Standard Chartered Bank analyst and head of digital assets research, Geoff Kendrick, believes bitcoin (BTC) will likely trend higher following the halving due to lower leveraged positions in the market.

Speaking to BNN Bloomberg during an interview over the weekend, Kendrick said the current market environment, which has lower leverage, could propel the value of BTC upwards toward Standard Chartered’s end-of-year price target of $150,000.

A Lower Leveraged Market

The week preceding the Bitcoin halving weekend ended with the crypto market witnessing millions of liquidations in short and long positions as tensions escalated in the Middle East. BTC plunged by almost ten grand as news of Iran’s attacks against Israel made the rounds, leaving a trail of ruin in its wake.

Bitcoin fell from $71,000 to $65,000 and then to $61,000 within a day. Over 300,000 traders were wrecked, with liquidations running into $1.8 billion. The bloodshed from that weekend flushed out millions of leveraged Bitcoin positions, with April 13 alone marking the highest daily liquidation since October 2023.

Kendrick said the liquidation of leveraged positions has cleared a pathway for the crypto market to trend higher and that it is poised to move up from its current position. Since the market went into the halving squared in terms of leverage, it could rebound and surge to new levels.

ETF Inflows to Drive BTC Uptrend

Besides the lesser leveraged positions in the market, Kendrick also mentioned inflows into the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF) and positive news expected from the situation between Iran and Israel as potential catalysts for higher BTC trends.

Although the inflows of spot Bitcoin ETFs have stalled for now, the Standard Chartered analyst expects capital inflows of $50-$100 billion within the next 18 to 24 months as the market matures. Likening the Bitcoin ETF space to that of gold, Kendrick predicted that it could grow by 4.3x as inflows continue over time, propelling BTC to $150,000 by the end of 2024 and $200,000 by 2025.

Meanwhile, Standard Chartered predicted that BTC could hit $250,000 in 2025 if Bitcoin ETF inflows reach the mid-point estimate of $75 billion.

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Balaji Srinivasan – the popular venture investor and Coinbase’s former Chief Technology Officer (CTO) – believes Bitcoin Maximalism is due to gain steam as a philosophical and economic belief system.

In a Twitter post on Wednesday, the entrepreneur argued why faith in the existing financial system is bound to erode over time as the U.S. dollar inflation pushes a new generation into Bitcoin.

Unstoppable Inflation

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, twelve-month consumer inflation in the United States rose to 3.5% in March, now having stayed substantially higher than the nation’s 2% target for three years straight.

While the Federal Reserve has raised its policy interest rate substantially to fight higher prices, Balaji claims this method brings harsh side effects for consumers – such as higher interest payments on loans and cars.

“There’s really nothing they can do,” wrote Balaj. “High rates mean the regime is piling up interest costs in an unsustainable way, so they can’t keep rates elevated forever.”

Federal Reserve data shows that personal interest payments in the U.S. have risen from $240 billion in 2021 to $520 billion today.

Meanwhile, Bank of America research shows that U.S. Treasury interest payments have skyrocketed to $1.1 trillion per year, and are projected to reach $1.6 trillion by Q4 2024 if rates remain stable. If the Fed were to cut rates by 150 basis points before then, such payments would still rise to $1.2 trillion.

Adding to its interest burden is the nation’s continual debt issuance through notes, bonds, and bills, which rose back to $7 trillion in Q4 2023. According to the US debt clock, the nation’s total debt burden has now surpassed $34.6 trillion after Congress voted to suspend its debt ceiling last year.

A Bitcoin Maximalist Revolution

Balaji believes the country’s debt levels will lead it to print “gigantic quantities of money” – a dangerous prospect given that 64% of 18 to 29-year-olds view inflation as their top national issue.

“That is the stuff of which revolutions are made,” he said. “That’s why it the next one really is the people vs the government, the network vs the state, and — most of all — the dollar vs Bitcoin.”

“I am no maximalist, but Bitcoin Maximalism will rise,” he added.

Bitcoin maximalism is a movement and belief system that views Bitcoin as superior to all other financial assets. That includes precious metals, fiat currencies, bonds, stocks, and even other cryptocurrencies.

Michael Saylor – executive chairman of MicroStrategy, the world’s largest corporate BTC holders – has referred to himself as a Bitcoin maximalist.

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São Paulo-based Nubank announced the launch of a new feature that allows withdrawals and deposits of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.

With this latest move, customers will now be able to send and receive Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana using the Nubank app. The withdrawal and deposit options are now available, allowing users to check the functionality on the app’s main crypto screen.

Nubank Adds Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Features to App

The launch includes an initial selection of three cryptocurrencies, but Nubank plans to add support for more in the near future.

According to the report by Livecoins, users are advised to consider some important points before completing a transaction. For one, withdrawals may be subject to variable fees depending on the chosen network, and crypto transactions may take approximately 60 minutes.

A loosely translated statement from the bank reads,

“We are releasing the Withdrawal and Deposit options, and you can check if you already have the new functionality on the main crypto screen of the app. For now, it’s possible to send and receive Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana, but we plan to add new coins soon.”

Users are also required to verify if the selected network and currency are supported by the Nubank wallet. The Brazilian bank emphasizes the importance of ensuring that assets are sent to supported networks and correct addresses, as incorrect transfers may result in irreversible loss of funds.

