• The recent confirmation of crypto.com on $30 million stolen by hackers puts pressure on the Bitcoin.
• Stricter scrutiny on the crypto exchanges also weighs on the crypto- king.
• Russia call for blanket ban on crypto trading and mining exerts downward pressure on the Bitcoin.

Bitcoin had a drop during Friday Asian session. Crypto hacking, Russia’s ban and stricter scrutiny weighs on the Bitcoin.

On Thursday, Cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com acknowledged that the company had lost well over $30 million in Bitcoin and Ethereum after a hack that took place on January 17th. Elsewhere, The company has been criticized for vague communication around the hack, which was only officially confirmed yesterday by CEO Kris Marszalek.

The new blog post said that the total value of the unauthorized withdrawals was 4,836.26 ETH and 443.93 BTC — equivalent to roughly $15.2 million and $18.6 million respectively, at current exchange rates — as well as $66,200 worth of other currencies. 483 Crypto.com users had their accounts compromised. Crypto.com has said that all affected customers have been fully reimbursed for the losses.

Amidst this hacking issue, came the comment of SEC Chairman regarding stricter scrutiny of crypto exchanges.

The SEC chair said “I’ve asked staff to look at every way to get these platforms inside the investor protection remit. If the trading platforms don’t come into the regulated space, it’d be another year of the public being vulnerable.” Crypto hacking and stricter scrutiny acts as a major catalysts weighing on the Bitcoin.

Elsewhere, The Central Bank of Russia has called for a blanket ban on domestic cryptocurrency trading and mining.

The report titled “Cryptocurrencies: Trends, risks, measures” compares cryptocurrencies to a Ponzi scheme and calls for a complete ban on their use throughout Russia. The authors claim that cryptocurrencies are highly volatile in nature and are being used as a tool for illegal activities. The report also warned that crypto could pose a risk to financial sovereignty and could aid people in taking money out of the national economy.

Meanwhile, The Federal Reserve took a key step in weighing the creation of its own digital currency, a move it said could help ensure the U.S. dollar’s dominance as the central bank grapples with fast-growing private cryptocurrencies and coins issued by other nations.

BTC/USD 4 Hour Chart:

Support: 40592.7 (S1), 39865.6 (S2), 38411.4 (S3).

Resistance: 42774.0 (R1), 44228.1 (R2), 44955.2 (R3).

Amidst all the catalysts weighing on the Bitcoin. We expect a bearish trend for BTC/USD.