In brief Gemini will soon list three new cryptocurrencies on its exchange. Prices for Orchid and Chainlink are up big on the news. New York-based cryptocurrency exchange Gemini today announced that it’s adding three new cryptocurrencies to its list of digital offerings: Chainlink (LINK), Dai (DAI) and Orchid (OXT).
While the three tokens will not be available on the exchange until April 24, news of the forthcoming listing is already driving considerable interest for these coins: prices for OXT and LINK, for example, skyrocketed today between 10% and 15%, respectively.
Once the coins are listed on the Winklevoss-backed exchange, Gemini customers will be able to deposit them into their online wallets and start trading soon after. Gemini says it will also be offering USD, Bitcoin and Ethereum trading pairs for LINK, DAI and OXT.
This will bring the total number of cryptocurrencies supported and offered by Gemini to nine. Aside from these three new additions, Gemini also supports Bitcoin, Litecoin, Zcash (ZEC) and Basic Attention Token (BAT). It also offers custody services for 15 coins, including 0x (ZRX), Bread (BRD), Decentraland (MANA) and its own stablecoin Gemini USD (GUSD).
While DAI is also a stablecoin—meaning it’s designed to protect users against volatility—the news appears to have positively influenced the prices of both Chainlink and Orchid.
Orchid’s OXT is now trading for $0.15 per coin, a price level it hasn’t seen since before the mid-March crypto crash. Chainlink, meanwhile, is now priced at $3.40, making it today’s best performing asset in the industry’s top 20 coins by market cap.
In fact, Chainlink has gained more than $1 on its price since the beginning of the week. It’s the first time LINK has soared above the $3 line in nearly a month. Today’s surge marks a one-day gain of $0.60 for the world’s 11th largest cryptocurrency, which powers the “oracle of oracles” network.
Chainlink broadcasts Internet data on the Ethereum blockchain for use in smart contracts. The other network getting some shine today, Orchid, is predominantly used by those seeking additional privacy to purchase virtual private networking (VPN) bandwidth.
“These assets expand the range of our platform and further our mission to empower the individual through crypto,” Gemini wrote on its blog page. “We look forward to continuing to bring mission-oriented projects to you in the future.”
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Crypto assets dedicated to decentralized finance (DeFi) have collectively hit $1 billion in market capitalization.
DeFi is designed to give people an alternative to traditional banking services such as borrowing and lending by using platforms that are decentralized, lack control by middlemen and utilize smart contracts to automate transactions.
At time of writing, the total market cap for all listed tokens on DeFiMarketCap, an analytics website that shows the market cap of 230 tokens underpinning DeFi, is $1,068,714,105.
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Ethereum-based protocol Maker dominates the pack with a market cap of $295,878,527.
It’s followed by 0x with a market cap of $171,252,000, and Synthetix Network Token with a market cap of $120,956,075.
TD Ameritrade recently joined the Chicago DeFi Alliance (CDA), a new group aiming to support companies that are working to build decentralized finance products.
But the space also has its share of critics. Litecoin creator Charlie Lee says he believes DeFi platforms are ultimately centralized, citing an attack on the Ethereum-based bZx protocol. To reverse the damage from the attack, the bZx team decided to use an admin key to pause the network.
“This is why I don’t believe in DeFi. It’s the worst of both worlds. Most DeFi can be shut down by a centralized party, so it’s just decentralization theatre. And yet no one can undo a hack or exploit unless we add more centralization. So how is this better than what we have now?”
Altcoins are back in style. As the price for one bitcoin has increased to trade around the $8,450 level, several top altcoins are posting double-digit gains against a generally-green backdrop, while Ethereum is on a roll – gaining almost 6% over the last 24 hours.
BNB, Maker, Holo and Chainlink are benefiting the most, posting gains of 8%, 9%, 11% and 14% respectively. But privacy and not-so-much privacy coins are seeing moderate losses, with Monero, Dash and Zcash performing at -0.6%, -1.8% and -1.1%.
While today’s woes may derive from coincidental market fluctuations, pressure from the FATF Travel Rule may cause investors to hold off from privacy coins for now.
What’s behind these impressive gains? BNB
… the sudden surge appears to be caused by a rumor that was later confirmed by CZ: Binance will start offering a fiat-to-crypto on-ramp in China through an integration with Alipay and WeChat. The news was falsely reported by numerous media outlets this morning as being a direct partnership.
Together these are the largest digital wallet providers in China, with adoption comparable to that of credit cards in the U.S. The news will have a profound effect on markets, in light of the ban of all native Chinese cryptocurrency exchanges in 2017, which left mainland traders scrambling to find ways of buying crypto.
Maker
…rise can be attributed to the announcement of a release date for Multi Collateral DAI. Due to Maker’s governance structure, the community will still need to vote for the proposal on November 15, with the CEO of Maker Foundation Rune Christensen urging all participants to do so. The first tokens to be evaluated for additional collateral will be ETH and BAT, with a full risk assessment provided to the Maker community for consideration.
Chainlink
…shows no signs of slowing down. After a variety of announcements that fueled its growth recently, the project delivered the final stroke: the Trusted Computation Framework, a collaboration with Intel, Hyperledger and Ethereum Enterprise Alliance.
The framework is designed to solve scalability issues affecting blockchains by moving computational and private data processing off-chain. Chainlink’s oracles will be providing the bridge between the two worlds, allowing the offloading of very resource-intensive operations without compromising on security. While the news was released two days ago, the daily sentiment for LINK remains ‘very high’ at 83%, according to data from thetie.io
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Holochain
… the rise may be due to a preview of HoloPort, although it is largely an interface update. Sentiment is also neutral.
VanEck publishes investment case for Bitcoin VanEck, one of the two companies that submitted an ETF proposal due for deliberation this month, before subsequently withdrawing it from consideration, has published a comprehensive investment case for Bitcoin.
The report is prefaced with a definition of Bitcoin’s value. The company distinguishes between two different types of value for traded assets, categorizing stocks, real estate and commodities as ‘Intrinsic Value’ assets.
On the other hand gold, art, precious stones and bitcoin are categorized as having ‘Monetary Value,’ which arises from “Behavioral economics, heard behavior, etc.”
Based on these descriptions and other aspects of monetary theory, the report goes on to make a case that Bitcoin is a store of value and can be considered as digital gold.
Curiously, the report highlights some of the same concerns that the SEC has about Bitcoin ETFs; namely the lack of custodians, prime brokers, settlement entities and others, which are preventing significant institutional exposure.
Nevertheless, VanEck argues that increasing adoption figures, the upcoming halving, and increasing development momentum all make for a convincing reason to allocate a part of investor portfolios to Bitcoin.
Nathan Batchelor On Bitcoin Bitcoin has consolidated in a narrow range over the last twenty-four hours, with bulls maintaining the BTC/USD pair above the $8,000 support level. It is worth reiterating that the SEC is deciding on the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF this week, so trading volumes could remain light up until the decision.
TradingView.com In the near-term, the Choppiness Indicator and the Balance of Power Indicator show that short-term BTC/USD buyers are still in control of the cryptocurrency.
The four-hour time frame shows that Choppiness Index is still pointing to further upside. Interestingly, the Choppiness Index has also reached its most overbought reading since October 2018 on the daily time frame.
A higher reading indicates that the medium-term bearish trend is very weak, and suggests that the next directional move in the BTC/USD pair could be explosive.
In my opinion, I believe that the current bearish trend is weakening, and the chances of a rebound back towards the $9,000 level are very strong if the $8,500 level is broken.
The Balance of Power Indicator is also showing that BTC/USD buyers are gaining back control over the short-term. The Balance of Power Indicator is a simple indicator to use, as it shows the strength of buyers against sellers.
A reading higher than zero shows that buyers are in control, while a reading below zero shows that sellers are in control. The four-hour and daily time frames are currently providing positive Balance of Power readings.
* ‘The bullish short-term case is strengthening while the BTC/USD pair holds steady above the $8,100 support level’. *
SENTIMENT
Intraday bullish sentiment for Bitcoin has remained steady, at 65.50%, according to the latest data from TheTIE.io. Long-term sentiment for the cryptocurrency has stabilized, at 61.50%.
UPSIDE POTENTIAL
The early week advance has helped to form a potential double-bottom formation across the lower time frames. According to the upside projection of the double-bottom pattern, the BTC/USD pair could rise towards the $9,200 level if the $8,500 level is breached.
Bitcoin’s 200-day moving average is rising, which should be taken as a positive sign as it indicates growing upside momentum. The BTC/USD pair’s 200-day moving average is currently located around the $8,580 level.
DOWNSIDE POTENTIAL
The BTC/USD pair’s weekly pivot point is the strongest form of near-term technical support, around the $8,100 level. If sellers breach the $8,100 level we should expect a drop towards at least the $8,000 level.
Bitcoin will have to recover fast if price dips under the $8,000 level or the cryptocurrency will likely face a raft of short-term technical selling back towards the September monthly trading low.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Andrey Shevchenko. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Bitcoin pioneer Jeff Garzik's production company NextCypher has tapped "Star Trek's" Jonathan Frakes to direct an adaptation of sci-fi novel "Deathlands."
Frakes, who starred as Commander Riker on "Star Trek: The Next Generation," is a veteran director who's helmed TV shows including "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds," "Star Trek: Picard," and "Leverage: Redemption."
"It's absolutely amazing," Garzik told Decrypt, adding that he was "incredibly humbled and blessed" to have Frakes join the project.
Based on a series of novels by James Axler and Jack Adrian, "Deathlands" follows a band of survivors traversing a post-apocalyptic world using teleportation technology. "It's post-apocalyptic, Mad Max meets AI meets the monsters from 'Tremors' and everything in between," Garzik said.
The TV show is a "refreshed" adaptation of the novel series, Garzik explained, noting that "the books were a post-Cold War, post-nuclear war scenario," and that the TV show updates the setting to "post-AI driven chaos and all the fun that happens after that."
"I know 'Deathlands' doesn't scream optimism from the title," he said. "But it's about a group of plucky survivors that continue to persevere despite what we throw at them every week. To me, that's optimistic—and I think that inspired Frakes."
