Former U.S. President Donald Trump convened with enthusiasts of his non-fungible tokens (NFT) collection on Wednesday and announced to the audience his decision to accept cryptocurrency for campaign contributions. Trump also shared with the group that President Joe Biden “doesn’t even know” what crypto is. Trump Champions Cryptocurrency at NFT Collection Gala At former U.S. […]
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Injective Votes On Major Upgrade To Make INJ Even More Deflationary: Will Prices Recover?
Injective Protocol, a blockchain for decentralized finance (DeFi) and derivatives trading, is voting on a proposal to significantly reshape the platform’s tokenomics and introduce a new era dubbed Injective 3.0.
According to Injective, through a post on April 19, the proposal is now open for voting via the Injective Hub. For the next four days, stakers and validators are free to participate.
Community Voting On Injective 3.0
Over the months since launching in 2023, Injective caught the crypto community’s attention. The team aims to launch a platform for users to launch DeFi-focused protocols in a low-cost, scalable, and yet Ethereum-compatible environment. Though INJ, the native currency of the platform, remains one of the top performers, changes introduced by Injective 3.0 will likely push prices even higher.
According to developers, Injective 3.0 aims to make INJ a deflationary asset. A big part of this will be to reduce token minting by controlling the rate of token creation. If the community approves what’s laid out in the proposal, the team will change on-chain parameters to slow down token minting.
At the same time, Injective 3.0 plans to make INJ’s inflation rate more responsive to staking. Under this model, inflation will slow down as more INJ is locked away via staking, making the coin scarcer.
Proposers predict the network to be more robust and secure if INJ becomes more deflationary. Usually, token prices of scarce assets tend to be higher. However, it should be noted that changes to tokenomics don’t immediately lead to favorable price repricing. For prices to soar, there must be utility, driven mainly by community interest.
Millions Of INJ Burned, Will Prices Break ?
Injective 2.0 is currently live following its activation in August 2023. Under the current regime, there is a token auction burn, where decentralized applications (dapps) running on the platform are free to participate in token burning. According to the Injective Protocol, over 5.9 million INJ have been withdrawn.
So far, INJ remains under pressure, sliding down, shedding 50% from March 2024 highs. The coin has been moving horizontally in the past few trading sessions. However, it is under immense selling and within the April 12 bear bar.
The level at is a crucial resistance level. Conversely, if INJ prices dip below this week’s lows at , the coin will slip towards April 13 lows of around .
Blockchain Space Continues to Evolve Even During Lean Periods, Says Michael Amar
The blockchain and crypto industry has never stood still including during the prolonged lean period known as the crypto winter, asserted Michael Amar, co-founder of the Paris Blockchain Week Summit. Amar believes the resilience shown by market participants during this period demonstrates a new level of maturity in the industry. Engagement Between Startups and Developers […]
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NEAR To Rise Even Higher According To These Analysts, Can It Hit $10?
NEAR, the native token of the Layer 1 (L1) public blockchain NEAR Protocol, has substantially risen during this bull run after registering remarkable gains since the end of 2023.
As the price of Bitcoin continues to soar, NEAR has recorded an over 130% price surge in the past month, and analysts forecast that the bullish momentum isn’t over yet.
Analyst Foresees NEAR’s Next Leg Up Coming Soon
At the end of 2023, the NEAR token showed a remarkable performance by doubling its price in mid-December. Since then, the crypto market has been propelled to heights like those seen during the last bull run.
NEAR continued its growth alongside the market, and crypto analyst Altcoin Sherpa considers that the gains for the token are far from over.
$NEAR: Consolidation for the next leg up soon IMO. #NEAR pic.twitter.com/pII6Uanwaz
— Altcoin Sherpa (@AltcoinSherpa) March 12, 2024
In an X (former Twitter) post, the analyst shared a chart showing NEAR’s performance in the last few days. This performance displays the token has oscillated between two levels since yesterday.
NEAR hovered between the .7- .17 price range for the past 24 hours, Altcoin Sherpa’s chart shows. As the analyst highlights, this is the “consolidation for the next leg up” coming soon.
