Blockchain
Kyrgyzstan’s central bank opens up crypto draft laws to public discussion
The central bank of The Kyrgyz Republic has drafted regulations that recognize cryptocurrency exchanges in the country for the first time.

Kyrgyzstan’s central bank has completed the drafting of two bills designed to recognize and regulate the country’s emerging crypto sector.
According to an official announcement, the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic has opened up the two bills, “On the Processing of Cryptocurrencies” and “On amendments to legislative acts in the field of virtual assets,” to public discussion.
Interested parties have until Feb. 21 to submit their comments and concerns regarding the legislation.
The proposed legislation seeks to recognize cryptocurrency exchanges, outlining that exchanges must be operated by legal entities licensed with the country’s central bank. The bill contains reporting requirements aimed at reducing money laundering and terrorist financing risks.
There are also protections for consumer rights, and provisions for enforcement action against fraudsters operating with virtual currencies.
A separate bill introduces the concept of “virtual assets” into the Kyrgyz Republic’s civil code, identifying crypto assets as an object of civil rights. The bill also mandates the taxation of services provided by cryptocurrency exchanges.
The Kyrgyz central bank announced it would begin working on draft cryptocurrency regulations on Nov. 13, citing surging domestic interest in crypto assets as the catalyst.
The Kyrgyz Republic has previously sought to introduce crypto regulation, introducing a tax regime for miners during August 2019. However, authorities then cut off the industry’s access to electricity the following month claiming overconsumption.
Kyrgyzstan’s parliament again considered a tax regime for mining in June 2020, with the government seeking new revenue streams to offset the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
However, the bill was not passed, with lawmakers expressing concerns regarding the impact of industrial mining operations on the country’s energy supply, and the persistence of illegal mining operations despite the September 2019 crack-down.
Blockchain
Litecoin Price Analysis: 22 January
Disclaimer: The findings of the following analysis are the sole opinions of the writer and should not be taken as investment advice
The Bitcoin market registered an important price drop recently, one wherein the value of the digital asset dipped briefly under $30k on the charts. Although the cryptocurrency’s value later bounced back above the $30k-level, the said drop in price also contributed to major altcoins like Litecoin plunging on the charts.
Litecoin briefly breached the support at $125, following which it managed to recover from its sudden fall on the charts. At the time of writing, Litecoin was valued at $137.27, with the cryptocurrency trading close to its immediate resistance levels.
Litecoin one-hour chart

