MarketVector, a subsidiary of American asset management giant VanEck, has launched the MEMECOIN Index. The index aims to track the performance of six popular meme coins such as DOGE, SHIB. 🚀📈

The index has performed an impressive 195% in the last year and 137% since the beginning of 2024. The acceptance of meme coins within the cryptocurrency community is particularly notable as traditional finance introduces the "meme coin asset class".

The index offers investors a structured entry point into a market characterized by volatility and speculation. By providing a consolidated view of the most influential meme coins, it provides a sense of security amid uncertainty.

The launch of VanEck's MEMECOIN index marks a significant milestone in the mainstream acceptance of meme coins in the cryptocurrency world. Some crypto community members have suggested that cat-themed tokens could soon enter the index.

Meme coins may be unconventional, but they highlight the power of community in crypto. Creating a successful project, whether meme-based or not, requires dedication. Let's see what the next bull cycle brings!

The price of XRP has shown moderate fluctuations recently and is currently at $0.51. Analysts are predicting a potential rally if it breaches the $0.57 level, while significant growth is expected if it clears the key resistance at $0.67. 📈

The ongoing litigation between Ripple and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) remains a critical factor for the asset's valuation. Many industry participants expect a decisive victory for the company. ⚖️

The price of XRP has experienced slight volatility over the past few weeks, trading in a range of $0.48-$0.55. It is currently at $0.51 (according to CoinGecko data) and many analysts are setting ambitious targets for the near future.

One guess came from X user EGRAG CRYPTO. He noted that XRP's price path has closed two bullish and two bearish candles since April 8. The trader thinks that a break above the $0.57 level is extremely important and could “break the structure”.

David Watt and Crypto Tony also contributed. The former claimed that XRP could rise to $0.56 in the coming days, while the latter thinks that the real bull run of the asset will begin after it breaks through the important resistance zone of $0.67.

There are many industry participants who believe that XRP's valuation will increase until the final settlement between Ripple and the SEC. The parties have been at loggerheads on the legal front for three and a half years and recently entered a hearing phase.

Both parties had to provide necessary documentation, such as letters and motions, and are currently awaiting the judge's decision.

To some, the SEC is at a disadvantage due to Ripple's three partial victories last year and the fact that US judge Sarah Netburn is overseeing the case. Years ago, Netburn took a very positive stance on XRP, arguing that it “has a differentiating benefit” from Bitcoin and Ether.

Bitcoin faced selling pressure after a slight bullish reaction from the key $59K support level and pulled back to the critical 100-day moving average at $61K. Price action at this critical juncture will determine Bitcoin's next definitive move. 📉📊

Daily chart review shows Bitcoin's broadside volatility phase in the critical $60K price range. However, the cryptocurrency experienced a decline after a notable bullish response from the important $59K threshold. This led to a pullback towards a critical support zone.

Currently, sellers are trying to sink the price below the important $60K support level and the lower boundary of the wedge. If successful, this could signal a more sustained bearish phase targeting the critical $56K support zone.

However, given the current market sentiment, Bitcoin may continue its consolidation or experience slight declines before gaining sufficient bullish momentum. Therefore, it is important to closely monitor price movements at these critical levels.

Analyzing the profitability of participants provides valuable information about the state and sentiment of the market. The chart shows Bitcoin's profitability rate. It seems that this rate has reached the highest levels recently, which shows that many participants are thinking of realizing their profits and this may increase the sales pressure. However, it is thought that this decline may be a corrective move triggered by profit taking.

Ripple price has been consolidating for the last few weeks and its recovery is not continuing. However, there is still a possibility that the market will rise further. 📈

Technical analysis:

On the USDT paired chart, the price recently bounced from the $0.4 support zone and settled above the $0.5 level. However, the 200-day moving average, located around $0.6, is still in place. The price is currently falling back towards the $0.5 level. If this level holds, it is thought that XRP could rally towards the 200-day moving average. However, market momentum still favors a bearish move, with the RSI showing values ​​below 50%. 📉

On the paired chart with BTC, it appears that the market has stalled at the end of the downtrend and the 800 SAT level is preventing the price from falling further. If this level holds, traders can be optimistic that XRP price can rise to the 1200 SAT resistance level and the 200-day moving average located around the same mark. However, as long as the cryptocurrency remains below the 200-day moving average, the trend of the market cannot be considered bullish.

