Blockchain

Ethereum price is correcting gains from the $2,350 resistance zone. ETH could start a fresh increase if it stays above the $2,200 support zone.

Ethereum started a downside correction from the $2,350 resistance zone.
The price is trading near $2,275 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average.
There is a key bearish trend line forming with resistance near $2,285 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken).
The pair could attempt a fresh increase unless there is a close below $2,200.

Ethereum Price Remains Supported

Ethereum price failed again to gain pace for a move above the $2,350 level. ETH formed a short-term near $2,350 and recently started a downside correction, like Bitcoin.

There was a move below the $2,320 and $2,300 levels. The price even spiked below $2,250. A low was formed near $2,247 and the price is now correcting higher. There was a move above the $2,265 level. The price climbed above the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $2,326 swing high to the $2,247 low.

Ethereum is now near $2,275 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. On the upside, the price is facing resistance near the $2,285 level. There is also a key bearish trend line forming with resistance near $2,285 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD.

The trend line is close to the 50% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $2,326 swing high to the $2,247 low. A close above the $2,285 resistance could send the price toward $2,350.

Source: ETHUSD on TradingView.com

A clear move above the $2,350 zone could start a major increase. The next resistance sits at $2,420. Any more gains could start a wave toward the $2,500 level, above which Ethereum might rally and test the $2,550 zone.

More Losses in ETH?

If Ethereum fails to clear the $2,285 resistance, it could continue to move down. Initial support on the downside is near the $2,220 level.

The first key support could be the $2,200 zone. A downside break and a close below $2,200 might send the price further lower. In the stated case, Ether could revisit the $2,170 support. Any more losses might send the price toward the $2,120 level in the coming sessions.

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 – $2,200

Major Resistance Level – $2,285

Bitcoin price failed to extend gains above the $44,300 resistance. BTC is now moving lower and might find bids near the $42,400 support zone.

Bitcoin started a downside correction from the $44,300 resistance zone.
The price is trading below $43,500 and the 100 hourly Simple moving average.
There is a key declining channel forming with support near $42,850 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).
The pair could start a fresh increase from the $42,400 support zone.

Bitcoin Price Tops Again

Bitcoin price attempted a fresh increase above the $43,500 resistance zone. BTC climbed above the $44,000 level, but the bears were active near the $44,300 zone.

A high was formed near $44,300 and the price started a fresh decline. The price declined below the $44,000 and $43,500 levels. There was a move below the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $40,515 swing low to the $44,300 high.

Bitcoin is now trading below $43,500 and the 100 hourly Simple moving average. There is also a key declining channel forming with support near $42,850 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair.

The pair is now testing the channel support, below which it might accelerate lower toward $42,400 or the 50% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $40,515 swing low to the $44,300 high. If the bulls protect the channel support, there might be a fresh increase.

On the upside, immediate resistance is near the $43,500 level. The first major resistance is forming near $44,000 and $44,300. A close above the $44,300 resistance could start a strong rally and the price could even clear the $45,000 resistance.

Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

The next key resistance could be near $46,500, above which BTC could rise toward the $47,200 level. Any more gains might send the price toward $48,000.

More Losses In BTC?

If Bitcoin fails to rise above the $43,500 resistance zone, it could continue to move down. Immediate support on the downside is near the $42,800 level.

The next major support is near $42,400. If there is a move below $42,400, there is a risk of more losses. In the stated case, the price could drop toward the $41,200 support in the near term.

Technical indicators:

Hourly MACD – The MACD is now gaining pace in the bearish zone.

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

Major Support Levels – $42,400, followed by $41,200.

Major Resistance Levels – $43,500, $44,300, and $45,000.

According to a report from crypto analytics firm IntoTheBlock, Ethereum has recorded an 85% increase in its market cap over the last year, moving from around $149.18 billion to its current value of $275.98 billion. However, in comparison with other major assets, ETH performance still leaves more to desire, especially considering the many positive developments experienced by the asset in 2023.

Ethereum Underperforms

Ethereum (ETH) has been one of the major headliners in the crypto space in 2023. The second-largest cryptocurrency and the most prominent altcoin has continued to retain investor interest marked due to several factors. 

One of these factors is the Shanghai/Capella upgrade in April which has so far produced a significant increase in ETH staking activity as investors are now allowed to freely withdraw their assets from the Ethereum network.

