Top Cryptocurrency News Today (18 July 2022)

$1,450 ETH: Crypto Market Recovering or Bull Trap?

Ethereum’s price is currently trading at around $1450, increasing by 9% in the past 24 hours at the time of writing and 25% in the past seven days. With the fear and greed index still registering at “extreme fear”, it seems likely this relief rally is a bull trap, or is it?

The total liquidations over the past 4 hours is at $190 million at the time of writing, 76% of it were short positions. ETH is in the lead in terms of overall liquidations, with $110 million.

ETH rally could largely be attributed to the announcement of the Ethereum soft merge in September. The number of addresses holding 1+ ETH reached an ATH of 1,554,716, so it is not just whales who are leading the pump.

Though it may be likely that ETH will break $1500, the key resistance level, ETH will eventually have to capitulate as whales might withdraw their support for the bulls. High retail demand in ETH may limit the downside, but investors should beware of strong selling pressure.

India Introduces Crypto Transactions Tax

India has finally launched its first cryptocurrency-related legislation specifically targeting gains and transactions on cryptocurrencies.

The first Indian law takes effect on 1st April 2022 and requires citizens to pay a 30% tax on cryptocurrency gains that are not realized.

The second Indian law imposes a 1% tax deduction on every cryptocurrency-related transaction.

The overall effect and implication of these new regulations have not been positive. For instance, regarding the tax on cryptocurrency gains, it has been commented amongst the Indian crypto community that the law is vaguely worded and has been difficult to interpret even by seasoned investors and entrepreneurs. Secondly, many crypto entrepreneurs are simply deciding to relocate to more crypto tax-friendly jurisdictions to avoid the transaction tax. It has also been seen that in the 3 months after the implementation of the Indian legislation, there has been a significant drop in trading volumes on Indian crypto exchanges of 90-95%.

Celsius Bankruptcy First Day Hearing to Take Place Today

Celsisus Network filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the Southern District Court of New York. According to the Company’s latest tweet, their First Day Hearing will take place on 18th July 2022 at 2:00pm ET.

According to Lexology.com, the purpose of this First Day Hearing is for the Court to hear from Celsius and for Celsius to seek the Court’s permission to take particular necessary actions to maintain their business operations that Celsius would otherwise not be permitted to do. Examples of such actions are utilizing the Company’s cash collateral, issuing payroll and authorising the payment of critical vendors.

Learn more about how the collapse of Celsius Network unfolded: Celsius Network ($CEL) Collapse – The End Of Centralized DeFi?