XRP's controversy has increased as the SEC criticized the upcoming stablecoin. It has become quite popular in recent years due to the lawsuit between Ripple and America's securities regulator. 📈🔍

Market intelligence platform Santiment has presented the 10 most discussed cryptocurrencies recently. The first place belongs to the popular privacy token Monero (XMR), as peer-to-peer (P2P) trading platform LocalMonero announced that it has ceased operations.

Ripple's XRP took second place. The token's popularity soared after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) labeled the company's upcoming stablecoin as an "unregistered cryptoasset."

The largest cryptocurrencies in terms of market capitalization, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), took the next place, with Ethena (USDe) completing the top 5 list.

XRP, the seventh largest cryptocurrency in terms of market cap, has been one of the most talked about topics for many years due to the Ripple v SEC case. It often experiences significant volatility following significant developments in the case. For example, after Ripple's first partial court victory of 2023, the price of XRP exploded by over 70% in a few hours.

Bitcoin price declined in the last 24 hours, hitting a 6-day low and falling below $62,000 and $61,000. However, not all altcoins followed BTC's decline. Some, like TON and RNDR, posted impressive gains of around 7% each. 📉

Bitcoin finished last week strong, rising from $59,000 to $62,000 on Friday. However, when it failed to surpass this level, the asset began to lose value and fell below $61,000 for the first time in a week. It is currently trading above $61,000, but is still down 1.5% on the day. Its market cap is about to fall below $1.2 trillion. 📊

Ethereum and Ripple are down nearly 1% in the last day, falling below $3,000 and $0.51, respectively. Binance Coin and Cardano added 3% to their value in the last day. BNB is trading at $600 and ADA is trading at $0.45. TON emerged as the best performer among large-cap altcoins, gaining 7% on a daily basis. As a result, TON is now trading above $6.

However, the total cryptocurrency market cap fell by another $20 billion, falling below $2.4 trillion. This metric is down nearly $170 billion since Monday.

Over the last few days, BTC has been fluctuating between $59,000 and $65,000 and settled around $61,700. A potential rise to $74,000 is predicted due to technical patterns and recent halving effects. 📈

The legal conflict between Ripple and the SEC continues, with the focus on whether XRP is an unregistered security.

Solana's SOL is up 12% over the past week. Analysts predict new highs in 2024, highlighting the asset's strong market performance. 🚀

The case between Ripple and the SEC intensified with the start of the hearing phase at the end of April. Both parties have submitted important documents and are now awaiting the judge's decision.

Finally, SOL, Solana's native cryptocurrency, has experienced a significant revival in the past few days. SOL rose 12% on a weekly basis and briefly rose above the $150 mark.

Ark Invest, led by Cathie Wood, once again reduced its holdings of Coinbase (COIN). The company sold 70,616 shares of Coinbase on May 7, distributed among three exchange-traded funds, for a total value of $15.1 million. 📉

The move comes despite the exchange's positive first-quarter earnings report, which showed higher-than-expected revenue and record highs in corporate trading volume.

The investment firm's decision included selling 45,915 shares of its Innovation ETF (ARKK) valued at $9.8 million, 17,755 shares of its Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) valued at $3.8 million, and 6,946 shares of its Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF) valued at $1.5 million .

Ark was also involved in the $20.4 million sale of COIN less than a month ago. This investment strategy appears to limit exposure to any single stock in the ETF portfolio to no more than 10%. This approach ensures a well-diversified portfolio.

Ark Invest has previously expressed plans to sell shares and continue rebalancing if Coinbase's weighting relative to other investments exceeds this threshold.

Meanwhile, Coinbase reported total revenue of $1.64 billion, beating the Street consensus estimate of $1.34 billion.

Despite this strong performance, Ark Invest chose to sell shares, marking a strategic move that could be influenced by a variety of factors beyond Coinbase's recent financial success.