Brazil’s Crypto Landscape

Nubank’s latest feature, enabling withdrawals and deposits of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, is poised to boost Brazil’s growing crypto environment further. As the largest fintech bank in Latin America, with a massive customer base of 80.4 million in Brazil and additional millions in Mexico and Colombia, Nubank’s move into cryptocurrency signals a significant step in mainstream acceptance.

The latest development closely follows Brazil’s largest bank, Itau Unibanco’s, debut in the cryptocurrency exchange market in early December 2023.

Brazil is one of the top Latin American countries with a high level of cryptocurrency adoption. Additionally, it is one of three nations showing strong “grassroots adoption” and is ranked within the top 20 on Chainalysis’ Global Crypto Adoption Index.

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Bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX is looking to offload its remaining Solana native tokens, SOL, via an auction this week.

According to a Bloomberg report, people familiar with the matter said the bankruptcy estate would auction an unspecified amount of SOL in the hopes of receiving a higher price than that which they would have gotten through direct sales.

FTX to Sell SOL Via Auction

The blond auction represents a shift from the fixed-price sales the bankruptcy estate has engaged in over time. Notably, most creditors have expressed dissatisfaction with the direct sales approach as it undermines the value of the FTX’s assets, minimizing creditors’ potential recovery.

Since FTX began offloading its SOL via direct sales, it has attracted the interest of major crypto firms like Pantera Capital, Neptune Digital Assets Corp, and Galaxy Trading, a division of Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital.

Last month, the bankruptcy estate sold between 25 million and 30 million locked-up SOL at $64 each, netting as much as $1.9 billion. Although the deal seemed juicy enough, the buyers acquired FTX’s SOL at a price 67% down from the token’s value at the time. While FTX is yet to disclose its SOL sales for April, previous reports show the asset has sold tokens worth roughly $2.6 billion.

Unidentified sources revealed that the deadline for the auction is Wednesday, April 24, with the results to be announced on Thursday.

Figure Markets Declares Interest

One of the firms that has publicly declared interest in the FTX SOL blind auction is the crypto exchange Figure Markets. The company’s co-founder and CEO, Mike Cagney, disclosed that the firm would create a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) open to non-U.S. and U.S. investors for the auctions.

The SPV will take investments in the U.S. dollar and Circle (USDC), with community consensus on bid prices to be determined on a $1:1 vote basis. The vehicle also allows retail investors and FTX creditors to participate in the auction with a minimum investment of $5,000, starkly contrasting the $5 million set by the estate for direct sales.

FTX creditor activist Sunil Kavuri commended Cagney’s approach to the auction, insisting that Sullivan & Cromwell, the law firm overseeing FTX’s bankruptcy proceedings, was adamant on selling the locked SOL at a heavy discount to their clients, regardless of objections from creditors.

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The creator of the popular ‘Bitcoin Power Law’ has unveiled a chart detailing his price model’s exact BTC price targets for the next several market cycles.

The model predicts that Bitcoin will reach $218,875 at its cycle peak in November 2025, before descending to $96,677 at its bottom in December 2026.

What Is The Bitcoin Power Law?

The Bitcoin Power Law is a long-term price model that forecasts Bitcoin’s future market value as if it were bound by the laws of physics. The man behind the model – Giovanni Santostasi – is a former physics professor, who believes Bitcoin’s long-term price trajectory follows a “power law” relationship with time.

“Price is a power law, hash rate is a power law, adoption is a power law,” wrote Santostasi to Twitter on Monday. “We even understand why and have a full Theory about it.”

A power law is a perfect relationship between two quantities such that one is proportional to a fixed power of the other. One example is the law of planetary motion, which states that a planet’s distance from the sun is directly proportional to the time it takes to fully orbit around the sun.

Power laws have even been discovered in the financial realm, having been used to predict the average waiting time for a stock price’s directional change.

Because such laws maintain themselves at any scale, the Bitcoin Power Law Theory is supposed to stay relevant across any span of time, and can forecast the asset’s price range indefinitely. For example, the model expects BTC to peak at $1,212,799 in November 2033, before retracing back to $802,399 in December 2034.

Santostasi insists that the Power Law model is no “model” at all, but a “ full and coherent theory of what Bitcoin is and how it works.” For instance, the price floor of the power law is not based on technical analysis, but instead on the “physics of mining” and a point of “miner capitulation.”

“We actually put a lot of time in developing meaningful indicators that use both the power law and the cyclic nature of Bitcoin using the Bitcoin clock,” the physicist wrote on Tuesday.

What About the Stock to Flow Model?

Santostasi is a non-believer in other popular price models, such as Plan B’s “stock-to-flow” model, which predicts exponential gains for Bitcoin in the future without diminishing returns. The model attempts to forecast Bitcoin’s price as a function of its diminishing supply inflation following each Bitcoin halving.

Technical indicators, such as Bitcoin’s “Pi Cycle Top” indicator for identifying market peaks, have been “lucky” in achieving historical accuracy, he claims.

“S2F is deeply wrong conceptually, logically, mathematically, from a construction point of view,” Santostasi said on Tuesday. “it is almost poison because gives really the wrong information about Bitcoin, basically a magic trick and a lie.”

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Tether has announced that all wallets associated with Venezuela’s attempts to bypass U.S. sanctions on oil exports will be frozen.

The decision follows recent reports indicating an increased use of Tether’s USDT by Venezuela’s state-run oil company, PDVSA, to avoid sanctions imposed by the United States.

