The African Development Bank (ADB) and Intel have announced a significant partnership to train three million Africans and 30,000 government officials in advanced artificial intelligence (AI) skills. According to the ADB, this training is expected to revolutionize the African digital ecosystem and contribute to economic growth. The program will tackle socio-economic challenges and enhance productivity […]
Bitcoin News
Don’t Miss The VeChain Train — Analyst Projects 400% Price Increase
VeChain (VET), a blockchain platform aiming to revolutionize supply chain management, has become a hot topic in the cryptocurrency world. A recent surge in VET’s price, coupled with technical breakthroughs, has ignited a wave of optimism among investors and analysts.
VeChain Shatters Resistance Levels, Bullish Flag Signals New Highs
The good news for VeChain started with a decisive break above a multi-year downtrend line. This technical indicator, closely watched by analysts, suggests a potential shift in long-term market sentiment. Additionally, VET decisively surpassed a key horizontal resistance level, adding fuel to the bullish fire.
At the time of writing, VET was trading at .04, down 3.1% in the last 24 hour, but managed to sustain a 17% gain the last week, data from Coingecko shows.
Following this breakout, VeChain entered a consolidation phase, a period of sideways trading often seen after a significant price increase. However, this pause proved to be temporary. VET recently emerged from a bullish flag formation, a technical pattern known for preceding substantial price increases. Analysts are interpreting this breakout as a sign that VeChain is poised for another leg up.
400% Surge Anticipated: Will VeChain Live Up To The Hype?
Capitalizing on the bullish sentiment, crypto analysts have made some bold predictions. World of Charts, a prominent analyst group, is forecasting a staggering 400% increase in VET’s value in the coming weeks.
Recently #Vet Breaks Multiple Resistances Multi-year Descending Trendline+ Horizontal Resistance Accumulation Area & Retested Perfectly Also Now Breaking Bullish Flag Too Still Expecting 400% Profit In Coming Weeks In #VeChai https://t.co/NamieY9HrX pic.twitter.com/UhbFjRRCyT
— World Of Charts (@WorldOfCharts1) April 11, 2024
X user Clifton Fx also provided a positive outlook. A 25% surge to .06 is in the cards in the next days, the expert said, pointing to VET’s “bullish flag” on the daily period.
$VET (Update)
Bullish Flag Formation in Daily Timeframe…
In Case of Upside Breakout Expecting Bullish Wave
#VETUSDT #VET #Crypto pic.twitter.com/ZH9YqUNfjf
— Clifton Fx (@clifton_ideas) April 11, 2024
However, the cryptocurrency market is notorious for its volatility, and unforeseen events can trigger rapid price swings. While the technical indicators and analyst forecasts paint a rosy picture for VeChain, there’s no guarantee that the predicted surge will materialize.
Beyond The Hype: VeChain’s Real-World Potential
VeChain’s appeal goes beyond the recent technical triumphs and the allure of potential windfalls. Unlike many cryptocurrencies focused solely on speculation, VeChain offers a tangible solution to real-world problems. Its blockchain platform tackles inefficiencies and lack of transparency in supply chains, a multi-trillion dollar industry ripe for disruption.
VeChain’s technology allows businesses to track products throughout the entire supply chain process, ensuring authenticity, quality, and efficient logistics. This not only benefits businesses but also empowers consumers with greater transparency about the products they purchase.
VeChain’s recent surge and optimistic forecasts present an attractive opportunity for investors. However, the inherent volatility of the cryptocurrency market cannot be overstated.
Featured image from Binance Academy, chart from TradingView
Avalanche Foundation to Hop Onto the Meme Coin Train, Announces Investment in Selected Projects
The Avalanche Foundation, an institution that funds avalanche initiatives, has recently announced that it will start investing in meme coins. These purchases will be made using funds from the 0 million Culture Catalyst fund launched in 2022, and the tokens will be selected based on their number of holders, liquidity thresholds, and project maturity, among other elements.
Avalanche to Invest in Meme Coins Using 0 Million Culture Catalyst Fund
The Avalanche Foundation has announced that it is taking a position in meme coins. In a recent X post, the foundation revealed that it will invest in selected meme coins, broadening its portfolio as part of a comprehensive move to embrace “a more complete spectrum of possibilities.”
This investment will be made using Culture Catalyst, a fund launched in 2022 during the Avalanche Summit in Barcelona. The institution will use part of the 0 million fund, initially focused on “helping to cultivate and support the many new forms of creativity, culture, and lifestyle that blockchain enables,” to purchase these tokens.
