Cryptocurrency

Ethereum price initially dipped on the headlines regarding regulatory scrutiny before recovering to trade more than 3% on the day.Elsewhere, Insights from derivatives markets signaled a decrease in open interest on ETH/USDT contracts and a reduction in the funding rate, suggesting possible capitulation by buyers. However, caution is advised as Ethereum approaches strong liquidation areas between $3,000 and $2,800, as well as around $4,100.Recent developments include Glassnode suggesting Bitcoin’s correction offers buying opportunities ahead of the April halving, and MicroStrategy strengthening its crypto reserves with a significant BTC acquisition.Technical analysis on the H4 chart revealed Ethereum’s price drop from $4,100 to $3,050 and finding stability around the Fibonacci 50% level, hinting at potential buying opportunities.Ethereum price is currently hovering just above its 50-day moving average, maintaining a bullish structure, albeit with some revisions in its bullish momentum.Yet, worries persist about the surge in meme tokens, reminiscent of the ICO frenzy of 2018, as noted by CryptoQuant’s founder. Despite institutional support, vigilance and risk management remain crucial to navigate the evolving cryptocurrency terrain.The crypto market anticipates stabilization following a corrective phase, with Ethereum’s performance closely tied to Bitcoin’s dynamics amid impending major central bank meetings later in the week. Ethereum price is trading at $3187.5 as of writing. More

Tigran Gambaryan, a U.S. citizen and Binance’s head of financial crime compliance, and Nadeem Anjarwalla, a British-Kenyan who is Binance’s regional manager for Africa, flew to Nigeria following the country’s decision to ban several cryptocurrency trading websites and were detained on arrival on Feb. 26.On Tuesday, the two men appeared in a Federal High Court in the capital Abuja. The Court and lawyers for Gambaryan and Anjarwalla declined to comment.Lawyers from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) want the court to grant a new detention order, after the initial one expired on March 12. The Binance executives are opposing this.The judge did not make a ruling on EFCC’s request.”At the court hearing in Abuja today, which was attended by Tigran and Nadeem, the court ruled that after hearing arguments from both parties, they would resume the session on April 5th,” the families of the two executives said in a statement.An EFCC spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.Gambaryan and Anjarwalla were caught up in a crackdown following a period during which several cryptocurrency websites emerged as platforms of choice for trading the Nigerian currency, as the country battles chronic dollar shortages.Binance did not immediately respond to emailed questions. The company announced early this month that it was stopping all transactions and trading in Nigeria’s naira currency after March 8. More

Solana price decline could extend on news that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is probing crypto companies in its Ethereum investigation. The increased regulatory concerns could yield a deeper pullback in SOL price.Solana has captured the attention of investors this month after its price soared past $200 for the first time since November 2021. The weekend saw a remarkable surge in network activity for Solana, even outpacing Ethereum in terms of total trading volume. On March 16, Solana’s trading volume hit $3.52 billion, eclipsing Ethereum by $1.1 billion. This surge was largely driven by a heightened demand for Solana-based memecoins, with the newly launched Book of Meme (BOME) memecoin reaching a market capitalization of $1.45 billion in just 56 hours.Solana’s decentralized finance (DeFi) sector has grown dramatically, with its total value locked (TVL) increasing by over 80% in the past month. This growth spurt has elevated Solana’s DeFi TVL to its highest point in two years, positioning it among the top five DeFi networks by TVL.Despite the recent decrease in trade volume, Solana’s market capitalization hit $91.56 billion. The cryptocurrency has also seen a 9.05% rise in open interest to $3.20 billion, though short traders have dominated liquidations in an effort to mitigate losses from the ongoing price rally.Elsewhere, the Solana community has started speaking out against meme coin presales, which have become a more frequent and questionable practice. In these presales, crypto traders often send large sums of money to unfamiliar individuals, hoping to get in early on the next big thing like BONK, WIF, or BOME.Following the multi-billion dollar surges of several Solana-based meme coins over the past three months—a trend that has propelled the blockchain back into the spotlight—many crypto influencers have started capitalizing on the frenzied atmosphere of FOMO. They are offering early, discounted allocations of certain meme coins before their launch to traders who send SOL to the promoters’ wallets. More

