BIS Head Agustin Carstens and Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani have proposed the idea of the “Finternet,” an interconnected financial system led by tokenized assets that would help to overcome today’s shortcomings in transacting financial assets. The core of this system would rely on the possibility of smart contracts managing these assets programmatically. BIS Boss Highlights […]
Bitcoin News
BLUR Token Rules Today’s Top 100 Crypto Ranking With 88% Rally – Details
The news of BLUR, which saw an impressive 88% increase in price in the last week, has the cryptocurrency industry buzzing. This abrupt increase in value is directly related to what happened after the Season 2 airdrop. Coincidentally, the price spike also occurred following news of Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao’s resignation.
The cryptocurrency market saw a consecutive two-day period of downward trading activity subsequent to the disclosure of legal accusations against Zhao. Today, it seemed to have changed course and exhibited a favorable trend, with a notable increase of over 2.5% in value within the past 24 hours.
BLUR On A Tear: 200% Price Boost
In the 42 days since clearing a long-term descending resistance trend line, the price of BLUR has surged by more than 200%. The market movement indicates a positive outlook, despite the daily timeframe Relative Strength Index (RSI) providing a bearish reading.
Market analysts have reported a significant surge in purchasing activity, wherein a total of 51.3 million BLUR tokens were acquired by 19 entities. This acquisition amounts to a remarkable investment of million in the aforementioned commodity.
BLUR is pumping after the Season 2 #airdrop!
19 addresses bought a total of 51.3M $BLUR(M) after the Season 2 #airdrop. pic.twitter.com/hvgByltM5I
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) November 22, 2023
BLUR’s recent price surge followed a consolidation phase, indicating market indecision as its value consistently traded below a critical resistance level. The subsequent airdrop triggered a substantial increase in token ownership, particularly among major stakeholders, signaling a surge in bullish sentiment and highlighting positive prospects for BLUR’s long-term potential.
New Yearly High Still In The Cards
Notably, experienced investors, possibly foreseeing enduring value, have actively engaged in sizeable BLUR positions, emphasizing a deliberate and informed move in response to the cryptocurrency’s potential.
The charts tell a tale of cautious optimism evolving into confidence in BLUR’s future. The consolidation phase hinted at a market awaiting direction, and the subsequent increase in token volume, especially post-airdrop, indicates a shift toward positivity.
Though there has been a noticeable rising trend, BLUR has not yet hit a new annual high. Since February, BLUR has been trading below a trend line of declining resistance. The decline reached a low on August 17 at .15.
After that, the price started to rise, reaching a higher low on October 12. It emerged from the trend line of downward resistance after five days. The trend line had been in place for 245 days at that point.
As more investors became aware of the increase in activity, they might have joined the buying momentum that followed the airdrop. This kind of movement is common in the cryptocurrency space, where important transactions and news can cause asset values to fluctuate quickly.
Keeping A Close Tab On The Crypto
Even after substantial increases, BLUR is still warranting caution in this area. Waiting for confirmation of the bullish crossover could increase the risk-reward scenario for fresh long positions on a recovery off critical support zones, thus letting the RSI reset could be a good strategy.
It will be very important to keep an eye on the important support level that is right now where the rise started. If the price of BLUR stays above this support, it could mean that the market has adjusted to the effects of the airdrop and is now setting a new price floor.
But if this level doesn’t hold, the price might go back down to the next important support zone. This could be a good chance for people who missed the first wave to buy again.
(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 Pexels
Dogecoin Future In Question: What’s Next After Today’s Price Drop?
Dogecoin (DOGE), the beloved meme cryptocurrency that has captured the hearts of retail traders and internet enthusiasts, faced a critical juncture today as it witnessed a significant bearish breakdown below its key ascending support trendline. This trendline, which had offered a glimmer of hope to DOGE holders, seemed to be the last line of defense against a further price decline.
