Blockchain

Shiba Inu (SHIB) Marketing Lead, Lucie, has highlighted a move that could see the SHIB token make a 2,100% gain if history were to repeat itself. There is also the belief that the meme coin could even go on to enjoy a higher gain this time around, considering initiatives that have been put in place to increase its value. 

SHIB To Replicate 2021 Run?

Lucie mentioned in an X (formerly Twitter) post that SHIB surged by 800% in 2021 without any burns and hinted at something similar happening this year. Interestingly, the 800% gain Lucie referred to is way more than that (over 2,100%). Meanwhile, she highlighted how token burns and stead demand could contribute to such a parabolic move this time. 

Indeed, the token burns carried out so far by the SHIB community has so far sparked price surges for SHIB at different times. As such, SHIB can be expected to experience more moves to the upside even as more token burns are carried out. These token burns will also increase as Shibarium gains wider adoption. 

As Lucie noted, demand for the SHIB token is also essential, as token burns do not work in isolation. For the meme coin’s value to rise significantly, there needs to be an increased demand for it even as it becomes more scarce. Lucie seemed optimistic that SHIB could replicate this 2021 run as she added that the meme coin is “poised for growth and waits for no one.”

More Than Just A Meme Coin

Last year, the Shiba Inu team made a statement with the launch of the layer-2 network Shibarium, revealing their intentions to make SHIB more than just a meme coin. So far, they have done a great job, as the Shibarium launch has added more utility for the crypto token and caused its demand to rise. 

SHIB’s status as being more than just a meme coin is even more significant when one considers how Ripple’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse had, during the 2024 World Economic Forum (WEF), criticized Dogecoin (DOGE) for not providing any real-life utility. 

While such a statement is not necessarily true about DOGE, it, however, puts SHIB on a higher pedestal, considering how much it has achieved since Shibarium launched last year. The team is also not slowing down, as they have a lot planned for 2024. The SHIB ecosystem is undoubtedly growing, and the meme coin is at the helm of all of it.  

At the time of writing, SHIB is trading at around $0.00001282, down almost 8% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. 

On-chain data shows Bitcoin currently has a thick supply wall between the $60,300 and $62,155 levels that may prevent the asset from falling lower.

A Large Amount Of Bitcoin Was Bought Near Current Prices

As explained by analyst Ali in a new post on X, BTC has a major support wall just below it right now. In on-chain analysis, the strength of support and resistance levels is gauged through the amount of Bitcoin that the investors bought at them.

The chart below shows how the distribution of the investor cost basis has looked like for BTC across the price ranges near the current spot value:

Here, the size of the dot represents the number of tokens that the addresses bought between the corresponding price levels. From the graph, it’s apparent that the $60,300 to $62,100 range has a particularly high density of coins right now.

Most of the price levels in this range lie just below the current spot price of the cryptocurrency, meaning that the investors who bought here would be making some profit, albeit only a slight one.

Generally, when the price retests the cost basis of such investors who were in profit prior to the retest (meaning that the price has approached their cost basis from above), a buying reaction may be produced by these addresses.

This is because holders like these may have reason to believe that if they were able to get into profits before, they might be able to do so again in the near future, so they may just accumulate on this “dip.”

Such a reaction can naturally provide support to the cryptocurrency. The scale of this support, however, is naturally not anything significant if only a few investors bought at the level to begin with. Narrow ranges that are thick with addresses, on the other hand, might just prove to be a source of noticeable support.

In the aforementioned price range near the current spot price, one million addresses acquired a total of about 671,000 BTC. “This accumulation zone highlights strong investor confidence and could serve as a crucial level of support for BTC, potentially cushioning against further drops,” notes the analyst.

While the price ranges under the current price are heavy with coins, it’s visible in the chart that this isn’t the case for the ranges above. Just like how supply wallets below can be a source of support, they can instead act as resistance when above.

The fact that the supply walls above are quite thin suggests that there wouldn’t be too many investors waiting to quickly exit at their break-even, and thus, selling pressure due to them should be low.

