Amid shifting market sentiments, bitcoin’s market activity on Feb. 26, 2024, demonstrates both consolidation and fluctuation. Within the intraday, bitcoin’s value oscillated between ,926 and ,917, highlighting the persistent unpredictability of the crypto economy while bitcoin’s market capitalization remains over the trillion-dollar mark. Bitcoin Bitcoin’s (BTC) 24-hour trading volume hit .57 billion, indicating a decrease […]
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Fed’s ‘Beige Book’ Paints Dim Economic Picture, Experts Warn Central Banks ‘Have No Ability to Save Anything’
On Wednesday, following the market’s closure, major U.S. indices concluded the day unchanged, coming off a rise the previous day. This surge was influenced by the dovish remarks made on Tuesday by Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller. Observers of the market infer that Waller’s comments indicate a potential shift in the stance of the U.S. central bank, a notable deviation given his usually hawkish perspective. Concurrently, the Federal Reserve’s latest ‘Beige Book’ report presented a more troubling outlook than its predecessor, pointing to decelerated economic expansion and a rise in consumer credit defaults.
Waller’s Typical Hawkish Tone Turns Dovish
Two days prior, at the American Enterprise Institute, Christopher Waller of the Fed shared with participants that “inflation rates are moving along” largely as he had anticipated. Waller elaborated, pondering if inflation could stabilize around the 2% mark. He noted, “There are some factors favoring this outcome,” shedding light on the issue.
Emphasizing his growing assurance, Waller stated that he was “increasingly confident that policy is currently well positioned to slow the economy” in order to reduce the inflation rate to the targeted 2%.
Waller added:
I will be looking to see that confirmed in upcoming data releases. Before the next FOMC meeting, we will get data on PCE inflation and job openings, a job report, and [a] supply manager’s survey for November. CPI inflation will come out on December 12, the first day of the FOMC meeting.
‘Beige Book’ Shows Economic Slowdown; Critics Don’t Expect a ‘Soft Landing’
Following Waller’s address, U.S. equities experienced an upswing, yet the subsequent day brought the U.S. central bank’s release of its ‘Beige Book’ survey, revealing a blend of divergent trends within the U.S. economy. This report depicted oscillating retail sales alongside a deceleration in manufacturing activities. For example, retail and automobile sales indicated a change in consumer spending habits, whereas purchases of non-essential items and long-lasting products like furniture and appliances saw a downturn.
As per the ‘Beige Book,’ the U.S. manufacturing sector is facing a general decline in future prospects. This is coupled with a fall in the demand for both business and real estate loans. According to the Fed’s analysis, although consumer credit remains largely stable, a slight increase in consumer loan delinquencies was noted. The survey also points to early signs of financial strain in specific consumer groups. Moreover, the survey reveals a continuous decline in both commercial real estate and multi-family housing activities.
Waller and the ‘Beige Book’ offer a depiction of the current economic uncertainties, and although the Fed anticipates a “soft landing,” some critics are skeptical about this positive outcome. Robert Kiyosaki, the author of “Rich Dad Poor Dad,” recently expressed concerns about impending “hyperinflation” and criticized government leaders for their heightened “incompetence.”
Economist and proponent of gold, Peter Schiff, shared with his followers his belief that the economy is headed not towards a soft landing but towards a “crash & burn” scenario. Bill Holter, an expert in precious metals and a financial writer, recently remarked, “These central banks have completely blown up their balance sheet and have no ability to save anything.”
Holter added:
In short, confetti dollars are going to shut the credit markets down…Then, it’s game over because everything runs on credit.
What are your thoughts on this subject? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
Sam Bankman-Fried’s Attorney Paints Picture of Mistakes, Not Crimes, in Closing Argument
Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyer Mark Cohen gave a final argument Wednesday, portraying the FTX founder as someone who “did his best” and made mistakes but did not commit crimes.
Bankman-Fried’s Lawyer: ‘Mistakes Are Not a Crime’
Sam Bankman-Fried‘s attorney, Mark Cohen, is well-known for representing convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell. This year, he is defending the former FTX chief. After a series of witnesses and testimony from Bankman-Fried himself, Cohen delivered his closing argument to the courtroom jurors.