Ethereum grew ~85% in market cap in 2023, slightly underperforming other major assets despite upgrades, ETF applications and showing robust adoption metrics. pic.twitter.com/cdvV085cxz

— IntoTheBlock (@intotheblock) December 23, 2023

Furthermore, Ethereum has also recorded an increase in institutional adoption amidst the launch of Ether Futures ETF in the US and a growing competition among several asset managers to gain approval for the first-ever spot Ether ETF. Nevertheless, these developments could only boost the altcoin market shares by 85%, which while impressive, is overshadowed by the performance of other cryptocurrencies. 

For context, Bitcoin, the market leader, recorded a 163% gain in market cap value, while other top coins, such as ADA and AVAX, also experienced gains to the tune of 145% and 341%, respectively. 

Trending meme token Bonk (BONK) produced the largest market cap increase of 1,574%, followed by Optimism (OP) with 916% and Solana (SOL) with 744%. Other notable mentions include Celestia (TIA) and Chainlink (LINK), with 459% and 199%, respectively. 

ETH Price Prediction 

At the time of writing, Ethereum trades around $2,292.13 with a 0.04% gain on the last day. Looking at the token’s daily chart, ETH is currently headed for the $2,400 resistance zone, which has proven effective in recent weeks.

Interestingly, price prediction site Coincodex reports that investor sentiment surrounding Ethereum is strongly bullish, with a Fear & Greed Index of 71. This indicates that many investors currently consider altcoin to be a favorable investment. 

However, if the $2400 resistance zone holds strong again, ETH could experience a price dip, finding support around the $2120 price region. And in the presence of overwhelming selling pressure, Ethereum could fall as low as $1,921.

Interest in altcoins, such as Polkadot, has significantly increased as the year draws to a close. After posting an impressive 47% gain in December, Polkadot (DOT) has become a standout performer in the cryptocurrency market.

Polkadot Surges 20%

In the latest development, the value of DOT has rapidly increased, rising by an impressive 20% in just the last two days.

With its breakthrough beyond the $7.9 barrier, the cryptocurrency set a new record for 2023 and demonstrated the growing interest and confidence of investors in Polkadot.

Notably, Polkadot’s price structure technical analysis points to a strong future. Even though there could be a slight reversal in the upcoming days, the general trend suggests that more price gains are likely.

This forecast strengthens the favorable perception of DOT and attracts traders and investors who pay close attention to technical indicators.

In addition to its remarkable price success, Polkadot’s blockchain has seen a notable rise in revenue, indicating more platform utilization.

The increase in revenue highlights how developers and consumers are actively interacting with Polkadot’s ecosystem, which is seeing rapid acceptance.

The sudden spike in DOT prices is associated with a noticeable increase in activity on the Polkadot network. The Polkadot relay chain has recorded an incredible 1 million transactions as of the most recent update, which represents a record high in daily activity.

1 Million transactions today on the Polkadot relay chain.

This is the highest activity day on Polkadot in history, topping out the 941,000 transactions on May 5, 2021.

The activity is due to inscriptions. pic.twitter.com/BYoMBREbyd

— asynchronous rob (@rphmeier) December 21, 2023

DOT Surpasses Transaction Record, Fostering Growth

This exceeds the previous record of 941,000 transactions achieved on May 5, 2021. The main cause of the increased activity is inscriptions, which also add to the spike in interest and participation in the Polkadot ecosystem.

Increasing activity is a strong sign of increased use and interaction with the Polkadot platform. This heightened interest draws developers’ and users’ attention in addition to showcasing the platform’s possibilities.

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In the last 7 days, @Polkadot placed… pic.twitter.com/rCt32BygDw

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The spike in interest might spur additional adoption, which would promote ecosystem expansion and result in a notable rise in the value of the Polkadot network and its native token.

The more developers and consumers connect with the platform, the more momentum it creates, and this might have a significant impact on how Polkadot develops going forward in the cryptocurrency space.

With Polkadot making waves in the cryptocurrency world and surpassing all expectations by reaching a new high for 2023, the future of this active blockchain looks very bright.

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The price movement of XRP has had its ups and downs this year, reflecting the volatile nature of cryptocurrencies. The crypto has increased by 74% this year, following the general bullish sentiment among cryptocurrencies. XRP went on a noticeable price spike in the middle of the year, although the price increase is currently calm and the cryptocurrency appears to be going through a consolidation phase. 

According to a recent analysis by Bard, Google’s AI, XRP’s price trajectory in 2024 is a positive one. Bard noted the various parameters, timeframes, and threats that may influence the trajectory of the cryptocurrency and projected that it might eventually hit the $1, $3, and $5 price points, representing 62%, 380%, and 710% from the current price point.

