man accused of committing computer crimes.

In early July, Asonacrip, Corpoelec, and the Carabobo regional police held a meeting to discuss that issue. That generated a rapprochement between the miners and the authorities of that state of Venezuela.

The growing relevance of cryptocurrencies in the global economy leads authorities to put pressure on miners. The income they generate in Venezuela helps to recover the country’s electricity system, according to Asonacrip.

By Alexander Salazar

Andragnes believes that it is better to adopt Bitcoin individually than to wait for governments to act deflationary. Fernández expressed openness to supporting a discussion about a bill on cryptocurrencies in Argentina.

Rodolfo Andragnes, president of the NGO Bitcoin Argentina, spoke about the recent statements of President Alberto Fernández. He said he did not imagine that a country so dependent on money printing would use cryptocurrencies against inflation.

Adragnes does not believe that Argentina’s economy will become deflationary simply by using Bitcoin.

This promoter of educational initiatives on Bitcoin distinguished between what cryptocurrencies offer and what governments like Argentina can do. While the Bitcoin code will not allow issuing more than 21 million units, central banks create national fiat currencies with complete freedom.

Since the issuance of Bitcoin is limited, governments cannot print it at will, as Argentina and the United States do with fiat money. The founder of the NGO Bitcoin Argentina explained the cryptocurrency avoids, thus being deflationary. He noted that the government could help fight inflation by reducing the printing of its national fiat currency.

The president of that organization added that it makes more sense to adopt this system globally. However, he considers that it is better to start with the individual decision of each person than to wait for the governments to act deflationary.

He stressed that accessing this store of value that does not depend on the issuance by each State is more sensible on a global and individual level. The opposite would be that the States could not print when they wanted to cover their debts or manipulate the price of their local currency.

Fernández Does Not Rule Out the Use of Bitcoin in Argentina

Argentine President Alberto Fernández recently said he did not rule out the possibility that his country used cryptocurrencies. However, he expressed he believes it is a matter of care as he does not quite understand how that fortune materializes.

Fernández gave his opinion on the recent adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender in El Salvador. He stated that it contributes to nullifying the effect of inflation while remaining a hard currency. Andragnes responded precisely to that statement, saying that the government should reduce its printing of fiat money.

The Argentine president had already granted permission to debate a bill focused on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. If approved, that proposal would legalize the payment of salaries in cryptocurrencies. The national deputy, José Luis Ramón, said that the president gave his go-ahead for dealing with it in Congress.

The deputy spoke with attorney Camilo Jorajuría de León, a member of the NGO Bitcoin Argentina. The official told him that he had met with the president and informed him about his bill. In early July, the politician from Mendoza introduced in Congress the text Regime for the perception of wages in cryptocurrencies.

The president of Argentina knows the relevance of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in the world economy. For that reason, the leader does not rule out the possibility of using it to fight inflation. However, Andragnes thinks that the government should first limit the issuance of Argentine pesos (ARS).

By Alexander Salazar

Institutional adoption by companies like MicroStrategy and Square has driven the current Bitcoin cycle. Banks are among the traditional financial institutions that explore offering cryptocurrency-based products in partnerships with exchanges like Coinbase.

The infrastructure law that the US Senate recently passed could restrict the industry of Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies.

However, the first cryptocurrency is trading around USD 47,130, which implies an increase of 7.6% compared to August 9^th. From the local minimum of USD 29,000 that it reached on July 20^th, it has recovered by 58%.

The law promoted through a bipartisan agreement will consider the profits from cryptocurrency operations for tax purposes. The bill will need the approval of the US House of Representatives to become a final law. The market has not yet reacted negatively to the enactment of this legislation by the Senate.

The Price of Bitcoin Breaks USD 46,000 and the Golden Crossing Appears

The dominant upward trend in the last week led to the breakout of the USD 46,000 resistance. The price of Bitcoin exceeded that level and resumed it after three daily red candlesticks. This rally would make the fourth consecutive week of the rise in the value of the cryptocurrency.