That said, it doesn’t mean there isn’t any impedance at all. Bitcoin is approaching all-time highs at this point, meaning that the vast majority of the supply is in profit. At these levels, mass selling for harvesting these gains can be the main challenge preventing the run from continuing.

BTC Price

At present, Bitcoin is trading around the $62,000 level, meaning that it’s right on the edge of the major support wall.

XRP witnessed an uptick this week moving closer to its 2024 high, but several trends have been cited by crypto analysts that could drive the token even higher in the coming months.

XRP Poised For A Positive Upward Trajectory

Crypto Egrag, a well-known cryptocurrency expert and trader, has shared his latest insights on the price action of XRP with the community on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

His analysis came in light of the general correction witnessed in the crypto market a few days back. Egrag’s latest predictions delve into XRP’s potential to reach a new all-time high in the upcoming months or bull cycle.

According to the analyst, XRP is presently demonstrating momentum to surpass a bullish cross in the short term. He anticipates this to happen within the year, putting his target around April and August.

Crypto Egrag has pointed out two historical instances which he dubbed Cycle 1 and 2 that suggest XRP could reach an unprecedented within the aforementioned timeframe.

While drawing parallels to these historical trends, Egrag noted that the first cycle, which sent XRP to its peak, took around 280 days to reach the level after making a bullish cross. Meanwhile, the second cycle took XRP about 140 days to reach the same price level after forming the cross.

Consequently, the expert is extending his analysis to a comparable timeframe and duration from these data points. Thus, he has identified precisely the dates between April 8 and August 26 in which his forecast could be realized.

Hitherto, Egrag has urged the crypto community to remain unwavering and keep a watchful eye on these two dates, marking a significant day for the crypto asset.

Egrag’s X post was part of a previous analysis he made in August last year. In the post, the expert noted that the asset has formed a bullish cross, which usually ignites its price.

However, Egrag believes that one does not have to be a Technical Analyst (TA) to identify this action. Specifically, the bullish cross was formed by the “constant struggle” of the 21 weekly Exponential Moving Average (EMA) and the 100 Moving Average (MA).

Projected Time For The Token To Reach The $0.9 Threshold

Dark Defender, another crypto analyst, has pinpointed a timeframe for XRP to reach the $0.9 price mark. According to Dark Defender, the token arrived at several support levels and began to form a third (3rd) wave.

The wave was formed as a result of the altcoin reaching the mid-level Orange Resistance. Defender anticipates the coin to range between $0.7707 and $0.9191 between March 10 and 13 this year. 

Furthermore, he has predicted a price target of $0.6462 by March 1. Nonetheless, taking into account XRP’s wary advances in recent times, Defender’s forecast seems to be very lofty. 

The future of the XRP price has been a hot topic of contention among crypto analysts for a while now. Most of these analyses focus on the possible movements of the price as the bull market unfolds, as well as possible price targets. In the same vein, crypto analyst CryptoBull has presented their own bull case for the altcoin, giving the most realistic price targets.

Long Time Price Channel Shows Realistic Price

In the analyst CryptoBull posted on X (formerly Twitter), he shows the historical price movement of the altcoin going as far back as 2014. The analyst uses this to deduce the possible trajectory of the XRP price in the coming months using the XRP price channel.

According to CryptoBull, using this data, the most realistic price for the altcoin currently sits somewhere between $13 and $39. ”The long-term price channel shows the most realistic #XRP price between $13 and $39 in the coming months!” CryptoBull stated.

The long term price channel shows the most realistic #XRP price between $13 and $39 in the coming months! pic.twitter.com/iuePJitybs

— CryptoBull (@CryptoBull2020) February 29, 2024

While the lower end of this channel of $13 was more realistic, the upper end of $39 has drawn criticism from the community. In response to CryptoBull’s prediction, another X user, Ben McClymans, said it was “crazy talk.” This is because for XRP’s price to reach $39 per coin, then its market cap would have to be larger than that of Ethereum, which is currently the second-largest cryptocurrency in the market.