Mystiko.Network, the leading Base Layer of Web3, has completed a 18 Million USD seed funding round led by Sequoia Capital India/SEA (now known as Peak XV Partners), with participation from Samsung (KS:005930) Next, Hashkey, Mirana, Signum, Coinlist, Naval Ravikant, Sandeep Nailwal, Gokul Rajaram, Tribe Capital, Morningstar Ventures, etc. In less than a year, Mystiko V1 mainnets have supported over 134 Million USD transaction volume, 214K+ transactions on 5 different layer1/layer2 blockchains, with 54K+ unique active onchain users.Previously, Mystiko.Network has also been selected to participate in esteemed programs such as Binance MVB, Chainlink Startup, Polygon Ecosystem and Coinlist Seed. About Mystiko.NetworkMystiko.Network is the Base Layer of WEB3. Mystiko SDK, the universal ZK SDK, features scalability, interoperability, privacy and AI for every blockchain/dapp all at once.Learn more about Mystiko. Network and follow us:Website|Camo Wallet| Twitter| Discord | Medium | Whitepaper| DocsContactAlex [email protected] article was originally published on Chainwire More

Past halvings in 2016 and 2020 witnessed an average price increase of 400% within a year, potentially propelling Bitcoin to $84,145 three months post-halving and soaring to $361,152 within a year, according to a study by CoinLedger.With every 210,000 blocks mined, the block reward halves, controlling the supply of new Bitcoin entering circulation and historically leading to positive price action.During the 2016 halving, Bitcoin’s price increased by 10.99% within three months, while in 2020, it surged by 32.91% within the same period. The average increase across these two events stands at 21.95%, suggesting a potential rise to $84,145 three months after the 2024 halving.Six months post-halving, Bitcoin’s price historically continued to rise. In 2016, it increased by 51.57%, while in 2020, it surged by 83.17%. Based on these figures, experts estimate a potential rise to $115,733 six months after the 2024 halving.The year following a halving has seen remarkable price action for Bitcoin. In 2012, it witnessed an unprecedented 8,000% increase, while in 2016 and 2020, it saw increases of 284% and 562%, respectively, averaging at 423%. This suggests a potential price of $361,152 for Bitcoin one year after the 2024 halving, although such a figure is deemed unlikely by analysts.CoinLedger analysts emphasized the importance of cautious optimism, urging investors to conduct thorough research, stay informed about industry developments, and only invest what they can afford to lose.Bitcoin price is trading at $64,137 as of writing. More

