Bitcoin and the Stock MarketDisclaimer: This is written for entertainment purposes only. I am not licensed or certified to give financial advice, an no publication may be interpreted as such. I am not responsible for any financial loss or damages. You are responsible for doing your own research and forming your own ideas and theories. Thanks for reading!
Bitcoin has been all over the place lately, it is important to understand why and what has been driving its price movement to decide if you are bullish or bearish in the short term. There is a lot of speculation lately regarding whether the bottom is in and the next bull cycle has already started, or if the downtrend will continue.
BTC tends move with, and sometimes even lead, the NASDAQ. The correlation certainly isn't perfect, and it wouldn't make sense if it were perfect given the different trading ecosystems of the former and latter. Bitcoin has the opportunity for its price action to react to market news immediately 24/7, whereas the NASDAQ is only active a portion of each day. That being said, according to Bloomberg, Bitcoin's 40-Day correlation coefficients with the NASDAQ are at all time highs: 0.66. One cannot help but wonder if it is a coincidence that the stocks in the NASDAQ trade for about .58 of a full day compared to BTC. The chart below helps us visualize the markets over the last 6 months.
The DOW, S&P, abd NASDAQ have all been in a short term downtrend, and currently stand around close to zero net change over the last 6 months approximately. Interestingly, Bitcoin and the NASDAQ topped in November of 2021, followed by the S&P's and DOW's tops in January. There are two major questions we need to ask ourselves regarding Bitcoin in my opinion:
1) If the stock markets continue to decline, will Bitcoin decline also?
2) What could catalyze these markets to turn around all together right now?
1) This does seem likely. Given the recent high correlation between BTC and stocks, and if we assume a catalyst is required to change this, we can speculate on what might trigger this kind of change. We need to form our own opinions on this. In my opinion, there are two potential catalysts that could realistically make this happen in the short term:
-Bitcoin SPOT ETF Approval by the SEC
-Positive SEC regulation/guidance regarding crypto
2) To answer this question, we need some context first:
The FED, led by Jerome Powell, was previously on team transitory for months, and it seemed somewhat logical. There was a major (deprecating) catalyst prompting an enormous pivot from retail to online shopping (COVID-19.) This sudden market pivot spiked the rate of inflation, and as time goes on, prices would theoretically revert to a normal rate of inflation if team transitory were winning. The FED expected inflation to spike by late 2021 in this model, which has not happened, and this is why they no longer use the term transitory. It is speculated by some that this model was correct and dirsupted by the Delta variant. The FED has been punctual recently regarding its plan on fighting inflation. Jerome Powel has said time and time again that the FED does not want to disrupt the jobs market, which has seen increasingly strengthening reports. A bad disruption could lead to a wage-price spiral, hyperinflation, and then ultimately the destruction of the US dollar, if not handled correctly (this would be a worst case scenario and the FED's strongest priority is preventing this.) The FED has been tapering off quantitative easing (injecting massive amounts of newly created money into the economy via the purchase of mortgage-backed securities,) and the taper is almost complete. The time to transition to quantitative tightening is rapidly approaching, and it is widely speculated that the first interest rate increases will result from the upcoming FED meetings.
The overall lack of certainty and confidence that the FED has inflation under control is the primary driver of market FUD currently. Fear of a recession is extremely powerful, and if the FED does not respond appropriately, the consequences may be severe. If you believe the FED will raise rates, then you must speculate on whether or not the stock market has already priced this in. It is in the general view of the FED that valuations are very high, which implies that the markets are generally overbought (in their opinion.) The FED uses monthly Consumer Price Index reports, amongst other tools, to track inflation. CPI reports are still indicating increasing rates of inflation.
To answer the question, the markets would want see the FED keep rates at zero for the market to bottom. More specifically, we would need inflation to decline without intervention.
Ultimately, you need to make up your own mind and do your own research. I write these summaries to provide context on what is going on, it is your responsibility to decide what you think will happen and trade/invest accordingly with your risk tolerance.
Technical Analysis
Bitcoin is trading at interesting price levels currently. The 500 Day moving average (orange) is just above $41,250. Bitcoin has not traded below this level since March of 2020, and this level may indicate an extended bear market for Crypto if support does not hold. The 12 day moving average(light blue) has also converged to a similar price level, leaving us in a very pivotal time. The descending channel is drawn out in red, and we will discuss what a bull and bear market may look like.
