Decentral Block Post

Bitcoin (BTC) lingered near $23,000 on Feb. 7 as a key chart phenomenon hit for the first time in 18 months.

Battle of the Bitcoin crosses begins

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD tracking sideways overnight, having shunned volatility at the week’s first Wall Street open.

While failing to flip $23,000 to support, the pair nonetheless saw a potentially significant event on Feb. 6 in the form of a “golden cross” on the daily chart.

This refers to the rising 50-period moving average crossing over the 200-period moving average. The last time that this occurred on daily timeframes was in September 2021 — two months before Bitcoin’s latest all-time high.

Some crypto analysts have keenly watched the cross, with Venturefounder, a contributor to on-chain data platform CryptoQuant, arguing that $25,000 could reappear as a result.

A confidential United Nations report has revealed North Korean hackers stole more crypto assets in 2022 than in any other year so far.

The UN report, seen by Reuters, was reportedly submitted to a 15-member North Korea sanctions committee last week.

It found North Korean-linked hackers were responsible for between $630 million and more than $1 billion in stolen crypto assets last year and targeted networks of foreign aerospace and defense companies.

The UN report also noted that cyber attacks were more sophisticated than in previous years, making tracing stolen funds more difficult than ever.

"[North Korea] used increasingly sophisticated cyber techniques both to gain access to digital networks involved in cyber finance, and to steal information of potential value, including to its weapons programmes,” according to independent sanctions monitors in its report to the UN Security Council Committee.

The co-founder of Web3 metaverse game engine “Webaverse” has revealed they were victims of a $4 million crypto h after meeting with scammers posing as investors in a hotel lobby in Rome. 

The bizarre aspect of the story, according to co-founder Ahad Shams, is that the crypto was stolen from a newly set up Trust Wallet and that the hack took place during the meeting at some point.

He claims the thieves could not have possibly seen the private key, nor was he connected to a public WiFi network at the time.

The thieves were somehow able to gain access while taking a photo of the wallet’s balance, believes Shams.

The letter which was shared on Twitter on Feb. 7, contains statements from Webarverse and Shams, explaining that they met with a man named “Mr Safra” on Nov. 26 after several weeks of discussions about potential funding.

Newly proposed advertising rules in the United Kingdom could potentially see executives of crypto firms face up to two years of prison for failing to meet certain requirements around promotion, according to the U.K. financial watchdog. 

In a Feb. 6 statement, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) revealed that if the proposed "Financial promotions regime" is approved by Parliament, all crypto firms in the country and overseas would have to follow certain requirements when advertising their crypto services to U.K. customers.

“Cryptoasset businesses marketing to UK consumers, including firms based overseas, must get ready for this regime,” said the FCA.

"Acting now will help ensure they can continue to legally promote to U.K. consumers. We encourage firms to take all necessary advice as part of their preparations," it added.

Under the FCA's proposed regime, crypto firms would need to either have authorization from the FCA to advertise their services or have an exemption under the Financial Promotion Order.

The United States dollar index (DXY) has started a strong recovery and its rise is putting pressure on Bitcoin (BTC) and the S&P 500 (SPX) index. The market participants will be keenly watching for any insights on future rate hikes when the Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell speaks before the Economic Club of Washington on Feb. 7.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s 43% rebound in January has improved sentiment among small investors. Crypto analytics firm Santiment said that the number of Bitcoin addresses holding 0.1 Bitcoin or less soared by 620,000 to hit 39.8 million, the highest level since Nov. 19.

With the sentiment turning positive, traders usually buy the dips as they anticipate the uptrend to continue. However, some analysts believe that the dip buyers will get trapped and Bitcoin may fall to the $19,000 to $21,000 support zone or worse, witness a capitulation in the next few weeks.

Could the S&P 500 and the cryptocurrency markets witness profit booking in the short term? What are the critical support levels to watch out for? Let’s study the charts to find out.

SPX

The S&P 500 index soared above the 4,101 resistance on Feb. 1 but the bears are unlikely to give up without a fight. They will try to pull the price back above 4,101 and trap the aggressive bulls.