The old saying in the market "buy the rumor, sell the news" only sometimes applies to cryptocurrencies.
For example, when the segwit solution was implemented on Litecoin, it improved the speed of transactions but since there were so many people buying the coin before the implementation happened, on May 10th once it actually went into effect, the price peaked.
Those buying for the long term do feel that this is a minor setback and that in a year from now the price will be much higher.
On Ethereum, it seems that the good news never stops coming. To the point that it is impossible to tell exactly which bit of good news is affecting the price.
This network is the only one built specifically to incorporate smart contracts and more and more people are seeing it as the future of the internet.
Today's Highlights
- Small Sigh of Relief
- UK Politics Back in Focus
- Ethereum & Bitcoin Milestones
Please note: All data, figures & graphs below are valid as of May 22nd. All trading carries risk. Only risk capital you're prepared to lose.
Market Overview
With Trump still on tour in the Middle East, it seems the stock markets are enjoying a bit of a relief rally.
The seasoned deal maker managed to close plenty of deals in Saudi Arabia and will be landing in Tel Aviv shortly. Of course, in dealmaking and in politics sometimes you need to dial back and sometimes you need to double down.
In order to achieve success in Saudi Arabia, President Trump has dialed back his criticism of the Islamic faith and doubled down on his anti-Iran rhetoric. Seems a strange thing to do on the same day that Iran has overwhelmingly voted to keep their liberal Western-minded leader.
Meanwhile, North Korea continues their provocative missile tests despite many warnings from the United Nations. Last night, Pyongyang confirmed another medium range ballistic missile.
Over in the UK, Theresa May seems to be struggling to keep her lead. eToro investor Mark Eden AKA @InvestusMaximus pointed out that since the Labour party announced their agenda, they have significantly narrowed the polling margins.
Mark Writes...
He goes on to say that voter sentiment requires further attention as price action on the pound sterling could return to focus on politics early this week.
On a technical level, the sterling is not in a good position at all. The breakout of the 1.3000 level was not very strong and this morning we find ourselves about 10 pips below the dotted line.
Risk sentiment is not very clear in the markets at the moment. Both Gold and USD/JPY seem to be flopping around without any clear direction.
Oil is focused keenly on the OPEC meeting this Thursday. Wide expectations are that we'll see production cuts through the first quarter of 2018. It will be difficult for them to deliver anything beyond this already ambitious goal that the markets seem to already have priced in.
Cryptocurrency Milestones
Clients and employees in eToro seem to have only one thing on the brain. Cryptocurrencies Bitcoin and Ethereum have both had a spectacular weekend.
Bitcoin has broken through a very important barrier and is now trading above $2000 per coin. It has already seen a pullback and used the 2k level as support to climb higher.
This is what we call a strong breakout...
Ethereum is a different animal altogether. After breaking a new all time high on Friday of 96.75 the price has skyrocketed and now finds itself all the way at $159 a coin. This represents a massive 39% growth just over the weekend.
The overall value of all digital assets in circulation has reached $77.5 Billion. This is more than triple what it was at the start of the year.
We maintain our stance. If indeed the world is moving towards a digital economy that relies on the blockchain for both money and computer applications, this number will need to rise exponentially in order to support this type of growth.
Disclosure: This content is for information and educational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice or an investment recommendation. Past performance is not an indication of future results. All trading carries risk. Only risk capital you're prepared to lose.