Venezuela’s PDVSA Turns to Tether Amid Sanctions

According to a Reuters report, Venezuela’s state-run oil company, PDVSA, transitioned to using Tether’s USDT after facing renewed sanctions on its oil exports.

Tether took a similar stance in December last year, freezing 161 wallets in compliance with U.S. sanctions.

A spokesperson for the stablecoin issuer emphasized the company’s commitment to upholding sanctions by stating, “Tether respects the OFAC SDN list and is committed to working to ensure sanction addresses are frozen properly.”

PDVSA’s increased use of cryptocurrency payments is part of a broader strategy to mitigate the repercussions of U.S. sanctions re-imposed due to Venezuela’s failure to implement electoral reforms.

By using cryptocurrencies like USDT, PDVSA can conduct transactions while minimizing the risk of assets being seized by U.S. authorities. Reuters notes that PDVSA uses intermediaries to hide the trail and evade tracking in USDT transactions.

However, a recent PDVSA scandal has complicated matters, as investigations uncovered around $21 billion in unexplained receivables from oil exports. This scandal is partly linked to prior transactions involving other cryptocurrencies, adding complexity to the situation.

USDT Prepayment for Oil Deals

In 2024, PDVSA restructured its spot oil deals to require prepayment for half of each cargo’s value in USDT. This requires new customers interested in buying Venezuelan oil to possess a digital wallet capable of conducting cryptocurrency transactions.

Furthermore, the U.S. government has conditionally permitted the resumption of business with PDVSA. This decision came in October when Washington issued a six-month license, allowing trading houses and former PDVSA customers to resume business with Venezuela. However, due to digital transaction requirements, many of these entities had to rely on intermediaries to facilitate the transactions.

Venezuela’s venture into cryptocurrencies dates back to 2018, when it introduced the “petro” token to mitigate the economic turbulence induced by U.S. sanctions. However, the petro’s poor adoption led to its shelving earlier this year.

Meanwhile, OFAC has recently intensified its scrutiny of the cryptocurrency industry. In December, OFAC imposed fines on crypto exchange CoinList amounting to $1.2 million for facilitating Russian users in evading sanctions. Before this, the agency sanctioned a crypto mixer allegedly used by hackers in North Korea.

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Polkadot’s recent price movement has seen it finding support from the crucial 200-day moving average, prompting a bullish retracement. However, despite this upward trajectory, the cryptocurrency faces several critical resistance levels ahead, casting doubt on the sustainability of the bullish retracement.

Technical Analysis

By Shayan

The Daily Chart

A thorough daily chart analysis reveals a modest bullish reversal near the key 200-day moving average of $7, following a quick decline in Polkadot’s price. However, the lack of substantial bullish momentum raises questions about the longevity of the recent action.

Additionally, significant resistance lies ahead. Notably, the 100-day moving average at $8.1 aligned with the 0.382 Fibonacci retracement level ($8), potentially hindering upward movement. These levels, combined with the crucial support from the 200-day MA, serve as pivotal reference points for Polkadot in the short term. A breakout from this critical range will likely determine the market’s next move.

Source: TradingView The 4-Hour Chart

A closer examination of the 4-hour timeframe reveals a period of indecisive consolidation near the pivotal $6 mark, culminating in a notable bullish reversal. The subsequent surge in buying pressure propelled the price towards a significant resistance region, delineated by the 0.5 ($7.4) and 0.618 ($7.8) Fibonacci levels.

This critical range carries a substantial supply, making it an important area to monitor. Therefore, the price action in this region holds significant implications for Polkadot’s future trajectory. A breakthrough above this critical region would likely extend the current uptrend toward the critical resistance level at $9.

Source: TradingView Sentiment Analysis

By Shayan

Polkadot’s recent price action has shown a bullish retracement, signaling a potential revival in positive sentiment. In light of this, it’s helpful to analyze futures market sentiment and liquidity levels to anticipate future market direction.

The accompanying chart depicts the Binance DOT/USDT heatmap, which predicts price levels where significant liquidation events may occur. When price levels indicate the likelihood of a liquidation cascade, highlighted in yellow, making these levels noteworthy support and resistance regions.

According to the chart, there is a notable concentration of liquidation levels above the $9 threshold, accompanied by many buy-stop orders. This suggests that the price will likely move towards the $9-$10 zone in the mid-term, with a notable liquidation of short positions expected.

Source: Coinglass

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TL;DR

Core (CORE) has significantly outperformed Bitcoin and many other major cryptocurrencies with a 350% price surge this year.

Other digital assets related to BTC’s ecosystem, such as Sovryn (SOV) and Ordiswap (ORDS), also reported notable gains, with increases of 210% and 100%, respectively.

CORE Leads the Pack

Bitcoin (BTC) has been making serious waves since the beginning of the year, with its price rising from approximately $42,000 on January 1 to almost $67,000 on April 24 (a 60% increase). However, some cryptocurrencies related to its ecosystem have witnessed even more substantial gains over the same period, and Core (CORE) is the perfect example.

It is a new blockchain that leverages the advantages of Bitcoin’s Proof-of-Work network and the delegated Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism to offer more security, scalability, and decentralization. 

Its native token, CORE, is currently worth around $2.51 (per CoinGecko’s data), a 350% surge compared to the $0.55 observed at the start of 2024.