The Bull Case
Bitcoin needs to find support. If we find support at the 12day/500day moving averages, then we may expect a retest of the upper bound of the descending channel drawn in red. A clean upwards break of this channel is bullish, and then Bitcoin would need to set a new local high over 45,850 to establish an uptrend.
The Bear Case
Bitcoin does not find lasting support at the 500 day moving average, and tests the yellow trendline. If the yellow trend does not hold up, then we may see a test of the lower bound of the current downtrend around $27,000
Final Remarks
It will be wise to closely monitor the actions of the FED over the several weeks and months. They have the power to move markets, their number one concern is inflation, and monthly inflation reports are coming in high. Interest rate hikes are the primary combat to inflation for the FED, and if you think that is what they will do, you need to determine how you think the market will react. We have some decent trendlines to use for guidance, and time will soon tell where the trend will go.
Thanks for reading, good luck!
Federalreserve
Bounce on .5 Fibonacci ExtensionThe SPX & VXX both bounced from the .5 Fibonacci extension and retractement on daily time frames. Monday will be interesting with the Ukraine situations + Emergency FED Meeting results. I can see it going both ways unfortunately but the trend says we find a lower low. My gut tells me a no deal no info meeting through the weekend on Ukraine, and more accommodations from the fed because of Ukraine. These conditions could send the vix higher in the short term, we could finally see the sell off breadth we’ve been waiting for to call the bottom. Engulfments everywhere on the weekly’s charts look terrible. And the setup looks bullish to me on the VXX.
US 10 Yr Treasury: Weekly Chart UpdateQuick Analysis on 10 Year Treasury Yield on a 1W Linear Chart.
1) The US 10 Year Treasury Yield has been respecting a falling channel for multiple decades going back to the 1980s.
2) It is currently headed to the top trendline of the channel with a possibility to break in the coming months.
3) The measured move of the falling channel would bring it back to Pre-2008 ranges.
4) This may fall in line with the US Dollar strengthening (in the idea section below).
5) If US 10 Year Treasury Yield goes lower, there is not much more room for it to get to 0.
What are your opinions on this?
If you enjoy my ideas, feel free to like it and drop in a comment. I love reading your comments below.
Disclosure: This is just my opinion and not any type of financial advice. I enjoy charting and discussing technical analysis . Don't trade based on my advice. Do your own research! #cryptopickk
DXY Finds Support Off Inflation Data, FedThe US dollar has been bought up from relative lows at 95.26. The firmness in the dollar stems from inflation data yesterday and increased expectations of a Fed hike. We did see some volatility in the DXY, but support has held strong, and we appear to be making a run for the 96's again. However, 96.00 has provided prohibitive resistance for the moment, with two rejections and a red triangle on the KRI to confirm resistance. If we are able to break this level, then 96.24 and 96.44 are the next levels. Otherwise, we should see continued support from 95.26.
Gold Falls Short of $1836Gold has found resistance at 1836, exactly as we anticipated in these reports. We have since retraced back to support at 1826, the next level down, after testing 1815 and finding support just above this level. Two green triangles on the KRI suggest strong support at 1821 or so. The Kovach OBV was pretty strong, but has leveled off in tandem with gold's top. From here, we are likely to establish value between 1815 and 1836. Note the vacuum zone below 1815 to 1795, which was a previous value area. If support does not hold at current levels we will surely test this value area once again.
Bonds Smash Lows After Inflation DataBonds took a sharp nose dive off increased Fed rate hike expectations and inflation. We smashed through our lowest levels of support and drove deeper into the 126 handle, before finally bottoming out at 125'17, a support level extrapolated from inverse Fibonacci levels, a tool we are relying on more and more, now that we have exhausted all of our lower technical levels. We are seeing a brief pivot off this level, and appear to be making a run for the 126's again. Currently we are meeting resistance at the psychological level of 126'00, with 126'02 providing resistance as confirmed by a red triangle on the KRI. The Kovach OBV has turned even more bearish with the massive selloff yesterday, but does appear to be leveling off with the support. If we are able to break into the 126's again, then 126'11 is sure to provide resistance. Our next target below is 125'07 if we selloff further.
