By Samuel Indyk
Investing.com – The price of Bitcoin was hovering around $46,000 on Friday morning, close to its 200-day moving average which stands around $45,900. The world’s largest cryptocurrency has been magnetised around the level for the last three days after Tuesday’s flash crash.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced earlier this week that they had pushed back their timeline for making a decision on the approval VanEck’s Bitcoin ETF until the 14th November.
In an extension notice published on Wednesday, the SEC said: “The Commission finds that it is appropriate to designate a longer period within which to issue an order approving or disapproving the proposed rule change.”
The approval of a Bitcoin ETF is being touted as the next catalyst for a major bull run in Bitcoin as it will give people exposure to cryptocurrencies without the need to directly hold digital assets.
A date for the diary
Another key date in the cryptocurrency diary is this Sunday, 12th September. Cardano confirmed that on Sunday the Alonzo Purple upgrade will take place. The upgrade will allow smart contracts on the network.
“The Alonzo HFC event will be the most significant upgrade yet, laying the firmest of foundations for an exciting new era of smart contracts on Cardano,” said Cardano developer IOHK on Twitter (NYSE:TWTR).
The upgrade will bring Decentralised Finance (DeFi) applications and exchanges to the network which could see Cardano compete with other similar networks, such as Ethereum and Solana.
The upgrade will also provide the ability to mint non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on its blockchain.
There is a fear among some investors that a “buy the rumour, sell the fact” event could happen when the upgrade takes place, following Cardano’s strong run of gains in recent weeks that has seen the coin become the third largest cryptocurrency by market cap.
Investing.com’s Robert Zach says any move in Cardano may depend on the price action in Bitcoin.
“Whether Cardano will rise with the smart contract integration depends to a large extent on whether Bitcoin can hold above the 200-day line,” Zach said.
“If the mother of all cryptocurrencies gives away this significant support level, it does not look good for Cardano in the short term either; after all, Bitcoin is considered a proxy for the entire crypto market.
“To regain momentum to the upside, it is necessary to at least recapture the lower edge of the ascending triangle at $2.90.”