Aurelia Butler

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    US judge allows FTC to temporarily block IQVIA acquisition of DeepIntent

    (Reuters) -A U.S. court on Friday upheld a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) order to block IQVIA’s acquisition of DeepIntent, a healthcare advertising firm, as it may harm competition.DeepIntent, owned by Propel Media, a digital advertising company, entered into an agreement with U.S. headquartered healthcare data and analytics firm IQVIA in 2022 with the intent to facilitate seamless communication between patients and healthcare providers.Earlier this year, the FTC intervened to block IQVIA and DeepIntent’s proposed merger so as to prevent increased concentration in health care programmatic advertising. The merger would harm competition and would lead to increased prices for consumers, and hurt patients, the FTC had said.DeepIntent’s chief executive officer previously in an open letter said that the company would walk away from the deal and would remain an independent company had the regulator won the block. The financial terms of the deal are not known.Speaking in favor of the FTC, District Judge Edgar Ramos granted the U.S. antitrust department a preliminary injunction to block the deal.In the ruling, Ramos said, “The FTC has shown that there is a reasonable probability that the proposed acquisition will substantially impair competition in the relevant market and that the equities weigh in favor of injunctive relief.”IQVIA said in an emailed statement to Reuters it was disappointed by the court’s decision and was reviewing the decision and evaluating its options.”We maintain that the FTC’s arguments in this case are inconsistent with the reality of the marketplace and unsupported by the law,” IQVIA said.DeepIntent and the FTC did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. More

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    in Cryptocurrency

    Bitcoin (BTC) Bears’ $145 Million Bloodbath: $45,000 Price Surge Pulls Liquidations Up

    This sudden and robust price action on Bitcoin is a clear indication of the continuation of the bull run, signaling a potent start to the year. A breakthrough above the $45,000 mark not only indicates good things for market sentiment but also fortifies the belief that the bullish market is continuing. The next major event on the horizon is the anticipated approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF in the second week of January.Source: Investors, while optimistic, should brace for volatility as the market might experience a “sell the news” event post-ETF approval. Such events typically occur when the price of an asset rises in anticipation of a positive event and then falls after the event occurs as traders take profits.The moving averages on the chart present a strong bullish pattern, with the price now well above both the 50-day and the 200-day moving averages, suggesting a strong uptrend. The 50-day moving average, in particular, appears to be acting as dynamic support for the price, indicating sustained bullish pressure.Volume bars show an increase in trading activity around the breakout point, confirming the momentum behind the move. The Relative Strength Index is ascending toward overbought territory, reflecting the strong buying pressure that has accompanied the recent price surge.This article was originally published on U.Today More

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    Analysis-Fed pivot may cap junk bond defaults, but risks remain