US Treasury 10 Year - 2 Year Spread Versus Fed Funds RateThis is what happened to the US Treasury 10 year - 2 year spread the last time the Federal Reserve embarked on a tightening cycle. My prediction: as before, as soon as the 10 year and 2 year yields touch (the spread approaches 0%), the Fed will be forced to reverse course and begin lowering rates in order to avert a yield curve inversion and the potential for a recession.
Markets price in five Fed rate hikes in 2022, cut by 2025Fed policy bets are evolving, which may explain why gold has managed an upswing alongside the S&P 500 while the US Dollar has fallen so far in February.
Policymakers’ increasingly assertive posture on stimulus withdrawal coupled with supportive economic data – most recently, January’s payrolls report – have driven up near-term rate hike expectations. The longer view has softened, however.
Fed funds futures imply that the push to price in five 25bps rate hikes for 2022 has likewise seen the 2023 outlook soften, from three such increases to two. A single rise seems to have drifted out to 2024, implying adjustment to a more gradual path after fireworks this year. Strikingly, a cut is now priced in for 2025.
Canadian dollar edges higherThe Canadian dollar has posted slight gains on Wednesday. There are no Canadian tier-1 events on the calendar this week, so we can expect US releases will have a magnified impact on the movement of the Canadian dollar this week.
With the Fed poised to launch a series of rate hikes starting in March and inflation surging in Canada, it's unlikely that the Bank of Canada will simply fold its hands. BoC Governor Tiff Macklem said as much when speaking to a Senate committee in Ottawa last week. Macklem said that additional interest rates are needed to lower inflation to the 2% target, with the number of hikes depending on economic developments. And after that? There hasn't been much guidance from the BoC, leaving the markets in the dark. Although Macklem was clear that additional rate hikes are on the way, his comments indicated that he still views inflation as transitory, saying that he expects inflation to ease in the second half of 2022. Macklem is speaking to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce today and any hints about rate moves could wake up the sleepy Canadian dollar.
In the US, the markets have priced in at least five rate hikes this year, but the Fed is still more dovish. Earlier in the day, Fed member Bostic said that he saw inflation easing shortly and said he expects 3-4 rate hikes this year. Bostic's remarks boosted risk appetite, as concerns that the Fed will tighten aggressively have eased.
US inflation continues to rise and the markets are bracing for an acceleration in January CPI. The consensus stands at 7.3%, which would be up from 7.0% in December. If inflation is within expectations or higher, the likelihood of a 50-basis point hike in March will increase. According to CME's FedWatch, the markets have priced in a 75% chance of a 25-bps rise and a 25% chance of a 50-bps hike at the March meeting.
USD/CAD faces resistance at 1.2818 and 1.2873
1.2679 is being tested in support for a second straight day. Below, there is support at 1.2595
EURUSD Short Ahead of U.S. CPIEuro was boosted by a hawkish shift in the ECB's tone, which I believe is very premature since Euro Area core inflation sits around 2.3% contracting, along with headline inflation being less than the U.S. and mostly due to energy costs/supply chain issues which are transitory. Couple that with the Fed not raising rates in the last meeting, we couldn't push through the 1.12000 support. I believe has the month goes on, U.S. core inflation numbers will either hit estimates or overshoot which will bring us lower ahead of a strong hike next meeting.
How Will Increased Interest Rates in the USD Affect Crypto? Now that the Federal Reserve seems committed to raising interest rates in response to inflation (something that they denied was a problem during 2021) we're going to see a shift in the way money is talked about in the near future. What does this mean for crypto, and the greater economy, overall?
- The US growth and assets markets have been driven strongly by the availability of cheap loans since 2008, an era that is now coming to a close because the only way to avoid a hyper-inflationary economy in the USD right now is to raise interest rates.
- The historic rate at which the US Treasury printed money -- largely justified through COVID woes -- is extreme and it's TBD whether or not the proposed rates will be enough to offset its after-effects. (Was initially 2%, now proposed to ~3%.) The government is broke and has no other choice.
- Higher interest rates are generally bad for "risk-takers" in the market, but good for people who like to save. The idea of the government and financial sectors actively encouraging people to save, however, has been missing from the mainstream narratives for a while. Whether or not the institutions can adapt fast enough to form a holistic plan in the midst of the turmoil is yet to be seen. The condition has been around long enough that this scenario will be new to even "experienced" financial experts out there.
