Bitcoin - Is FTX the Lehman Brothers of crypto?
Updated
For weeks, we have warned investors about the unsustainable rally in the cryptocurrency market, and now, our price target of 17 500$ was finally hit. That comes to us as no surprise since we reiterated several times that no double bottom occurred and no primary trend reversal was on the horizon; already, in February 2022, we stated that no all-time high would happen this year. Instead, we made a compelling case for the bear market and have continued to do so while hitting one price target after another.
With that being said, we continue to be bearish on Bitcoin and dismiss new calls about the market bottom. In fact, we want to remind our audience of articles we published over the summer about Celsius Network's insolvency and its contingency spreading over to other cryptocurrency institutions in the coming months. Now it seems FTX joined the list of troubling companies, with Binance announcing the buyout of its distressed assets.
In our opinion, that is a particularly bearish development, further drawing a parallel between insolvencies in the banking sector in 2008 and now (but in the cryptocurrency sector). Unfortunately, though, we do not expect any improvement in the market with the FED pursuing tighter economic conditions and potential regulatory fallout (as so many cryptocurrency exchanges are going bust). Contrarily, we believe the bear market is far from over, and Bitcoin will mark new lows over time. Accordingly, we stick to our price target of 15 000$.
*In the latter part of this article, we would like to introduce a part of Bitwise Asset Management's presentation to the SEC in March 2019. (about fake volume)*
Illustration 1.01
Illustration 1.01 shows the daily chart of BTCUSD, and yellow arrows indicate the latest technical developments.
Technical analysis - daily time frame
RSI, MACD, Stochastic, DM+, and DM- are bearish. Overall, the daily time frame is bearish.
Technical analysis - weekly time frame
RSI, MACD, and Stochastic all show signs of faltering. DM+ and DM- is bearish. Overall, the weekly time frame is bearish.
Bitwise Asset Management presentation to the SEC in March 2019
In March 2019, Bitwise Asset Management (which created the world's first crypto index fund) made a presentation to the SEC about fake volumes on major cryptocurrency exchanges. In its research, the company analyzed volume and trade orders across 81 exchanges listed on Coinmarketcap. Additionally, it argued that the data reported by the website were wrong (despite Coinmarketcap being widely referenced in media - The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, etc.).
Bitwise Asset Management demonstrated the difference between real and suspicious exchanges (ones that were likely to engage in trade washing with the purpose of inflating trading volumes) by highlighting differences in the order book and showing discrepancies within the information available in the trading interface. For example, some exchanges showed buy and sell orders with roughly the same trade sizes, the absence of round numbers in the order book (despite the natural tendency of humans to pick rounded numbers), the lack of small transactions, perfect even distribution of buy and sell orders, and so on.
However, researchers went beyond these technicalities and looked at these exchanges' footprints in the real world. Subsequently, by comparing publicly available data, they found a substantial difference between the real companies and suspicious ones (lacking media exposure, followers, number of employees, etc.). Furthermore, they analyzed trade histograms and applied several alternative data assessment methods. The 227-page presentation also touched slightly on the subject of Tether, market regulation, market surveillance tools, and market manipulation.
In its findings, the company stated that at the time, only 10 out of 81 exchanges showed the presence of real volume, including Coinbase, Bitfinex, Kraken, Bitstamp, BitFlyer, Gemini, itBit, Bittrex. In addition to that, researchers concluded that the total volume was merely 4.5% of the reported volume (by exchanges) between 4th and 8th March 2019. As if it was not enough, the study stated that nearly 30% of spot bitcoin volume was on U.S.-domiciled exchanges, compared to just 1% of reported volume.
Please feel free to express your ideas and thoughts in the comment section.
DISCLAIMER: This analysis is not intended to encourage any buying or selling of any particular securities. Furthermore, it should not be a basis for taking any trade action by an individual investor. Therefore, your own due diligence is highly advised before entering a trade.
With that being said, we continue to be bearish on Bitcoin and dismiss new calls about the market bottom. In fact, we want to remind our audience of articles we published over the summer about Celsius Network's insolvency and its contingency spreading over to other cryptocurrency institutions in the coming months. Now it seems FTX joined the list of troubling companies, with Binance announcing the buyout of its distressed assets.
In our opinion, that is a particularly bearish development, further drawing a parallel between insolvencies in the banking sector in 2008 and now (but in the cryptocurrency sector). Unfortunately, though, we do not expect any improvement in the market with the FED pursuing tighter economic conditions and potential regulatory fallout (as so many cryptocurrency exchanges are going bust). Contrarily, we believe the bear market is far from over, and Bitcoin will mark new lows over time. Accordingly, we stick to our price target of 15 000$.
*In the latter part of this article, we would like to introduce a part of Bitwise Asset Management's presentation to the SEC in March 2019. (about fake volume)*
Illustration 1.01
Illustration 1.01 shows the daily chart of BTCUSD, and yellow arrows indicate the latest technical developments.
Technical analysis - daily time frame
RSI, MACD, Stochastic, DM+, and DM- are bearish. Overall, the daily time frame is bearish.
Technical analysis - weekly time frame
RSI, MACD, and Stochastic all show signs of faltering. DM+ and DM- is bearish. Overall, the weekly time frame is bearish.
Bitwise Asset Management presentation to the SEC in March 2019
In March 2019, Bitwise Asset Management (which created the world's first crypto index fund) made a presentation to the SEC about fake volumes on major cryptocurrency exchanges. In its research, the company analyzed volume and trade orders across 81 exchanges listed on Coinmarketcap. Additionally, it argued that the data reported by the website were wrong (despite Coinmarketcap being widely referenced in media - The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, etc.).
Bitwise Asset Management demonstrated the difference between real and suspicious exchanges (ones that were likely to engage in trade washing with the purpose of inflating trading volumes) by highlighting differences in the order book and showing discrepancies within the information available in the trading interface. For example, some exchanges showed buy and sell orders with roughly the same trade sizes, the absence of round numbers in the order book (despite the natural tendency of humans to pick rounded numbers), the lack of small transactions, perfect even distribution of buy and sell orders, and so on.
However, researchers went beyond these technicalities and looked at these exchanges' footprints in the real world. Subsequently, by comparing publicly available data, they found a substantial difference between the real companies and suspicious ones (lacking media exposure, followers, number of employees, etc.). Furthermore, they analyzed trade histograms and applied several alternative data assessment methods. The 227-page presentation also touched slightly on the subject of Tether, market regulation, market surveillance tools, and market manipulation.
In its findings, the company stated that at the time, only 10 out of 81 exchanges showed the presence of real volume, including Coinbase, Bitfinex, Kraken, Bitstamp, BitFlyer, Gemini, itBit, Bittrex. In addition to that, researchers concluded that the total volume was merely 4.5% of the reported volume (by exchanges) between 4th and 8th March 2019. As if it was not enough, the study stated that nearly 30% of spot bitcoin volume was on U.S.-domiciled exchanges, compared to just 1% of reported volume.
Please feel free to express your ideas and thoughts in the comment section.
DISCLAIMER: This analysis is not intended to encourage any buying or selling of any particular securities. Furthermore, it should not be a basis for taking any trade action by an individual investor. Therefore, your own due diligence is highly advised before entering a trade.
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Bitcoin breaks below 16 000$, we maintain our price target of 15 000$. However, we foresee continuation of the drop below this level. We will update our new price target once the current one is hit.
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