In the latest price analysis, DOGE recorded a 6% dip, pushing its value below the pivotal support trendline. At the time of writing, Dogecoin was trading at .061346 according to CoinGecko, reflecting a 0.9% decline in the past 24 hours and a 3.6% slump over the past week.
DOGE Bearish Territory Looms
Typically, such a break below a crucial support level grants sellers an enhanced edge in the market, potentially pushing DOGE further into bearish territory. However, amidst the price decline, the daily candle revealed an intriguing twist. Dogecoin experienced a stark rejection near the .06 threshold, signifying that buyers were jumping in at these lower price points.
The broader altcoin market also experienced a decline on Sunday, partially fueled by anticipation over crucial regulatory developments. Regulatory concerns have been weighing heavily on the cryptocurrency space, leading to increased volatility and uncertainty.
Furthermore, the Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE) made headlines as it saw its discount to net asset value narrow to the lowest point in a year. This development, alongside the broader market sentiment, has raised questions about the future trajectory of cryptocurrencies like Dogecoin.
What Lies Ahead For Dogecoin?
As Dogecoin grapples with this significant breakdown of its support trendline, many in the cryptocurrency community are left wondering about its immediate future. Will the rejection near the .06 mark be enough to spark a reversal, or is DOGE headed for an extended correction?
Keeping An Eye On DOGE Price Movement
In the world of cryptocurrencies, sentiment can shift rapidly, and a single piece of news or a notable price move can alter the course of a coin’s trajectory. As such, traders and enthusiasts alike will be closely monitoring Dogecoin’s price action in the coming days to determine whether this beloved meme coin can bounce back from this setback or if it will continue to tread in bearish territory.
Dogecoin’s recent bearish breakdown below its support trendline has raised concerns among its holders and the wider cryptocurrency community. While the rejection near the .06 threshold provides a glimmer of hope, the altcoin market remains highly sensitive to regulatory developments and external factors.
(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 Hill’s Pet Nutrition
What Are Smart Contracts? Unpacking Today’s Digital Agreements
In the digital currency realm, smart contracts have enhanced the financial industry through tokenization, decentralized finance (defi) and other agreements in the form of self-executing code. But how exactly do they work? What benefits do they offer? Here’s a concise overview of smart contracts and their profound effect on trust and collaboration in our interconnected society.
Smart Contract Origins
If you keep up with cryptocurrency news you’ve likely heard of “smart contracts.” Smart contracts, in their current form, are self-executing agreements housed on a blockchain.
Fundamentally, the “smart” in smart contracts stems from automation, while the “contract” denotes a binding agreement or function that runs automatically. The idea of smart contracts was first posited by American computer scientist Nick Szabo.
Ethereum’s Role & Beyond
In the early 1990s, Szabo defined smart contracts as “a set of promises, specified in digital form, including protocols within which the parties perform on these promises.” Modern smart contracts, however, didn’t emerge overnight.
But with the advent of Ethereum, the blockchain’s Turing completeness and coding capabilities quickly made it the preferred platform for smart contract protocols. Ethereum’s Turing completeness means that, in theory, any computable function can be run on Ethereum, given sufficient processing power and time.
Programming With Solidity
This capability offers vast potential for the kinds of applications and contracts that can be developed, extending well beyond mere financial transactions. Typically, these contracts are coded in Solidity, a Turing complete language tailored for smart contract development.
Solidity code is then translated into bytecode, which the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) executes. Today, smart contracts facilitate a multitude of applications, including the trading of money, goods, real estate, tokenized bonds, securities and more.
The DAO Incident and Risks
Among the first smart contracts on Ethereum were a crowdfunding contract, a blockchain domain registration system, and digital assets and tokens. For instance, The DAO, a decentralized autonomous organization for venture capital, debuted in 2016.
Despite being the first DAO, it faltered due to a flaw in its smart contract. So, while smart contracts offer numerous benefits, they come with inherent risks such as software bugs, tainted oracle data, and the potential loss or theft of contract-controlling credentials.
