Blockchain

In a recent development, the crypto holdings of Ripple’s most recent partner, Uphold, have been highlighted as further evidence that the Web3 financial platform is very bullish on the Ripple ecosystem and the utility token XRP, which is used to facilitate transactions on Ripple Payments (formerly known as ODL). 

Uphold’s Largest Crypto Holding

In a post on his X (formerly Twitter) platform, pro-XRP legal expert John Deaton quoted a report that stated that XRP made up Uphold’s largest crypto holding. The platform is said to hold $1.25 billion worth of the token in customer funds. This is more impressive as Uphold’s customers only hold $168 million worth of Bitcoin on the platform.    

Deaton could not hold back his surprise at these figures as it meant that there were almost 10 times more XRP on the platform in comparison to BTC. As to the reason why Uphold may have such a large XRP holding, YouTuber Matt stated that it could be from the platform getting all the businesses from their competitors when they delisted the token. 

Major crypto exchanges, including the second largest crypto exchange by trading volume, Coinbase, delisted the XRP token after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against the company and its executives back in 2020.

While agreeing with Matt’s comment, Deaton also mentioned how XRP contributed to Uphold’s growth, noting that the token represented “62%” of the company’s trading fees for over two years. He further mentioned how Uphold only had five million users when he signed up on the platform, but now, it boasts 30 million users. 

XRP On The Platform Set To Increase

The XRP holdings on the platform are expected to increase with the newly forged partnership between Ripple and Uphold. As part of the partnership, Uphold will provide its infrastructure to be used in furtherance of the Ripple Payments service, which focuses on cross-border transactions. 

Uphold will further provide Ripple with the liquidity needed to process these transactions. To achieve this, Uphold has stated that it won’t use its existing customers’ XRP holdings but will instead use its “expertise” to source XRP on the open market. 

Uphold has, over time, shown to be a firm believer in Ripple’s vision, and many in the XRP community seem to be very supportive of the partnership, with some highlighting how Uphold stuck by the token through “thick and thin.”

At the time of writing, XRP is trading at around $0.57, up over 2% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

David Lawant, the head of research for FalconX, an institutional crypto trading platform tailored for financial institutions, recently provided an insightful forecast regarding the future of Bitcoin (BTC) prices in light of the anticipated launch of a spot Bitcoin ETF in the United States. Sharing his predictions via X (previously known as Twitter), he articulated the financial variables that might play a decisive role.

Lawant remarked, “The next significant variable to watch in the spot BTC ETF launch saga will be how much AUM these instruments will gather once they launch. I think the market is currently expecting this inflow to be between $500 million and $1.5 billion.”

The Magic Number To Push Bitcoin Price Past $40,000

The crypto community is keenly anticipating a positive nod for a Spot Bitcoin ETF either at the end of 2023 or the beginning of 2024. A crucial date on the calendar is January 10, 2024, which is set as the final deadline for the ARK/21 Shares application, leading the current series of applications.

Undoubtedly, a green signal from regulatory authorities for the spot ETF will be a game-changer for the entire crypto asset class. Lawant highlighted the importance of this development, stating, “It will open room for large pockets of capital that today can’t properly access crypto, such as financial advisors, and bring a stamp of approval from the world’s most prominent capital markets regulator.”

The pressing question, though, is the immediate impact on capital inflow. “The first couple of weeks after launch will be critical to test how much appetite there is for crypto at the moment in these still relatively untapped pools of capital,” Lawant emphasized.

Relying on historical data, Lawant pointed out the stability of the ask side of BTC’s order book, especially for prices situated above the $30,000 mark. This data allows for an approximation of how the inflow of capital might influence the price trajectory of BTC.

Through various inflow scenarios squared against a spectrum of the depth of market scenarios, Lawant deduces that the market is possibly forecasting net inflows ranging between $500 million and $1.5 billion within the initial weeks post-launch.

Drawing conclusions from his analysis, Lawant surmised:

For BTC to establish a new range between the current level and more than $40k, the total net inflows would need to amount to $1.5 billion+. On the other hand, if total net inflows come in below $500 million, we could move back to the $30k level or even below.

However, it’s paramount to note the inherent assumptions in Lawant’s analysis. He admits, “One is that the move from $28.5k to $34.0k was entirely attributed to the market anticipating price-insensitive net inflows from the ETF launch.” This means, among other things, that the current price increase was triggered neither by the correlation with gold nor by the global crises or turmoil in the bond market.

