Crypto Industry News:
A recently released US Department of Justice audit of the practices of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in relation to Darknet criminal investigations found law enforcement in a mess - with an overarching "cryptocurrency support strategy."
According to the public version of the audit released on Thursday, the FBI's current efforts to investigate the Dark Web are - perhaps ironically - hampered by a "decentralized" set of practices, policies and training programs, and fragmented intelligence leading to "redundant" efforts.
In particular, the audit found that there are two separate virtual currency teams to assist with investigations into the Dark Web, both of which are funded by the Department of Justice's Asset Forfeiture Fund. In addition, "rising costs and continued funding from the Fund caused a dispute between the two Virtual Currency Teams on resource prioritization" and many felt the teams were carrying out overlapping work.
The fund receives a portion of its funds by seizing and selling property and assets, including cryptocurrencies, related to criminal investigations. The Department of Justice has issued five recommendations to streamline investigations and policies on the Darknet, many of which focus on centralizing procedures to reduce "ambiguous or overlapping investigative obligations". This includes the recommendation to "develop a timeframe to obtain feedback from the rest of the FBI and complete the development of cryptocurrency support strategies across the FBI." The report also indicated that such a schedule was approaching.
Technical Market Outlook:
After the ETH/USD pair had made a new swing high at the level of $673.52, the bulls experienced slight problems with momentum. The market has made a Pin Bar candle at the top of the rally at the H4 time frame chart, so now the local pull-back is in progress. The bearish have managed to push the price to the level of $620.52 before the bounce. The momentum has declined, but is still strong and positive, so the bulls might attack the level of $700 again soon. The next technical resistance is seen at the level of $673.52 and the technical support is located at $635.46 and $620.52.
Weekly Pivot Points:
WR3 - $777.02
WR2 - $722.62
WR1 - $678.76
Weekly Pivot - $626.41
WS1 - $580.02
WS2 - $527.98
WS3 - $482.35
Trading Recommendations:
The up trend on the Ethereum continues and the next long term target for ETH/USD is seen at the level of $700, so any correction or local pull-back should be used to open the buy orders. Nevertheless, the momentum has decreased recently on the lower time frames and volatility is not that great either. The bulls has hit the 38% Fibonacci retracement located at the level of $587.87 on the weekly time frame chart, but the current up trend is still active. This scenario is valid as long as the level of $360 is broken.
