ONE-TWENTY TWO: Trading Financial Markets
Exploring the poetry in financial markets for students of money and economy since the year 2000.
As someone who watched too much of this year’s crypto run-up from the sidelines, I welcome the recent implosions of Bitcoin (BTC/USD) and Ethereum (ETH/USD). These top cryptocurrencies are inherently extremely volatile, so sharp and deep corrections are features not bugs for crypto traders. As long as these assets enjoy a broad fan base of … Read more
Stock Market Commentary The growth tantrum is almost a distant memory. Complacency is more the order of the day as the volatility index sinks further below 20 and the S&P 500 (SPY) hops and skips through all-time highs. Big cap tech is popular again. These stocks are helping to drag both the S&P 500 and … Read more
I am late to the resurgence of Microstrategy (MSTR), but I am finding some valuable lessons in the technical story. MSTR caught fire from an aggressive decision to protect cash reserves with investments in Bitcoin (BTC/USD). As a result, Microstrategy has enjoyed significant price appreciation from the current Bitcoin rally. Along the way, the uptrend … Read more
“…the CBN [ Central Bank of Nigeria ] has no comfort in cryptocurrencies at this time and will continue to do all within its regulatory powers to educate Nigerians to desist from its use and protect our financial system from activities of fraudsters and speculators..” The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), “Response to Regulatory Directive … Read more
My first “test” trade on Ethereum (ETH/USD) succeeded. I took profits on ETH/USD as it faded from $700 and a 2 1/2 year high. I wanted to hold on, but the clincher triggered with Bitcoin (BTC/USD) fading sharply from its latest all-time high. The fade appeared to signal the beginning of the end of this … Read more
Bitcoin Sentiment Riding High The Google Trend Momentum Check (GTMC) is staring down another test with Bitcoin (BTC/USD). A run-up in Google search interest in Bitcoin accompanied the run-up of Bitcoin to all-time highs. Google search interest is a proxy for sentiment. Accordingly, Bitcoin sentiment is running at extremes relative to recent levels. Per the … Read more
Bitcoin Price Failure In late May, a “price failure” in Bitcoin (BTC/USD) sent me to the sidelines. I decided to retreat to wait for a breakout and accumulate a new position on the way up. Two months later the moment arrived. The U.S. dollar (DXY) broke down and Bitcoin broke out. As a result, I … Read more
I often use Google searches to understand the context for trading in Bitcoin (BTC/USD). I formalized this strategy into the Google Trends Momentum Check (GTMC). Consistently, Nigeria tops the list of countries with Bitcoin searches. A recent article in Bitcoin.com titled “Nigeria’s Foreign Currency Crisis Boon for Bitcoin: Country Tops Wallet Downloads Ahead of the … Read more
Two weeks ago, I examined the sharp pullback in Bitcoin (BTC/USD) and concluded that the cryptocurrency was taking a refreshing pause ahead of the next breakout. The breakout is here. This breakout is a double bonus as it represents a bullish (upside) resolution to a Bollinger Band (BB) squeeze. Such breakouts are tradeable with well-defined … Read more
Trees do not grow to the sky – even cryptocurrency trees with Bitcoin leaves. The old adage describes a core rule of the physics of price momentum. Whether buying or selling, traders and investors eventually exhaust themselves – whether existing resources are too low to maintain buying pressure or motivated sellers finally run out of … Read more