A report from the European Central Bank indicated that the euro’s share of foreign exchange reserves declined by one percentage point to 20% in 2023. According to the report, the continued diversification of global reserve portfolios into nontraditional currencies threatens to further erode the euro’s share of foreign exchange reserves. Euro’s Decline Coincides with US […]
Bitcoin News
Bitcoin’s 61-Day Streak Above $60K Threatened, $271M in Liquidations as BTC Nears Critical Threshold
Bitcoin prices experienced a notable decline on Tuesday, dropping more than 2% against the U.S. dollar in the last 24 hours, following a 7.8% decrease over the previous week. Global trading volumes on spot crypto exchanges have remained subdued, and in the past day, derivatives exchanges saw 1 million in both short and long positions […]
Bitcoin News
Bitcoin Cash Rally Threatened As Exchange Drops BCH Following XRP Listing Rumors
Bitcoin Cash has followed the general growth trend of Bitcoin with the price almost clearing the 0 resistance before being rejected. Even though BCH maintains this bullish momentum, it is not completely in the clear following its delisting from one crypto exchange.
EDX Markets Delists Bitcoin Cash
In another unexpected blow, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) has been delisted from the EDX Markets crypto exchange. Users had first suspected that the exchange was ending support for BCH and rumors spread like wildfire through social media. Eventually, the crypto exchange will confirm these rumors, with a spokesperson revealing that EDX Markets was indeed no longer offering support for BCH.
Contrary to the norm, EDX Markets did not give any indication of why the cryptocurrency was delisted from the exchange. Rather, users were directed to sign up for the newsletter to get updates about listings, as well as check out the website for supported coins.
Interestingly, this is happening at a time when rumors have been circulating that EDX Markets might be planning to list XRP. This would make sense given that many exchanges have resisted the cryptocurrency after Ripple’s victory over the SEC. Since then, XRP’s volume has been on the high side and crypto exchanges have clamored for a chance to get a piece of the pie.
BCH Price Struggles To HoldOn
Following the rejection from the 0 level, the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) price has been hard-pressed to continue on its previous trajectory. The fall toward the 0 level shook out a good portion of longs before the bulls were able to take over once more.
However, the BCH daily trading volume is still seeing good momentum after rising 36% in one day. If anything, this shows there is still a fair amount of interest in the altcoin with trading garnering a lot of attention from market participants.
The major resistance to a BCH breakout currently lies at the 0 level. If the price is able to clear this resistance, then the rally is expected to continue and could touch 0 before losing steam. But it is still a long way from its yearly high of 0.
At the time of writing, BCH is trading at 3 with 3.75% losses on the weekly chart. However, it is performing much better in the last day after rising 2.23%.
XRP Price Rally Threatened As Ripple Unlocks 1 Billion Tokens
The XRP price rallied as recent reports from leading on-chain crypto tracker Whale Alert have revealed that Ripple Labs, the blockchain-based payment firm, has unlocked another 1 billion XRP as part of its monthly token unlock program.
Origin Of Ripple Customary 1 Billion XRP Routine
Today, the firm has unlocked yet another 1 billion tokens, performed in three separate transactions. Crypto tracker Whale Alert took to X (formerly Twitter) to share the alert with the crypto community, as each whale transaction was made one after the other.
Related Reading: Ripples Returns 80% Of Unlocked XRP For August Back To Escrow
According to data from Whale Alert, the first transaction performed with the escrow account unlatched a significant 100 million XRP tokens, valued at approximately .98 million.
The second transaction made by the escrow account was 400 million XRP, valued at around 9.92 million. Meanwhile, the last transaction saw a total of 500 million XRP valued at approximately 9.9 million, making it a whopping 1 billion XRP valued at around 9.8 million.
The price of XRP temporarily dropped in reaction to this announcement, which saw the token falling by about 3% that same day. But this decline was soon overcome, and as of right now, the digital assets are trading at a slight discount of 0.8% to its closing price from the previous day, according to CoinmarketCap.
However, it is noteworthy that XRP had a strong day before the day before the unlocking, rising as high as 10.5% at one point and finishing the day with a 3.74% price increase. Currently, it is roughly trading at .6, presenting its highest price since August.
Related Reading: XRP Whale Transactions Spike To 3-Month High As Smart Money Buys
So far, the company has yet to announce its initial plan for the recently released 1 billion XRP. In light of last’s month 1 billion XRP release, Ripple immediately removed 800 million (80%) of the total XRP tokens unlocked.