Bard Makes XRP Prediction

Google’s AI has predicted that XRP, the native currency of the Ripple network, could hit $1 very soon and $5 in the coming years. At the time of writing, the crypto is trading at $0.6144, making the $1 price target very doable in the coming months. 

Ripple is one of the biggest drivers of XRP. For example, the crypto went on a spectacular run in July, when Ripple scored a partial victory against the US Securities and Exchange Commission. According to Bard, optimism regarding Ripple’s advancements against the SEC in court, an upswing in the general crypto market in 2024, and XRP’s adoption in cross border payments could send the crypto to the $1 price level again next year, a level which it hasn’t been since November 2021.

If adoption keeps increasing at this rate, XRP might hit $3 and possibly even hit its current all-time high of $3.84. But according to Bard, in order for this to occur, XRP would need to demand increased usage and technological developments in the token’s Ledger. If things go smoothly and XRP achieves adoption in retail payments, demand could go up, with Bard estimating a 3 to 5-year journey to reach $3.

Lastly, Bard predicted a more mainstream adoption of XRP could see the crypto spike well above $5. However, the AI noted this is a very long journey potentially taking 5 to 10 years or more. The crypto reaching $5 seems like a lofty goal, but several factors could drive the price up and beyond. A major factor in achieving this price target is XRP’s complete integration with traditional finance. 

Unlike most cryptocurrencies looking to displace banks, XRP was created to complement the current financial system. At the time of writing, it is supported by over 100 banks, financial institutions, and payment systems. According to Bard, XRP’s displacement of the current payment remittance methods and a merger with central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), are two of the major factors that could propel the crypto’s price over $5 in the coming years.

Current State Of XRP

XRP is currently trading at 0.6144 and is down by 0.85% in a 30-day timeframe. XRP is now the 6th largest crypto in market cap rankings, after being recently displaced by Solana. 

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The bulls seem to be back in control following the return of the Bitcoin price to above $43,000 this past week. This positive run comes on the back of a period where the premier cryptocurrency struggled, falling below $41,000 at some point.

However, the market leader appears to have regained most of its lost momentum, with new heights now in sight. A popular crypto pundit on the X platform has put forward a new prognosis and set a new target for the Bitcoin price.

BTC Price To $47,000? Here’s What Needs To Happen

In a post on X, crypto analyst Ali Martinez offered insight into the price action of Bitcoin, explaining the potential movements of the cryptocurrency over the coming weeks. This evaluation is based on the UTXO Realized Price Distribution (URPD) data by the on-chain analytics firm Glassnode.

Martinez identified the $43,200 area as a crucial support level, which can potentially determine the fate of Bitcoin’s price. The premier cryptocurrency broke above this price zone on Wednesday, December 20, and has been trading mostly sideways since.

In his post, Martinez highlighted that so long as the vital $43,200 support holds, the momentum is with the Bitcoin bulls. According to the crypto analyst, staying above this support is one catalyst that could push the Bitcoin price to above $47,360.

On the flip side of his analysis, he noted that the Bitcoin price could possibly undergo a correction. The crypto pundit emphasized that one of the bearish signals to watch out for is a sustained close below the crucial $43,200 mark.

According to Martinez’s projection, a close below $43,200 could send the price of BTC down towards $37,000. This would mean a decline of over 15% from the current price point.

Bitcoin Price Overview

As of this writing, the Bitcoin price stands at $43,783, reflecting a mere 0.5% gain in the last 24 hours. On the weekly timeframe, though, the premier cryptocurrency has shown tremendous recovery to return back to its heights of early January.

According to data from CoinGecko, the value of BTC is up by more than 4.5% in the past seven days. Meanwhile, the coin’s price has surged by nearly 16% in December as the market leader looks to close out the year on a high.

Bitcoin continues to maintain its position as the largest cryptocurrency in the sector, with a market cap of roughly $858 billion.

The native cryptocurrency of Solana continued a spectacular climb that has already lasted three weeks by breaking beyond the $110 mark on Sunday morning. This is a strong demonstration of resilience.

The price of SOL has surged, reaching a level not seen since the night before Terra collapsed a year and a half ago. This coincides with a substantial uptick in meme coin activity in the cryptocurrency space, which is helping to increase the platform’s acceptance and appeal.

Solana Surges: 400% Rally Sparks Crypto Renaissance

The remarkable rise of Solana over the last six months has been nothing short of spectacular, as the cryptocurrency has seen an incredible 400% rally.

As of this writing, Coingecko data indicates that SOL is holding a fluctuating position in the $110–$117 price range, up 21% over the past seven days and sustaining a strong 60% increase over the past week.

