Crypto Industry News:

Despite Japan's uncertainty about whether to issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC), the Bank of Japan (BoJ) continues to experiment with the potential of a digital yen.

Japan's central bank has partnered with three megabanks and regional banks to conduct a pilot CBDC issuance, local news agency Nikkei reported.

The pilot program aims to provide demonstration experiments for the issuance of Japan's national digital currency, the digital yen, starting in spring 2023.

As part of the process, the BoJ is expected to work with major private banks and other organizations to detect and resolve any issues with customer deposits and withdrawals in bank accounts. According to the report, the pilot program will test the offline functionality of a possible Japanese CBDC, focused on payments without the internet.

Japan's central bank plans to continue its CBDC experiment for about two years and decide to issue a digital currency by 2026, the report notes.

The news comes as countries around the world are increasingly launching CBDC research and development initiatives, with China leading the way.

Technical Market Outlook:

The BTC/USD pair has made a new yearly low at the level of $15,477 as the bearish pressure is still strong. There is no indication of the down trend on Bitcoin to terminate or reverse, so the next target for bears is seen at the level of $13,563 (2019 high). The bulls are trying to bounce and they broke above the local trend line already ( $16,201is the trend line resistance level), the next technical resistance is seen at $17,103. The momentum bounces from the extremely oversold market conditions as well and is currently positive, so the bounce might extend higher.

Weekly Pivot Points:

WR3 - $16,881

WR2 - $16,477

WR1 - $16,299

Weekly Pivot - $16,072

WS1 - $15,895

WS2 - $15,667

WS3 - $15,263

Trading Outlook:

The down trend on the H4, Daily and Weekly time frames continues without any indication of a possible trend termination or reversal. So far every bounce and attempt to rally is being used to sell Bitcoin for a better price by the market participants, so the bearish pressure is still high. The key long term technical support at the psychological level of $20,000 had been violated, the new swing low was made at $15,555 and if this level is violated, then the next long-term target for bulls is seen at $13,712. On the other hand, the gamechanging level for bulls is located at $25,367 and it must be clearly violated for a valid breakout in the long term.