Lawant also highlighted the potential variability in BTC price movement across the order book. Nonetheless, given the stature of issuers like BlackRock, Fidelity, Invesco, and Ark Invest in the SEC queue, the current favorable macroeconomic climate for alternative monetary assets, and prospective improved liquidity conditions, Lawant remains bullish about the potential BTC price rally following the ETF debut. He concluded with, “ceteris paribus I’m still excited about how the BTC price could react to the ETF launch.”

At press time, BTC traded at $34,542.

PEPE has observed an impressive 60% rally recently. Here’s what on-chain data says regarding whether this rise can continue.

PEPE Has Seen Some On-Chain Metrics Light Up Recently

In a new post on X, the market intelligence platform IntoTheBlock has discussed how PEPE is looking in terms of its on-chain indicators currently. The first metric of interest here is the profit/loss breakdown of the memecoin’s user base.

As displayed above, about 35% of the holders/addresses of the cryptocurrency are carrying their coins with some net unrealized profit right now. On the other hand, the loss investors amount to 51% of the network’s user base, meaning that the majority of the holders are in the red currently.

The remaining 14% of the addresses are breaking even at the current price levels of the asset. Generally, the investors carrying profits are more likely to sell their coins to harvest their gains, which means that if there are many holders in profit, significant selling pressure could arise in the market.

In the current scenario, however, more than 50% of the investors are still carrying their coins at a loss despite the recent 60% surge that PEPE has enjoyed. Thus, the potential selling pressure in the sector may not be too much yet. This could certainly be a positive sign for the rally’s sustainability.

Next, IntoTheBlock has pointed out how the address activity related to PEPE has observed a significant boost recently.

According to the analytics firm, the active addresses jumped 372% between October 19th and 25th, while the new addresses increased by 440% in the same period.

The “active addresses” metric keeps track of the daily number of addresses participating in some transaction activity on the blockchain. In contrast, the new addresses indicator measures the daily number of wallets coming online on the network for the first time.

The sharp growth in these indicators would imply that network activity has been high recently, both in terms of usage and adoption. Historically, rallies have thrived in such conditions, as a large number of active traders is what such moves require to be sustainable.

Lastly, IntoTheBlock has pointed out that while the PEPE whales haven’t shown concrete signs of accumulation yet, they have been potentially becoming active recently.

From the chart, it’s visible that the “large transactions volume” has observed some rise recently. The large transactions refer to transactions worth at least $100,000 in value, usually made by the whales and institutional entities.

While the uptick in the activity of these humongous investors hasn’t been that much, it’s still an optimistic sign that these investors have been showing at least some interest in PEPE during this rally.

PEPE Price

Since its sharp rise, PEPE has gone stale in the last few days as its price continues to trade around $0.0000011672.

Dogecoin still boasts one of the most active following of any cryptocurrency and the community’s involvement has been one of the most bullish use cases for it. One community member, who bought the meme coin over five years ago, has come forward to explain why they still hold the coin with expectations for where the DOGE price is headed.

Dogecoin Price Rise To $26

The trader first posted a chart to TradingView in September outlining why they believe that the Dogecoin price would see such a meteoric rise. According to the trader who goes by John Burr, he had been holding the altcoin for a long time after initially getting into it in 2017.

Going forward, the trader had seen the meteoric rise of Dogecoin through 2017 and 2018, and then again through 2021, sitting on a profitable bag since then. However, the trader is convinced that there is more to come as he says, “I am waiting the bullish wave again.”

The chart shared by Burr starts out at the $0.0615 level and then shows a similar bounce to the 2020-2021 rally. This bounce in the chart puts the DOGE price at an initial price target of $0.7, effectively returning it back to its previous all-time high levels. However, it doesn’t end there because another bounce takes place to take DOGE all the way to the $27 mark.

In total, the cumulation of the rally would see Dogecoin rally more than 37,500% to reach this level. This could easily rival the 2021 price jump and mark two mega pumps in the history of the coin.

Explaining his reasoning, the trader said:

When I have a conversation about securities with my buddies, the conversation typically involves action-forcing events that trigger pumps and dumps. All of this is noise because we are talking about what happens on a daily interval. When I zoom out, none of the bear arguments matter, valid or not.