“Mistakes are not a crime. Why does the government get to speak twice? Because they have the burden of proof,” Cohen told jurors in his closing statement. He said the government tried to turn Bankman-Fried into “some sort of monster” but had not shown criminal intent. Cohen’s closing statements were streamed on the social media platform X by Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press
Cohen acknowledged there was a “messy truth” to how Bankman-Fried and his cohorts ran FTX but said he was innovative in building a “legitimate business.” He portrayed the collapse of FTX as a liquidity crisis and not a Ponzi scheme.
“People suffered losses is not the question,” Cohen said. “Sam didn’t have to testify. The government was unfair. If he answered too long, they said it was too long. Same for short. If he tried to explain, they said he was being evasive. It’s heads I win, tails you lose.”
The lawyer added:
Unlike the government’s witnesses, Sam was far from polished. He couldn’t remember everything he said to Congress. No one can know that. If he’s the criminal mastermind they say he is, why did he speak to Congress?
Cohen attacked the credibility of prosecution witnesses who took plea deals, saying they shifted blame to Bankman-Fried to get sentencing reductions. He said the widespread code access and transfers between FTX and Alameda were not secret crimes but part of a young, undisciplined company trying to innovate.
The defense lawyer cited private chats and emails to contend Bankman-Fried was discussing rescues for FTX up until the end. “Ask yourself, if you’re a fraudster, why would you repay the lenders, and not just take the money and run?” Cohen asked.
In conclusion, Cohen portrayed the case as “a difference in business judgment” and not criminal behavior. He acknowledged that “some decisions turned out very poorly” but maintained that Bankman-Fried told the truth. “Sam acted in good faith, he didn’t want to defraud. Find him not guilty,” Cohen implored the jury.
What do you think about Sam Bankman-Fried’s defense? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
Twitter Changes Bird Logo to Picture of Doge, Dogecoin Price Surges 23% After the Change
On Monday, Twitter users noticed that the traditional blue bird logo had been replaced by a cartoon picture of Doge. Meanwhile, the leading meme coin cryptocurrency, Dogecoin, jumped 23% higher against the U.S. dollar after the logo change.
Twitter Bird Logo Changes to Doge
Twitter has updated its logo, replacing it with a picture of the famous Shiba Inu Doge. It is uncertain how long the Doge logo will last, but it has become a topic of conversation on Twitter since people noticed the change. “Does anyone else see Doge as the Twitter logo?” one person asked at 1:30 p.m. ET. The news follows Elon Musk’s insistence that a judge should drop the billion-dollar lawsuit and stressed that tweeting support for Dogecoin is not unlawful.
It also comes at a time when blue checkmark verifications may disappear for Twitter users who do not pay a fee. Twitter’s original blue bird logo is called “Larry T Bird,” and it was inspired by NBA legend and Hall-of-Famer Larry Bird. There was no formal announcement of the logo change, and people suspected Elon Musk is behind it due to his fondness for the famous Shiba Inu meme.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 3, 2023
The meme coin dogecoin (DOGE), which is the eighth largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, surged more than 23% on the news. DOGE reached a high on Monday of .1011 per unit, and it had .22 billion in 24-hour global trade volume.
Year-to-date, DOGE is down 28%, but over the last two weeks, the meme coin has increased by 30%. “DOGE logo now appears when you log onto Twitter,” one Twitter user commented. “What is Elon Musk trying to tell us, and how long will it stay there?” the individual added.
Musk joked about the logo change by sharing a meme that has more than 175,000 likes and over 22,000 retweets. He also shared an image of the Wall Street Bets (WSB) Chairman telling Musk to change the bird logo to Doge last year. “Haha that would be sick,” Musk replied at the time.
What do you think about Twitter’s decision to change its logo to Doge? Share your thoughts about this subject in the comments section below.
Picture Of A Rock Just Sold For $235,000 On Ethereum
A picture of a rock, existing as an NFT on Ethereum, has been sold for 139 ETH, Etherscan data on February 16 shows.
EtherRock NFT Sold For 5,000
At the time of buying, the 139 ETH used to purchase the NFT translated to around 5,000. For this transaction, the buyer paid 0.003672481899086462 ETH, or approximately , at the time.
