The South African Reserve Bank has reportedly decided not to unveil the findings of the initial phase of its central bank digital currency feasibility study. Instead, the central bank said it is currently focused on the second phase of the study and will release a report once it is satisfied with the progress made in […]
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ApeCoin Q1 2024 Performance: Market Cap And Token Price Skyrocket – Key Findings Inside
ApeCoin (APE), the ERC-20 token governing the ApeCoin Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO), showed notable growth in the first quarter (Q1) of 2024.
Key metrics showed significant progress, driving APE’s market capitalization, token price, and trading volume quarter-over-quarter (QoQ), demonstrating consecutive quarters of growth.
ApeCoin Regains Unicorn Status
As noted in a recent report by Messari, APE’s rebound was particularly noteworthy compared to the broader cryptocurrency market, which grew 53% quarter over quarter, and Bitcoin’s market cap, which grew 63% quarter over quarter.
After briefly dipping below billion in Q2 2023, APE’s market cap regained unicorn status, ending Q1 2024 at .3 billion, representing 31% growth. According to the report, this market value increase was partly driven by a 21% QoQ rise in APE’s token price.
The report also highlighted the unlock of 46.8 million APE tokens from the circulating supply, contributing to the market cap growth. However, this unlocks, and the .5 million allocated to governance expenditures potentially created sell pressure on the asset throughout the quarter.
Another 46.8 million APE tokens were unlocked in Q1 2024, with 22 million APE going to the DAO Treasury and 24.8 million APE distributed to non-DAO entities. The DAO plans to issue or sell APE to fund approved proposals, while non-DAO entities are free to sell once their funds are unlocked.
Despite the additional sell pressure resulting from unlocking and committing 8.3 million APE tokens, the price of APE still saw a substantial 21% QoQ increase. This surge in price indicated a higher volume of buy orders, exerting upward pressure on the asset.
The report also analyzed trading activity, highlighting the dominance of large-volume traders (whales and sharks), who accounted for 63% of the trade volume in Q1. The average decentralized exchange (DEX) swap size increased by 28% QoQ, reflecting the heightened activity among larger-volume traders.
Furthermore, the transfer volume of APE tokens grew by 12% QoQ, potentially driven by significant transactions following the approval of various governance proposals throughout the quarter.
APE’s Journey Forward
Looking ahead, APE’s utility is set to expand by implementing recently passed governance proposals. AIP-381 aims to build game-focused DAOs and vaults accessible exclusively to APE holders, allowing them to participate in governance and access specific ecosystem assets.
Additionally, the ApeChain proposal selected Horizen Labs to build a blockchain that utilizes APE as a gas token and potentially supports other asset-related applications.
However, while APE continued to attract new holders, the growth rate of new APE holders did not accelerate despite two consecutive quarters of price increases, according to Messari.
To address this, ApeCoin DAO formed a branding partnership with a Formula One racing team, among other initiatives, to attract new holders in the future.
On the other hand, the ApeCoin DAO has been actively voting on new governance proposals, approving the building of ApeChain on the Arbitrum technology stack and expanding the utility of the APE token to GameFi DAOs and vaults.
The average votes per proposal increased by 19% QoQ, indicating growing community engagement. ApeCoin DAO plans to move the voting process on-chain more, promoting decentralization and participation in governance.
Despite the overall growth witnessed by APE in Q1, the token has recently experienced a significant downturn, aligning with the downward trend in the overall market. APE has suffered a notable decline of over 41% in the past month, leading to its current trading price of .148.
Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com
Crypto Money Laundering Plummets By 29% In Latest Chainalysis Findings
According to a recent report published by crypto analytics firm Chainalysis, money laundering involving crypto assets has experienced a notable decline compared to the previous year. However, the report highlights that illicit actors have started adapting their tactics to evade detection and further obscure the movement of illicit funds.
Evolving Tactics In Crypto Money Laundering
According to the report, illicit addresses sent approximately .2 billion worth of cryptocurrency to various services in 2023, a significant decrease from the .5 billion sent in 2022.
