Altcoins, after having recorded solid recovery over the past week, saw its fortunes turn over the past few days. In little over 24 hours, popular altcoins such as Cardano, VeChain, and Bitcoin Diamond fell, once again recording corrections after a good run in the first few days of April.
Cardano [ADA]
Cardano’s price began plummetting way before the 12 March crypto-crash. Since then, the coin has stabilized and registered minor bumps in price in the short-term. However, the price of Cardano seemed to have undergone yet another correction over the past few days, dropping its price by over 7 percent.
At press time, ADA had a trading value of $0.032 and a market cap of $830 million. If the price were to recover, there is strong resistance at $0.033 and supports at $0.030 and $0.029.
According to the MACD indicator, bearish momentum was predominant after the MACD’s bearish crossover. The RSI indicator, however, was moving towards the overbought zone.
VeChain [VET]
After news regarding VeChain completing the first phase of its collaboration with the Shanghai Gas Group, the coin did receive a bit of bullish momentum. However, the uptrend seemed to have been temporary as the price had dropped by around 10 percent over the past few days.
At press time, VET was being traded at $0.0031, registering a market cap of $178 million. For VET, there were two strong supports that could help stabilize the price, if it were to be overpowered by the bears, at $0.0030 and $0.0029. There was also resistance at $0.0034 for the coin.
The EMA ribbon had, at the time of writing, gone below the press time price and was offering support, preventing the price from falling further. The Stochastic Indicator, however, noted strong bearish sentiment as it was in the oversold zone.
Bitcoin Diamond [BCD]
Bitcoin Diamond’s price seemed to have followed most altcoins’ trends over the past few days. In just over 24 hours. BCD’s price dropped by close to 9 percent, bringing its trading value down to $0.48. At press time, BCD’s trading price was very close to testing the support at $0.47. There was another support for the coin at $0.44, along with a point of resistance at $0.51.
The Bollinger Bands, at the time of writing, were expanding once again, indicating increased price movement in the near future. The Stochastic indicator showed bearish sentiment as it was plummetting towards the oversold zone.
The much-hyped alt season still seems to be a distant dream even though most alts are continuing to make minor gains towards recovering the losses they collectively incurred during the previous month’s massive price crash. Altcoins such as Stellar, Bitcoin Diamond and Qtum have seen their price surge up to 10 percent in less than a week’s time.
Stellar [XLM]
The Stellar Development Foundation [SDF] has been in the news for announcing that it plans to donate around $2.5 million as an aid to support efforts against the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the start of the month, Stellar has done fairly well and has seen its price go up by 6.5 percent. At press time, XLM had a trading price of $0.041 and a market cap of $848 million. If the bullish momentum were to sustain, the price of XLM could soon test resistance at $0.043. In case the price drops, there are two strong supports at $0.040 and $0.038.
MACD indicator has currently undergone a bullish crossover implying an upcoming price hike. The RSI indicator also shows bullish sentiment as it heads towards the overbought zone.
Bitcoin Diamond [BCD]
Bitcoin Diamond, over the past week, registered significant gains. BCD’s current price of $0.49 marks a 10 percent increase in less than 7 day’s time. At press time BCD had a market cap of $91 million and a 24-hour trading volume of $8 million. BCD’s price is likely to soon test support at $0.47 if a price correction were to occur. There is also another support at $0.44 and a key point of resistance at $0.53.
Bollinger Bands for BCD have contracted substantially and signal very little price volatility and its moving average is now proving support for the price. RSI indicator, however, has made a reversal and is now heading towards the oversold zone.
Qtum
In the past week, another big winner among the altcoins happens to be Qtum registering over a 10.5 percent increase in its price. Currently, Qtum has a trading price of $1.27 and if the price were to continue on this uptrend, it might not be long before the resistance at $1.31 is tested. There are also two important points of support at $1.24 and $1.92.
EMA ribbons have now gone below the price of the coin and are now providing support for the coin’s price. The Stochastic indicator, however, is now moving towards the oversold zone – a sign of bearishness.
The advent of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies has introduced unprecedented ways to distribute new assets, creating complex tax situations. Here’s how to account for forks and airdrops, and a few strategies to minimize taxes.
There is little precedent when it comes to taxes around forks and airdrops.
“In the traditional world, nobody airdrops anything. The dollar doesn’t fork every Tuesday,” said Alon Muroch, CEO of crypto accounting platform Blox, in an interview with Crypto Briefing.
Ruling from other regulatory agencies adds to the complexity. By the letter of the law, many cryptocurrencies are not considered money, or commodities, but instead securities—investments that represent a contract between a buyer and an enterprise.
“You should start with the assumption that you’re starting with a securities offering,” said SEC Chairman Jay Clayton. Failing this assumption, or misinterpreting the rule of tax law, has led to “a majority of companies filing incorrectly,” LukkaTax’s co-CEO, Robert Materazzi, told Crypto Briefing, who claims that most portfolio apps that link to a tax service are doing so incorrectly.
FinCEN has issued its own guidelines around money transmitter rules for cryptocurrency, treating crypto like cash for anti-money laundering purposes. Meanwhile, the Commodities Future Trading Commission treats Bitcoin as a commodity. The U.S. Internal Revenue Service treats it as property. Ethereum falls somewhere in the middle.
Between the regulators, it’s one confusing mess of three and four-letter acronyms giving mixed messages.
What Is a Blockchain Fork? A fork is a software change that creates two separate versions of the same blockchain. Most often, forks are used to introduce upgrades, where the old version of a blockchain is replaced by the new one as soon as the fork is executed.
Occasionally, however, forks are used to settle disagreements over technical features, like the block size debate that lead to Bitcoin Cash. Other times, it’s about governing philosophy, like in Ethereum Classic. Yet other times it’s about taking advantage of a brand name, like Bitcoin Diamond. They’re an integral part of what makes a decentralized blockchain, well, a blockchain.
Forks happen all the time. Since inception, Bitcoin alone has had over 50 forks.
To make matters worse, holders often aren’t aware that a fork has even taken place and many coins go unclaimed. Nevertheless, the IRS views forks as taxable events.
Understanding Token Airdrops Airdrops are another situation where money falls out of thin air. In an airdrop, coins are “carpet bombed” to thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of cryptocurrency addresses as part of marketing campaigns, said Muroch.
One example of a massive airdrop was the one executed by Stellar, a cryptocurrency created by XRP co-founder Jed McCaleb. In September of last year, the Stellar Foundation announced it would airdrop 2 billion XLM, worth over $120 million at the time. An unprecedented sum.
Again, like forks, the owner of a cryptocurrency address that benefits from an airdrop is often unaware of the windfall. Many times they do not even consent to receiving an airdrop.
“You’re not always aware that you receive assets from a fork. You can couple that with airdrops, not just forks,” said Muroch. “All those holders had taxable events because someone in the marketing department decided to use that as a marketing tool.”
Tax Implications of Forks and Airdrops Consent aside, the IRS has voiced its position on forks and airdrops. “The receipt or transfer of virtual currency for free, including from an airdrop or following a hard fork,” needs to be reported for tax purposes, says the IRS.
The power to collect taxes from these events, even crypto, come from broad powers given to the government over a century ago. “The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived,” reads the 16th amendment.
The IRS has offered some clarity concerning the confusion. In October 2019, the agency issued a ruling on the issue.
Crypto holders recognize income when they “exercise dominion and control over the cryptocurrency” received through a fork or an airdrop, according to the rules. That is, when a holder gains the ability to transfer or sell the cryptocurrency.
Wendy Walker, a tax withholding and reporting expert at Sovos, a tax reporting software company, reaffirmed this position in a conversation with Crypto Briefing. Forks are treated as “ordinary income,” and the specific amount of tax liability would depend on the valuation scheme the taxpayer is using, she said.
By default, coins are valued using the FIFO, or “first in first out,” method of accounting, where the oldest units of cryptocurrency are used to determine the cost basis, said Jim Calvin, a tax partner at Deloitte.
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Though there are other valuation methods that may produce less tax liability, like LIFO or average cost, and these are viable so long as they are consistently applied. If this all seems confusing, an example might help illustrate the tax implications.
Using the Bitcoin Cash Fork as an Example Bitcoin Cash split from the Bitcoin network on Aug. 1, 2017, to settle a disagreement over the block size, which essentially determines the upper limit to how many transactions can be processed by the Bitcoin network in a roughly a 10 minute interval.
Those who held their private keys prior to the chain-split received a number of BCH equal to the number of BTC they held.
Bitcoin was trading at $2,800 the day of the fork. Immediately after the split, Bitcoin Cash opened on exchanges at $290. A taxpayer who had received BCH would recognize $290 in income, which would also determine the cost-basis of the BCH.
Later the next day, if the taxpayer sold their Bitcoin Cash when it was trading at $380, they would recognize capital gains of $90:
$380 - $290 = $90 Hypothetically, if the price of Bitcoin dropped as a result of the fork, it might be possible to offset some of the income from the fork, but the rules around this are unclear.
Tron’s Ethereum Airdrop as an Example Another example to demonstrate the recognition of income is when Tron airdropped 30 million TRX to Ethereum holders. Announced April 2018, Ethereum addresses with a balance of one or more ETH received between 10 and 100 TRX.
TRX was trading at $0.5 on the day of the airdrop, April 20, 2018. Assuming an address received 50 TRX, the Ethereum holder would recognize income of $25 on that day ($0.5 x 50).
To illustrate the impact of FIFO, if those coins were received over a series of days (from the 20th to the 22nd, for example), then the following accounting would take place:
April 20: 50 TRX at $0.5 each ($25) April 21: 50 TRX at $0.6 each ($30) April 22: 50 TRX at $0.7 each ($35) In all, the account holder received $90 worth of TRX, and would recognize this sum as revenue. Hypothetically, if they sold 60 TRX at $0.7, they would recognize gains from the oldest batches of coins first under FIFO.
The April 20 batch as the “first in” would get sold first, for reporting purposes. The 50 TRX with a cost basis of $0.5 each and sold for $0.7 each would register a gain of $10:
(50 x $0.7) - (50 x $0.5) = $10 Then, it would take 10 TRX from the batch from April 21, which were obtained at $0.6 each:
(10 x $0.7) - (10 * $0.6) = $1 In total, the taxpayer would recognize capital gains of $11, in addition to the $90 of income from the three batches of airdrops.
In some circumstances, especially for those who trade often, it can be advantageous to use the LIFO method which takes the newest coins first, allowing some of the coins held for more of the year to get preferential long-term capital gains treatment.
Issues Raised by Airdrops Airdrops are an issue for holders of Ethereum and other smart contract blockchains. Even if the owner of the address did not consent to receiving the tokens they would still incur tax liability. Oftentimes, Ethereum holders receive hundreds of unsolicited tokens at no fault of their own.
Looking at Vitalik Buterin’s wallet address as an example, he has received over a hundred unsolicited airdrop coins worth thousands of dollars.
Vitalik Buterin’s main wallet address on Etherscan If the rules are to be followed by the book, each and every one of these airdrops would be recognized as revenue on the date of receipt. Further complicating the issue is that many of these coins are not traded on reputable exchanges, meaning their prices are unreliable.
In the end, this results in an accounting headache and an unwanted tax liability for holders of Ethereum, Tron, EOS, and other smart contract coins.
IRS Ramps Up Crypto Enforcement These tax agencies mean business. Regulators are well aware of cryptocurrency’s role in aiding tax evasion and money laundering. Those who think they can get away without paying taxes are at risk of an audit, along with steep penalties.
Transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain are public, for the most part. It’s only a matter of time before the IRS is able to trace these transactions back to taxpayers, Walker told Crypto Briefing.
More alarming is that more than 50% of CPAs expect that at least half of their clients will be audited for back taxes on their crypto holdings, according to a joint report by Blox and Sovos. Reputable exchanges report activity from crypto traders to the IRS. Coinbase, Kraken, Binance.US, and Gemini all disclose this information to tax agencies, making evasion difficult.