Varied Use Cases
Comprehensive audits, formal verification, simplifying contract design, bug bounties and following best development practices can reduce these risks. Nevertheless, challenges with smart contracts persist. Yet, they have ushered in trustless peer-to-peer trading via decentralized exchanges, and streamlined lending and borrowing processes to facilitate collateral-backed loans and interest accrual.
They’ve enabled the birth of digital tokens that represent tangible assets like real estate, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), commodities, stocks, and more. Additionally, they’ve given rise to decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) and other automated services, including file storage, prediction markets and shared computing power.
It’s safe to say that smart contracts have and still are revolutionizing the digital currency landscape, offering automation, security, and diverse applications. As they continue to evolve, their influence on trust and collaboration in our digital society is undeniable and transformative.
What do you think about smart contracts? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
Sell The News? Litecoin Traders Capitulate Ahead Of Today’s Halving
On-chain data shows that Litecoin traders are showing signs of capitulation as the asset’s much-anticipated halving event is only a few hours away now.
Is Litecoin Halving A Buy The Rumor, Sell The News Event?
The “halving” here refers to a periodic event where Litecoin’s block rewards (that is, rewards that miners receive for mining blocks) are permanently cut down in half.
This event takes place approximately every four years and the next one, which would be the third, is scheduled to happen in around five hours if data from the mining platform NiceHash is to go by.
This third halving event will reduce the cryptocurrency’s block rewards from 12.5 LTC to 6.25 LTC. Historically, these events have been important for the asset, as they mark points where the cryptocurrency’s production rate (which is nothing but the block rewards, as miners releasing these coins is the only way to mint new LTC) shrinks, and hence, the coin becomes more scarce.
As these halving events are so significant, the market naturally speculates around them, leading to the coin experiencing volatility. In a new tweet, the on-chain analytics firm Santiment has revealed how the traders have been behaving in anticipation of today’s Litecoin halving.
In the above graph, Santiment has attached the data of two metrics related to LTC: “social dominance” and the “ratio of on-chain transaction volume in profit to loss.”
The former of these tells us what percentage of discussion on social media related to the 100 largest assets in the cryptocurrency sector is coming from Litecoin alone.
From the chart, it’s visible that this indicator has observed a large spike today, showing that investors are participating in a large number of discussions related to today’s halving.
The other indicator keeps track of the ratio between the profit-taking and loss-taking volumes on the network. As displayed in the graph, this metric has taken a plunge below the 1 mark recently.
The ratio being less than 1 implies that loss-taking is the dominant force on the market at the moment. The loss volume is not only more than the profit volume right now, but it’s actually outweighing it at a ratio of more than 2:1.
This extraordinary loss-taking may be coming from the investors who purchased coins ahead of the halving believing it to be a bullish event, but as Litecoin has only gone down lower recently, the holders have panicked and are selling at losses in an attempt to avoid going further underwater. The high social dominance of the asset may also likewise be because of FUD-related discussions blowing up.
Based on these signs, it’s possible that Litecoin may be going through a classic “buy the rumor, sell the news” event.
LTC Price
At the time of writing, Litecoin is trading around , up 1% in the last week.
Bitcoin, Ethereum Technical Analysis: BTC, ETH Remain Oversold Ahead of Today’s Fed Rate Decision
Bitcoin fell below a key resistance level on Wednesday, as markets prepare for the upcoming U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate decision. It is expected that the Fed will keep interest rates unchanged at 5.25%. Ethereum remained below ,800 in today’s session.
Bitcoin
Bitcoin traded below a key price ceiling in today’s session, as traders began to anticipate this afternoon’s U.S. Federal Reserve rate decision.
BTC/USD dropped to a bottom at ,728.37 earlier in the day, which comes less than a day after trading at a high of ,376.35.
Today’s low comes as BTC bulls were unable to sustain a breakout above the aforementioned resistance of ,300.
Overall, the relative strength index (RSI) of 14 days is also hovering around a ceiling of its own at 43.00.
