Crypto Industry News:

In Sweden, testing of the e-krona has begun, bringing it closer to the proper issuance of the central bank's digital currency (CBDC). The pilot program will run for a year, until February 2021.

The blockchain-based currency would fuel conventional payments and banking activities nationwide. Instead of swiping a credit card or spending cash, daily transactions can switch to Blockchain.

CBDC is currently a hot topic, and Sweden is the second country (after the Bahamas) to reveal what appeared to be a real, working national cryptocurrency. The Bahamas launched the CBDC pilot program in December and is planning full implementation in the second half of 2020.

China has announced that it is developing its own CBDC, but current events are not as consistent as in the case of Sweden and Bahamas.

The launch of CBDC in Sweden seems to match Swedish innovation - the country is already one of the most cashless societies in the world.

Technical Market Overview:

The BTC/USD pair keeps trading in a narrow zone between the levels of $9,448 - $9,704, but it does not look like the bears are done, so the downtrend might resume any time now. The momentum is weak and negative and there is no indication of any bullish reversal coming. The next target for bears is seen at the level of $9,123 and the immediate resistance is located at the level of $9,645.

Weekly Pivot Points:

WR3 - $11,039

WR2 - $10,715

WR1 - $10,112

Weekly Pivot - $9,845

WS1 - $9,424

WS2 - $8,941

WS3 - $8,335

Trading Recommendations:

The market might have made the first impulsive wave up of a higher degree. This strategy is valid as long as the level of $7,582 is not violated. Nevertheless, the larger timeframe trend is still down and all the shorter timeframe moves are still being treated as a counter-trend correction inside of the uptrend until the level of $10,433 is clearly broken.