Interactive Brokers wants to offer as-of-yet unnamed cryptocurrencies to its traders.

United States foreign exchange company Interactive Brokers will offer direct cryptocurrency trading to clients within months, a report says.

Speaking at the Piper Sandler Global Exchange & FinTech Conference on Wednesday, founder Thomas Peterffy revealed that the firm had opted to enter the crypto market.

Demand fuels latest crypto uptake

Quoted by CNBC, Peterffy hinted that client demand had been a major driver of the decision.

“Customers certainly are asking for [crypto trading] and we expect to be ready to offer it to them by the end of the summer,” he said. 

Interactive Brokers offers traders a wide variety of assets in addition to currencies, including stocks, options, futures, bonds and funds, according to its website. As of 2019, its equity value totaled almost $8 billion.

The move into crypto will presumably feature Bitcoin (BTC) first and foremost, with Peterffy nonetheless not naming specific tokens.

“As for hurdles, the greatest hurdle is how do you keep you customers 100% safe,” CNBC additionally quoted him as saying.

“How do you make it 100% sure that no one will steal their coins in spite of the fact that they are untraceable. We will find out more about this when we open for business at the end of the summer.”

Positive press begins to sway price action

The announcement coincides with the latest chapter in Bitcoin’s evolution into a mainstream asset class courtesy of El Salvador’s pioneering legal tender move.

As Cointelegraph reported, a senior Bloomberg analyst said Wednesday that Bitcoin is no longer “speculative” in nature.

Despite seeing considerable selling pressure in recent weeks, BTC/USD is more likely to next hit $40,000 than $20,000, Mike McGlone of Bloomberg Intelligence added.

The pair is up 6% on Wednesday after bouncing from $31,000 earlier in the week.

Kraken, Bitfinex and KuCoin could become the next major crypto exchanges to attempt to service India’s estimated 15 million crypto investors.

Some of the biggest names in the crypto exchange business are reportedly eager to capture India’s cryptocurrency trading market, even as the government is yet to issue clear-cut regulatory policies.

According to Reuters, sources say Kraken, Bitfinex and KuCoin are examining the potential for setting up shop in India.

Crypto exchange giant Binance entered the Indian market back in 2019, acquiring one of the country’s most recognizable cryptocurrency trading platforms WazirX.

The aforementioned trio could also pursue a similar entry strategy by acquiring or forming strategic partnerships with other Indian crypto exchanges.

According to the Reuters source, these global exchanges are already in the process of understanding the operating conditions in India including preliminary due diligence for acquiring local crypto exchanges.

Apart from partnering with Indian crypto exchanges, these platforms could also elect to go the subsidiary route to establish their presence in the country.

As previously reported by Cointelegraph, United States exchange behemoth Coinbase announced plans to extend its business to India and has since begun hiring engineering, customer support and software development experts in the country.

In April, the company also hired Pankaj Gupta to helm the role of vice president engineering for Coinbase India. Gupta is a former engineering lead for Google Pay’s India and Asia Pacific operations.

The renewed interest in India is coming despite the lack of a clear regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies in the country. Fears of a blanket ban earlier in the year seem to have given way for talk of more nuanced regulations.

However, the Reserve Bank of India remains firmly opposed to cryptocurrencies stating that its position on digital currencies remains unchanged. However, the central bank did clarify back in March that it had not instructed banks to shun crypto exchanges.

India’s Supreme Court overturned the RBI’s crypto ban back in March 2020 that prevented crypto exchanges from operating bank accounts in the country.

The RBI ban reportedly impacted the country’s crypto industry, which was worth about $12.9 billion at the height of the bull run in 2017.

Bitcoin’s sharp rebound from its recent swing low suggests traders are aggressively accumulating BTC and altcoins on major dips.

Bloomberg Intelligence senior commodity strategist Mike McGlone believes that Bitcoin (BTC) is more likely to rally to $40,000 than slump to $20,000. This bullish outlook seems to be shared by traders as Bitcoin initiated a sharp recovery today.

On-chain data also suggests that long-term holders (LTH) have again started accumulating Bitcoin after booking profits during the rally from $10,000 to $64,000.

