Today's report will compare charts and performance for the Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) and the Semiconductor SPDR (XSD). SOXX represents large-caps and is holding up. XSD represents the average semiconductor stock and it is not holding up. Broad weakness within the semiconductor group is likely to spread to large-cap semiconductor stocks and SOXX. Note that we will cover this and more in tomorrow's Chart Trader Report & Video.

Equal-weight Semis Break Down - Is SOXX Next?

The first chart shows SOXX peaking in late July and trending lower the last few months (red dashed line). SOXX remains above its 200-day SMA and the Trend Composite remains positive, but a bear flag formed here in October (blue lines). Flags are short-term continuation patterns. The prior move (September) was down so this flag is bearish. A flag break would signal a continuation lower and target a move to the next support zone in the 400 area.

The second chart shows a completely different picture. The Semiconductor SPDR (XSD), which represents the average semiconductor stock, is in a downtrend and underperforming. XSD is below its 200-day SMA and its Trend Composite is negative. The lower window shows the price-relative (XSD:SPY Ratio) below its 200-day SMA since mid August. This means XSD is underperforming SPY. Short-term, XSD broke flag support on Friday and this targets a move to the next support zone in the 175 area.

Large-caps semis (SOXX) are holding up for now, but relative and absolute weakness in the average semi (XSD) is a concern. I expect this broad weakness to extend to large-cap semis (SOXX). By extension, this would be negative for the tech sector, QQQ and the broader market (SPY).

Tomorrow at Chart Trader we will cover broadening weakness within the stock market, a handful of leading groups and some bearish chart setups (stocks). Chart Trader reports and videos are published every Tuesday and Thursday. Click here for immediate access.   

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According to CoinShare’s Digital Asset Fund Flows weekly report by analyst James Butterfill, digital asset investment products have seen net inflows for the third consecutive week totaling $15 million, despite a trading volume drop of 27% below the 2023 average. An indication of improving investor sentiment, this upward trend is marked by the continued dominance of Bitcoin, which registered $16 million in weekly inflows for the period.

The report also highlighted the contrast in regional performance. Although the US saw minimal inflows of $2.1 million, Europe experienced total net inflows totaling $9.6 million last week, with Sweden being the only country to report outflows.

Bitcoin’s year-to-date inflows have reached a noteworthy $260 million, affirming its market dominance, with net inflows of $194 million.  This performance is notable, especially considering that the report’s data, captured as of last Friday, was unlikely to consider the potential positive impact of the U.S. SEC not appealing the Grayscale legal challenge. This decision could pave the way for a spot-based ETF in the U.S.

Ethereum, despite the recent launch of a futures-based ETF, saw a decreased investor appetite with outflows of $7.5m last week, effectively correcting much of the inflows seen the prior week. The report suggests that this may reflect ongoing protocol design concerns within the Ethereum network.

While Bitcoin continues to command significant investor interest, the fluctuating dynamics within the altcoin market and diverging regional trends paint a complex picture of the current digital asset investment landscape.

CoinShares full report is available weekly.

The post Bitcoin surges in digital asset inflows as Europe outpaces the US appeared first on CryptoSlate.

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Prominent Bitcoiners and contemporary adopters highlight the need to focus on the fundamental value proposition of Bitcoin to continue its push to mainstream acceptance.

“We’re contorting ourselves to pass through the keyhole of tyranny.” Edward Snowden’s words to the audience at the packed Genesis Stage hall at Bitcoin Amsterdam stressed the preeminent cryptocurrency’s ever-increasing importance in a world beset by creeping government surveillance, devaluing fiat currencies and restrictive policies.

The renowned whistleblower’s address summed up a recurring theme during the conference, driving home the role of decentralized protocols like Bitcoin and Nostr in giving individuals some control over their wealth and privacy.

Cointelegraph spoke to prominent Bitcoin developers, investors, builders and supporters attending the two-day conference at the picturesque Westerpark neighborhood in Amsterdam. Amid the ongoing cryptocurrency bear market, the event attracted a couple of thousand attendees searching for the latest news and insights in the Bitcoin (BTC) industry.

While many prominent figures highlighted the value proposition of Bitcoin as a store of value against the diminishing purchasing power of fiat currencies, Snowden was critical of the continual focus on the value of BTC over its importance as a decentralized tool:

“We are all part of a bigger game, and Bitcoin is one of the strongest levers in that. The systems that we are influencing, that we are exerting leverage on, [such as] payments and finance, will shape what the world of tomorrow looks like.“

Snowden’s address arguably attracted the biggest gathering of visitors during the conference, as he revisited Bitcoin’s role in his journey rebelling against the United States government and its wanton surveillance of citizens.

In 2013, Snowden used Bitcoin to pay for the servers that hosted classified information sent to journalists that would reveal the National Security Agency’s overreach into the lives of American citizens. As Snowden elaborated, Bitcoin’s growing prominence has led to increasing opposition from governments, lawmakers and legacy financial institutions.

“We don’t want to focus on things like ETFs [exchange-traded funds]; we need to focus on the fundamentals.”

Snowden added that the potential influence of Bitcoin ETFs on the value of the cryptocurrency represents “subordination, a kind of subjugation, a process of taming” that is being played out by institutions that regulate traditional financial spheres.

Snowden also shared his belief that Bitcoin has “a privacy problem,” highlighting the emergence of obfuscation tools like CoinJoin and mixers as important but equally indicative of the pressure facing the decentralized protocol.

“Acting in secret is not freedom. The necessity of CoinJoins and so on — that is because you are unfree. Proof of funds is proof of unfreedom.”

Snowden said that society needs to stop asking for permission by continuing to innovate with the creation of decentralized tools that do not heed the powers that be, referring to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s actions against the wider cryptocurrency space in 2023 as a prime example of the control that currently exists:

“All of the people tracking price and looking at headlines involving the SEC, Gary Gensler is not daddy Bitcoin, I don’t really care what he thinks, and I don’t think you should either.“

The whistleblower also tipped his hat to the creation of Nostr, which he described as powerful in conceptualizing the integration of free speech and free trade. The creators of Nostr would later unpack the genesis of the platform at the conference, which also drew a significant crowd.

Magazine: ‘Elegant and ass-backward’: Jameson Lopp’s first impression of Bitcoin

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