- Summary:
- John Bolton claims that US President Trump tried to ban Bitcoin in 2018, but this was not followed through thus saving the Bitcoin prices from a major jolt.
Bitcoin prices could have seen an enormous jolt in 2018 if claims by John Bolton in his new book are anything to go by. John Bolton’s new book seems to be the rave of the moment, providing his insider’s view of the Trump administration with five months to go before the November 2020 election. The book claims that President Trump had mandated US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin to “go after Bitcoin”.
President Trump has not hidden his disdain for the cryptocurrency, especially after Facebook’s now-derailed attempt to launch Libra. Bolton’s book seems to insinuate that the US President did not want a possible workaround asset that China could use to avoid potential trade sanctions, during the height of the US-China trade war. There seems to be some validity in this concern. Intelligence agents in South Korea had blamed North Korea for a series of exchange hacks that led to the stealing of large swathes of Bitcoin and other cryptos, as a way of working around hard-hitting financial sanctions.
Well, the US did not ban Bitcoin outright but has since rolled out regulations regarding the trading of Bitcoin and taxation of proceeds of the trading of BTCUSD and other crypto assets.
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Technical Outlook for BTCUSD
Bitcoin prices are down 0.64% today, as the asset gradually drifts towards the trendline of the ascending channel on the daily chart. Price is presently at the 9400.52 area. A bounce off the trendline allows for a potential recovery move which will enable BTCUSD to challenge 9939.77 and 10465.78, on its wat to the opposing channel border. Only one out of 4 previous attempts to break above 9939.77 was successful, but that move stalled at the 10465.78 resistance. These price levels are, therefore, the upside targets in the near-term.
On the flip side, a breakdown of the channel’s lower border allows BTCUSD to target the 9100.31 support level, with 8874.49 and 8550.12 being the next downside targets in line if this decline plays out.