The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is playing-catch up with Bitcoin. The CFTC held a meeting in Washington yesterday, to learn more about the cryptocurrency, we read on CoinDesk:

Panelists for the CFTC event included Coin Center executive director Jerry Brito; New York Law School professor Houman Shadab; BitPay chief compliance officer Tim Byun; and TeraExchange president and co-founder Leonard Nuara.

While only covering basic elements about the subject and sidestepping larger questions about bitcoin’s classification as a currency or commodity, the roughly two-hour session appears to have done much to convince the CFTC of the potential of digital currency.

CFTC Commissioner Mark Wetjen said:

“It just seems like based on what I have learned, some of those applications could be so compelling that it would be a real mistake for us as a commission to not make sure we are staying on top of these developments.”

The regulators are getting updated on what Bitcoin is and it seems that the CFTC is appreciating the opportunities the currency might give. This is a good sign as far as further development of Bitcoin derivatives is concerned. The CFTC’s remit is to regulate the derivatives market in the U.S. Since the Commission is now familiarizing itself with the currency and getting more insight into how Bitcoin works, it seems as though the way for more Bitcoin derivatives might be open. Of course, the development of such exchange-traded derivatives would still take time but the CFTC doesn’t seem to be hostile to the currency in any way.

For now, let’s turn to the charts portion of today’s alert.

On BitStamp, we saw an explosion in volume yesterday. More than 45,000 were traded during the day. Bitcoin tested $400 (green line on the chart), reversing later on. The change in short-term trend is now very well visible, but the recent turn (yesterday late in the day) was down.

Today (this is written before 9:00 a.m. ET), we’ve seen a move up being followed by a move down. The volume is suppressed compared with yesterday but is not really weak. Right now, yesterday’s retracement and today’s action point to a slowdown in a move up. At the moment, the currency is above $350, the trend seems to be up and the volume is still significant. But is this enough to suggest that further appreciation might be in the cards?

On the long-term BTC-e chart, we see a rebound from the level of $300 in the direction of $400. The move was somewhat stopped yesterday but Bitcoin has stayed above $350 today.

If you recall our comments from yesterday:

(…) the action has been up and our limit order was triggered. The volume has also been up so far. These clues suggest that the move up is starting to gain the necessary momentum. While what we’ve seen so far isn’t enough to call the rebound a very strong one, it seems strong enough to go for speculative long positions.

Given yesterday’s and today’s action, the momentum seems to be there. The move is to the upside. One reservation is that the action yesterday ended in depreciation and that we’ve definitely seen a slowdown today. The move down hasn’t been strong and currently it seems that it might be a slowdown within a correction. Consequently, our bet is still on a move up.

Summing up, long speculative positions might be the way to go.

Trading position (short-term, our opinion): long speculative position, target at $500, stop-loss at $337.

Regards,

Mike McAra
Bitcoin Trading Strategist
Bitcoin Trading Alerts at SunshineProfits.com

Disclaimer

All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Mike McAra and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be a subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Mike McAra and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. McAra is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Mike McAra’s reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Mike McAra, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.

Only logged in users are allowed to post comments. Register/ Log in

The Market Oracle is a FREE Financial Markets Forecasting & Analysis web-site.
(c) 2005-2024 MarketOracle.co.uk (Market Oracle Ltd) - Market Oracle Ltd asserts copyright on all articles authored by our editorial team and all comments posted. Any and all information provided within the web-site, is for general information purposes only and Market Oracle Ltd do not warrant the accuracy, timeliness or suitability of any information provided on this site. nor is or shall be deemed to constitute, financial or any other advice or recommendation by us. and are also not meant to be investment advice or solicitation or recommendation to establish market positions. We do not give investment advice and our comments are an expression of opinion only and should not be construed in any manner whatsoever as recommendations to enter into a market position either stock, option, futures contract, bonds, commodity or any other financial instrument at any time. We recommend that independent professional advice is obtained before you make any investment or trading decisions. By using this site you agree to this sites Terms of Use. From time to time we promote or endorse certain products / services that we believe are worthy of your time and attention. In return for that endorsement and only in the cases where you purchase directly though us may we be compensated by the producers of those products.