British multinational bank Standard Chartered remains firm on its lofty Bitcoin price prediction. Regardless of a mix of negative headwinds recently, the price of the alpha cryptocurrency will still reach $150,000 per coin in 2024.

Initial Euphoria For Spot BTC ETFs Dampens

A Tuesday research report from Standard Chartered asserted that Bitcoin still has plenty of gas left in the tank despite the political tensions in the Middle East, higher Treasury yields, and a decline of fresh capital entering spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

BTC set new all-time highs of $73,737 last month but has since nosedived after the fourth block subsidy halving. According to CoinGecko data, Bitcoin is now priced at $64,146. But Standard Chartered’s analyst Geoffrey Kendrick suggested that the largest and oldest cryptocurrency would continue its ascent.

“ETF flows have likely stalled for a number of macro reasons, including higher Treasury yields and a more challenging backdrop for risk assets due to geopolitical developments in the Middle East,” Geoffrey postulated.

Moreover, the consumer banking giant said in the report that the first wave of ETF buying may be mostly over, which implies that a strong positive driver of the market has slowed for now. The next wave of buying will entail the inclusion of these exchange-traded funds in broader macro funds, but this could take quite some time.

Standard Chartered Still Expects Six-Figure BTC Price

The leading UK-headquartered bank claimed that the bad news is already priced in for Bitcoin and ether (ETH) and they expect bullish “structural drivers” to act as catalysts. 

Kendrick continued: “We reiterate our end-2024 target levels of $150,000 for Bitcoin and $8,000 for Ethereum.” 

Standard Chartered first forecasted in March that Bitcoin would reach the $150,000 mark this year and proclaimed that the price of ether — the industry’s second most valuable crypto — Ethereum would soar, too.

The bank’s analysts continue to maintain their BTC price target of $200,000 until the end of 2025.

The team behind Shiba Inu (SHIB) has made a significant breakthrough, securing $12 million in funding by selling its unreleased token, TREAT.

According to sources familiar with the matter, the round, which concluded earlier this month, saw participation from prominent non-US firms such as Polygon Ventures, Mechanism Capital, Big Brain Holdings, Shima Capital, Animoca Brands, Morningstar Ventures, Woodstock Fund, DWF Ventures, Stake Capital, and Comma 3 Ventures.

Introduced in July 2022 by Shytoshi Kusama, the mysterious lead developer of Shiba Inu, TREAT will serve as the gateway to the brand’s groundbreaking blockchain, powered by cutting-edge Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) technology developed in collaboration with Zama.ai.

Notably, this innovative encryption chain will address critical issues within the crypto sphere, such as privacy and trust, catering not only to Shiba Inu’s vast community of tens of millions but also to the burgeoning population of crypto enthusiasts worldwide, eager to explore the next frontier of digital finance.

“This new encryption chain aims to address multiple issues in crypto, including privacy and trust for Shiba Inu’s extensive community of tens of millions and the next billion crypto-curious individuals,” a spokesperson for Shiba Inu stated.

Meanwhile, reflecting on Shiba Inu’s journey, Kusama expressed gratitude to the community, highlighting the transformative impact achieved together. According to him, the brand has evolved beyond expectations, crafting a comprehensive ecosystem with unparalleled technology stacks encompassing community, gaming, AI, metaverse, DeFi, self-sovereign identity, and encryption.

The pundit also expressed gratitude for the support from influential VCs, angel investors, and brands, emphasizing his teams’ commitment to advancing the grand decentralized experiment.

“We are excited to gain the support of such powerful VCs, angel investors, and brands as we plow towards the completion of this grand decentralized experiment. Through the involvement of these venture capital firms and their strategic partners, we are expanding not only our network of trusted partners, but also exponentially increasing what Shiba Inu can truly be capable of for our community, The ShibArmy.” Stated Kusama

The Shiba Inu team, however, declined to disclose the name of the Layer 3 blockchain to prevent scammers from creating fake TREAT tokens. That said, the new blockchain is expected to release a testnet in the third quarter of this year, followed by the mainnet after thorough testing.

After a jury found Terraform Labs and Do Kwon liable for fraud in its long-standing case with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the regulator has asked a New York court to impose $5.3 billion in disgorgement and civil penalties.

SEC Notches Win As Jury Finds Do Kwon Liable For Multi-Billion Dollar Fraud

After Do Kwon’s Terra empire collapsed in May 2022, over $40 billion worth of investor money was wiped out in a matter of days. A Manhattan jury found Kwon — and his company Terraform Labs — liable on civil fraud charges related to misleading investors about the safety of investing in Terra’s algorithmic stablecoin, Terra USD (UST), and its companion token LUNA.

According to the SEC’s motion filed just two weeks after the civil trial was concluded, the jury issued a verdict in favor of the agency in all counts. The SEC now wants Kwon and Terraform Labs to pay $4.74 billion in disgorgement and prejudgment interest, as well as a collective $520 million in civil penalties: $420 million from Terraform Labs and $100 million from Kwon. The securities regulator claimed the fine amount was “conservative” but a “reasonable approximation” of Terraform and Kwon’s “ill-gotten gains.

In addition to the gargantuan monetary judgment, the SEC has also asked the judge for injunctions barring Kwon and Terraform Labs from engaging in further securities violations.

“Defendants have not shown remorse for their conduct, nor can there be any doubt that they are in a position where additional violations are not only possible but likely are already occurring,” the SEC wrote in the filing. “The Court should send an unequivocal message that this sort of brazen misconduct, and Defendants’ misbegotten attempt to excuse their behavior by crafting new rules and standards of behavior for crypto markets in contravention of the federal securities laws […] will not be tolerated.”

Do Kwon And Terraform Labs Push Back Against SEC

Do Kwon and Terraform Labs have contested the SEC’s penalty suggestion.