In June of last year, the IRS mass mailed targeted letters to taxpayers suspected of “misreporting” cryptocurrency transactions. British tax authority HM Revenue & Customs has issued similar warnings.
“Cryptoassets like Bitcoin have attracted a lot of interest from people who are new to investing and have probably never filed a tax return in their life. It’s really important for investors to start doing the maths now so they know how much profit they’ve made and the tax due,” said Iqbal Gandham, UK managing director of eToro.
These authorities are serious, and it’s likely they’ll continue to crackdown on those intentionally and unintentionally underpaying on their taxes.
Caveats and Strategies Around Cryptocurrency Income Recognition There are, however, some caveats. Exchanges don’t always immediately recognize forks as tradable assets, and many do not register airdrops at all. This can be used to the taxpayer’s advantage.
Coinbase, for example, did not offer support for BCH for a full four months after the fork. As a result, holders wouldn’t recognize income until they could “exercise control” over the asset. That is, until they could transfer and trade it.
So, for those trading on Coinbase, income wouldn’t be recognized until that date, when Bitcoin Cash was worth over $2,500 per coin (instead of $290 per coin).
This fact can be used as a tool to reduce tax liability. By storing coins on an exchange, a holder can avoid getting bombarded by airdrops, which would normally trigger taxable events.
To take advantage of this, an investor could store coins on an exchange and wait until their income drops to claim those coins (supposing they waited until they could offset their gains by selling some coins at a loss, or expected less income in a coming tax year).
How to Report Forks and Airdrops on Your Taxes In sum, here’s how to report forks, airdrops, and capital gains on a tax return. The following exercise uses the Bitcoin Cash fork and Tron airdrop from the earlier examples. The entire process requires four different IRS forms.
These include the following: the 8949: Sales and Other Disposition of Capital Assets, the Schedule 1: Additional Income and Adjustments to Income, the 1040, Schedule D: Capital Gains and Losses, and the 1040: Individual Income Tax Return.
Assuming the taxpayer received 1.0 Bitcoin Cash from the fork and 50 Tron from the airdrop in the earlier example, first fill out the Schedule 1 as follows:
($290 x 1 BCH) + (50 TRX x $0.5) = $315 Then, for the capital gains associated with the sale of the Bitcoin Cash, itemize each sale and report it on form 8949. For those who trade regularly attaching a spreadsheet can greatly speed-up the process.
(Sale price: $380) - (Price at fork: $290) = $90 gain The sum of these cryptocurrency sales are then reported on Form 1040, Schedule D. Finally, input these figures on the 1040 form with all other sources of income:
(Capital Gains: $90) + (Fork and Airdrop Income: $315) = $405 total income Between the fork, the capital gain, and the airdrop, this taxpayer would have $405 in additional total income.
At first glance, it may seem that reporting tens and sometimes hundreds of cryptocurrency transactions would be daunting. It is, without the aid of spreadsheets or software.
But, with enough diligence, it’s possible to report these transactions yourself. Beyond that, those who plan in advance can even reduce how much they owe, allowing them to keep more of their hard-fought gains.
For more information on proper filing, refer to official guidance from the IRS and their frequently asked questions guide.
The information presented here does not represent tax advice. Please consult with a professional before making decisions about your taxes.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Mitchell Moos. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
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On-chain data shows the Bitcoin long-term holders, or so-called “diamond hands,” have transferred a total of 669,000 BTC over the past month.
Bitcoin Long-Term Holders Have Sold Big In Past 30 Days As explained by CryptoQuant Netherlands community manager Maartunn in a post on X, the Bitcoin network has observed multiple transactions involving a large amount of dormant coins.
Transfers involving old coins are attributed to the “long-term holder” (LTH) cohort. The LTHs refer to the BTC investors who have been holding onto their coins since more than 155 days ago.
Statistically, the longer an investor holds onto their coins, the less likely they become to sell or transfer the tokens at any point. As such, the LTHs are considered the more resolute part of the market.
These HODLers don’t easily sell due to this strong conviction and swiftly ride past both periods of downtrends and uptrends. The short-term holders (STHs), who make up for the rest of the sector, are the ones who make panic moves during such periods.
As the LTHs don’t often sell, the times that they do participate in distribution can be all the more note-worthy. One way to track whether these holders are selling or not is through their 30-day “net position change,” which is a metric that keeps track of the net amount exiting or entering the cohort.
Below is the chart shared by Maartunn that reveals the trend in this Bitcoin indicator over the history of the cryptocurrency:
The value of the metric appears to have been highly negative in recent days | Source: CryptoQuant As displayed in the above graph, the 30-day net position change of the Bitcoin LTHs has assumed a deep red value recently. In the past month, these HODLers have removed 669,000 BTC from their wallets.
Something to keep in mind is that when it comes to accumulation, the net position change has a delay attached to it. This is because the LTH supply only increases 155 days after the purchase has been made, since the newly bought coins have to first mature enough to be a part of this age group.
In the case of distribution, though, the same is obviously not true, since any coins that get transferred on the blockchain have their age reset back to zero instantly.
The recent negative net position spike for the LTHs is quite big. To put things into perspective, the BTC amount that these diamond hands have transacted with this spike is equal to around $44.7 billion in the US Dollar, a staggering value.
It would seem that the latest events of the cryptocurrency, which have included a brand new all-time high (ATH) and a crash, have forced even these diamond hands to break their streak.
From the chart, it’s visible that the LTHs have sold big when new Bitcoin ATHs have been set in the past bull rallies as well. Interestingly, though, the peak of these spikes has only coincided with a price top partway through each run, and not the actual cycle peak.
In BTC-scale, the negative 30-day net position spike from the LTHs has been smaller this time than both that observed during the 2017 and 2021 bull runs. This is only the case so far, however, as it’s unclear whether the peak LTH net distribution has ended or not.
BTC Price Bitcoin has been making another attempt at recovery during the past few days as its price has now surged back towards the $67,000 level.
Looks like the price of the asset is trying to make recovery | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView Featured image from Vasilis Chatzopoulos on Unsplash.com, CryptoQuant.com, chart from TradingView.com
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On-chain data shows Bitcoin HODLers are still able to sell at a profit while the weak hands are going through a major capitulation event.
Bitcoin Diamond Hands Still Comfortably Selling At A Profit As pointed out by CryptoQuant Head of Research Julio Moreno in a new post on X, the BTC short-term holders have capitulated during this latest downturn in the market.
The “short-term holders” (STHs) make up for one of the two main divisions of the Bitcoin userbase done on the basis of holding time, with the other group being called the “long-term holders” (LTHs).
The cutoff between the two groups is 155 days, with investors who have been holding since less than this time falling into the STHs and those with more qualifying as LTHs.
Statistically, the longer an investor holds onto their coins, the less likely they become to sell or transfer them at any point. As such, the STHs represent the weak-minded side of the market, while the LTHs include the HODLers.
During the latest crash, both of these cohorts have shown a reaction, but this reaction has been very different between the two. To showcase this difference, Moreno has made use of the “Spent Output Profit Ratio” (SOPR) indicator.
The SOPR basically tells us about whether a given group is selling Bitcoin at a profit or loss right now. The metric being above 1 implies members of the group are realizing profits, while it being under suggests loss-taking is the dominant mode of selling.
Now, here is a chart that shows the recent trend in the Bitcoin SOPR for the STH and LTH cohorts:
The difference between the behavior of the STHs and LTHs | Source: @jjcmoreno on X As displayed in the graph, the Bitcoin STH SOPR has been mostly at levels under 1 during the latest drawdown in the price, implying that these investors have been selling at a loss.
At its worst, the indicator had even fallen under the 0.8 mark, suggesting that the cohort had been taking a loss of more than 20%. Clearly, these fickle-minded hands were thrown into quite a panic by the crash.
While the STHs have been capitulating, the LTHs are still participating in net profit-taking, as the SOPR for them has remained strong above the 1 level. The indicator even reached a notable level during the rebound BTC saw following its lows, suggesting that these diamond hands had sold for significant gains.
Some STHs, too, had managed to take profits in this recovery, but as is visible in the chart, the metric had only slightly breached the 1 mark and that too just briefly, meaning that the profit realization hadn’t been anything significant and had lasted for only a moment.
BTC Price At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at around $55,000, down more than 17% over the past week.
Looks like the price of the coin has been sliding down recently | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView Featured image from Dall-E, CryptoQuant.com, chart from TradingView.com
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Data shows the Bitcoin diamond hands have continued to sit tight recently as almost a third of the supply hasn’t been moved in five years.
Bitcoin Has A Notable Part Of Its Supply Dormant Since Over Five Years In a new post on X, the market intelligence platform IntoTheBlock has discussed about how the most dormant BTC supply has been looking like recently. The supply in question is the one made up of the Unspent Transaction Outputs (UTXOs) that have aged past the five-year mark.
In other words, this supply includes the coins of the investors who have been holding onto them since more than five years ago, without having sold or moved them from their wallets.
The investors who have coins aged more than 155 days are popularly known as the “long-term holders” (LTHs), so this five-year old supply would represent the holdings of the especially aged LTHs.
Statistically, the longer an investor holds onto their coins, the less likely they become to sell said coins at any point. As such, the LTHs are considered to be the resolute side of the market. The LTHs dormant since more than five years ago would then, of course, be the diamond hands among diamond hands.
Something to note, though, is the fact that not all of this supply would actually be an indication of HODLing. The reason behind this is simple: the older the tokens become, the more likely they get to have become lost, whether by simply having their existence forgotten or by having their keys become inaccessible.
Thus, as the supply in question is over 5+ years old, a part of it is probable to in fact never make it back into circulation. That said, the rest of it would have attained the age through sheer conviction.
Below is a chart that shows the trend in the percentage of the Bitcoin supply that’s in this age bracket over the history of the cryptocurrency.
Looks like the value of the metric has been going down in recent days | Source: IntoTheBlock on X As is visible in the above graph, the Bitcoin 5+ year LTH supply registered a decrease earlier in the year as some old investors woke up to collect their rally profits, but this decline was only slight, and since then, the indicator has been moving sideways.
At present, the metric’s value stands at 30.7%, which means almost a third of the cryptocurrency’s entire supply in circulation hasn’t been moved in more than five years.
For perspective, the five-year cutoff puts the earliest possible buying point for these coins back in August 2019. Thus, these investors have survived at least the COVID-19 crash, the 2021 bull market, the 2022 bear market, and now, the rally that first began in 2023.
Given this resilience, it’s unlikely most of these investors would sell their Bitcoin under anything, but very special circumstances.
BTC Price Bitcoin has seen a plunge of almost 4% over the last 24 hours, which has taken its price to $58,100.
The price of the coin appears to have plunged recently | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView Featured image from Dall-E, IntoTheBlock.com, chart from TradingView.com
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A notable diamond hand investor recently sold 199 Bitcoin ($13.55 million) for a profit, according to data from Lookonchain. This transaction marks another significant move for the investor, who has made a series of profitable sales over the years.
Bitcoin Investor Pulls $44M Profit After Strategic Sales Over 5 Years He pulled out 801 Bitcoin ($8.25 million) from HTX exchange five years ago when Bitcoin was only at $10,297. Since then, the individual has gradually been offloading parts of their holdings and within the last month they have disposed of 500 Bitcoin worth $32.13 million.
At the moment, the investor owns 301 BTCs, which is equal to $20.42 million. The accumulative revenues from such transactions have now risen to about $44.28 million, further demonstrating their performance in terms of good holding gains and timed exit gains.
Diamond Hand Investor’s Volatility Management Leads to Huge $BTC Profits This ‘diamond hand’ strategy is based on the investor’s confidence in Bitcoin’s fundamentals, while they are at the same time making good money out of short-term price movements. The fact that the investor has been selling considerable proportions of it especially when Bitcoin prices had skyrocketed in the months prior to the writing of this paper, affirms the investor’s volatility management, and portfolio health.