Source: LTCUSD on TradingView
From the attached chart, Litecoin’s price can be seen falling within a descending channel and hitting a low of $121.97. This low was followed by an immediate retracement as the market tried to stabilize. In fact, later, the price of the digital silver immediately pushed higher, which was why LTC was trading above $130, at press time.
Given the aforementioned drop, the digital asset may breach the resistance at $138 and be priced higher on the charts.
Reasoning
The 50 moving average moved above the price bars and acted as a resistance level for the price of LTC. The said fall pushed LTC into the oversold zone, with Bitcoin’s own depreciation on the charts contributing to growing selling pressure. However, as the price recovered, the Relative Strength Index also moved into the equilibrium zone. As this level looked like a consolidating range for LTC’s price, the emergence of bullish pressure may push it higher on the price scale.
Further, the Awesome Oscillator highlighted the momentum shifting towards the sellers’ side. The AO dipped under zero a couple of days back, and a short position of traders must have realized here as the market went on a downtrend. With the downtrend sustaining itself, all momentum in the market was lost.
Crucial levels to look out for
Entry: $138.03
Stop-Loss: $134.73
Take-Profit: $144.88
Risk-to-Reward: 2.39
Conclusion
The press time price level looked like a consolidating level for Litecoin. However, a northbound push for the digital asset may result in traders benefiting from a long position as they realize a profit at $144.88.
Source: https://ambcrypto.com/litecoin-price-analysis-22-january
Blockchain
VanEck files for a ‘Digital Asset ETF’ with the SEC
According to a filing published today by the United States’ Securities and Exchange Commission, New York-based investment management firm VanEck intends to launch a Digital Assets ETF, one that will track as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, “the price and yield performance of the MVIS® Global Digital Assets Equity Index.”
The fund will invest in companies that generate at least 50% of their revenue from digital asset projects, or developing projects that have the potential to generate half of their revenue from the digital assets industry.
It should be noted, however, that the term “digital asset industry” is by and large a broad terminology for companies that operate digital asset exchanges, payment gateways, mining operations, software services, equipment, and technology. This may well mean that there is potential for companies like Coinbase to be included in the fund after a successful IPO.
The SEC filing also notes that this fund will invest in companies that hold a significant amount of digital assets on their balance sheets. This suggests that companies like MicroStrategy may be a part of its portfolio, considering its own billion-dollar Bitcoin holdings.
The New York-based investment firm isn’t a stranger to SEC filings. VanEck had previously submitted applications for Bitcoin-based ETFs with the SEC, with a majority of them being rejected by the regulatory agency for a host of reasons.
On the contrary, back in September 2019, VanEck withdrew its application for a Bitcoin ETF. Interestingly, the verdict on its most recent application for an ETF, titled “VANECK BITCOIN TRUST” is still undecided.
If the development comes to pass, it will be a huge step, especially since the said offering will be launching in a country where regulatory agencies have often been seen with a suspicious eye. In Europe, on the other hand, crypto-ETPs surpassed a billion Euros in assets in 2020, despite a regulatory ban on selling these products to retail investors in the U.K.
While a crypto-ETF is still yet to be officially approved in the U.S, many investment advisors have cited concerns saying that without a crypto exchange-traded fund, there is little incentive for registered investment advisors to put clients’ cash into crypto.
Source: https://ambcrypto.com/vaneck-files-for-a-digital-asset-etf-with-the-sec
Blockchain
Stellar Lumens, Steem, Maker Price Analysis: 22 January
Stellar Lumens registered significant losses recently. However, since a lot of the asset wasn’t sold on the market, XLM could see some upside in the next day or two. STEEM also showed signs that it was poised for a bounce while Maker slipped under a triangle pattern and could move towards $1000 on the price charts.
Stellar Lumens [XLM]

Source: XLM/USD on TradingView
While Stellar Lumens did not show strength in the market with regard to its price, there was reason to believe that XLM was heading back towards the range high at $0.31. The trading volume was low over the past few days, and the OBV showed that there was not a significant volume of XLM sold over the past few sessions, despite strong losses.
The range lows at $0.223 offered some pushback and at the time of writing, XLM was trading under the mid-point of the range at $0.264.
While the momentum seemed bearish, rising above the mid-point and defending that level will be a reason to conclude that XLM is likely to move towards $0.31 once more.
Steem [STEEM]

Source: STEEM/USDT on TradingView
STEEM registered a local high at $0.22 earlier this month and set a lower high at $0.211 a few days ago. Since then, it has faced strong selling pressure, with the crypto trading at $0.177, at the time of writing.
It saw a candlewick below the $0.168-support level, but that was quickly bought up. The RSI registered a value of 38, indicating bearish momentum. Further, the Stochastic RSI was deep within the oversold territory.
Combined with the buying pressure that drove the price all the way up from the wick to $0.164, it could be that STEEM is poised to attempt a bounce to the $0.185-$0.19 region. The reaction there will set its next direction.
Maker [MKR]

Source: MKR/USDT on TradingView
The MACD was steadily falling further into bearish territory after MKR closed under a symmetrical triangle pattern and re-tested the $1400-level as resistance. The Directional Movement Index also showed that the -DMI (pink) and ADX (yellow) were both climbing past 20 on the charts to show that a strong downtrend was in progress.
The 38.2% level at $1200 could offer support to MKR, should it flip the level to support in the coming hours. Further downside for Bitcoin towards $27.7k will likely see MKR move towards $1000 as well.
Source: https://ambcrypto.com/stellar-lumens-steem-maker-price-analysis-22-january
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