    (Reuters) – Investor optimism that the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates is breathing new life into the market for junk debt, providing timely relief to the lowest-rated companies and likely capping the rate of defaults in 2024. As the U.S. central bank started to raise rates in 2022 and worries about defaults grew, companies rated below investment grade saw tepid demand from investors for their loans and bonds. Many such companies turned to roundabout ways to raise money to get ahead of a $300 billion wall of bond and loan maturities in the next two years.In the last few months, however, yields have fallen as investors bet the Fed, emboldened by its progress in slowing a surge in prices that pushed inflation to 40-year highs last year, will soon start cutting rates. Markets are now pricing the U.S. central bank’s key policy rate to fall as much as 1.5 percentage points below the current 5.25%-5.50% range by the end of next year. Expectations of such a pivot have led to a resurgence in demand for high-yielding debt. Junk bond spreads, or the premium investors charge over U.S. Treasuries for taking on the risk, have on average tightened 38 basis points since September to 343 basis points, the lowest level since April 5, 2022, according to the ICE BAML index. In December, insurance brokerage USI Inc, a company rated deep in the junk territory, became the first borrower in its category to tap the primary markets since April, according to data provider Informa Global Markets.”While it is possible defaults may increase slightly toward historical averages, a lot of this appears to be priced into the market today,” said Manuel Hayes, senior portfolio manager at Insight Investment.Estimates vary, but analysts expect junk bond default rates to top out at 4% to 5% this year, compared with 2% to 3% in 2023 and far lower than the double-digit readings touched during the 2008 financial crisis. Default rates on leveraged loans, whose interest rates are not fixed but change with the market, are expected to tick up to 5%-6%.One reason for the relatively low rates of default is that some companies have been deploying creative ways to tap financing markets, which has given them the breathing room to meet their debt obligations.  These include distressed exchanges, where investors agree to get paid less than what they were entitled to in exchange for new or restructured debt secured by collateral. They also have been extending the maturity on old debt by agreeing to more restrictive terms on new debt, and putting up collateral or equity to raise money from direct lenders and other private credit providers.A more involved strategy is to raise debt through a local or foreign subsidiary from new and existing lenders, with the proceeds then sent back to the parent company to buy its maturing debt at a discount. The strategy, part of liability management exercises, raises the risk of legal disputes, as it increases some creditors’ claims on assets during bankruptcy by diluting others.”Distressed exchanges are on the rise, as are the use of creative debt-raising solutions, as less creditworthy companies look to raise liquidity to live now to fight another day,” said Glenn Reynolds, the founder of Macro4Micro, a research firm. MIX OF REACTIONSSome analysts said many risks remain. A default cycle may become unavoidable if the Fed surprises markets and doesn’t cut rates as aggressively or as soon as people think. And the use of creative financing strategies may only go so far.”Even if investors participate in such creative trades, whether they would have a higher claim on the company’s assets during bankruptcy is still untested in courts,” said Ian Walker, head of legal innovation at Covenant Review, a research firm.Creditors are already becoming more wary. “A lot of our clients are starting to consider putting protections in credit documentation to make sure that they don’t get short-changed by these liability management transactions,” said Jason Ewart, a partner in the global financial markets team at Clifford Chance, a law firm.”It is a mix of investor reactions, with some supporting the need for such trades as a temporary liquidity measure while others are simply keen to close such loopholes,” Ewart said.    More than $190 billion of the debt maturing in 2024-2025 belongs to the lowest-rated high-yield companies, according to CreditSights.     “We could push right up against it but may not entirely get a full-fledged default cycle,” said Meghan Robson, the head of U.S. credit strategy at BNP Paribas (OTC:BNPQY). More

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    China’s advanced machine tool exports to Russia soar after Ukraine invasion