Stories like this, from Lookonchain, show how Bitcoin attracts both retail and institutional investors, and may result in large gains for those who could afford to wait out the cycles.
AUTHOR
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.
With Bitcoin (BTC) finally staying strong above $100,000, some traders might be already interested in taking profits from this crypto rally. Recent on-chain data analysis by CryptoQuant community author shows that long-term holders of digital gold are not in this cohort.
Bitcoin (BTC) long-term holders are not selling; bullish?Long-term holders of Bitcoin (BTC), i.e., on-chain accounts that purchased BTC at least seven years ago, are not sending their holdings to exchanges yet. Such analysis was shared today, Feb. 1, 2025, by pseudonymous crypto researcher who goes by Crypto SunMoon, a featured CryptoQuant community author.
According to him, during the 2017-2021 crypto rally, long-term holders started selling their riches right before the bullish phase ended. For now, we are nowhere near this stage yet, data says.
As demonstrated by the researcher, the latest major inflows to centralized exchanges driven by long-term holders were registered in late Q1, 2024. However, they were not as impressive as those that accompanied the previous BTC all-time high in November 2021.
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In some of the largest altcoins, similar processes are dominating on-chain supply. For instance, over 70% of both Ethereum (ETH) and Litecoin (LTC) owners have been holding their riches for 12 months minimum.
As such, various groups of long-term holders are demonstrating confidence in the crypto rally, while the selling pressure comes mainly from "paper hands."
USDT, USDC metrics look optimistic for Bitcoin (BTC) bullsWhile Bitcoin (BTC) inflows to exchanges look pale, major stablecoins, including USDT and USDC, are revealing the opposite trend. In the last three months, USDT supply on CEXes jumped by 40% and reached an all-time high over $43 billion.
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The aggregated supply of stablecoins is also growing at an increased pace. Since early November 2024, it increased from $160 billion to $224 billion, as per CoinGecko data.
While USDT remains the largest stablecoin, USDC is the fastest-growing one. Combined, their capitalization upsurges are also treated as a sign of a prolonged bull market for Bitcoin (BTC) and major altcoins.
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Bitcoin has spent the last five days trading within a relatively narrow range between $106,229 and $111,807, following its recent all-time high of $111,814. Despite the increase in selling pressure from miners after the all-time high, the price of Bitcoin has managed to hold above $108,000, with on-chain data showing Bitcoin diamond hands absorbing all the selling pressure.
Long-Term Holders Accumulating With Minimal Spending According to data from the on-chain analytics platform CryptoQuant, the Long-Term Holder (LTH) Spending Binary Indicator has fallen to its lowest level since September 2024. This interesting trend was initially noted on the social media platform X by crypto analyst Alex Adler Jr.
The 15-day moving average of this metric, as shown in the chart by CryptoQuant, has dropped to the minimal spending zone. Notably, this zone has consistently preceded a more bullish move in the Bitcoin price.
Source: Axel Adler Jr on X In parallel, long-term holder supply has risen by approximately 300,000 BTC over the past 20 days. This marks a deviation from the trend of declines in the long-term holder supply since 2024. At the time of writing, 14.6 million BTC, representing about 74% of the total current circulating supply of BTC, is in addresses classified as long-term holders.
This pattern suggests that so-called “diamond hands”, i.e., investors with a strong conviction who hold through volatility, are not only refraining from selling with Bitcoin’s recent new peak, but are actively accumulating. The chart below shows the correlation between minimal LTH spending and rising price action, a behavior that also aligned with phases of Bitcoin’s uptrend in 2019, late 2020, and late 2024.
Why It’s Bullish For The Market The significant uptick in long-term holder supply, combined with minimal selling activity, reveals a hidden strength in the market. The current behavior of long-term investors also indicates their confidence in Bitcoin’s valuation at current levels, despite the recent price surge. Many of these long-term holders are in substantial profit, yet still choose to hold. This is unlike short-term holders, who have collectively realized over $11.6 billion in profits over the past month alone.
Drawing a parallel with historical data, the current decline in long-term holder (LTH) spending mirrors a similar pattern observed in September 2024. At that time, the LTH Indicator was in the minimal zone, and the long-term holder supply was also increasing steadily.
What followed was a remarkable 96% surge in Bitcoin’s price, rising from approximately $54,000 to peaks around $106,000 in December and January. If the market were to follow a similar trajectory from the current price level, a comparable 96% rally would see Bitcoin rise to a new peak near $212,000.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $109,000.
BTC trading at $108,723 on the 1D chart | Source: BTCUSDT on Tradingview.com Featured image from Getty Images, chart from Tradingview.com
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After days of testing a resistance zone at $106,000, Bitcoin has finally broken above the $107,000 mark to confirm a strong bullish momentum that has been building since early June. The breakout, which has seen Bitcoin reclaim $110,000 briefly in the past 24 hours, follows several failed attempts to close above this pivotal level.
Technical analysis of the Bitcoin price indicates that the breakout above $107,000 has given bulls back control. Particularly, technical analysis from crypto analyst Michaël van de Poppe suggests that Bitcoin’s price will accelerate for the rest of the week.
$106,500 Confirms Strength, Analyst Eye Accelerated Move Over the past few days, Bitcoin’s price structure has been forming a rounded base with higher lows, gradually coiling under a support turned resistance. Now that the breakout has occurred, bulls seem to be back in control.
According to Michaël van de Poppe, a widely-followed crypto analyst on the social media platform X, the decisive moment came after Bitcoin cleared the $106,500 resistance, a level he previously mentioned he’s looking at. In his post, he noted that as long as Bitcoin maintains support above this zone, momentum will continue to shift in favor of buyers. Specifically, he pointed out that day traders are likely to pile in with new long positions, while short sellers are either closing their positions or getting squeezed out entirely. Both of these actions will continue to generate buying pressure, at least in the short term.
Source: Michael Van De Poppe on X This shift in market structure has already begun to play out. As the chart below shows, the previous resistance zone around $107,000, which was a strong support during the earlier ATH moves in May, has now flipped. This zone had repeatedly rejected price advances, acting as a price ceiling since May 30. Now, with the breakout confirmed and volume increasing, the analyst expects a swift rally toward $108,900 and beyond for the rest of the week.
Bulls Prepare For New Bitcoin All-Time High The timing of this breakout also coincides with the start of the trading week, which Van de Poppe describes as a great start to the week and a continued upside for the remainder of the week. More often than not in this cycle, Bitcoin has exhibited sentiment surges early in the week that persisted throughout the week. If Bitcoin can consolidate above the $107,000 to $108,000 range without falling back into the previous structure, it could enter a new price zone as soon as the $111,000 barrier is breached.
With increasing interest due to ETF inflows, it could serve as the launchpad for Bitcoin’s next major leg up, carrying it toward new all-time highs before the end of June. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $109,455, having recently reached an intraday high of $110,237. The leading cryptocurrency is currently only about 2.5% away from setting a new all-time high.
BTC trading at $109,609 on the 1D chart | Source: BTCUSDT on Tradingview.com Featured image from Getty Images, chart from Tradingview.com
Spot Bitcoin (BTC) Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) have shown strength amid the crypto market’s correction and the flagship crypto’s latest performance. Some experts have praised investors’ resilience, suggesting that the “real story” is not in the recent outflows.
ETFs Investors Hold Strong Despite Market Downturn On Thursday, Nate Geraci, co-founder of the ETF Institute, affirmed that Bitcoin ETF investors have “largely displayed diamond hands” during the recent crypto market downturn.
The flagship crypto has seen a 48.2% correction from its October 6, 2025, all-time high (ATH), recording five consecutive months of strong bleeding after the October 10 market crash.
Since then, spot BTC ETFs have seen about $6.5 billion in outflows, the expert observed, which he considers a “drop in the bucket” compared to the $55 billion in cumulative total net inflows that the category has seen since launching in January 2024.
It’s worth noting that crypto-based investment products have seen five weeks of outflows this year, with Bitcoin having the weakest sentiment among major assets amid the negative market sentiment of the past month.
According to SoSoValue data, BTC funds have recorded $3.81 billion in net outflows since January 23, starting the week with $203.82 million in outflows on Monday.
However, Geraci highlighted potential renewed demand for the investment products as the category sees a three-day streak of consistent inflows. Notably, Bitcoin ETFs have seen over $1 billion in inflows over the past three days, setting the stage for their potential biggest week since mid-January.
The ETF expert emphasized that 50% drawdowns “are a walk in the park for long-time BTC investors,” but observed that newer ETF investors also appear unfazed by the current market conditions.
“Not first time btc has experienced 50% decline & likely won’t be the last. ETF investors clearly aren’t panicking, though. Apparently buying the dip,” he wrote on X.
Bitcoin ETFs Strength Is The ‘Real Story’ Bloomberg Intelligence Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas backed Geraci’s comment, praising the remarkable performance of spot Bitcoin ETFs over the past two years.
“As an ETF watcher, you know just how absurd this strength amid a 50% drawdown,” Balchunas stated. “This is the real story, vs focusing on the $6b that came out, which most stories do.”
“Further, the narrative that crypto is ‘paying the price’ for getting financialized is absurd. $55b in net new cash in two years is the opposite of paying the price,” he added on X.
In a recent interview, the senior analyst observed that the amount of Bitcoin held by ETFs is only down around 6% despite the market pullback. He noted that these types of corrections happen to every asset, including bonds and stocks, before recovering.
Stocks have the same thing. Every time stocks go down, I remind myself and then other people that stocks have a 100% perfect record of coming back to hit all-time highs from a downturn. So, why would I worry that much, right?
Balchunas affirmed that these assets can have “really horrible streaks, but then when they come back around, the flows come back.” He concluded that the price volatility and the negative market sentiment are “the cost of the holy grail returns that most people have gotten.”
Bitcoin trades at $65,366 in the one-week chart. Source: BTCUSDT on TradingView Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com
Aurory, the upcoming online gaming platform, has announced the release of a new game mode called Blitz Battles. This new mode is designed to offer a fast-paced, adrenaline-fueled gaming experience to players.
Introducing Blitz Battles ⚡️
A fast-paced game mode coming to Aurory where players can wager and battle their Nefties 🪙
Aurorians and $AURY holders will soon gain early access to the v0 for a limited time! pic.twitter.com/UPz7Po9ZZ7
— Aurory (Open Alpha) (@AuroryProject) February 9, 2023 Blitz Battles is a multiplayer game mode that takes place in a compact map, and the objective is to eliminate the enemy. With an automated battle style, all wins are effortless. Players can earn rewards and level up through their performance in the game. The matches are quick and intense, making it the perfect mode for players who are looking for a quick gaming fix.
In addition to the new game mode, Aurory has also launched a referral program. This program allows players to invite their friends to join the platform and receive rewards for doing so. The rewards will vary, but players can expect in-game items and other benefits.
Aurory's commitment to constantly improving its platform and providing players with new and exciting gaming experiences has been one of the reasons for its success. The release of Blitz Battles and the referral program are sure to keep players engaged and coming back for more as they continue to build through their open alpha app.
The gaming universe is on the precipice of a significant shift. Aurory, a prominent name within the NFT-driven gaming scene, has divulged its plans to extend its realms beyond the Solana blockchain. This expansion focuses on incorporating the Ethereum scaling network, Arbitrum, into its ecosystem. The announcement not only solidifies the increasing momentum of cross-chain integration but underscores the flexibility and inclusiveness that the modern gaming industry is inching towards.
Expansion, Not Migration
While various Solana-rooted NFT and gaming projects have ventured into other blockchain territories, Aurory's trajectory seems unique. The brand consciously markets its move as an "expansion" rather than a full-blown migration. Jonathan Campeau, Aurory’s Executive Producer, clarifies the brand's stance, stating, “We’re not leaving Solana necessarily. For us, we need to branch out a little bit from a pure business point of view.”
