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This might be one of the worst days in the history of cryptocurrency trading, where every top coin gave its investors a cold sweat. While the leading digital currency Bitcoin fell to the session’s lowest figures, altcoins like Litecoin, Dogecoin and Darkcoin also crashed by huge margins.

This is a clear case of panic sell, which might have originated from the Bitcoin’s poor performance in last two weeks. In our previous articles, we speculated low demands and higher supply and dumping rate to be one of the major reasons for the constant decline in Bitcoin value. Reports from other websites also provided multiple speculations in the name of increasing merchant adoptions, market manipulation by short-term traders, etc. But no one could actually predict Bitcoin to fall over 14% within the span of 24 hours.

There is a huge chance that early adopters are giving up on the coin, and are selling it at low to recover whatever they can save, or make. A rumor is also coming to the wires, saying that one single investor has sold over 30,000 BTC on BitStamp, only at $300. More would be discussed later upon the conformation of the event.

But is it influencing the altcoins as well? Somewhere yes, as every topo cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin is also facing the speculations of a sell-off – be it Litecoin, which has fallen by 11% in US markets, Dogecoin by 13%, or NXT which has dipped by more than 12% in last 24 hours. Bear whale has struck the market indeed.

BTC/USD
The BTC/USD opened at 345 during the 10/4 trading session, from where it continued on its downtrend. There were however certain expectations that the pair will rebound upon reaching the 300-dollar wall. The slow decline was indicating the fear of small-term traders, leaving the market over the ongoing FUD. At one point of time though, the BTC/USD stepped upward, finding the first support level at 330. It however was short-lived, and started to fall back after touching the 338 mark. Once again there was a resistance-less decline, which ultimately brought the pair to the closing value of 316.

The real trouble surfaced during the 10/5 trading sessions when the Bitcoin’s value fell instantly within seconds, probably because of the aforementioned sell-off of 30,000 BTC. At this time, we cannot exactly predict whether the market will be bearish or bullish. But for long run, it might retrace its steps back once the buying pressure takes over the market.

Just in 14 hours the sell wall has shrunk by more than 50%.
Who’s Behind the Bitcoin Sell Wall?



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Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne recently announced the hiring of two Counterparty developers for its upcoming decentralized stock exchange. This hiring ultimately intensified the Counterparty’s reputation in the cryptocurrency market, resulting into its entry in the top ten coins by market cap. The coin rose over 100% in last 24 hours.

It was indeed a good opportunity for investors to move towards other “hypes”, especially after the last week’s blunder in other coins’ market. It would be unethical to credit only Overstock’s announcement to boost Counterparty (XCP) investments in last few hours. A volatile jump like this is indeed attractive, but also signifies an equal risk of falling at the same velocity. For obvious reasons, influential actors build hype around such announcements by buying coins at their low level – a process known as pumping. When the hype inspires other new investors as well, the coin’s value reaches to its peak. Thereupon, influential actors sell their coins at peak prices, which eventually brings the coin’s value to bottom – a process known as dumping.

Here is the chart:


But we cannot neglect one fast as well, that the hiring of Counterparty developers would indeed help the team gaining confidence among potential investors. Their association with a reputable name like Overstock can be played as an ace-card for future marketing plans. It is up to the coin’s team now that how they manage to reap the best out of this opportunity. XCP has always held the potential of being a great altcoin but is only left behind due to the influence of other well-marketed altcoins.


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USDJPY appears to be having trouble sustaining its gains past the 110.00 major psychological resistance, as a double top pattern has formed on its 4-hour time frame. Price is currently testing the neckline around the 108.00 handle.
A break below this level might confirm that a selloff is in the cards, possibly around 200 pips in height, which is the same as the chart formation. Take note though that stochastic is already in the overbought area, indicating that a bounce back to the 110.00 resistance is possible. MACD is also hinting at a possible pickup in buying pressure.

USDJPY Trade Outlook

A downside break from the neckline could lead to a drop to the next support area at the 106.00 major psychological level. Near-term support can also be found at 107.00-107.50, which acted as previous resistance and is near the 200 simple moving average.