Terraform Labs lawyers filed a response the same day as the SEC’s motion, stating that the court should not approve the proposed injunctive relief or disgorgement against it. The company requests the court to grant only an “appropriate civil penalty” per violation that the regulator can prove happened in the United States.

Kwon’s attorneys also fought against the injunctive relief sought by the SEC, claiming it is not warranted because he is not currently employed and has pending criminal charges against him. They further asserted that the fallen crypto star has “no illegal profits … to disgorge.”

Kwon is currently mired in court proceedings in Montenegro, where he was arrested in March 2023 for attempting to flee to Dubai using forged travel documents. Though later released after serving his four-month prison sentence, it’s still unknown whether he will be extradited to the U.S. or his native South Korea. Kwon faces criminal charges in both jurisdictions.

Brad Garlinghouse, the CEO of Ripple Labs, has recently made bold predictions regarding the future of the Crypto Market as analysts now suggest an XRP surge to $10 is feasible.

The crypto world is no stranger to grand predictions, and Ripple CEO has joined the ranks of forecasters with his bold proclamation that the total crypto market cap will surpass $5 trillion by the end of 2024.

While Garlinghouse is optimistic about the market’s future, citing factors such as regulatory developments and institutional interest, history shows that crypto predictions are often far from accurate.

In a recent interview with CNBC, Garlinghouse confidently stated that the total crypto market cap will exceed $5 trillion by the close of 2024. This forecast represents a doubling of the current market cap, which stands at around $2.45 trillion and has surged by 63% since the start of the year.

Factors Fueling Garlinghouse’s Optimism

Several factors underpin Garlinghouse’s bullish outlook. He anticipates a relaxation of regulatory tensions in the U.S., which could open the door to increased institutional investment in the crypto space. The launch of the first U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) earlier this year is also a potential catalyst for institutional inflows.

Furthermore, Garlinghouse highlighted the upcoming Bitcoin “halving,” an event that will reduce the rate at which new BTC is generated. This, coupled with growing institutional demand, is expected to drive up the price of Bitcoin and, consequently, the overall market capitalization of the crypto market.

Crypto Predictions: A Risky Endeavor

While Garlinghouse’s forecast is ambitious, the history of crypto predictions suggests caution is warranted. The crypto industry has seen numerous high-profile predictions fall short of the mark. John McAfee famously predicted that Bitcoin would reach $500,000 by the end of 2020, a forecast that proved to be wildly imprecise.

Who Said This?"When I predicted BTC at $500,000 by the end of 2020, it used a model that predicted $5,000 at the end of 2017. BTC has accelerated much faster than my model assumptions. I now predict Bitcoin at $1M by the end of 2020."Retweet – if John McAfeeLike – if Pomp

— Jason A. Williams (@GoingParabolic) April 17, 2019

Similarly, Calvin Ayre, a supporter of Bitcoin SV, predicted that Bitcoin would “go to zero” in 2019, only to see BTC peak over $13,800 that year. These examples serve as a reminder of the unpredictable nature of the crypto market and the risks associated with making bold predictions.

A Watershed Moment for Crypto?

Despite the risks, Garlinghouse’s forecast represents a potential turning point for the crypto industry. If the market reached a $5 trillion cap by 2024, it would signal a significant shift in the perception and adoption of cryptocurrencies. However, as past predictions have shown, the path to such lofty valuations is uncertain.

A Wall Street financial whiz recently commented on Ripple’s potential plans to debut an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in the year. This begs the question: Will the price of XRP hit $10 if Ripple conducts an IPO?

Garlinghouse’s $5 trillion forecast for the crypto market is bold, but its realization is far from certain. While the industry has experienced remarkable growth, past predictions highlight the challenges of forecasting the future of cryptocurrencies. As the market continues to evolve, only time will tell if Garlinghouse’s prediction is a bold prophecy or baseless speculation.

Federal prosecutors are pushing for a tougher 3-year prison term for Binance founder and former CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao in connection with his role in the global cryptocurrency exchange’s violation of sanctions and money laundering laws.

CZ Faces 3-Year Jail Time

Per a sentencing memo filed on April 23 to the U.S. district court for the Western District of Washington., attorneys for the Department of Justice recommend that the court “impose an above-Guidelines sentence of 36 months of imprisonment,” citing Zhao’s willful violation of U.S. law.” Along with the 36-month sentencing recommendation, the DOJ said CZ should also be expected to cough up the $50 million fine he agreed as part of a plea deal.

The filing reads, “That sentence, together with the agreed $50 million fine, is sufficient but not greater than necessary to balance the relevant 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors and achieve the goals of sentencing.”

CZ bet on not getting caught, and that if he did, “the consequences would not be as serious as the crime,” the DoJ’s lawyers contended, and that Binance’s “Wild West” model of failing to comply with U.S. anti-money-laundering requirements had made the Binance founder “one of richest people in the world and a celebrity in the crypto industry.”

Prosecutors described how Zhao’s failure to implement an effective AML program resulted in Binance processing over $898 million in transactions, breaking US sanctions against Iran and other nations.

A “Message” To Zhao And The World

The 36-month sentencing recommendation exceeds federal sentencing guidelines that would have seen the former Binance CEO jailed for 18 months. The DOJ asserted that the recommended sentence would be a powerful deterrent to others considering violating U.S. law for financial gain.

“The sentence in this case will not just send a message to Zhao but also to the world. Zhao reaped vast rewards for his violation of U.S. law, and the price of that violation must be significant to effectively punish Zhao for his criminal acts and to deter others who are tempted to build fortunes and business empires by breaking U.S. law,” the filing said.

Zhao’s defense team attacked prosecutors’ 36-month prison term request, pointing out that “no defendant in a remotely similar BSA case has ever been sentenced to incarceration.” They instead suggested he be sentenced to probation, which could include house detention at his home in Abu Dhabi.