Aurory’s SyncSpace technology is at the forefront of this strategic shift. It promises a smooth transition for assets between Solana and Arbitrum, enabling players to access their favorite games without a hitch.
Bridging the User Experience Gap
Solana's inherent incompatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine creates hurdles for users accustomed to the Ethereum ecosystem and specific wallets like MetaMask. Addressing this, Aurory offers a simplified sign-in experience where players can use their email addresses and opt to connect a crypto wallet later. By doing this, they are acknowledging and catering to diverse user experiences and preferences.
Campeau captures the essence of the move, “We just want to open more doors for players. Solana has a specific audience, and so does Arbitrum.”
SyncSpace: More Than Just a Bridge
SyncSpace, while functioning as a bridge between blockchains, has a more profound mission. Michael Natoli, Aurory’s Head of Marketing and Business Development, emphasizes that the main goal is to establish novel on-ramps into the game, tapping into diverse crypto communities. The objective is to enrich the player experience and promote a sense of community.
This bidirectional flow of assets ensures players have the flexibility they seek. Whether an NFT is on Solana or Arbitrum, its functional utility within the game remains consistent. “There is no 'upside' of moving them from one chain to the other. We ultimately want to expand our community and bring the Aurory experience to another growing and committed Web3 ecosystem in Arbitrum,” added Natoli.
Enhancing Gameplay with Blockchain Diversity
The cross-chain integration can also breathe new life into the gameplay. Campeau suggests that integrating more blockchains could introduce new experiences with NPCs, potentially tied to specific chains, paving the way for intriguing cross-chain explorations.
A Glimpse into Aurory's Gaming World
With two exciting games under its belt, Aurory Adventures (a PvE RPG) and Aurory Tactics (a PvP battle arena game), Aurory promises players an immersive experience. The inclusion of character NFTs known as Aurorians and Pokemon-esque animal NFTs labeled Nefties adds depth to the gameplay. Their past collaborations, like the one with TSM and the crypto exchange FTX, indicate their intent to innovate continually.
While Arbitrum is Aurory’s current focus, the brand is keeping its doors open. Campeau hinted at the possibility of exploring other ecosystems like Polygon, Avalanche, and BNB in the foreseeable future.
In conclusion, Aurory’s venture into the cross-chain domain signifies a pivotal moment for the gaming industry, setting a precedent for more inclusivity and interconnectedness in the crypto-gaming world.
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The play-and-own mobile gaming platform GAMEE suffered an exploit of its GMEE token contracts on Polygon that led to the theft of 600 million GMEE tokens and left the crypto community pondering questions.
GAMEE Confirms $15M Exploit On Polygon On January 22, GAMEE Token’s official X (formerly Twitter) account advised its users to refrain from engaging with the digital asset while their team investigated the GMEE token-related security comprise it had just suffered.
The GMEE token is an ERC-20 utility token “designed to be the currency of access, action, and governance within the GAMEE ecosystem,” as their website states.
🚨 $GMEE | URGENT
There has been a security incident involving the GMEE token. As a precautionary measure, we advise all users to refrain from engaging with $GMEE until further notice.
Our team is actively investigating the situation, and updates will be provided soon.
— GAMEE (@GAMEEToken) January 22, 2024
Before the official announcement, crypto users quickly noticed the token’s sudden price crash and the transactions behind it. This left GAMEE users and the general crypto community wondering if an exploit had occurred.
In the early hours of January 23, GAMEE’s team returned to the X platform to explain what happened and the steps to come.
The thread explains that their preliminary investigation indicated that the GMEE token contracts on Polygon had been compromised via unauthorized GitLab access.
This compromise resulted in the theft of 600 million GMEE tokens worth approximately $15.28 million at the time of the exploit. The compromised tokens were immediately converted to ETH and MATIC and exchanged via various decentralized exchanges (DEXs) in the following hours, drastically impacting the GMEE token price.
The team behind GAMEE explained that after noticing the Polygon GMEE deployer address was compromised, they secured the token contract ownership and all associated contracts by transferring ownership to a “new secure address.”
The team also clarified that only proprietary team token reserves were affected, and the exploit did not affect assets owned by the community, as “GAMEE does not custody or manage any community-owned assets.”
GAMEE expressed its understanding of how the impact of the unauthorized transactions could have affected the GAMEE community, as it led to price volatility and limited use of the GMEE token while investigations were taking place.
The next steps for GAMEE will consist of an impacted user identification process to evaluate the best way to support the affected part of the community. Additionally, they plan to provide a real-time update on the details that further investigations will provide as an effort to keep trust and transparency.
Lastly, the user was advised to exercise caution “given the volatile market conditions and potential liquidity impacts driven by CEX measures.”
GMEE’s Violent Price Drop Around the time of the exploit, the GMEE token had been trading at $0.02554112, according to CoinGecko’s data, and it had been previously sitting at the $0.027-$0.026 range throughout the weekend.
Shortly after the exploit, the prince crashed to $0.01155577, reaching its lowest point of $0.00897251 in the early hours of today.
It’s worth noting that many saw the price crash as a possibly once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to profit. Various users shared that they had bought the dip and even advised others to do it. One X user said, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”
At writing time, the GMEE token trades at $0.016999, a 31.5% decline in the last 24 hours.
GAMEE is currently trading at $0.016999 in the hourly chat. Source: GMEEUSDT on TradingView.com Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com
Aurory, a Solana role-playing and monster-battling game, has launched its Seekers of Tokane experience to the public on the Epic Games Store after previously restricting access to NFT holders and access code recipients.
Seekers of Tokane serves up a chunk of the overall Aurory experience, letting players battle with Pokémon-esque creatures (called Nefties) and explore a lush fantasy land. It plays like a “roguelike” game, in which players must grab loot and attempt to exit with their winnings—because you’ll lose everything if you perish.
The public access is available for a limited time, from February 12 through February 26, and it’s tied to the launch of an in-game event, Dracurve’s Awakening. And it’s also linked to crypto rewards, including AURY tokens and rare in-game NFTs.
Aurory will distribute $50,000 worth of AURY token rewards to players, with $35,000 of that set for Aurorian NFT owners and the rest intended for non-holders. Furthermore, the game will also offer up limited edition NFT collectibles and “Draconic Eggs.”
Beyond the split between NFT holders and non-owners, it’s not clear how Aurory plans to distribute the $50,000 worth of AURY to players, or how specifically to earn the rewards. Decrypt’s GG has reached out to the Aurory team for clarification and will update this story if we hear back.
Aurory first launched in the Epic Games Store last November with the debut of Seekers of Tokane. Operated by Epic Games, the developer of Fortnite and creator of the widely used Unreal Engine development suite, the Epic Games Store is a major mainstream PC gaming marketplace with some 230 million total users as of the end of 2022.
It has also become a prominent home for a growing stack of crypto and NFT games, including the likes of Shrapnel, Gods Unchained, and Nyan Heroes. Rival marketplace Steam, run by Half-Life and Counter-Strike developer Valve, has taken an anti-crypto stance—though some game creators have found ways around the restrictions.
The Aurory project spans multiple games, as well as multiple chains. While it started life on Solana, the game expanded to Ethereum scaling network Arbitrum last year in an effort to attract more players. However, the game’s bridge to Arbitrum was exploited for $830,000 worth of AURY in December.
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As a significant development in the Web3 space, Aurory AI and Orbler have unveiled plans to join hands through a strategic partnership with the view to complementing each other and fostering innovation and growth. This partnership will increase community engagement and adoption of Web3 technologies as well as introduce co-marketing strategies for both parties and consumers.
🤝Partnership Announcement: Aurory AI <> Orbler🤝
🎉 @AuroryAI is excited to announce a strategic partnership with @Orbler1 , a leading Web3 marketing platform. This collaboration aims to leverage the strengths of both companies to drive innovation and growth within the Web3… pic.twitter.com/HkCi3xk9JY
— Aurory AI (@AuroryAI) September 23, 2024 About Orbler and Aurory AI Orbler was started as a company specializing in marketing services but has grown and developed in many ways over the years. Its evolution began with being a platform that aimed at utilizing new digital tools to optimize Internet advertising and consumer interactions. Over time, the firm identified a niche in the emerging Web3 sector, and the leaders of the firm realized the potential of blockchain technology.
Since Aurory AI started, the company has been the pioneer in the creation of AI solutions for blockchain technology, providing solutions that not only increase the efficacy of online platforms but also improve their usability and security. One of the primary focuses of Aurory AI is research and development. Thus, it has become a significant player in the blockchain space, with multiple pioneering projects that demonstrated just how far AI can go in the decentralized world.
Collaboration for Future Growth In joining forces with Orbler’s marketing capabilities and Aurory AI advanced solutions, the goal is set to develop even more engaging platforms. This includes utilizing AI analysis to identify the needs of the community better and, in turn, using this information to interact with its users more effectively.
Co-Marketing The co-marketing activities under this partnership shall mean marketing and advertising their products and services through each other’s channels or assets. Such synergy is aimed at increasing the coverage of initiatives and projects that the companies might pursue within the context of Web3.
Drive Adoption The AI-driven toolset of Aurory AI combined with Orbler’s marketing strategies will help in the uplifting Web3 technology adoption. Together, they will tackle the problems related to interface and entry barriers which are important for wide adoption of blockchain technology.
This will also include approaches such as giveaways as a way of not only promoting their brands but also growing the communities they have already created. All these are done in the spirit of the engagement campaigns whereby users are offered incentives to participate and remain loyal within the community that becomes a core of their growth strategies.
This collaboration makes sense as Aurory AI brings its technological solutions to the table while Orbler provides the marketing know-how needed to address the issues Web3 companies face. They are hopeful that this partnership will strengthen communication with the community, improve co-marketing strategies, and spur the use of Web3 technology.
AUTHOR
With over five years of experience in crypto, blockchain, and tech content, Ishtiyaq makes complex topics easy to understand. He simplifies blockchain and digital currency concepts for a wide audience, ensuring that beginners and experts alike can grasp key ideas. His clear and engaging writing helps readers stay informed about the latest trends, developments, and innovations in the crypto space. Whether explaining blockchain technology, digital assets, or DeFi, Ishtiyaq breaks down complicated ideas into simple, digestible content. His goal is to help people navigate the fast-changing world of cryptocurrency with confidence, clarity, and a deeper understanding.
The head of a $230 billion Singaporean investment fund is the latest high-profile public figure to have their likeness used to promote Bitcoin Pro – an investment scam making the rounds on Facebook.
Ho Ching, who has served as Temasek’s CEO since 2004, warned her more than 57,000 followers on Monday:
“Just to alert everyone that there have been some more fat frogs jumping in the streets! […] The scams masquerading as breathless news from Straits Times, Channel News Asia, etc, have resurfaced and are making the rounds again, using my name and making up fake breathtaking quotes from me and others.”
Fake Ad of Bitcoin Investment Scam The ad bears the “as seen on” logos of several legitimate and reputable media outlets, including The New Paper, The Business Times, Today, The Independent Singapore, and Singapore Business Review.
In a “special report” titled “Ho Ching Latest Investment Has Experts in Awe and Big Banks Terrified,” the ad makes several false and sensationalist claims attributed to Ho, including details of a supposed call between Ho and the head of a major bank in which they beg her “stop divulging money-making secrets.”
Ho encouraged her followers to report the ad and cautioned them against getting conned into “get rich quick schemes” like Bitcoin Pro.
A spokesperson for Temasek said:
“These are not new scams – they’ve been around a long time and have targeted many high profile individuals, not just Ho Ching.
“At the end of the day, people need to be aware before committing to anything they see online endorsed by anyone with a public profile.”