Source: Jeff GarzikThe first show into production on NextCypher's slate, "Deathlands" will go before the cameras in Sofia, Bulgaria this spring. Garzik serves as executive producer on the series alongside Thomas P. Vitale, with "Pandora" and "Agent X" producer Mark A. Altman as its showrunner.
A key developer of the Linux operating system and Bitcoin Core project, Garzik founded NextCypher Productions in 2022, aiming to use Web3 tools to produce independent science fiction entertainment.
Garzik, who also co-founded Bloq, Spacechain, and Vesper Finance, explained that the firm plans to leverage Web3 technologies such as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to give fans early access to productions.
While stressing that the "details may change," Garzik explained that the production company's playbook includes a run of 1,138 NextCypher multipass NFTs that are "cross-production, not tied to any one IP or one specific production," as well as "production-specific NFT runs."
Holders of the multipass NFTs will be offered a "discount or a tranche or a first bite at the apple" for the "Deathlands" NFTs, which will offer rewards such as gated access to downloadable digital assets, Discord events and competitions. Other ideas on the roadmap include contests to win Zoom chats with the showrunners, contributing to the design of props, costumes and sets, competitions to win those show-used items, and a "very rare trip to Sofia, Bulgaria" to visit the set.
Garzik said that NextCypher isn't currently exploring Web3 financing and distribution models for its shows.
"It's not there yet from a practical basis for NextCypher specifically, to the point where we would dedicate an IP to a Web3 streaming platform." He added that the production company is taking a "hybrid approach," involving traditional financing and distribution models for known properties, while "weaving in" Web3's "proof of fan base" element.
"Hopefully the flywheel starts moving," he said. "We gain some momentum, we prove that we can actually produce, and then more of the Web3 funding doors open."
Edited by Stacy Elliott.
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Crypto markets still range bound; Bitcoin, BCH and BSV moving marginally, Litecoin, BNB and ADA fall back. Market Wrap It has been another day of consolidation for crypto markets as they end the week flat. Very little movement outside of the channel has occurred this week as total market capitalization has been range bound around the $250 billion level. Things have picked up marginally for some crypto assets but others have lost ground.
Bitcoin hit an intraday high of just above $8,300 a few hours ago but pulled back to its current price of $8,230. The move is bullish but not strong enough to break the resistance at this level. Volume has picked up again and is approaching $20 billion which is a sign that further gains could be on the cards.
Ethereum is still flat and holding around $255. There has been very little momentum in the ETH camp and it is down 1.5 percent on the day. Volume is declining as the head and shoulders formation reaches its closure and a drop could be imminent. Current support for ETH lies at $230.
The top ten is showing more red than green during Asian trading this morning. The only two aside from Bitcoin that are up on the day are Bitcoin Cash with 2.5 percent and Bitcoin SV with 3.5 percent. The rest are in the red with Litecoin and Binance Coin dropping the most at over 3 percent each.
Top twenty movements are also minimal with a couple of percent being dropped by Cardano and Tron. Gaining a similar amount are Cosmos and NEO reaching $6.25 and $13.13 respectively. The rest are plus or minus a percent or so as the crypto consolidation continues.
FOMO: Chainlink Spikes on Google Hints It comes as no surprise that today’s top one hundred top performer is Chainlink. The 43 percent spike came after Google Cloud dropped hints that it would be working with Ethereum based LINK. The Reddit feed went wild and the altcoin spiked in volume from $24 million to $390 million as the fomo frenzy gathered pace. Binance is getting the majority of trade at the moment with 67 percent.
Energi is a newcomer to the top one hundred with a 30 percent pump as NRG gets listed on KuCoin. Bytom has also had a productive 24 hours with 14 percent added. As predicted the big dump is Aurora as it peaks and troughs on a daily basis, today dumping 50 percent for no obvious reason.
Total market cap 24 hours. Coinmarketcap.com Total crypto market capitalization is currently marginally higher than this time yesterday at $262 billion. Markets are still range bound however and are unlikely to see any bigger moves until Bitcoin breaks out. The push back above $8,200, albeit briefly, is a bullish sign though so the weekend in crypto land could get interesting.
Market Wrap is a section that takes a daily look at the top cryptocurrencies during the current trading session and analyses the best-performing ones, looking for trends and possible fundamentals.
Crypto markets reach 2019 high; Bitcoin still in charge, XRP and BNB pumping, LTC retreating slowly. Market Wrap Crypto markets have reached their highest level since July 2018 in terms of market capitalization. The momentum has come from Bitcoin hitting another 2019 top, and Ripple’s XRP pumping on a new partnership announcement.
Bitcoin has been grinding higher for the past 24 hours until it topped $9,400 briefly marking its highest price since early May 2018. There is heavy resistance above this and BTC quickly started to retreat back to the $9,200 area where it was trading this time yesterday. According to coinmarketcap.com daily volume dumped 25% in an unnatural looking spike so the figures could be spurious.
Ethereum has been static again and remains at $270 where it was this time yesterday. Without any solid fundamentals ETH remains sluggish and unable to push towards $300. It is still 80 percent down from its all-time high and ‘altseason’ has yet to materialize.
The top ten is a mixed affair during Asian trading today but the top performer is XRP. The Ripple token surged 9 percent after the announcement that the company was partnering with MoneyGram. The deal would involve the deployment of xRapid for cross border transfers using XRP. After topping $0.46 XRP corrected to $0.44 where it currently trades.
An industry defining milestone: together, @MoneyGram and @Ripple are solving the challenges with cross-border payments using the speed and efficiency of #XRP. https://t.co/xIfeJJgSy7
— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) June 17, 2019
Binance Coin is also doing well today adding 5 percent as the exchange announced that it will issue a number of crypto-pegged tokens on Binance Chain in the coming days, starting with $BTCB, a BEP2 token pegged to $BTC. BSV is up marginally and Litecoin is starting its pullback, dropping 3 percent back towards $130.
The top twenty is also mixed but red is dominating over green as altcoins slide again. NEO and Tezos are dumping 5 percent a piece right now and IOTA and NEM are not far behind dropping 3 percent. Only Cosmos is making anything with 3 percent added on the day.
FOMO: Chainlink Churning Higher Today’s top one hundred top performer is LINK which has cranked 18 percent to hit $2. The fomo is still lingering from the Google Cloud tie up as this altcoin climbs the charts to 24th with a market cap of $700 million. Japan’s Monacoin is also on a roll today adding 15 percent, unsurprisingly most of it on Bitbank in JPY. Zcash is the third most popular altcoin today making 13 percent.
The two usual suspects are at the bottom end of the performance pile, Maximine Coin and Aurora.
Total market cap 24 hours. Coinmarketcap.com Total crypto market cap hit a new 2019 high of $290 billion a few hours ago. The move was driven by BTC and XRP which both pumped within a few hours of each other. Market cap is currently back at $286 billion where it was this time yesterday. BTC is still in the driving seat.
Market Wrap is a section that takes a daily look at the top cryptocurrencies during the current trading session and analyses the best-performing ones, looking for trends and possible fundamentals.
The prolonged downward pressure in the cryptocurrency market could come to an end as the trapped bulls gear up for much-needed upward price momentum.
Chainlink:
Chainlink recently announced teaming up with cryptocurrency lender Celsius. Its native LINK token has been one of the best-performing assets during the 2020 crypto rally. This trend did not last long as it flipped bearish after the market downturn in the second week of March. However, there has been a reversal in this pattern.
At press time, LINK held a market cap of $746.4 million with a price of $2.13. It was up by 1.48% while registering a trading volume of $203.7 million over a period of 24-hours.
Resistance: $2.34, $2.59
Support: $1.94
MACD: MACD indicator exhibited bullish projection for the coin in the near-term as the signal line was hovering below.
CMF: CMF indicator was also bullish for the token
OKB:
The cryptocurrency platform, OKEx had recently announced that its exchange token, OKB has expanded 5 new application scenarios internally and externally and 5 new trading channels for spot trading. This token has also witnessed mild bullishness after sustaining major losses during the first part of March.
At press time, OKB was trading at $4.16, holding a market cap of $249.6 million. Additionally, it recorded a trading volume of $202.5 million and was up by 1.88% over the last 24-hours.
Resistance: $4.515
Support: $3.75, $3.35
Parabolic SAR: The dotted markers present below the OKB price candles depicted a bullish trend for the coin’s price in the near-term.
Awesome Oscillator: AO also aligned with the bulls.
Hedge Trade:
According to David Waslen, CEO of HedgeTrade, the project is essentially based on price predictions stored on the Ethereum network and driven by the smart contracts. A relatively new project, HedgeTrade is planning to add more assets for the traders on its platform.
In terms of its price, HEDG token was trading at $1.62 after rising by 1.63% over the last 24-hours. At press time, the 21st largest cryptocurrency registered a market cap of $467.1 million and a 24-hour trading volume of $456,041.
Resistance: $1.76, $2.07
Support: $1.52, $1.29
Klinger Oscillator: With the signal line below the leading line, KO indicator suggested a bullish phase for the token.
RSI: The RSI was in the overbought zone, this was indicative of a significant buying pressure among the investors in the HEDG market.
On September 24, Monolith announced the addition of Kyber Network’s KNC token to its Visa debit card.
Monolith is an Ethereum-based banking alternative for the world of decentralised finance. Users can now exchange KNC and other Ethereum-based tokens to fiat and load them onto their cards. Monolith Visa debit cardholders can also use KNC to purchase goods and services at 45 million locations worldwide that accept Visa as a payment method. TKN, Monolith’s token, is also listed on Kyber’s Ethereum-based decentralised exchange.
To encourage people to try Monolith, the two teams are collaborating on a giveaway. 30 winners will split a total of $900 in KNC with another bonus being added for users with Monolith Wallets.
Mel Gelderman, CEO of Monolith stated, “We admire Kyber’s efforts in creating a leading decentralised exchange. It will be a key feature in Monolith’s non-custodial banking replacement. Having TKN listed on Kyber, and KNC listed on the Monolith Visa Card makes sense due to our shared vision of the benefits of decentralised finance.“
Kyber Network Technology and Programmes
Kyber is an on-chain liquidity protocol that powers instant and secure token exchanges in any decentralised application. From September 9 to October 21, the project and several of its partners are hosting a virtual hackathon. The purpose of this 6-week event is to educate more developers around the world about its liquidity protocol and token swap technology, and how they can be used to create innovative payment flows and DeFi (decentralised or open finance) products. As part of this competition, $42,000 in bounties are up for grabs across multiple development categories.