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Euro Turning Bullish?

This week, the euro is rebounding against a multi-month decline across the board. We noted that the EUR/USD is forming an inverted head and shoulders. Now, let’s take a look at the EUR/JPY, EUR/GBP, and EUR/AUD to assess this bullish attempt.

EUR/JPY 4H Chart 10/8


The EUR/JPY fell from a September high of 141.22 to a low of 136.55 this week. Today (10/8). price is rebounding after forming a mini-bottom. The rally is now pushing above a falling speedline, signaling a possible bullish correction. The 137.75-137.95 support/resistance area will be key for the 10/8 session. If price fails to break above this level, the EUR/JPY remains bearish and has downside risk towards 136.00.

If price pops up above 138.00, we can start considering a bullish reversal. But another dip that holds above 137.00 can add weight to this bullish scenario. To accompany this bullish outlook, we should also see the RSI push at least above 60 to show loss of bearish momentum.

EUR/GBP 4H Chart 10/8


The 4H EUR/GBP chart shows a rounded bottom and the break above a falling trendline from early September. The RSI has also shown the loss of bearish momentum.

Price is now pushing at 0.79 and the 200-period SMA in the 4H chart. This is also a previous support area in September. A break and hold above 0.79 this week can lead to further bullish correction, but we should note that the prevailing trend has been heavily bearish, so we should keep a bullish outlook limited to 0.80 for now. A hold below 0.79 maintains a bearish bias despite this week’s bullish correction.

EUR/AUD 4H Chart 10/8


The EUR/AUD has been bullish in September, and has been consolidating under 1.4587 since late*September. This week, after a low of 1.4314, price rallied, pushing back above the 100-, and 50-period SMAs, as well as a falling trendline from that 1.4587 high. Note that the 4H RSI has held above 40 after tagging 70 back in September. This shows maintenance of the bullish momentum. With the technical signals in the 4H chart, EUR/AUD appears to have initiated a bullish continuation scenario.

If we are looking for euro strength, EUR/AUD appears to be ripe for it. EUR/JPY is neutral, and EUR/GBP*has a sharp prevailing downtrend, and could be the best of these three as candidate for bearish*continuation.



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On Thursday, futures for crude oil drifted lower, pushing Brent crude further into the bear territory a day after the highlight of global economic growth concerns by the Federal Reserve.

November delivery light sweet crude futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange dropped 0.4% or 37 cents to $86.94, the lowest level from June 2013. November delivery Brent crude on ICE Futures exchange in London set a low of trading at $90.82, down 1.1% or 97 cents.

Minutes from the Fed showed the concern of officials on the impact the strengthening US dollar could have on the economy. The concerns saw the dollar decline but failed to respite oil after it gained ground, as reported by Market Watch.
Dollar-priced commodities are expensive to traders using different currencies when the dollar is strong.

Price Futures Group market analyst, Phil Flynn said, ‘The minutes pushed back interest increase expectations and sent stocks and the euro soaring and dollar back down. Yet even with a break in the dollar, oil falls as demand fear grow.”
On Wednesday, the US Energy Information Administration said that there was a rise of 5 million barrels in domestic oil inventories to 361.7 million.

Increased US production of oil has reduced oil prices, which has reduced the need for imports and thus slowing China’s growth. China and the US are largest global consumers of crude oil.

NASDAQ reported that oil companies are falling as crude declines. Chevron dropped 0.3% and Royal Dutch Shell declined 2.6% while BP fell 1.6% in New York.

Brent prices have declined for six of the last seven trading sessions and oil bulls are hoping that excess supplies will be balanced out in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries meeting scheduled for November.

In its latest report, US EIA said, “Although the return of significant Libyan production has been an important factor putting downward pressure on the Brent price, weakening global demand, particularly in Europe and Asia, is also important.”


