Decentral Block Post

Bitcoin (BTC) starts a new week staring down a wild macro environment after sealing its lowest weekly close in nearly two years.

As risk assets across the global economy take a hammering and the United States dollar surges, the largest cryptocurrency is on a limp footing.

September, having started out on the bulls’ side, is now living up to its informal crypto market nickname, “Septembear,” and BTC/USD is currently down 6.2% since the start of the month.

The bad news keeps coming for hodlers, who are clinging to dormant coins in increasing numbers as the dollar runs rampant and mainstream appetite to diversify into riskier plays continues to evaporate.

With macro set to remain the key focus for everyone this week, Cointelegraph takes a look at what might lie in store for BTC price action.

Crypto exchange Coinbase has found itself in legal hot water after being accused by blockchain-based software firm Veritaseum Capital of infringing on a patent relating to its blockchain technology — and is now seeking $350 million in damages. 

According to a lawsuit filed on Thursday by U.S. law firm Brundidge & Stanger in the U.S. District Court in Delaware, Veritaseum alleges that Coinbase infringed on its cryptocurrency payment transfer technology patent, known as the “566 Patent.”

Veritaseum said the patent revolves around “novel devices, systems and methods” which enable parties to “enforce value transfer agreements” with “little or no trust” in each other, alleging Coinbase used this for many of its blockchain infrastructure services:

“Defendant’s infringing activities include but are not limited to its website [...] Coinbase Android mobile wallet [...] iOS mobile wallet [...] its Coinbase Cloud, Coinbase Commerce APIs, Query and Transact, Participate, Delegate and Validator software, Coinbase Pay, Coinbase Wallet and Coinbase Operated Public Validators.”

The law firm also explained that the patent is applicable with proof-of-stake (PoS) and proof-of-work (PoW) blockchains, which could enable the transfer of cryptocurrency payments, trading and staking services on chains supported by those consensus mechanisms.

The major United States stock market indices continued their decline last week as worsening macroeconomic conditions increased concerns of a global recession. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at its lowest level in 2022 and major indices recorded their fifth weekly close in the past six weeks.

Although Bitcoin (BTC) has only declined marginally this week, it risks closing at the lowest level since 2020. While a new multi-year weekly close is a negative sign, sellers will have to sustain the lower levels or else it may turn out to be a bear trap. The price action of the next few days is likely to witness heightened volatility as both the bulls and the bears battle it out for supremacy.

Several investors miss opportunities to buy during sharp corrections because they try to catch the bottom. Traders should rather focus on the projects they like and accumulate the coins in a phased manner lasting a few weeks or months. All coins do not bottom at the same time, hence it is better to focus on individual cryptocurrencies that show strength.

While Bitcoin is nearing its yearly lows, certain altcoins are holding up well. Let’s look at the charts of five cryptocurrencies that look interesting in the near term.

BTC/USDT

The Bitcoin bulls have successfully defended the $18,626 to $17,622 support zone in the past few days but they continue to face strong selling at the 20-day exponential moving average ($19,720). This suggests that bears continue to sell on minor rallies.

The major United States stock market indices continued their decline last week as worsening macroeconomic conditions increased concerns of a global recession. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at its lowest level in 2022 and major indices recorded their fifth weekly close in the past six weeks.

Although Bitcoin (BTC) has only declined marginally this week, it risks closing at the lowest level since 2020. While a new multi-year weekly close is a negative sign, sellers will have to sustain the lower levels or else it may turn out to be a bear trap. The price action of the next few days is likely to witness heightened volatility as both the bulls and the bears battle it out for supremacy.

Several investors miss opportunities to buy during sharp corrections because they try to catch the bottom. Traders should rather focus on the projects they like and accumulate the coins in a phased manner lasting a few weeks or months. All coins do not bottom at the same time, hence it is better to focus on individual cryptocurrencies that show strength.

While Bitcoin is nearing its yearly lows, certain altcoins are holding up well. Let’s look at the charts of five cryptocurrencies that look interesting in the near term.

BTC/USDT

The Bitcoin bulls have successfully defended the $18,626 to $17,622 support zone in the past few days but they continue to face strong selling at the 20-day exponential moving average ($19,720). This suggests that bears continue to sell on minor rallies.