Crypto Industry News:

Binance, one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, has started discussions on a strategic partnership with two Japanese companies. According to a press release on January 17, Binance began negotiations with Z Corporation, a subsidiary of Z Holdings formerly known as Yahoo Japan and TaoTao, a Japanese licensed cryptocurrency.

The exact details of the collaboration have not been revealed at the moment, but Binance said Z Corporation and TaoTao will "continue talks and discussions with Binance and begin preparations to launch commercial services for users in Japan."

"We are looking forward to our joint efforts with Z Corporation / TaoTao in providing our services to Japan. First of all, we want to ensure that we operate in full compliance with Japanese laws and regulations, in which local and global standards play a key role in establishing sustainable development in the entire industry and greater public acceptance, "said Binance CEO.

On January 14, the Financial Services Agency (FSA) proposed lowering the leverage ratio in trading the cryptocurrency margin from 4x to 2x. In addition, the amended versions of the Payment Services Act and the Financial Instruments and Stock Exchanges Act, which some consider being harsh and unclear, will be implemented in April.

Binance noted that all parties to the partnership will work with the Financial Services Agency to ensure full compliance with regulations in the Japanese market.

Technical Market Overview:

The ETH/USD has reversed from the level of $178.12 after the Pin Bar candlestick pattern was made. The bears have broken out form the local consolidation zone located between the level of $178.12 - $172.91 and managed to hit the technical support at the level of $163.11. Currently, the market is consolidating around this level and the bounce is very shallow so far. If the bearish pressure intensifies again, then the next target for bears is seen at the level of $157.37 and $151.37. Please notice that this is a quite strong technical support zone due to the short-term ascending trendline presence around these levels.

Weekly Pivot Points:

WR3 - $219.38

WR2 - $198.31

WR1 - $181.78

Weekly Pivot - $161.46

WS1 - $144.93

WS2 - $123.85

WS3 - $107.13

Trading recommendations:

There is a possibility that the wave 2 corrective cycles are completed at the level of $115.05, so the market might be ready for another impulsive wave up of a higher degree and uptrend continuation. This strategy is valid as long as the level of $146.94 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 $196.61 is cleary broken.