Described as “EtherRock,” the NFT is among the earliest in Ethereum and across the NFT ecosystem. Only 100 of these NFTs were minted, and they have been changing hands since then.
Most importantly, the creator says they were created around the same time the CryptoPunks were minted on Ethereum. There are 10,000 CryptoPunks in circulation. Over the years, CryptoPunks have remained some of the most expensive and coveted NFTs in Ethereum and across the ecosystem.
The issuer of EtherRock claims that with every new virgin rock being minted, the price of each rock will only become more expensive. As things stand, no “virgin” rocks will be minted since the last 100 NFTs were all issued. Interested collectors can instead choose to buy “non-virgin” rocks. All EtherRock NFTs are trustlessly managed via an audited smart contract and are deployed exclusively on the Ethereum blockchain.
NFT Without Any Utility
It is not immediately clear who the buyer of the NFT is. What’s evident is that EtherRock NFTs don’t have a specific use case. They are created to exist as “pets on the blockchain.” What holders can do, however, is to trade the token. The original owner will profit if a buyer is willing to acquire the NFT at a higher price.
Presently, there are several EtherRock NFTs that can be purchased. Even so, it cannot be immediately determined which NFTs available were acquired from the less than 30 available for purchasing, per EtherRock list.
There are only two owners of EtherRock on OpenSea. These NFTs have a 0.4 ETH in trading volumes and a floor price of 0.1 ETH.
Meanwhile, on the official EtherRock site, the owner of the first EtherRock is selling the NFT for 10,000 ETH. Many of these NFTs are also not available for sale. Even the cheapest EtherRock available is listed for 235 ETH.
The purchase of the EtherRock comes at a time when the broader DeFi, crypto, and NFT markets are recovering after last year’s winter saw trading volumes drop by over 90%.
Santiment Paints Bullish Picture For XRP, But This May Not Be The Case
XRP price is having a shaky start to the year 2023 after a sharp drop on Monday during Asia hours. The digital asset eventually recovered but it remains shaky even now a new report from Santiment shows that there could be a bull case for the cryptocurrency. This bull case is tied to large XRP holders who have been accumulating coins over the past six months.
A Bull Case For XRP
The report from Santiment starts out with the revelation that large investors holding between 1 million and 10 million XRP tokens have been increasing their bags aggressively. Apparently, over the last six years, these investors raised their collective balances by 25%. This now meant that they were holding more than 4 billion XRP.
Santiment notes that such accumulation trends were important given that they are often observed during bear market bottoms. Basically, when these whales go on a buying spree such as this, it is when the price has already reached its lowest point in the bear market.
So if history is anything to go by and this was to have the same effects as previously seen, then it could mean that there is a bull rally in scope for the digital asset. Additionally, it explains that the MVRV 30 for the altcoin shows that short-term holders were seeing losses of 7% on average. So this points to a hesitancy to sell among these holders because they do not want to take a loss.
This refusal to dump tokens and whales adding to their balances adds up to less supply hitting the market while demand is on the rise. Basic laws of economics will easily put this as a recipe for a jump in the price of assets, hence the bull case for XRP.
But What If This Isn’t The Case?
One thing that XRP holders have to take into account is the Securities and Exchange Commission’s lawsuit against Ripple. This case is yet to be concluded and it continues to put a damper on the price of XRP. To know just how much of an effect it had, while most cryptocurrencies in the market were hitting new all-time highs, XRP’s price had declined, unable to even reclaim its own all-time high price from 2018.
What this shows is that until the case with the SEC is concluded, XRP will continue to struggle in the market. Furthermore, if the final judgment were to be against Ripple, then investors should expect a rapid decline in the price of the asset.
The only thing that can categorically determine if there is a bull rally coming for the altcoin would be for the outcome of the case to be in favor of Ripple. Until then, the price of the digital asset is expected to trade sideways, as well as lag behind the general crypto market.
Whale Accumulation Paints Bullish Picture For XRP
XRP whales have taken advantage of the price decline recorded in the crypto market to fill up their bags. These large investors have been rapidly buying up the tokens and increasing the percentage of supply they hold. In the last month, the holdings of these large whales have seen a significant uptick, sending their cumulative total holdings to one of the highest it has ever been.
