Three days after the price boost on Tuesday, we are ending this week with on a similar stance as our last update with the current price only slightly above the $635 mark. Although buyers have been exerting pressure for quite some time, the $650 breakthrough we all hoped for didn’t happen, leaving us waiting for the next pull. For the time being, the price remains consolidated, and the technical data don’t signal a clear path in any direction.
In other news, Bitcoin traders in Japan might be in for a real break, as the country’s financial regulatory body, the FSA (Financial Services Agency), is considering the exemption of Bitcoin from the national sales tax regulations. At the moment, the country is the only nation from the G7 that subjects any Bitcoin buyer from Japan to an 8% consumption tax, along with a number of additional fees that come with the exchange service.
To cancel the consumption tax, the Finance Ministry is calling upon the definition of Bitcoin that was outlined in a law from May 2016, where Bitcoins and other digital currencies were categorized as a type of prepaid instruments. However, Japanese buyers would have to wait to the end of the year for aformal decision on the matter.
Bitcoin Stabilizes; Will the Bull Run Continue?
The past 48 hours were marked with high anticipation, as at times the trading market showed signs of sellers overtaking. However, two days later since our last update, we’re still between $630-640, with the closest we got to reversal being $634.54 and a highest point of $638.29.
The trading volume is once again on the rise, suggesting slight increases in the upcoming period. As of now, it is at $55,541,200 and rising. On the other hand, the market cap remains virtually unchanged and still at $10.2 billion. With the current numbers, the value is headed towards stability, as long as the trading situation doesn’t fully reverse.
Looking at the technical data, the overall trading signal is strongly pro-buy, although specific indicators show signs of warning. All of our 12 moving averages send a buying signal, with the SMA 100 still over the SMA 200, but with a decreasing difference that hints at possible changes.
The buying trend is clearly visible in the technical oscillators as well, 7 of which are pro-buy, while 3 are even indicating overbuying. Considering some indicators have been signaling overbuy for a while now, there’s always the danger of exhaustion and a reversal towards selling. For now, the price is stable but, as always, a close lookout is advised, especially at the start of the weekend.
Blockchain.info DNS Briefly Hijacked
Two days ago, popular Bitcoin wallet Blockchain.info had to forcefully go offline following a DNS hijack hack that exposed its users to cyber-attacks and information theft. The hijack was discovered by the administrator team who noticed that the service’s DNS information have been tampered with to re-direct users to a different URL hosted on a low budget provider in the United States.
During their 24-hour offline time, the team was able to identify the machine that launched the attack, shut it down and restore their services. Fortunately, no users were damaged thanks to an SSL certificate which obstructed the phishing attack.