    Chinese shipments to Russia of an important class of advanced machine tools have increased tenfold since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with the country’s producers now dominating trade in high-precision “computer numerical control” devices vital to Moscow’s military industries.The soaring shipments of CNC units, which permit extremely precise metal milling, have become a major concern to Ukraine’s allies as they seek to crack down on Russia’s access to the equipment.Russian customs returns show Chinese producers shipped $68mn worth of CNC tools in July, the latest verifiable figure available, up from just $6.5mn in February 2022 when Moscow launched the full-scale invasion.Michael Raska, assistant professor at Singapore’s S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said CNC exports were an example of how China and Russia were being drawn into a deepening military-industrial partnership.“China and Russia share the same political interest, which is to challenge and confront the US,” Raska said. “The fact is Russia has been cut off from importing European machinery, it has no choice but to rely on China.” You are seeing a snapshot of an interactive graphic. This is most likely due to being offline or JavaScript being disabled in your browser.Russian imports of CNC tools from the EU, historically its main source, have dramatically fallen as restrictions have tightened since February 2022. Analysts said Moscow was seeking to obtain CNC tools from sources that would not be closed off by international controls.The customs returns show Chinese-origin CNC devices made up 57 per cent of Russian imports by value in July, up from just 12 per cent before the war. They suggest Moscow also continued to import substantial amounts of CNC tools made in Taiwan and South Korea. In November, the US imposed sweeping sanctions on all significant Russian importers of CNC tools — including some that had moved less than $200,000 of equipment since the invasion in February last year. Chinese companies that continue to trade with the Russian importers now risk action from the US that would imperil their ability to trade in other markets.Beijing insists it does not ship lethal weapons to Moscow and denies supporting its neighbour’s war effort, but also rejects the use of sanctions. Chinese shipments of products including oil, machinery, consumer goods and cars are helping to sustain Russia’s sanctions-hit economy. Xi Jinping, president of China, told Russia’s Vladimir Putin in October that annual trade between the two countries had hit a “historic high” of nearly $200bn.Allen Maggard, an analyst at the Washington-based conflict analysis organisation C4ADS, said CNC tools could “rapidly produce complex components from metal and other rigid materials with a consistent degree of precision and accuracy. These qualities make CNC machine tools particularly valuable for defence manufacturing.”.They are also often large pieces of equipment, making them harder to smuggle into Russia from the west than smaller components such as microchips.A Financial Times analysis of export records shows some major winners from the Russian surge have strong links with China’s People’s Liberation Army. Wuhan Huazhong Numerical Control, for example, has increased exports to Russia. In 2017, it was the main contractor in a “Brain Switch Project” — a scheme to replace foreign CNC systems with domestic ones in the defence industry — and has worked with Chinese jet fighter maker Shenyang Aircraft Corporation.HuazhongCNC was itself the subject of US sanctions between 2008 and 2010 under an act banning the transfer of weapons technology or equipment to Syria, Iran and North Korea. The company did not respond to a request for comment. Emily Kilcrease, a former deputy assistant US trade representative, said Washington had been reluctant to use financial sanctions to target Chinese companies helping Russia because of concern that doing so would reduce the effectiveness of such measures in case of a crisis with Beijing.“That dynamic about overuse is very much on the administration’s mind,” Kilcrease said. “They know that these sanctions and export controls are never going to be perfect. And so what they’re really focused on is making sure that what Russia can get is inferior goods. It’s cost imposition — making it much more difficult and expensive for Russia to get these sorts of machine tools.” Analysis by the Bank of Finland Institute for Emerging Economies suggests the median price to Russia of a basket of Chinese goods that could support its war effort rose 78 per cent from 2021 to 2023. The price of Chinese exports of the same goods to other countries rose just 12 per cent.Existing US sanctions and export controls against Beijing’s military contractors over other issues have led many Chinese companies to disregard potential US sanctions risks, according to Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center in Berlin.Many Chinese companies “expect that sooner or later, all companies linked to the People’s Liberation Army will be sanctioned”, Gabuev said. “So they think either you can try to stay on the market by avoiding deepening your military ties and get sanctioned anyway, or you can just go ahead with it.”How Russia has deployed the Chinese CNC devices it has imported is unclear. Maggard said he believed Russian defence plants were only “beginning to use Chinese CNC machine tools”. Analysts are yet to positively identify any being used on social media or during hours of propaganda footage filmed inside Russia’s high-tech military factories. CNC devices pictured are still all from European, Taiwanese, Korean or Japanese suppliers.This picture is supported by other sources. For example, customs records show CFT, a large now-sanctioned Russian importer of CNC devices, imported very few Chinese-origin products up to July. A leaked internal document from CFT shows it is a supplier to Russian defence manufacturers including Aeroscan, which produces the Lancet kamikaze drone that has inflicted serious losses on Ukrainian forces. CFT did not respond to a request for comment.Olena Yurchenko, an analyst at investigative and advocacy organisation the Economic Security Council of Ukraine, said it would be “almost impossible” to use a Chinese CNC machine in a plant that had based its production processes around a tool from another producer with different specifications.A preference among defence manufacturers for equipment from other countries may also reflect scepticism about the quality of Chinese machines. Maggard noted recent public comments from a Russian sector expert who said that Chinese tools were less precise, less accurate, and had shorter operational lifetimes than equipment made by German and Japanese companies.Video: Ukraine tech sector goes to war | FT Film More

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    Philippines hopeful of exiting global money laundering ‘grey list’

    The FATF, an intergovernmental organisation combating money laundering and terrorism financing, added the Philippines to the list in June 2021 for several reasons, including risk of money laundering from casino junkets and lack of prosecution for terrorism funding cases.The Philippines has yet to address several issues flagged by the FATF, Executive Director of the Anti-Money Laundering Council, Matthew David, told a presidential palace press conference.”The most challenging action item is terrorism financing prosecution. We need to file more terrorism financing cases,” he said.The longer the Philippines is on the grey list, the higher chance it has of being downgraded to the black list, David said.Being blacklisted by the FATF could result in more stringent requirements and higher transaction costs for millions of Filipinos living and working abroad who send billions of dollars to the Philippines in remittances. More