Despite stepping down from Binance as part of the plea agreement with U.S. regulators, CZ remains involved with the crypto space. The ex-Binance CEO unveiled a new educational initiative last month devoted to crypto and blockchain, emphasizing that the project does not entail new tokens.

Ethereum continued to hover around the critical $3,000 threshold Wednesday, even as traders grappled with uncertainty amid conflicting market signals.

Notably, according to data from crypto analytics firm IntoTheBlock, despite most ETH holders being in profit, the prevailing sentiment among market participants tilts towards caution, as evidenced by the fear and greed index showing investors are “Mostly Bearish”.

Additionally, the prevailing cautious stance was further solidified with price action lingering below the 50-period moving average and bearish signals from both the Relative Strength Index (RSI) and Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD).

Nevertheless, amidst the prevailing bearish sentiment, analysts have started to point towards a potential turnaround for ETH’s price, fueled by optimism in the futures market.

Cryptoquant’s analyst, “The Greatest Trader”, shed light on the “Open Interest” metric, a crucial indicator that quantifies the number of open perpetual futures contracts across various cryptocurrency exchanges. Notably, he emphasized that the Open Interest metric has followed a similar trajectory to Ethereum’s recent downtrend, experiencing a substantial decline.

“This alignment suggests a cooling down of activity within the futures market. Consequently, the market appears poised for the resurgence of either long or short positions, potentially initiating a fresh and decisive market movement in either direction.” He wrote. 

Further bolstering the optimistic outlook, another analyst, “Burakkesmeci,” highlighted the importance of tracking premium indices, particularly the Ethereum Coinbase Premium Index and Korea Premium Index. These indices provide insights into the buying behaviour of investors across different regions. Despite recent fluctuations, both indices remain positive, suggesting continued investor interest in Ethereum and supporting the upward trend.

From a technical perspective, various experts identified a potential Bull Flag formation, signalling a consolidation phase before a potential upward breakout.

ETH regaining the $3,200 level was huge for continuation to $3,800. We are on a bull flag, and I am looking for a clean break and validation above $3,400. $4,000 has been the strongest resistance zone for Ethereum, and if it can overcome that wall, 5,000 will come.” Analyst “Bullrunner” stated.

Furthermore, whale activity, as highlighted by Lookonchain, reveals a notable surge in ETH accumulation. This surge is accompanied by substantial withdrawals of ETH from Binance by whales such as Justin Sun, among others, strategic establishment of long positions, and increased engagement in staking activities. Collectively, these actions signify a heightened level of confidence and anticipation regarding Ethereum’s future price appreciation.

ETH was trading at $3,247 at press time, reflecting a 1.87% surge over the past 24 hours. It will be interesting to see if the price can surpass the intense resistance levels between $3,303 and $3,531, where 5.67 million addresses hold 3.66M million $ETH . Breaking past this barrier could propel ETH toward $4,013.

According to Brock Pierce, an early BTC adopter and co-founder of stablecoin Tether, the Bitcoin price could reach as high as $150,000 during the current bull market cycle.

Bitcoin Price To Top $150K In 2024?

Speaking during an appearance at Fox Business, Brock Pierce indicated that the recent surge in Bitcoin transaction fees as a protocol for Bitcoin-based meme coins went live on the network, is a bullish catalyst for the benchmark crypto. Over the past weekend, it was more expensive to transact on Bitcoin’s network than ever before in history.

Pierce noted that after nearly a decade, Bitcoin is now delivering smart contract functionality, non-fungible token functionality, and meme technologies. As users rushed to get a piece of these novel applications being built atop the Bitcoin chain, they were subjected to record-setting fees. The average Bitcoin transaction fee skyrocketed to $128 Saturday amid the quadrennial halving event and the simultaneous launch of Casey Rodarmor’s Runes protocol.

“Very exciting, and I’m happy with the price,” Pierce posited.

The former child actor anticipates Bitcoin hitting $150,000 “at some point this year” and $1 million in the long term.

Pierce explained why he is bullish: 

“I think it’s likely we’ll see north of $100,000. I think $150,000 is probably a reasonable target at some point this year. And long-term, it’s $1,000,000 or more. It’s a binary outcome. Bitcoin either goes to zero— not really — or over $1,000,000 unless something happens. So it’s really binary in terms of what will happen over time.”

Other BTC Price Predictions

Pierce’s prediction is in line with several other recent forecasts. Analysts at Standard Chartered, for instance, see the Bitcoin price reaching $150,000 by the end of 2024. The bank based its analysis on a comparison with the price of gold after spot gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) were launched in the U.S. and a correlation between BTC ETF inflows and the crypto’s price.

A more ambitious target puts the Bitcoin price peak at $100,000 by June 2024.

Seven-figure price targets have also emerged. One of the most well-known is from Ark Invest’s Cathie Wood, who is confident Bitcoin will hit $1.5 million by 2030 following the SEC’s approval of spot crypto products. 

The BTC is up over 6.1% on the weekly chart, trading around $66,165.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has postponed its decision on spot Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications from Grayscale Investments and Wall Street titan Franklin Templeton.

In filings on Tuesday, the SEC said it finds it appropriate to designate a longer period to greenlight or deny a proposed rule change allowing the Cboe BZX Exchange to list and trade shares of Franklin Templeton and Grayscale Ethereum Trusts. The agency will have until June 11 to reevaluate its decision on the Franklin spot ETH ETF, and June 23 for Grayscale’s Ethereum product.

The two companies — along with a handful of other fund managers — are hoping to get the regulatory nod from the SEC so their ether-based products can begin trading on American stock exchanges.

Grayscale applied with the agency to transform its Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE) into a spot ETH ETF back in October, while Franklin Templeton entered the race in February by submitting its filing with the securities regulator.