Bitcoin Pro By Any Other Name Still a Scam Bitcoin Pro appears to be the latest iteration of the Bitcoin Revolution scam. Similar scams have appeared recently under names like Bitcoin Looper and Bitcoin Evolution.
You may also like: Mining Profits Dry Up Across Bitcoin, DOGE, LTC, and BCH Saylor Should Stop Buying Bitcoin, Says CryptoQuant Strengthening Dollar and OG Selling Pressure Keep Bitcoin Bears in Control Regardless of the name, all of these scams have several things in common:
They advertise their scam on Facebook using ads that feature fake “news articles” about some famous celebrity or other public figure making sick amounts of money using their program. Like most high-yield investment plans (HYIPs) they promise dizzying profits in a matter of days, weeks, or months. They are practically clones of each other, using the same verbiage and making the same outlandish claims. Ho isn’t the first high-profile Singaporean to be unwittingly caught up in this scam. Earlier this year, former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong had his likeness used to promote the scam, prompting the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to issue an official warning about the scam.
Bitcoin Scam Ads on Facebook are Hard to Kill Although Facebook removes the ads when they become aware of them, policing the Bitcoin scam ads appears to be akin to a game of whack-a-mole – no sooner do they take one down than another one (or more) pops up in its place.
A spokesperson for the social media giant cited the technical savviness of the scammers as one of the chief reasons it is so difficult to prevent the ads from being published. He explained that they “use sophisticated cloaking technology to mask content so that it shows different versions to our ad review systems than it does to people.”
“We encourage our community to report ads they believe are misleading as this information helps us improve our automated detection systems to counter cloaking tactics and make us better,” the spokesperson added.
The head of a $230 billion Singaporean investment fund is the latest high-profile public figure to have their likeness used to promote Bitcoin Pro – an investment scam making the rounds on Facebook.
Ho Ching, who has served as Temasek’s CEO since 2004, warned her more than 57,000 followers on Monday:
“Just to alert everyone that there have been some more fat frogs jumping in the streets! […] The scams masquerading as breathless news from Straits Times, Channel News Asia, etc, have resurfaced and are making the rounds again, using my name and making up fake breathtaking quotes from me and others.”
Fake Ad of Bitcoin Investment Scam The ad bears the “as seen on” logos of several legitimate and reputable media outlets, including The New Paper, The Business Times, Today, The Independent Singapore, and Singapore Business Review.
In a “special report” titled “Ho Ching Latest Investment Has Experts in Awe and Big Banks Terrified,” the ad makes several false and sensationalist claims attributed to Ho, including details of a supposed call between Ho and the head of a major bank in which they beg her “stop divulging money-making secrets.”
Ho encouraged her followers to report the ad and cautioned them against getting conned into “get rich quick schemes” like Bitcoin Pro.
A spokesperson for Temasek said:
“These are not new scams – they’ve been around a long time and have targeted many high profile individuals, not just Ho Ching.
“At the end of the day, people need to be aware before committing to anything they see online endorsed by anyone with a public profile.”
Bitcoin Pro By Any Other Name Still a Scam Bitcoin Pro appears to be the latest iteration of the Bitcoin Revolution scam. Similar scams have appeared recently under names like Bitcoin Looper and Bitcoin Evolution.
You may also like: Mining Profits Dry Up Across Bitcoin, DOGE, LTC, and BCH Saylor Should Stop Buying Bitcoin, Says CryptoQuant Strengthening Dollar and OG Selling Pressure Keep Bitcoin Bears in Control Regardless of the name, all of these scams have several things in common:
They advertise their scam on Facebook using ads that feature fake “news articles” about some famous celebrity or other public figure making sick amounts of money using their program. Like most high-yield investment plans (HYIPs) they promise dizzying profits in a matter of days, weeks, or months. They are practically clones of each other, using the same verbiage and making the same outlandish claims. Ho isn’t the first high-profile Singaporean to be unwittingly caught up in this scam. Earlier this year, former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong had his likeness used to promote the scam, prompting the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to issue an official warning about the scam.
Bitcoin Scam Ads on Facebook are Hard to Kill Although Facebook removes the ads when they become aware of them, policing the Bitcoin scam ads appears to be akin to a game of whack-a-mole – no sooner do they take one down than another one (or more) pops up in its place.
A spokesperson for the social media giant cited the technical savviness of the scammers as one of the chief reasons it is so difficult to prevent the ads from being published. He explained that they “use sophisticated cloaking technology to mask content so that it shows different versions to our ad review systems than it does to people.”
“We encourage our community to report ads they believe are misleading as this information helps us improve our automated detection systems to counter cloaking tactics and make us better,” the spokesperson added.
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Pro-XRP and crypto attorney John E. Deaton, who won the Republican nomination for Senate in Massachusetts, has emerged as one of the largest crypto holders in the political space ahead of the election, with significant holdings in the largest digital assets on the market.
XRP Defender John E. Deaton’s Crypto Holdings Exposed Deaton, known not only for his legal expertise but also as a Marine veteran, has drawn attention for his ongoing defense of cryptocurrencies, particularly Ripple, amid the blockchain payments company’s fierce legal battle with US regulators over the past few years.
Ripple, embroiled in a US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuit since 2020 for alleged “securities violations,” has supported Deaton’s campaign with substantial donations, as the Massachusetts state senate candidate has played a key role in the company’s defense.
Nonetheless, Fox Journalist Eleanor Terret brought to light the revelation on Wednesday that a substantial 80% of Deaton’s net worth is tied up in Bitcoin (BTC) or BTC-related investments, alongside undisclosed holdings in Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and XRP.
Terret’s post on Deaton’s crypto holdings was made on Wednesday. Source: Eleanor Terret on X Ripple’s Political Push The involvement of Ripple, with significant contributions to the Commonwealth Unity Fund, a super political action committee (PAC) established by legal expert and crypto advocate James Murphy, showcases the growing influence over the past year of the crypto industry in the US political race.
Ripple’s support, which includes $1 million in donations from key figures such as the company’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse and founder Chris Larsen, signals a concerted effort to support Deaton and foster a more crypto-friendly political climate, which has been marked by lawsuits and increasing enforcement actions against key industry players, especially in the past year.
Murphy, known for his insights on crypto enforcement matters under the pseudonym “MetaLawMan,” has articulated a vision of unity and collaboration in Congress, positioning Deaton as a candidate capable of bridging divides in the Senate regarding crypto regulation.
However, with Warren’s stronghold in Massachusetts, not losing her seat since 2013, and her vocal stance against digital assets, Deaton’s campaign faces financial and ideological challenges.
In addition, the fundraising numbers also position Warren to outpace the Pro-XRP lawyer in contributions, reflecting the uphill battle for the crypto-friendly candidate. Murphy said in a recent interview with Fox:
Now, more than ever, we need unifiers in the Senate. I believe the people are ready to reject the divisive policies and actions of Elizabeth Warren.
The daily chart shows XRP’s uptrend recorded over the past month. Source: XRPUSDT on TradingView.com At the time of writing, XRP, the sixth largest cryptocurrency on the market, is trading at $0.615, down 1.5% in the last 24 hours, as the crypto market has seen a slight correction led by Bitcoin on Thursday.
Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com
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Spending on global healthcare is increasing dramatically year on year. Projected to grow to over $10 trillion by 2022, the healthcare industry is a giant market fueled by rising life expectancy and a growing population, but the medical sector still faces multiple inefficiencies, especially with financial sustainability.
Digital innovations are reshaping the future of the healthcare landscape, and innovations are making care delivery more cost-effective, and more accessible than ever before. Blockchain holds the potential to bring greater trust, auditability, and traceability to multiple healthcare functions.
Solve.Care CEO & Founder Pradeep Goel However, when people think of blockchain technology adoption, healthcare isn’t necessarily the first application which comes to mind.
But there’s one blockchain technology company that is quickly changing that.
Blokt interviewed Solve.Care CEO Pradeep Goel, to find out why healthcare is such a ripe industry for blockchain disruption, and what Solve.Care’s role is within that process.
Founding Solve.Care Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Kyiv, Ukraine, Solve.Care is a healthcare platform built on distributed ledger technology which redefines benefits administration, care coordination, and healthcare payments – the three core pillars of healthcare systems around the world.
Founder and CEO Pradeep Goel has over 25 years of healthcare industry experience, building solutions for public programs such as Medicaid, Medicare, the Child Welfare program amongst others, as well as health insurance and health information exchanges.
In the US, almost one in every five dollars of national output is consumed by healthcare, a figure which is greatly exacerbated by fraud, waste, and abuse of the medical supply chain.
We asked Goel what made Solve.Care focus on a blockchain solution for these inefficiencies:
“My own son was diagnosed with a disorder which required him to see a neurologist. It took more than seven months to get an appointment. We called hundreds of neurologists individually. There was no other way to check their schedules. What about those diagnosed with a terminal illness struggling to make appointments with multiple specialists, without assistance?”
After encountering healthcare inefficiencies firsthand, Goel decided he would make healthcare more efficient for all parties, patients and caregivers alike – and blockchain technology was the perfect technology on which to build the Solve.Care solution.
How does Solve.Care Work? Although there are multiple healthcare apps in development which could be implemented using blockchain technology, Solve.Care stands out in the market with its unique approach to a blockchain healthcare platform.
Instead of offering a single-purpose app for users to download, Solve.Care provides a complete administrative platform which gives healthcare providers a unique opportunity to build their own ‘Care Administration Networks.’ This allows providers to connect and synchronize their participants, make instant payments inside the network, and share information instantaneously to reduce fraud.
The way the Solve.Care platform is built means it is designed to protect the security and privacy of users and patients data, while also improving access and accountability.
On top of the platform, healthcare stakeholders can use the Care.Wallet app and Care.Cards.
On the function of the Care.Wallet, Goel remarks:
“Care.Wallet is an organizer that stays with users throughout their life journey, no matter who sponsors or facilitates their healthcare. Our objective is to deliver a better healthcare experience at the lowest possible cost to both individuals and groups.”
Goel also explains that even in the most efficient healthcare systems, at least 10-15% of budgets are spent on administrative costs, rather than delivering healthcare – a huge gap which could be significantly decreased.
Expanding on this issue, Goel says:
“Every dollar saved on administration costs could be redirected to spending on healthcare delivery. These are costs that need to be trimmed down and reduced. Is it achievable to a zero? No. But can we bring it as close to zero as possible, without compromising quality of care? Yes, and we should strive to do so.”
Solve.Care ensures the protection of potentially sensitive user data through the Care.Vault, which allows for both single ownership and multi-ownership data to be stored off-chain. Clinical data is safely secured in the Care.Vault, so only the Care.Wallet holder associated with the account has access and consent over rights and sharing.
The SOLVE Token Solve.Care concluded its token sale in the first half of 2018, selling 350 million SOLVE tokens in a sell-out raise.
SOLVE is an ERC-20 token used by clients, insurers, employers, and agencies in order to build Care Administration Networks inside the Care.Wallet for patients to use their services.
Likewise, SOLVE holders can sponsor care for loved ones, using SOLVE tokens to subscribe to vital healthcare services which also allow users to track the patients health daily.
Currently, SOLVE tokens are traded via secondary markets on Bittrex, KuCoin, Upbit, and more.
Geographic Focus Recently, Solve.Care has started turning toward the healthcare market in Asia, and many business meetings with healthcare insurers, blockchain trading platforms, and partners have taken place in Hong Kong, South Korea, and Japan.
Asked why Asia is such a key market for Solve.Care, Goel explained:
“When we look at the client base in Asia, we see a lot of interest around administration and coordination in healthcare. There are few advanced systems or well-defined platforms, like Solve.Care, available today to insurers in Asia.”
As part of Solve.Care’s Asian expansion strategy, the team is planning to issue Care.Cards in local languages such as Korean, Japanese, and Chinese. To achieve this, Goel says, Solve.Care is already in talks with multiple potential partners.