While part of this decline can be attributed to an overall decrease in legitimate and illicit crypto transaction volume, the report reveals that money laundering activity witnessed a steeper drop of 29.5%, compared to the 14.9% decrease in total transaction volume.
Centralized exchanges remain the primary destination for funds originating from illicit addresses, with this trend remaining relatively stable over the past five years. However, the report indicates a shift in the distribution of illicit funds, with a growing share being directed towards decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols.
Chainalysis suggests that this can be attributed to DeFi’s overall expansion during the same period, although the transparent nature of DeFi platforms makes them less favorable for obfuscating fund movements.
While the breakdown of service types used for money laundering in 2023 resembled that of the previous year, there were noticeable changes in specific types of crypto criminals’ money laundering practices.
The report highlights a significant increase in the volume of funds sent to cross-chain bridges from addresses associated with stolen funds, indicating a shift towards utilizing bridge protocols for money laundering purposes. Additionally, there was a substantial rise in funds sent from ransomware attacks to gambling platforms and bridges, showcasing the “adaptability and resourcefulness” of cybercriminals.
North Korean Hackers And Cross-Chain Bridges
The concentration of money laundering at fiat off-ramps, where criminals convert their crypto into cash, remains a significant concern. While thousands of off-ramping services operate, most money laundering activity is concentrated in a few services.
In 2023, 71.7% of illicit funds sent to off-ramping services went to just five services, a slight increase from 68.7% in 2022. The report also reveals an increase in deposit addresses receiving large sums of illicit cryptocurrency, indicating a more diversified approach by criminals to evade detection and mitigate the impact of frozen accounts.
Furthermore, the report highlights the changing tactics of “sophisticated” crypto criminals, particularly in the case of North Korean-affiliated hacking groups like Lazarus Group.
According to Chainalysis, these actors have demonstrated an ability to adapt their money laundering strategies in response to law enforcement actions. The report cites the shutdown of mixer services, such as Sinbad, and the subsequent rise of replacements like YoMix, which has become a preferred mixer for North Korea-affiliated hackers.
Moreover, cross-chain bridges have seen substantial growth in money laundering activities, with illicit actors leveraging these protocols to move funds between blockchains. North Korean hackers, in particular, have been prominent users of bridge protocols for money laundering purposes.
Ultimately, the report emphasizes the need for increased diligence and understanding of “interconnectedness” in fighting crypto crime by targeting money laundering infrastructure.
Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com
Tron Refutes UN Study Findings Linking TRC-20 USDT to Bad Actors
The Tron Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) has rejected a United Nations assessment which suggested that bad actors are behind most tether transactions facilitated via its protocol. It also sees its over 50% share of the USDT stablecoins in circulation as a “testament to the superior trust bestowed upon the Tron blockchain by the global community.”
UN Says Bad Actors Targeting TRC-20 USDT
Tron decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) has refuted parts of a United Nations (UN) study which asserts that USDT transactions facilitated via its TRC-20 protocol are mainly performed by bad actors. In a statement, Tron DAO said it actively engages on-chain forensic partners to exchange information regarding transactions on the blockchain. Tron implied that this step helps it block or stop malicious actors from using the protocol.
#Tron wholeheartedly supports the proposal of the United Nations, but we have different views on the professional facts and handling methods of blockchain technology. We welcome you to refer to this report. https://t.co/LF4ovqwKnK
— H.E. Justin Sun 孙宇晨 (@justinsuntron) January 19, 2024
As reported by Bitcoin.com News recently, the UN’s study suggested that money launderers and fraudsters in Southeast Asia are increasingly using the stablecoin USDT when making payments or transferring funds. A regional representative of the world body claimed that a lack of relevant regulations could be the reason why tether has become the preferred choice for bad actors.