The SEC greenlighted nearly a dozen spot Bitcoin ETFs in mid-January after a decade of denials. The SEC’s hand was essentially forced by Grayscale’s landmark court victory. The novel ETFs are now trading on stock exchanges and they give traditional investors exposure to the world’s largest cryptocurrency. They have been incredibly successful, fetching massive inflows in the space of months. Now, prominent asset managers want to introduce a similar investment vehicle that would allow investors to purchase shares that track the price of ether.

Spot Ether ETF Approval In May Unlikely

Industry pundits are not too optimistic about the prospects of an ether ETF launching in the U.S. in the near term. Bloomberg’s ETF analyst Eric Balchunas has lowered his estimate of the likelihood of a spot ETH ETF being approved by May from 70% to about 35%.

However, in Hong Kong, multiple issuers said they had received the nod to list spot Ethereum ETFs amid attempts by regulators to turn the former city-state into a crypto hub.

Notably, unlike the spectacular unlock that happened in the United States, which primarily fueled the recent Bitcoin upsurge that has propelled the crypto to current lifetime highs, there are reasons to doubt billions in fresh money will flood the market. As Balchunas has pointed out, there is a gulf between the comparative market size of the U.S. and Hong Kong.

That said, British multinational Standard Chartered sticks to its lofty forecast. It expects the price of Ethereum to register a ballistic rally to the coveted $8,000 mark by the end of the year.

Ripple, the San Francisco-based blockchain company behind the cryptocurrency XRP, filed its opposition to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) demand that the company pay nearly $2 billion in fines and penalties in a late Monday court filing.

In its rebuttal, Ripple said the court should levy a civil penalty of not more than $10 million. 

XRP Lawsuit: $2 Billion Or $10 Million?

Ripple has countered the Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposal seeking close to $2 billion from the fintech company.

Last month, the SEC said it wanted Ripple to fork out $2 billion, including $876 million in disgorgement, a civil penalty of $876 million, and $198 million in prejudgement interest, in its proposed final judgment.

In a 186-page court response on April 22, Ripple argued that the finance watchdog has the burden to prove that the firm will violate federal securities laws in the future. Moreover, the company’s legal team contends that its institutional sales did not show “reckless disregard” for the law, mentioning its interactions with other American regulators.

“Our opposition to the SEC’s request for $2B in penalties for legacy institutional sales is now public,” Ripple’s legal head Stuart Alderoty posited in an X post. “In a case that had no allegations (or findings) of recklessness or fraud, and in which Ripple won on significant issues, the SEC’s ask is just more evidence of its ongoing intimidation against all of crypto in the U.S.”

“We remain confident that the Judge will approach this final remedies phase fairly,” Alderoty concluded.

Addressing the SEC’s demand for disgorgement, Ripple claims that the request is unwarranted because the regulator did not demonstrate that the company’s institutional sales caused any “pecuniary harm” to investors. Regarding the civil penalty, Ripple asserts that it should be closer to $10 million.

“The Court should deny the SEC’s requests for an injunction, for disgorgement, and for pre-judgment interest, and should impose a civil penalty of no more than $10 million,” Ripple said in the opposition motion.

Ripple revealed that it has changed the way it sells XRP after July 2023’s court ruling.

“Ripple has publicly acknowledged that ruling, and does so again now. It has changed the way it sells XRP and changed its contracts to avoid the problems identified by this Court,” the company said Monday.

Is XRP Lawsuit Nearing End?

Ripple and the SEC have been embroiled in a courtroom showdown since December 2020, when the regulator slapped the fintech company with a $1.3 billion lawsuit for allegedly selling unregistered securities in the form of XRP.

But last year, Ripple notched a groundbreaking victory in the courts against the SEC when Judge Analisa Torres ruled that programmatic sales of XRP to retail investors did not qualify as securities.

Ripple’s response to the SEC’s penalty demand comes at an opportune time. According to a recent report from Bloomberg, Michael Welsh and Joseph Watkins, two SEC lawyers, have been forced to resign following a federal judge’s sanctions against the Commission for committing “gross abuse of power” in the Debt Box case.

The attorneys presented “materially false and misleading representations” in order to obtain the temporary restraining order against the Utah-based crypto company.

U.S. lawyer James “MetaLawMan” Murphy highlighted what investors can expect next. In his opinion, Judge Torres has not set a deadline to give her decision. “But, I would expect that this decision will come substantially quicker than the summary judgment rulings. Best guess would be 60 to 90 days after the last brief (May 6).”

At the time of writing, the XRP price is up 2.3% over the last 24 hours, hovering around $0.55.

Solana topped the ranks in the first quarter of 2024, propelled by increased activities in Decentralized Exchange (DEX) and (DeFi). The platform’s increased scalability, minimal transaction costs, and solid technological framework were other catalysts of this surge.

According to the latest report, “State of Solana Q1 2024,” by blockchain analytics firm Messari, Solana’s DEX volume hit impressive numbers, aligning with the rising trading volume within the SOL ecosystem. Furthermore, this report shows that Solana’s average daily spot DEX volume soared by over 300% to $1.5 billion. Per Messari, “Solana has become the top choice for retail Users.”

BREAKING: According to a recent report by MessariCrypto, @solana has become the the top choice for retail Users:Solana Q1 2024 Report: Revenue up by 597% Market Cap up by 97% Ecosystem funding up by 51% Decentralized Exchanges Volume up by 332% pic.twitter.com/0skHrdsdsk

— SolanaFloor | Powered by Step Finance (@SolanaFloor) April 5, 2024

Moreover, reports showed that Solana’s DeFi ecosystem printed high TVL digits, surpassing $5 billion in Q1. Its total value locked increased by 200%, solidifying its position as the fourth-largest network for decentralized finance projects. This growth mirrors investors’ interest in DeFi projects utilizing the Solana blockchain.

