Good morning. In 1971, the U.S. abandoned the gold standard, ending the direct convertibility of the dollar to gold. That decision gave birth to the modern forex market we trade today.

From gold bars to candlestick charts, what a glow-up.

-Pat Lewis, Jonathan Kibbler, Shaun A

MARKETS

Prices supplied by Google Finance as of 4:00am ET - stock prices as of close. Here is what the prices mean.

CRYPTO

After weeks of relentless upward momentum, crypto markets are finally catching their breath. Bitcoin slipped back to $117,000 after failing to break through the $121,000 resistance level, while XRP took a steeper 8% tumble from its recent all-time high near $3.60. But before anyone starts sounding the alarm bells, let's be clear: this looks like a healthy pullback, not a trend reversal.

Let's start with Bitcoin. The king of crypto has been on an absolute tear, and today's 1.87% dip to $117,763 is barely a blip in the grand scheme. The technical picture remains overwhelmingly bullish:

In trader speak this is textbook consolidation after a massive run. The $112,000 level remains critical support, but there's no technical reason to believe we're seeing anything more than profit-taking from short-term traders.

XRP's story is similar, if slightly more dramatic. After skyrocketing to new all-time highs, an 8% pullback to $3.25 is exactly the sort of cooling-off period healthy markets experience. The token found immediate support at the 23.6% Fibonacci retracement level – a classic bounce point in strong uptrends. With an ADX reading of 54 (way into "power trend" territory) and the price still 25% above its 50-day EMA, this looks more like a pit stop than a U-turn.

What's crucial to understand is that none of the fundamental drivers behind crypto's recent surge have changed:

Even today's mixed performance in tech stocks (Nasdaq down 0.39%) hasn't shaken crypto's underlying strength. This isn't 2022's fear-driven market – we're seeing calculated profit-taking in an otherwise bullish environment.

For Bitcoin, all eyes remain on that $121,000 resistance level. A clean break above could open the path to retest the all-time high near $123,000. On the flip side, $115,000 and $112,000 represent key support zones where buyers will likely step back in.

XRP traders should watch the $3.00 level as major support, while $3.48 and the $3.60 ATH loom as immediate resistance targets.

Crypto markets don't go up in straight lines – even in the strongest bull runs. Today's pullback looks like a much-needed breather in what remains an overwhelmingly positive market structure. Unless key support levels break, bulls have every reason to stay optimistic. After all, the best time to buy is often when short-term traders panic over perfectly normal corrections.

-Pat Lewis

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FOREX

The price of USD/CAD has been in a consistent downward trend, however the past 6 to seven weeks price has moved sideways. Is the breakout coming or are expecting a reversal?

I was staring at the Crude Oil chart today and saw the price was breaking lower and forming new lows after experiencing some volatility. 

To my surprise it wasn’t. 

In normal market conditions falling oil prices would weaken the Canadian dollar, pushing USD/CAD higher. But that’s just not what’s happening. The USD/CAD price is moving higher as USD remains bearish. 

But that isn’t to say the correlation won’t return.

A recent OPEC report suggests that expectations of oil demand are going to grow, especially in Asia. Demand has been a hot topic of discussion as trade tariffs start to bubble in the background yet again, which could bring fresh volatility to the market. 

That being said, demand growth can be a bullish sign if it can be paired with a reduction in production. However, if they have forecast demand then production could remain elevated. 

Analysis suggests the demand is growing compared to last year because oil prices are much lower. 

The latest Commitment of Traders (CoT) report shows non-commercial traders are buying Canadian dollars, and positioning hasn’t yet reached extreme bullish levels. This suggests to me that there’s further room for CAD buying, adding opportunity for USD/CAD to continue lower. 

As we can see the price of USD/CAD is forming a consolidation on the daily chart. If the price breaks through the lows we could expect a move down to the next level of support which can be found at 1.3250.

The CAD’s recent strength, despite weaker oil, suggests a shift in market drivers. With COT positioning, and technical levels aligning, USD/CAD could break lower in the short term if 1.3500 gives way.

For retail traders, the key will be to wait for a confirmed break, rather than guessing the move inside the range. If 1.3500 snaps, a move into the mid-1.34s could come quickly.

-Jonathan Kibbler

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ANSWER

Answer: Bitcoin $BTC.X ( ▼ 0.64% )