At the time of writing, the index is tracking at 42.56, with BTC attempting to break into the ,000 mark.
Should bulls manage to move beyond the obstacle on the RSI, there is a strong chance that price will climb past ,300 with relative ease.
Ethereum
Ethereum (ETH) was largely consolidating on Tuesday, after nearing a breakout below ,700 earlier in the week.
Following a high of ,761.96 yesterday, ETH/USD slipped to an intraday low of ,727.75 on Wednesday.
As a result of the decline, the world’s second largest cryptocurrency moved below a floor at ,730.
Bulls have since stabilized this support zone, which came as the RSI found its own floor at 38.00.
Price strength is now at 38.81, which is within the oversold region, and a possible positive for bulls looking to buy low.
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Could we see an influx of bulls buying ethereum after today’s rate decision? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
Ron Paul States Federal Reserve’s ‘Decade of Near 0% Rates’ Caused Today’s Financial Crisis
Former House Representative Ron Paul has presented his stance when it comes to the financial crisis that the U.S. is currently facing. Paul stated that the continued application of quantitative easing (QE), a policy used to increase the money supply, and the decades of almost null interest rates, are what nurtured the current financial crisis the U.S. is facing.
Ron Paul Believes Federal Reserve’s Policies Created Today’s US Financial Crisis
Ron Paul, former representative and presidential candidate, has recently talked about the financial crisis the U.S. is facing. According to him, the policies that the Federal Reserve applied to maintain a welfare state at the cost of creating deficits have created today’s financial hardships for the country.
Paul stated:
Today’s financial hardships stem from the Fed’s decade of near 0% rates and quantitative easing (QE). These created a decade’s worth of uneconomic investments. Every bad idea imaginable received funding.
Paul criticized loose monetary policies he says allowed bad debt to be created with credit going to non-profitable investments, and this situation is now becoming unsustainable to the tightening of economic conditions. Paul explained that “as much as a ‘hangover’ after the consumption of too much alcohol is painful, so is it painful when a fake prosperity crashes with economic reality.”
‘The Fed Is Unconstitutional’ but Part of the Solution
Paul, a longtime critic of the validity of the existence of the U.S. Federal Reserve and its faculties, praised the action of the institution that is currently trying to rein in inflation by raising interest rates, even if this has affected the banking system according to government spokespersons.
On this, Paul remarked:
Rising interest rates under Powell are the cure and road back to some form of economic sanity. The Fed shouldn’t exist. It’s unconstitutional and immoral. But rising rates are not the source of our problems. The big blunder was 0% rates and QE.
Paul has been alerting the public about the progression of the de-dollarization process and the effects that losing reserve currency status might have on the U.S. While he believes that the de-dollarization process has recently accelerated, with the recent activities of the BRICS bloc, he stated this will likely take longer than some predictions indicate and that there is no established timeline for this to happen.
What do you think about Ron Paul and his opinion about the role of the Federal Reserve in the U.S. financial crisis? Tell us in the comments section below.
Here’s How To Trade Today’s CPI In Bitcoin And Crypto
Amid news and rumors of a harsh crackdown of the crypto sector by U.S. authorities, the Bitcoin and crypto market is facing a crucial turning point today with the release of the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) for January 2023. The release by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics will take place at 8:30 A.M. Eastern Time (EST).
The Bitcoin price – the leading indicator for the overall crypto market – is just above its key support zone and could face extremely high volatility today. Thus, today’s CPI could be a turning point for the crypto market in its uptrend, if there is a nasty surprise.
How Will Bitcoin React To CPI?
The broader financial market has seen a meteoric rise since the beginning of the year, fueled by dreams of falling inflation and the possibility of interest rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve. But given the new weighting of the various components in the CPI and the annual reference, forecasting is more difficult than ever.
Accordingly, the CPI report is causing even more excitement than usual among traders and investors. Expert expectations are for headline CPI to rise 0.5% month-on-month and 6.2% year-on-year, with the latter expected to decline from 6.5% in December.