Likewise, Solve.Care is planning to launch reseller and delivery partnerships in Hong Kong, Korea, and China which will enable it to bring its platform to these markets with greater efficiency.
Solve.Care Live Applications In 2018, Solve.Care launched two blockchain applications to facilitate process administration for patients and physicians.
The first application, the ‘Care.Wallet for Physicians’, is already being used.
Goel says:
“Arizona Care Network, one of the largest accountable care organization in the US, is using the Care.Wallet solution for their network, which consists of 5,500 physicians caring for 250,000 members.”
The Care.Wallet app allows physicians to benefit from the ‘Provider Rewards Program,’ which evaluates healthcare provider performance and distributes rewards correspondingly.
Solve.Care stands out as being the first company ever to implement digital currency and blockchain in healthcare for value-based payments, as it has done with the Care.Wallet for Physicians which utilizes Solve.Care’s healthcare digital currency called Care.Coin.
Solve.Care’s second live application, the ‘Care.Wallet for Family’, has already been downloaded by people in over 80 countries.
Goel adds:
“Care.Wallet for Family is both GDPR and HIPAA compliant and is available from app store for Android. The app allows users to join sponsor networks launched by insurers, employers, or providers, and track their healthcare with just one app.”
Solve.Care will also issue a transportation card, integrated with its new partner Lyft, a major US transport company, to enable patients to access care more easily.
Healthcare Industry Adoption Of course, the success of the Solve.Care ecosystem will depend on adoption by healthcare professionals.
When asked how this adoption would grow, Goel explained:
“Healthcare stakeholders are open for real solutions that lighten the widespread burdens of fraud, waste, and lack of transparency. Increased demand for care is placing an intolerable burden upon already stretched healthcare resources. Complex support infrastructure, data system silos and administrative bureaucracy have given rise to inefficiency and duplication of efforts, wasting billions of dollars.”
Instead, Goel says, the Solve.Care platform can be easily implemented by insurance companies, government agencies, employers, large clinical networks, managed care organizations, or pharmaceutical companies.
The fact that Solve.Care’s platform is custom-built to serve the needs of any client makes it a perfect solution for a wide range of healthcare pain points.
What Does the Future Hold for Solve.Care? In 2019, Solve.Care is focusing on platform development and onboarding new clients to the Solve.Care platform. Likewise, Solve.Care is extending its platform throughout Asia a year ahead of schedule. This year, Goel tells us, Solve.Care will be announcing a major partnership in Asia.
Speaking more broadly about the Solve.Care roadmap for 2019, Goel remarks:
“For 2019, Solve.Care is on track to achieve 125,000 wallets being adopted. We also plan to publish more Care.Cards in the market, covering benefits, clinical care, and healthcare payments. Additionally, we plan to announce more partnerships regarding care delivery, disease management, and data management.”
When asked what Solve.Care’s plans are within the coming years, Goel had this to say:
“We have set a goal that in the next three years, Solve.Care will be a company that has all the governance, adoption, and revenue growth to launch an IPO on a major stock exchange.”
Lastly, Goel finished by reiterating his mission for the Solve.Care platform:
“Our underlying goal is that every man, woman, and child who needs healthcare at some point of their life will be able to use Care.Wallet to address their needs. We want to make the healthcare experience as easy and effective as possible for You, Me, our parents, and our children.”
Solve.Care is a noble and worthwhile goal, and a great use of blockchain technology for social good.
BitStarz Player Wins Record-Breaking $2,459,124! Could you be next to win big? >>>
Blokt is a leading independent privacy resource that maintains the highest possible professional and ethical journalistic standards.
Spending on global healthcare is increasing dramatically year on year. Projected to grow to over $10 trillion by 2022, the healthcare industry is a giant market fueled by rising life expectancy and a growing population, but the medical sector still faces multiple inefficiencies, especially with financial sustainability.
Digital innovations are reshaping the future of the healthcare landscape, and innovations are making care delivery more cost-effective, and more accessible than ever before. Blockchain holds the potential to bring greater trust, auditability, and traceability to multiple healthcare functions.
Solve.Care CEO & Founder Pradeep Goel However, when people think of blockchain technology adoption, healthcare isn’t necessarily the first application which comes to mind.
But there’s one blockchain technology company that is quickly changing that.
Blokt interviewed Solve.Care CEO Pradeep Goel, to find out why healthcare is such a ripe industry for blockchain disruption, and what Solve.Care’s role is within that process.
Founding Solve.Care Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Kyiv, Ukraine, Solve.Care is a healthcare platform built on distributed ledger technology which redefines benefits administration, care coordination, and healthcare payments – the three core pillars of healthcare systems around the world.
Founder and CEO Pradeep Goel has over 25 years of healthcare industry experience, building solutions for public programs such as Medicaid, Medicare, the Child Welfare program amongst others, as well as health insurance and health information exchanges.
In the US, almost one in every five dollars of national output is consumed by healthcare, a figure which is greatly exacerbated by fraud, waste, and abuse of the medical supply chain.
We asked Goel what made Solve.Care focus on a blockchain solution for these inefficiencies:
“My own son was diagnosed with a disorder which required him to see a neurologist. It took more than seven months to get an appointment. We called hundreds of neurologists individually. There was no other way to check their schedules. What about those diagnosed with a terminal illness struggling to make appointments with multiple specialists, without assistance?”
After encountering healthcare inefficiencies firsthand, Goel decided he would make healthcare more efficient for all parties, patients and caregivers alike – and blockchain technology was the perfect technology on which to build the Solve.Care solution.
How does Solve.Care Work? Although there are multiple healthcare apps in development which could be implemented using blockchain technology, Solve.Care stands out in the market with its unique approach to a blockchain healthcare platform.
Instead of offering a single-purpose app for users to download, Solve.Care provides a complete administrative platform which gives healthcare providers a unique opportunity to build their own ‘Care Administration Networks.’ This allows providers to connect and synchronize their participants, make instant payments inside the network, and share information instantaneously to reduce fraud.
The way the Solve.Care platform is built means it is designed to protect the security and privacy of users and patients data, while also improving access and accountability.
On top of the platform, healthcare stakeholders can use the Care.Wallet app and Care.Cards.
On the function of the Care.Wallet, Goel remarks:
“Care.Wallet is an organizer that stays with users throughout their life journey, no matter who sponsors or facilitates their healthcare. Our objective is to deliver a better healthcare experience at the lowest possible cost to both individuals and groups.”
Goel also explains that even in the most efficient healthcare systems, at least 10-15% of budgets are spent on administrative costs, rather than delivering healthcare – a huge gap which could be significantly decreased.
Expanding on this issue, Goel says:
“Every dollar saved on administration costs could be redirected to spending on healthcare delivery. These are costs that need to be trimmed down and reduced. Is it achievable to a zero? No. But can we bring it as close to zero as possible, without compromising quality of care? Yes, and we should strive to do so.”
Solve.Care ensures the protection of potentially sensitive user data through the Care.Vault, which allows for both single ownership and multi-ownership data to be stored off-chain. Clinical data is safely secured in the Care.Vault, so only the Care.Wallet holder associated with the account has access and consent over rights and sharing.
The SOLVE Token Solve.Care concluded its token sale in the first half of 2018, selling 350 million SOLVE tokens in a sell-out raise.
SOLVE is an ERC-20 token used by clients, insurers, employers, and agencies in order to build Care Administration Networks inside the Care.Wallet for patients to use their services.
Likewise, SOLVE holders can sponsor care for loved ones, using SOLVE tokens to subscribe to vital healthcare services which also allow users to track the patients health daily.
Currently, SOLVE tokens are traded via secondary markets on Bittrex, KuCoin, Upbit, and more.
Geographic Focus Recently, Solve.Care has started turning toward the healthcare market in Asia, and many business meetings with healthcare insurers, blockchain trading platforms, and partners have taken place in Hong Kong, South Korea, and Japan.
Asked why Asia is such a key market for Solve.Care, Goel explained:
“When we look at the client base in Asia, we see a lot of interest around administration and coordination in healthcare. There are few advanced systems or well-defined platforms, like Solve.Care, available today to insurers in Asia.”
As part of Solve.Care’s Asian expansion strategy, the team is planning to issue Care.Cards in local languages such as Korean, Japanese, and Chinese. To achieve this, Goel says, Solve.Care is already in talks with multiple potential partners.
Likewise, Solve.Care is planning to launch reseller and delivery partnerships in Hong Kong, Korea, and China which will enable it to bring its platform to these markets with greater efficiency.
Solve.Care Live Applications In 2018, Solve.Care launched two blockchain applications to facilitate process administration for patients and physicians.
The first application, the ‘Care.Wallet for Physicians’, is already being used.
Goel says:
“Arizona Care Network, one of the largest accountable care organization in the US, is using the Care.Wallet solution for their network, which consists of 5,500 physicians caring for 250,000 members.”
The Care.Wallet app allows physicians to benefit from the ‘Provider Rewards Program,’ which evaluates healthcare provider performance and distributes rewards correspondingly.
Solve.Care stands out as being the first company ever to implement digital currency and blockchain in healthcare for value-based payments, as it has done with the Care.Wallet for Physicians which utilizes Solve.Care’s healthcare digital currency called Care.Coin.
Solve.Care’s second live application, the ‘Care.Wallet for Family’, has already been downloaded by people in over 80 countries.
Goel adds:
“Care.Wallet for Family is both GDPR and HIPAA compliant and is available from app store for Android. The app allows users to join sponsor networks launched by insurers, employers, or providers, and track their healthcare with just one app.”
Solve.Care will also issue a transportation card, integrated with its new partner Lyft, a major US transport company, to enable patients to access care more easily.
Healthcare Industry Adoption Of course, the success of the Solve.Care ecosystem will depend on adoption by healthcare professionals.
When asked how this adoption would grow, Goel explained:
“Healthcare stakeholders are open for real solutions that lighten the widespread burdens of fraud, waste, and lack of transparency. Increased demand for care is placing an intolerable burden upon already stretched healthcare resources. Complex support infrastructure, data system silos and administrative bureaucracy have given rise to inefficiency and duplication of efforts, wasting billions of dollars.”
Instead, Goel says, the Solve.Care platform can be easily implemented by insurance companies, government agencies, employers, large clinical networks, managed care organizations, or pharmaceutical companies.
The fact that Solve.Care’s platform is custom-built to serve the needs of any client makes it a perfect solution for a wide range of healthcare pain points.
What Does the Future Hold for Solve.Care? In 2019, Solve.Care is focusing on platform development and onboarding new clients to the Solve.Care platform. Likewise, Solve.Care is extending its platform throughout Asia a year ahead of schedule. This year, Goel tells us, Solve.Care will be announcing a major partnership in Asia.
Speaking more broadly about the Solve.Care roadmap for 2019, Goel remarks:
“For 2019, Solve.Care is on track to achieve 125,000 wallets being adopted. We also plan to publish more Care.Cards in the market, covering benefits, clinical care, and healthcare payments. Additionally, we plan to announce more partnerships regarding care delivery, disease management, and data management.”
When asked what Solve.Care’s plans are within the coming years, Goel had this to say:
“We have set a goal that in the next three years, Solve.Care will be a company that has all the governance, adoption, and revenue growth to launch an IPO on a major stock exchange.”
Lastly, Goel finished by reiterating his mission for the Solve.Care platform:
“Our underlying goal is that every man, woman, and child who needs healthcare at some point of their life will be able to use Care.Wallet to address their needs. We want to make the healthcare experience as easy and effective as possible for You, Me, our parents, and our children.”
Solve.Care is a noble and worthwhile goal, and a great use of blockchain technology for social good.
BitStarz Player Wins Record-Breaking $2,459,124! Could you be next to win big? >>>
Blokt is a leading independent privacy resource that maintains the highest possible professional and ethical journalistic standards.