CORE Price, Source: CoinGecko

The asset’s price was even higher at the beginning of April, briefly surpassing the $4 mark, while its market capitalization crossed the $3.5 billion milestone before settling at its current level of around $2.2 billion.

Sovryn (SOV) Comes Next

The protocol, running on a Bitcoin sidechain called Rootstock Smart Contract (RSK), has also witnessed a significant resurgence in the past several months. 

Its native token – SOV – has been up 210% since New Year’s Eve, currently trading at approximately $2.10. However, its price performance is far from its glory days in 2021, when a single coin was worth over $35.

SOV Price, Source: CoinGecko Ordiswap (ORDS)

Ordiswap is the first Automated Market Maker (AMM) designed for the BTC blockchain. Its main purpose is to provide liquidity provision and decentralized trading directly to Bitcoin’s native layer.

The governance cryptocurrency of the AMM—ORDS—was launched at the end of December last year and has jumped by 100% since then. Last month, it soared to an all-time high of $0.26 before retracing to its current mark of $0.10.

ORDS Price, Source: CoinGecko LeverFi (LEVER)

This is a decentralized leverage trading platform with a native token called LEVER. The latter ascended by 98% since January 1, 2024. It is also among the notable gainers today (April 24), registering a 10% increase on a daily scale.

LEVER Price, Source: CoinGecko

LEVER’s market capitalization recently jumped above $120 million for the first time while currently hovering around $100 million.

Bitcoin Cash (BCH)

The popular hard-fork blockchain, split from Bitcoin in 2018, finds a place in the list, too. Earlier in April, it completed its second halving, with its price ascending substantially in the months prior to the event. Two weeks ago, BCH hit a multi-year high of more than $700, but it has been on a downtrend as of late. 

Currently, a single token is worth around $500, which is still a 93% increase compared to the figure observed at the beginning of the year.

BCH Price, Source: CoinGecko

 

 

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Ripple has been one of the underperforming cryptocurrencies during the recent bull market, as it failed to rise like Bitcoin and Ethereum over the last few months. Yet, things might be about to change soon.

Ripple Price Analysis: Technicals

By TradingRage

The USDT Paired Chart

Against USDT, the cryptocurrency has recently rebounded from the $0.43 and $0.50 support levels and is on its way to testing the $0.6 resistance zone. The 200-day moving average is also around the $0.6 level and can provide additional resistance.

However, if the price successfully climbs back above this area, investors can be hopeful that a rally toward the $0.7 mark and potentially beyond is probable.

Source: TradingView The BTC Paired Chart

The Bitcoin pair’s weekly chart shows that the price has been consistently trending down since dropping below the 200-day moving average. It is currently testing the 600 SAT support level. If the level breaks down, it would be catastrophic as XRP can experience a much deeper decline in the upcoming months.

On the other hand, the Relative Strength Index shows a clear oversold signal, and the market is more likely to finally rebound from the level.

In this case, a rise toward the 1200 SAT level and the 200-day moving average nearby would be highly probable in the short term.

Source: TradingView

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Bitcoin’s fourth halving has sparked speculation about significant price surges, but Glassnode, an analytics firm, advises that investors should “ground expectations” based on historical data.

The Bitcoin halving happened less than a week ago, leading to a 50% reduction in supply inflation, increasing the issuance scarcity.

Glassnode Says Fourth Halving is Different

The halving has historically impacted price performance. However, Glassnode highlights diminishing returns and shallower drawdowns seen over time due to the market’s growth and capital flow requirements.

Glassnode observes diminishing returns comparing epochs, with the second showing a price increase of 5,315% and a maximum drawdown of 85%. Meanwhile, the fourth epoch saw a more modest 569% increase and a 77% drawdown. The report notes similar price performance across the last three cycles before the halving, with increases ranging from approximately 200% to 300%.

However, the current cycle is different, with bitcoin surpassing the previous all-time high (ATH) before the halving, a phenomenon not observed in previous cycles. Glassnode’s report notes the significant unrealized profit held by investors during this halving event, with the MVRV Ratio indicating an average paper gain of +126%.

The fourth halving is also different when comparing bitcoin to gold. For the first time in history, bitcoin’s steady-state issuance rate of 0.83% becomes lower than that of gold, which is approximately 2.3%.

Regarding network fundamentals, the hash rate continues to grow, indicating increased investment in mining infrastructure. Miner revenues, while exhibiting a diminishing growth rate in USD terms, have seen a net expansion, with cumulative revenue exceeding $3 billion over the past four years.

The realized cap, which measures the capital invested in bitcoin, supports the now $1.3 trillion market cap, marking a 439% increase over the last epoch.

Glassnode Co-Founders Predict Rebound to $72K

Glassnode also noted that despite volatility and negative headlines, Bitcoin’s transfer volume has reached $106 trillion over the last four years, which shows the network’s capacity for settling transactions.

Meanwhile, Glassnode co-founders have provided insights into bitcoin’s potential rebound in a recent post on X. They suggest a potential surge to $72,000 and note the 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at $62,000 as a key support level.

They further advised investors to utilize short-term dips in BTC’s price as valuable buying opportunities, especially during the ongoing consolidation phase within the broader bullish trend that the asset has been experiencing.

According to CoinGecko data, bitcoin’s price is trading at $66,50, representing a slight 0.2% increase over the last day and a 5.0% rise over the week.