Gobbling Up The Coins
Data from Santiment shows that the holdings of XRP whales with 100,000 to 10 million coins on their balances have jumped more than 6% in the last five weeks. These whales had held around 11% of the total XRP supply in mid-November following the crash of the FTX crypto exchange. But since then, they have increased their holdings by millions.
Presently, the total percentage of supply held by these large whales is hovering around 18%. The chart below shows a clear uptrend in the last month where the holdings of these whales have increased, especially those holding between 1 million to 10 million coins.
The same trend is also seen among wallets holding above 10 million coins. These wallets now hold a larger majority of the total supply at 71.67%, up from the 70.8% recorded in mid-November. So in total, addresses holding 100,000 coins and above now command around 90% of the total XRP supply.
Will XRP Rally From Here?
XRP’s price is currently moving in tandem with the crypto market which is still feeling the effects of Wednesday’s FOMC announcement. However, this clear accumulation trend among XRP whales could hint at a possible decoupling of the digital asset’s price from the broader crypto market, leading to a rally.
With prices so low, a lot of investors are not looking to sell their coins, but rather are investing for the long term. If the available supply continues to go to investors who are long-term holders, then such demand could result in a supply squeeze.
The Santiment data also shows accumulation even among smaller addresses, so it is possible that XRP would test the .4 resistance level before the week is over. The low volatility associated with weekend markets could get in the way of XRP’s rally but it could also be a blessing in disguise to help the cryptocurrency hold any gains it may register between Thursday and Friday.
XRP is trading at .38 at the time of this writing. It remains the sixth largest cryptocurrency with a market cap of approximately .2 billion.
Institutional Outflows From Bitcoin Paints Bearish Picture For Crypto Market
Institutional investors have been quite neutral on both bitcoin and the crypto market at large for a while now. This has translated into a mix of inflows and outflows into various digital assets, alternating with each passing week even through the bear market. However, current net flow records show that these large investors are beginning to find their chosen position in the market and it is in the camp of the bears.
Bitcoin Sees Outflows
Bitcoin had been recording minor inflows in the last month-and-a-half which had been good for the digital asset despite not having much of an impact. This has now changed completely as the figures for last week show million in outflows for the digital asset.
This bearish sentiment has been more prominent in the short bitcoin that is now on to its third consecutive week of outflows. The .1 million brought the total outflows from short bitcoin to million. These outflows show that large investors are pulling out of the market more instead of taking one side over the other, an overall bearish development.
The digital asset outflows for the week came out to .6 million during this time. Furthermore, it was a bearish start to the month of November with million in outflows already. So even though November has been a historically bullish month for the crypto market, investors do not seem to believe this will be the case this time around.
Crypto market suffers general bearishness | Source: Crypto Total Market cap on TradingView.com
Reason For Bearishness
While it has not had as much of a profound effect as expected, the result of the FOMC meeting has been largely influencing the behaviors of investors in the market. The fourth consecutive interest rate hike by 75 bps showed that the Fed was nowhere close to backing down on its hawkish stance against the high inflation rates.
As expected, such high interest rates will have an effect on markets such as crypto, greatly limiting their ability to grow, especially during a bear market. It is also no surprise that the United States led the outflows for the week since the Fed decision has the most impact in the region.
Nevertheless, there were still some inflows from across the point. Both Switzerland and Germany saw inflows of .8 million and million respectively, most of which were focused on altcoins. Ethereum finally put an end to its outflow trends with inflows of .7 million. XRP followed this trend with inflows of .1 million, marking its third week of inflows.
Since that time, the crypto market has taken a turn so it is expected that there might be a change in institutional investor sentiment in the coming week. However, the general crypto market sentiment continues to skew largely into the negative, which means no significant inflows should be expected.
Featured image from BitIRA, chart from TradingView.com
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New Bitcoin Record Paints Incredibly Bearish Picture As BTC Struggles At $19,000
Bitcoin has been setting new record trends with the bear market. This follows a bull market that had also deviated largely from its predecessors, so it comes as no surprise that the subsequent near market mirrored this behavior. Various new trends in bitcoin’s movement have cemented a bearish picture for the digital asset, and the latest in the line of records has only done more to cement this sentiment.