The foundation remarked on the relevance of this kind of token in today’s crypto market, stating that they “go beyond mere utility assets; they represent the collective spirit and shared interests of diverse crypto communities.” The meme tokens to be part of Avalanche’s investments will be selected based on their number of holders, liquidity thresholds, project maturity, principles of a fair launch, and overall social sentiment, among other aspects.
Emin Gün Sirer, founder and CEO of Ava Labs, recognized that, at first, he could not understand the appeal of meme coins. Nonetheless, this has changed, and he now recognizes the value of these tokens as part of the crypto ecosystem. He stated:
It took me a while to see the value of memecoins myself. I wasn’t happy when Elon was pumping Doge. It also took a while for me to see the value of high-end NFTs. But I now understand the cultural importance of coins that are just social signaling mechanisms.
The meme coin economy experienced significant growth this month, reaching a market cap of almost billion on December 9.
What do you think about Avalanche’s move into meme coins? Tell us in the comments section below.
Adrian Day Warns of ‘Inevitable’ US Recession, Describes it as a ‘Freight Train Heading Towards Us’
In a recent interview, Adrian Day, CEO of Adrian Day Asset Management, shared his insights, positing a looming economic downturn in the U.S. Day critically analyzed the Federal Reserve’s actions, explaining their expected impacts on the nation’s economy.
Adrian Day: Recession Looms Like an Oncoming Train
On November 8, 2023, Adrian Day the founder and CEO of Adrian Day Asset Management spoke with Michelle Makori, the lead anchor and editor-in-chief at Kitco News at the New Orleans Investment Conference 2023. During the interview, Day voiced concerns about the U.S. economy’s trajectory towards recession, deeming it “inevitable” due to the delayed repercussions of monetary policy tightening.
He noted the historical sequence where recessions ensue rate hiking cycles, highlighting that the average delay from rate hikes’ commencement to recession onset spans approximately 22 months. This perspective indicates that the U.S. might not yet have fully grappled with the Federal Reserve’s measures, suggesting an impending recession.
“A recession is inevitable in my view,” Day said. “It’s all but inevitable, it’s built-in and a lot of people think, well you know the Fed’s done all is dramatic hiking and we haven’t had a recession yet, therefore we’ve escaped it — I think they’re living in fantasy land.
Day critiqued the Federal Reserve’s strategy, arguing missed opportunities in rate adjustments, potentially complicating future economic scenarios. He underscored the uncertainty shrouding forthcoming rate hikes, emphasizing that prolonged high rates would significantly affect households and corporations. Day’s stance implies a ‘tighter for longer’ approach by the Fed, likely leading to more severe economic consequences.
Addressing inflation, Day forecasted a resurgence, attributing it to base effects and escalating oil prices. He contended that, even if the Fed curbs inflation, the implemented measures might intensify a recession. Day’s commentary mirrors skepticism about the Federal Reserve’s capacity to ensure a smooth economic transition, suggesting that either persistent inflation or aggressive rate hikes could precipitate economic difficulties.
Regarding investment strategies amidst these uncertainties, Day recommended diversifying portfolios and focusing on assets like gold and gold stocks, which he perceives as undervalued. “The outlook for gold is strong,” Day told Makori. “So gold stocks are very undervalued, but I think we’re approaching a time when we’re going to start seeing gold stocks attract buyers if the stock market starts to falter, not crash, but falter we’re going to see a rotation into … sectors that are undervalued.”
He also advised allocating a substantial portion of assets into cash or short-term treasuries, citing their current appealing returns. This strategy, Day suggests, equips investors to capitalize on potential market shifts stemming from the evolving economic landscape. “I think a recession is coming, it’s a freight train heading towards us, it just hasn’t hit us yet … it’s inevitable because of the lagging effects of the tightening,” Day told Makori.
What do you think about Day’s projections about specific assets and the state of the U.S. economy? Do you think a recession is inevitable? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
Former Treasury Official Issues Dire Warning, Bill Ackman Fears Economic ‘Train Wreck,’ US Gov. Remains Top BTC Holder, and More — Week in Review
Warnings continue to pervade market and financial news this week, with Monica Crowley, former assistant secretary for public affairs for the U.S. Department of the Treasury, indicating “catastrophic” consequences if the U.S. dollar loses its status as the world’s reserve currency. In related news, billionaire Bill Ackman warned that the U.S. economy is “heading for a train wreck.” Meanwhile, First Citizens Bank has acquired SVB, and the U.S. government remains a top bitcoin holder with its seized stash. All this and more, just below.