Notably, the crypto firm spent approximately 205 million tokens (2.75 million) from its primary address, “Ripple 1,” in October, even though it reserved about 200 million XRP. Due to this, Ripple used about five million XRP in its balance from earlier this month.
Recent Partnership Set To Boost XRP
The company’s recent partnership with the web3 platform is expected to elevate the XRP holdings on Uphold, thereby boosting the token’s price. This is because Uphold has asserted that it will utilize its expertise to buttress XRP on the market while leaving its current customers’ XRP holdings untouched.
In addition, the platform will also give Ripple the liquidity it needs to handle cross-border transactions. Ripple’s partnership with Uphold indicates increased interest from the web3 financial platform in the XRPL ecosystem and its utility token XRP, which powers transactions on Ripple Payments.
XRP Price Threatened As Ripple Unlocks 1 Billion Coins
The XRP price has already been under pressure for the past month, as the future outlook of Ripple is still set to be determined in the near future. Although XRP has moved up with the rest of the crypto market over the past few days of green, there is still uncertainty about the next bull run.
However, this little price movement could be brief, as the number of XRP tokens in circulation just increased by 1 billion XRP, around 1.87% of the circulating supply of 53.312 billion tokens.
Potential Impact On XRP Price And Supply
On-chain data from Whale_Alerts has shown bouts of XRP totaling 1 billion have been unlocked from escrow in three transactions from two separate wallets. First, 400 million XRP tokens worth over 5.9 million were unlocked.
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400,000,000 #XRP (205,914,675 USD) unlocked from escrow at #Ripplehttps://t.co/V54DFtoI16
— Whale Alert (@whale_alert) October 1, 2023
In the second transaction, 100 million XRP tokens worth .4 million were unlocked.
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100,000,000 #XRP (51,478,668 USD) unlocked from escrow at #Ripplehttps://t.co/P8BgPU21Hr
— Whale Alert (@whale_alert) October 1, 2023
And in the last transaction, Ripple unlocked 500 million XRP tokens worth 7.3 million. With the current market price of XRP at .5177, this puts the value of the unlocked tokens over 4.6 million.
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500,000,000 #XRP (257,393,344 USD) unlocked from escrow at #Ripplehttps://t.co/1lSZdeqcMS
— Whale Alert (@whale_alert) October 1, 2023
Ripple’s latest unlock is part of the periodic release in its plan to release 55 billion XRP tokens over 55 months. Since 2017, the payment company has been known to release 1 billion XRP tokens each month through a smart contract. While Ripple claims this helps increase liquidity and utility, it also means a major influx of new coins entering circulation.
With more XRP available, the price often drops as supply outweighs demand. Each new release adds downward pressure, and the price frequently falls in the days leading up to and following the escrow unlocking.
The monthly escrow has led to significant price slumps in the past months, especially during periods of lower interest in XRP. In particular, XRP witnessed a major selloff in June as whales dumped around 120 million XRP after Ripple unlocked its escrow.
Ripple has been known to periodically relock a portion of released tokens into the escrow system to reduce selling pressure, which helps extend the runway for the remaining tokens to be unlocked. For instance, Ripple immediately relocked 800 million (80%) of September’s token unlock. The total amount to be locked back in escrow this month is yet to be determined.
Ripple: The Future Outlook For XRP
XRP is currently up by 1.83% in a seven-day timeframe but the price outlook looks remains highly uncertain in the short term. Various predictions have come in for the token’s future, with one prediction even going as high as ,000.
(This site’s content should not be construed as investment advice. Investing involves risk. When you invest, your capital is subject to risk).
Featured image from iStock
MATIC Price Rally Threatened As Whales Deposit Millions Of Tokens To Exchanges
Bitcoin has recovered over the last day after gaining momentum from the Valkyrie Ethereum ETF news and pulling up the likes of the MATIC price. This has led to a rare green day for the cryptocurrency market in as many months but MATIC may not be able to hold as well as other altcoins as whales make their move.
Whales Move Tens Of Millions To Exchanges
The first notable whale transaction involving MATIC was flagged by Lookonchain on Wednesday. The transaction was carrying 10.78 million tokens at the time worth around .5 million.
Mostly, it was the destination of these tokens that was important which turned out to be the Binance crypto exchange. The whale looked to have deposited the tokens to sell them as the MATIC price had taken a quick 3% dive following the deposit.