At the same time, Solana’s stablecoin market capitalization hit impressive numbers, rising by 50% to nearly $3 billion. This upswing is primarily attributed to USDC’s remarkable performance in the year’s first quarter. The ecosystem-leading stablecoin saw its market capitalization on Solana soar by 110%, slightly surpassing $2 billion.

The heightened adoption of stablecoin on the Solana blockchain reflects growing user confidence in fiat-pegged digital assets. This is because stablecoins offer price stability with appeals to market participants seeking to store their money using cryptocurrencies.

Solana-based projects also saw massive returns in Q1 2024, amassing $89.2 million in funding, exceeding the total raised throughout 2023 by $2.5 million. This surge showcases a significant increase in investment activity within the Solana ecosystem.

Another impressive milestone was Solana’s introduction of token extensions, enabling various configurable features for token issuers. Several projects have embraced this innovative idea, including stablecoin issuers like Paxos and GMO Trust and crypto-native projects like Photo Finish LIVE and Wen.

Furthermore, Solana unveiled the developer shop Anza and the growth organization Colosseum to improve decentralization and expand its ecosystem. While the surge in trading volume is promising, concerns arise due to the significant contribution of meme coins. 

Meme coins, dominant assets on Solana’s DEX, display highly volatile price movements and lack inherent utility. Hence, this prevalence may signify a speculative bubble rather than sustainable growth rooted in robust projects. Solana trades at $157 at press time, reflecting a 1.66% intraday increase.

Cryptocurrency analyst Ali Martínez expressed on Twitter that despite recent key events in Bitcoin, such as the launch of spot ETFs in the U.S. and the halving event, interest in the leading cryptocurrency and the market, in general, remains relatively low.

Martínez reached this conclusion by searching for “Bitcoin” and “Crypto” through the Google Trends tool, which analyzes online search trends.

Search interest in $BTC and #crypto remains relatively low even after #Bitcoin ETFs and the #halving. This suggests we're still early in the bull run! pic.twitter.com/YHKultqCra

— Ali (@ali_charts) April 20, 2024

According to the expert, this low level of attention from the general public suggests that the current bullish cycle of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies is still in an early phase. Martínez’s analysis is reasonable, considering that significant historical price surges have typically been preceded by a significant increase in searches related to cryptocurrencies.

Martínez emphasized that the cryptocurrency market still has significant growth potential ahead. Additionally, historically, Bitcoin halving has been considered a bullish event for the leading cryptocurrency market, as it reduces the available supply of BTC and thus helps increase demand.

However, not all crypto Twitter users agreed with Martínez’s opinion, pointing out that many people no longer need to Google terms like BTC or crypto, as they have other learning tools or platforms such as exchanges.

Searches on Bitcoin Halving Mark Historic Record

The Bitcoin halving this Friday, April 20, sparked unprecedented interest worldwide. According to Google Trends data, searches related to “Bitcoin Halving” reached an all-time high, surpassing even the levels of the previous halving in 2020.

This phenomenon, encoded in the Bitcoin protocol, occurs approximately every four years and halves the reward miners receive for processing transactions on the network. Historically, it has caused significant volatility in the price of BTC before starting its bullish rally.

Although the renewed public interest in halving coincides with other recent milestones in the Bitcoin network, as noted by analyst Martínez, searches related to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are still far from the highs reached during the late 2017 boom, when the price of BTC surged 1,878% from a low of approximately $1,000 to $19,783.

However, beyond implications for the price, the growing interest in the halving suggests a greater curiosity about understanding Bitcoin’s technical fundamentals.

U.S. independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has a bold makeover for his eventual administration: To put the entire U.S. budget on the blockchain.

Speaking on April 21 at a rally in Michigan, Kennedy observed that blockchain would play a significant role in making the government more transparent. He asserted that putting the budget on a blockchain would allow every American to look at “every budget item anytime they want, 24 hours a day.”

The facilitation of everyday payments on a publicly distributed ledger could hold leaders accountable, Kennedy postulated. Theoretically, taxpayers can see how the government spends their tax dollars across what would be countless transactions inscribed every day.

“We’re gonna have 300 million eyeballs on our budget, and if somebody is spending $16,000 for a toilet seat, everybody’s gonna know about it,” the 70-year-old longtime environmental lawyer and Kennedy family scion explained.

Numerous members of the crypto community on X praised the blockchain plan, with some saying the move would be transformational and curb corruption.

One noted that transparent public accounting might arguably be the best use case for blockchain tech besides the supply chain: “Checks and balances in our government doesn’t work if the branches are in on the corruption together (president and congress particularly) it’s time the people hold them accountable.”

“Most Americans have no idea how transformative that would be. This is what the founders of the nation would have done if they had the tech. This is key to creating a government we can trust,” another user wrote.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. And Bitcoin

This is not the first time Kennedy has spoken favourably of Bitcoin. He previously vowed that, should he win the presidency, he would exempt Bitcoin from capital gains taxes and begin backing the U.S. dollar with BTC reserves.

The presidential hopeful further lauded Bitcoin as a “currency of freedom” and revealed that he had purchased a total of 14 Bitcoins — two for each of his seven children.

Kennedy has also previously denounced Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), calling them “instruments of control and oppression” that “are certain to be abused.”

The crypto market is priming itself for a big move to the upside, the founders of Glassnode say.

Glassnode co-founders Jan Happel and Yann Allemann, who share the Negentropic handle on the X social media platform, suggested that the crypto bull market is still on. 

The market experts recalled that back in 2021, the crypto market witnessed a major correction, which they believed represented wave 4 in the market cycle. Compared to the current market conditions, characterized by a similar substantial drawdown, the cofounders anticipate a huge rally in crypto assets in the near term.

Based on their proprietary index and Fibonacci levels, Glassnode’s cofounders envision a gargantuan ~350% explosion from the current market levels.