However, in its statement, Tron said while it agrees with the UN’s position on the use or misuse of stablecoins, it nonetheless disputes the suggestion that bad actors are the sole reason why TRC-20 stablecoins have become more popular.
“TRC-20 is indeed the world’s most popular on-chain settlement protocol by USDT circulation with over 50% of the global market share, followed by Ethereum. This market share is a testament to the superior trust bestowed upon the Tron blockchain by the global community,” Tron DAO said.
Nevertheless, Tron said it cannot comment on behalf of third parties like USDT issuer Tether. Just like Tron, the stablecoin issuer has also issued a statement rejecting some of the UN’s findings. It has similarly touted its working relationship with global law enforcement agencies as proof that it is not enabling bad actors as alleged in the report.
What is your reaction to Tron’s rebuttal of the UN study findings? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
Latest Findings Show Bitcoin Holders Under Fire As The Price Continues To Sink
The situation in the Bitcoin and crypto market has continued to follow a downward trend. Prices of most crypto assets are maintaining a southward movement over the past weeks. The collapse of FTX is still spinning the wheels negatively as the contagion spreads.
Glassnode, a blockchain analytics company, reports more doubts about the crypto market. On November 21, the firm concluded its ‘Week on-chain’ report and disclosed the impact of the market crisis on Bitcoin holders.
In its report, the firm checked the total increase in the Mean Inflow Volume to many exchanges and discovered that many whales are losing. Its reports also show that the average deposits on top exchanges increase in dollars as Bitcoin reaches its lowest levels/bottom.
The firm noted that the trend has been existing since May this year. This resembles the bear market of 2018/19. Also, Glassnode stated that the report indicates more considerable dominance on exchange deposits from whales, trading firms, and institutions.
The Rise Of And Old Pattern
The analysis of the previous bear market shows a mirroring of the events. The prices of BTC went down by 84% from their ATH. But within a year, the token bottomed out as it moved from K to .2K in November 2018.
Currently, the primary crypto asset is following a similar pattern in its timing. BTC has dipped by 77.3% from its ATH of K in Nov 2021 to a new cycle low of ,665 in November 2022.
There’s still a different opinion on the trend for Bitcoin from analysts who believe in more time left. They relied on the asset several months after the 2018 bear market before witnessing a considerable bullish rise. In 2018, Bitcoin took five weeks before hitting bottom after the start of the capitulation.
$BTC Did you know that it took 5 weeks to finally hit the bottom once we started to capitulate in 2018?
Then it took 4 month of BORING PA before we saw the first God candle.
We barely started week 2 today.
This is a marathon, not a sprint. Get comfortable, it’ll be a while. pic.twitter.com/H9Yu8D2fUY
— Bleeding Crypto (@Bleeding_Crypto) November 21, 2022
Additionally, Glassnode reported the spot prices hovering around K, making it the first time since March 2020 that the whales should experience unrealized loss. A whale represents a wallet holding more than one thousand Bitcoin tokens in its grading.
As of last week, the market witnessed the fourth-largest increase in realized losses with a daily value of -.45 billion.
Bitcoin Hits A New 2022 Low
Recently, the prices of Bitcoin have been going south with little or no restriction. As a result, the token has finally hit its lowest levels for 2022 in the present market cycle.
Bitcoin dropped to a bottom of ,665, but it has managed to surge above ,000, indicating an increase.
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Latest Findings Show A Reduction In Sell Off, Is A Bitcoin Rally Ahead?
Bitcoin and the broader crypto market surprisingly performed over the past week. At the beginning of the week, the market saw more movements to the south in most crypto asset prices. A few hours following the release of the US CPI data for September saw the entrance of the bears into the market.
However, almost all the tokens had a reversal in the direction of the trend. The bull suddenly appeared and forced massive volatility pushing the assets to the north.
The performance of the primary crypto asset, Bitcoin, was calm throughout the weekend. Bitcoin sustained its anchor at around ,200 through the period. But some participants in the industry are wondering about a possible turn for the leading cryptocurrency.