However, other community members jumped to the defense of XRP, reminding Ben that the market cap of XRP had actually flipped Ethereum before. Given this, they believe that it is possible that it will end up flipping to Ethereum once again.

XRP Price Performance Worries Investors

The XRP price performance over the last few years has worried investors because while other altcoins were hitting new all-time highs, XRP continued to struggle. However, this is understandable given that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Ripple in 2020, which adversely affected XRP’s performance.

The XRP price had crashed off the back of the announcement alone and did not recover as well as expected. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, though, as the lawsuit with the SEC seems to be coming to an end. The court looks to be leaning toward a settlement, which would put an end to the case once and for all.

To get an idea of what could happen with the XRP price when the lawsuit is over, we can take a look at what happened when Ripple secured a partial victory over the SEC in 2023. After Judge Analisa Torres declared that XRP programmatic sales did not qualify as securities, XRP jumped more than 60% in a single day.

The lawsuit is currently the biggest hindrance to the XRP price performance, and expectations are that the price will surge once it’s over. If it does so, then CryptoBull’s prediction could end up playing out.

Today, Fetch.AI (FET) is once again emerging as a stand-out performer. The price of FET has surged by an impressive 21% in the past 24 hours, rising to $1.63. Currently, this substantial uptick is positioning Fetch.AI as the top performer among the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.

Fetch.AI is benefiting from the AI hype in the tech sphere. As AI continues to make headlines, projects that are seen as contributing to this future, like Fetch.AI, naturally attract attention and investment, riding the wave of AI hype to gain visibility and financial support in the crypto sphere.

The project aims to leverage AI to enable smarter, more efficient blockchain networks and applications, appealing to both investors and developers interested in cutting-edge technology. Furthermore, the broader market trends show a growing appetite for investments in technologies that promise to shape the future.

Fetch.AI Price Analysis: FET/USD

When examining the weekly FET/USD chart, it is evident that the momentum for the AI coin is strong. Earlier this week, FET broke its previous all-time high of $1.19. Notably, this puts Fetch.AI in an elite group of very few cryptocurrencies that have already surpassed their previous all-time high.

The chart shows a well-formed ‘Bull Flag’ pattern, a bullish continuation pattern, which has developed over the past weeks. This pattern is characterized by an initial strong upward movement in price, followed by a downward sloping consolidation phase, and then typically results in a breakout to the upside.

The flag pole formed from mid-October till mid-December 2023. During the consolidation phase, the FET price fell towards the 20-week EMA (red line), but was always able to hold it on a weekly basis. The breakout from the flag occurred on February 12.

Based on the bull flag poll, the projected target is a 290% increase from the flag’s bottom, which would place FET at around $2.00. Notably, this closely aligns with the 1.618 Fibonacci extension level at approximately $1.90.
Another bullish argument are the volume bars, denoting trading volume. This has shown a substantial increase coinciding with the price surge, suggesting strong buyer interest.

Moreover, the Relative Strength Index (RSI), a momentum oscillator that measures the speed and change of price movements, is currently at 72.5. While this puts the FET price slightly in the overbought territory (typically considered to be above 70), it is typical for the crypto market to overheat during a raging bull market.

This suggests that there might still be room for upward movement before the market considers FET overbought.

FET/BTC On The Weekly Chart

In the competitive arena of cryptocurrency pairings, Fetch.AI’s token has shown a remarkable performance against Bitcoin (BTC) on the weekly chart. The FET/BTC pair exhibits a notable increase of 47% in the current week.

Notably, the price action has reached a pivotal point, prompting the question: Is a phase of consolidation on the horizon or is Fetch.AI on the cusp of a massive breakout? FET/BTC is currently at 0.00002705 and thus slightly above the major resistance at 0.00002697. However, a weekly close above this threshold needs to confirm the trend.

A weekly close above this threshold could open the door for a 400% rally against BTC. In a bearish scenario, FET could be consolidating in the range between 0.00002650 and 0.00002014 before making the next major move.