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TL;DR

Binance is offering 10,000 FDUSD in token vouchers to users who haven’t traded in the last 90 days, requiring a minimum of $100 trading volume on specific pairs to qualify.

The promotion reflects the company’s strategy to boost user engagement and adapt to market trends.

Binance’s Promotion

The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange introduced an offering for all users who have not traded on Binance Spot in the past three months, promising a total reward of 10,000 FDUSD in token vouchers. 

To qualify for the promotion, eligible users need to click on the “join in” button on the dedicated page and accumulate a total trading volume of at least $100 on specific pairs such as DOGE/BTC, SHIB/EUR, SHIB/USDT, WIF/BTC, WIF/FDUSD, FLOKI/FDUSD, FLOKI/TRY, PEPE/FDUSD, PEPE/TRY, and many more.

“Binance reserves the right to change, modify, or impose additional restrictions with respect to the access to and use of Binance Spot trading services from time to time in its sole discretion at any time without notification,” the firm announced. 

The token vouchers will be distributed to eligible users within 21 working days after the end of the Promotion Period, which will run until May 5. Traders should claim their rewards before the expiration date.

The exchange reserves the right to disqualify operations that are “deemed to be prohibited activities, including but not limited to churning, pump-and-dump schemes, ramping,” and other market manipulation affairs.

The Previous Updates

This is not the first time Binance touches upon meme coins to enhance user experience and respond to current market trends. Earlier this month, it included 18 new loanable assets to its Binance Loans program, with dogwidhat (WIF) and Pepe (PEPE) being some examples. 

In March, it added PEPE/FDUSD among the pairs supported on Binance Spot, whereas Floki Inu (FLOKI) and numerous other altcoins were introduced as loanable tokens. 

The post These Meme Coins Are Included in the Latest Binance Update: Details appeared first on CryptoPotato.

TL;DR

Santiment’s latest ranking shows which cryptocurrencies have accounted for the most development activity over the past 30 days.

Interestingly, Bitcoin (BTC) is not included in the top 10 list, while Ethereum (ETH) is at the bottom.

The Latest Ranking

The crypto market intelligence platform – Santiment – revealed which digital currencies have been most active in terms of development frequency over the last 30 days. Optimism (OP), Cardano (ADA), and Hedera (HBAR) are those placed in the first three spots, while Polkadot (DOT) and Kusama (KSM) rounded up the top 5 list. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization – Ethereum (ETH) – was placed ninth. 

“Our platform pulls notable github activity from project repositories via a back-tested process to ensure only a team’s significant efforts to innovate and improve are included,” Santiment explained.

Earlier this year, ADA topped the same ranking, leaving behind DOT in the second spot and KSM in the third. BTC was not included in the top 10 list (just like the latest data shows), while ETH claimed the tenth position.

ADA and DOT Price Outlook

Both cryptocurrencies have performed quite well on a seven-day scale, witnessing price spikes of 11% and 14%, respectively.

Earlier this month, the popular X user Ali Martinez presented a chart showing that ADA’s valuation “is exactly where it should be.” He believes the token is poised to reach $1.70 as long as it enters the $0.55-$0.80 range. Currently, it hovers around the $0.50 mark (per CoinGecko’s data).

Those interested in exploring additional ADA price predictions, please take a look at our dedicated video below:

DOT was also projected to reach new heights in the near future. The X users World of Charts, CRYPTOWIZARD, and CryptoYoddha envisioned a rally towards the $15-$20 level. 

Michael van de Poppe and Flash went even further, revealing they have added Polkadot’s native token to their personal portfolios.

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DeGods, the NFT project that once held the highest market value on Solana, is contemplating a return to its original blockchain.

Founder Rohan Vohra, who goes by the pseudonym ‘Frank’ recently shared a test picture of bridging NFTs back to Solana, indicating a potential shift back to the platform where it first gained prominence.

When DeGods debuted in late 2021, Solana was approaching its peak price, and its NFT ecosystem was growing rapidly.

However, by the time it became Solana’s most valuable large-scale NFT project, SOL had significantly depreciated, and the broader NFT market was experiencing a downturn.

DeGods first announced its departure from Solana in December 2022 and revealed that it would be migrating to Ethereum.

This decision followed a tumultuous year for Solana, marked not only by prolonged outages but also by the Layer 1 blockchain’s entanglement in the turmoil surrounding the collapsed crypto exchange FTX. Vohra then said,

“There’s an argument to be made that [DeGods] has capped out on Solana. It’s hard to accept, but it’s been tough to grow at the rate we want to grow. If Ethereum is where we have to go to keep growing, it’s what we have to do.”

Now, with the landscape potentially shifting once again, the project is exploring the possibility of returning to its roots in Solana, where its journey began.

The news has sparked a range of reactions, with some expressing skepticism and criticism towards the idea of moving back and forth between blockchains.

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The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has recommended a three-year prison sentence for Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the founder and former Chief Executive Officer of Binance.

This recommendation follows Zhao’s guilty plea last year for violating the Bank Secrecy Act last November.

CZ’s Sentencing

According to documents filed by DOJ attorneys on Tuesday night, Zhao should serve 36 months in prison and pay a $50 million fine.

The filing asserted that “the sentence in this case will not just send a message to Zhao but also to the world,” emphasizing the need for a severe penalty to deter similar misconduct in the future.