Former Treasury Official Warns of Complete Economic Implosion if US Dollar Loses Global Reserve Currency Status
Former Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs for the U.S. Department of the Treasury Monica Crowley has warned of “catastrophic” consequences if the U.S. dollar loses its status as the world’s reserve currency. “That would mean the end of the U.S. dollar,” she said, predicting that “there would be a complete implosion of the global economic system.”
Billionaire Bill Ackman on US Banking Crisis: ‘I Fear We Are Heading for a Train Wreck’
Billionaire Bill Ackman has warned that the U.S. economy is “heading for a train wreck” if the government allows the current banking crisis to continue. “Trust and confidence are earned over many years, but can be wiped out in a few days,” he said. “Hopefully, our regulators will get this right.”
US Government Remains a Top Bitcoin Holder With Seized Stash Valued at .6 Billion
As of March 25, 2023, the U.S. government held 205,515 bitcoins worth .6 billion, which is approximately 1.06% of the circulating supply, according to current statistics. The cache of bitcoins is a result of three forfeitures that began in 2020. Glassnode’s on-chain data reveals that on March 9, about 9,860 bitcoins worth roughly 9 million were sent to a Coinbase address.
First Citizens Bank Acquires Silicon Valley Bank, Costing FDIC Deposit Insurance Fund an Estimated B
According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the troubled bank Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) was acquired by First Citizens Bank & Trust Company, which is based in Raleigh, North Carolina. First Citizens acquired all deposits and loans from SVB, as well as the 17 branches that SVB owned across the United States.
Where do you think the global economy is heading? Are the warnings of collapse overblown, underplayed, inaccurate, or right on the money? Let us know in the comments section below.
Billionaire Bill Ackman on US Banking Crisis: ‘I Fear We Are Heading for a Train Wreck’
Billionaire Bill Ackman has warned that the U.S. economy is “heading for a train wreck” if the government allows the current banking crisis to continue. “Trust and confidence are earned over many years, but can be wiped out in a few days,” he said. “Hopefully, our regulators will get this right.”
Bill Ackman’s Warning
Billionaire Bill Ackman, CEO and portfolio manager of Pershing Square Capital Management, has warned of an incoming train wreck. Pershing Square is a hedge fund management company with approximately .5 billion in assets under management. Ackman’s net worth is about .4 billion.
Commenting on the current banking crisis following the failures of major banks, including Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, Ackman tweeted Wednesday:
Consider recent events impact on the long-term cost of equity capital for non-systemically important banks where you can wake up one day as a shareholder or bondholder and your investment instantly goes to zero.
Systemically important banks (SIBs) are banks that are considered to be so large or complex that their failure could have a significant impact on the financial system and the wider economy. On the Financial Stability Board’s (FSB) 2022 list, there are 30 systemically important banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, HSBC, and the troubled Credit Suisse.
“When combined with the higher cost of debt and deposits due to rising rates, consider what the impact will be on lending rates and our economy,” Ackman continued, warning:
The longer this banking crisis is allowed to continue, the greater the damage to smaller banks and their ability to access low-cost capital. Trust and confidence are earned over many years, but can be wiped out in a few days. I fear we are heading for a train wreck. Hopefully, our regulators will get this right.
The billionaire believes the government should guarantee all bank deposits. On March 22, he tweeted explaining that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s “reassuring comments” the previous day “led the market and depositors to believe that all deposits were now implicitly guaranteed.” He also referenced “a leak” suggesting that Yellen, the Treasury Department, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) “were looking for a way to guarantee all deposits reassured the banking sector and depositors.”
However, Yellen then “walked back yesterday’s implicit support for small banks and depositors, while making it explicit that systemwide deposit guarantees were not being considered,” Ackman’s tweet adds.
“We have gone from implicit support for depositors to Secretary Yellen’s explicit statement today that no guarantee is being considered,” he further opined, noting that the Federal Reserve has raised the federal funds rate to 4.75%-5.00%. “5% is a threshold that makes bank deposits that much less attractive. I would be surprised if deposit outflows don’t accelerate effective immediately,” Ackman cautioned, elaborating:
A temporary systemwide deposit guarantee is needed to stop the bleeding. The longer the uncertainty continues, the more permanent the damage is to the smaller banks, and the more difficult it will be to bring their customers back.
Do you agree with Bill Ackman? Let us know in the comments section below.