Explaining The Pattern Behind The Rally

The trader points to an M pattern in the chart that backs up this forecast. This has appeared before when the price starts to rise before falling back down. But then as the trader points out, the altcoin goes on to form a W pattern which cements the bull rally.

One thing that was missing from this analysis, however, is what the trader referred to as “THE DIP”. Apparently, this is a dip in DOGE price that comes once the W pattern forms. At the time, Burr was unsure if this dip had happened, saying, “I can’t tell if we have experienced that Dip recently or if there is a big Dip coming soon. Whichever the case, I see the next bullish wave coming. And I am not going to get shaken out if the Dip does come.”

However, on October 31, Burr updated his analysis to include a confirmation of the dip. “I am now comfortable to say that “THE DIP” has passed. I expect generally sideway action until December 2023,” the trader said. “Then I expect the bull run to last throughout the year until December of 2024.”

Renowned crypto analysts, Dark Defender, Jaydee, and Egrag have provided insights into the recent performance of XRP against the US dollar. All three analysts agree that XRP has confirmed a breakout from a multi-month resistance level yesterday and could be poised for another leg up.

XRP Price Successfully Breaks Out

In the 4-hour time frame, Dark Defender has highlighted the formation of a “bull flag” pattern. This is usually considered a bullish continuation signal. Prior to the formation of this pattern, XRP experienced a significant upside move and then entered a consolidation. By surging above $0.55 yesterday, XRP validated the bull flag pattern.

Dark Defender posted, “confirmed”, alluding to a previous post where he stated the uptrend is reinforced by the Ichimoku cloud, which provided support below the price. “XRP formed a bull flag pattern, and this structure precisely touches our target at $0.66 in the 4H time frame,” the analyst remarked.

Jaydee’s analysis, using a daily time frame, showcases the price breaking the multi-month trendline resistance. The analyst spotlighted the importance of the $0.54 price level, stating that the longer the asset holds above this level, the lesser the chances of a false breakout. He predicts that the XRP price could rise above $0.60 in the short term.

“GASP!* Are we confirming the multi-month trendline breakout today? Finally, people are paying more attention to the charts that have been calling the crashes (& ignoring hopium that keeps REKTin Dumb Money) SMH LOL! Let’s go! Jaydee stated.

Egrag has shared a similar prediction as the other two analysts. In one of his latest analyses, Egrag refers to the $0.55 level as “the ultimate battleground” and emphasizes the tug-of-war between the bulls and bears at this critical juncture.

Looking at the 4-hour time frame, Egrag notes the commendable efforts of the bulls to maintain candle closes above the $0.55 level. In contrast, the bears are persistently trying to push the price back below that threshold.

The current challenge, according to the analyst, is that the XRP price needs to seal two consecutive full candles above the $0.55 level in the daily chart. Moreover, on the 3-day chart, the bulls must succeed in confirming a single candle close above this important price point. Egrag suggests that such a result would pave the way for the next significant challenge on the weekly chart.

What’s Next?

Based on the combined insights from the charts, the immediate target for XRP appears to be the $0.66 level, as indicated by the bull flag pattern on Dark Defender’s analysis. However, sustaining above the $0.54-$0.55 level will be crucial to affirm the bullish breakout and diminish the chances of a price pullback.

The analysis using Fibonacci retracement levels further corroborates the analyst’s perspective. Upon examining the 1-day chart, it’s evident that the XRP price surpassed the 0.236 Fibonacci level at $0.554 yesterday after a multi-day struggle. This suggests a potential weakening of bearish momentum, hinting at a continued upward price trajectory.

The subsequent targets to watch include the 0.382 Fibonacci level at $0.626 and the pivotal 0.5 Fibonacci level at $0.685. It’s worth noting that the 50% Fibonacci mark holds psychological significance, as reaching it would mean XRP has reclaimed half of its prior bearish slide after the summary judgment in the Ripple vs. SEC case.

SOL ranks among the bullish cryptocurrencies today, benefitting from the ongoing rally in the crypto market. $40 looks more realistic since SOL overcame the psychological resistance level of $20. 

Based on its present trajectory and exciting events in the Solana community, investors wonder if it will attain $40 in the coming days. The technical indicators in the chart below will uncover SOL’s price trajectory in the coming days. 

SOL Testing $36.69 Resistance, Will The Bulls Rally To $40?

SOL is in an uptrend on the daily chart, forming a third consecutive green candle as the buyers continue accumulating. Remarkably, SOL flipped the $33.05 resistance level to support on October 30 and is testing the $36.69 support today, October 31. 