The availability of Bitcoin (BTC) on Over-the-Counter (OTC) desks has sharply decreased, with reports suggesting that at one point, only about 40 BTC were available for sale. This news has significant implications for the market and could herald a new era in BTC trading dynamics.

OTC Desks Had 40 Bitcoin Available On Wednesday

Caitlin Long, the CEO and founder of Custodia Bank, provided an eye-opening account of the current state of the OTC Bitcoin market. Through a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter), Long noted, “The #HODLgang has mostly held…I spent time in NYC over the past couple of days and it’s clear why the Bitcoin price spiked this week: there was almost no BTC available for sale on the big OTC desks.”

Echoing Long’s observations, Samuel Andrew, a noted figure in the crypto space, added, “OTC desks are nearly dried up. Very little Bitcoin available that’s easily accessible to meet demand. BlackRock and Fidelity are moving size in ways crypto has never seen before.” Long added:

Only ~40 BTC were available for sale at any price at one point on Wednesday, I was told by a credible source…

This scarcity of BTC on OTC desks is not an isolated incident but part of a broader trend indicating a significant shift in the market. Glassnode, a leading blockchain data and analytics firm, reported that Bitcoins held by OTC desks are at their lowest level in five years. Although Glassnode tracks only a portion of the OTC market, the data points to a clear trend of dwindling BTC availability.

What This Means For BTC Price

The implications of this trend are manifold. Firstly, it suggests a potential supply shock in the Bitcoin market, driven by increased demand from institutional investors and large corporations looking to add Bitcoin to their portfolios, as well as the introduction of spot Bitcoin ETFs. This supply shock could lead to a shift in price discovery from OTC desks to public exchanges, where the real market price of Bitcoin will be determined more transparently.

The shortage of Bitcoin on OTC desks also means that large investors and ETFs like BlackRock and Fidelity, who traditionally bought Bitcoin in bulk at a discount through these desks, may no longer have this option. This could further drive demand on public exchanges, potentially leading to significant price movements.

Analysts are already speculating on the possible outcomes of this situation. Alessandro Ottaviani, a prominent analyst, suggested, “After today, god candles ($10k in the daily), before the halving are possible and realistic.”

This sentiment was echoed by Francis Pouliot, CEO of Bull Bitcoin, who remarked on the self-correcting nature of the market: “OTC desks like http://BULLBITCOIN.COM never run out of Bitcoin. The price goes up, and people sell. If people don’t sell, the price goes up more.”

Adam Back, a Bitcoin OG and cypherpunk, provided a bullish outlook, stating, “$100k by halving day. People starting to believe. Bears, leveraged shorts rekt, scared-off, profit take limit orders moved upwards or just deleted to wait-and-see; OTC desks out of coins, daily $500m / 10k BTC ETF buy walls. This can gap upwards fast. 51 days to go [until Halving].”

In conclusion, the depletion of BTC supply on OTC desks marks a pivotal moment for the market. With the upcoming halving event in April and institutional interest at an all-time high, the stage is set for potentially unprecedented movements in the Bitcoin market.

At press time, BTC traded at $61,903.

Recently, the Binance Smart Chain emerged as the top Layer 1 platform with the biggest number of BNB users. There has also been a noticeable increase in its volume.

The optimistic outlook for the cryptocurrency market as a whole has also contributed to BNB’s success. With a market capitalization of around $2.30 trillion, Bitcoin’s latest ascent beyond $63,000 suggests that investor confidence has increased.

BNB Approaches $5 Billion TVL

Total Value Locked (TVL) for BNB Chain increased steadily this year and is currently close to $5 billion. It’s crucial to remember that the current upward trend in BNB is what’s responsible for the TVL spike.

According to data from DefiLlama, this represents a notable rise over the $3.50 billion reported at the beginning of the year and illustrates the growing presence of decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols on the chain.

With 425 million unique users, BNB chain held the top spot at the time of publication, according to Crypto Rank data, which displayed the total number of unique users across the top 15 networks.