Bitcoin Inflows Shows Institutional Investors Are Back On The Bull Train
Bitcoin recovered above K on Tuesday following a rallying that pulled the market back into the green. October has so far been good for the digital asset and investors have begun to return again into the market amid recovering prices. On the investment front, inflows show that institutional interest in bitcoin is returning after inflows had fallen short of expectations in the previous weeks.
Bitcoin Makes Up 76.6% Of Weekly Inflows
A report published by CoinShares shows that bitcoin inflows had picked back up. Altcoins had been taking more market share as their popularity grew due to the rise of decentralized finance (DeFi) networks like Ethereum and Solana. These assets had dominated market inflows as investors had flocked to profit from their growth. Altcoins had seen the largest shares of market inflows throughout the month of September. But the close of the month had shown a decisive turn in institutional investors’ sentiments.
Related Reading | Why The Bitcoin At 0K Discourse Remains Strong Despite Market Crashes
The report showed that institutional inflows were million for the previous week, and bitcoin alone had seen inflows of million. This accounted for 76.6% of the total inflows, showing that institutional investors are not turning their attention back to bitcoin. The highly appreciative asset has a proven track record of long-term success and its recent turn in prices has been evidence of that.
Investors’ confidence in BTC is on the mend. The Fear & Greed Index moved into greed, showing mounting buying pressure on the market. Bitcoin and its related products are seeing increased interest from investors, and most importantly, big money is moving back into the asset.
BTC breaks K resistance point | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com
Market Inflows Pick Up As Altcoins Concede
Inflows in the market have picked up in recent weeks. This marks the 7th consecutive week of inflows and a total of 1 million has moved into the market. Altcoins have given up some of the market shares which they had pinched from the top cryptocurrency. Ethereum inflows for the week had totaled million, down 3% from its peak to only 25% of total inflows.
Related Reading | Bitcoin Shakes Off Bloody September As Price Breaks K, Headed For New All-Time Highs?
Solana which had dominated inflows for a while in September had recorded a significant drop in inflows. The asset recorded only minor inflows of .7 million. Alongside other altcoins which had suffered the same fate. Cardano, the third-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, only saw inflows totaling .1 million. While Polkadot, Tezos, and Binance each recorded inflows totaling .8 million.
Volumes have however remained low despite inflows. At the height of the bull market in May, volumes had reached .4 billion. Now, volumes are at a low of .4 billion, representing an over 70% drop from their peak in May.
Featured image from Coinnounce, chart from TradingView.com
NewsBTC
All Aboard the Hype Train: CoinMetro Smashes Q1 Growth Expectations
CoinMetro, the crypto-platform powering the future of finance, announced today that they’ve shattered their growth expectations, with revenue leaping 100x in March 2021 compared to March 2020.
Buoyed by a strong crypto market, a vibrant community, and an ever-expanding product lineup, CoinMetro has more than doubled its revenue projections for Q1 2021, putting the Tallinn-based crypto-platform comfortably on track to smash its remaining targets throughout the rest of the financial year.
Fuelled by XCM
Although many cryptocurrency exchanges have been collectively reaping the benefits of a booming digital economy, few if any at all have seen the growth that the CoinMetro ecosystem has.
You see much of the overall attention has been focused on BTC, ETH, etc.
The usual suspects.
Meanwhile, CoinMetro’s own native utility token, XCM, has been on a tear. XCM, by all accounts, has been something of a giant killer, putting the likes of Binance and Uniswap to shame by climbing an astonishing 1400% in value.
So, as the CoinMetro and XCM hype train has gained steam, so too has the company’s customer base which has pushed revenues to an all-time high.
Scaling the Team
It’s not just revenues and customer base that have been growing. Supporting all this growth means scaling up the teams responsible for developing, selling, supporting, and securing CoinMetro’s products.
“I’m immensely proud of the work the team at CoinMetro has put in to get us where we are,” said Kevin Murcko, CoinMetro’s CEO, “the passion, the commitment, the enthusiasm, the dedication to our clients, it’s all part of the recipe needed to change the way the world sees, thinks, and interacts with money”.
“No doubt though, we’ve still got some big milestones ahead of us. And to make sure we keep this pace up, we’ve been hiring relentlessly and bringing new creative and inspired minds onto the team. 2021 is going to be a very big year for us” Kevin continued, with his trademark grin.
Building the Future of Finance
Glancing at CoinMetro’s ambitious 2021 roadmap says a lot about Kevin’s optimism.
There’s some really big stuff in there.
CoinMetro Group’s company Digital Fiat OÜ recently announced that they’ve been awarded an all-important E-Money Institution Agent license from the Bank of Lithuania, paving the way for cards, individual IBAN accounts, direct debits, and much more.