The Blockchain Life 2019 Asia forum was held on April, 23-24, in Singapore. The organizer of this event was the leading worldwide listing agency called Listing.Help.
This year Blockchain Life 2019 Asia forum was attended by more than 3000 participants, including speakers, investors, developers, representatives of funds and worldwide blockchain companies. The main theme of the event became discussion of the current market trends and forecasts until the end of 2019.
Today Blockchain Life is a global and the most important event in the blockchain industry, because it critically effects the international crypto market, development of blockchain and worldwide digital economy.
Blockchain Life Awards, an independent contest in the framework in the blockchain and crypto currencies industry, takes place annually in the framework of the Blockchain Life forum. The winners in seven key nominations are determined through open voting. This year’s victory in the nomination ‘The Best Cryptocurrency Exchange‘ was won by the platform KuCoin. ‘The Best Trading Platform Launched in 2018‘ was the platform COINSBIT. ‘The Best Cryptomedia‘ was CCN.com. ‘The Best Blockchain StartUp‘ was ecosystem Eqwity. ‘The Best ICO Advisor‘ – Giovanni Casagrande. ‘The Most Innovative Blockchain Project‘ was Solve.Care. And Company NOVA achieved victory in the nomination The Best Corporate Product with the Use of Blockchain Technologies’.
The Coin Shark does not endorse and is not responsible for or liable for any content, accuracy, quality, advertising, products or other materials on this page. Readers should do their own research before taking any actions. The Coin Shark is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the article.
Crypto markets remain in consolidation; Binance Coin getting back up, BSV falling further back, SOLVE on a charge. Market Wrap Crypto markets have remained in consolidation for the past 24 hours. There has been no move to the upside indicating that further losses could be inevitable. Total capitalization remains around $250 billion where it was this time yesterday.
Bitcoin hit its intraday high of a touch over $7,900 a couple of hours ago but recoiled again instantly afterwards. Support lies around $7,600 which has been hit twice over the past 24 hours. With a failure to break $8,000 BTC appears set for further declines.
Ethereum is hardly worth mentioning as it is still hopelessly tied to the movements of its big brother. With little action on the day ETH remains just above $245. A large support zone sits at $230 which is where it will head if the correction accelerates.
The top ten is a mixed affair during Asian trading today. Six of the crypto assets have moved less than a percent though. Binance Coin has made the largest upward move of 6.5 percent taking BNB to $31.50. On the down side is Bitcoin SV dumping 9 percent back to $207.
There is equal red and green in the top twenty though movements are minimal as the consolidation continues. On the upside by a percent or two is Dash, IOTA and NEO while Tron and Tezos dump a couple.
FOMO: SOLVE Surges in South Korea A massive dose of fomo has gone to healthcare based platform SOLVE today as it surges 70 percent to $0.522, powering up the market cap charts to 52nd spot. South Koreans are going potty for this altcoin which spiked yesterday and has held gains. Three quarters of the total volume has been in KRW on Upbit and this comes as no surprise following the listing and inroads the project has made there;
UpBit now has KRW-SOLVE pair! This sensational development makes Care.Wallet more accessible in S. Korea. Just the latest step in our Asian expansion strategy. We're excited by the growing demand for our platform & the services and benefits, which require SOLVE token to access. pic.twitter.com/7R3OERsOUB
— TuumIO (@tuum_io) June 5, 2019
GXChain is also going strong at the moment with a pump of 26 percent and the third best performer in the top one hundred is Chainlink adding 16 percent. After a few days of solid gains Japan’s Monacoin is dumping today as it sheds 30 percent. Maximine Coin is the second worst altcoin at the time of writing dropping 23 percent.
Total market cap 24 hours. Coinmarketcap.com Total market capitalization has not really moved much since this time yesterday. It is currently at $250 billion however volume is starting to trail off slowly and is currently $10 billion less than it was yesterday. Another day of consolidation on crypto markets is keeping traders on their toes.
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.
A new partnership between Uber and blockchain technology company Solve.Care aims to transform how patients and healthcare professionals can manage and coordinate medical appointments. The ridesharing giant’s healthcare subsidiary, Uber Health, a HIPAA-compliant technology solution for healthcare organizations that allows hospitals and other healthcare professionals to request, manage and pay for rides for patients and staff at scale, will integrate with Solve.Care’s wallet.
According to the announcement, Care.Wallet, a personal healthcare coordination and administration application, will connect to Uber Health for preapproved and predetermined care appointments, providing accessible and affordable rides to patients and caregivers.
Says Dan Trigub, head of Uber Health,
“Every year, an estimated 3.6 million Americans miss their medical appointments due to a lack of reliable transportation, with the cost of missed primary care appointments estimated at $150 billion annually. At Uber Health, we are always looking for ways to ensure that transportation is not a barrier to care. Via our HIPAA compliant solutions, we are working to facilitate rides for patients who might not have access or the ability to use smartphones and to improve access to care for patients with mobility issues. Our partnership with Solve.Care supports our efforts by bringing innovation to the healthcare space and driving greater accessibility to care for patients.”
Pradeep Goel, CEO of Solve.Care, says the partnership will bring managed transportation benefits to healthcare programs.
“By offering access to this Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (NEMT) service, we expect to improve the results of clinical delivery, and reduce overall healthcare costs for everyone.”
Since Solve.Care is built on the Ethereum blockchain, each ride will be logged and recorded allowing patients to pay for rides from their Care.Wallet using Ethereum-based tokens, and also share ride costs with family members, employers and insurance companies. The platform also allows for coordination among patients, providers, employers and family members for better planning, assistance, arrival, payments and the scheduling of appointments.
While the initial roll-out with Uber Health is scheduled for the US in the coming months, Solve.Care plans to become the leading global healthcare benefits administration solution, transforming the industry by solving the issue of affordable transportation for patients.
China’s crypto market and investors refuse to bow down to regulatory bans, remaining resilient and even thriving underground. Despite the Chinese government’s stringent ban on cryptocurrency trading and mining since 2021, a growing number of Chinese investors are creatively navigating the restrictions to funnel millions daily into digital assets.
However, it’s worth noting that this defiance comes as a response to a sagging domestic economy and a turbulent stock market. Meanwhile, crypto enthusiasts, both retail investors and financial institutions, are capitalizing on Hong Kong’s more crypto-friendly environment, pushing the boundaries of China’s stringent regulations.
Chinese Investors Shift Focus Towards Crypto Amid Market Challenges Dylan Run, a finance executive from Shanghai, exemplifies the trend of spending in cryptos, shifting his investment focus due to the economic downturn in China. In other words, as China’s economy and traditional markets face challenges, Chinese investors, like Dylan Run, are turning to cryptocurrencies as safer havens, Reuters reported. Notably, despite the government’s ban, investors utilize loopholes, such as trading through grey-market dealers with bank cards from rural banks, keeping transactions discreet to avoid scrutiny.
Meanwhile, operating in a grey area, Chinese investors employ creative methods to access cryptocurrencies. Although trading tokens like Bitcoin is prohibited in mainland China, investors utilize crypto exchanges such as OKX and Binance, along with over-the-counter channels to streamline the trading process.
In addition, Hong Kong’s endorsement of digital assets has spurred the use of annual forex quotas, allowing Chinese citizens to invest in cryptocurrency accounts in the territory. Notably, Chainalysis, a crypto data platform, reports a surge in crypto-related activities in China, despite the ban.
According to the data, the country recorded an estimated $86.4 billion in raw transaction volume between July 2022 and June 2023. This robust activity dwarfs Hong Kong’s $64 billion in crypto trading during the same period. Notably, the proportion of large retail transactions in China exceeds the global average, indicating substantial involvement from retail investors.
Also Read: Ripple Sends Letter To Judge Netburn Over SEC’s “Factual Mischaracterization”
Thriving Underground Market In Hong Kong China’s ban has led to the emergence of brick-and-mortar crypto exchange stores in Hong Kong, lightly regulated and catering to the demand of Chinese investors. For instance, offline shops, like Crypto HK, allow customers to purchase cryptocurrencies without stringent identity verification, contributing to the thriving underground crypto market.
Meanwhile, observers believe that Chinese officials are strategically endorsing crypto trading in Hong Kong, understanding both the disruptive potential and immense opportunities in the cryptocurrency market. Hong Kong, as a special administrative region, acts as a testing ground for potential shifts in the Chinese government’s stance towards digital assets.
As Chinese investors defy the crypto ban, the landscape of cryptocurrency trading continues to evolve. The resilience of investors, coupled with creative strategies and a growing market in Hong Kong, challenges the notion that the ban has curtailed China’s involvement in the crypto space. Notably, the coming months will likely witness further developments as investors explore the complexities of the cryptocurrency market amidst economic uncertainties in China.
Also Read: SatoshiVM Whales Accumulate More Tokens As SAVM Price Crashes 30%
Updated Mar 8, 2024, 8:29 p.m. Published Jan 25, 2024, 2:58 p.m.
6 min read
Magnus Resch argues in his latest book NFTs could reshape how art markets operate, and potentially bring in new buyers. (Phaidon)Magnus Resch has been called many things: an art collector, a storyteller and at least once, by CNN, “the world's leading art market economist." He’s run galleries, taught in the Ivy League and has tried to quantify the often opaque world of art collecting.
In his new book, “How to Collect Art,” which will be published by Phaidon in February, Resch tries to give an objective answer to the very subjective question of what artworks are right for me? Beyond the mantra of “buy what you like,” Resch attempts to offer a systemic approach to actually turning a profit by collecting.
Resch writes there is a lack of art buyers. (Phaidon)Some of the advice is obvious, like researching and classifying the artists, galleries, art fairs, auction houses and rival collectors that create the market. Other lessons can only be learned by sifting through mountains of data or forming personal connections with artists and curators.
It turns out, it’s easy to overpay for work in an industry that can find value in a scribble if scribbled the right way. Nowhere is this more evident than in the world of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which has been dominated by cartoon figures (typically animals) meant to be used as social media avatars.
While Resch does not see many NFT projects, rocked by the market downturn, rebounding, he does believe the technology itself will profoundly reshape how the art market economy functions. “[I]nformation on provenance will become clearer and more accessible, eliminating much of the historical mystique that the art industry has, to some extent, fostered,” he writes.
That’s important considering some of Resch’s earlier research, analyzing sales information from nearly half a million artists around the world, which found there is a “network of interconnected galleries and museums” that essentially determines whether an artist succeeds in their lifetime. NFTs help by allowing artists to form closer relationships with collectors, breaking down barriers and making it easier for interested collectors to enter the market.
See also: Magnus Resch — The Art World Underestimates the Power of NFTs | Opinion
“The opacity of the art market benefits a tiny elite of collectors, gallerists and artists, but makes it harder for most artists and art lovers to connect,” he wrote.
CoinDesk spoke with Resch about the biggest lessons for people looking to get into art collecting, how new technologies like blockchain are changing the practice and why he thinks the biggest problem in the contemporary art scene is a lack of buyers. The interview has been lightly edited and condensed.
Do you expect the NFT market to bounce back? And if so, in what ways – will it be driven by the launch of new projects or is there hope for NFTs that have dropped to $0?
I expect that most NFTs will retain their current status, which is often significantly lower than during the peak of their hype. Historically, digital art has not played a significant role in the art market and is unlikely to surpass paintings as the primary medium dominating the market. Nevertheless, five to 10 digital artists, such as Refik Anadol, will continue to be relevant, as they have successfully integrated themselves into the traditional art market and its institutions.
What are the primary insights that your book offers to aspiring art collectors?
It's twofold: My book helps you identify artists that suit your preferences. For instance, if you are buying for investment reasons, I provide guidance on how to identify artists with investment potential. Secondly, it provides insights into how the mysterious art market truly operates, guiding you on which galleries to buy from, which curators to follow, which fairs to visit — so you never overpay. In essence, the aim is to transform you into an informed and discerning buyer.