Core inflation is expected to rise 0.4% month-over-month and 5.5% year-over-year (down from 5.7%). The fear is that a high inflation rate in January could prompt the U.S. Federal Reserve to raise interest rates even higher than projected and keep them at this level for longer.
Thus, the starting point is clear: If the CPI is below expectations, Bitcoin and crypto will see an uptick that will be more or less depending on the magnitude of the CPI. Any disappointment, a CPI above expectations, is likely to trigger a sell-off as the Fed gets more leeway to raise rates.
Meanwhile, the forecasts of individual market participants diverge widely, mainly because the impact of several changes in the calculation is difficult to gauge. While the market consensus is 6.2%, the Cleveland Fed estimates 6.48%, Kalshi 6.6% and Truflation 5.8%.
Remarkably, Truflation has been spot on the last few times. The previous YoY forecasts for US CPI were October 2022: 7.7% (actually 7.7%), November 2022: 7.4% (actually 7.1%), and December 2022: 6.5% (actually 6.5%).
Among the major banks, the estimates also diverge, in some cases sharply. While Bank of America forecasts 6.1%, Goldman Sachs predicts 6.4%. In the middle are Credit Suisse, JP Morgan and Wells Fargo with 6.2%.
JP Morgan’s gameplan for the S&P 500, with which Bitcoin has been highly correlated over the past 18 months, is as follows: The base case (with a 65% probability) sees January CPI between 6.0% and 6.3%, which could trigger a 1.5% to 2% upside move in the S&P 500.
The second most likely case, according to JP Morgan, is a CPI of 6.4% or 6.5%, which could push the S&P 500 down 0.75% to 1.5%. Both other scenarios (above 6.5% and below 6.0%) have only a marginal probability of 5%, according to the banking giant.
Cpi impact on market expectation by Jpm
#cpi #fed #SPX500 #fx #futures pic.twitter.com/X5cSOIQcOZ
— CosmoNode
(@cosmo_node) February 14, 2023
For Bitcoin, the most likely scenario could trigger an even bigger uptrend as the crypto market is more volatile. In any case, investors should prepare for just that – a volatile Valentine’s Day.
At press time, the Bitcoin price was trading at ,739, holding above the crucial support area between ,400 and ,600.
Bitcoin Price Poised To Rally Big-Time On Today’s PCE Release
The Bitcoin price could see a significant uptick today Friday, December 23 at 8:30 am (EST) if the Core Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (PCE) comes in better than expected. And the chances are high!
Bitcoin price has been heavily dependent on macro data and the decisions of the U.S. Federal Reserve (FED) lately. The last FOMC meeting of the year on December 13 provided a bearish surprise, even though the consumer price index (CPI) came in better than expected.
However, there was a catch. After the FOMC meeting, rumors emerged that chairman Jerome Powell ignored the CPI data that arrived a few hours before the meeting, although he claimed the opposite in the press conference. Within Wall Street, several analysts spoke out, accusing Powell of hoaxes.
Why Today’s Core PCE Is Of Paramount Importance
The problem is that the Fed’s forecast for core PCE inflation seems far too high after the surprisingly weak CPI data, as Tomas Lee, an analyst at Fundstrat, writes.
As the economic forecast overview shows, the FED raised the core PCE inflation target for 2022 from 4.5% to 4.8%. With that, Powell added to the “higher for longer” narrative. But there is something “odd,” as Lee explained. The month-to-month percentage change in inflation would have to be staggeringly high to reach the FED’s 4.8% target.
Lee wonders how the FED can forecast 4.8% core PCE inflation in 2022 when inflation is moving toward 4.1-4.2%. “How can Fed forecast be so far??” Lee wrote.
The analyst points to a ransomware attack on Haver Analytics as a possible reason for this large divergence. Due to the attack, Haver Analytics may not have been able to update the data, which is why Jerome Powell and the FOMC committee ignored the positive data.