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) indicator displays a value of 77.78, already in the overbought region above 70. The RSI shows no signs of a decline, implying that more buyers are opening long positions for SOL. 

Furthermore, the Moving Average Convergence/Divergence (MACD) indicator is above its signal line, displaying a strong buy signal. This signal is confirmed by the green Histogram bars formed on October 30 and today. 

Therefore, SOL will likely rally to the $40 resistance level in the coming days if the buyers push it above the $36.69 resistance level.

However, if rejection occurs at $36.69 and the RSI retraces from the overbought level, buyers must apply a trailing stop loss to curtail massive losses. 

Nevertheless, SOL looks well positioned to return to $40 based on its strong support level at $33.05. Also, some exciting developments in the Solana community are driving more investors to the ecosystem and boosting SOL’s price. 

Solana’s Launch Of Block Explorer Amidst Other Developments

Solana Developers, on October 30, announced that Cymbal’s Human Readable Block Explorer now supports Solana. It’s worth mentioning that Solana has organized over 466,000 NFT projects, has over 10 million active wallets, and tracked over 36 million tokens in real time. The Cymbal AI helps Solana users keep track of their activities with ease and is a welcome development in the ecosystem. 

Also, there is much excitement in the crypto community for the ongoing Solana Breakpoint 2023 annual conference that began on October 30. This event is in Amsterdam, Netherlands, with notable speakers taking vital topics surrounding blockchain technology.

The first day of the event featured an address from JavaScript co-founder and Brave CEO Brendan Eich. According to Eich, there are massive integrations with Solana support coming to the Brave browser in 2024. This announcement by the CEO is likely driving the adoption of SOL tokens ahead of a potential price surge above $40. 

Additionally, Phantom Mobile announced the creation of an NFT feature not available on their mobile devices but supported by Solana. According to the developers with Camera Mint on Phantom Mobile, users can instantly convert photos and videos into Solana NFTs using the app. 

The diversity of the Solana ecosystem makes it ideal for most investors since its tokens are still quite affordable. Therefore, SOL could rally in the coming days if the buyers continue the ongoing accumulation phase.

Dogecoin (DOGE) has experienced a modest upturn in both its daily and weekly performance, prompting speculation about its potential for future growth. While the gains have been minimal, a prominent analyst, Ali Martinez, suggests that there might be room for further development. 

Martinez’s analysis reveals that Dogecoin, as seen on the weekly chart, is breaking free from a multiyear descending triangle pattern. This pattern is a technical analysis pattern used in financial markets to predict potential price movements. In this pattern, a horizontal line represents a level of support, while a descending trendline signifies a level of resistance. 

#Dogecoin shows promising signs, breaking out from a multi-year descending triangle on the $DOGE weekly chart! The confirmation of a buy signal from the TD Sequential indicator within this timeframe reinforces #DOGE bullish outlook. pic.twitter.com/ao7VXyxaEa

— Ali (@ali_charts) October 29, 2023

DOGE: Resilience Amid Market Volatility

The price typically bounces between these two lines, creating a triangle shape. Breakouts from this pattern often indicate a significant price movement. In the case of Dogecoin, breaking out from this pattern suggests a potential upward price movement.

Current data from CoinGecko places Dogecoin’s price at $0.069051, reflecting a 1.0% increase in the past 24 hours and a 2.0% rise over the previous seven days. Martinez has specifically noted that the meme coin is displaying a confirmation of a buy signal generated by the TD Sequential indicator within this timeframe.

Bullish Dogecoin Indicators

The TD Sequential indicator is a technical analysis tool that helps traders identify potential points of trend exhaustion or trend continuation. A buy signal in this context indicates that the current price movement is expected to continue upward, which aligns with Martinez’s optimism regarding Dogecoin’s future prospects.

In a surprising turn of events, a Dogecoin wallet that had remained dormant for nearly a decade came back to life recently. This wallet was involved in a series of significant transactions worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. The blockchain tracking platform Blockchair first detected this sudden activity.

Blockchair’s data showed that the inactive wallet executed three separate transfers on October 28 and October 29. These transactions involved the movement of DOGE tokens amounting to $372,461 to a different wallet. The sheer scale of this movement has raised eyebrows within the cryptocurrency community.

