Bitcoin Cut in Half!

 

“If your goal is to trade like a professional and be a consistent winner, then you must start from the premise that the solutions are in your mind and not in the market.” – Mark Douglas

 

MARKET NEWS

 

European markets close higher as PMI data hits three-year high; Richemont shares jump 5%

 

In the euro zone, business growth hit its fastest pace for more than three years as the vaccine rollout gathered pace and more businesses in the bloc’s dominant services sector reopened. The initial flash composite PMI came in at 56.9 compared to April’s 53.8. (CNBC)

 

S&P 500 ends Friday flat, posts its first back-to-back weekly losses since February

 

The S&P 500 erased earlier gains and finished Friday near the flatline as the tech sector came under pressure again amid another drop in bitcoin price. (CNBC)

 

Rising bond yields test ECB nerves ahead of decision on tapering

 

Policymakers must pull off ‘magician’s trick’ of withdrawing stimulus without risking recovery. If the ECB does dial down its bond-buying from its recent pace of just over €80bn in net purchases per month at its next governing council meeting on June 10, it will join other central banks that have already done so in response to a better economic outlook, including in Canada and the UK. (FT)

 

CRYPTO

 

Bitcoin down almost 50% from year's high

 

Bitcoin fell 13% on Sunday after the world's biggest and best-known cryptocurrency suffered another sell-off that left it down nearly 50% from the year's high. (Reuters)

 

Bitcoin turmoil seeps into traditional financial markets

 

A huge drop and snap back in cryptocurrency prices this week rippled into traditional asset classes, potentially offering a taste of what could happen in the event of a more severe shake-up. Some government bonds gained in price on Wednesday, while futures on the US benchmark S&P 500 equities index dipped and oil also pulled back after the price of bitcoin plunged 30 per cent (FT)

 

FOREX

 

USD/JPY rises to 109.00 as USD gathers strength on Fed commentary

 

The renewed USD strength on the back of the latest Fed commentary seems to be helping USD/JPY push higher ahead of the weekend. Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker said on Friday that should start having a conversation about tapering sooner rather than later. 

 

GBP/USD drops toward 1.4150 as the US dollar strengthens on economic data

 

Cable retreated sharply after hitting at 1.4233 the highest level since February. An impressive reading of the preliminary IHS Markit for May of the service sector boosted the dollar. Also, a rebound in US yields contributed to the rally of the greenback.

 

MORE HEADLINES

 

•    Musk says he supports crypto in battle with fiat money
•    Lumber futures swing 10% in wild session as speculative frenzy ends
•    White House trims infrastructure measure down to $1.7 trillion for Republican support 
•    Nvidia plans first stock split in nearly 14 years, after 1,600%-plus in gains
•    Two COVID shots effective against India variant: English health body

 

ANALYSIS

 

Goldman Sachs: Ethereum (ETH) Might Overtake Bitcoin (BTC) As A Store of Value

 

“Given the importance of real uses in determining the store of value, Ether has high chance of overtaking Bitcoin as a dominant store of value. The Ethereum ecosystem supports smart contracts and provides a way to create new applications on its platform. Most decentralized finance (DeFi) applications are being built on the Ethereum netwrk, and most non-fungible tokens (NFTs) issued are purchased using Ether. The greater number of transactions in Ether versus Bitcoin reflects this dominance”. (Goldman Sachs)

 

Bitcoin price loss is gold's gain - David Erfle

 

Once again, the gold market has regained its luster as investors moved back into the precious metal and out of volatile cryptocurrencies. With gold price ending the week above $1,850 an ounce, junior explorers should start to see price movements, according to David Erfle, founder of juniorminerjunky.com.

 

This week on Kitco Roundtable, Erfle said that the slow start to the year for the gold market was just a consolidation period after hitting all-time highs above $2,000 an ounce. He added that the move back above $1,850 an ounce was a major technical breakout and the price appears to be ready to resume its long-term uptrend. (KitCo News)

 

CHART

 

GBP/USD – Daily Candlesticks

  
Source: GKFX Prime Metatrader 4 

 

GBP/USD has pulled back from 1.42 and the February 25 high. This could be the onset of a double top pattern but a breakout over this resistance would confirm the uptrend. - Prepared by Trading Writers*

 

CALENDAR

 

*Times in GMT

 

 
Source: FX Street Economic Calendar