The filing outlines the DOJ’s assessment of the sentencing guidelines, acknowledging that they typically propose a range of 12 to 18 months. However, it highlights Zhao’s awareness of Binance’s legal violations and his active role in promoting them.

It also criticizes the adequacy of the Sentencing Guidelines in addressing violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, asserting that they fail to sufficiently penalize misconduct of this magnitude or its potential impact on U.S. national security.

Zhao, who initially faced a maximum of 18 months in prison under the terms of his plea agreement, is now confronted with the possibility of a much lengthier sentence.

CZ had previously consented to the $50 million fine and waived his right to appeal any sentence up to 18 months.

DOJ’s Argument

The filing emphasizes the magnitude of Zhao’s transgressions, highlighting how he presided over a massive financial institution that processed trillions of dollars in cryptocurrency trades annually, all while violating U.S. regulations.

The DOJ argues that Zhao’s deliberate disregard for legal obligations enabled Binance to handle millions of dollars in unlawful proceeds, including funds from darknet markets and crypto mixers.

It also states that the scale of Zhao’s misconduct warrants an “upward variance,” pointing to Binance’s massive processing of cryptocurrency trades and its large profits from U.S. businesses and customers.

Central to the DOJ’s argument is Zhao’s failure to implement an effective anti-money laundering (AML) program at Binance, which led to the exchange becoming a hub for illegal activities, including transactions related to ransomware attacks, darknet market proceeds, and various scams.

Despite the initial schedule for sentencing set in late February, it was postponed to April 30 by mutual agreement.

Meanwhile, Binance faces its own repercussions. Together with Zhao’s guilty plea, Binance agreed to pay a $4.3 billion fine and the appointment of a court-appointed monitor. However, the appointment is still pending.

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TL;DR

Shiba Inu (SHIB) has outperformed major cryptocurrencies with a 20% price increase over the past week.

Positive developments for the meme coin include a significant increase in its token burn rate and upgrades to Shibarium.

SHIB Might be Gearing up for a Bull Run

The cryptocurrency market has witnessed a significant revival in the past week, with numerous leading assets, such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP), and Solana (SOL), being well in the green. The popular meme coin – Shiba Inu (SHIB) – has recorded even more substantial gains than the aforementioned, with its price rising by 20% on a 7-day scale.

SHIB Price, Source: CoinGecko

Various analysts outline optimistic predictions that the token is about to experience another bull run, while some important factors indicate the same scenario.

According to CryptoQuant, SHIB exchange reserves have dropped to around 150 trillion assets this week, the lowest level registered since February 2022.

A reduction in that metric means fewer Shiba Inu tokens are available for trading, resulting in enhanced scarcity and a potential price appreciation in time (assuming demand rises or stays the same). 

CryptoQuant’s data also shows that SHIB exchange netflow has been predominantly negative in the past week. Shifting from centralized platforms to self-custody methods is considered bullish since it decreases the immediate selling pressure.

Additional Contributing Elements

Shiba Inu’s burn rate increase and the advancement of the layer-2 blockchain solution—Shibarium—also indicate that the asset’s price might be ready to take off in the short term. As CryptoPotato reported, the burning mechanism skyrocketed by 500% earlier this month, resulting in millions of tokens being removed from circulation.

For its part, Shibarium underwent a major upgrade. The team behind the network launched a new user interface (UI) update, describing it as “faster, smoother, and more accessible than ever.” The developers also expanded compatibility with popular self-custody wallets such as MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet, Trust Wallet, and others.

Shibarium was officially introduced last summer and aims to foster the development of Shiba Inu by reducing transaction costs, improving speed, and enhancing scalability. If you are curious to learn more about the network, feel free to watch our dedicated video below:

The post Is a Shiba Inu (SHIB) Bull Run Incoming? Important Metric Dips to a Two-Year Low appeared first on CryptoPotato.

In a recent interview with CryptoPotato during the 2024 Token2049 Dubai Conference, Tether’s CEO, Paolo Ardoino, spoke about AI, the Bitcoin halving, the recently-launched ETFs, USDT’s market share, and much more.

Ardoino, who is also the CTO of BitFinex, believes stablecoins, such as USDT, are made for the unbanked and not for developed countries like the US.

Bitcoin ETF/Halving Impact

The interview was conducted mere hours before the fourth halving took place (which was in the early hours of April 20), and Tether’s chief exec agreed with previous assessments by CryptoQuant that the effects of the event are diminishing in time.

This is because more than 19.5 million BTC have already been mined, and the reduction in block production is less impactful now than it was when it was slashed from 50 BTC to 25 BTC.

Additionally, he noted that the halving is a known event that people see coming and are preparing in advance for it. Consequently, he asserted that there is a big chance the halving might have already been priced in, especially given the fact that bitcoin soared to an all-time high ahead of it this time around.

However, Ardoino sees the spot ETFs, which were launched in the US in January this year, as the most bullish development within the cryptocurrency ecosystem. According to BlackRock’s CEO, Larry Fink, mostly retail investors have been pouring funds into the ETFs for now, and the institutions are yet to enter the scene.

Ardoino said even 1-2% of large traditional hedge funds and other institutions could propel more significant price increases for BTC. He added that spot ETFs in the States have made it a lot easier for retail investors, who lacked the knowledge, interest, or trust to buy bitcoin from crypto exchanges until now, to accumulate the asset.