Possible Price Spike With Present Indicators
According to indicators from on-chain platforms, BTC might record a more bullish trend soon. The sentiment is drawn from the indication of the Bitcoin futures market.
An analyst at CryptoQuant, Dan Lim, gave some supporting explanations for this positive trend expectation. According to him, the token currently has low selling pressure in the futures market.
Lim says there’s been a drastic decline in the BTC amount transferred from spot exchange to derivatives since October. He recalled that since the fall in June, the volume continued to rise, but Bitcoin retained its June low of ,600. Currently, the volume is dropping sharply, negating any occurrence of intense selling pressure.
But, the funding rates of Bitcoin futures have become negative in the market. This was due to the decline in the price of BTC from ,000 to the K level. Comparing these occurrences with the 2019-2021 period shows a drop in the metrics showing a low activity and demand in BTC futures market.
Bitcoin price grows on the chart l BTCUSDT on Tradingview.com
According to Greatest_Tracker, a CryptoQuant analyst, the indicator usually leads to a consolidation and range phase period. However, the analyst noted that extreme negative values might result in a short squeeze triggering a price reversal for Bitcoin.
Volatility Through Bitcoin Futures’ Stance
With the present condition of the Bitcoin futures, many predictions revolve around the price of BTC. But some traders are anticipating increased volatility following the market situation.
Michael Van de Poppe, a notable crypto trader, expected a price surge. However, he wrote that following four months of consolidation in prices; it’s possible to get massive market volatility. Van de Poppe noted that some people still expect a more bearish trend, but an increased northward move could be the odds.
But the worsening global macroeconomic conditions bring contrary opinions for some traders. Nicholas Merten, the founder of DataDash, indicated concerns with macro factors. He reported that the Nasdaq Composite went below its average performance for the first time in 14 years. It recorded a weekly close below the 200-week moving average.
The trader noted that the crypto market, especially BTC, will face more bearish trends in the future with such conditions.
Featured image from Pixabay and chart from TradingView.com
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New Findings Shows Institutional Investors Take More Interest In Ethereum
As the launching of the long-awaited Ethereum upgrade, Merge, approaches, there’s a spike in institutional investment. Ethereum products are receiving more attention from big-shot investors.
Though there is no stated period for the Merge, most developers anticipate the upgrade by September 19. However, most Ethereum derivatives are getting more investment deals as the final phase details are revealed.
James Butterfill, the Head of Research of CoinShares, stated that investors’ sentiment for Ethereum products is changing. Butterfill made this known in the latest edition of Digital Asset Fund Flows Weekly Report. He noted that the sudden intensity and desire from the investors is due to the Merge approach.
According to the report, most institutional investors make preferential investments in Ethereum products. Hence they are pushing in more funds as they believe in the great possibility of the Ethereum network.
ETH maintains a steady uptrend on the chart l Source: ETHUSDT on TradingView
To them, upgrading the global second largest cryptocurrency would create a more positive and profitable impact. Due to the change in sentiment, the report noted that Ethereum had seen more inflows amounting to about million. This resulted in a seven-week pattern of inflows that accumulated up to 9 million.
So, Butterfill reports that the change in the investors’ sentiment signifies more clarity with the Merge’s timing. This would create the desired transition for the Ethereum network as it moves from Proof-of-Work (PoW) to Proof-of-Stake (PoS).
Ethereum blockchain has been operating with a PoW consensus mechanism for its transaction validation and security of its network.
Unfortunately, this involves using the mining process that consumes more energy or electricity. But the Merge would transform the system of operation for the blockchain. First, it would start using the more energy-efficient staking process that requires the staking of ETH tokens.
Plan For Ethereum Merge Has Been A Tough One
The plan for the shift has been delayed for several months. But as the date for the launch approaches, Ethereum proponents are having their fun-filled season. The journey has taken several rough routes that include changes in roadmaps, ambiguous terminology, and, lastly, the recent opposition to the Merge.
