Bitcoin prices down 2.2 percent

Five of the six QuadrigaCX cold wallets are empty

Transactional volumes drop, demand could see participation pick up to above 37k

Even with Bitcoin (BTC) liquidation, bulls have the upper hand as long as prices are trending above Feb 18 low. In that case, risk-off traders may search for entries in lower time frames and take advantage of positive fundamentals.

Bitcoin Price Analysis

Fundamentals

There is another burden that controls tags along—that of securing private keys. In centralized exchanges, wallets can be compromised—many have lost customers’ fund. Because customers have no access to the private keys of those public addresses, once lost—or controller disappears or dies with them, your coins will be gone—unless of course there are countermeasures. It’s the unfortunate case that happened at QuadrigaCX. With the passing of Cotten, $190 million of digital assets are now locked up. Worst case scenario, they are probably irrecoverable.

Of the $190 million, customers stand to lose a cumulative 26,500 Bitcoins. Since QuadrigaCX is under customer protection and Ernst & Young tasked with monitoring, Bloomberg reports that they have identified the addresses of six cold wallets.

Unfortunately, of the six, five are empty. It’s even getting thicker because the sixth “appears to have been used to receive Bitcoin from another cryptocurrency exchange account and subsequently transfer Bitcoin to the QuadrigaCX hot wallet.”

The account was the source of last month’s inadvertent transfer of Bitcoins sparking speculations that Cotten may, after all, be alive and kicking after faking his death while traveling in India.

Candlestick Arrangements

When everything is said and done, it will be easy to note that BTC/USD is consolidating. While prices are down 2.2 percent in the last day, the world’s most valuable coin is stable in the previous week. It is down 0.5 percent. That means bears have been unsuccessful in their dump down. Encouragingly, Bitcoin bulls stand a chance.

From candlestick arrangements, our previous BTC/USD trade plan is valid. Note that sellers are yet to reverse gains of Feb 18. After two weeks of lower lows, we expect a shift in momentum as BTC demand pick up reflecting increasing volumes over the course of last months.

As it is, risk-off, aggressive type of traders can buy on dips with targets at $4,500. Accompanying these longs will be tight stops at Feb 18 lows of around $3,750-$800—our breakout level.

Technical Indicators

Like before, our analysis anchors on Feb 18 bulls where bulls are in control. As visible, volumes are shrinking, and with averages at 12k, BTC demand could help yank prices from current lows to $4,500. The spring in interest should be at the back of high trading volumes exceeding Feb 18’s 37k.