As of September 2019, Kyber supports more than 70 different tokens, and powers over 70 integrated projects including popular wallets such as MEW, Trust, Enjin, and HTC Exodus smartphone. The project’s protocol is adding integrations with a growing list of dApps, particularly ones focused on decentralised NFT and ecommerce payments, exchanges and trading integrations, and DeFi.
Monolith Continues Expansion
Monolith is pioneering the real world application of DeFi by shipping the world's first non-custodial Ethereum wallet linked with a Visa debit card. The project is working hard to realise its vision of bringing the token economy to the real-world. On this front, Monolith is busy enabling ERC20 tokens to be spent on its platform. In addition to KNC, ETH, and TKN, Monolith’s debit card can now be used to spend Maker (MKR), Dai (DAI), DigixDAO (DGD), and Digix Gold (DGX) tokens. The Monolith wallet now supports a number of popular ERC-20 tokens.
The Monolith App is currently available in the iOS App Store and will soon be available for public release in the Android Play Store. Recently, the project sent invites to the first 120 people who registered for its Android beta testing.
On September 23, the project announced a community-wide vote to determine which tokens will be added next to the Monolith Card. The two tokens with the most votes out of the following four choices will be selected. Candidates include 0x (ZRX), Chainlink (LINK), Pundi X (NPSX), and Augur (REP). The project is working towards eventually making all Ethereum tokens spendable.
It has been another day of declines on crypto markets with total capitalization slipping below $200 billion again. There are very few survivors that are escaping the bears but Chainlink is among them.
Crypto Cap Crushed Again The selloff that began on Monday has accelerated by mid-week as total market capitalization dumps another $4 billion. Since the weekly high of $206 billion markets have slumped $10 billion as a sea of red envelops the top digital assets today.
Bitcoin has led the declines with a slide of 2.7% to bottom out at $7,150 during late trading yesterday according to Tradingview.com. Things have picked up a little since then but overall the scene is increasingly bearish.
There are very few survivors at the moment but one green beacon of bullishness is blinking on Chainlink at the moment. The token has soared almost 14% over the past day or so.
LINK Lifting Off LINK has lifted off from a low of just over $2 to top out at $2.30 an hour or so ago making it one of the day’s top performing altcoins. Market cap has surpassed $800 million and volume has soared to $227 million.
Chainlink has now reached sixteenth spot in the crypto market cap charts and has eyes on LEO for the next flippening. The decentralized oracle network token is one of 2019’s top performing digital assets with an epic pump of almost 700% since the beginning of January.
Momentum appears to be driven by an exchange listing which is a surprise since such announcements have had very little impact elsewhere over the past year or so. In a recent medium post Bittrex announced that it would soon be listing Chainlink.
Coming Soon to #Bittrex: Chainlink ($LINK): https://t.co/iucFoFIVnI
— BittrexUS (@BittrexUS) December 10, 2019
Bittrex is not one of the top exchanges but it does have a US platform which is good news for LINK holders today.
Other Movers Today LINK is not the only token on the move at the moment but it is making the best gains in the top fifty according to Coinmarketcap figures.
Other altcoins staying afloat in the sea of red today include Tezos which has notched up a solid 10% to reach $1.55. The move has been driven by hard wallet maker Ledger which has recently adding support for XTZ and Tezos staking on the latest version of its Ledger Live application.
Gold backed DigixDAO is also on a run at the moment with an impressive 12% run to top out just under $20. Bullish gold markets this year may have been behind the DGD momentum.
Welcome to BeInCrypto’s first daily news roundup. We plan on making these a regular feature on the site to help you quickly catch up with the latest happenings in the world of blockchain and cryptocurrencies.
The top stories from March 4 (Wed) include:
#1 Bitcoin’s Growth Likely to be Spurred by 2020 Economic Stimulus EffortsThe cryptocurrency market already started the week on a positive note against the backdrop of a stock market rebound and various stimulus measures adopted by central banks to stop the economy from collapsing. With the Bitcoin narrative consistently growing, odds are high the asset class could emerge a big winner once the panic over the coronavirus outbreak subsides.
Read the Full Article
#2 Buy Bitcoin and Be Prepared to Lose Your Shirt, Says Incoming Bank of England GovernorAndrew Bailey is back with his anti-crypto rhetorics. In a recent Treasury Select Committee hearing, the incoming Bank of England Governor stated that investors who plan on buying Bitcoin may well be prepared to lose all their money.
Read the Full Article
#3 BitMEX Users in the UK are Worried Over a Possible FCA CrackdownThe United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has said that BitMEX may be operating there without a valid license. The exchange was, however, not the only digital assets trading venue to have found itself in the crosshairs of the regulatory body.
Read the Full Article
#4 Kraken Receives a Warning From Top UK RegulatorSaying that Kraken was unauthorized to operate in the country, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) of the United Kingdom, likened the exchange to “scammers” in a new announcement. The announcement, however, fails to specify why Kraken users could be ‘at risk.’ Nonetheless, Kraken users in the UK are now fearing for a looming FCA crackdown.
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#5 A Massive Win for Crypto in IndiaFollowing months of uncertainty, Indian cryptocurrency investors can finally breathe a huge sigh of relief as the country’s top court has struck down the Reserve Bank of India’s banking ban for cryptocurrency entities. Following the judgment, several homegrown crypto exchanges in the country are reportedly preparing to offer direct bank transfers.
Read the Full Article
#6 Binance is Down and People Are Freaking OutBinance users suffered yet another massive setback on Wednesday after most of the exchange’s services (including spot trading) went down abruptly. There were widespread reports of users failing to cancel their trades. At least on one occasion, a user alleged that they saw unauthorized transactions taking place on their Binance account.
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#7 Did a Delayed Tether Chain Swap Cause the Binance Outage?Tether notified the community that there would be a delay in its planned chain swap with a third party. The delay coincided with the massive Binance outage that has left many users disgruntled and worried about the safety of their funds. Some analysts are suggesting that the two events could be related.
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#8 CME Bitcoin Futures Volume Collapse Raises Uncomfortable QuestionsWith the coronavirus-induced global market panic going on a full swing, there has been a significant decline in CME’s Bitcoin futures volume. It’s a borderline collapse for the platform, the more skeptical among us might argue. But exactly what triggered this downward spiral? Did we prematurely put too much faith in institutional interest in the asset class? Has Bitcoin failed to prove its worth as a reliable hedge? Some uncomfortable questions are being raised.
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#9 A New Digital Economy of CBDCs and Stablecoins Looming on the Horizon and Banks Seem to Have Accepted itNot only are several major economies around the world preparing to launch their own Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC), but most major banks are also mulling over implementing distributed ledger technology (DLT) solutions. The implicants of these changing dynamics could be enormous for the cryptocurrency space.
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#10 Four Altcoins That Have Considerable Upside PotentialOur technical analyst Valdrin has dug up four relatively unknown, but promising altcoins that you might be interested in. These are Chiliz (CHZ), Hedera Hashgraph (HBAR), THETA (THETA), and Power Ledger (POWR).
Read the Full Article
#11 Technical Analysis for the Day [BTC, LINK, EOS, MATIC]MATIC broke out above key resistance area, Link reached an all-time high, and Bitcoin continues to hover around the high-$8,000s with an eye on the next major resistance area at $9,150.
It’s been a good month for Bitcoin (BTC) holders, but it’s not yet clear what the latest movements mean for the rest of the market. While the leading virtual currency has gone from strength to strength – up more than 200% since the bottom in December – altcoin values have lagged behind.
Since the latest ‘bitcoin boom’ began in early April, the best-performing large cap currencies have been Binance Coin (BNB), with a modest gain of 50% , and Ether (ETH), whose price roughly doubled during that timeframe.
Prices for XRP grew by around 50% by the end of June, before reversing almost all of their gains. Similar losses befell Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), EOS and TRON (TRX), each of which has slid back to the prices of early April.
Bitcoin dominance has also grown, indicating that BTC widened its lead over the rest of the market. After comprising roughly 51% of the crypto market in April, BTC now accounts for 66% of total market capitalization.
Source: CoinMarketCap “When these buyers enter the market, one of the first assets they go to – because of its brand, its liquidity, and its accessibility – is Bitcoin,” explained Kevin Murcko, CEO of CoinMetro. As the most famous digital asset, new investors are most likely to acquire BTC.
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A recent report by U.S. investment bank Morgan Stanley found a declining correlation between Bitcoin and other virtual currencies, which analysts suggested could be a result of “slowing technological development and adoption of these altcoins.”
Some tokens are rising against the ebbing tide. Chainlink (LINK) saw significant growth in the past few months, with prices rising sixfold since the beginning of May. Favorable headlines, like the Coinbase listing and Google integration, may have helped the token beat the market.
But sentiment data suggest that an altcoin rally is still far off. Figures from analytics site TheTIE, which aggregates the number and positivity of crypto-related tweets, found that favorable mentions of the top ten altcoins peaked in late May and has been falling ever since.
Via TheTIE By comparison, Bitcoin sentiment is booming. BTC tweet volume is at its highest level since December 2017, accounting for 64% of cryptocurrency mentions on Twitter. After seventeen months without crossing the 60% mark, Bitcoin tweet volume reached that level at least three times last month.
Via TheTIE Long-term Bitcoin sentiment – which measures positive conversations on Twitter on a 50-day vs. 200-day moving average – is also increasing, despite the latest downturn.
Source: TheTIE “This is still Bitcoin season,” explained Joshua Frank, co-founder of TheTIE. “Bitcoin is continuing to dominate. While Bitcoin’s tweet volume dominance…is volatile, it does appear to be increasing along with market cap dominance.”
A change in sentiment does not necessitate a change in prices, but in a speculative market it’s an easy metric to determine which way the herd is moving. As a case in point, the 2017 ICO boom galvanized interest in altcoins, thereby spreading capital among a wide range of digital assets.