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    in Cryptocurrency

    Bitcoin clears $45,000 as key date for ETF approval looms

    By 06:43 ET (11:43 GMT), Bitcoin rose 6% to $45,168.6, reaching its highest level since early-April 2022. But trading volumes remained slim on account of the New Year holidays. Bitcoin’s gains came as an extension of a stellar recovery in 2023, where the token surged more than 100% in value after starting the year at around $17,000. The cryptocurrency’s recent gains were driven chiefly by speculation over the approval of a U.S. ETF that directly tracks the token’s prices. The SEC has a January 10 deadline to approve or reject a spot ETF application from Ark and 21 Shares, according to a Reuters report. The ruling could set the precedent for ETF applications from several other fund managers for a similar product.The Reuters report also said that the SEC will notify other applicants by as soon as this week on whether they have been cleared to launch their products by Jan 10. BlackRock Inc (NYSE:BLK)- the world’s largest asset manager- has also applied for a spot bitcoin ETF. The SEC has repeatedly rejected applications for a spot bitcoin ETF over the past two years, citing concerns that the token’s decentralized and volatile nature will prevent fund managers from protecting investors against market manipulation. Currently, all U.S.-traded bitcoin ETFs track the futures of the token, which are traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Grayscale, which currently operates the GBTC (OTC:GBTC) ETF, has an application to convert the product into a spot ETF. The firm had marked a legal victory against the SEC over its repeated rejection of a spot ETF, which saw the regulator reconsider Grayscale’s application. Proponents of the cryptocurrency argue that the approval of a spot ETF will spur a deluge of capital inflows for bitcoin, given that the product allows traders to invest in the token without directly holding cryptocurrency. But analysts have cautioned that the approval may not trigger as large a bull run as expected, especially given that the crypto industry is still grappling with a massive loss of faith over the past two years.A series of high-profile bankruptcies, coupled with a regulatory crackdown against the world’s biggest crypto firms largely dented retail interest in crypto. This saw bitcoin slump to as low as $15,000 by late-2022. While hopes for an ETF approval drove a strong recovery for the token through 2023, trading volumes remained at a fraction of those seen during the 2021 bull run. High interest rates also limited the amount of capital flowing into crypto.Ambar Warrick contributed to this report. More

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    Top Cryptos to Watch in 2024