Previously, Sherpa warned about the .9 price level being a “danger area approaching.” However, the token broke that resistance level over the weekend.
Moreover, crypto trader and analyst Rekt Capital shared a chart showing that NEAR revisited its multi-year macro downtrend. Breaking above it would further fuel the bullish momentum that could drive the price to revisit its all-time high (ATH) resistance area of .
Finally – Near Protocol has revisited its multi-year Macro Downtrend
Now #NEAR will try to break this to further build on its current bullish momentum
Breaking this Macro Downtrend would likely see price revisit the old All Time High resistance area
#BTC #NEARprotocol… https://t.co/VmcLjkWFPn pic.twitter.com/wboVljOJsc
— Rekt Capital (@rektcapital) March 11, 2024
Are Coming Soon?
NEAR has been closely following Bitcoin’s price performance during the past week. As the chart below shows, in the last 24 hours, the token’s price has closely followed the trajectory of the flagship cryptocurrency.
At writing time, NEAR is trading at .3, a 4.2% surge in the past hour. The token registered a stellar 67.8% and 83.1% price surge in the weekly and bi-weekly timeframe.
Crypto trader Doctor Profit foresees NEAR to reach soon, as his previous prediction of the token reaching this price by the end of the year seems closer than expected.
That the token’s price of was easily doubled in a matter of days. This suggests to the analyst that NEAR’s next goal of will come very soon.
As optimistic predictions continue, the token’s market cap of .74 billion shows a 7.7% growth in the last day. By this metric, NEAR is inside the top 20 largest cryptocurrencies, currently being the 19th, according to CoinMarketCap data.
However, the daily trading volume has dropped 20% in the last 24 hours, with 3.5 million traded. This hints at a recent decline in market activity despite the positive performance and community support.
Bitcoin Upside Momentum Likely To Fall Even Further: Analyst
Amidst widespread bullish sentiment surrounding Bitcoin, one analyst on X thinks the leg up won’t be as strong as it was in the past few weeks. Pointing to developments in the Bitcoin log curves, the analyst expects the coin to find resistance as it attempts to break higher.
Bitcoin Uptrend To Slow Down
The analyst doubts the current excitement around the uptrend, and technical formations advise the contrarian view. Many in the industry think Bitcoin will not only ease past ,000, a round number nearly tested this week, but also float to 0,000 in the next few weeks.
On X, the analyst remains confident about the coin’s prospects. However, based on the Bitcoin log curve assessment, the leg up will likely be labored. The analyst compares the current price formations with the Bitcoin log curves. In 2021, the tool was used to identify price peaks.
Based on price formation, the analyst notes that if BTC peaks in 2024, then prices will likely turn around from between ,000 and 9,000. These prospective peaks’ upper and lower bands represent layers 5 and 7 of the log curve.
Even with BTC possibly rising to 9,000, at least from the tool, the Layer 7 target is relatively lower. By factoring in a one-year slowdown in growth, the predicted peak is revised downwards from 0,000 to 9,000.
When writing, the “red band” of the log curve has been breached earlier than usual. Looking back, Bitcoin prices tend to peak three months after this breakout.
That likely places Bitcoin’s peak at around the ,000 level but below 0,000. Nonetheless, this is hard to predict, considering the volatile nature of prices and the dynamic nature of fundamental factors.
The community remains optimistic about what lies ahead. So far, Bitcoin prices have been trending at historical highs, but there has been a sharp drop in the momentum of upside.
BTC Bears In A Commanding Position
The daily chart shows that prices are still inside the bear bar of March 5. The candlestick had a high trading volume and was wide-ranging. For the uptrend to be valid, prices must break above ,000, based on rising trading volume.
Lower prices incentivize issuers to spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to load up on dips. Their actions have spurred demand over the past few weeks, lifting sentiment and prices. According to Coinstats’ Fear and Greed Index, “extreme greed” exists in the market.