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Texas Moves to Install Air Monitoring Station to Study Fracking Emissions

By Forexminute - Jonathan Millet | Fracking News | Oct 11, 2014 12:25AM BST




Texas has moved to respond to complaints of air pollution due to fracking activities in South Texas, with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) installing an air monitoring station inside the Eagle Ford Shale.

The station, the first in the area, will be installed in Karnes County, an area where thousands of oil wells have been sunk over the past few years. Until recently, the sole monitoring station was located in the outer part of Eagle Ford in the city of Floresville, reported News 4.

During the summer, a group of researchers affiliated to the University of Texas at Austin circuitously navigated through the Eagle Ford Shale for 12 days in a modified vehicle that could collect samples through the special air monitoring equipment. The researchers wanted to know if gases emitted during fracking as well as emissions from the fracking equipment, was drifting into the city of San Antonio and increasing the levels of the ozone.

The TCEQ published the results of the scientists’ study, which showed that the amount of hydrocarbons leaking into the Bexar County from Eagle Ford Shale rose significantly. Fortunately, the levels of nitrogen oxides, which generate the ozone, remained stagnant. However, the fact that the researchers were unable to detect any nitrogen oxides doesn’t mean none was leaking into San Antonio and polluting the environment.

Nitrogen oxides, which are usually produced by equipment and vehicle exhaust, tend to be hot and float higher into the air. The researchers believe the oxides wafted up and blew past the mobile monitor into San Antonio. TCEQ paid the UT-A researchers $100,000.


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On Monday, index futures for US stocks remained little changed after the S&P dropped the worst in a week since May 2012 and the Dow shifted to negative territory amid global growth concerns.

The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.7% while the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped to 0.6% by 0.3%, as reported by USA Today.

According to Piper Jaffray’s Craig Johnson said that the continued weakness in the market is mainly due to the market internals, which is the reality that stocks are reaching new lows instead of new highs and that individual stocks’ stock charts and major stock indexes are turning down.

Kingsview Asset Management, Paul Nolte said, “The drop in stocks that essentially began a mere three weeks ago has shaved off 5% rather quickly. Many individual stocks are down much more than the averages are showing. That said we should see some bounce to the very oversold market early in the week.”

The earnings season is expected to rise this week, with the Dow Components Johnson & Johnson, Intel, American Express, UnitedHealth and General Electric including financials such as Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley announcing their results.

In premarket trade, Ebola-related stocks were active after a Texas health worker became the first person to contract the virus in the United States, as Reuters reported. The health worker had treated a Liberian that died of the disease last week in Dallas.

Maker of garments to guard against hazardous materials, Lakeland Industries climbed 20.2% to $23.59 after soaring more than 125% last week. Face masks maker, Alpha Pro Tech rose 16.3% to $8.64 premarket hitting 129% last week.
After the second Ebola diagnosis, smaller biotech names were up sharply with a rise of 86.4% to $2.74 after the Friday jump of more than 83%. Tekmira Pharmaceuticals US listed shares rose 3.8% to $23.66.


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GBPJPY is moving in an ascending trend channel on its daily chart, as price is making its way to test the bottom of the range for a forex trade setup bounce. This lines up with the 170.00 major psychological support, which might keep any losses in check.

A bounce from this area could take GBPJPY back to the top of the channel near the 180.00 major psychological resistance and previous highs. Further gains could lead to an upside break, but it would take a considerable amount of buying pressure to result to a forex trade setup breakout.
On the other hand, a break below the channel support might mean more losses for the pair and a potential long-term reversal. The next support zone is located near the 168.00 major psychological level.

Forex Trade Setup Scenarios

A weak support bounce might only take GBPJPY up to the mid-channel area of interest near the 178.00 mark, which has been marked by consolidation in the previous months. The recently released UK CPI might undermine a forex trade setup bounce, as the figures came in much weaker than expected.

Event risks for this forex trade setup today include the UK jobs release, which could post a 34.2K gain in hiring, enough to bring the jobless rate down from 6.2% to 6.1%. A stronger than expected report might lead to a bounce while another disappointment could lead to the channel support breakdown.