Coinbase is the third-largest holding in the ARKK ETF, accounting for 8.2% of the portfolio, behind Tesla and Roku. It is the fourth-largest holder in ARKW, with 8.2% behind Ark's Bitcoin ETF, Tesla and Roku. Within ARKF, Coinbase holds the top spot with a weight of 10.4%. 📊

In the US, the Democrat-led White House stopped a Republican initiative to allow American banks to offer crypto asset services. The House on Wednesday passed H.J., which aims to eliminate prior accounting guidance from regulators under which banks plan to offer the service to customers. Pic. 109 debated and prepared to vote. However, hours before voting began, the Biden Administration stated its intention to veto the bill if it passes the House and Senate.

According to the White House's statement, SAB 121, which Republicans aim to override, reflects the views of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) staff regarding firms' accounting obligations to protect customers' crypto assets. The bill allegedly prevents banks from realistically aiming to provide crypto asset services.

Binance CEO Richard Teng stated that Tigran Gambaryan, head of the crypto exchange's Financial Crime Compliance team, has been detained by the Nigerian government for more than 70 days. Gambaryan reportedly went to the country for cooperation policy meetings in February, but was later arrested. Teng stated that this move by the Nigerian authorities creates a dangerous premise for all companies. 🌍🔒

Binance CEO said Gambaryan did not go to Nigeria to make decisions or negotiate, but simply contributed to policy discussions and capacity building as an expert on financial crime. Teng stated that the arrests were made despite the Nigerian authorities guaranteeing safe passage for their meetings.

Binance stated that it will continue to cooperate with Nigeria's Federal Internal Revenue Service (FIRS) to resolve potential historical tax liabilities. Binance has taken proactive steps to repeatedly consult with Nigeria's SEC and offer cooperation with local authorities in 2022. However, the SEC issued a cease and desist order against the exchange.

Binance employees, including Gambaryan, traveled to Nigeria for a rescheduled public hearing on January 10. They attended pre-hearing meetings with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the Financial Crimes Commission (HCFC) and demanded responses to the allegations.

Teng suggested that the Nigerian government's actions sought to control Binance through the arrest of Gambaryan, despite Binance's actions such as suspending trading of the Nigerian naira and P2P services. Anjarwalla was released on March 23, but Gambaryan remains detained. The duo filed a lawsuit against the NSA and EFCC for violating their human rights.

Leading asset manager Grayscale's bid to list and trade shares of its Ether futures exchange-traded fund (ETF) has been withdrawn, according to a new document filed on Tuesday.

The application made by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was filed with NYSE Arca, Inc. in September last year. It was revealed that the Grayscale Ethereum Futures Trust ETF application made by was withdrawn on May 3. 📝

Previously, the agency had postponed consideration of Grayscale's ether futures ETF, with the most recent postponement occurring in March. However, the SEC had approved a number of ether futures ETFs in October 2023, including ProShares, VanEck, and Bitwise.

Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart was the first to notice the development. Seyffart initially believed that Grayscale would use the ether futures ETF as a strategic plan to persuade the securities regulator to approve the spot ETH ETF.

Grayscale's withdrawal of its application comes especially as the SEC is scheduled to rule on at least one spot ether ETF application on May 23, just over two weeks from now.

Seyffart and fellow analyst Eric Balchunas had previously estimated the approval probability of spot ether ETFs at 25% in May, compared to 70% in January.

Despite Grayscale's withdrawal, Seyffart now sees the company as having no alternative if the SEC does not approve the spot ether ETF.

"Unless you want to piss off the SEC. Withdrawing and re-filing means less work for the SEC. But it also means Grayscale or anyone else has no way of suing now."

However, comments made by SEC Chairman Gary Gensler in a May 7 CNBC interview indicate that the SEC is still considering spot Ether ETF applications. 🤔

Polkadot strengthened its network and increased block production speed and capacity with Asynchronous Backing. This update aims to improve support for complex Web3 applications. 🚀

Polkadot's native cryptocurrency, DOT, has experienced a recent surge and is expected by analysts to rise to the $10-15 range in the coming months. 💹

Asynchronous Backing represents an optimized approach to how parachain blocks are verified by Relay Chain. With this update, blocks are produced twice as fast, while the available block space has increased 6-10 times.