The total number of Bitcoin held by these long-term holders is 2.3 million more than what they held at the peak of the 2017 bull market. This shows the veteran traders remain bullish about the future prospects of Bitcoin.

CoinShares’ Monday “Digital Asset Fund Flows Weekly” report shows institutional investors pulled out $141 million from Bitcoin investment products last week. However, Ether (ETH), XRP and Cardano (ADA) products witnessed net inflows, suggesting money is exiting Bitcoin and entering select altcoins.

However, the outflow from Bitcoin products is minuscule compared to the massive $4.2 billion that was pumped into them in 2021. This shows that most investors have held their positions despite the recent fall.

Let’s analyze the charts of the top-10 cryptocurrencies to determine whether the correction is over or if the prices could fall further.

BTC/USDT

Bitcoin broke below the trendline of the symmetrical triangle on June 7, indicating the uncertainty resolved in favor of the bears. However, the long tail on the June 8 candlestick shows strong buying at lower levels.

The bulls continued their purchase today, which seems to have trapped the aggressive bears who may have sold on June 7. However, the BTC/USDT pair is still not out of the woods yet because the relief rally is likely to face resistance at the 20-day exponential moving average ($37,925).

If the price turns down from this resistance, it will suggest that the sentiment remains negative and traders are selling on rallies. The next leg of the downtrend could begin after the bears sink the price below the $31,000 to $28,000 support zone. Such a move may open the doors for a decline to $20,000.

However, the relative strength index (RSI) has formed a bullish divergence, indicating the bearish momentum is weakening. The first sign of strength will be a breakout and close above the 20-day EMA, which could extend the relief rally to the 50-day simple moving average ($45,896).

ETH/USDT

Ether once again turned down from the resistance line of the symmetrical triangle on June 7, indicating the bears are aggressively defending the zone between the resistance line and the 50-day SMA ($2,927).

However, the long tail on the June 8 candlestick shows the bulls are buying on dips to the support line of the symmetrical triangle. This suggests the ETH/USDT pair could remain stuck inside the triangle for a few more days.

The next trending move could start after the price breaks above or below the triangle. The buyers will have to propel the price above the 50-day SMA to gain the upper hand. Alternatively, a break below $2,079.94 could signal advantage to the bears.

BNB/USDT

Binance Coin (BNB) broke below the trendline on June 8 but the bears could not sustain the lower levels. The long tail on the daily candlestick suggests that bulls are attempting to defend the trendline.

If buyers push the price above the 20-day EMA ($389), the BNB/USDT pair could rise to the overhead resistance at $433. A breakout and close above this level will complete a bullish ascending triangle pattern, which has a target objective at $608.60.

Contrary to this assumption, if the price turns down from the current level or the overhead resistance and breaks below the trendline, it will suggest that bears have overpowered the bulls. That could result in a drop to $257.40 and then to $211.70.

ADA/USDT

Cardano dropped below the 50-day SMA ($1.57) on June 8 but the bears could not capitalize on this weakness. The long tail on the June 8 and June 9 candlestick shows strong buying at lower levels.

The flattish moving averages and the RSI just below the midpoint suggest a balance between supply and demand.

This balance will shift in favor of the bears if the price breaks below the trendline. The ADA/USDT pair could then drop to $1.24 and then to $1.

On the contrary, if the buyers propel the price above the 20-day EMA ($1.64), the pair could rise to the overhead resistance at $1.94. A breakout and close above this level could push the pair to the all-time high at $2.47.

DOGE/USDT

Dogecoin (DOGE) broke below the 20-day EMA ($0.36) on June 7 and fell to the neckline of the head and shoulders pattern. The bulls are trying to defend this level as seen from the long tail on the June 8 candlestick and the strong rebound today.

However, unless the bulls push the price above the moving averages quickly, the bears will once again try to sink the DOGE/USDT pair below the neckline. If they succeed, the pair could decline to $0.21 and then to $0.10.

The marginally downsloping 20-day EMA and the RSI just below the midpoint suggest a minor advantage to the bears. This negative view will invalidate if the bulls drive the price above the 50-day SMA ($0.39). The pair could then move up to $0.47.