Just another piece of CoinMetro’s overarching plan to become the future of finance and change the way the world interacts with money.
CoinMetro is also eyeing up the lucrative B2B “know your customer” sector that has emerged in recent years. Rather than buying “off the shelf” customer verification solutions, from providers like Veriff, CoinMetro felt that building their own customer verification infrastructure made more business sense.
This means that not only does CoinMetro have tighter control (and security) of their own product, they’re now in a position to tap into a market worth .6 billion by offering their bespoke B2B legal KYC and whitelabel verification services to other businesses.
Sights Set on an MTF License
An MTF license is an investment firm license to become a multilateral trading facility (MTF) which is a European self-regulated financial trading venue. This allows them to offer CFD’s, futures, options and the listings of equities and bonds of SME’s with market caps of lower than €200 million. In addition to this the MTF license allows for a distributed ledger technology exemption to settle their own securities transactions on DLT.
CoinMetro is in the process of securing more funding for the multilateral trading facility license. While looking to raise €1.5 million, they ended up with interest for over €3 million in additional funding. The €1.5 million required for the MTF license has been confirmed and they expect to see the rest finalized in the coming weeks.
About CoinMetro
An EU-licensed exchange, CoinMetro is owned and operated by CoinMetro Group OÜ, a company incorporated in Estonia. The CoinMetro Platform is an exchange-based order book for various pairings of cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies and is now a primary and secondary market for digital securities. Digital Fiat OÜ is an agent to an authorized electronic money institution Payrnet UAB and part of companies in the CoinMetro Group.
Final Chance to Get on the Train – First Crypto Project Backed by a $100 Million Public Company
Imagine a huge company creating a public blockchain project, for a real-world use case, which is guaranteed to get a strong userbase from day-one with a lot of room for others to adopt and join the crowd. Now, if this project is created in a place where crypto adoption is on the verge of hitting its peak, it could reach critical mass in no time and spread to other geographies.
Enter Isiklar Group
Now stop imagining as it is turning into a reality, courtesy of Isiklar Group – one of the biggest business conglomerates in Turkey. The ISIKC project is the construction giant’s contribution to the cryptosphere which could result in the creation of the world’s first major blockchain loyalty program. This program will be initially adopted by the company’s long list of business partners including suppliers and consumers, enabling all parties to secure concessions and discounts on products and services.
The ISIKC project is poised to become a success not only because of its utility but also its initial target geography. Turkey has emerged as a hotspot for cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology with consistent growth in adoption. Apart from the increasing ownership of bitcoin and other leading cryptocurrencies, the country is among the handful few considering the development and implementation of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) whose pilot launch is expected to happen anytime this year.
As a pet project of a 50-year-old company, the ISIKC platform incorporates a namesake ISIKC ERC20 utility token, available to the public to invest in, own and trade against other crypto assets. Thanks to the backing of a listed company, the ISIKC token has been registering steady gains since its launch over a year ago. Starting with an initial value of $ 0.2, ISIKC is now over .93 which places the crypto’s gains at over 450%. While those invested in ISIKC during the initial days have been enjoying the growth of their assets, new entrants or those wishing to boost their holdings have another opportunity with the ongoing secondary public offering of the token.
The Opportunity of a Lifetime
With another week left, the second stage of the token sale is offering a total of 10 million ISIKC tokens at .4 each, which is less than half the current market price. ISIKIC can be purchased with leading cryptocurrencies as well as major credit and debit cards on their website. However, given the potential use case of the project as a transparent, trustless loyalty program which combined with the backing of a 0 million public company, experts believe that the ISIKC token’s true worth may be undervalued in the current scenario.
Meanwhile, market speculations indicate that ISIKC may be listed on top-tier exchanges and trading platforms in the near future, enabling access to crypto investors and traders from across the world. Once it happens, the value of ISIKC may increase multiple folds to further reinforce the position of Isiklar’s platform as a crypto investment platform with the lowest fees in the investment world.
The ISIKC secondary token sale presents itself as the last chance for investors to buy into the ISIKC ecosystem at a much lesser cost than what it may otherwise cost at a later date.
Join the ISIKC token sale at – https://www.isikc.io/
Image by Rocco Stoppoloni from Pixabay
TRON, Stellar Join Mousebelts Blockchain Education Alliance to Train Student Developers
The 13-firm alliance will tackle crypto recruiters’ quandary with a raft of tools to train students.
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