Worse Quarterly Close In More Than A Decade
Bitcoin has been in existence for about 13 years and in that time, the barely teenage-aged market has recorded its fair share of bad quarterly closes. However, in the last 11 years, none have been as brutal as the close that was recorded on June 30th. After a month of incredibly volatile prices, the month had closed out the quarter with three consecutive red monthly closes.
Related Reading | Bitcoin Enters Hibernation Mode As Network Activity Lulls
This comes hot on the heels of the market crash that had rocked the market this year. Bitcoin which leads the market had fallen about 60% from its price at the beginning of the quarter and had brought down the entire market with it. This had seen the crypto total market crash drop below trillion for the first time in a 16-month period.
The digital asset had closed the month at ,918 after entering the month with an average price of ,000. This had dashed the hopes of investors and the decline has left in its wake a number of events that continue to threaten the prices in the cryptocurrency market.
BTC struggles to hold ,000 | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com
Bitcoin Investors Are Not Impressed
Even though predictions had been incredibly bullish for the year 2022, it has since gone sideways. This has triggered investors to move their funds out of the market for fear of incurring more losses. Also, following previous historical trends, it remains highly possible that the digital asset may crash more before there is any significant recovery.
Related Reading | Decline In Ethereum Futures On CME Suggests Institutional Investors Are Still Bearish
Looking at the indicators, it shows that bitcoin has struggled to hold the important technical levels required for a recovery in the short term. It has been trading below its 200-week moving average for the first time in history, and this has deepened negative sentiment in the market.
Although the digital asset has been moving away from established historical trends, there is still a high chance that it follows some of the previous market movements. One of these is when the bottom is usually in. Sticking to this would mean that the price of bitcoin will likely touch as low as ,000 before the next bull trend resumes.
Featured image from Coin News, chart from TradingView.com
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Bitcoin Marks Seven Consecutive Red Candles, Paints Gruesome Picture For Market
Bitcoin has now entered perhaps one of its most bearish periods ever. The cryptocurrency which has held up quite nicely through all of the market scandals is seeing even more bad news ahead. Previously, it has seen a good number of consecutively red closes that have solidified its entrance into a bear market. However, this time around, it seems that the digital asset is ready to set another record, but this time for the worse.
Seven Red Candles
Anyone that has been following the market recently knows that Bitcoin has been seeing multiple consecutive red closes. This has not been a cause for alarm though since the digital asset has a history of marking bearish trends like these and still coming out on top. But this would prove to be a trend like no other after the cryptocurrency had seen its 7th consecutive red close.
Related Reading | Bitcoin Recovers Above ,000, Has The Bottom Been Marked?
This would make it the first time in history that bitcoin is marking such a trend. However, what is even more important is what seven consecutive red candles mean for the cryptocurrency. With the digital asset still being a seller’s market, a close like this could trigger even more sell-offs as investors worry about the future of the coin in the short term.
Furthermore, with so many red candles showing on the charts, it could indicate that there is more downtrend left to follow. An example of this was marked in the 2014 bear market that saw bitcoin record four consecutive red closes. What had followed was a single green close that would prove to give way to an even more brutal downtrend. Now, if bitcoin were to mirror this move from 2014, then another plunge below ,000 may be imminent.
BTC declines to ,500 | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com
Not All Bad News For Bitcoin
While seven consecutive red closes can often paint a bearish picture, this is not always the case. It is well-known that the digital asset can record the most bearish patterns right before recovery. Oftentimes, a tremendous recovery.
An example of this was in August of 2018 when the market had marked six consecutive red closes. Since the market had been in a stretched-out bear market at that point, it was assumed that what would follow this could only be more losses. However, this would prove to not be the case as the digital asset had gone on to record five consecutive green closes.
Related Reading | Investors Make For Stablecoin Hills As USDT Volume Touches All-Time High
Now, this was not the start of the next bull market but it showed that as much as these trends can signify more downtrends to come, they can also be a precursor of a good recovery. Expectations for bitcoin this time around are great as the digital asset has been able to now break above ,000, although it has trouble maintaining its position above this point.
The price of BTC is trending around ,600 at the time of this writing. This puts it slightly above its 5-day simple moving average but continues to show bearish trends across other indicators.
Featured image from Cryptonaute, chart from TradingView.com
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