XRP/USDT

XRP broke below the $0.88 support on June 7, suggesting supply exceeds demand. However, the long tail on the June 8 candlestick indicates that bulls are trying to defend the $0.75 to $0.65 support zone.

The downsloping 20-day EMA ($0.99) and the RSI in the negative territory suggest that bears are in control. The relief rally is likely to face stiff resistance at the 20-day EMA. If the price turns down from this resistance, the possibility of a break below the support zone increases.

If that happens, the XRP/USDT pair could drop to $0.45 and then to $0.39. Conversely, if the bulls push the price above $1.10, it will suggest the buyers are back in the game and a rally to the downtrend line is possible.

DOT/USDT

Polkadot (DOT) turned down from the 20-day EMA ($24.99) on June 7 and broke below the trendline of the ascending channel. This suggests that the sentiment remains negative and traders are selling on rallies.

If the bulls fail to push the price back into the channel within the next few days, further selling could be expected. The gradually downsloping 20-day EMA and the RSI in the negative territory indicate the path of least resistance is to the downside.

If the DOT/USDT pair breaks below $19.60, the next stop could be the critical support at $15. Conversely, if the pair re-enters the channel, it will suggest strong accumulation at lower levels.

A breakout and close above the resistance line of the ascending channel will signal that bulls are back in the game.

UNI/USDT

Uniswap (UNI) dipped below the $21.50 support on June 8 but the bears could not sustain the lower levels. The long tail on the day’s candlestick shows the bulls are defending the $21.50 level aggressively.

The buyers will now try to push the price above the 20-day EMA ($26.81). If they succeed, the UNI/USDT pair could rally to the overhead resistance at $30. This level may act as a stiff resistance and if the price turns down from it, the pair could remain range-bound between $21.50 and $30 for a few days.

On the contrary, if the price turns down from the 20-day EMA, it will suggest the sentiment is negative and traders are selling on every minor rally. That will increase the possibility of a break below $21.50. If that happens, the pair could start its journey toward $16.49 and then $13.04.

SOL/USDT

Solana (SOL) turned down from the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level at $43.38 on June 7 but the bears could not pull the price below the trendline. The altcoin rebounded off the trendline on June 8, indicating strong buying on dips.

The rising moving averages and the RSI in the positive zone suggest that bulls have the upper hand.

If buyers thrust and sustain the price above $43.38, the SOL/USDT pair could move up to the 78.6% retracement level at $49.97. Such a move will suggest the recent correction is over. A break above $49.97 could clear the path for a retest of the all-time high at $58.38.

This positive view will nullify if the price turns down and plummets below the trendline. A break below $33.60 could result in a decline to $25.70.

BCH/USDT

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) broke below the $616.04 support on June 7, suggesting the bears are in command. However, the long tail on the June 8 candlestick indicates that bulls are trying to defend the $500 to $468.13 support zone.

If the bulls can sustain the price above $616.04, the BCH/USDT pair could make one more attempt to rise above the downtrend line. If that happens, the pair could rally to the 50-day SMA ($917).

On the other hand, if the price turns down from the current level or the downtrend line, then the bears may challenge the critical $468.13 support. A break below this level could extend the decline to the next support at $400.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph. Every investment and trading move involves risk. You should conduct your own research when making a decision.

Market data is provided by HitBTC exchange.

“I say keep an open mind towards the Doge and Doge-consciousness,” said Kyle Kemper.

The big crypto news out of Miami over the weekend may have been Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s decision to proceed with making Bitcoin (BTC) legal tender, but another figure connected to a world leader made his own mark in supporting Dogecoin (DOGE).

In an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph at the Bitcoin 2021 conference, Kyle Kemper, the 37-year-old half brother of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — resplendent in a banana costume — said he was launching a Dogecoin project. The initiative, called the “Million Doge Disco,” is — according to Kemper — a combination of the smartphone game Pokemon Go, the popular 1990s digital pet craze Tamagotchi and nonfungible tokens (NFTs).

“There are honestly DOGE floating around us,” said Kemper, gesturing with his hand around the conference floor. “I suggest that you perhaps switch some crypto into some DOGE for the pure reason to give it away.”