IEOs have failed to attract anywhere near the same level of investment. As the Morgan Stanley report highlights, exchange-launched tokens attracted only $0.2bn of investment in May – a pittance compared to figures raised even at the end of the ICO boom.
Unlike most altcoins, Bitcoin is unique in that it already has a well-established use case: it’s the main currency for crypto exchanges, and acts as a store of value which is not correlated with traditional markets.
With a few exceptions, most altcoins do not have the same appeal for the wider market. For the time being, the original digital cash is likely to remain investors’ plat du jour.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Paddy Baker. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Etherisc, a decentralized insurance platform, integrates Chainlink oracles “for decentralized flight insurance products.” The project aims at minimizing trust on a peer to peer platform to reduce information asymmetry in flight insurance. Can LINK breach the $3.50 key resistance level in coming weeks? An official report released by Etherisc, a blockchain based platform on flight insurance, confirms the integration of Chainlink oracles to improve on inefficiencies in the decentralized flight insurance industry. The addition of Chainlink oracles to Etherisc is set to narrow the information asymmetry in the fight insurance industry, digitize the claiming processes and reduce disagreements between the insurance companies and claimants.
Etherisc leverages Chainlink oracles In a world crippled with information asymmetry, increased costs from manual verification, extensive processing time and cost of claims, and a general distrust between issuers and policyholders, blockchain technology provides cheaper solutions in the flight insurance industry.
“Chainlink is a decentralized oracle network that gives smart contracts secure and reliable access to data providers, web APIs, enterprise systems, cloud providers, IoT devices, payment systems, other blockchains and much more.”
The blockchain also allows other platforms to customize their smart contract to retrieve data from “off chain oracles” in different levels of decentralization. This is where Etherisc benefits from Chainlink.
Together with @etherisc, we're proud to announce we have a working decentralized flight insurance POC live on Ethereum testnet. The design incorporates reliable flight status data (delayed or on-time) delivered by Chainlink's decentralized oracle network. https://t.co/saU3smevkn
— Chainlink (@chainlink) February 6, 2020
The Proof of Concept (PoC) system According to the report, Chainlink nodes will be used in a proof of concept (POC) system to fetch data from various trusted web APIs for flight status data. An illustration is embedded in the tweet below.
The report further states,
“In our POC, multiple Chainlink oracles retrieve data about whether or not the flight was delayed using an external adapter for the Flightstats API.”
Using the Chainlink oracle system allows the policyholders to be sure of quick access to flight insurance and with certain pre-conditions met, will receive their claims on the spot. Furthermore, insurance companies are able to reduce costs by using decentralized systems, which digitizes the manual claiming process hence reducing the workforce needed to file claims.
Chainlink targets $3.50 amidst rapid adoption The rapid adoption of Chainlink (LINK) over the past year or so set the project on a magnificent uptrend that saw the crypto breach the $4 dollar mark to set an all-time high in July 2019. So far, the coin has gained over 60% in 2020 alone, to trade at $3.001 USD, as at time of writing.
With Etherisc the latest partner to integrate the blockchain, oracle based platforms such as Chainlink shows much promise in connecting decentralized systems to the real world. As LINK gains utility from traditional-based industries, the token may well be in contention for a further 20% increase to $3.50 USD in the coming days.
Flight insurance is getting properly decentralized.
Etherisc, a market-leading blockchain platform offering flight insurance, announced on Thursday that Chainlink oracles will now further decentralize its processes, improving the manifold inefficiencies in decentralized insurance. The price of Chainlink’s token, LINK, rose 11% on the news.
The announcement also marks the first integration of Chainlink’s technology into a non-fintech application.
The steep costs and time-intensive manual processing necessary to verify insurance claims make flight insurance a perfect use case for blockchain technology. Decentralization could help to ease the distrust between issuers and policyholders caused by the industry’s lack of transparency, delays and inefficiencies.
Together with @etherisc, we're proud to announce we have a working decentralized flight insurance POC live on Ethereum testnet. The design incorporates reliable flight status data (delayed or on-time) delivered by Chainlink's decentralized oracle network. https://t.co/saU3smevkn
— Chainlink - Official Channel (@chainlink) February 6, 2020
The new integration means that reliable flight status data—delayed or on-time—will be delivered by Chainlink's oracle network. Using smart contracts to digitize claims and payout processes also reduces potential disagreements between insurance companies and claimants.
Decentralized flight insurance: a Proof of Concept“Insurance companies stand to save money on the backend by cutting their overheard for processing claims, as well as improved brand recognition thanks to moving policy arbitration to a neutral third party protocol,” Etherisc stated in its blog post announcing the PoC.
Decentralized oracles allow a smart contract to interact with the off-chain data it needs in order to execute. In the case of flight insurance, secure and reliable flight status data is needed to trigger a payout.
The new Proof of Concept (PoC) ensures that this data delivery is more secure, reliable and completely decentralized, enabling flight insurance policies to be programmed to automatically, fairly and efficiently process claims.
As well as flight insurance, Etherisc offers hurricane protection and crop insurance; crypto wallet insurance, and collateral protection from loans. By further decentralising its product to incorporate Chainlink’s decentralized oracle feed, it provides a new way forward for a much maligned industry.
LINK up over 11%The new integration went down well with Chainlink token holders too, and saw LINK trading at $3.23, and now ranked as the 16th largest cryptocurrency.
The decentralized oracle provider managed to outperform the entire altcoin market in 2019, and even outpaced Bitcoin on occasions. Many investors are confident that 2020 will bring further gains.
Speaking to Decrypt last month, Chainlink CEO, Sergey Nazarov highlighted the insurance market as one where the startup was seeing an influx of new users. But he added that, while it’s a highly lucrative industry, insurance is not the most straightforward application that Chainlink is targeting.
“Insurance is slowest—a very complex industry with a lot of moving parts and a lot of regulation,” said Nazarov.
But the oracle provider is not neglecting its fintech clientele. Last month it published new price reference feeds for off-chain price data, bringing the total number up to 25. As well as catering to the rapidly growing number of developers building DeFi applications on Ethereum, Chainlink is racing to incorporate its technology in more applications throughout the coming year.
Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed by the author are for informational purposes only and do not constitute financial, investment, or other advice.
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Chainlink price has remained stagnant for the past few months, showcasing a lack of clear direction. The asset has been trading horizontally since November of the previous year, hovering around a consistent value range. Currently, LINK is valued at $14.03, witnessing a modest uptick of over 2% in the past 24 hours. This recent surge hints at the emergence of a potential bullish trend.
During the latter part of 2023, Chainlink experienced a notable rise, especially in September. However, post-November, its trajectory entered a phase of horizontal movement. The asset faced rejection at the peak of this range just four days ago. Despite a substantial rebound yesterday, LINK’s value is still in the lower spectrum of its recent trading range. This ongoing pattern is evident in the daily time frame analysis.
Chainlink price prediction In the broader context of the altcoin market, a semblance of stability returns after a period of losses. Many cryptocurrencies are turning green, though they haven’t fully recuperated from the recent declines. Specifically, the price of Chainlink has significantly dropped over the last four days, bottoming out yesterday.
The token’s struggle to maintain its stance above the $14 mark is causing unease among investors. Currently, LINK stands at the 13th position on CoinMarketCap, boasting a market capitalization of $7 billion and a 24-hour trading volume of $333 million.
Chainlink Price Prediction: Potential Rebound or Further Decline? In a recent analysis, cryptocurrency expert Michaël van de Poppe shared insights on the potential trajectory of Chainlink. His evaluation shows that LINK’s $13.20 mark is a critical juncture. He noted a dip below recent lows, suggesting that if this level is tested again, LINK might descend to a possible bottom in the $10-11 range. However, he also pointed out that the $13 threshold could serve as a robust support zone, potentially leading to a rebound before further decline.
#Chainlink is facing a retest at $13.20 as an essential level to watch.
Did sweep the liquidity beneath the recent lows, if we go there again, then I'm assuming $10-11 is a likely bottom.
For now, $13 for a potential support test before going back upwards. pic.twitter.com/ktStVYUu2m
— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) January 25, 2024
Expanding on his views, van de Poppe expressed optimism about LINK’s performance against Bitcoin. He indicated that the LINK/BTC pair appears poised for a significant breakout later in the year. Observing the formation of higher lows, he predicts that a surge past 4500 satoshis could propel the pair towards 9000 satoshis. In light of this, van de Poppe advocates buying during dips, reinforcing his bullish stance on LINK’s prospects in the crypto market.
Chainlink Price Prediction: A Bullish Outlook Amidst Market Uncertainty In the latest developments for Chainlink, the cryptocurrency faces a critical juncture in its market trajectory. If Chainlink price manages to secure a closing above its current range high of $15, this could signal that the local bottom has been established, setting the stage for a potential 34% rise to the next resistance level at $19.30.
If the upward trend continues, further resistance could be encountered at $25 and $30. Conversely, a shift in market dominance favoring the bears could see LINK’s value descending towards the $10 support mark.
Chainlink price chart: Tradingview Currently, Chainlink is grappling to maintain its position above the 50 Exponential Moving Average (EMA), a crucial support level. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator is on the cusp of a bearish crossover, which could spell further troubles. However, a shift towards bullish sentiment would likely reflect positively on the MACD, indicating a potential uptrend. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) hovers just around the 50 mark, suggesting that the bulls exert effort but face challenges in regaining strong momentum in the market.
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Two popular altcoins achieved serious gains in the expected rise environment with the recent ETF enthusiasm. However, just like declines, rises do not last forever. The intermediate correction in the BTC price has also activated sellers here. Both cryptocurrencies stand out with their technology, and a significant portion of investors make purchases with long-term goals in mind. So, what are the short-term expectations?
MINA Coin continues to experience changes in its team. Most recently, Tekinalp, the head of the technology team, handed over his duties to someone else. Considering that the CEO also transferred his duties to another person recently, these changes could potentially cause some morale issues. In particular, Tekinalp’s departure from the technical side could raise questions about whether the complex development process will continue at the same pace without disruption.