The reactivation of a long-dormant wallet and the substantial transfers it conducted have stirred speculation within the Dogecoin community. Such significant transactions have the potential to influence market sentiment and, subsequently, price movements. Traders and enthusiasts will be closely monitoring the market to assess the impact of this whale move on Dogecoin’s price.

(This site’s content should not be construed as investment advice. Investing involves risk. When you invest, your capital is subject to risk).

Featured image from Shutterstock

Billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller recently gave his two cents on Bitcoin, acknowledging the asset’s growth and popularity over the past 17 years. While speaking at an interview with billionaire Paul Tudor Jones, Druckenmiller compared Bitcoin to gold, noting its evolution into a recognizable brand and investment vehicle. 

Druckenmiller admits he doesn’t actually own any BTC as of the moment, but he’s been closely following it and thinks it could be an attractive investment.

Druckenmiller Sees Bitcoin And Gold As Stores of Value

Bitcoin has long been hailed by financial analysts as the ideal asset for hedging against inflation and storing value. Some have dubbed the cryptocurrency as the 21st century’s digital gold because of its low correlation with stocks, and Druckenmiller doesn’t disagree.

Stanley Druckenmiller is the founder and former chairman of Duquesne Capital, and as a 70-year-old billionaire investor, he has seen a lot of financial trends come and go over the decades. But recently, he’s become fascinated with BTC. 

In the interview with Paul Tudor Jones, Druckenmiller stated that BTC has been particularly popular as a reputable brand because of its appeal to younger investors. The billionaire made this note while comparing Bitcoin to gold, the age-long store of value.

“I’m 70 years old, I own gold. I was surprised that Bitcoin got going, but it’s clear that the young people look at it as a store of value because it’s a lot easier to do stuff with. And 17 years, to me, it’s a brand.” Druckenmiller said.

Stanley Druckenmiller is one of the most successful hedge fund managers on Wall Street and is worth $6,200,000,000.

He says, “Young people look at #bitcoin as a store of value. It’s a brand. I like it. I dont own any, but I should”pic.twitter.com/DXjrnvE1Qc

— Documenting ₿itcoin (@DocumentingBTC) October 30, 2023

It would seem the billionaire hasn’t invested in Bitcoin yet mainly because of the lack of clear regulation in the crypto industry. Druckenmiller said that he had previously held BTC. However, he sold them in 2022 because of restrictive policies imposed by central banks.

“I like gold because it’s a 5,000-year-old brand, but the young people have all the money,” Druckenmiller said. “So, I like them both. I don’t own any Bitcoin to be frank, but I should.”

Druckenmiller’s History With BTC

This isn’t the first time Druckenmiller has made positive comments about the crypto industry. Back in an interview in 2021, he likened Bitcoin to gold. He also predicted then that Ethereum could flip Bitcoin as smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain spiked in popularity. In 2022, he said people could turn to crypto as more people lose faith in central banks.

Investors like Druckenmiller and Jones have always praised Bitcoin, but others like Warren Buffet have been pessimistic. Buffet slammed BTC in a CNBC interview in April this year, calling it a “gambling token.”

On the other hand, Bitcoin has been named as the best-performing asset class this year, outperforming stocks, bonds, commodities, and REITs. BTC is trading at $34,195 at the time of writing and is looking to break above a resistance at $35,000.

In a recent post on X (formerly Twitter), Ram Ahluwalia, the CEO of Lumida Wealth, weighed in on the potential market impacts on Bitcoin, particularly highlighting the significance of a failed Treasury auction. Lumida Wealth, recognized as an SEC registered investment advisor, is known for its specialization in alternative investments and digital assets.

Ahluwalia’s tweet emphasized the need to monitor Bitcoin’s response to specific macroeconomic events. He stated, “The test for Bitcoin as a macro asset will be ‘What happens if there is a failed Treasury auction?’ This year, Bitcoin rallied during (1) the March bank failures and (2) as Treasury rates have rattled markets. Here is the third test …”

Will Bitcoin See Another 50%+ Rally?

To recall, Bitcoin’s price shot up by over 55% in the aftermath of the US banking crisis earlier this year. On March 10, 2023, the Silicon Valley Bank’s unprecedented collapse, attributed to a bank run coupled with a capital crisis, became a focal point of the broader 2023 United States banking crisis. This saw a domino effect with multiple small to mid-sized US banks falling within a span of five days. While the global banking sector stocks plummeted, Bitcoin experienced a substantial surge in its value.