Top 15 Blockchains by the Number of Unique Addresses@BNBCHAIN – 425M@0xPolygon – 406M@ethereum – 259M@trondao – 214M@FantomFDN – 172M@Optimism – 124M@NEARProtocol – 99M@base – 65M@Aptos_Network – 27M@MoonbeamNetwork – 20M@arbitrum – 17.9M@avax – 17.7M… pic.twitter.com/lGYGfjTaea

— CryptoRank.io (@CryptoRank_io) February 28, 2024

On-chain volume on BNB Chain saw a notable spike this week, peaking at about $1.4 billion. According to DefiLlama, this is the greatest volume seen in 2024 and the second-highest day volume on the chain in more than a year. An increase in activity suggests that users are more engaged and that the ecosystem has room to develop.

BNB Breaches $400 Level

The price of BNB has recently increased to levels not seen in months, which is quite notable. The coin has moved into previously unobserved price ranges as of April 2022.

The 24-hour period chart analysis showed that BNB ended trading on a high note. Though there has been a slight decline of less than 1% as of this writing, BNB is still trading at $405.

The excitement around the web3 game project Portal’s airdrop farming campaign is partly responsible for the recent increase in BNB’s price. Users were able to take part in Portal’s PORTAL token airdrop thanks to Binance’s Launchpool integration, which increased interest and engagement in the BNB Chain ecosystem.

Meanwhile, bulls will retake control and be ready to challenge the market’s upper resistance level of $420 this week if the price moves over the resistance level of $401. If the price stays there, the BNB coin will be ready to try testing its upper limit of $435 in the following weeks.

The notable variation in pricing is observed despite Binance being subjected to one of the most serious criminal penalties in the history of the United States. Following the consent of a judge, the exchange reached a plea agreement amounting to $4.3 billion, which pertained to allegations associated with violations of anti-money laundering regulations and penalties.

Featured image from Pexels, chart from TradingView

Cardano (ADA) is gaining pace above the $0.635 resistance zone. ADA is consolidating gains and might aim for more upsides above the $0.70 resistance.

ADA price is holding gains and facing resistance near the $0.70 zone.
The price is trading above $0.640 and the 100 simple moving average (4 hours).
There is a key bullish trend line forming with support at $0.6350 on the 4-hour chart of the ADA/USD pair (data source from Kraken).
The pair could attempt a fresh increase if the bulls remain active above the $0.6220 support.

Cardano Price Eyes Another Increase

After forming a base above the $0.5650 level, Cardano started a fresh increase. ADA price was able to climb above the $0.600 and $0.6220 resistance levels to move into a positive zone, like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

The bulls pushed the pair above the $0.650 resistance zone. However, the bears were active near the $0.700 resistance zone. A high was formed near $0.7084 and the price started a downside correction. There was a move below the $0.6750 level.

The price declined below the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the upward wave from the $0.5685 swing low to the $0.7084 high. ADA price is now trading above $0.640 and the 100 simple moving average (4 hours).

There is also a key bullish trend line forming with support at $0.6350 on the 4-hour chart of the ADA/USD pair. The trend line is near the 50% Fib retracement level of the upward wave from the $0.5685 swing low to the $0.7084 high.

Source: ADAUSD on TradingView.com

The bulls might remain active near the $0.6350 support. On the upside, immediate resistance is near the $0.6750 zone. The first resistance is near $0.692. The next key resistance might be $0.700. If there is a close above the $0.700 resistance, the price could start a strong rally. In the stated case, the price could rise toward the $0.750 region. Any more gains might call for a move toward $0.80.

Downside Correction in ADA?

If Cardano’s price fails to climb above the $0.6750 resistance level, it could continue to move down. Immediate support on the downside is near the $0.6350 level.

The next major support is near the $0.6220 level. A downside break below the $0.6220 level could open the doors for a test of $0.600. The next major support is near the $0.5680 level.

Technical Indicators

4 hours MACD – The MACD for ADA/USD is losing momentum in the bullish zone.

4 hours RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for ADA/USD is now above the 50 level.