A whale deposited a total of 10.78M $MATIC (.5M) into #Binance in the past 26 hours and the price of $MATIC decreased by 3%.
The whale currently has 2.72M $MATIC(.37M) left.https://t.co/C4VNQ1QDq9 pic.twitter.com/8JcoySfsRP
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) September 27, 2023
MATIC would later recover and move into the green, a price increase that seemed to have prompted more whales to take advantage of the situation. Over the course of the day, whale transaction tracker Whale Alert would report multiple whale transactions all carrying millions of dollars worth of the token toward exchanges.
The next large transaction was one carrying 11,000,888 tokens worth .7 million to the Binance exchange. Another transaction followed shortly carrying the exact number of MATIC tokens also headed for the Binance exchange.
Within the same hour, the whale tracker also reported 15,826,267 million MATIC being shifted once again to Binance. This transition was carrying approximately .2 million worth of tokens. This pointed toward whales looking to dump large portions of holdings.
15,826,267 #MATIC (8,199,632 USD) transferred from unknown wallet to #Binancehttps://t.co/fgGpVb7id0
— Whale Alert (@whale_alert) September 28, 2023
MATIC Price Could Suffer Drawdown
The massive amounts of tokens being shifted toward centralized exchanges could mean that the whales are beginning to offload some of their holdings to avoid further losses. In this case, it is not farfetched to say that the altcoin’s rally over the last day might be a brief one. Such a fall could easily see the MATIC price fall back to .51 as bears retest the support at .5.
However, all hope is not lost for the MATIC price as the coin still holds some bullishness. As one TradingView analyst points out, if the altcoin is able to break out from its current descending triangle, then the price could rally over 50%.
The analyst puts the first target of this rally at the .9 level as well, which is an almost 100% price increase from here. But MATIC will continue to face opposition from bears, making it a tricky situation.
At the time of writing, the MATIC price is resting above .5232, enjoying 3.06% gains in the last day.
Bitcoin Price Surge Threatened By Liquidity Crunch – What To Expect
Bitcoin market liquidity is currently a major point of concern within the cryptocurrency sphere. The lack of depth in the market has led to significant price slippage when large orders are executed, resulting in erratic price swings that can overwhelm even the most experienced traders.
The cryptocurrency market is currently facing a liquidity crisis triggered by the shutdown of Silvergate’s SEN and Signature’s Signet network in early March. Despite a rebound in Bitcoin’s price since its March slump, which reached a peak of around ,900, the initial drop has raised concerns among market participants.
Lack of liquidity in an asset can cause significant market inefficiencies, resulting in severe price swings that can deter experienced investors from executing trades.
Bitcoin Poised For Consolidation Phase
According to CoinMarketCap data, Bitcoin has seen a slight increase of 0.77% on Monday and is currently valued at ,849. Despite its inability to reach the ,000 mark thus far, market trends suggest that Bitcoin may be gearing up for a phase of consolidation.
A consolidation phase is a period of time where the market’s volatility decreases, and prices remain relatively stable. It typically follows a significant uptrend or downtrend, allowing the asset to take a breather before continuing its trend.
For Bitcoin, a consolidation phase may signal a time of market indecision. However, it could also be a positive sign for investors, as it may lead to the formation of a base for future growth.
It’s worth noting that while a consolidation phase may be a positive sign for Bitcoin’s long-term growth, it’s not always guaranteed to lead to an upward trend. Market conditions can change quickly, and unexpected events can disrupt even the most stable of assets.
Bitcoin Liquidity Hits 10-Month Low
Despite Bitcoin’s impressive performance this year, investors may be concerned about the lack of liquidity in cryptocurrency markets.
Conor Ryder from Kaiko told Bloomberg about a decline in the measure of Bitcoin’s ease of buying and selling, which has reached a low point not seen in 10 months.
The calculation of this metric involves evaluating the offers to buy and sell in the market maker’s order books, limited to a 2% deviation from the cryptocurrency’s current price on either side.
This liquidity decline is attributed to firms that purchase and sell cryptocurrency losing access to dollar-payment systems, resulting in a drying up of liquidity in the market.
The fate of Bitcoin has left investors in the cryptocurrency industry on the edge of their seats.
Despite the market’s resilience in the past, the current liquidity crisis presents a formidable challenge to its stability. The future of Bitcoin’s rally hangs in the balance, and it remains to be seen whether it will persevere or succumb to the crisis.