On the part of its founder, Vitalik Buterin, he kept announcing all the possible hard forks to the transition. This action is an excellent advantage for any PoW blockchain that may opt for a change in the future.
However, some prominent personalities in the industry don’t mind a hard fork. For example, Justin Sun, the founder of Tron, pledged the listing of both ETHs and ETHw tokens on his Poloniex exchange. Also, BitMEX revealed its support for any ETHPoW fork.
Once it finally happens, it will link the Ethereum mainnet and the Ethereum 2.0 Beacon Chain for a complete transition to PoS. Hence, Ethereum 2.0 would receive increased efficiency and security in its execution of transactions.’
Also, there would be a drastic reduction of carbon emission into the environment by over 99% as the network become energy efficient. This was one of the main criticisms against Ethereum as a PoW network.
Featured image from Pixabay, Chart from TradingView.com
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Coinbase Releases Key Findings on Crypto Awareness and Adoption in US
n Coinbase has published key findings about awareness and adoption trends related to digital currency in the United Statesn
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Prospects of Bitcoin ETF Approval Lowered by Bitwise Findings
- Bitcoin Price stable but under pressure
- Bitwise research concludes that 95 percent of exchanges’ volumes fake
- Transaction volumes shrink after Mar 21
It’s a sequel of damaging news. Days after SEC revealed the public’s apprehension of Bitcoin ETF approval; Bitwise report confirms what Jay Clayton isn’t comfortable with: Exchanges’ manipulation. Even so, Bitcoin volumes are flat as prices consolidate inside Mar 21 high low.
Bitcoin Price Analysis
Fundamentals
Bitwise Asset Management, a private firm behind the first cryptocurrency index fund, Bitwise 10 Private Index Fund, has a damning finding on cryptocurrency trading and exchanges in particular. With interests and in the process of applying for a Bitcoin ETF, the firm did thorough research on exchange’s order book, using the “first-of-its-kind analysis of order book data from all 81 exchanges reporting more than million in BTC volume on CMC.”
Their conclusion found out that “95 percent of volumes are fake.” By concentrating their efforts on CoinMarketCap, the leading cryptocurrency tracker, plagued by claims of leniency and failing to delist exchanges accused of wash trading and other forms of manipulation, the diligence of Bitwise research team found that volume inflation was rampant in “loosely regulated and unregulated exchanges.”
They went on to say the actual trading volume is around 0 million and not even close to the billion relayed by coin trackers. It is this inflation and outright data manipulation that SEC Chairman Jay Clayton says “is uncomfortable with” all because “some thefts around digital assets that make you scratch your head.”
Now that comments after SEC solicitation have been made public and not many—judging from what the commission received from the public—are fond of a Bitcoin ETF. A concerned citizen, D. Barnwell, advised the SEC adopt a “much longer time horizon to take a ‘watch-and-wait approach.’”
Candlestick Arrangement
Although Bitcoin (BTC) prices are stable in the last day, the failure of bulls to drive prices above ,500 should be a concern. Note that ,500 not only double up as our immediate resistance line. It is also 0 away from Feb 24 highs, our anchor bar.
In any case, our trade plan is valid, and from our technical arrangement, every low should be a buying opportunity. However, if prices break below ,900 and the accompanying bar is wide-ranging then we may see a meltdown towards ,500.
Technical Indicators
Our reference bar in the next few days is Mar 16—13k against 7k. Because we have a double bar bear reversal pattern after Mar 21 liquidations—11k against 7k, any confirmation of bears must be with high volumes exceeding 15k. On the flip side, bull trend confirmation towards ,500 must meet the same trade conditions.
Chart courtesy of Trading View
The post Prospects of Bitcoin ETF Approval Lowered by Bitwise Findings appeared first on NewsBTC.
Key Findings From Cambridge Cryptocurrency Study
n Cambridge University has put out a study on cryptocurrency that provides information on exchanges, wallets and mining.n
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