There are no major reports lined up from Japan though, as risk sentiment appears to be supporting the lower-yielding yen so far. Geopolitical risk and concerns about the Ebola outbreak are weighing on risk appetite, along with falling commodity prices. Unless any improvements are seen in the next trading sessions, the path of least resistance for this forex trade setup might be to the downside for now.


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Labor senator Sam Dastyari Advocates for Bitcoin, Warns Australian Banks

By Forexminute - Deepak Tiwari | Bitcoin | Oct 15, 2014 9:52PM BST




Advocating Bitcoin, Labor senator Sam Dastyari has warned Australian banks not to act like a bunch of ostriches with their heads in the sand when confronting the rise of the digital currency. He also urged companies to provide feedback to a Senate inquiry into how to regulate the highly volatile digital currency to move ahead.

His statement has come after the indications that Australian banks are highly skeptical and cautious in dealing with Bitcoins. For instance, NAB retreated from digital currencies including Bitcoin this year as the company says that it is too risky. A lot of the suspicion on Bitcoin is due to it being a decentralized currency.

Recently, NAB, Westpac Banking Corp, ANZ Banking Group and Commonwealth Bank of Australia along with seventy organizations that have been approached by the inquiry’s committee submitted their views to a committee chaired by Senator Dastyari. The Reserve Bank of Australia, the Australian Federal Police was also part of the group.

Even some international firms such as lobby group Bitcoin Foundation in the United States, and online payments behemoth PayPal formed the group that put their views in front of the committee. Senator Dastyari said that the fact is the banking sector can’t act like a bunch of ostriches and stick their heads in the sand.

He cautioned that the banks should not pretend these digital currencies aren’t a real thing. According to him too often it is observed that the banking sector has a tendency to try and pretend that change isn’t coming down the pipeline, in a bid to protect what is their market position.

Skepticism Must Go for Probity in Banking

However, according to him there were certain parts of the banking sector that realized they had to address the rise of digital currencies, because “it’s the future”. Nonetheless, as Australian banks have been highly skeptical and cautious in dealing with Bitcoins, his suggestion may prompt them to think about the digital currency.

In a statement a NAB spokesman said the bank was considering the terms of reference in the inquiry. However, it made clear that it does not bank or trade in unregulated currencies, or have any plans to do so. Also, it is too early to comment as they are developing their position on the issue.

Australia has still not banned Bitcoin and there are several organizations that provide Bitcoin exchange services and the country even has Bitcoin ATM.


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The Dollar and treasuries erased gains as US stocks slumped after an official from the Federal Reserve said that the central bank should consider delaying the closure of the bond buying program.
The S&P 500 Index dropped 0.3% in New York after dropping as high as 1.5% earlier. The 10-year Treasury yield gained 2 basis points to 2.16%, reversing its earlier decline. The Russell 2000 Index gained 0.4%. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index lost 0.4% after dropping more than 2.9%.

James Bullard, St. Louis Fed Bank President said that the central bank needs to consider delaying the closure of the bond buying to stop the decline in expectations for inflation, as reported by Bloomberg.

Money manager at Nicolaus & Co., Chad Morganlander said, “The Bullard comments were a short-term shot of adrenaline. The US economy is doing quite well, yet there’s overall concern that the euro zone is falling into the abyss.”

Bullard said, “Inflation expectations are declining in the US. That’s an important consideration for a central bank. And for that reason I think that a logical policy response at this juncture may be to delay the end of the QE.”
According to MSN Money, global shares lost about $672 billion while average bond yields all over the world dropped to records after reports indicated a decline in US retail sales that was bigger than projected. The S&P 500 lost more than 3%, the largest intraday drop in three years before paring losses in the last two hours of trading.

Investor psychology has been affected by Ebola’s spread and investors are looking at corporate earnings for clues on the strength of the economy. There was a rise of 4.8% in the profit for S&P 500 members in the third quarter while the sales increased by 4.2% according to analysts’ expectations.



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