-Featured image from PublishOx
Bitcoin Price Threatened By Sticky Inflation, CPI Print To Shed More Light
Hovering at a range between ,800 and ,500, the Bitcoin price is chopping out short and long positions. The current dynamics in the market have been determined by macro forces leading BTC to extreme as it approaches a major economic event.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for September is poised to operate as one of these events. In the past months, these reports, used by the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) to benchmark inflation, have been followed by spikes in volatility.
At the time of writing, the Bitcoin price trades at ,100 with sideways movement in the last 24 hours and a 6% loss in the past week. BTC’s price action has been dragging the crypto market down with it as market participants for digital and traditional assets brace for volatility.
BTC’s price compressing as volatility declines on the daily chart. Source: BTCUSDT Tradingview
Bitcoin Price Squeeze Incoming? CPI Print Will Be Decisive
Senior market analyst at Cubic Analytics, Caleb Franzen, shared his thoughts on the upcoming CPI report. Today, the U.S. government published its Producer Price Index, one of the most important inflation benchmarks in this country.
The PPI has been accelerating, Franzen said, from 6.5% in August to 6.8% in September, beating expectations and hinting at higher inflation reflected by the upcoming CPI print. The PPI is far from its yearly low at 9.2%, but as the analyst said, the upside trend reflects the “stickiness” in inflation and might signal the U.S. Fed to adopt a more aggressive monetary policy.
PPI Final Demand Services accelerated on a YoY basis in the latest producer price index data.
For Aug.’22, the YoY change was +6.5%
For Sept.’22, the YoY change was +6.8%It’s down considerably from the March 2022 peak of +9.2%, but highlights the stickiness & impact of wages. pic.twitter.com/zrlzfS3SNT
— Caleb Franzen (@CalebFranzen) October 12, 2022
In that sense and taking a deeper look into the factors contributing to high inflation, Franzen notes a “tug-of-war” between inflationary and deflationary forces. Overall, the reduction in energy prices, and the dropped in the price of oil and fossil fuels, might turn the tide in favor of mitigating inflation.
But this scenario is currently uncertain, thus influencing the decision of the Fed, which in turn negatively impact the Bitcoin price and the performance of legacy financial assets. This upcoming CPI might reflect this uncertainty, the analyst argued:
I expect to see month-over-month CPI be relatively unchanged, almost certainly ±0.2%. On a YoY basis, I think +8.0% or greater is near certain; though I expect to see core CPI, median CPI, & trimmed-mean CPI accelerate relative to their August results.
Will High Inflation Become The New Normal?
This could allow the Bitcoin price to experience a relief rally on low timeframes dissipating the current uncertainty in the nascent asset class. If this happens ,500 is bound to continue operating as critical resistance and short-term headwind.
After the CPI Print, the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee is bound to bring more volatility to the market. As noted by the trading desk QCP Capital, these events have led the Bitcoin price to positive performance.
In the chart below for the BTC/USD trading pair during the FOMC, there has been a short-term rally followed by major crashes. However, as the market prices in a more hawkish Fed and more inflation, these sudden price action become less powerful.
Will BTC finally be able to break out of its current range or will simply see another short-lived rally?
Source: QCP Capital via Twitter
NewsBTC
HashEx: 20 Million Users Might Be Threatened by SafeMoon’s Critical Vulnerabilities
The SafeMoon DeFi protocol is the latest project to have vulnerabilities revealed in its smart contract code. A recent audit conducted by analysts from HashEx, a blockchain security consulting firm, has revealed that 12 critical vulnerabilities are placing the funds of over 20 million users and the protocol with over .5 billion in market capitalization at risk.
With near-daily reports of scams and fraud on the part of DeFi protocols, market participants should pay heed to the audit reports of various DeFi platforms. The latest smart contract audit of the SafeMoon protocol has revealed that its BEP-20 code supporting the $SAFEMOON token is at serious risk with many loopholes allowing hackers to conduct malignant operations on the platform. Considering that $SAFEMOON has grown by 15,000% since launch and the project reached over billion in market valuation with over 20 million users and 0 million in DEX liquidity, the report casts serious doubt on the operability of the SafeMoon protocol.
The twelve vulnerabilities identified by HashEx are placing the investments of millions of users at risk with several of the issues capable of being used in conjunction to maximize the harm done to user accounts and balances. Two of the issues are considered to be critical, while three are deemed high risk and are a godsend for hackers.