Some analysts warned that a pattern associated with an upward movement was about to appear. Experts from @RektCapital recently announced that the golden crossing pattern was about to occur. Four days later, the 50-day moving average crossed the 200-day moving average in an upward direction.

The Weekly Chart Indicates Institutional Investment Since 2013

The main driver of the current Bitcoin cycle has been institutional adoption. Last year, companies like MicroStrategy and Square made announcements while recognized investors made individual pronouncements. In the case of institutional initiatives on Bitcoin, they had been occurring for at least eight years.

The latest weekly chart reflects institutional investment in Bitcoin since 2013, with corporations including Bitcoin as a treasury reserve. However, it also shows Bitcoin ETFs (exchange-traded funds) approved in Canada and other countries. According to the graph, they represent more than 680,000 BTC while corporations hoard more than 180,000 BTC.

US Banks Are Still Interested in Bitcoin

The latest quarterly report from Coinbase indicates that the PNC Bank is among the traditional financial institutions exploring cryptocurrency-based products. The exchange referred to its focus on institutional investment in Bitcoin, noting that more than 9,000 institutions are its clients.

Besides, Coinbase reflected that the trading volume of Bitcoin, 24% of the total volume, fell below that of Ethereum. Compared to the second quarter of 2020, the trading volume of BTC grew by 670% in late June, while that of ETH increased by 1,382% in one year.

Ether Leaves Exchanges Alongside BTC

The decline in Bitcoin inventories on exchanges has appeared to be a bullish signal on several occasions.

The returns of Ethereum (ETH) have exceeded those of Bitcoin in this bullish cycle. Therefore, the inventories of ETH on centralized exchanges have reached a minimum value of 9.4% of the supply. The second cryptocurrency, whose price recently exceeded USD 3,000 again, is trading around USD 3,200, according to CoinGecko.

By Alexander Salazar

The attacker transferred the stolen crypto assets to a wallet the platform had provided. There is still USD 33 million worth of USDT that Tether keeps frozen.

The hacker who had stolen more than USD 600 million from the Poly Network DeFi protocol returned almost all the cryptocurrencies. Just 48 hours after breaching the smart contracts, he transferred the digital assets to a multi-signature wallet that the platform had supplied.

The service for the operation of multiple blockchains confirmed that it had already received more than USD 256 million worth of cryptocurrencies. The DeFi platform announced that the attacker was transferring another USD 238 million to the abovementioned wallet. They said they were seeking another contact with Mr. White Hat, as they had named the hacker.

Although the hacker has not completed the figure yet, he promised to return all the funds. He wrote a message in the metadata of one of the Poly Network contact transactions. The attacker refused to receive a reward of USD 500 thousand that the platform had offered him.

There is still another USD 33 million worth of the USDT stablecoin among the cryptocurrencies to recover. Tether froze them once Poly Network disclosed the hack. No one knows for sure when they will unlock those funds so that their owners receive them back. The service sent a message to the operators to wait for new instructions on the crypto assets.

Poly Network expects users who are temporarily unable to transfer their assets to remain calm and patient. They explained that their understanding would help the team manage the recovery of the assets in the most effective way.

Vulnerabilities in DeFi Platforms and Types of Hackers

In recent years, DeFi applications have gained popularity among users but have also been the victims of attacks. What happened to Poly Network shows how vulnerable these types of platforms can be. This case has been the worst attack on a decentralized finance service because it involved a lot of money.

When the attacker returned the funds, he may have become a hacker in a white or gray hat. In the first case, attackers use their knowledge to detect security problems and help fix them.

In the second case, hackers detect vulnerabilities, exploit them, and then explain what they did. In this way, they seek that their victims try to solve the flaw in the code. Mr. White Hat would be in this case as he answered questions from the community about what happened.

The third type is the black hat hacker, who is the most dangerous. That attacker is an actual criminal since he seeks to commit a malicious act on computer networks.

This situation should lead DeFi platforms to develop much more effective security methods. The goal would be to protect their users from losing their holdings and retain their trust in the service they receive. Of course, not all hackers would be like Mr. White Hat, who provided information about the vulnerabilities that he found.

By Willmen Blanco