Crypto Market Forecast: 16th September

It was a mixed trading week for the crypto markets. Benchmark asset Bitcoin pulled back by ~1%, while the overall crypto market cap fell ~0.5%. Of the top ten assets, ETH and EOS had a strong week, rising ~5% and ~9% respectively.

EOS’s price appeared to grow on the back of bullish sentiment surrounding a major hard fork scheduled for September 23rd. The update is part of the launch plan for the Voice blockchain social media platform. Voice is the new flagship Dapp on the EOS network that rewards users for posting and curating content.

A recent surge in gas usage on the Ethereum network indicates strong fundamental momentum. Crypto analyst Josh Olszewicz also pointed to the token’s strong technicals and bullish price momentum suggesting a short term target of ~$320, 40% higher than current trading levels.

The Bitcoin network also hit a fundamental milestone last week. The Bitcoin hash rate hit a new all-time high, crossing 90 quintillion hashes per second. The BTC/USD pair has not yet reacted strongly to the news (potentially crossing 100 quintillion may create more positive sentiment because it is a more significant milestone). Historically, Bitcoin’s price and hash rate have generally followed each other. This suggests there will be an eventual price reaction to the growth in the Bitcoin hash rate.

In wider macro news, on Thursday French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire proposed that the European Union adopt a hostile stance towards Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency due to fears it may impact the monetary sovereignty of EU nations. In response, Libra Association president Bertrand Perez indicated that the blockchain project remains set to launch in mid-2020. Perez said that regulatory concerns such as those raised by the French Finance Minister would be managed over the course of the next year. Global regulators from 26 states will question Libra leaders in Basel this Monday.

The crypto market ended the week strongly following significant price drops early last week. The gains were driven by a strong boost in network activity across the ecosystem’s two largest blockchains.

September 17th- DASH Coinbase Pro Listing

Payment network solution DASH begins trading on Coinbase Pro this week. The blockchain is notable for its age, privacy features, and Masternode solutions that add throughput and allow stakers to earn a passive income from the network. The DASH token bucked wider market trends in the last week to rise ~2% in anticipation of the Coinbase launch.

September 23rd- Bakkt Futures contract launch (Daily & Monthly)

BAKKT’s physically delivered Bitcoin futures trading platform finally launches for trading at the end of the week. Eager bulls may look for positive price action around the event, though it is likely this has been priced in. BAKKT is likely to contribute significant bullish momentum over the longer term as a key institutional onramp into Bitcoin and due to eye-catching partnerships with corporate entities such as Microsoft and Starbucks.

Top 10 Crypto- market cap

It was a mixed trading week for the top assets in Brave New Coin’s market cap table. Platform blockchain projects Ethereum and EOS had a strong week, while BNB and BCHSV pulled back.

The Binance futures trading platform launched on Friday, Binance U.S. has opened user registrations, and the exchange announced that the upcoming BNB coin burn will include profits from all Binance products, likely increasing holder dividends. Despite the bullish news, BNB’s price fell by nearly 2 digits suggesting underlying bearish momentum for the token.

It was another up and down week in the BTC markets. A strong end to the week canceled out the early losses. Bitcoin continues to attract bids at around the $9,900 level, however, the recent price recovery is based on low trading volume suggesting the potential for a false-breakout and a lack of participants in the ongoing price push.