How do you perceive the current obstacles faced by the art market?
The art market has been grappling with a shortage of new buyers for an extended period. Despite the global number of millionaires doubling in the last decade and a surge in attendance at art events, the value of the art market has remained stable. This disparity underscores a conversion problem, as the newly affluent are not seamlessly transitioning into art buyers. I believe a combination of education, entertainment and transparency can play a pivotal role in converting more art enthusiasts into active buyers. My new book is a contribution towards this goal, and I've observed similar initiatives emerging from galleries, museums and auction houses. An increase in the number of buyers is crucial for supporting the endeavors of artists, gallerists, advisors, and museums in the art world.
Digital art is poised to play a more substantial role in the future, and there is hope that it will gain increased representation in museums and established art institutionsWhat lessons can the art market draw from the NFT hype in 2021, and what enduring effects remain?
The three key takeaways are: Firstly, artists have the capability to build their own following and cater to these buyers. Secondly, a larger market with increased liquidity is created through price transparency, verifiable provenance and low transaction costs. Thirdly, traditional art institutions still maintain value and won't disappear.
Similarly, what won't be repeated by the NFT space following the market collapse? (i.e. lessons learned?)
Being an artist is challenging. Lasting value is primarily established when works are showcased in reputable institutions. The physical presence still holds importance for digital art. To succeed as a digital artist, it still requires the endorsement and support from established traditional institutions.
Where do you anticipate the trajectory of the art market, and what significance do NFTs hold in shaping it?
The introduction of blockchain technology and the various ways of using it has the potential to change the art market in a way that could not be accomplished otherwise. The convergence of digital art, crypto money and blockchain technology will bring about a profound structural shift in the art ecosystem. Collectors won’t buy if a work is not registered on the blockchain. Artists will exert more control over their work and earn royalties from resales. More collectors will populate a transparent market. And the art market will become more regulated — for the better. This won't happen immediately, and initially, other luxury industries need to adopt it. The art market usually follows rather than taking the lead as a first mover.
The art market is rife with money laundering. Do you expect the same to metastasize in NFTs?
It's important to dispel this misperception: While, like any other industry, there may be criminal elements, it's crucial to recognize that such instances are not representative of the entire art market. Instances of money laundering are present across various sectors, and the art market is not uniquely prone to this issue. Additionally, these occurrences primarily impact the top end of the market, involving less than 0.1% of all exhibiting artists.
Personal favorite artists working with NFTs?
Kevin Abosch, Operator, Refik Anadol, Claudia Hart, Vera Molnár, Sasha Stiles, IX Shells
See also: What You Own When You Own an NFT
Should "crypto art" be considered a unified category? As distinct from other fine arts?
Certainly not. In the past, when photography and video emerged in the art market, they faced challenges in being recognized as part of the traditional art landscape. Similarly, digital art is poised to play a more substantial role in the future, and there is hope that it will gain increased representation in museums and established art institutions. The Buffalo AKG Art Museum, for instance, is leading the way in this movement. Distinguishing "crypto art" from "fine art" could spark an unnecessary debate about defining crypto art. In my perspective, it is simply art.
Trusted Editorial content, reviewed by leading industry experts and seasoned editors. Ad Disclosure
Data suggests users on Reddit were calling to buy the recent Bitcoin dip while other social media platforms were either bearish or indecisive.
Bitcoin Social Volume Reveals How Different Social Media Platforms Reacted To Dip According to data from the analytics firm Santiment, the different major social media platforms have been split on how to react to the recent price action in the cryptocurrency.
The indicator of interest here is the “social volume,” which keeps track of the total unique amount of posts that make mentions of a specific topic or term on a given social media platform or group of platforms.
This metric tracks the number of posts/threads/messages rather than the mentions themselves, as the latter methodology can provide an inaccurate representation of the actual amount of discussion taking place related to the topic.
This is naturally due to the fact that sometimes discussion around a topic can be limited to a couple of threads, but with each of them making a considerable amount of mentions.
This trend is obviously not representative of what the wider community thinks, as only the users participating in these threads are interested in the topic. Thus, counting the posts makes more sense, as this number would only go up when there is genuine interest across the platform.
Now, what Santiment has done here is that it has filtered the social volume related to Bitcoin/cryptocurrency for bearish and bullish terms for each of these four major social media platforms: Telegram, Reddit, 4Chan, and X (formerly Twitter).
Here is a chart that shows the trend in these social volumes for all these websites:
How the different social media userbases reacted to the dip | Source: Santiment on X The bullish terms chosen by the analytics firm here are keywords like buy, bottom, and bullish. Similarly, the keywords related to bearish sentiment are sell, top, and bearish.
From the graph, it’s visible that during the recent Bitcoin plunge towards the $38,500 level, the Telegram users were mostly bearish as the social volume for terms pertaining to this mentality spiked. X users had also turned bearish, although the bullish social volume wasn’t much lower.
4Channers had seemed completely split on the trajectory of the asset, as both the social volumes were at about the same levels for the platform. Redditors appear to have been on the other end of the spectrum from Telegram and X users, as calls for buying the dip had spiked on the platform.
So far, the bets of the Redditors would have paid off, as BTC has made some recovery since the dip that they made potential buying moves at, although the scale of the surge has so far not been too much.
Historically, Bitcoin has tended to move against the expectations of the majority. Since these platforms are all split on the direction of the coin, it’s hard to say anything about where BTC would go based on the sentiment alone.
“When Telegram, Reddit, X, and 4Chan are all in an extreme level of bullish or bearish sentiment, this is the ideal time to be a contrarian and go against the crowd’s uniform presumptions about the markets,” explains Santiment.
BTC Price At the time of writing, Bitcoin is floating around the $40,200 level, down more than 5% over the past week.
Looks like the price of the coin has made some recovery in the last couple of days | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView Featured image from Kanchanara on Unsplash.com, charts from TradingView.com, Santiment.net
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CryptoQuant analyst MAC_D in a new report, suggested that a sharp decline in Bitcoin‘s (BTC) price and funding rates could present a buying opportunity that might increase the cryptocurrency’s value.
Leveraged Trades in BitcoinThe senior analyst argued that following investors piling into leveraged long positions, the token’s funding rates soared to a high level of 0.049% on January 2nd. This occurred while the market was anticipating the decision of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on the BTC Spot ETF.
According to data from 21milyon.com, when the article was written, BTC’s funding rate was 0.001%. Therefore, despite the token’s recent price movement, the market continued to show a bullish trend. According to MAC_D, for the current downtrend to end, a capitulation event that results in the mass liquidation of these long positions needs to occur. The analyst stated the following in his remarks:
If there are sharp price drops and the funding rate turns negative on the 1-hour chart, it could mean that leveraged investors are overly pessimistic about the market, which could be a good opportunity to buy back BTC.
Funding Rate in BTCThis could mean that two things need to happen for BTC to witness an upward price correction. A sharp decline in the value of the cryptocurrency and a negative funding rate on the 1-hour chart could lead to significant pessimism among leveraged investors, yet offer a potential buying opportunity for those with a longer-term investment horizon. At the time of writing, BTC was trading at $39,956. According to data from CoinMarketCap, since the BTC ETFs started trading on January 10th, the token’s value has dropped by 13%.
The mentioned price drop could be due to an increase in profit-taking activity, which led to an increase in the token’s exchange reserves. Since January 10th, the total number of BTC held on exchanges increased by 0.47%. According to CryptoQuant, at the time of writing, there were 2.1 million BTC on exchanges. As token sales increased, the profitability of daily BTC transactions also decreased. According to Santiment data, since January 10th, the daily profit/loss ratio of BTC transaction volume has dropped by 10%.
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.
Ethereum price managed to hold the $2,200 support as the crypto market downturn intensified this week, on-chain signals highlight rising whale demand.
On Jan. 22, the crypto market suffered significant bearish headwinds as Bitcoin (BTC) prices wobbled below $40,000 for the first time in 50 days. At press time on Jan. 25, the global crypto market capitalization has shrunk 7%, with $108.5 billion in valuation wiped out within the weekly timeframe.
Ethereum (ETH) vs. Crypto Market Cap Performance | Source: TradingView Losing 5% in Ethereum (ETH) price has maintained a relatively more resilient performance than the industry average between Jan. 22 and Jan. 24.
Ethereum whale activity remains high despite downtrend Ethereum price has managed to keep losses below the 5% threshold this week, while Bitcoin and the global crypto market cap shrunk by up to 7%, respectively, before making a mild rebound. On-chain data trends suggest that the rising level of whale trading activity recorded on the Ethereum network this week has been pivotal to ETH’s resilient price performance.
Santiment’s Whale transaction count metric tracks the daily number of transactions involving a particular cryptocurrency that exceeds $100,000.
On Jan. 23, the Ethereum Whale Transaction Count surged above 1,190. A closer look at the chart below shows this was the highest recorded since the ETH price raced to a 20-month peak of $2,690 on Jan. 11.
Ethereum (ETH) Price vs. Whale Transaction Count | Source: Santiment Corporate entities accumulate ETH at significantly high volumes despite the broader market retreat. This could be attributed to investors and fund sponsors looking to acquire Ethereum ahead of a looming ETH spot ETF verdict.
During market downtrends, an increase in whale transactions impacts the price of a crypto asset positively in two major ways. Firstly, it provides market liquidity, enabling bearish panic sellers to execute their trades at favorable prices. It also reinforces confidence among small-scale retail traders.
These factors have played a vital role as ETH battles to hold above the $2,200 support level amid market-wide sell-offs this week.
Ethereum investors opt for long-term storage Furthermore, Ethereum has also recorded a steady decline in exchange reserves this week, which could be linked to the rise in whale activity.
Corporate entities and whales are known to be value investors who tend to hold for longer periods. Unsurprisingly, the rising volumes of whale transactions on the Ethereum network in recent months have coincided with a rapid decline in supply deposited on exchanges.
At the start of the week on Jan. 22, Ethereum supply on exchanges stood at 10.5 million ETH. But interestingly, that figure has dropped sharply to 10.4 ETH by Jan. 25.
Effectively, this means that investors have shifted 150,000 ETH worth approximately $330 million from exchanges and trading platforms into long-term storage or staking contracts.
Ethereum (ETH) Supply on Exchanges vs. Price | Source: Santiment Despite bearish headwinds, Ethereum Supply on Exchanges dropped by 150,000 ETH in the last four days, signaling a dominant preference for long-term holding and passive income staking among current holders.
Notably, Ethereum exchange supply has been in a downtrend since the Proof of Stake (PoS) transition in May 2023, a move that has coincided with an extended period of price uptrend.
ETH price prediction: Can Ethereum Price Stay Above $2,000? As the downward trend in exchange supply persists, fewer ETH coins are readily available to be traded in spot markets. This appears to have decelerated the selling pressure on Ethereum this week relative to the broader altcoins market. Combined with the steady rise in whale transactions, Ethereum price is in a prime position to defend the $2,000 territory.
IntoTheBlock’s in/out of the money around price data, which groups all existing ETH holders by their entry prices, also affirms this stance.
It shows that 8.3 million addresses, the largest cluster of ETH holders, had acquired 46.5 million ETH at the maximum price of $2,078. If Ethereum price slides toward $2,100, many of these holders could make frantic covering purchases to defend their positions to avoid slipping into net-loss positions. This could effectively trigger an instant Ethereum price rebound.
Ethereum (ETH) Price Forecast, Jan 2024 | Source: IntoTheBlock On the upside, Ethereum bulls could overturn the bearish pressure if it reclaims the $2,500 territory. But this looks unlikely within the current market dynamics. As seen above, a significant cluster of 3.7 million addresses had acquired 7.1 million ETH at an average price of $2,400.
If they engage in mild profit-taking as prices hit their break-even point, Ethereum could slide into another correction phase.
