Summary:

• Russian president Vladimir Putin claims that the country needs the blockchain technology and therefore cannot be late in the race
• Czechs are more willing to store value in cryptocurrencies than in euros
• Uzbekistan takes an important step as it’s going to legalize Bitcoin and support developers at the same time

As the new trading week is unfolding Bitcoin is losing momentum being almost 5% down on the day at the time of writing. Nevertheless there were no adverse revelations over the weekend which could have depressed the price, actually there were some upbeat reports with the Russian story being a cherry on top. Let us remind that the country has not been able to take a common ground with regard to cryptocurrencies (the government and the central bank has differed appreciably), however, it could change based on the latest speech coming from Russian president Vladimir Putin. He said over the weekend that Russia needs the blockchain technology emphasizing that it is important that the country does not fall behind in the development and adoption of the revolutionary technology.

These remarks occurred during a discussion between Putin and the country’s largest bank Sberbank CEO Harman Gref. He voiced a noteworthy notion as well saying that “Virtual currencies are a natural outcome of blockchain technology. We may ban them, we may welcome them. It is trendy to urge people not to play with them. But they are a fact of our life”. In short, it seems to bode well for the blockchain technology going forward if Russia sticks to its viewpoint, however, it does not necessarily means the country will be supporting existing digital coins including Bitcoin as it could be eager to launch its own version also based on blockchain.

From a technical standpoint Bitcoin is moving on the verge of its critical short-term support line set at $9350 and if it’s capable of breaking it down an extended corrective slide may be possible. In turn, $9750 appears to constitute the closest resistance which might turn out to be tough to break by bulls. Source: xStation5

Czechs would like to store value in cryptocurrencies instead euros

If you are a Czech in which currency you would like to store value of assets you own? According to a new poll Czechs are even more inclined to store value in digital currencies than in euros or dollars. The poll, conducted by Ipsos among 525 people this month, showed that nearly 11% of the respondents admitted they were thinking about purchasing digital currencies while 10.3% of them would choose euros. Of course, the most trusted currency among traditional ones is the domestic CZK as it’s been prospering quite well since the Czech National Bank removed the cap almost a year ago. In turn, the second one is the Swiss franc with 26% of votes.

Ethereum seems to be nearing a tipping point taking a look at a daily time frame. The price of the second largest cryptocurrency in terms of capitalization has been sliding for some time, however, a breakout of the current triangle pattern appears to be just around the corner. Therefore the oncoming days could be critical for everybody interested in trading this coin. Source: xStation5

Uzbekistan is expected to adopt a cryptocurrency related bill

Admittedly, Uzbekistan is not among the most prominent countries when it comes to digital currencies the story coming from there could be worth looking at anyway. Namely, in accordance with a presidential decree a special bill aimed at regulating virtual currencies should be prepared by the end of summer. The country’s president has also ordered to set up a special Centre for Distributed Ledger Technologies which is to be responsible for creating appropriate conditions for using opportunities of blockchain. The centre ought to be opened on 1 June 2018. On top of that, let us add that Uzbekistan offers one of the lowest mining expenses in the world hence the softer stance taken by the country could be viewed as a chance for miners to move their businesses in order to improve profitability.

Litecoin is trading subtly below an important resistance placed at $235 being supported by a 50% retracement of the latest decline. One may suspect that a breakout to the upside could hasten pace of the ongoing bull market. Source: xStation5