- This presents a new economic landscape/opportunity for entrepreneurs and investors looking to capitalize on the change. But in this environment, the "slow growth" approach is likely to be more successful than the marketing-driven hype markets that has dominated the scene for the last 10-15 years. (Yes, even in crypto. ex. SHIB, NFT-hype.)
- Generally speaking, countries with higher inflation rates tend to have higher crypto adoption rates as well. Will the same happen to crypto, NFTs, and metaverse -based assets? Time will tell -- but now crypto at least has the title of an "alternative asset" with the potential for high growth, especially since it's not affected by supply chain issues that traditional assets are tied into right now.
- Since 2021 there have been a lot of crypto-based projects that have tied itself into the USD markets through traditional legal arrangements and contracts (as opposed to "pure" crypto investments that aren't concerned with what the traditional markets are doing right now) -- this money is more likely to run in parallel to the outcomes that fiat money will face as the interest rates start to ramp up in 2022.
How Will Increased Interest Rates in the USD Affect Crypto? Now that the Federal Reserve seems committed to raising interest rates in response to inflation (something that they denied was a problem during 2021) we're going to see a shift in the way money is talked about in the near future. What does this mean for crypto, and the greater economy, overall?
- The US growth and assets markets have been driven strongly by the availability of cheap loans since 2008, an era that is now coming to a close because the only way to avoid a hyper-inflationary economy in the USD right now is to raise interest rates.
- The historic rate at which the US Treasury printed money -- largely justified through COVID woes -- is extreme and it's TBD whether or not the proposed rates will be enough to offset its after-effects. (Was initially 2%, now proposed to ~3%.) The government is broke and has no other choice.
- Higher interest rates are generally bad for "risk-takers" in the market, but good for people who like to save. The idea of the government and financial sectors actively encouraging people to save, however, has been missing from the mainstream narratives for a while. Whether or not the institutions can adapt fast enough to form a holistic plan in the midst of the turmoil is yet to be seen. The condition has been around long enough that this scenario will be new to even "experienced" financial experts out there.
- This presents a new economic landscape/opportunity for entrepreneurs and investors looking to capitalize on the change. But in this environment, the "slow growth" approach is likely to be more successful than the marketing-driven hype markets that has dominated the scene for the last 10-15 years. (Yes, even in crypto. ex. SHIB, NFT-hype.)
- Generally speaking, countries with higher inflation rates tend to have higher crypto adoption rates as well. Will the same happen to crypto, NFTs, and metaverse -based assets? Time will tell -- but now crypto at least has the title of an "alternative asset" with the potential for high growth, especially since it's not affected by supply chain issues that traditional assets are tied into right now.
- Since 2021 there have been a lot of crypto-based projects that have tied itself into the USD markets through traditional legal arrangements and contracts (as opposed to "pure" crypto investments that aren't concerned with what the traditional markets are doing right now) -- this money is more likely to run in parallel to the outcomes that fiat money will face as the interest rates start to ramp up in 2022.
Gold Prices Could DoubleGold has been trading in a flag pattern for a little over 1.5 years. This consolidation pattern tends to lead to a big break out, which could point prices to go higher but also lower. Fundamentally speaking, if stocks are under performing and real bonds rates are returning negative yields, gold would be an attractive hedge against inflation and beaten asset prices.
The raising of interest rates VS BTC price actionHey everyone,
Hope everyone is keeping well and in good health.
We've seen our crypto portfolios shrink in monetary (FIAT) value. This sucks, but please refrain yourself from making emotional choices here at all times.
Above illustration incorporates the recent FED rate hikes between 2015 and 2019 and what the price-action of Bitcoin was in that time period.
I know the bears are trying to spread a lot of fear around J. Powell's plans. but always do your own research.
Historically speaking, the FED raising interest does not have a negative effect on BTC.
Last time the rates hikes began, BTC did over 40x (from around $450 to the 2018 top of nearly $20K)
Everyone take care and keep healthy.
Thank you for taking the time and until the next time!
Canadian dollar starts week higherIt was a week to forget for the Canadian dollar. USD/CAD jumped 1.51%, marking the Canadian dollar's worst weekly performance since mid-August. The currency is in positive territory, as USD/CAD is down 0.31% on the day.