Major Support Levels – $0.6350, $0.6220, and $0.6000.

Major Resistance Levels – $0.6750, $0.6920, and $0.7000.

Ethereum price climbed to a new multi-month high above $3,500. ETH is correcting gains like Bitcoin and might find strong bids near the $3,250 zone.

Ethereum extended its increase above the $3,500 resistance zone.
The price is trading above $3,300 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average.
There is a major bullish trend line forming with support at $3,260 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken).
The pair could correct lower, but dips might be limited below the $3,260 support zone.

Ethereum Price Eyes Fresh Increase

Ethereum price gained pace after it broke the $3,200 resistance zone, like Bitcoin. ETH cleared many hurdles near the $3,320 and $3,400 levels. Finally, it spiked above the $3,500 level.

A new multi-month high was formed near $3,515 before there was a downside correction. The price declined below the $3,420 and $3,400 levels. It even tested the 50% Fib retracement level of the upward wave from the $3,110 swing low to the $3,515 high.

Ethereum is now trading above $3,300 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. There is also a major bullish trend line forming with support at $3,260 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD. The trend line is close to the 61.8% Fib retracement level of the upward wave from the $3,110 swing low to the $3,515 high.

Immediate resistance on the upside is near the $3,420 level. The first major resistance is near the $3,450 level. The next major resistance is near $3,500, above which the price might gain bullish momentum.

Source: ETHUSD on TradingView.com

If there is a move above the $3,500 resistance, Ether could even rally toward the $3,620 resistance. Any more gains might call for a test of $3,800.

Are Dips Supported In ETH?

If Ethereum fails to clear the $3,420 resistance, it could start a downside correction. Initial support on the downside is near the $3,310 level.

The first major support is near the $3,260 zone or the trend line. The next key support could be the $3,250 zone. A clear move below the $3,250 support might send the price toward $3,120. Any more losses might send the price toward the $3,050 level.

Technical Indicators

Hourly MACD – The MACD for ETH/USD is losing momentum in the bullish zone.

Hourly RSI – The RSI for ETH/USD is now below the 50 level.

Major Support Level – $3,260

Major Resistance Level – $3,420

Bitcoin price is correcting gains from the $64,000 resistance. BTC might find strong support near the $59,250 level or the 100 hourly SMA.

Bitcoin price is correcting gains below the $62,250 resistance zone.
The price is trading above $60,000 and the 100 hourly Simple moving average.
There was a break below a connecting bullish trend line with support at $62,850 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).
The pair could correct lower toward $60,000 or even to the 100 hourly Simple moving average.

Bitcoin Price Starts Correction

Bitcoin price extended its rally above the $62,000 resistance zone. BTC even cleared the $63,200 level and tested the $64,000 zone. A new multi-week high was formed near $64,000 before the price started a downside correction.

The price traded below the $62,000 support. There was a spike below the 50% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $57,846 swing low to the $53,549 swing high.

There was a break below a connecting bullish trend line with support at $62,850 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair. Bitcoin is still trading above $60,000 and the 100 hourly Simple moving average.

Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

Immediate resistance is near the $62,200 level. The next key resistance could be $62,850, above which the price could rise toward the $64,000 resistance zone. If the bulls remain in action, the price could even surpass $64,000 and test $65,000. Any more gains might send the price toward the $68,000 zone.

Are Dips Limited In BTC?

If Bitcoin fails to rise above the $62,200 resistance zone, it could continue to move down. Immediate support on the downside is near the $60,000 level and the 61.8% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $57,846 swing low to the $53,549 swing high.

The first major support is $58,000 or the 100 hourly SMA. If there is a close below $58,000, the price could start a decent pullback toward the $56,500 zone. Any more losses might send the price toward the $55,000 support zone.

Technical indicators:

Hourly MACD – The MACD is now losing pace in the bullish zone.

Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for BTC/USD is now below the 50 level.

Major Support Levels – $60,000, followed by $58,000.

Major Resistance Levels – $62,200, $62,850, and $64,000.