Crypto Analyst Sounds Alarm: Bitcoin Price Set To Plunge Even Lower
The Bitcoin price experienced a further sell-off yesterday and fell by more than 5% intraday to as low as ,660. Since the year-to-date high of ,000 on January 11, the BTC price has dropped by as much as 17%. However, according to renowned crypto analyst Jacob Canfield, this may not be the end of the correction. In a recent analysis, Canfield warned that more downside could be on the cards in the short-term.
The analyst, known for accurately predicting the local top of Bitcoin, addressed the prevailing uncertainty in the market. “The question that everyone is asking now is ‘where do we go from here?’” the analyst posed, acknowledging the community’s growing concern.
A significant factor in the current market dynamics is the approval of a Bitcoin ETF, which has led to speculation about Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) investors selling their holdings to evade the associated fees. The narrative is compounded by revelations from court filings that the FTX bankruptcy estate holds a substantial number of GBTC shares, approximately 22,280,720 (worth 4 million), poised for liquidation.
Conversely, signs of market optimism emerge with BlackRock’s ETF, IBIT, reportedly accumulating spot Bitcoin aggressively, adding up to 25,067 bitcoins in under a week. The analyst suggests that this buying momentum from BlackRock may eventually counterbalance the selling pressure from GBTC, especially when considering the impact of the upcoming Bitcoin halving, creating a ‘delayed impact’ event potentially tipping the scale towards demand over supply.
How Low Can Bitcoin Price Drop?
The chart analysis provides a more immediate and grim perspective. The Bitcoin 4-hour chart indicates a lost trend that’s now acting as resistance, historically a foreboding sign for short to mid-term price movements.
“The 4 hour trend on bitcoin has been lost and tested as resistance. This is not great as the 4 hour trend historically has been a good indicator for short term/mid term price movements, the analyst remarked.
Canfield further points out, “If I was looking for a level for a short term bounce, it would probably be at a sweep of the ,000 liquidity,” hinting at potential downward pressure on the price.
The Bitcoin daily chart presents a narrow path, with significant levels at .7k, marked by the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement and weekly resistance, and a notable support level at .7k. “As I’ve noticed in former posts, after BTC taps the 61.8, it tends to sell off 18-22%, which would give us another crack at that .7k level as well,” warns Canfield.
Furthermore, the daily 200’s (EMA/MA) are currently trending upwards, having previously acted as support, suggesting they might cushion a further price fall.
The analyst concludes with a word of caution, emphasizing the need for vigilance in the current market characterized by low volume and volatility, conditions that often precede substantial market movements: “Biggest thing I can stress is that caution is needed during low volume/low volatility environments as a big move typically follows.”
At press time, BTC traded at ,178.
Ethereum Layer-2 Booming: Will Gas Fees Drop Even In A Bull Market?
The adoption of Ethereum layer-2s is on the rise if Token Terminal data shared on November 6 is anything to go by. According to statistics from the blockchain analytics platform shared by Erik Smith, the Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of 401 Financial, the average active addresses over the past three months has exceeded 10 million, a nearly 2X expansion from early 2023.
Related Reading: Can The ADA Price Climb Above In The Bull Market? Analyst Provides Answers
Ethereum Layer-2s Finding More Adoption
Looking at the chart, Polygon, an Ethereum sidechain, remains the most popular. At the same time, Arbitrum and OP Mainnet, which are common layer-2s adopting the roll-up technology, are actively being used.
Even so, OP Mainnet’s share is gradually dropping. Base, a layer-2 backed by Coinbase, and StarkNet are also finding adoption, expanding their share over the past three months.
In crypto, active addresses refer to the number of unique wallet addresses (sending and receiving) that have interacted with the blockchain, in this case, Ethereum, over a given period.
An uptick or contraction in the number of active addresses can be used to measure sentiment and the level of uptake. In bear markets, active addresses tend to drop, only rising when bulls flow in, pointing to a possible scramble for arising opportunities.
The recent uptrend coincides with the rapid expansion of leading crypto prices. Ethereum (ETH) prices are inching closer to the ,870 resistance level, with a breakout above this line a potential trigger for a leg up that might see the coin retest ,100 and even register new 2023 highs.