The #Crypto Bull Market Continues. "OTHERS" follows Crypto excl. the largest 10 Cryptos. Observe that we in early 2021 had a strong correction. We believe that was a wave 4.We now have a similar strong decline. More upside is coming. This index and our Fibonacci levels… pic.twitter.com/qKtIOSXneP

— 𝗡𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰 (@Negentropic_) April 22, 2024

A Bullish Outlook For Crypto Market

This upbeat prediction comes during a time when the crypto market is witnessing increased volatility and uncertainty after the recent Bitcoin halving — where mining rewards were cut in half. It seems that most investors and traders are now looking out for any signs of an impending price explosion.

At the time of writing, the price of BTC was trading around $66,826, which was about 9.7% down from its all-time high of $73,737. However, it had increased by 2.5% in the last 24 hours.

The broader crypto market is also in the green. The global market cap today sits at $2.44 trillion, marking a modest 2.7% gain in the last 24 hours, according to data from Coingecko.

Market observers still haven’t answered the lingering question: “Is the fourth Bitcoin halving priced in?” Nobody really knows what will happen to the Bitcoin price after the halving, but we do know how prior events panned out. Historically, Bitcoin’s price has embarked on a momentous rally in the wake of each block reward halving event—although typically not right away.

Shiba Inu (SHIB), the industry’s second-largest meme coin by market capitalization, has successfully raised $12 million by selling its not-yet-released utility and governance token, TREAT, to non-U.S. venture capital investors.

Shiba Inu Attracts Enormous Interest

According to the report, prominent venture capital firms, such as Animoca Brands, Polygon Ventures, Big Brain Holdings, Morningstar Ventures, Woodstock Fund, DWF Ventures, Stake Capital, and Comma 3 Ventures, participated in the round.

Shiba Inu started raising for the round a couple of months ago and concluded it earlier this month. Shiba Inu said the team will utilize the funds to support the development of Shiba Inu’s new privacy-focused L3 chain, which adopts Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) technology from cryptography startup Zama. This new blockchain is being built on Shibarium — Shiba Inu’s Ethereum Layer 2 network. 

Since going live, Shibarium has achieved many milestones in its transaction count, registered wallet addresses, and other key metrics. The imminent Layer 3 blockchain will build on this innovation to further extend Shiba Inu’s impact in the Web3 sector.

The pseudonymous lead developer behind Shiba Inu, Shytoshi Kusama, expressed excitement about the support from top VCs and angel investors, adding that the meme coin’s ecosystem has exceeded expectations and is increasing exponentially. 

“We are excited to gain the support of such powerful VCs, angel investors, and brands as we plow towards the completion of this grand decentralized experiment. Through the involvement of these venture capital firms and their strategic partners, we are expanding not only our network of trusted partners, but also exponentially increasing what Shiba Inu can truly be capable of for our community, The ShibArmy,” Kusama posited.

The new L3 is scheduled to release a testnet in the third quarter of this year and the mainnet after extensive testing and auditing processes, as per Kusama.

Could This Be A Catalyst For Mega SHIB Bull Run?

With a Shiba Inu-based layer-3 solution on the horizon, SHIB is destined for greater heights since the initiative is part of Shiba Inu’s broader strategy to improve its technology stack, boost its technology’s usability, and position the canine-themed joke crypto as a serious blockchain project.

At the time of writing, SHIB was trading for $0.00002703, reflecting a +2.7% change over the past 24 hours.

Shiba Inu has been a top-performing meme coin after gaining roughly 156.7% over the last year. Looking ahead, SHIB looks poised to continue its ascent to the psychological price of $0.001 as the forthcoming novel privacy layer could fuel optimism for a monumental price surge.

After the highly anticipated fourth halving arrived, Bitcoin transaction fees spiked to as high as $146 for a medium-priority transaction and $179 for a high-priority transaction. However, the cost to send the number one cryptocurrency has significantly plummeted post-halving.

Bitcoin Fees Crash After Fourth Halving Chaos

In the initial aftermath of the fourth Bitcoin halving event and the much-awaited launch of Casey Rodarmor’s new Runes protocol, BTC transaction fees skyrocketed to unprecedented levels as users hurried to create new fungible tokens that could be launched atop Bitcoin.

The higher-than-normal block fee payouts to miners on April 20 indicated miners weren’t initially affected by the rewards halving from 6.25 BTC per block to just 3.125 BTC after the 840,000th block was added to the Bitcoin blockchain. As of April 21, average Bitcoin fees are now back down to around $8–$10 for medium-priority transactions, according to on-chain data mempool.space.

Halvings reduce revenue rewards for the so-called miners, which means miners will probably be less incentivized to keep mining the flagship cryptocurrency. These recent large block fees netted miners over $100 million and helped offset the expected decline in revenue due to the reduced mining subsidy — at least temporarily. Most importantly, miners have a lucrative new revenue stream in the Runes era.

BTC Price Action Ahead

Anticipation around the halving has steadily grown since the beginning of the new year. In mid-January, after the US Securities and Exchange Commission greenlighted the first batch of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), fuel was added to the fire, and pundits began speculating what the fourth halving would mean for the price of Bitcoin.

Now that the halving is done and dusted, speculators can now see if their predictions were right. A common expectation around the halving was that it would propel the price of Bitcoin higher— eventually. In January, SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci suggested that Bitcoin could reach $170,000 after the halving.

However, it’s a bit early to validate any forecasts. At press time, the Bitcoin price hovered around $66,059, which was up 1.2% on the past day. Meanwhile, Ethereum (ETH) is priced at $3,200.85. That’s a 1% gain in the last 24 hours.

That said, there could be some good news on the horizon for Ether and BTC. Hong Kong conditionally approved spot ETFs for both assets, as ZyCrypto reported previously. The prospective ETF providers will likely start issuing shares before the end of this month. When trading commences, analysts have predicted that it could help ease any concerns around cryptocurrencies in the area, potentially fetching $25 billion in new money into the market.