With its technology, MINA Coin set out with a challenging goal, which is why the token has been of interest for years despite the lack of a massive product. But if the development and testing processes extend further, will investors’ fear of failure increase? We will all live and see how they manage this process.
On the price front, closures above $1.0591 could bring the $1.33 and $1.66 peaks back into discussion. However, closures below this level could lead to a pullback to the $0.955 and $0.88 support levels.
BTC is currently challenging the $42,000 level, so if volumes increase slightly, an upward movement seems more likely.
Chainlink, a monopolizing initiative in the DeFi ecosystem regarding price feeds, has done significant early work in the RWA field. We won’t delve into the details as we’ve discussed them at length before, but the CCIP and Swift partnership greatly improves future expectations.
On the other hand, expansion of the massive staking pool and increased token utility are expected. New steps to be taken this year regarding the staking pool will be supportive for the price. As this article is being prepared, the LINK Coin price is at $14.19, continuing the day with an increase of about 3%.
The LINK Coin price, which continues to fluctuate within a parallel channel, could climb to the $15.25 and $16.78 targets. With these two regions turning into support, the goal will be above $17.46 and $20.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.
Cryptocurrencies had an exciting start to the new year, and January flew by in the blink of an eye. Following the approval of an ETF, prices plummeted due to triggered sell-offs as markets emptied. Now, the market is recovering from $38,500, with BTC trying to consolidate at $42,000 and altcoins turning upwards.
AVAX bulls, confident that BTC will not make deeper lows for the time being, have driven the price above $31. This key area was the last stop before lower levels for AVAX. Although the recovery is positive, the downward-leaning 20-day EMA at $33.81 could halt the bulls’ progress. A supportive daily close from BTC would help prevent this.
In a bearish scenario, we could see AVAX prices drop to $27.24 and even $24, which would erase most of the gains from the impressive rally at the end of last year and jeopardize the $100 target.
If $33.81 turns into support, then $38 will become the second significant target.
Dogecoin bulls have been on a break for a while, and the price has managed to stay relatively calm even as BTC makes impressive rallies. For now, the positive aspect is that the $0.07 support is holding. A bounce from here is expected for an uptrend, but DOGE has not yet attempted it. If support is lost, the price is likely to fall to the next support at $0.06.
The DOGE community needs to find something to draw attention away from alternative meme coins. Otherwise, without Elon Musk, Dogecoin is unlikely to repeat its 2021 bull run performance and may bid farewell to the bull at a lower peak of around $0.3.
Chainlink has been fluctuating between $12.85 and $17.32 for a few days. Such wide-ranging movements please short-term traders but leave those waiting for mid-term targets for buying or selling feeling quite bored, as there hasn’t been a real breakout yet. Determining the direction is difficult, but one of the two price regions will be lost.
Surpassing the moving averages could bring the $17.32 and $20 targets into play, while the opposite scenario could see a drop to $10.5.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.
A widely followed cryptocurrency analyst and trader believes that one top 15 altcoin project could more than double against Bitcoin (BTC).
Michaël van de Poppe tells his 686,300 followers on the social media platform X that the decentralized oracle network Chainlink will likely witness a massive breakout rally against Bitcoin (LINK/BTC) this year.
[adinserter block="1"]
“Chainlink against Bitcoin is still looking for a big breakout later this year. Higher lows are being established, a breakout above 4,500 sats, and it’s going to go to 9,000 sats. I’m buying the dips.”
Source: Michaël van de Poppe/X LINK/BTC is trading for 0.000336 BTC ($14.09) at time of writing, indicating an upside potential of about 167% if the pair hits the analyst’s target.
Next up, the trader says Bitcoin will likely trade within the range of about $49,000 and $39,000 before a breakout after the April halving event, when miners’ rewards are cut in half.
“I’ve not posted an update on this chart for Bitcoin in a while. It’s going pretty well as planned. Now, consolidation will likely occur before continuing to new all-time highs.”
Source: Michaël van de Poppe/X The analyst also believes that the total market capitalization for digital assets is in an uptrend after testing a key support level at $1.547 trillion.
“Total market capitalization of crypto has taken the liquidity and bounced from the crucial area. It seems likely we’ll continue to $2 trillion in the coming period.”
In the rapidly evolving landscape of the cryptocurrency world this past week, several noteworthy developments unfolded. Various partnerships and advancements showcased innovation and collaboration within the industry, while efforts to enhance user experience and security were notable. PancakeSwap, a popular and inexpensive crypto exchange, partnered with Chainlink to improve its features. Chainlink Data Streams and Automation on Arbitrum aim to improve precision and neutrality, solidifying PancakeSwap’s multidimensional platform with NFT collectibles and more prediction market options. Meanwhile, Alchemy Pay and BakerySwap partnered to improve cryptocurrency transactions and DeFi/NFT trading. BakerySwap’s integration of Alchemy Pay’s fiat On-Ramp technology makes cryptocurrency purchases easy, showing its commitment to crypto supporters.
OKX Wallet also advanced Web3 by adding Aptos Names, which replace complex blockchain addresses with memorable domain names. OKX’s user-focused strategy provides a seamless Web3 experience and improves decentralized application accessibility. Velo Labs gained stability and security by partnering with TrueUSD. TUSD secured USDV, their stablecoin. Finally, the Shiba Inu community increased token burning, demonstrating their commitment to deflationary SHIB tokens. These achievements indicate a promising future for cryptocurrencies, marked by innovation, collaboration, and user-centered improvements.
PancakeSwap Partners with Chainlink to Enhance Prediction Markets PancakeSwap, a simple, low-cost crypto exchange, has teamed with Chainlink to improve its prediction markets. The agreement incorporates Chainlink Data Streams and Automation on Arbitrum into PancakeSwap’s platform to improve prediction market accuracy and impartiality. PancakeSwap needed a reliable oracle to provide market data for its prediction markets quickly and freely. After thorough research, the platform chose Chainlink Data Streams as its oracle.
It guarantees fast, decentralized price determination in a fraction of a second, giving prediction market participants accurate and timely information. Chainlink’s partnership improves PancakeSwap’s prediction markets and services. PancakeSwap, known for its low-cost asset exchanges and token staking rewards, now offers NFT collectibles and more prediction market options to its varied user base. PancakeSwap uses Chainlink’s infrastructure to strengthen its Oracle solution, boosting confidence and preventing tampering in its decentralized exchange system.
BakerySwap Integrates Alchemy Pay for Seamless Cryptocurrency Purchases Alchemy Pay and BakerySwap, two renowned blockchain firms, have joined to ease crypto buying and promote DeFi and NFT trading. BakerySwap now integrates Alchemy Pay’s fiat On-Ramp service, making it easy to buy cryptocurrencies like $BAKE, the native currency. BakerySwap is adaptable for cryptocurrency aficionados because it specializes in DeFi and NFT on the BNB Chain and Ethereum. The platform offers AMM Dex, Liquidity Farming, Launchpad, NFT Swap, and Marketplace.
The simple Alchemy Pay On-Ramp service allows customers to buy cryptocurrency with cash. Over 300 global payment methods and numerous blockchain networks are supported. More than 173 countries and 50 fiat currencies accept it. Alchemy Pay is attempting to obtain licenses for financial and payment services in the US, Canada, and Indonesia. It earned an Iowa MSL license recently. MasterCard and Visa trust this regulatory compliance and security policy. This agreement helps BakerySwap achieve its goal of smooth transactions across financial and geographical boundaries.
OKX Wallet Teams Up with Aptos Names for Web3 Revolution A groundbreaking update to OKX Wallet simplifies blockchain technology for users. OKX, a leading Web3 company, announced the integration of Aptos Names into its wallet services today, revolutionizing the customer experience. The strategy replaces complex blockchain addresses with memorable domain names, addressing a common criticism. This feature is significant for OKX Wallet users since it lets them use domain names instead of alphanumeric addresses to interact with decentralized applications (DApps).
OKX Wallet partners with Aptos Names to improve Web3 user experience. This collaboration intends to smooth blockchain interactions for more people. This alliance considerably simplifies Web3 for beginners. The user-friendly way makes DApps more accessible, streamlines transactions, and reduces address entry errors, improving security. Download the OKX Wallet web extension on Chrome and Firefox to use this innovative functionality. OKX’s frictionless integration process shows its commitment to providing a hassle-free Web3 experience and making blockchain interactions as easy as browsing the internet.
Velo Labs Strengthens Stability with TrueUSD Partnership Velo Labs has taken a major step towards enhancing stability and user security by announcing a strategic partnership with TrueUSD (TUSD). It is a well-established USD-pegged stablecoin known for its on-chain attestations. Velo has made progress, but the company is committed to being a trusted provider of Web3-based financial solutions. The relationship with TrueUSD uses TUSD as collateral in Velo’s Web3+ Ecosystem to stabilize USDV, its native stablecoin. This link boosts stablecoin security. Velo Labs plans to provide multi-chain interoperability in 2024.
Velo’s Universe OTC market allows TUSD cross-chain trading. Using TUSD in Velo’s Web3+ Ecosystem to settle remittances is a major benefit of this collaboration. Remittance operations using TUSD should optimize and enhance efficiency, especially cross-border transactions. Velo’s popular cryptocurrency payment gateway, Orbit, will benefit from TUSD, making transactions easier for businesses and customers. Velo wants to simplify crypto transfers worldwide with this effort.
Shiba Inu (SHIB) Witnesses Over 262% Surge in Token Burning The Shiba Inu (SHIB) community has seen a 262.32% increase in token burning in the past 24 hours. Shibburn, a website that tracks Shiba Inu burns, said that 50,727,264 tokens were burned during this time, showing the community’s commitment to reducing SHIB token circulation. The SHIB community burned 193,690,722 tokens last week. Despite this large sum, weekly spending dropped 97.94% from the prior week. Most Shiba Inu token-burning actions add to the coin’s deflationary nature. This advancement has placed SHIB close to gaining a spot in the list of best crypto to buy now.
Lucie, the Shiba Inu team’s marketing specialist, presented crucial information on WoofSwap, a Shibarium-based DEX. While WoofSwap’s position in SHIB burning was not disclosed, Lucie stressed its importance in supporting Shiba Inu’s vital efforts. The Shiba Inu community actively shapes coin dynamics.