Part of the reason for the current increase in Solana’s value is the industry’s general rebound in cryptocurrency. A considerable rise in market capitalization and a revival of market sentiment have characterized the whole digital asset space’s upward trend.

The market capitalization of the token as a whole has increased by an astounding 40 percent, which suggests that investors are once again feeling confident and interested in the digital asset field.

The total value of tokens locked on Solana applications also increased concurrently, reaching levels last seen in July 2022 with a rally to $1.3 billion from $400 million in November.

SOL’s year-to-date gains have reportedly increased to over 830% thanks to these factors, with the majority of the growth occurring in the last two months alone. The network’s TVL was last at this height in October 2022.

Solana: On-Chain Triumph, $120 Target

The price action on Sunday brought an end to weeks of frenetic trade that had propelled the Solana blockchain to the top of the list for on-chain activity, at least momentarily. DefiLlama reports that decentralized exchanges located in Solana are getting close to Uniswap’s trading volumes, which amount to billions of dollars.

There has been a notable increase in demand for the network thus far this month. The chain’s daily count of active addresses reached a year-to-date high of 1.26 million on December 18, according to an evaluation of network activity.

As interest in Solana grows, attracting developers and investors alike, the blockchain’s thriving ecosystem and its function as a hub for speculation should soon boost SOL into the much-coveted $120 level.

The combination of increased activity in the Solana ecosystem and increased speculative interest in the cryptocurrency market provides a convincing story for the continuous increase in SOL’s value.

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The former CEO and co-founder of crypto exchange BitMEX, Arthur Hayes, has shared his thoughts on what could lead to Bitcoin’s downfall. His recent comment also echoes the reservation that the crypto founder has about the potential launch of Spot Bitcoin ETFs.

TradFi Could Lead To Bitcoin’s Downfall

In his last article for the year, Hayes stated that TradFi asset managers would “completely destroy Bitcoin” if the ETFs managed by them were a huge success. He made this assertion as he alluded to Bitcoin’s uniqueness. Hayes mentioned that the foremost crypto token is different from “every other monetary instrument humanity has ever used.”

Due to Bitcoin’s uniqueness, Hayes believes that it wasn’t created to be in the hands of these asset managers. As such, they could end up destroying the crypto token, especially in a world where the world’s largest asset managers end up holding all the Bitcoin in circulation. If that were to happen, these firms would end up storing these crypto tokens, which shouldn’t be so in Hayes’ opinion.

The BitMEX co-founder noted that Bitcoin “only exists if it moves” and that it will “die” if it isn’t used. His stance stems from the fact that he sees Bitcoin more as an asset that is meant to be actively traded rather than just being a store of value. He also highlighted the fact that the Bitcoin network would also die if this were to happen.

Miners are known to earn transaction fees from the network being utilized. However, if these tokens were no longer traded but all stored up, these miners would have no choice but to wind up their operations. Without these miners, “the network dies, and Bitcoin vanishes,” Hayes asserted. 

Hayes’ Reservations About A Spot Bitcoin ETF

Arthur Hayes’ latest comment comes ahead of a potential approval of the pending Spot Bitcoin ETF applications. The former BitMEX CEO has previously made his reservations known about these funds and their issuers. Then, he mentioned that these TradFi institutions weren’t bullish on Bitcoin but were simply making this move to become “crypto gatekeepers.”

Hayes also went as far as to discuss how these firms’ interest in Bitcoin goes against Satoshi’s vision of a decentralized system. However, unlike Hayes, some are looking to look at the bright side and how institutional interest in the foremost cryptocurrency can help with mainstream adoption. 

Bloomberg Analyst Eric Balchunas had once touched on the importance of these Spot Bitcoin ETFs, especially considering that many could just choose to hold Bitcoin instead. In his opinion, these ETFs are important because of the convenience they provide investors. Meanwhile, others are excited about the amount of capital that could flow in when these ETFs get approved. 

The flagship cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, seems to be cooling off following months of experiencing a resurgence on the back of the Spot Bitcoin ETF potential approval rumors. This has led to concerns that the rally might be over, a theory that is boosted by the recent action of the largest holders of the crypto token.

Bitcoin Whales Offload Some BTC Holdings

In a post on his X (formerly Twitter) platform, crypto analyst Ali Martinez highlighted a report from the market intelligence platform Santiment, which showed that Bitcoin whales had sold around 50,000 BTC over the past week. This has raised eyebrows as many speculate why these whales are offloading some of their Bitcoin holdings.

