Crypto newsletter: Bitcoin rallies to $57,000- highest level since early-May

• Bitcoin network reached record high for daily settlement volume
• The balance held by Ethereum miners is the largest it has been since  2016
• Stellar launches the Matching Fund

The last seven days saw another very positive week for Bitcoin, which  climbed above the $57,000 mark and trades at the highest level since early-May. Over the last seven days, Bitcoin grew by more than 18%. The bullish sentiment is supported by the news factor of pending SEC approval of a Bitcoin-ETF in the US. Also recent reports of Soros Foundation gaining exposure to bitcoin and U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis’s disclosure of bitcoin purchases may have also added to the bullish sentiment. On the other hand, it may led to profit taking if crypto market participants clearly see that the regulator continues to delay the launch of this instrument. Meanwhile some altcoins were again not able to keep the pace of BTC and showed some signs of weakness. The situation is particularly visible in Ethereum (ETH), the second largest altcoin by market cap, now trading at its lowest level against BTC since the start of August. Bitcoin's market dominance increased to 45.5%. The capitalization of all digital assets in circulation rose to 2.33 trillion, while an average daily trading volume is registered at $100.80 billion.

Bitcoin:

• According to Bloomberg analysts, there is a 75% chance that the SEC will approve a futures Bitcoin ETF in October.
• The value settled on the Bitcoin network has been surging recently, reaching a new daily all-time high on Oct. 6, with $31 billion worth of transactions being settled on-chain.This marks an increase in the network’s daily settlement volume of approximately 40 times since the beginning of the year and is outperforming major centralized payment networks Visa and Mastercard in the United States.
• According to a note shared by JPMorgan with clients on Thursday, the recent increase in price for BTC was predominantly attributed to institutional investors looking for a hedge to inflation. Bank analysts believe there has been a shift in perception as to the merits of BTC in relation to gold.
• US Bank, which is the fifth-largest bank in the United States, has announced the launch of its crypto custody service for fund managers.  The offering entails storing private keys for Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Litecoin (LTC). 
• The Biden administration is considering an executive order for federal agencies to study a wider range of digital assets as part of its approach to tighten regulations on cryptocurrencies. 
• According to sentiment gauge the Crypto Fear & Greed Index, the latest BTC price uptick is firmly rooted in sustainable growth. Currently the index stands at  71/100 — “greed” rather than “extreme greed” and still far from the classic top area of 95/100 and higher.

Crypto Fear & Greed Index as of Oct. 11. Source: Alternative.me

• Whale Ratio metric fell to 0.43, indicating that the long-term outlook is bullish. An increasing value would indicate that whales are depositing their holdings to exchanges looking to book profits.  

Recent decline hints at a bullish outlook. Source: CryptoQuant

Bitcoin price jumped to $57,000 during the early European hours, hitting the highest since mid-May. If current sentiment prevails, the upward move may accelerate towards all-time high at $64,388. On the other hand, if bullish momentum will lose steam, then nearest support is located at $53,000. Source: xStation5

Ethereum:

• The amount of Ethereum that is being held by miners has reached a record level of $1.85 billion as this group still is not willing to sell their holdings. Miners typically sell the asset on a regular basis to offset expenditures such as electricity and hardware. Miners’ hesitation to sell could indicate that they are waiting for more price hikes.​​​​​​​

Amount of ETH held by miners reached its highest level since 2016. Source: Santiment

• On the other hand, Ethereum witnessed the reduction in daily active addresses over the past month despite the increase in price which indicates some bearish sentiment at least in the short-term. 

Shrinking number of active users indicates a potential for a downward correction in the near future. Source: Santiment

Stellar:

Developers recently announced the partnership with MoneyGram on October 6 and also revealed the launch of Matching Fund on October 8 which aims to help early-stage companies interested in building on the XLM blockchain.

Stellar price has been stuck in a local sideways move recently between earlier broken 50 SMA ( green line) which coincides with 23.6% Fibonacci retracement of the last downward wave and 200 SMA (red line). Should a break higher occur, then upward move may accelerate towards local resistance at $0.4250 which is marked with upper limit of  the 1:1 structure and 38.2 Fibonacci retracement. On the other hand, if sellers will manage to regain control, then  support at $0.2450 may be at risk. Source: xStation5