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Umair Younas is a cryptocurrency-related content writer linked with this work since 2019. Here, at Blockchainreporter, he serves as a news and article writer. He is a crypto, blockchain, NFTs, DeFi, and FinTech enthusiast. He has strong command over writing authentic reviews about brokers and exchanges and he has collaborated with our education team to write educational content as well. He has a dream to raise awareness among people about digital currencies. His works are well-researched and brimmed with information hence they provide fresh insights. Stay tuned to his posts if you want to stay up-to-date with the crypto-verse.
In a massive phishing scam, $12 million vanished from four victims within five days, exposing critical gaps in cryptocurrency security. The prevalent use of create2, a standard tool, empowers malicious actors to exploit temporary addresses and sidestep wallet defenses based on address blacklists. Moreover, the crypto scam drained millions worth of Chainlink (LINK), SatoshiVM (SAVM), Optimism (OP), Tether (USDT), USD Coin (USDC), Binance USD (BUSD) and SuperVerse (SUPER) tokens.
Details Of Recent Crypto Scam According to Scam Sniffer, a Web3 scam tracking platform, the ERC20 permit has become a standardized weapon. It intensifies the impact of wallet-draining attacks, with collateral tokens, including LP tokens and NFTs.
Moreover, the post highlighted that the calculated use of ERC20 permit signatures has become the primary mode of operation for such crypto scams. This is a significant peril to users who unsuspectingly fall prey to seemingly legitimate ERC721 signatures designed for gasless token approval.
In addition, the snapshots shared by Scam Sniffer on X reveal that apart from the above-mentioned digital currencies, collateral tokens, such as aEthWETH, aEthUNI, and aEthLink were also affected Furthermore, the most recent incident further underscores the severity of the threat.
The latest update underscores that a victim lost a staggering $2.34 million worth of SUPER to a crypto scam via phishing. This eventually caused an immediate 20% plummet in SUPER’s market cap within a mere 45 minutes.
Also Read: Bitcoin Price Jumps 5% In Catch-Up To Equities, $43,000 In Sight
Ripple CTO Unveils New OpenSea Scam Ripple Chief Technology Officer David Schwartz has recently revealed a phishing scam targeting users of OpenSea, a prominent NFT marketplace. He noted that the scam involves fraudulent emails that claim to be from OpenSea and notify users of bids on their NFTs.
Schwartz added that these emails contain a malicious link, disguised as a SurveyMonkey survey, redirecting users to a fake OpenSea page aiming to steal their credentials. The Ripple CTO’s revelation highlights the increasing sophistication of hackers in the digital asset space.
Furthermore, similar scams have been reported, suggesting a growing trend of fraudulent activities in the crypto community. Moreover, this displays the necessity for heightened vigilance and security measures among users and industry platforms.
Also Read: 7 Reasons To Buy Solana (SOL) This Year
Chainlink (LINK) price volatility remains visible on the daily timeframe, as the price moved horizontally within a wide but fixed range between the 50% and 100% Fibonacci levels of $11.66 and $17.74 respectively.
Also Read: Chainlink price gains could extend riding on bullish on-chain metrics
Chainlink powering RWA tokenization Chainlink (LINK) price looks ready for a move north even as the network advertises as “The only platform that can power tokenized RWAs at scale. RWA abbreviates for Real World Assets, defining established commodities from traditional finance, tokenized and brought over into the DeFi space using blockchain technology.
Meanwhile, the Chainlink price may be poised for a 5% move north to test the 78.6% Fibonacci level at $15.14, with the Relative Strength Index (RSI) recording higher highs to show growing momentum. The histogram bars of the Awesome Oscillator (AO) are also gaining strength, evidence of the bulls gaining ground.
Enhance activity among LINK bulls could see Chainlink price overcome the aforementioned blockade, going as far as to clear the range high of $17.67, or in a highly bullish case, fill the market range at $17.74. This would constitute nearly 23% in gains above current levels.
LINK/USDT 1-day chart
On the flipside, if LINK holders book profits for the 7% gains made over the last three days, the Chainlink price could descend, losing the support offered by the most critical Fibonacci level, 61.8% at $13.09.
In the dire case, it could extend the fall to the 50% Fibonacci level at $11.66, potentially breaking below the market range as it retraces the 38.2% Fibonacci at $10.22. This would denote a nearly 30% fall below current levels.
This article was edited on January 28 at 16:00 GMT to say if LINK holders book profits for the 7% gains made over the last three days, the Chainlink price could descend, losing the support offered by the most critical Fibonacci level, 61.8% at $13.09, and not $113.09.
Chainlink price prediction: LINK price has recently displayed a notable bullish pattern in early 2024, with its market value for LINK showing a remarkable increase of over 100%. Despite this, the currency has faced some bearish trends recently, with a 3% decline noted weekly. However, over the past weekend, Chainlink has shown a remarkable recovery, surpassing the crucial $14.50 mark.
Since November 2023, Chainlink price has fluctuated with a range of $13 to $17, with bulls and bearish struggling to lead the market. The Altcoin performance reflects the broader market’s volatility, a common trait in the crypto world. These fluctuations highlight the inherent uncertainties in the cryptocurrency market as investors strive to make sense of the dynamic landscape.
Currently, Chainlink stands at $13.95, marking a notable 1.2% increase in the past 24 hours. Its trading volume has soared, reaching over $390 million, a significant 30% hike. This surge in trading volume indicates a heightened interest from investors. With a market capitalization crossing the $8.35 billion threshold, Chainlink continues to cement its position among the top 20 cryptocurrencies in terms of market value.
Chainlink price prediction Chainlink price analysis over the weekly chart reveals a significant uptrend beginning in July 2023. This positive trend gained momentum in October, breaking through a major descending resistance line that had been in place for an extended period. This breakout indicated a strong shift in market dynamics for LINK, signaling growing investor confidence and a change in market sentiment towards the digital asset.
In the last week of December, Chainlink price achieved a new peak for the year, hitting $17.68. However, the price experienced a downturn following this high, marked by two pronounced upper wicks and a lower high formation. This pattern highlighted a resistance zone that had been persistent over time. After reaching the yearly high, the downward adjustment suggests a revise of market strength at these higher price levels.
Chainlink Price Prediction: Analysts Eye $25 Target Chainlink price has recently been the subject of a noteworthy prediction by Michael van de Poppe, a renowned cryptocurrency expert and the founder of MN Trading, a platform dedicated to trading education. Van de Poppe shared his insights via a tweet, suggesting that LINK is poised to reach the $25 mark. This prediction stems from the cryptocurrency’s consistent performance at crucial support levels, hinting at a strong underlying market sentiment and a potential for significant growth.
Request 04 – $LINK
This one is ready for $25 as it has been holding crucial levels. pic.twitter.com/icq3R4uFVg
— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) January 28, 2024
According to van de Poppe’s analysis, if the current bullish trend in the LINK market strengthens, the next significant resistance level is expected to be around $20. This would signify a robust bullish phase for the cryptocurrency. Beyond this, achieving the $25 level, as van de Poppe suggests, could be on the horizon for Chainlink.
However, Suppose the bulls fail to maintain momentum above the critical $17 support level. In that case, bearish forces could gain the upper hand, potentially driving the price below the $15 threshold. This scenario underscores the volatile nature of the cryptocurrency market and the importance of key support and resistance levels in determining future price movements.
Technical Indicators Support Bullish Chainlink Price Prediction According to recent analyses, the technical indicators for Chainlink are painting a positive picture. The Awesome Oscillator (AO), a momentum indicator, is signaling an upward trajectory, with its histogram bars increasing in magnitude. This pattern suggests that the market’s bullish forces are gaining traction, reinforcing the optimistic outlook for Chainlink’s price.
Chainlink price chart: Tradingview Moreover, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) hints at an impending bullish crossover. This is evidenced as the MACD line edges closer to surpassing the signal line. Concurrently, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) is trending upwards. Currently, the RSI is hovering above the 50 level, indicating a neutral trend
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Chainlink (LINK) price exhibited a notable uptrend at the beginning of 2024, with LINK’s market value showing an impressive increase of over 100%. Nevertheless, the cryptocurrency recently faced some downward trends and recorded a weekly decline of 3%. However, last weekend Chainlink demonstrated a significant recovery by surpassing the critical $14.50 limit.
Increasing Trading Volume in ChainlinkSince November 2023, Chainlink’s price has fluctuated between $13 and $17, with bulls and bears struggling to lead the market. The altcoin’s performance reflects the broader market volatility, a common feature in the crypto world. As of the current position, Chainlink‘s trading volume has risen sharply, registering a significant increase of 30%, exceeding $390 million. This increase in trading volume could indicate a rise in investor interest. With a market value surpassing the $8.35 billion threshold, Chainlink continues to solidify its position among the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market value.
The weekly chart analysis of Chainlink’s price reveals a significant uptrend that started in July 2023. This positive trend gained momentum in October, breaking a major descending resistance line that had been present for a long time. This breakout indicates a strong change in market dynamics for LINK, signaling a shift in investor confidence and market sentiment towards the cryptocurrency.
Critical Formation in LINKIn the last week of December, the Chainlink price reached a new yearly high of $17.68. However, after this peak marked by two distinct upper wicks and a lower high formation, the price experienced a decline. This pattern highlights a resistance area that has been persistent over time. The downward correction after reaching the year’s highest level could indicate a revision of market strength at these high price levels.
Chainlink’s price was recently the subject of a notable prediction by a well-known cryptocurrency expert and founder of the trading education platform MN Trading, Michael van de Poppe. Van de Poppe shared his insights via a tweet, suggesting that LINK is poised to reach the $25 level. This prediction stems from the cryptocurrency’s consistent performance at significant support levels and may indicate a strong underlying market sentiment and significant growth potential.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.
Chainlink accumulation by large whales has been on the high side, as these addresses procure 57 million LINK tokens worth $855 million in 30 days.
IntoTheBlock, a prominent on-chain data provider, spotlighted this impressive metric in a post on X today. This accumulation campaign prevailed despite the market turbulence that saw Chainlink lose some of the gains picked up in the late 2023 rally.