Therefore, according to the Fundstrat analyst, today’s PCE release is of massive importance. Lee writes:
We think core PCE inflation will be 0.10% compared to Cleveland Fed inflation NOW forecast of 0.26%. Any figure below 0.40% would make #FOMC figure of 4.8% too high.
Remarkably, the PCE is also the key data point for the U.S. central bank. The FED’s forecasts and its 2% target are not based on CPI, but on the PCE. Twitter user ZeroHedge estimated based on this fact:
If tomorrow’s core PCE is 4.5% or lower (~75% chance), the entire hawkish FOMC repricing is blown out – no way 4.8% core PCE in December, SEP/Dots repriced and terminal rate tumbles.
The Impact On The Bitcoin Price
If the PCE is significantly below the FED’s expectations, the theory would find confirmation today and could completely wipe out the bearish sentiment. The FED would possibly be forced to revise its forecasts as the PCE shows that inflation is under control.
This could prompt the FED to take a more dovish stance at the next meeting, with markets front-running this as early as today. Ultimately, the PCE release could lead to a weaker dollar, spurring risk assets like Bitcoin.
At press time, the Bitcoin price stood at ,827. Today, like the last few days, the ,900 level will be of key importance as the most crucial resistance at the moment.
If there is a strong push above this resistance, the next target would be the ,400 region. Otherwise, Bitcoin investors should keep an eye on the support at ,400.
Why Bitcoin Price Could Bounce After Today’s FOMC Meeting
The Bitcoin price has been moving sideways over the past few days bound solely to macroeconomic factors. The benchmark cryptocurrency was rejected north of ,000 after “The Merge” and seems poised to face volatility over today’s trading session.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin (BTC) trades at ,200 with sideways movement in the last 24 hours and a 5% loss over the past week. As the market moves past “The Merge”, crypto has returned to its correlation with global markets and the most important factors driving the price action: inflation and interest rates.
BTC’s price moving sideways on the 4-hour chart. Source: BTCUSDT Tradingview
What To Expect For The Bitcoin Price Ahead Of The FOMC Meeting?
Later today the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) will hold its Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting where it will announce its upcoming interest rate hike. As it has happened in the past month, the crypto market is poised to see an uptick in volatility ahead of this major event.
Market participants seem to be expecting another 75 basis points increase after the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) print and the Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP) metrics. The results of these reports hinted at persistent core inflation in the U.S. dollar, according to trading desk QCP Capital.
The firm believes that the market will be looking at today’s interest rate hikes, the Fed’s plan for the future of its monetary policy, and its reaction to inflation. In that sense, today’s FOMC will be critical for market participants to have a deeper insight into the Fed’s strategy. The trading desk wrote:
(…) we believe the focus will be on the Dot plot. Markets will look for clear guidance on the expected number of hikes for the last 3 FOMC meetings of 2022, as well as the updated terminal rate FOMC members are forecasting for next year.
Without “The Merge” acting as a bullish catalyzer, and with Ethereum trading under a “sell the news” setup, the Bitcoin price and crypto market have flipped to extreme fear levels. This sentiment seems to be the norm across all financial sectors.
As seen below, even Gold is displaying a high correlation with risk-on assets, QCP Capital stated. The precious metal has underperformed in circumstances where Gold should be rallying, with high inflation, and a major arm conflict in Europe (Russia invading Ukraine).
Correlation between Gold and S&P500 (risk assets) trends to the upside. Source: QCP Capital via Twitter
Bitcoin Price Set For A Relief Rally?
Finally, QCP Capital believes the Bitcoin price and the crypto market could see some relief. If the Fed stays within market expectations, announcing a 75-bps interest rate hike, cryptocurrencies and other risks on assets could react to the upside.
As trading firm noted, every FOMC meeting in 2022 has led to a crypto relief rally, this time seems poised to move in tandem with historical data. QCP Capital added:
How long this rally lasts is another question though. Will it just be a single day short squeeze like in May and June? Or can we finally sustain some positive momentum into Q4 and the next CPI pivot in 3 weeks.