    Cryptocurrencies are distinct from traditional fiat currencies as they are not regulated by a central authority, offering a form of financial autonomy and privacy. They can be used for a variety of purposes, including investment, remittances and as a means of payment. The value of cryptocurrencies can be highly volatile, and their legal status varies across countries. Since the inception of Bitcoin in 2009, cryptocurrencies have sparked significant interest and debate regarding their impact on the global financial system.Bitcoin (BTC) operates on a peer-to-peer network, allowing users to transact directly without an intermediary like a bank. Transactions are verified by network nodes through cryptography and recorded on a public ledger called a blockchain. The Bitcoin (BTC) supply is capped at 21 million coins. Its security and integrity are preserved by a sophisticated process dubbed Bitcoin (BTC) mining or finding hashes of Bitcoin (BTC) blocks by high-performance computers.Ethereum (ETH) was the first mainstream altcoin with programmable functions. Some altcoins aim to address perceived limitations of Bitcoin, such as transaction speed or energy efficiency.Bitcoin (BTC) in 2024Bitcoin (BTC) is the first cryptocurrency and the largest digital asset by market capitalization. Despite being surpassed technically by the majority of altcoins in terms of speed, throughput and resource-efficiency, Bitcoin (BTC) remains the dominant cryptocurrency. In the past years, it evolved into a mature asset compared to Gold, S&P500 Index and so on.Bitcoin (BTC) price chart on log scale // Image by In 2024, Bitcoin (BTC) is set to undergo its fourth halving: Block rewards for miners will be reduced by 50%. This means that BTC as an asset becomes scarcer than ever before. Typically, such events (in 2016 and 2020) were interpreted as bullish catalysts for the Bitcoin (BTC) price. Also, the potential approval of a Bitcoin-based ETF in the U.S. might catalyze a new phase of capital injection into the asset.Ethereum (ETH) in 2024Launched in 2015, Ethereum (ETH) is the largest smart contracts platform. It means that it acts as a distributed computations platform for decentralized applications, a class of cryptocurrency software programs. Although Ethereum (ETH) is lagging behind many of its analogues when it comes to transactional throughput, it still retains the status of the safest and longest-running blockchain for dApps. Also, it is the backbone of L2 solutions’ ecosystem.In 2024, Ethereum (ETH) will see the activation of or “proto-danksharding,” an upgrade that will increase throughput and lower transaction costs by 600%. Also, the implementation of “account abstraction” and zero-knowledge technologies on Ethereum (ETH) is underway. As a result, the community is optimistic about its midterm prospects.Tether (USDT) in 2024U.S. Dollar Tether (USDT) by Tether Limited is the largest stablecoin, i.e., cryptocurrency with its price pegged to the U.S. dollar. It is minted by a centralized entity that controls the basket of assets that is “backing” the circulating USDT supply. As of printing time, its market cap exceeded a whopping .Tether (USDT) market cap soared by almost 50% in 2023 // Image by In 2023, USDT made its portfolio way more conservative: It increased the share of cash and its equivalents and U.S. T-bills. This results in stability of USDT, but the platform remains unaudited. Tether (USDT) only publishes “attestations” to prove sufficiency of reserves.Polygon (MATIC) in 2024Polygon (MATIC) initially launched as the first mainstream second-layer platform on top of Ethereum (ETH): It bundles multiple transactions into a single data structure before validating them on the Ethereum (ETH) mainnet. This allows Polygon (MATIC) users to enjoy Ethereum’s level of stability and reliability, but paying reduced fees and at a much higher speed.In 2024, Polygon (MATIC) will remain the leader of L2 innovation on Ethereum: It acquired a number of zero-knowledge tech startups to offer the most secure and cost-efficient experience. At the same time, within the massive , the MATIC asset will be replaced by POL, a token for Polygon’s staking design.Binance Coin (BNB) in 2024Binance Coin (BNB) is the core native cryptocurrency of Binance (BNB), the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, and BNB Smart Chain, an Ethereum-like smart contracts platform. Initially launched on Ethereum (ETH) for Binance ICO, it then migrated to the native blockchain and is now used as a utility token and an optimal fees instrument on Binance (BNB).The BNB price in 2024 will be affected by the outcome of the legal battle between former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao and U.S. regulators. In November 2023, Changpeng Zhao agreed to pay record-breaking fees and step down as CEO. However, the verdict on his personal trial is yet to be announced.Dogecoin (DOGE) in 2024Launched back in 2013 as a fork of Litecoin (LTC), Dogecoin (DOGE) is the first-ever memetic cryptocurrency. It means that it is based on a semi-ironic ethos and a funny narrative instead of innovation and tech disruption. Dogecoin (DOGE) commemorates Kabosu Shiba Inu dog from the 2013 internet meme.Dogecoin (DOGE) logo // Image by As the new spike of Dogecoin (DOGE) popularity was triggered by shilling on Elon Musk’s accounts, announcements of Starlink, Starship, X and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) products might catalyze new rallies of the Dogecoin (DOGE) price in 2024. At the same time, just like many other meme coins, Dogecoin (DOGE) is subject to increased volatility.Cardano (ADA) in 2024Cardano (ADA) is the second-largest proof-of-stake (PoS) network and one of the most decentralized blockchain networks in the Web3 segment by various indicators. Introduced by Charles Hoskinson in 2017, released staking and smart contracts in the previous bull run.DeFi ecosystem of Cardano (ADA) sees its TVL soaring // Image by For Cardano (ADA), the upcoming rally will be the first one it will meet equipped with a growing dApps ecosystem. Despite much criticism from Ethereum (ETH) maximalists, it gained traction in the NFT and DeFi segments. The net TVL of Cardano-based dApps exceeds $255 million, getting closer to multi-month highs.XRP in 2024XRP, the core native cryptocurrency of the XRP Ledger blockchain is a veteran digital asset known since 2012. Its popularity is associated with Ripple Inc., a U.S.