Aurelia Butler

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    in Cryptocurrency

    Ethereum whale accumulates $48 million in ETH as price stabilizes above $2,150

    The Ethereum market has been subject to the usual risks associated with cryptocurrencies, yet the consistent demand for Ethereum and the expansion of its ecosystem indicate a positive outlook for the future. The increase in Ethereum’s price and the whale’s substantial investment underscore a growing confidence in the digital asset’s long-term value.Investors and market watchers often look to the activities of large-scale investors, or “whales,” as indicators of market trends. The actions of ‘0x931’ suggest a bullish sentiment among some high-stakes investors in the Ethereum market. The continued growth and development within the Ethereum platform may be attracting investors who see the potential for long-term gains.This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C. More

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    in Cryptocurrency

    BlackRock to cut 3% of its workforce as it awaits SEC decision on Bitcoin ETF

    The layoffs are part of a performance-related restructuring process. Despite the impending job cuts, BlackRock is actively pursuing new growth avenues, particularly in the digital assets space. The firm is currently awaiting a decision from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on the approval of its iShares Bitcoin Trust, a product that could potentially start trading as early as next Wednesday if approved. BlackRock has committed $2 billion to kickstart trading for this exchange-traded fund (ETF).CEO Larry Fink has highlighted Bitcoin’s potential, referring to it as a “Flight to Quality” and underscoring the company’s strategic focus on digital assets. The anticipation around the SEC’s decision coincides with BlackRock’s expected earnings report, which is slated to be released before January 12. The outcome of the SEC’s review and the forthcoming earnings report are likely to be significant factors in the company’s strategy and market performance in the near term.This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C. More

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    in Cryptocurrency

    Bitcoin projected to rally following April 2024 halving event

    The halving event, a mechanism built into Bitcoin’s code to reduce the rate at which new coins are created, is expected to slash the block rewards from the current 6.25 BTC to approximately 3.125 BTC at block height 840,000. This programmed scarcity has traditionally led to an increase in Bitcoin’s value, and the current market sentiment suggests a similar outcome after the April 2024 halving. At present, Bitcoin’s value is hovering around $43,800, and the anticipation of reduced new supply is fueling expectations of a price surge.Additionally, the investment community is keeping an eye on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) forthcoming decision on a Bitcoin spot Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF). Should the SEC approve such an offering, companies like BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) are poised to introduce their products to the market. While the potential launch of a Bitcoin spot ETF is seen as positive news, its impact on Bitcoin’s price is considered to be secondary to the effects of the halving.This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C. More