The DOGE enthusiast, who has been an outspoken Bitcoin and crypto proponent, went on to say that children likely found the meme-based cryptocurrency more appealing than BTC. As part of his promotional work at the conference, he was “giving the kids Dogecoin” through stickers with addresses:

“DOGE is a wonderful intro currency, so it’s really easy for kids to get started with DOGE. […] I say keep an open mind toward the Doge and Doge-consciousness.”

Kemper also compared BTC creator Satoshi Nakamoto to Jesus, saying he was “no longer with us but that he walked on water” and that he may “one day, perhaps,” rise from the dead to greet those in crypto.

“Not yet,” said Kemper repeatedly when asked about the timeline for Satoshi’s speculative return. “Not yet.”

Watch the full interview between Kemper and Cointelegraph here.

An ETH, WBTC, and USDT trading pool is live on Ethereum, and more trading pairs and pools are expected to be added to the platform in the coming weeks.

A new release from a foundational DeFi protocol seeks to combine two popular asset swap models into a hybrid that may reshape the nature of the automated market maker (AMM) space — a DeFi primitive currently accounting for well over $40 billion in total value locked, per DeFiLlama. 

Earlier today Curve Finance announced the launch of a new “algorithm for exchanging volatile assets.” Curve’s base functionality is designed to enable low-slippage swaps between similar assets, such as one type of stablecoin to another — USDC to DAI, etc — by concentrating liquidity on a bonding curve weighted towards a particular price.

When swapping or depositing: treat it to be similar to typical crypto pools elsewhere, except with smaller slippage on average https://t.co/yrhzW35y1B

— Curve Finance (@CurveFinance) June 9, 2021

However, the new release will allow low-slippage swaps between “volatile” assets, such as a ETH/WBTC pool, or between assets that have ever-changing changing prices. The new pools will accomplish this with a combination of internal oracles relying on Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs), as well as a bonding curve model deployed by popular AMMs such as Uniswap. 

“This creates 5 − 10 times higher liquidity than the Uniswap invariant, as well as higher profits for liquidity providers,” an accompanying whitepaper reads.

While the math and architecture may be difficult to understand, the end result is not: Curve is now taking on the broader AMM space with what it believes to be a more efficient product for both traders and liquidity providers, using automatically rebalancing fee (between .04% and .4%) and price structures.

“Most common pairs will be added in coming weeks before we go to a fully permisionless factory where anyone can spin up their own metapool,” said Charlie, a Curve team member.

Curve shipped concentrated liquidity which doesn’t require manual rebalancing. Dynamic fees too. https://t.co/MsDtOSZl4y

— banteg (@bantg) June 9, 2021

The DeFi community has reacted glowingly, with many christening the release as “Curve v2.” Observers have been gushing about the capital efficiency and liquidity optimizations the new model offers. 

“[Curve v2] extends Curve v1, instead of optimizing for target price of ‘1’ to a dynamic price based on pool Exponential Moving Average (EMA), which is a good indicator of the current pool price,” said whitehat hacker and co-founder of DeFi Italy Emiliano Bonassi, comparing the product to a verison of Uniswap v3, but which concentrates all of liquidity at particular prices.

“It continuously rebalances (and concentrates) the liquidity to [the EMA]. You can think like (not equal) to rebalancing a whole Uniswap v3 pool at once.”

Fear mounted as the FBI announced that it helped Colonial Pipeline retrieve a portion of its BTC ransom payment, but can the government actually take over Bitcoin and the network?

On June 7, the United States government task force seized more than $2 million in Bitcoin (BTC) to pay a ransom following an attack on the Colonial Pipeline system. A warrant filed with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California shows that authorities recovered 63.7 BTC.

As news of the recovery spread through mainstream media, some outlets suggested that the U.S. government somehow hacked the Bitcoin address in order to extract the funds. For example, University of Michigan professor and New York Times contributor Justin Wolfers tweeted:

News that the government has figured out how to snatch bitcoin from the online wallets of cyber criminals surely reduces the use cases for Bitcoin even further.

— Justin Wolfers (@JustinWolfers) June 8, 2021

This triggered a discussion on whether an entity could break through SHA-256 encryption, and if so, why waste this ability on unlocking a Bitcoin wallet that only contains $2 million?

