Bitcoin Prices (BTC/USD) Slump As CBRT Bans Bitcoin

Summary:

Bitcoin prices (BTC/USD) fall nearly 4% this Friday after Turkey prohibits the use of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as means of payment.

Bitcoin prices (BTC/USD) fell 3.4% on Friday after the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) prohibit the use of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies within its banking system.

The CBRT said in an official publication that cryptocurrencies and other such digital assets could not be used as a means of payment for goods and services, saying its action was to mitigate transaction risks.

The trading of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in Turkey gained momentum in 2019 after the Turkish currency began to weaken against most currency majors. This activity has taken heightened dimensions recently as the Lira weakened significantly against the US Dollar, as concerned citizens moved to hedge against the depreciation by using Bitcoin and other crypto assets.

Similar bans in Nigeria and Morocco have only served to grow the use of Bitcoin and other crypto assets via other channels.

BTC/USD Technical Outlook

Friday’s decline has led to a test and short bounce off the 60054.03 support level. Continuation of the upside move from the bounce targets the 61803.35 resistance. Above this level, 63770.22 is the only barrier standing between the bulls and new record highs for Bitcoin prices.

On the other hand, a decline below 60043.03 brings in 58363.33 as the next support level, followed by 58068.96 and 57803.25 if the decline is extensive.