Despite facing challenges in recent weeks, Dogecoin (DOGE) demonstrated resilience, joining other cryptocurrencies on Monday in a modest surge led by Bitcoin.

Notably, although DOGE saw a modest decline of 2.67% over the past week, it found strong support within the $0.14-$0.15 range, suggesting bullish momentum may drive prices upward.

In a tweet on Monday, renowned crypto analyst Ali Martinez pointed out Dogecoin’s promising setup, expressing hopes for an impressive price surge after price broke out from a descending triangle.

“Dogecoin is showing its classic pattern once again! DOGE is currently consolidating after breaking out from a descending triangle. Based on past trends, we might just see DOGE rocket towards $1 in the coming weeks!” wrote Matinez.

In a YouTube broadcast, Dale from “Crypto Daily Trade Signals” echoed Martinez’s sentiment, highlighting key technical indicators. 

“We’re seeing that the Dogecoin is still above the 50-day moving average, and the Bollinger bands are squeezing,” Dale stated. “We’re going to see a nice pump, guys. The volumes are also a little light right now, but it’s still the weekend. Who’s in the money? 83% in the money, guys. This is important. Dogecoin has these huge descending triangles, then a consolidation, then a breakout.”

Notably, Dale’s analysis emphasized Dogecoin’s historical patterns, suggesting that the current consolidation phase, as highlighted by Martinez, could precede a significant price surge, potentially propelling DOGE to the $1 mark. He further emphasized the repeatable and measurable nature of these patterns, urging investors to prepare for what he anticipates as “the biggest freaking pump in Dogecoin history.”

Adding to the discourse, analyst Olivier DX provided a longer-term bullish outlook for DOGE. In a tweet, DX shared a weekly chart illustrating a price constricted within an upward channel. DX anticipates a bounce off the lower support trendline, potentially leading to a surge in price up to $24.

That said, delving into on-chain data, insights from crypto analytics firm IntoTheBlock reveal that an impressive 83% of DOGE holders are currently in profit, with a notable preference for HODLing, indicated by dominance in exchange outflows over inflows.

Despite prevailing bearish sentiments in the broader crypto market toward DOGE, contrarian investors could seize an opportune stance, reminiscent of the February 2024 rebound, when DOGE defied pessimism with a significant surge.

At press time, DOGE was trading at $0.1608, reflecting a 0.54% drop over the past 24 hours.

Martti Malmi, also known as Sirius, an early student of pseudonymous Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto, recently disclosed over 250 emails with Satoshi, providing valuable insights into the early days of Bitcoin and Satoshi’s vision for the cryptocurrency.

According to the emails, Satoshi emphasized that Bitcoin is not meant to be an investment or a way to make money. Instead, its true purpose is to create a peer-to-peer electronic cash system that allows for secure and decentralized transactions.

Notably, in an email dated May 3, 2009, Satoshi wrote, “Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer network based anonymous digital currency. Peer-to-peer (P2P) means that there is no central authority to issue new money or to keep track of the transactions. Instead, those tasks are managed collectively by the nodes of the network.”

Satoshi also highlighted the energy efficiency of Bitcoin’s proof-of-work (PoW) consensus algorithm, stating that it consumes less energy than traditional banking systems. He noted that the PoW algorithm is the only solution to make a peer-to-peer electronic cash system work without a trusted third party.

Satoshi also emphasized the importance of creating a user-friendly interface and a clear explanation of how Bitcoin works to attract new users. He suggested creating a website with a FAQ section and a clear explanation of how to use Bitcoin.

In an email dated August 24, 2009, Satoshi wrote, “It would be sweet if there was some way to horn in on a market like that as the official virtual currency gets clamped down on with limitations.”

The emails also reveal Satoshi’s support for creating a currency exchange service that allows users to buy and sell Bitcoins for Euros and other currencies. He noted that this would make it easier for users to exchange their Bitcoins for other currencies, making it more accessible and user-friendly.

“That’s great, I could probably get a donor to send currency to you which you convert to euros and pay out through methods that are convenient for users. I don’t want to do an exchange business myself, but it can be done independently of me.” Satoshi wrote on an August 24, 2009, response to Malmi’s proposition for an exchange.

Notably, Satoshi’s vision has since evolved, with various Bitcoin exchanges established, paving the way for broader adoption and usability. One such exchange, Bitcoinexchange.com, was initially conceived with Nakamoto’s input and later led by Martti Malmi. Nakamoto served as an advisor for the exchange’s inception, advocating for practical strategies such as fixed exchange rates over auction-based systems.

Malmi’s revelations highlight Nakamoto’s unwavering commitment to Bitcoin’s foundational principles of decentralization, accessibility, and utility as electronic cash. This commitment underscores the enduring relevance of Satoshi’s vision, even as Bitcoin continues to evolve and adapt to new circumstances.

Last week, the cryptocurrency investment landscape showed signs of cooling, with minor outflows of $126 million from related investment products. This modest yet notable capital withdrawal reflects growing caution among investors in a volatile market amid the Bitcoin halving.

According to Coinshares’ report, although trading volumes slightly rebounded to $21 billion, activity in Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) decreased from 40% to 31% of the total volume across various exchanges. This decline in institutional investment vehicle inflows signals prevailing caution among major market investors.

Last week, investors were hesitant as the positive price momentum stalled. Digital asset investment products experienced minor outflows, totalling US$126m.Get our insights in our full report as well as more data by region, issuer and asset: https://t.co/dkMoXGWfw1 pic.twitter.com/H5qjaasbuR

— CoinShares (@CoinSharesCo) April 15, 2024

Major Crypto Fund Outflows Traced to U.S.

Geographically, the United States led the outflows with $145 million, followed by Switzerland with $5.7 million and Canada with $6 million. Conversely, German investors saw an opportunity in the price drop and made inflows of $29 million.