Chainlink Whale Accumulation Pattern Data from the Chainlink Large Holders Netflows chart from IntoTheBlock reveals an interesting pattern in correlation with LINK’s price action.
Notably, the first two days of January saw a massive buying spree from these addresses, as they added over 4 million LINK daily to their balances.
At the time, LINK maintained the $15 price level, as the bullish momentum from the previous year spilled into the new year. However, Jan. 3 came with some market turbulence, resulting in Chainlink dipping below the $15, $14 and $13 psychological levels.
Chainlink Large Holders Netflow | IntoTheBlock LINK collapsed to a low of $12.20, triggering a massive selloff trend, with large LINK whales dumping over 2 million tokens, as selling pressure mounted. LINK eventually recovered from the downturn, but remained below $15 for one week.
Interestingly, despite the downtrend that plagued Chainlink over this one-week period, these whales continued to procure more assets.
The phase, which could be likened to a “buy-the-dip” period, saw the largest consecutive days of sustained accumulation, with daily purchases above 4 million LINK for five days.
This extended accumulation phase eventually came to an end, as Chainlink retested $15 on Jan. 10 and dropped below the threshold two days later. These whales demonstrated erratic purchase and selloff activities in the days that followed, but purchases largely overshadowed sales.
Per data from the IntoTheBlock chart, the accumulation came to a halt on Jan. 24 and remained low until Jan. 29. Overall, the whales procured over $855 million worth of LINK during the 30-day period, demonstrating confidence in the token’s long-term prospects.
Selling Pressure Declines as LINK Targets $17 As Chainlink looks to the December 2023 high above $17, selling pressure has drastically declined. Notably, CryptoQuant data reveals that LINK reserves on centralized exchanges have dropped since yesterday, hitting lows last seen earlier this month.
Chainlink Exchange Reserve | CryptoQuant Further data confirms that investors have continued to move their LINK off exchanges, presumably to HODL them for an extended period. The Chainlink Exchange Netflows shows over 1.392 million LINK withdrawn from exchanges today.
Chainlink Exchange Netflow | CryptoQuant Per data from the chart, this is the largest intraday LINK withdrawal from centralized exchanges in over a year. Meanwhile, LINK has leveraged this reduced selling pressure and the Bitcoin resurgence to rally 5% in the past 24 hours. The asset trades for $15.17 as of press time.
DisClamier: This content is informational and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed in this article may include the author's personal opinions and do not reflect The Crypto Basic opinion. Readers are encouraged to do thorough research before making any investment decisions. The Crypto Basic is not responsible for any financial losses.
Amidst the broader market’s recovery from the initial downturn triggered by ETF approvals, the Chainlink price has successfully maintained its position above the $13.6 local support level. This positive turnaround from the support level has resulted in a significant 13.6% increase in the LINK price over the past week, bringing it to a current trading price of $15.46.
Examination of the daily chart reveals that this upward trend is shaping into a bullish chart pattern known as an inverted Head and Shoulders, presenting an opportunity for buyers to capitalize on the potential for further recovery
High Momentum Rally Sets Chainlink Price For Key Resistance Breakout The LINK price rising for five consecutive days reflects an active buying activity among traders. The rising price will face a high supply zone at the $17.5 resistance The intraday trading volume in the LINK coin is $495 Million, indicating a 32% gain. Chainlink Price| TradingView Chart Over the last three months, the Chainlink price has experienced significant volatility, fluctuating within two diverging trendlines. This movement, visible on the daily chart, indicates a sideways trend, suggesting a lack of clear direction from buyers or sellers from a technical perspective.
However, contrasting insights emerge from on-chain metrics regarding largeholder activities. A recent analysis by Intotheblock, a crypto analytics firm, revealed that large holders have significantly increased their holdings of LINK, accumulating over 57 million $LINK in the last 30 days.
This notable accumulation could indicate a strengthening confidence in Chainlink or a strategic investment approach.
Large Chainlink holders added more than 57M $LINK to their balances in the last 30 days. pic.twitter.com/bnlIJdTEbN
— IntoTheBlock (@intotheblock) January 30, 2024
In light of these developments, there’s an anticipation that the LINK price may rise by an additional 7% shortly, aiming to breach the pattern’s neckline resistance at $16.67. If this breakout is successful, it could lead to heightened buying pressure, potentially pushing the price beyond the $17.5 resistance of the recent high.
Securing this new level could empower buyers to pursue an ambitious target of $30.
Technical Indicators Bollinger Band: An upswing in the lower boundary of the Bollinger band indicator provides additional support for buyers Moving Average Convergence Divergence. A bullish crossover between MACD(blue) and signal(orange) at the neutral zone, indicates the asset is returning to a recovery trend. Related Articles: Why Investors From Litecoin (LTC) And Chainlink (LINK) Have Joined The New DeeStream (DST) Presale Crypto Price Prediction For January 30: BTC, AVAX, SUI Bitcoin Price to Retest $48000 As Bullish Pattern Hints End of Correction
One crypto whale is attracting notice for selling millions of dollars worth of a decentralized finance (DeFi) altcoin amid a market correction.
According to blockchain tracking firm Lookonchain, one deep-pocketed investor sold their trove of MKR, the native token for the DeFi protocol Maker, within days as the asset dipped below $2,000.
[adinserter block="1"]
“A whale dumped 2,658 MKR for 5.37 million DAI at an average price of $2,022 in [four] days. And the price of MKR has dropped by 7.6% since the whale began dumping.
The whale still holds 2,007 MKR ($3.9 million), be careful of selling again!”
Source: Lookonchain/X Maker is trading for $1,973.71 at time of writing, up slightly in the last 24 hours.
Lookonchain also noticed that another crypto whale just scooped up a large amount of the decentralized oracle network Chainlink (LINK).
“A fresh wallet withdrew a total of 424,259 LINK ($6.26 million) from Binance [on January 28th].”
Source: Lookonchain/X LINK is trading for $15.05 at time of writing, up nearly 1.42% in the last 24 hours.
The blockchain tracking firm previously reported that one trader made huge profits buying and selling Wen (WEN), a memecoin built on the Solana (SOL) network. The trader sold WEN to gain $682,000 in USDC and held on to $941,000 in unrealized profits.
“In just 14 hours, this trader made over $1.6 million trading MEME coin WEN! He spent 125,500 USDC to buy 20 billion WEN when WEN opened trading, and sold 12.5 billion WEN for 807,000 USDC, realizing a profit of 682,000. And currently holds 7.6 billion WEN ($941,000), with an unrealized profit of $941,000.”
WEN is trading for $0.000111 at time of writing, down more than 30% in the last 24 hours.
After the initial decline triggered by Spot ETF approvals, the overall market has recovered, and the popular altcoin Chainlink (LINK) has successfully maintained its position above the $13.6 local support level. This positive turnaround from the support level resulted in a significant 13.6% increase in LINK’s price over the past week, reaching a current trading price of $15.46.
Volatility in the LINK MarketCryptocurrency experts, upon examining the daily chart, have noted that this uptrend has transformed into what is known as a bullish head and shoulders chart pattern, offering buyers an opportunity to capitalize on further recovery potential. Over the past three months, the Chainlink price has fluctuated within two different trend lines, experiencing significant volatility. This movement indicated on the daily chart suggests a sideways trend, which technically could mean a lack of clear direction for buyers or sellers.
However, on-chain measurements of major investors’ activities present contrasting views. A recent analysis by cryptocurrency analytics firm Intotheblock revealed that large-scale holders have significantly increased their LINK token holdings, accumulating over $57 million worth of LINK in the last 30 days.
Ambitious Target for LINKFollowing these developments, it is anticipated that the LINK price may increase by an additional 7% in the short term, aiming to break through the neckline resistance of the formation at $16.67. If this breakout is successful, it could lead to an increase in buying pressure and potentially push the price above the recent high resistance level of $17.5. Securing this new level could enable buyers to pursue an ambitious target of $30.
Chainlink, after the Spot ETF approvals and the subsequent general market recovery, has successfully held the $13.6 support level, showing a 13.6% increase. Analysts point out that the rise on the daily chart has turned into a head and shoulders pattern, offering buyers potential for recovery. This situation indicates that buyers could aim for ambitious targets beyond the $17.5 resistance.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.
A widely followed crypto strategist is predicting bullish continuations for a handful of altcoins including Solana (SOL), Chainlink (LINK) and Polygon (MATIC).
Analyst Michaël van de Poppe tells his 692,000 followers on the social media platform X that the native asset of the smart contract platform Solana looks primed for a move to the upside.
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According to the analyst, Solana’s consolidation period appears to have ended after SOL bounced from its recent low of around $79.
“Looks likely we’ll be continuing towards $140.”
Source: Michaël van de Poppe/X At time of writing, SOL is worth $103, up over 6% in the past day.
Looking at the native asset of the decentralized oracle Chainlink, Van de Poppe also thinks LINK is ripe for a burst to the upside.
“This one is ready for $25 as it has been holding crucial levels.”
Source: Michaël van de Poppe/X At time of writing, LINK is worth $14.98, up over 2% in the last 24 hours.
Next up is the native asset of the blockchain scaling solution Polygon. According to Van de Poppe, MATIC could rise by as much as 85% from current levels.
“Higher timeframe support levels have been holding and liquidity has been taken.
I’m expecting another upward push, although MATIC has also been underperforming.
Next rally could be to the $1.25-1.50 region.”
Source: Michaël van de Poppe/X At time of writing, MATIC is trading at $0.817.
The analyst also has his radar locked on the Ethereum (ETH) scaling solution Arbitrum (ARB). Van de Poppe says ARB looks poised for a big surge after holding the $1.60 level as support.
“If it gets back in the $1.40-1.60 area, it’s obviously an entry, but I think we’ll continue with the Layer 2s. Probably this one can surge to $3-$4.”
Source: Michaël van de Poppe/X At time of writing, ARB is worth $1.85.
The last coin on the trader’s list is the native asset of the interoperable blockchain Polkadot (DOT). Van de Poppe believes that DOT could ignite a more than 100% rally after its recent pullback.