Canada releases the Raw Materials Price Index later today. The inflation index is expected to decline -1.3%, following a -1.1% beforehand. This week's highlight is GDP for November, which will be released on Tuesday.
In the US, the week wrapped up with mixed numbers. The Fed's preferred inflation gauge, the Core PCE Price Index, rose in December 4.9% y/y, up from 4.7% and above the forecast of 4.8%. This marks the highest gain since 1983 and reinforces expectations that the Fed will act aggressively to curb surging inflation. However, personal income rose 0.3% m/m, less than the 0.4% consensus. Consumer spending declined by -0.6%, less than the forecast of -0.7%. As well, UoM Consumer Sentiment fell from 6.8 to 67.4, its lowest reading since 2011.
These numbers point to weakness in consumer spending and confidence, which makes for a confusing picture, given that inflation is running rampant. The markets are having difficulty figuring out how many rate hikes are on the way, and Fed policymakers also have differing views on the subject.
How hawkish will the Fed be? It is unclear, with forecasts ranging between 3 and 7 hikes this year. A March liftoff seems assured, with the likelihood of a quarter-point hike at 84%, and a 50-bps rise priced at 15%. Traditionally, the Fed raises rates in 0.25% increments, and that's likely what it will deliver. However, a 0.50% hike cannot be ruled out, even though the Fed hasn't implemented such a large hike in twenty years. Such a dramatic move would send a decisive message to the markets that the Fed means business and is determined to stamp out high inflation. The Fed could use a credibility-booster after Jerome Powell stuck to the 'transient inflation' script even when it was glaringly evident that surging inflation wasn't going anywhere.
USD/CAD faces resistance at 1.2857 and 1.2948
There is support at 1.2615 and 1.2464
Will the Fed's Interest Rate Hikes Be Good or Bad for Crypto?It's probably going to be a tough market in the short term, but the interest rate hikes of 22' is exactly what the economy needs right now. Reducing access to cheap loans should curb the frenzied markets, at least somewhat. (Though given how low the rates are projected to be, probably not enough.)
What does this mean for crypto? Well, that's the big question everyone is asking now. They said that Evergrande and cryptocurrency would go down together, but that didn't turn out to be the case. Will the same happen to USD?
In a way, 22' is going to be a big test for how resilient the USD really is. Politics has been warping the numbers lately but inflation is the lie detector that will reveal the truth about the US economy. American Exceptionalism? Or will it follow the same pattern China did? Time will tell. (If you're a crypto supporter like me, you're hoping for the latter, of course.)
S&P 500 Has a Lot More Room to Grow, Too Early for a Recession.If you look at the S&P500 index ( TVC:SPX ) chart, you find that it has reached, and even surpassed, the previous high at 3393.5 which occurred just before the CV19 drop in March 2020. The last close on 31 December 2020 was at 3760. However, many attribute the recent V-shaped recovery to the Quantitative Easing scheme by the Federal Reserve, which makes a lot of sense. Printing money accelerates inflation and raises the prices of everything including stocks. If you haven't yet, look at the M2 Money Supply ( FRED:M2 ) (chart below) to get a feel for the scale of the increase in money supply during 2020 relative to the past 20 years.
Below is the chart of SPX for the past 20 years.
Below is the chart of M2 money supply for the past 20 years. Notice the jump in the last year.
This analysis looks instead at the chart of SPX divided by M2 . That gives us an inflation-adjusted look at SPX. We notice that the index has not yet achieved the V-shaped recovery. It is 2/3 of the way there. What's more, even the Feb 2020 high is not higher than the 2007 high that was just before the house mortgage crisis, and the latter is not higher than the dot-com bubble high in 2000. This simply means that making money through the S&P500 is not really making money, not really increasing the value of your holdings, but it is rather a mere hedge against inflation; and a failed hedge at that. It hasn't even achieved previous highs.
With all that being said, I do not believe that the March 2020 correction was anything to be scared of. I think we will achieve the high that occurred just before that drop. I say do not fear a major correction, let alone a recession, before we reach the top of the parallel channel as the arc arrow indicates. And keep your eyes only on the inflation-adjusted chart of SPX.