Declining interest in margin shorts and a balanced risk perception in options markets highlight a possible path to $21,500 for BTC price. Bitcoin (BTC) showed strength on Oct. 4 and 5, posting a 5% gain on Oct. 5 and breaking through the $20,000 resistance. The move liquidated $75 million worth of leverage short (bear) positions and it led some traders to predict a potential rally to $28,000.$BTC #Bitcoin Shared this descending channel 2 days ago.$BTC has managed to break through the middle line.Next target = Upper channel trendline = ~21.5k.In case of a breakout, 28k-30k are possible. pic.twitter.com/dyqMLdcXZ4— ⓗ (@el_crypto_prof) October 4, 2022 As described by @el_crypto_prof, the descending channel continues to exert its pressure, but there could be enough strength to test the upper channel trendline at $21,500. The price action coincided with improving conditions for global equity markets on Oct. 4, as the S&P 500 index gained 3.1% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rallied 3.3%. Curiously, the sentiment improvement happened while the United States job openings dropped by 1.1 million in August, according to the U.S. Labor Department. The decline was the largest since April 2020 and signaled the U.S. Federal Reserve’s aggressive contractive monetary policy could end sooner than expected.The overall bullish sentiment might have caused Bitcoin to break the $20,000 resistance, but that does not mean professional investors are comfortable at the current price levels.Margin traders did not increase their longs despite the rallyMonitoring margin and options markets provides excellent insight into how professional traders are positioned. Margin trading allows investors to borrow cryptocurrency to leverage their trading position. For example, one can increase exposure by borrowing stablecoins to buy an additional Bitcoin position.On the other hand, Bitcoin borrowers can only short the cryptocurrency as they bet on its price declining. However, unlike futures contracts, the…

For some users, reversibility runs up against the idea of the blockchain. However, it could be a critical tool for fighting hackers and encouraging the mass adoption of cryptocurrency. A proposal out of Stanford University to make crypto transactions reversible is adding a wrinkle to discussions of crime and fraud prevention. Researchers suggested that mutability — the ability to reverse blockchain transactions — would help prevent crime.One of the advantages of cryptocurrency is that it is possible for the market — individuals, traders and banks — to decide if reversibility is wanted. Not only would a new (reversible) cryptocurrency be able to test the acceptance or desire for reversible transactions, it would help to test the idea that reversibility reduces crime.Although cryptocurrency is not a tool of the dark web, it’s sometimes portrayed as such. Fraud, scams and other forms of crime do happen and are growing in proportion with the amount of money invested and the number of coins traded. One of the main ways law enforcement addresses crime in crypto markets is with blockchain forensics. Blockchain forensics is a growing field in law enforcement where transactions are analyzed to follow and recover stolen or fraudulently obtained cryptocurrency assets. It first achieved prominence a few years ago when the United States Internal Revenue Service used it to successfully recover the ransom Colonial Pipeline paid to the hackers who took control of it. But in the highly decentralized and risky world of cryptocurrencies and nonfungible tokens, blockchain forensics is becoming an important tool for compliance as well as regulation, creating potential impacts on legitimate traders.Related: Get ready for the feds to start indicting NFT tradersInvestigators closely scrutinize the transactions recorded on blockchains, looking for signs people are trying to hide or disguise their tokens. Some of these include rapidly switching…

The Council’s Permanent Representatives’ Committee chair confirmed that the MiCA framework would go through “should the European Parliament adopt its position at first reading.” Representatives from a committee with the European Council have moved forward with regulating digital assets in the EU through the Markets in Crypto-Assets, or MiCA, framework, sending the finalized text to parliament for a vote.According to an information note on Oct. 5, the European Council’s Permanent Representatives’ Committee approved the MiCA text and sent it to the chair of the European Parliament Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs. Edita Hrdá, chair of the Permanent Representatives’ Committee, confirmed that the crypto framework proposal would be enacted “should the European Parliament adopt its position at first reading” in the same wording. The MiCA proposal, first introduced to the European Commission in September 2020, aims to create a consistent regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies among European Union member states. Should the parliamentary committee approve the text, the policies could go into effect starting in 2024. The committee’s next meeting is scheduled for Oct. 10. “It is important to ensure that the [European] Union’s financial services legislation is fit for the digital age, and contributes to a future-ready economy that works for the people, including by enabling the use of innovative technologies,” said the most recent MiCA text. “The lack of an overall Union framework for crypto-assets can lead to a lack of users’ confidence in those assets, which could significantly hinder the development of a market in those assets.”Update on MiCA: The text was approved today in the Council of the EU and is now public!Next steps: -ECON vote in the EP on Oct 10-lawyer/linguist checks-plenary vote in the EP-publication in the official journal of the EUMiCA text: https://t.co/7Er0dDJwxX— Patrick Hansen (@paddi_hansen) October 5, 2022 Related: European Parliament members vote…