  • 125 Shares199 Views

    in Economy

    Late M&A bonanza stokes healthcare dealmakers ahead of JPMorgan conference

    By David CarnevaliNEW YORK (Reuters) – Healthcare dealmakers are making their way to San Francisco for a major industry conference, optimistic that more deals are in the offing after a wave of biotech company takeovers at the end of last year.The four-day JPMorgan Healthcare Conference beginning on Monday is expected by organizers to attract over 8,000 people, including delegations from the world’s largest drugmakers, a signal of a return to business as usual after fewer participants were invited last year over COVID-19 concerns. Last month alone, drugmakers including AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV), Bristol Myers (NYSE:BMY) Squibb and AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) announced roughly $25 billion worth of U.S.-listed biotech deals, according to data provider LSEG Deals Intelligence. Overall, global M&A activity in the healthcare sector grew 8% on an annual basis to $365 billion in 2023, lagging the previous five-year average spending of $432 billion, LSEG calculated. “We’ve had an uptick of M&A recently, we’re seeing stocks rebound with the market recovery and interest rates lowering,” said JPMorgan global head of healthcare investment banking Mike Gaito, who will interview CEO Jamie Dimon on the opening day. “People are open for business.” Among the hottest topics will be the wildly popular weight-loss drugs revolutionizing the fight against obesity that have established Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) and Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) as two of the world’s most valuable companies.Analysts forecast current drugs and other obesity treatments in development could garner $100 billion a year by the end of the decade. Gaito said other companies are feeling the pressure to get into the space, and those that are want to be able to offer other treatment options.Two deals epitomizing this in 2023 were Roche’s $2.7 billion acquisition of Carmot Therapeutics and Eli Lilly’s takeover of Versanis Bio for up to $1.93 billion, which strengthened the Mounjaro maker’s pipeline of obesity drugs. Other themes will range from regulation and antitrust to the financing environment and possible effects of the 2024 U.S. presidential election on the industry, participants said. WALL STREET RALLY The conference comes after a blistering Wall Street rally in recent weeks, propelled by expectations the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this year.Biotech companies were among the beneficiaries. The SPDR S&P Biotech (NYSE:XBI) ETF, a gauge of biotech industry performance, was up more than 18% in December. The benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury note dropped by nearly 50 points last month, easing financing costs for acquirers. “We expect the macro environment, including how people are thinking about sector growth, interest rates and the labor dynamic, to be top of mind (at the conference),” said Ali Satvat, a partner at private equity firm KKR. The buying spree by drugmakers late last year was part of their strategy to help offset expected revenue declines as patents on blockbuster therapies expire. AbbVie, already facing biosimilar competition for its cash cow Humira, and Bristol Myers collectively spent roughly $35 billion in deals to bolster their neurology and oncology franchises. The annual conference at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco will include smaller drugmakers and companies from all corners of the healthcare industry, such as health insurers and medical device firms.Investors will meet companies in public and private settings. “It’s an opportunity to actually sit in a small group, with investors but also with some corporate people, and meet with the managements to ask questions directly and really gather a lot of competitive intelligence,” said investment firm Perceptive Advisors managing director Doug Giordano. After a slow 2023, private equity firms will be looking for investment opportunities for a record level of $2.59 trillion of unspent cash. They’ll also be searching for buyers. “There is a very significant backlog of private equity-owned companies that will come out for sale in 2024,” said Devin O’Reilly, a partner at buyout firm Bain Capital. Dealmakers from JPMorgan’s rival investment banks and law firms also will be in town to win new business from the over 400 healthcare companies expected to attend. Competitors set up their own headquarters in hotels near the conference and lure clients by offering better catering and amenities.Latham & Watkins M&A partner Charles Ruck said you could have fun ranking “who has got better food at their mini conferences around and compare it to the JPMorgan.” More

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    in Cryptocurrency

    Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin Shuffles USDC Funds, Likely Reason

    According to , the Vitalik Buterin-labeled address made a move of 3,300 USDC in the early hours of today.The reason for the transfer is not far-fetched: the Ethereum cofounder was merely reshuffling funds as the said 3,300 USDC were moved to a new address.The is dipping alongside the rest of the crypto market, down 5.71% in the last 24 hours to $2,246. The crypto market witnessed a slump after speculations arose about MatrixPort’s bearish prediction for Bitcoin spot ETF approval.Amid the current slump seen on the ETH price, crypto analyst believes that Ethereum is still showing momentum but has a big gap to traverse to be at the same level as Bitcoin. Ethereum might see a bit of consolidation before continuing toward $3,000–$3,500 during Q1, 2024.At the end of 2023, Ethereum published the Ethereum roadmap going forward, conceding that there are only small differences from the previous year.Buterin stated in a series of posts on X (previously Twitter) that Ethereum’s sustained focus in 2024 will be on six essential components. Buterin expounded on these six parts — Merge, Surge, Scourge, Verge, Purge and Splurge — in a thorough chart with commentaries and graphics.Buterin already indicated his intention to revive the original vision of the “cypherpunk” revolution for the Ethereum blockchain, as previously reported.This article was originally published on U.Today More