For instance, the hackers can exploit the loopholes to extract 100% commissions on $SAFEMOON token transfers, blacklist users, block user accounts, rug-pull liquidity and much more. Even more frightening is the fact that the SafeMoon development team is aware of the vulnerabilities, as based on the response received by the HashEx team after disclosing the results of the audit.
According to the representatives of HashEx who previously contacted SafeMoon to inform the project team about the vulnerabilities detected, SafeMoon stated that the identified vulnerabilities are not issues at all and can all be updated with a hard fork. The fact that the project has not yet announced any updates or hard forks is a factor that community members should take into account when considering investing with SafeMoon in light of the identified vulnerabilities.
Among the loopholes that have been identified, the risk of rug-pulling stands most acute, as it implies that the hackers can simply divert as much as 15% of the protocol’s liquidity. That would mean the loss of over million in user funds. Other opportunities presented to the hackers include vulnerabilities in the smart contract code that could allow them to blacklist users from receiving rewards, or blocking the transfer of $SAFEMOON tokens, which would render them useless and collapse their value.
The report on the competence of SafeMoon’s smart contract code is a glaring reminder that development quality is lagging far behind speed of deployment in project priority lists. Such a state of affairs should remind all conscientious and investment-conscious market participants that project screening is a must and blind faith in market volumes can and will eventually result in losses, as illustrated by the numerous DeFi project catastrophes over the last year.
Bitcoin Not Threatened by Cryptocurrency Launched by Laureate-Advised Firm
Amidst regulatory uncertainty, U.K.-based Saga hopes to introduce a global digital currency that lawmakers and consumers alike find agreeable. The “stablecoin” (think Tether) is pegged to a basket of fiat currencies and is not anonymous, making it unlikely to win over Bitcoin enthusiasts who value the coin’s decentralized mode of operation.
Related Reading: Why There Remains a Case For a ,200 Bitcoin (BTC) in 2020
Similarities with Bitcoin and Libra
Tuesday, November 10, the company launched its Saga (SGA) token, a digital currency tied to a basket of fiat currencies — a move made in attempts to make it less volatile. While SGA shares some similarities to stablecoins like Facebook’s Libra and true digital currencies like Bitcoin, there are some glaring differences.
Rather than creating a new asset basket-like Libra’s, Saga is pegging its token’s value to bank deposits in the same group of currencies that form the International Monetary Fund’s special drawing rights (SDR). These are international reserve assets — primarily dollars, as well as the euro, Chinese yuan, Japanese yen, and British pound — held by central banks to supplement their official reserves.
Another distinction from Libra is the fact that Saga apparently won’t be profiting from the coin and it’s only acting as an issuer of the token. SGA will initially be available to purchase on Saga’s website and is being listed on the cryptocurrency exchange Liquid.
“Unlike other players, we don’t want to be the issuer and the payments layer and the custodian,” Saga founder Ido Sadeh Man told major media outlet CNBC in an interview. “We’re focusing on the monetary part of it, on the issuance of a sound currency for global use, and we will increasingly liaise with partnerships in the realms of custodianship and of payments.”
![Bitcoin, Saga](https://www.newsbtc.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/tweetcyborg-1-605x860.png)
SAGA is now live on Liquid.
Not a Direct Threat
Saga says its offering is different as it encompasses “banking-grade compliance” with anti-money laundering checks that ensure the people transacting in the token aren’t anonymous.
With Bitcoin on the other hand, users are identifiable only by an alphanumeric address. This layer of protection is what many find so attractive about truly-decentralized coins.
Saga also claims its model provides a “democratic” alternative to Libra, which is being overseen by a consortium of 21 companies. In Saga’s case, “the holders are the sovereign of the currency,” according to Sadeh Man.
While this idea that SGA holders are the sovereigns of the currency sounds attractive, the claim that such holders will be able to vote on Saga’s board of directors and steer its monetary policy seems an almost impossible logistical feat.
And off the bat there’s already another big problem with Saga’s tokens: they aren’t regulated, and therefore won’t launch in the U.S. until it is clear the company is respecting compliance in the country.
Despite uncertainty about its future in the U.S., the coin will be available in other locales, though whether it will be a success remains to be seen. Will the coin scare off crypto traditionalists with its centralized issuance and lack of anonymity? Or will SGA’s promise of stability provide some assurance to those afraid of volatility currently associated with other digital currencies like Bitcoin?
Featured Image from Shutterstock
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