The recent volatility has led to a flurry of activity, with prices fluctuating and presenting both challenges and potential openings for those keen on capitalizing on the pullback. The sell-off across the various cryptocurrencies will, of course, significantly impact the crypto market cap. Bitcoin’s dominance of the market cap currently stands at over 52%, while ETH takes up 16.3%. Both have experienced share moves lower over the last few days, with Bitcoin down over 10% in the last week and ETH falling over 15% in the last seven days. The current crypto market cap stands at around $2.43 trillion. However, this week, as cryptos initially moved lower on Wednesday, the market cap dropped as much as 18% from its March highs. That was before the reversals during Wednesday’s session, with both BTC and ETH currently sitting in positive territory. Despite the shaky week, Bernstein analysts said in a recent note that they believe the crypto market cap can reach $7.5 trillion in 2025. The firm stated, “We continue to see a cross-cycle 18-month opportunity with Bitcoin and the entire crypto ecosystem.”Jonny Huxtable, CEO of LinkPool, told Investing.com that they “see a confluence of factors that are currently impacting the price of Bitcoin.” “The first is that BTC traditionally struggles to reclaim previous cycle all-time-highs and this cycle is no different,” he explained. “It took approximately 3 weeks at the end of 2020 for BTC to go into price discovery and truly clear $20k.”Huxtable noted that an interesting aspect of this cycle is that Bitcoin has never broken above its .618 cyclical fib on its first attempt. “We saw this happen in each past cycle where it was swiftly rejected at each .618 tag, but this time was different and came as a shock to many traders and analysts,” Huxtable stated. “This is a testament to the spot BTC ETFs and the asset managers that oversee them. If there’s one thing they’re good at doing, it’s diligent profit taking.”Overall, LinkPool anticipates sideways and “downwards chop” going into the halving and for some time after, similar to the 2015-2017 uptrend. Huxtable declared: “BTC is seeing more demand than ever, and with its daily output about to be cut in half, we anticipate an unprecedented market reaction to the great supply shock BTC will face to date.”Elsewhere, Nejc Kržan, Head of NiceX Exchange, NiceHash, told Investing.com that we “are seeing a natural market shift at this point.”He believes this is a culmination of several important factors.”On one side, many investors who recently came into the market who were hoping the BTC price would continue to break through the all-time high and rise further, have sold to take short-term gains,” he explained. Kržan added: “On the other hand, we have the Fed and other central banks looking a lot more cautious about cutting rates to soon, which has really dampened the high optimism from the previous month, and so bigger investors are more cautious with less traditional assets”He also notes that the BTC-to-Gold correlation is at an all-time high, signaling that “we can expect Bitcoin to follow the global markets more closely now that such massive volumes of institutional money are flowing in and out of the ETFs.”Despite an initial decline to below $61,000 earlier in the session, Bitcoin is now up 3.8% on the day, trading at $64,256, as of 10:59 ET. Ethereum has followed a similar pattern. It fell to around $3,059 earlier in the day but is now up more than 7% at $3,394.3. Elsewhere, Solana, after declining over the past two sessions, is up around 3.5% Wednesday, trading at $175.75.Investing in cryptocurrencies offers various avenues, from direct cryptocurrency purchases to investments in crypto funds and companies. Cryptocurrencies can be purchased through crypto exchanges or specific brokers, and once bought, they can be stored, managed, and traded within a cryptocurrency wallet.Cryptocurrencies have time and again shown their potential for explosive growth, with a continued focus on their revolutionary technology and implementation cases.Whether you’re a seasoned trader or a newcomer to the crypto space, exploring the top cryptocurrency Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) is essential for maximizing your portfolio’s potential. Dive into our comprehensive list of the top Bitcoin Crypto ETFs, carefully curated to provide you with diversified exposure to this exciting asset class, without the complexities of physical ownership. More