“Async Backing increases efficiency by 8x without sacrificing security and paves the way for supporting Web3 applications in industries such as gaming and DeFi,” the Polkadot team said.

The price of DOT is currently hovering around $7, and many analysts are expecting a bull run in the coming months. These developments may trigger a significant price rally for DOT.

While there has been massive activity on Layer 2 networks this year, native tokens have fallen in the face of intense volatility in the overall market. However, recent analysis by IntoTheBlock found that Base remains the main attraction for new capital.

During this week, net ETH deposits to Base exceeded 6,500 ETH, marking a significant increase. 📈 Considering that its rival Arbitrum sees only half that figure, Base remains the choice for investors to deploy their capital.

Base, the Ethereum layer-2 solution designed by Coinbase to expand its user base, was launched in August 2023. The goal is to provide faster transactions at lower cost.

Coinbase's latest quarterly report showed that transaction volume on its Layer 2 network exceeded that of its rivals, especially following Ethereum's Dencun upgrade. However, it seems that Base has become a target for scammers due to its popularity.

Scam Sniffer data showed that two of the top 10 thefts occurred on this chain, accounting for 21% of the month's total thefts. Since January, scammer activity on the network has increased by almost 1,900%, with approximately $170,000 stolen via phishing scams. Almost 90% of assets stolen in April were ERC-20 tokens. 🚨

In the last cycle, a growing divergence in the performances of BTC and ETH was observed. According to Glassnode's findings, this can be attributed to the overall weaker capital conversion trend. Ethereum, in particular, failed to emulate this trend and failed to even surpass its 2021 peak. This reflects ETH's lower performance compared to BTC. This may be due to the attention and accessibility that spot Bitcoin ETFs bring. The market is awaiting the SEC decision regarding the approval of Ethereum ETFs. Therefore, “experienced” Ether investors are “patiently waiting for higher prices.” 📉🧐

ETH may have underperformed compared to BTC due to a lack of catalyst, but Glassnode's analysis suggests that the overall uptrend is one of the most resilient in history. However, the altcoin is struggling to surpass the $3,000 level. It broke its own record earlier this year at almost $4,000, but was unable to sustain that level and is now nearly a thousand dollars lower.

Susquehanna International Group, a quantitative trading firm, announced its investments in Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the first quarter of 2024. 📈 According to the 13F-HR filing filed on May 7, the firm disclosed ownership of more than $1 billion in exchange-traded funds.

In the filing submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission, it was stated that Susquehanna owned 17,271,326 shares in Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) and that these shares were worth approximately $1.09 billion on March 31, 2024. Additionally, the firm reported owning 1,349,414 Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) shares, worth approximately $83.74 million on the same date.

Susquehanna announced that it increased its stake in the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO). The firm held 7,907,827 BITO shares, worth about $255.42 million, as of March 31, according to data from investment research firm Fintel. This represents an increase of 57.59% compared to 5,021,149 shares listed in February.

Susquehanna's cryptocurrency investments make up only a small portion of its overall portfolio, valued at over $575.8 billion at the end of the first quarter. The company, Convertible Zero shares, NRG Energy Inc. in the last quarter. He diversified his portfolio by purchasing bonds and Albemarle Corporation preferred shares. 📊

There is a growing trend for trading firms and financial advisors to turn to Bitcoin ETFs for exposure to digital assets. While this contrasts with skepticism from some in the financial industry, it is seen as promising for advocates of long-term adoption.

The positive price movements for Bitcoin at the beginning of the week were short-lived. The asset has since lost over three thousand dollars and is now struggling to stay above $62,000. 📉

Altcoins are doing no better either, with DOGE, SOL, and AVAX all down 5% or more in the last 24 hours. Bitcoin had a rather negative start to May, culminating in a price drop of $56,500 last Wednesday.

Bitcoin jumped to $59,500 at the weekend, where the real recovery began, and then broke through $60,000 and $62,000. Gradual increases continued on Sunday and bitcoin knocked on the door of $65,000. However, it began to lose value rapidly and the price dropped to $63,000.

Its market cap has fallen to $1.220 trillion, but its dominance over altcoins has increased to almost 51%. 📊

Most large-cap altcoins such as Ethereum, Binance Coin, ADA, and XRP have turned red. Losses of coins such as Dogecoin, Avalanche and Solana are even more painful. All of these fell 5-7% in one day.