Coincidentally, these sales follow a similar trend from institutional investors as CoinShares’ latest weekly report noted that there were minor outflows from digital asset funds last week. These funds are said to have seen an outflow totaling $16 million. However, if the asset manager’s report is anything to go by, then there should be no cause for concern. 

CoinShares mentioned that the outflows seen from the digital asset investment funds are more likely to be related to profit-taking rather than a swing in sentiment. As such, one could also assume that this is the sentiment among the whales that made this recent Bitcoin sell-off. This is also very plausible, considering that Santiment recently reported that 89% of BTC’s total supply is in profit. 

Meanwhile, BTC is seeing an inflow of investors, as Santiment reported that the amount of non-zero Bitcoin addresses is up to 916.8 million. Many seem to be looking to get in on the flagship cryptocurrency as approval of a Spot Bitcoin ETF looms, and the BTC Halving draws near. 

BTC To Rise Above $50,000 By End Of January

While BTC seems to be cooling off, there is reason to believe that the rally isn’t over, as it could rise above $50,000 by the end of January 2024. Crypto financial services firm Matrixport predicts that this will happen on the back of the SEC approving the pending Spot Bitcoin ETF applications. 

Matrixport noted that they drew parallels to historical instances while making this price prediction. One of these instances is the CME Group’s Bitcoin futures launch in 2017. Bitcoin is said to have risen by 196% in a six-to-seven-week window dating to when the launch happened. They expect something similar to happen again. 

The firm also expects that Bitcoin will still break out before the year ends. This prediction is also based on historical patterns, as they noted that btc historically sees a price increase between Christmas and the New Year. Matrixport had previously predicted that Bitcoin would hit $45,000 between November this year and April 2024. 

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at around $43,600, according to data from CoinMarketCap. 

On-chain data has revealed more than 112 million Dogecoin tokens recently made their way out of Robinhood into an unknown wallet. DOGE transfers into crypto exchanges have seen an uptick in the past few days, as the crypto continues to struggle to keep up pace compared to other top cryptocurrencies. However, according to Whale Alerts, 112 million DOGE which was valued at roughly $10.4 million at the time of the transfer, was sent from Robinhood into a private wallet.

Massive Dogecoin Transfer Out Of Robinhood

According to Whale Alerts, the 112 million DOGE tokens were transferred from the Robinhood-linked address “DHQsfy” into the private address “DEndnp.” The tokens were then transferred to another private wallet address “DF8jRK” four hours later.

A further look through on-chain transaction data shows earlier large DOGE transactions between the Robinhood address and private wallet “DEndnp.” On Dec 21, 17.5 million DOGE tokens made their way from Robinhood into “DEndnp.”. At the time of the transaction, this tranche of coins was worth approximately $1.6 million. Again, the tokens were then transferred to “DF8jRK” four hours later. At the time of writing, “DF8jRK” holds 111 million DOGE tokens, and the pattern of transfers points to the transactions being made by the same entity.

On the other hand, various social media posts from Whale Alerts have shown large DOGE transfers from private addresses into Robinhood over the week. On December 18, a single transaction of over $7 million worth of DOGE was sent into Robinhood.

Crypto whales, or investors holding very large amounts, are always worth keeping an eye on. When whales make big moves, it often means something. They also tend to show general sentiment among whales. However, in this case, $10 million worth of Dogecoin exiting Robinhood could signal that the whale is opting to keep the tokens in self-custody in anticipation of a long-awaited DOGE price surge.

Future Outlook For Dogecoin

Dogecoin is currently trading at $0.09312, over a newly found support at the $0.092 level. DOGE went on a run earlier in the month that saw its price reach a yearly high of $0.0151 on December 11. This growth has since slowed down, and DOGE is now down by %0.6 in a 7-day timeframe. 

DOGE whales have increased their holdings by a substantial amount in the past month. According to IntoTheBlock’s Balance By Holdings metric, the balance of addresses holding between $100,000 to $1 million, $1 million to $10 million, and more than $10 million worth of DOGE has increased by 23.28%, 16.41%, and 27% in the past 30 days. Collectively, these large addresses have increased their holdings by $1.32 billion since December 1. 

Dogecoin is currently trading 87% below its all-time high of $0.74. As a meme token, DOGE’s value is mostly tied to hype among traders, particularly retail investors. If the current bullish momentum among DOGE whales rolls over into retail investors, we could see the cryptocurrency’s strong bullish run in 2024. The first step in its journey to a new high is to find a strong footing over the $0.1 price level.

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