Despite widespread caution, Bitcoin managed to maintain a positive investment flow balance for the month. While it recorded outflows of $110 million last week, the market’s leading crypto asset accumulated net inflows of $555 million since early April. This indicates that, for the monthly aggregate, more investors have bet on increasing their BTC holdings than those who have decided to liquidate their positions.

However, Coinshares noted that the same did not happen with Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. Ethereum’s native token extended its negative streak to five consecutive weeks of capital outflows, totalling $29 million in withdrawals. This persistent outflow suggests a clear bearish sentiment among ether holders, with more participants offloading their positions.

Investor Appetite Shifts to Speculative Altcoins

Despite the weakness shown by Bitcoin and Ethereum, many investors decided to bet on other more speculative and niche altcoins such as Decentraland ($4.9 million), Basic Attention Token ($2.9 million), and LIDO ($1.8 million), which capitalized on fresh capital exiting dominant coins, revealing an appetite for risk and the pursuit of higher returns by more aggressive investors.

At the time of writing this note, the Bitcoin ETFs approved in January by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (including BlackRock’s GBTC) have experienced a total trading volume of $1.76 billion and have a total market capitalization of $54.08 billion, according to Coinglass data.

Bitcoin currently trades at $64,945 after experiencing a slight rebound from the daily low of $62,773 reached on April 14. This decline in Bitcoin’s price occurred due to geopolitical tensions. As a result, investors sought less volatile assets, such as gold, causing a downturn in the cryptocurrency market.

It’s a new dawn for meme coins, as they continue showing stellar performance thanks to the bullish momentum in the crypto market.

Leading on-chain metrics provider, IntoTheBlock alluded to this trend and stated, “Memecoins performed extremely well this month, with PEPE leading with more than 600% monthly returns.”

Source: IntoTheBlock

Shiba Inu has been leading the meme coin pack in terms of exemplary monthly gains, with other coins like BONK, PEPE, FLOKI, and Dogwifhat following suit.

The presence of meme coins in the crypto market is no longer in oblivion because they act as a significant proxy that shows the overall interest and trend in this sector.

As a result, meme coins have become quite popular on social media platforms since they are an ideal vehicle for social and professional traders looking to make a kill from the next trend.

Meme Coins Are Gaining Popularity

Despite the high volatility associated with meme coins, their adoption rate continues to go through the roof.

Leading investment firm Franklin Templeton noted, “We believe that meme coins have a strong relationship with their native networks.”

Therefore, this connection has been instrumental in enabling meme coins to go through the roof. For instance, the Solana network has been experiencing heightened investor interest based on the notable meme coins being developed on the blockchain.

For instance, BONK experienced exponential growth last year, outpacing DOGE and SHIB in trade volume.

Amidst SHIB’s growing traction, there has also been a parallel surge in meme coin trading, as highlighted by a report from Coingecko

Not only that but the large holder netflow has also increased significantly, coinciding with this upsurge in SHIB whale activity. Data from onchain analytics firm IntoTheBlock shows that Shiba Inu’s large holder netflow has risen by 1,058% over the last 30 days.

This indicates that whales continue accumulating Shiba Inu as bulls set their sights on the $0.001 price. Despite the short-term price volatility, this trend indicates that whales are becoming more confident in the long-term prospects of SHIB.

Meme coins appear to be attracting the interest of major investors as the cryptocurrency market takes a short break following strong growth last quarter. This tendency stands out in the ever-changing world of cryptocurrencies.

This bullish trend on the BONK network played a pivotal role in enabling the number of daily user addresses to explode on the Solana blockchain.

Therefore, meme coins continuously showcase themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the crypto sector.

Despite the pre-halving bloodbath that has reigned in the crypto market in recent weeks, Shiba Inu strategist Lucie is still optimistic about SHIB’s future price prospects, positing that the meme coin is on track for a supercycle — propelled by Bitcoin’s price action.

SHIB On Brink Of Parabolic Growth

Lucie shared some insights on the potential price movement of Shiba Inu (SHIB) in a Wednesday post.

The Shiba Inu marketing team member captioned a chart depicting Bitcoin’s price performance from 2015 to 2024, highlighting pivotal periods that marked a bottom phase, a re-accumulation phase, and a bull cycle. Lucie observed that this pattern is currently underway, and he expects bottoming and reaccumulation periods to usher in a full-blow bull rally.

Based on historical data, Lucie forecasts that the next Bitcoin bull market will commence between 2024 and 2025, on the back of the reaccumulation phase, which occurred in 2023. The Shiba Inu marketing lead sees these parallel market moves as proof that SHIB prices are set for a supercycle — a period of exponential upward trajectory. Lucie therefore urged the Shiba Inu community to zoom out.

Zoom out.We're still on track for a super cycle as far as I can see. It's never a straight line to heaven. 2024/2025 will be interesting. $BTC x $SHIB pic.twitter.com/olvTGmjIJC

— 𝐋𝐔𝐂𝐈𝐄 | SHIB.IO (@LucieSHIB) April 17, 2024

Bitcoin block subsidy halvings, which happen quadrennially, have historically been watershed moments in the crypto space. The milestone is baked into Bitcoin’s code and is a crucial part of its operation. Miners currently receive 6.25 BTC for each new block they create. That changes on April 20 and the reward will instead be slashed to 3.125 BTC. 

Miners will then mint fewer coins, injecting fewer Bitcoins into circulation. If history is any guide, the price of the alpha crypto will soar meteorically as a result.

With the BTC halving, the SHIB Army will anticipate a supercycle’s commencement. Lucie’s forecast implies that Bitcoin’s bullish wave could send SHIB price action stratospheric.

At the time of writing, Shiba Inu is trading for $0.00002555, up 12.2% in the last 24 hours.