Although he agreed that ETFs make it easier for people to begin their bitcoin journey, he also noted that these products have a somewhat negative effect. When people purchase shares of a spot ETF, they act in the opposite manner of what Maxis believes: that bitcoin HODLers should store their own assets outside of centralized entities.

Yet, all of that can change should newbies use the ETFs as an entry point and start educating themselves on the actual benefits of the world’s largest cryptocurrency instead of just aiming for quick profits.

“The vast majority of people still think in Euro terms of US dollar terms. So they just want to make gains on that side rather than hold the most beautiful currency in the world.”

Paolo Ardoino. Source: Finyear Tether Competition and ETF Impact

Ardoino refuted previous rumors that the approval and launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs will result in less interest in USDT and other stablecoins. Just the opposite, he said USDT’s market cap has skyrocketed by about $20 billion since January and is around $110 billion now.

Trading volumes on Bitfinex, a crypto exchange mostly serving institutional investors, have also grown significantly in the past 6 to 12 months after the ETFs went live.

In terms of competition for Tether’s stablecoins, particularly the recent emergence and rapid growth of Ethena’s USDe, the exec said there could not be a stablecoin industry if they were the only players in it.

He believes competition is good, but people should know the differences between all stablecoins, as they are not created equal.

While many newly launched stablecoins go for DeFi, Tether’s goals are different:

“Tether doesn’t care about DeFi. Tether is used in DeFi, but it’s not our primary use case for sure. We believe our primary use case is emerging markets in developing countries, people that need to have access to the dollar and that are left behind by the traditional financial system.”

AI and the Future

Tether has already dabbled with a few AI-related initiatives in the past several months, and Ardoino said this trend is likely to intensify in the future. He explained that the company uses only its profits to invest in AI projects.

For instance, Tether made $6 billion in 2023 and used about 10% of that to allocate to different AI investments. At the same time, the remaining $5.4 billion was used to strengthen the stablecoin reserves further, something the firm had been criticized for in the past.

Most recently, Tether expanded two of its largest stablecoins to TON’s blockchain, and there are already more than 30 million USDT on the network.

The post Tether CEO Explains Why Bitcoin Is the Most Beautiful Currency in the World (Token2049 Dubai Interview) appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Bitcoin tried to take down the $67,000 level once more in the past day or so but failed to overcome it decisively and now sits inches below it.

The altcoins are well in the green, with ETH jumping to $3,250 and TON recovering some of the most recent losses. HBAR is today’s top performer after some interaction with BlackRock.

BTC Goes After $67K

Bitcoin’s price faced massive volatility last week, mostly driven by the escalating tension between Iran and Israel. The last such occasion was on Friday, hours before the fourth halving, when the latter launched an attack. In a matter of minutes, BTC slumped by several grand to under $60,000.

However, once Iran said there will be no retaliation soon, bitcoin went on the offensive and soared by more than $5,000. Another minor retracement followed to $63,000, but that was quickly overcome, and the cryptocurrency stood at around $65,000 once the halving was completed and the block rewards were slashed in half.

Since then, the price fluctuations have declined. Bitcoin has gradually increased in value and has challenged $67,000 a couple of times in the past day or so. So far, the asset has been unable to overcome that level and now trades a few hundred dollars below it.

Its market capitalization remains above $1.3 trillion, but the dominance over the alts has taken a hit and is down to 50.7% on CG.

Bitcoin/Price/Chart 24.04.2024. Source: TradingView HBAR Goes Up and Down

News came out yesterday that Hedera had partnered with Archax to tokenize BlackRock’s ICS US Treasury money market fund on its blockchain. The markets reacted immediately with a massive surge for HBAR, but then Archax’s CEO informed that it wasn’t BlackRock who picked Hedera, and it was the company he runs.

HBAR retraced from its peak, but it is still 60% up on the day, despite the criticism on X.

The other most impressive gainers from the top 100 altcoins are mostly reps from the meme coin industry, as reported earlier.

The rest of the larger-cap alts are also in the green, with ETH trading above $3,250, TON recovering to $5.9, and SOL and BNB with minor gains.

The total crypto market cap has neared $2.6 trillion on CoinGecko.

Cryptocurrency Market Overview. Source: QuantifyCrypto

The post HBAR Skyrockets 60% Amid BlackRock Confusion, BTC Aims at $67K (Market Watch) appeared first on CryptoPotato.

TL;DR

Meme coins like Bonk Inu, dogwifhфat, and others are seeing significant price increases, while the leaders Dogecoin and Shiba Inu show more modest gains.

Analysts predict a possible further rally for the asset class following the recent Bitcoin halving, which has historically led to market surges.

Meme Coins in the Spotlight

Meme coins have been crypto’s rock stars during this bull cycle, with many of them witnessing substantial price increases in the past few months. Today (April 24) is another green day for the majority of the realm.

Leading assets of that type, including the Solana-based Bonk Inu (BONK), dogwifhat (WIF), Cat in a Dogs World (MEW), and BOOK OF MEME (COME) experienced daily price spikes of 27%, 17%, 23%, and 12%, respectively.

BONK Price, Source: CoinGecko

Pepe (PEPE) – the third-largest meme coin in terms of market capitalization – jumped by 15%, whereas Floki Inu (FLOKI) is up around 14%.

The biggest assets in the cohort – Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB) – are trailing behind with much more modest increases. Elon Musk’s favorite token ascended by 2% daily, while its rival saw little-to-no price movements in the past 24 hours. 