“Great weekly candle across the board, including DOT. Had a 30-40% correction, which are massive opportunities within a bull market. I think we’re ready for the next upward impulse move, perhaps $15 for Polkadot.”
Source: Michaël van de Poppe/X At time of writing, DOT is worth $7.
Some of the most popular companies in the cryptoeconomy have banded together to create an organization that will assess and rate top cryptocurrency projects on the likelihood of these projects being securities per U.S. federal securities laws.
That organization, the Crypto Rating Council (CRC), counts exchange operators like Bittrex, Coinbase, Kraken, and Poloniex-backers Circle among its first members, as well as the firms of Anchorage, DRW Cumberland, Genesis, and Grayscale Investments.
So why the need for such a body?
The so-called Howey Test, which is a test devised by the U.S. Supreme Court to determine if a given asset is a security, commonly leads to “judgment calls, inconsistent results, and … disagreement among legal experts,” the CRC said on the Frequently Asked Questions section of its new website.
Accordingly, the organization’s rating system — which runs from 1 to 5, with 5 indicating an asset bears the hallmarks of a security and 1 meaning the opposite — is being hailed by members as a “compliance tool” that will help bring consistency to their respective asset review processes.
Founded by prominent companies across the crypto industry, our mission is to lead crypto financial services firms committed to practical compliance with the U.S. securities laws. We are the Crypto Rating Council, and we launched today: https://t.co/FbdwfSZN9D
— Crypto Rating Council (@CRC_Crypto) September 30, 2019
“The CRC will publish a simple rating for most assets it reviews to indicate the results of its analysis as a reference for operators, developers, and the public,” the organization said.
With that said, the ratings are utterly non-binding and have been made without involvement from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). So, while clarity is the professed goal, the only thing the CRC has ultimately made more clear is what its members think about the legal status of top cryptocurrencies in America.
“The score does not reflect a legal conclusion and is no indication of qualitative value of an asset or suitability for investment or any other purpose,” the CRC said of its ratings.
How the First Scores Look Don’t expect any surprises when it comes to bitcoin (BTC). The oldest cryptocurrency, which has long been held up by various stakeholders as a standard for decentralized projects, received a 1 rating from the CRC.
Other projects the body deemed to have “few or no characteristics consistent with treatment as a security” included DeFi’s darling Dai stablecoin, the popular Monero (XMR) privacy cryptocurrency, and Litecoin (LTC).
The 2 rating was given to the next rung of projects that the CRC deemed to seem mostly decentralized according to its framework. These projects included Ethereum (ETH), Zcash (ZEC), Numeraire (NMR), ChainLink (LINK), and the fledgling proof-of-stake project Algorand (ALGO).
Getting on up there according to the group were projects like Augur (3.75), EOS (3.75), Stellar (3.75), Tezos (3.75), and XRP (4). The highest inaugural scores were given to Polymath (4.5) and Maker (4.5).
Notably, the SEC announced just hours after these ratings were released that Block.one, the team behind the EOS launch, had settled charges and would pay a $24 million civil penalty for its year-long ICO being an unregistered security offering.
The Commission said the securities status only applied to the “IOU” ERC20 token that was issued during the sale rather than the current EOS cryptocurrency, which lives on EOS now rather than Ethereum.
Are Exchanges Listing Securities? One question that immediately started buzzing through the ecosystem on the heels of the announcement of the CRC was why would exchanges like Coinbase take chances on assets like XRP that appear to bear considerable resemblances to a security in the U.S.?
One possibility is that the group’s members consider “security status is binary,” according to Jake Chervinsky, the General Counsel of DeFi lending project Compound Finance. In other words, anything less than a 5 rating would be fair game accordingly.
My best guess: they'd say security status is binary and as a matter of law it doesn't make a difference how close a token comes to being a security if it's ultimately not one.
On that logic, though, query the value of publishing the five-point score in the first place.
— Jake Chervinsky (@jchervinsky) September 30, 2019
But even if the already rated cryptocurrencies later end up being cleared as “not securities” per the SEC, the CRC rating system can lead to future conflicts of interest, e.g. member exchanges being charitable in their ratings because they stand to gain from trade volume.
In my opinion, this rating system creates a massive conflict of interest. All of the companies that joined this consortium are massively incentivized to rate the vast majority of tokens as non-securities. Coinbase listed some very questionable tokens including XRP, Tezos, EOS
— Larry Cermak (@lawmaster) September 30, 2019
But there’s a silver lining here, according to Blockchain chief executive officer and president Marco Santori. In a Twitter thread on the CRC announcement, Santori said the effort was suspect in some ways but was also a positive attempt at self-regulation in an industry that needs more regulatory clarity in general.
8/ So why on earth would they publish this? Why on earth should we applaud their effort?
Well, actually we should.
As an industry, this stuff is basically the best we've got.
THAT'S RIGHT ITS A TWIST
wait hear me out.
— Marco Santori (@msantoriESQ) September 30, 2019
William M. Peaster
William M. Peaster is a professional writer and editor who specializes in the Ethereum, Dai, and Bitcoin beats in the cryptoeconomy. He's appeared in Blockonomi, Binance Academy, Bitsonline, and more. He enjoys tracking smart contracts, DAOs, dApps, and the Lightning Network. He's learning Solidity, too! Contact him on Telegram at @wmpeaster
It’s no secret that the decentralized oracle network Chainlink (LINK) has been one of the best performing digital assets of 2019, despite crypto winter and the absence of an altcoin rally.
And a large part of that success may be down to one word: partnership.
The ultimate irony? It may have been a mistake.
The word is over-used in blockchain circles. And a Chainlink representative was quick to contact Crypto Briefing when we reported ‘partnerships’ with companies such as IoTeX and Matic (even when one of the companies used the term itself) to request that we change the term to the more accurate ‘integration’.
In fact, the Google ‘partnership‘ reported by CoinDesk referenced a post by Google that never used the word ‘partnership’ at all.
CoinDesk never updated that headline, despite updating the article itself on September 11th, 2019.
John Biggs opened his article by claiming that “Google has tapped a startup token project, Chainlink, as an official Cloud Partner and the relationship suggests a deep and detailed interest in blockchain technology by the Mountain View giant.”
And CoinDesk wasn’t even the first: Forbes pre-dated their article, suggesting on June 13th that “Google software will be able to integrate data from sources outside the blockchain through a partnership with Chainlink…” (Emphasis ours.)
Chainlink themselves did not advertise the Google integration as a partnership either – founder Sergei Nazarov called it an ‘implementation’, and the Google Cloud Partners Twitter account did not mention it.
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Chainlink has been clear on the matter: on their website, they explain that “We work with top companies like Google…, providing them the secure oracles needed for next generation smart contracts.”
We contacted Chainlink and they neither confirmed nor denied that the company was an official Cloud Partner. Multiple searches for ‘blockchain’, ‘oracle’, ‘chainlink’ and so on did not return a result on the Google Cloud Partner Directory (which, incidentally, does not appear to work on Brave).
Yet those headlines made a big impression. On June 13th, the day before CoinDesk’s article, Chainlink’s market capitalization was at ~$400M. By June 29th, it stood at over $1.54bn.
We don’t know precisely how Forbes and CoinDesk found the Google blog post. Or whether it was sent to them with the word ‘partnership’ included or not.
But setting aside the discussion over whether the CoinDesk headline and Forbes characterization was incorrect (and if it was, the purpose of this article is not to assign blame – as previously noted, we have made the same mistake), the multiple integrations announced this year by Chainlink and other companies have clearly had a major impact on its price.
Chainlink Integrations And Price Action Chainlink has inked more than seventy integrations since it launched in late 2017. Although initially these had a limited impact on the LINK token price, the market’s reaction has grown in step with the rise in the project’s profile.
LINK has climbed steadily, moving from 38th to 15th largest cryptocurrency by market cap, since the beginning of the year. Even though the coin has been pared back from its ATH in late June, if an investor bought a dollar’s worth of LINK tokens on January 1st, they would still be worth more than $9 today, as a longer-term overview from CoinMarketCap illustrates.
Tokens have surged 800% since the beginning of the year. Source: CoinMarketCap. By Crypto Briefing’s calculations, each new integration/partnership has led to a 10% increase in the LINK price, on average. That figure falls to 7.7% if you exclude that crucial Google announcement.
The news in mid-June that BigQuery – Google’s search engine’s data warehousing and business intelligence solution – was “integrating Chainlink into their approach to smart contract adoption” sent the LINK token price skyrocketing.
In the space of six hours, the LINK price soared by more than 70% and the market cap surged by $300M. Analysis from TheTIE shows this had a significant effect on long-term sentiment – turning an already bullish market to very bullish in the space of a few weeks.
Source: TheTIE This clearly had a discernible effect on other announcements in the ensuing weeks. LINK surged by 20% on the IoTeX (IOTX) integration on July 12 and 15% on the Elrond (ERD) July 18 announcement, all of which happened within a month or so of the Google news, causing an above-average 10% surge in the LINK price.
Interestingly, LINK rose just by 4% following the announcement with INT Chain (INT) on July 23 , fell by 1% on the Akropolis (AKRO) integration on July 25, rose slightly by 1% on QuarkChain (QKC) on July 26, and finally dropped 13% on Bytom (BTM) in July 27.
This second grouping of integrations had below-average and even negative effects on the LINK price. As the graph below shows, it coincided with a precipitous drop in tweet volumes and 30-day average daily sentiment: the first instance of a move into the ‘bearish’ camp since the Google BigQuery announcement.
Source: TheTIE What this shows is that significant announcements – the sort of development that creates surging prices and a volte-face in sentiment – can have a longer-term influence on other positive news.
Like a new version of the ‘Coinbase Effect’, which could exert a strong influence on trading behavior, integrations a month after BigQuery led to higher average increases in the LINK prices, something that quickly subsided as sentiment began to pare back.
That might explain why integrations at the end of July received below-average price increases.
Cryptocurrencies are driven by sentiment much more than any other asset-class.
Using Chainlink announcements as an example, traders can see just how long sentiment’s reach really is, and how much it can be driven by one headline.
Even if the headline that drives the sentiment may not be entirely accurate.
Jon Rice contributed additional research and analysis to this article.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Paddy Baker. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