-based fintech heavyweight. Ripple uses XRP as a medium of exchange in its numerous cross-border payments systems known as “on-demand liquidity corridors.”Since December 2020, Ripple and its directors have been accused of illegally selling unregistered securities to U.S. citizens in the form of XRP. However, as Ripple scored in Q3, 2023, the prospects for the XRP price in 2024 might be optimistic. At the same time, the process is very far from being over.Optimism (OP) in 2024Optimism (rebranded as in 2023, but still known under its initial name) is one of the largest second-layer platforms on top of Ethereum (ETH). It means that it indexes transaction data and verifies it on the Ethereum (ETH) mainnet in compressed form to save its computational capacity.Despite the savage rivalry in the L2s segment, Optimism remains a smart bet for dApps thanks to low transactional fees, detailed documentation and the “network effect.” Also, its team released OP Stack, an instrument for the development of Optimism-like commercial blockchains by third parties.Solana (SOL) in 2024SOL is the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum (ETH) rival Solana, a proof-of-history blockchain launched in 2019. Thanks to advanced tech design, it can process thousands of transactions per second for negligible fees. At the same time, in the past, the network went through a series of painful outages and received strong criticism.In 2024, Solana (SOL) is expected to get rid of its “FTX Legacy”: Many products incubated by FTX and its associated trading platform Alameda Research were running on . As such, SOL might be in the spotlight for the next bull run as it has managed to keep its large and passionate community.Shiba Inu (SHIB) in 2024Launched in August 2020 by an anonymous team, is the second largest meme cryptocurrency inspired by the success of Dogecoin (DOGE). The token started as a typical “meme coin,” but step by step it evolved into a full-stack ecosystem with its own exchange, dApps and even a native Polygon-like L2 blockchain.At the same time, the success of SHIB in 2024 will depend on the overall status of meme coins. Major technical and community announcements might catalyze the SHIB price as well as periodical token burn reports, but these spikes are unlikely to be sustainable.USD Coin (USDC) in 2024Developed by U.S. conglomerate Circle, is the second largest USD-pegged stablecoin. As of early 2024, its market capitalization equals $24.4 billion in equivalent. The USDC cryptocurrency is natively available on all mainstream smart contract platforms and is listed by top cryptocurrency exchanges.USDC’s capitalization started shrinking in March 2023 amid rumors about its fund insufficiency caused by the insolvency of Silvergate and other crypto-friendly banks in the U.S. At the same time, in Q3-Q4, 2023, the team of the stablecoin made a number of hyped tech announcements, so USDC will likely remain a reliable modern alternative to Tether (USDT).Arbitrum (ARB) in 2024Arbitrum (ARB) by Offchain Labs is a dominant second-layer platform on top of Ethereum (ETH). It is responsible for over 51% of all value deposited to second-layer platforms on top of Ethereum (ETH). Hundreds of dApps have been deployed to Arbitrum (ARB) since its launch in mainnet in August 2021.Arbitrum (ARB) remains dominant Ethereum’s L2 // Image by In general, the Ethereum (ETH) community is optimistic about the prospects of the Arbitrum (ARB) price for 2024. The token underpins the leading L2 platform that recently introduced , a protocol designed to move the Arbitrum (ARB) blockchain beyond the Solidity programming language. With Stylus, developers of Rust and C++ will also be able to run their dApps on Ethereum Virtual Machine.Tron (TRX) in 2024Launched in mainnet in 2018, Tron (TRX) was the second-largest blockchain by TVL behind Ethereum (ETH) for years. It gained popularity thanks to very cheap transactions, fast block finality and stable performance. is part of the ecosystem of cryptocurrency services associated with Justin Sun, who is also the owner of BitTorrent and the HTX exchange (formerly Huobi).In 2024, Tron (TRX) will remain the dominant blockchain for USDT transfers: Over 50% of the aggregated USDT supply is issued on top of the Tron (TRX) blockchain. Meanwhile, Justin Sun will face severe legal pressure in 2024: Troubles with U.S. regulators might be an obstacle for TRX’s growth.Chainlink (LINK) in 2024Chainlink (LINK) is the first-ever decentralized network of blockchain oracles. It facilitates the transfer of data between on-chain applications (dApps) and off-chain systems (weather trackers, points of sales and so on). As such, Chainlink (LINK) is a critically important service for integrating blockchains into real-world economies. LINK, the core native cryptocurrency of Chainlink (LINK), gained much traction in the 2020-2021 bull run.In 2024, Chainlink’s (LINK) growth might yet again be catalyzed by an array of solid partnerships or an aggressive social media promotion campaign by “LINK marines,” a group of passionate Chainlink (LINK) supporters.The meme coin segment might be overshadowed by new trending narratives (real-world assets, liquid staking, AI coins and so on), while stablecoins will struggle with macroeconomic uncertainty and regulatory hostility.This article was originally published on U.Today More