Usually, rising crypto prices tend to revive demand as the number of active addresses and, in some instances, the total value locked (TVL) in decentralized finance (DeFi), and more.
What Will Happen To Gas Fees?
Ethereum is the world’s most active smart contract platform, stretching its dominance mainly because of its first-mover advantage. The blockchain anchors more DeFi, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and gaming activity. Deploying protocols, depending on their objectives, can either directly launch on the mainnet or layer-2s.
The mainnet is directly secured by validators, while layer-2 solutions depend on the mainnet for security but often re-route transactions off-chain. In this arrangement, more transactions can be processed cheaply and efficiently, relieving the mainnet.
Though the Ethereum base layer is secure, its peak transaction throughput remains relatively lower at around 15 TPS. This means during peak demand, gas fees tend to be higher, impacting user demand.
Still, Ethereum gas fees remain at a multi-year low at around 23 Gwei, according to trackers, as seen on the chart below. This is down from 240 Gwei recorded in February 2021 when crypto assets rapidly rose.
For now, whether gas fees will increase as the market recovers is yet to be seen. What’s evident is that as users opt for layer-2s, the mainnet will likely be relieved, keeping gas fee fluctuation low.
Venezuelan Authorities Find Grenade Launchers, Bitcoin Miners, and Even a Zoo in a National Jail
Venezuelan authorities found weapons of war, a discotheque, pools, a zoo, and even a makeshift Bitcoin mining farm in a raid completed on a national jail. The raid, executed in the Tocoron National Penitentiary Center, located in the Aragua state, mobilized 11,000 military officers to take control of the center.
Bitcoin Miners, Grenades, and Weapons Found in Venezuelan Jail Raid
Venezuelan authorities found Bitcoin miners among a series of irregular items during a raid executed on a national jail on September 21. 11,000 military and police officers participated in this action to liberate the Tocoron National Penitentiary in the Aragua state from the control of Aragua’s Train, the gang that managed the complex.
In a video detailing the aftermath of the raid, where an officer died in the line of duty, an undisclosed number of Bitcoin miners can be seen in a room that served as a mining farm. During the raid, the authorities found weapons of war, including rocket launchers, grenades, rifles, ammunition, and even C4 mines.
Other eccentricities were found inside the complex, including swimming pools, a discotheque where inmates held lavish parties, a baseball stadium, and even a makeshift zoo. Rosibel Gonzalez, a journalist in Venezuela, added that bikes, ice cream stalls, restaurants, and a children’s park were also found inside the complex.
Authorities reported that more than 1,600 inmates will be transferred to other national centers and that Tocoron will be closed.
Registered Venezuelan Bitcoin Miners Still in the Dark
While inmates had a micro mining farm in the penitentiary center, registered and legal Bitcoin miners are still being kept in the dark since Sunacrip, the Venezuelan cryptocurrency watchdog, was interrupted by a national government intervention more than six months ago.
Juan Blanco Bracamonte, a former Bitcoin miner who abandoned his activity due to the Sunacrip intervention, questioned the existence of these farms in a national jail. He stated:
Several questions arise for me as a digital miner who carried out this economic activity until this year. Who authorized the placement of that farm? Who managed the farm? What wallet did those funds go to? Who authorized the electrical availability? Did they pay for electricity consumption?
The former head of Sunacrip, Joselit Ramirez, was arrested for alleged involvement in a + billion corruption scheme involving the sale of oil for cryptocurrencies to sidestep economic sanctions. Since then, registered cryptocurrency farms have been disconnected from the grid by the state power company, Corpoelec.
In an interview with Criptonoticias, Alejandro Blanco, counsel for Asonacrip, a national cryptocurrency association, explained that Sunacrip puts miners who “invested their savings, time, and knowledge in complying with the current legal system” in jeopardy with these measures.
What do you think about the raid of the Venezuelan Tocoron jail? Tell us in the comment section below.
Dex Trade Volumes Plunge 37% Since May; September Volumes Could Be Even Lower
After capturing .5 billion in May, decentralized exchange (dex) trade volumes have fallen for four consecutive months, with August statistics reaching a 2023 low of .7 billion. Metrics for the first half of September do not show improvement, with decentralized exchange trade volumes at about .96 billion as of September 18, 2023.