The total market capitalization of the meme coin sector currently stands at over $58.5 billion, a 4% increase compared to the figure observed on April 23.

Expectations of a Further Rally

Some analysts have recently outlined predictions that SHIB, DOGE, WIF, and many other meme coins may experience an even more substantial bull run in the near future. One factor hinting that such a scenario could be in the cards is the Bitcoin halving, which took place last week.

The event, following which miners’ rewards for validating blocks on the blockchain were slashed in half, has historically been a precursor of a major resurgence of the entire cryptocurrency market.

For example, DOGE was worth less than a cent by the time of the previous halving in 2020, while a year later, its value pumped to almost $0.70. 

The post Meme Coin Bull Market: BONK, WIF, PEPE, and Others Spike by Double Digits appeared first on CryptoPotato.

More traditional finance firms in the United States are jumping on the crypto bandwagon and giving their clients access to the burgeoning sector. This is seen in the increasing portfolio allocation given to crypto investment products.

A tweet by Bloomberg exchange-traded fund (ETF) analyst Eric Balchunas has revealed that two U.S. investment advisors, Legacy Wealth Asset Management and United Capital Management, from Minnesota and Kansas, respectively, have allocated 6% and 5% of their portfolios to the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC).

Asset Managers Up BTC Allocation

These asset management firms’ portfolio allocations saw them invest more than $20 million each into FBTC, surpassing the $17 million a rival injected into BlackRock’s ETF, IBIT.

Balchunas tagged their allocations a “new high water mark” for investment into Bitcoin ETFs, adding that such development is a nightmare for “the RIA Skeptics Branch of the Underwhelmers Club.” On the other hand, the “pretty high” allocations are a wonderful sight for market participants hoping to see long-term adoption.

“This is as Boomer as it gets. We still have 5-6 weeks of more 13F reporting like this too. We could see 500-1000 firms like this reporting holdings once dust settles. And that’s just one 13F season. There are 4 in a year,” the Bloomberg analyst added.

Interestingly, a screenshot of United Capital Management’s website posted by Balchunas showed “WE’RE COMING FOR YOUR COINS DEGENS” boldly written on the company’s homepage. However, the company had updated its website and taken the statement down by the time of writing.

ETF Inflows Rebound

The $40.8 million investment in FBTC has boosted spot Bitcoin ETF inflows, offsetting last week’s outflows. Data from CoinGlass shows the funds experienced an outflow streak for four consecutive trading days last week, recording inflows only on Friday.

On Monday, the spot Bitcoin ETF market recorded inflows of $62.2 million, with FBTC seeing the highest of more than $34.8 million. It is worth noting that IBIT is close to marking its 70th consecutive day of inflows since launch and becoming one of the top ten ETFs with the longest daily streaks of inflows.

Meanwhile, a student-run investment fund has allocated an even higher portion of its portfolio to BTC. CryptoPotato reported last month that the Stanford Blyth Fund apportioned 7% of its portfolio to Bitcoin following a BTC purchase.

The post These US Asset Managers Just Bought Bitcoin Through Fidelity’s ETF appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Zircuit, an EVM-compatible ZK Rollup, has reached a milestone as its staking Total Value Locked (TVL) has surpassed $2 billion. This comes after users deposited more than $80 million into the project in the last 24 hours.

Although still in the testnet phase, the mainnet launch is anticipated later this summer.

Zircuit Staking Deposits Surpass 500,000 ETH

Zircuit announced its staking program on February 24. It allows users to participate in the project’s ecosystem and gain Zircuit points by staking various assets, including ETH and several staking derivatives such as ezETH from Renzo Protocol, rswETH from Swell Network, rsETH from Kelp DAO, LsEtH from Liquid Collective, and stETH from Lido Finance.

According to Dune Analytics, 544,716 ETH, liquid staking tokens (LSTs), and liquid restaking tokens (LRTs) have been deposited into the project. Furthermore, the network holds more than $186.4 million of stablecoins, primarily Ethena’s yield-bearing USDe token.

The Zircuit points, in addition to the yield and points generated by the deposited assets, are anticipated to qualify holders for a future airdrop. Upon the mainnet launch, those who migrate their assets to the Zircuit Mainnet will receive the highest rewards. Meanwhile, users can withdraw their assets at any time while retaining the points and yield earned, as ETH is not hard-locked like other protocols such as Mantle.

Furthermore, the project introduced its “Build to Earn” program on March 27, incentivizing developers to construct infrastructure and tools or deploy decentralized applications (dApps) on Zircuit’s testnet, launched in November.

Zircuit’s Pre-Mainnet Traction Mirrors Blast’s Rise

Meanwhile, Zircuit surpassed the $500M TVL mark on March 8, highlighting its increasing adoption over time. Notably, its traction before the mainnet launch resembles Blast’s rapid rise last year.

Blast, developed by the team behind Blur, a prominent NFT marketplace, quickly became the third-largest layer 2 platform, boasting a total value locked (TVL) of over $2 billion upon its mainnet launch on Feb. 29.

The project was the first high-profile layer 2 to attract huge deposits even before the release of any code by enticing users with the promise of points and native rewards from supported yield-bearing assets. Blast introduced a one-way deposit contract in mid-November, accumulating over $500 million worth of assets in less than one week.

However, unlike Blast, Zircuit allows users to withdraw pre-mainnet deposits anytime, providing increased flexibility and liquidity.

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