PRESS RELEASE. Victoria, Seychelles, May 7th, 2024 – CREAT’OR (Crypto Related Equity And Token Operational Resources) has officially launched its highly anticipated Initial Coin Offering (ICO), currently in the BETA Stage, offering an incredible 85% discount on its CRET Token. This is a remarkable event in the company’s journey towards upgrading the Equity Crowdfunding industry […]
Bitcoin News
Changing Tides: Restaking Takes Center Stage In Ethereum (ETH) Staking Landscape
In recent months, the Ethereum staking landscape has witnessed significant transformations, prompting a shift in investor preferences and reshaping the sector’s dynamics.
According to on-chain data researcher and strategist at 21Shares, Tom Wan, key metrics indicate a notable change in the approach towards Ethereum staking, with restaking gaining prominence as a preferred method.
Ethereum Restaking Landscape
Wan’s observations, shared on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), highlight a steady increase in ETH staking deposits from restaking, rising from 10% to 60% since 2024.
Restaking can be accomplished in two primary ways: through ETH natively restaked or by utilizing a liquid staking token (LST). By staking their ETH, users secure additional applications known as Actively Validated Services (AVS), which yield additional staking rewards.
A significant player in the staking landscape is EigenLayer, which has emerged as the second-largest decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol on the Ethereum network.
EigenLayer has achieved a significant milestone with the release of EigenDA, its data availability Actively Validated Service (AVS), on the mainnet.
According to a research report by Kairos, this launch marks the beginning of a new era in restaking, where liquid restaking tokens (LRTs) will become the dominant way for restakers to do business.
Currently, 73% of all deposits on EigenLayer are made through liquid restaking tokens. The report highlights that the growth rate of LRT deposits has been significant, increasing by over 13,800% in less than four months, from approximately .74 million on December 1, 2023, to billion on April 9, 2024, demonstrating the growing confidence in EigenLayer’s approach to restaking and contributing to the shifting tides in Ethereum’s staking landscape.
According to Wan, the rise of liquid restaking protocols has also contributed to a decline in the dominance of Lido (LDO), a staking service solution for Solana (SOL), Ethereum, and Terra (LUNC).
On the other hand, Etherfi has emerged as the second-largest stETH withdrawer, with 108,000 stETH withdrawn through the first quarter of 2024. This trend exemplifies the increasing popularity of liquid restaking protocols, allowing stakers to withdraw and actively utilize their staked assets while still earning rewards.
Ether.fi Set To Surpass Binance In ETH Staking
Data provided by Wan also shows a decline in the dominance of centralized exchanges (CEXs) in ETH staking. Since 2024, CEXs have seen their share of staking decline from 29.7% to 25.8%, a significant drop of 3.7%.
As a result, the decentralized staking provider Kiln Finance has surpassed Binance and become the third-largest entity in terms of ETH staking. With Ether.fi poised to follow suit, it is expected to surpass Binance’s position shortly, according to the researcher.
In short, these developments signify a paradigm shift in the Ethereum staking landscape, with re-staking methodologies gaining traction and decentralized protocols like EigenLayer and Ether.fi challenging the dominance of established players.
As of this writing, ETH’s price stands at ,500. It has been exhibiting a sideways trading pattern over the past 24 hours, remaining relatively stable compared to yesterday.
Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com
Bitcoin’s Path to Halving — Anticipated Increase in Difficulty Sets Stage
Based on current metrics, the Bitcoin blockchain is set to undergo another difficulty adjustment before the halving, with an anticipated increase of 1.2% to 2.16% around April 11, 2024. Following this adjustment, there will be 1,344 blocks remaining until the reward is halved. Estimated Increase in Difficulty Precedes Halving In April, bitcoin (BTC) miners face […]
Bitcoin News
Uncomfortable Conversations About Privacy and Security Take the Stage in Amsterdam
PRESS RELEASE. Privacy is dead in crypto, people that know, know. People who don’t know, should know. That’s why CryptoCanal’s ETHDam Conference will gather people from all sides of the blockchain spectrum to discuss the future of privacy and security. “As a privacy and security-focused conference, we encourage panels on the harder discussion topics,” explains […]
Bitcoin News
Bitcoin Cash Undergoes Halving Event, Sets Stage for May Upgrade
The Bitcoin Cash network has witnessed its halving event at block height 840,000, leading to a reduction in the miner reward to 3.125 coins per block from the previous 6.25 coins. Miner Rewards Halved on Bitcoin Cash Network The latest block data reveals that the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) network has undergone its anticipated reward-halving event. […]
Bitcoin News
Gambling Takes Center Stage in This Year’s March Madness
In a year where legal wagering on sports shattered previous records, the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments are the pinnacle of sports betting, with an estimated .7 billion expected to be wagered through legal channels. Crypto gambling offers fans the ability to pick their winners with crypto. March Madness Betting Increases, With .7 Billion […]
Bitcoin News
Glassnode Study Signals High-Risk Bitcoin Regime, Hints at Early Bull Market Stage
In the wake of the market’s recovery from the FTX collapse, a notable shift has occurred, pushing bitcoin into a high-risk regime, as indicated by the onchain analysis firm, Glassnode. The firm’s latest report notes that this regime typically signals a pivotal phase often preceding the onset of bull markets, where long-term investors begin to […]
Bitcoin News
Bitcoin, Solana Take Center Stage In $721 Million In Institutional Inflows
According to a CoinShares report, Bitcoin and Solana led the way in the amount of institutional inflows into digital asset investment products last week. The report also highlighted an emerging trend among Spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US.
Bitcoin Records 3 Million In Inflows
Bitcoin is reported to have seen inflows totaling 3 million last week, thereby accounting for 99% of all flows into these investment products. Solana came in a distant second with an inflow of million, outperforming the second-largest crypto token, Ethereum, which saw an inflow of .4 million.
The spotlight was on Spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US, with these funds seeing an inflow of 1 million last week. These new ETFs are said to have now averaged .9 billion in inflows over the last four weeks, bringing their total inflows to .7 billion since launch. Meanwhile, Grayscale’s GBTC has contributed largely to the billion that these funds have recorded as outflows so far.
CoinShares noted that these outflows have slowed in recent weeks, suggesting that GBTC investors have cooled off on taking profits. The inflows recorded by other Spot Bitcoin ETFs have also been able to overshadow GBTC’s outflows. NewsBTC had also recently reported how BlackRock’s IBIT had surpassed GBTC in trading volume for the first time.
A Drop In Trading Volume
Last week was a relatively slow week for digital asset investment products in terms of trading volume. The report highlighted how trading volumes in ETPs (Exchange Traded Products) fell to .2 billion compared to the prior week’s total of .6 billion. This drop in trading volume was well evident in the figures that the Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded last week.
Notably, these funds recorded a daily trading volume of 4 million on February 1 last week, the first time that the trading volume was under billion. This trend continued the next day, with the Spot Bitcoin ETFs combined recording 2 million in trading volume.
Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas, however, suggested that there was no need to be alarmed. He noted in an X (formerly Twitter) post how there is usually a slow decline after a big, hyped launch. What is, however, evident is the fact that these funds have lived up to the hype so far. BlackRock and Fidelity alone (the top two issuers by AuM, excluding Grayscale) now hold over 134,358 BTC (.7 billion) for their Spot Bitcoin ETFs.
Interestingly, their funds also made the top 10 of all ETF inflows in January. This shows an impressive interest in the funds and that institutional adoption of the flagship crypto token is on the rise.
Ethereum Futures Market Cool Off Sets Stage For ETH To Rally: Quant
An analyst has explained that the latest cooldown in the Ethereum futures market could suggest there is potential for a price rise to resume for ETH.
Ethereum Funding Rates Have Seen A Decline Recently
An analyst in a CryptoQuant Quicktake post explained that the ETH funding rates have seen a cooldown from their previously overheated levels. The “funding rate” refers to the periodic fees that futures contract holders on derivative platforms currently exchange with each other.