Total crypto market cap dropped to $2.4 trillion. That means the metric is down $100 billion in one day and $150 billion since Monday's peak.

Famous analyst Adrian Zduńczyk stated that Bitcoin could reach the level of $ 70,000 in May. 📈 Zduńczyk said that the 200-week and 50-week moving average trends are rising, so we are in the bull market. Additionally, the 200-day moving average reached an all-time high above $50,000 this week. 💰 Zduńczyk added that the technical indicator now has a support level at this price.

He noted that market sentiment is still in the "greed" phase and mining costs have stalled. In previous market cycles, average gains in May were around 15%. Opening the month at $60,600 indicates that the end-of-month target is approximately $70,000.

On the other hand, crypto markets fell 1.4% in the trading session in Asia on Wednesday, falling to $2.42 trillion. Bitcoin fell a similar percentage to $62,629 at the time of writing but remained sideways. Ethereum weakened further, falling just above $3,000, a critical support level. Most altcoins are in the red, with larger losses for Solana (SOL), Dogecoin (DOGE), and Avalanche (AVAX).

Digital asset investment products experienced $251 million outflows for four consecutive weeks. Last week marked the first "measurable outflows" from newly minted ETFs in the US, totaling $156 million last week.

According to the Digital Asset Fund Flows Weekly Report, the average purchase price of these ETFs since inception is estimated at $62,200 per Bitcoin. A price drop of 10% below this level may have triggered automatic sell orders.

Bitcoin remained the main focus with a total outflow of $284 million. It's no surprise that Bitcoin is the only digital asset to see a breakout.

On the other hand, Ethereum broke its seven-week outflow cycle, attracting $30 million in inflows last week.

Various altcoins also followed the inflows.

Specifically, investment products aimed at providing exposure to Avalanche, Cardano, and Polkadot received $0.5 million, $0.4 million, and $0.3 million, respectively.

Solana and Litecoin settled with inflows of $0.3 million and $0.1 million respectively during the same period.

Regionally, outflows were particularly concentrated in the US, which recorded $504 million. Sweden also experienced an outflow of $30.3 million.

This bearish sentiment was also seen in other countries such as Canada, Switzerland and Germany, which experienced weekly outflows of $9.6 million, $9.8 million and $7.3 million respectively.

Deviating from this trend, Brazil saw inflows of $3.7 million.

Additionally, last week's positive highlight was the successful launch of spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs in Hong Kong, attracting almost $307 million in inflows in the first week of trading.

US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler stated in an interview with CNBC that too many questions are asked about cryptocurrencies. Gensler stated that cryptocurrencies account for only a small share of the $110 trillion traditional stock and bond market, but account for a large share of fraud and problems. 📉🔍

Over the past 18 months, the SEC has filed a series of lawsuits and Wells Notices against the largest cryptocurrency companies with ties to the United States. In 2023 alone, the SEC brought 43 enforcement actions against digital asset market participants. “Many crypto tokens are securities under the law,” Gensler noted. 🏛️💼

On May 7, the crypto oracle solution provider announced that RD Technologies has integrated Chainlink CCIP and Proof of Reserve to power its Hong Kong dollar stablecoin. 🚀🔗

Chainlink's Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol will be integrated to enable safe and reliable cross-chain transfers of HKDR and easier access to the new stablecoin. Additionally, the firm will also adopt Chainlink's Proof of Reserve (PoR) to provide reliable on-chain verification of HKDR's reserve support.

This collaboration aims to enable more businesses and merchants to settle payments in HKDR, benefit from faster and cheaper cross-border payments, and enable the reliable transfer of tokenized real-world assets (RWA) using stablecoins.

“This integration will facilitate the adoption of HKDR in cross-border payments, tokenization of real-world assets, and other on-chain finance applications,” said Rita Liu, CEO of RD Technologies.

Chainlink CCIP enables smart contracts to securely access data from external systems to facilitate insecure data connection between blockchains.

However, the network's native token, LINK, did not react despite the news. At the time of writing, the asset is down 2% amid a broad altcoin market pullback.