Crypto Industry News:
Binance Holdings and Changpeng Zhao plead guilty to criminal and civil charges. Moreover, Changpeng Zhao, the founder of the Binance cryptocurrency exchange, agreed to step down as CEO and admitted to "violating anti-money laundering requirements." All this as part of a settlement in which the Treasury Department participated. The negotiated settlement between the two parties allows Binance to continue operating. Nevertheless, this is another accurate blow from the US Securities and Exchange Commission against the cryptocurrency market.
The SEC, led by Gary Gensler, targeted the Binance exchange in February this year. The US regulator's accusations concerned staking, which was allegedly inconsistent with the regulations. Interestingly, exactly the same accusations were leveled against the Kraken exchange, which was fined USD 30 million.
The investigation against the Binance exchange has been ongoing for several years. Eventually, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to criminal charges and stepped down as the company's CEO. The amount of the settlement with the Department of Justice is USD 4.3 billion. The main allegations against CZ and the stock exchange were violations of the Bank Secrecy Act by failing to implement an effective anti-money laundering program. The second serious accusation concerned deliberate violation of economic sanctions imposed on Iran by the United States. Binance's former CEO personally admitted violating the Bank Secrecy Act. The Department of Justice is demanding that the court impose a fine of $50 million on Zhao. The resignation of the current president was necessary so that the exchange could continue its operations, but from now on under new rules.
The case against Binance appeared in the media on Tuesday afternoon. Information quickly emerged that Binance agreed to transfer USD 2.5 billion to the USD government and pay a fine of USD 1.8 billion. Combined with Zhao's resignation from the position of CEO of the company, this allows the exchange to continue its operations, but on completely new terms.
Technical Market Outlook:
The BTC/USD pair has reversed from the level of $37,785 after a failed third attempt to breakout above the swing high located at the level of $38,027. The bears are currently in charge of the market, at least in the short-term and they are testing the technical support located at the level of $35,610. Any violation of this level would extend the correction towards the next technical support seen at $34,671. The weak and negative momentum on the H4 time-frame charts upports the short-term bearish outlook for BTC, however, the larger time frame trend remains up.
Weekly Pivot Points:
WR3 - $41,363
WR2 - $39,678
WR1 - $38,135
Weekly Pivot - $36,446
WS1 - $34,906
WS2 - $33,218
WS3 - $31,678
Trading Outlook:
The bulls have successfully breached the pivotal level of $25,442, marking a significant shift in the mid-term outlook for BTC towards a bullish trajectory. The next objective for the bulls is set at $40,000. The potential for a sustained long-term uptrend remains, provided the critical level of $19,572 is not decisively violated.