When the value of this metric is positive, it means that the long contract holders are paying a premium to the shorts to hold onto their positions. Such a trend implies that most traders share a bullish sentiment right now.
On the other hand, the under zero indicates that a bearish sentiment is currently dominant in the futures market, as the short traders are overwhelming the longs.
Now, here is a chart that shows the trend in the Ethereum funding rates over the last few months:
As displayed in the above graph, the Ethereum funding rates have been mostly positive during the last few months, implying that traders on the futures side of the market have mostly been bullish about the asset.
The few times that the metric did dip into the negative inside this period didn’t turn out to be anything major, as the indicator only attained low red values and rebounded back inside the green territory without too much wait.
The chart shows that during some phases of this lasting period of bullish sentiment, the metric attained particularly high values. “However, it’s crucial to note that elevated values in funding rates raise concerns about a potential overheated state in the perpetual markets, signaling the possibility of an impending long-squeeze event,” notes the quant.
A “squeeze” is an event in which a sharp swing in the price triggers a large number of liquidations, which in turn feed into this price move, elongating it and causing further liquidations.
When such a cascade of liquidations affects the long side of the market (that is, the price move in question is a rapid drawdown), the event is known as a “long squeeze.”
Generally, the side of the futures market most heavily dominated by traders is likelier to fall prey to a squeeze. Thus, when the funding rates are highly positive, a long squeeze can be more probable.
Recently, though, as Ethereum has gone through its latest correction, so have the funding rates. Although they are still positive, their magnitude may no longer be associated with an overheated market, and the risk of a long squeeze would have thus fallen.
“Consequently, there exists the potential for the price to resume its upward trajectory following the completion of the ongoing correction stage,” explains the analyst.
ETH Price
Ethereum has declined by around 5% during the past week as its price has now fallen under ,400.
Bitcoin Soars Past $45K as Market Eyes ETF Approval, Setting Stage for April’s Halving
The digital currency market has surged to a valuation of .74 trillion in the past 24 hours, with bitcoin climbing above the K threshold. Over the recent day, the market experienced a 4.65% increase in comparison to the U.S. dollar, and global trading volume saw a substantial 20% rise from Monday.
Crypto Economy Climbs to .74 Trillion; Bitcoin Hits K in ETF Speculation and Pre-Halving Optimism
Fueled by the anticipation of a potential approval for a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) this week, the crypto sector has seen a 4.65% growth in the last 24 hours. Bitcoin (BTC) achieved a peak of ,922 during the day but has since receded to the vicinity of the ,500 range after reaching that peak. The entire lot of top ten crypto assets have witnessed gains with solana (SOL) leading the pack by more than 8%.
Bitcoin has risen 6.4% while ethereum (ETH) spiked 4% higher on Tuesday at 8 a.m. Eastern Time (ET). Bitcoin’s market valuation dominates the market by 50.8%, while ether’s market cap accounts for 16.5% of the .74 trillion crypto economy. Bitcoin’s rise above the K range caused a tidal wave of nearly million in short liquidations according to coinglass.com statistics.
Ethereum shorts saw .96 million wiped out and solana (SOL) short positions witnessed million erased. Tuesday’s jump further saw double-digit gains from sei (SEI), astar (ASTR) and ordi (ORDI) recording gains between 15% to 22% over the past day. All three are also up between 24% to 55% against the greenback over the past seven days.
The three biggest losers today, despite the broad market rise, were bitcoinsv (BSV), helium (HNT), and maker (MKR) shedding between 2.8% to 6.3%. As the market awaits the anticipated approval of a spot bitcoin ETF in the United States, optimism fuels the recent market surge. With bitcoin breaching the K mark, the upcoming halving in April looms, promising to bolster its value further. This event, coupled with regulatory and technological advancements, paints a bullish picture for crypto’s future.
What do you think about the crypto economy’s market action this week? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.