Dex Volumes Nosedive 37% Post-May
Dex trade volumes have fallen significantly over the past four months. Data indicate that March saw the year’s highest dex trade volume at 2 billion. In April, volumes declined by 47.26% to .06 billion.
May experienced a 12.59% increase, with trade volumes rising to .5 billion; of that amount, Uniswap’s dex trades contributed .67 billion. Since May, however, dex trade volume has declined by 37.29%.
August data indicate dex trade volume at .7 billion, with .87 billion, or 59.64%, coming from Uniswap trades. Pancakeswap saw .76 billion in trades, while Curve Finance contributed .79 billion.
Those three dex protocols totaled .42 billion in August, making up 84.94% of the month’s global dex volumes. Although September isn’t finished, its dex volumes to date already appear lackluster.
As of September 18, 2023, the global dex trade volume stands at .96 billion. Approximately .27 billion of that total comes from Uniswap trades, about .14 billion from PancakeSwap, and .07 billion from Curve.
With only 12 days remaining in September, dex trade volumes might finish below August’s numbers. The data is further highlighted in a monthly crypto recap report by the digital asset manager Vaneck, which indicated a decline in August’s onchain economic activity tied to decentralized finance (defi).
“Decentralized exchange volume experienced a more severe decline,” wrote Matthew Sigel, Vaneck’s head of Digital Assets Research.
What do you think about the recent dex trade volume downturn? Do you expect a rebound any time soon? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
Crypto Analyst Predicts Stablecoin Adoption Boom Even in Face of Hostile Regulation
Jamie Coutts, an analyst from Bloomberg Intelligence, has predicted that stablecoin adoption will grow significantly once the issue of hostile regulations in the U.S. is put aside, noting “adoption under the hood is exploding.” Coutts believes that stablecoin usage may overtake bitcoin usage as more companies like Paypal integrate such assets in their payment structures.
Analyst Says Stablecoin Adoption Set to Grow
While the stablecoin market has been hammered recently due to the lack of clear regulations in the U.S., the adoption of these tools is set to boom enormously in the future. At least, this is the opinion of Jaime Coutts, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst, who believes that even in the face of “U.S. boomer” regulations, these payment methods are likely to be adopted by companies like Paypal and credit giants like Visa and Mastercard.
In his analysis, Coutts acknowledges that the growth of the stablecoin market was significant during 2022, with total payments of stablecoins in various L1 blockchains reaching almost .9 trillion, surpassing the numbers of companies such as Paypal and Mastercard. However, year to date, this number has plummeted by 80%.
Coutts believes that stablecoins are ready to “explode” as more and more institutions try to jump onto the stablecoin bandwagon to follow companies like Paypal, which leapfrogged its competitors with the recent issuance of PYUSD, its in-house stablecoin. Coutts remarked that Visa and Mastercard have invested in integrating their services in open networks.
Coutts stated:
Payments companies that ignore the stablecoin-adoption trend are missing the speed at which scaling improvement is occurring.
Mainstream Use Limited by Transaction Count
However, Coutts says the growth of the stablecoin market will be limited by the capacity of blockchain to support this growth, as open networks will fail to provide the scalability that rails like Visa or Mastercard offer, processing 97% more transactions even with the added hassle of censorship and higher friction for their users.
Coutts pointed out that Ethereum and its set of L2 expansion layers — Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base — are set to be the carriers of this growth, as future updates will make L2 transactions cheaper with the adoption of proto-danksharding, also known as EIP-4844.
Finally, Coutts explained that stablecoin adoption could surpass Bitcoin adoption depending on market factors. He declared:
It’s possible stablecoin users will even overtake bitcoin in the next 3-5 years as network effects of payment and merchant-company integration (e.g. Paypal, Visa, Shopify) …and advances in scaling lay the infrastructure needed for mainstream adoption.
What do you think about stablecoins and their possible adoption boom? Tell us in the comments section below.