  • 113 Shares129 Views

    in Economy

    Fed’s Logan: should not rule out another rate hike

    (Reuters) – Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Lorie Logan on Saturday warned that the U.S. central bank may need to resume raising its short-term policy rate to keep a recent decline in long-term bond yields from rekindling inflation.”If we don’t maintain sufficiently tight financial conditions, there is a risk that inflation will pick back up and reverse the progress we’ve made,” Logan said in remarks prepared for delivery at an American Economic Association conference in San Antonio, Texas. “In light of the easing in financial conditions in recent months, we shouldn’t take the possibility of another rate increase off the table just yet.”The Fed raised its benchmark policy rate agressively in 2022 and the first part of 2023 to bring down what had been 40-year-high inflation, but since last July has kept it steady in the 5.25%-5.5% range. Policymakers last month signaled they had seen enough progress on inflation to likely be done with rate hikes and to turn to interest-rate cuts this year. Financial markets responded by betting big on steep rate reductions this year.Logan’s view marks a pushback on those bets. With the effects of the Fed’s past rate hikes mostly behind us, Logan said, the decline in the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note — from around 5% in mid-October to around 4% now — could set the stage for a pickup in demand that could undo progress on inflation. “Restrictive financial conditions have played an important role in bringing demand into line with supply and keeping inflation expectations well-anchored,” she said, noting that inflation has come down closer to the Fed’s 2% target and the labor market, while still tight, is rebalancing. “We can’t count on sustaining price stability if we don’t maintain sufficiently restrictive financial conditions.” Her remarks are notable particularly because she was among the first of Fed policymakers, last October, to suggest that the rise in long-term bond yields was doing some of the Fed’s work for it, and meant the Fed could leave the policy rate where it was. Logan also signaled she feels it is time to start thinking about slowing the process of shrinking the Fed’s balance sheet. “I think it’s appropriate to consider the parameters that will guide a decision to slow the runoff of our assets,” she said. “In my view, we should slow the pace of runoff” as overnight reverse repurchase agreement balances approach a low level. More

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    in Cryptocurrency

    Solana (SOL) Outperforms Ethereum (ETH) by This Overlooked Criterion, Analyst Says

    Wang stressed that the “marketing department” of Ethereum (ETH) should be put in quotes as neither the blockchain nor Ethereum Foundation has a centralized unit responsible for promotional activity.The ever-increasing range of shared sequencers, bridges, dozens of rollups makes Ethereum (ETH) too complicated to teams only interested in building secure and fast decentralized applications in a resource-efficient way.While “technocrats and academics” might find this complexity intellectually satisfying, the majority of cryptocurrency project teams remain “pragmatic”:As covered by U.Today previously, Ethereum’s (ETH) focus on L2 solutions was also criticized by Cyber Capital CIO Justin Bons. Bons the migration of focus to non-EVM blockchains like Near and MultiversX.In 2024, the crypto sphere is discussing various metrics in which Solana (SOL) surpasses Ethereum (ETH). Last week, Solana (SOL) surpassed the largest smart contracts platform in weekly stablecoin transfers.Also, in late December 2023, Solana (SOL) flipped Ethereum (ETH) as the most used blockchain for decentralized exchanges (DEXes) in daily and weekly time frames.This article was originally published on U.Today More

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    in Cryptocurrency

    Bitcoin: Here’s Real Catalyst for BTC’s Potential 6,000% Rise — Analyst

    Pending approval, 13 companies are expected to offer ETFs, including BlackRock (NYSE:BLK), the world’s largest asset management firm.Bitcoin’s price grew significantly for most of 2023, spurred by optimism surrounding the spot ETF approval, and it now trades at about $43,622.On the contrary, Bitcoin’s price has always declined in response to pessimistic reports concerning the approval of a Bitcoin spot ETF. The most recent being on Jan. 3, when rumors of Bitcoin spot ETF rejection spooked the markets, and Bitcoin fell roughly 8%.As the crypto market eagerly awaits the SEC decision in the coming week, two possibilities are presented: the SEC might decide to approve or deny.states that regardless of what happens with the Bitcoin ETF, another bullish catalyst lies in wait this year, which is the Bitcoin halving. This bullish event, according to Ali, has historically been a catalyst for major price surges.To back up this assertion, Ali posted a graph indicating BTC’s price performance 365 days after past halvings.The first halving event, which saw BTC mining rewards slashed to 25 BTC, saw the Bitcoin price jump more than 6,000%, per the chart posted by Ali.Meanwhile, Bitcoin saw an average yearly return profile of over 400% in subsequent halving events in 2016 and 2020. While the price of Bitcoin tends to skyrocket in the months after the halving, it is important to remember that past performance does not predict future results.Bitcoin miners currently receive 6.25 Bitcoins for each successfully mined block. This reward will be halved to 3.125 Bitcoin when the next Bitcoin halving happens.This article was originally published on U.Today More