The same type of cryptography is used by the National Security Agency, banks, foreign agencies, cloud storage systems, and most electronic devices like smartphones and communication apps.

If governments wanted to create short-term havoc in the cryptocurrency market, they would need to make large sales to negatively impact the price. However, there would probably be at least 3 telling signs that would hint that this type of scenario was unfolding.

Open interest at CME BTC futures would spike

The most likely vehicle for government entities to short (sell) is by trading CME Bitcoin futures. In addition to the price pressure, analysts would need to confirm a large increase in open interest, which is the number of contracts in play. Unfortunately, CME does not provide real-time data for this indicator.

As shown above, each CME Bitcoin futures contract represents 5 BTC, so the 7,572 open interest totals 37,860 BTC. These contracts are financially settled, meaning that the winner is paid in dollars.

While the current $1.25 billion open interest does not seem significant enough to create shockwaves, the figure did reach $3.3 billion in February as Bitcoin traded at $58,000. Therefore, a substantial and rapid increase in the open interest is a potential indicator of government-related activity.

The futures premium should flip negative

A large futures contract seller will cause a momentary distortion in the futures premium. Unlike perpetual contracts, these fixed-calendar futures do not have a funding rate, so their price will vastly differ from regular spot exchanges.

By measuring the price gap between futures and the regular spot market, a trader can gauge the level of bullishness in the market. Whenever there’s an aggressive activity from shorts (sellers), the two-month futures contract will trade at a 1% or higher discount.

Notice how the July CME futures usually trade between a 0.5% discount and a 1.5% premium versus regular spot exchanges. However, during the May 19 crash, aggressive futures contracts selling caused the price to trade 2.5% below Coinbase.

This movement can either occur during liquidation orders or when large players decide to short the market using derivatives.

Exchange infrastructure would come under attack

Even though most cryptocurrency exchanges have established their servers in remote locations, governments could try to seize physical servers or web domains.

Investors who have been following the crypto sector since 2017 will remember that Alex Vinnik, the founder of BTC-e, was arrested and the website hijacked by the U.S. government in July 2017.

In November 2020, Cointelegraph published an excellent article that explained how, according to a framework from the U.S. Department of Justice, it could be enough for a crypto transaction to “touch financial, data storage, or other computer systems within the United States” to provoke enforcement action.

Any coordinated effort by governments to suppress cryptocurrencies will likely involve a massive “anti-money laundering” effort against exchanges, especially those offering derivatives products to retail investors.

Thus, unless these 3 signs are in place, there is little reason to believe that a massive government-led campaign to disrupt the industry is underway.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph. Every investment and trading move involves risk. You should conduct your own research when making a decision.

The firm aims to let U.S. investors get exposure to crypto through a private fund tracking the Nasdaq Crypto Index.

Investment firm Victory Capital Management announced it would be taking steps for its U.S.-based investors to get exposure to the crypto market.

In a Wednesday announcement, Victory Capital said it would be the exclusive sponsor of “private placement funds and other vehicles” based on the Nasdaq Crypto Index, or NCI, an index developed by Nasdaq and Brazilian crypto asset manager Hashdex. The firm said it plans to launch a private fund for accredited investors tracking the NCI, as well as private funds that will track the Nasdaq Bitcoin Reference Price Index and the Nasdaq Ethereum Price Index.

“Cryptocurrency is a viable asset class that can be part of a well-diversified portfolio,” said Victory Capital’s ETF provider VictoryShares president Mannik Dhillon. “By investing in a portfolio designed to track the NCI, investors can seek returns that align with the cryptocurrency market in a diversified manner, gaining exposure to multiple digital assets as this market continues to evolve and mature.”

Hashdex partnered with Nasdaq to issue a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund in Bermuda in September, with the Bermuda Stock Exchange approving the product in February. Its Nasdaq Crypto Index consists of 8 cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC), Chainlink (LINK), Stellar (XLM), Filecoin (FIL), and Uniswap (UNI).

As of April 30, Victory Capital has more than $157 billion in assets under management. In contrast, digital asset manager Grayscale reported yesterday that it has $30.9 billion assets under management for its crypto investments.