Oraichain, an innovator in the integration of artificial intelligence with blockchain technology, has announced the highly anticipated Beta launch of its OraiBTC Subnet on March 19. The development marks the first time Bitcoin (BTC) will be integrated into the Oraichain ecosystem, offering a decentralized bridge for seamless BTC deposits and withdrawals.The Subnet is designed to facilitate the easy transfer of Bitcoin into and out of the Oraichain network, with users able to directly swap the asset for ORAI tokens and bridge BTC between the Oraichain and Bitcoin networks in both directions. In the future, it will also enable the transfer of BTC via IBC to many protocols throughout the Cosmos Ecosystem.An emphasis has been placed on ease of use, with the aforementioned functionalities made accessible via the OraiDEX website and OWallet browser. The integration will empower developers to build faster and more powerful dApp experiences, particularly for holders of the world’s best-known and most valuable cryptocurrency.The OraiBTC Subnet Beta launch provides an opportunity for users to actively participate in refining the platform’s features ahead of its full public release. In appreciation of their involvement, participants may also receive a special surprise, adding an extra element of excitement to the launch.Built on the robust foundation of Nomic’s design, OraiBTC leverages advanced Bitcoin features such as Taproot and Schnorr signatures, as well as a dedicated validator set, all of which ensures the utmost safety and integrity of bridged assets. The launch is a major step in Oraichain’s mission to become the go-to Layer-1 platform for AI-powered decentralized applications (dApps). By bringing Bitcoin into the Oraichain toolkit, the platform significantly expands the addressable market for AI dApp builders and offers greater versatility and potential for innovation.The introduction of OraiBTC is a key component of Oraichain’s Mainnet 3.0 upgrade, which has implemented major changes to enhance speed and interoperability. Oraichain has recently reduced its block time to approximately 1 second, positioning it as one of the fastest networks in the Cosmos ecosystem and beyond.The Oraichain team is currently focused on expanding its ecosystem, including through the development of GPU Staking. In addition to making significant investments in GPUs to support the AI applications running on the Oraichain mainnet, the Oraichain Foundation envisions GPU Staking as a novel approach to ensure that the value generated from increasing AI service demands directly benefits holders of ORAI tokens.About OraichainOraichain is a permissionless Layer 1 for AI-powered dApps, developed to provide multidimensional Trustworthy Proofs of AI and data reliability. With its AI Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) at the core, Oraichain is designed to provide a decentralized system for the delivery of AI-generated data to smart contracts, maximizing transparency for developers and consumers.Website | X | Telegram | Discord | GitHub | Blog | Coinmarketcap | CoingeckoContactTyree [email protected] article was originally published on Chainwire More

One of the primary concerns rattling the market is the anticipated Bitcoin halving event, slated to occur in late April at a block height of 840,000. The halving is a predetermined event that reduces the reward for mining new blocks by half, thereby diminishing the rate at which new bitcoins are generated.“…Many big mining farms know they potentially face a tough few months after the halving and are converting to fiat while prices are good, to prepare to dig in,” Nejc Kržan, Head of NiceX Exchange, told Investing.com.In a recent in-depth analysis by JPMorgan, the financial giant revisits the operational and financial trends of the bitcoin mining industry amidst a crypto selloff. The report evaluates the performance and strategic positioning of leading mining companies such as Cipher Mining Inc (NASDAQ:CIFR), CleanSpark (NASDAQ:CLSK), Iris Energy Ltd (NASDAQ:IREN), Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA), and Riot Platforms (NASDAQ:RIOT), projecting a hopeful outlook for the sector in 2024.According to JPMorgan equity analysts, “the broader mining industry recorded its largest quarterly gross profit since 2Q22” during the fourth quarter of 2023, signaling a strong recovery. The report further anticipates “industry-wide gross profits ticking higher in 1Q24,” although it expects a downturn in “2Q24 as the block reward is halved,” indicating the cyclical nature of the mining industry’s profitability.Marathon Digital notably stood out as the industry’s top performer in 2023, with JPMorgan highlighting its capacity additions and Bitcoin output. “MARA was the runaway winner in ’23, adding the most capacity and mining more bitcoin than any operator in our coverage universe,” the report states.Looking ahead, the report identifies Riot Platforms and CleanSpark as key players poised for strong growth. “RIOT and CLSK are poised for the most capacity growth in ’24, which bodes well for stock performance in our view,” JPMorgan analysts predict.In addressing operational efficiencies, the report reveals a competitive edge for Cipher due to its low power costs per coin mined at $9900 in Q4 2023, contrasting with Marathon’s higher costs. Yet, it praises Marathon’s operational strategies, saying, “Marathon posted the lowest cash SG&A cost per coin in 4Q23 ($4800) driven by its scale and relatively lean operations.” The analysis also sheds light on the sector’s financing activities, revealing that “the five miners in our coverage universe issued more than $2bn in equity via ATM offerings in ’23,” a significant uptick from the previous year. JPMorgan’s report concludes with an optimistic view of the mining industry’s resilience and adaptability. “We think miner profitability will tick higher in 1Q24 before declining meaningfully in 2Q24 due to the halving,” it states. More