More recently, Bitcoin is rallying even as treasury rates continue to unsettle global markets. With the 10-year US Treasury yield crossing the 5% mark for the first time in 16 years, there are indications of rising interest rates on government bonds. Typically, such yield increments may push investors to reconfigure their portfolios away from risk assets, adding to market volatility. However, akin to gold, Bitcoin has recently been acting as a safe-haven asset in turbulent times.

Diving deeper into the topic, Ahluwalia elucidated, “The Bitcoin rally, in part, is due to concerns that the Federal Reserve may need to intervene with Yield Curve Control or QE. […] Fidelity makes the case that the Fed may need to engage in Japanese style Yield Curve Control. If so, that would be strongly bullish for real estate, stocks, Bitcoin, bonds, REITs, TIPS and real assets more generally. It would also be bearish for the USD. The US has hard choices ahead.” He further emphasized the importance of structuring portfolios to withstand potential economic shocks and underscored the importance of commodities in weathering inflationary pressures.

Ahluwalia shared his perspective on the current state of the Federal Reserve and the Treasury markets, pointing to recent Treasury auctions that displayed softer bid-to-cover ratios. “There is a legitimate argument that the Fed may need to intervene in Treasury markets. The recent Treasury auctions have weaker bid-to-cover ratios. Japan and American households are the marginal buyer…and they’ve been rewarded with losses,” Ahluwalia remarked.

Three Peat For BTC As Safe-Haven

He added that the Fed’s balance sheet “is already upside down […] it has the equivalent of negative equity (called a Deferred Asset) – an accounting treatment that is not permitted for private companies… The Federal Reserve…has $1.5 trillion mark-to-market losses because it bought Treasuries & MBS. For the first time in 107 years, this bank has negative net interest margin. Its losses are poised to exceed its capital base.”

Ahluwalia explained that a treasury auction is deemed unsuccessful when the US Department of the Treasury initiates its regular auctioning of government securities, such as Treasury bills, notes, or bonds, but fails to attract adequate bids to cover the entirety of the securities on offer. Essentially, this signals a lack of investor interest in acquiring the government’s debt tools at the predetermined interest rates or yields.

On Bitcoin’s intrinsic value, Ahluwalia noted, “My view on Bitcoin is that it is a ‘hedge against negative real rates’. That’s CFA talk for what Bitcoiners refer to colloquially as ‘money printer go brrr’.” He also stressed the potential repercussions on risk assets if long-end rates were to see a significant spike.

“If long-end rates do blow out, that would hurt risk assets like long-duration Treasuries. The higher discount rate would cause a re-rating in stocks – much like we saw in 2022 and the last two months. However, If Bitcoin can rally during a ‘yield curve dislocation scenario that would give Bitcoin a ‘three peat’. Bitcoin would then find a welcome home on a greater number of institutional balance sheets,” Ahluwalia concluded his bullish thesis for Bitcoin.

At press time, BTC traded at $34,145.

Ethereum, often hailed as the pioneer of smart contracts, has cemented its position as the frontrunner in the world of decentralized finance (DeFi) and blockchain technology.

Recent data reveals that Ethereum was the primary catalyst behind the surge in crypto Total Value Locked (TVL), amassing an impressive 75% of all deposited funds during the past week.

Ethereum’s journey began with the groundbreaking innovation of smart contracts. It was the first protocol to introduce this game-changing technology, enabling the creation of self-executing contracts with predefined rules and conditions.

This innovation laid the foundation for the entire DeFi ecosystem, as it provided the framework for decentralized applications and automated transactions.

One of the most compelling indicators of Ethereum’s continued dominance is the recent surge in decentralized exchange (DEX) volumes.

In the past week, Ethereum recorded a historic milestone, with over $9 billion in transactions settled on its network. This marks the highest weekly volume since mid-June and underscores the platform’s pivotal role in facilitating peer-to-peer trading and liquidity provision.

.@ethereum dominated this week’s TVL growth rankings, accounting for $6.68B of the total $8.76B TVL growth across crypto last week. pic.twitter.com/45rqb3Seml

— 0xScope ( . ) (@ScopeProtocol) October 30, 2023

ETH Price Dynamics And The BlackRock Factor

As Ethereum continues to take center stage in the crypto landscape, the question on many investors’ minds is how this data will impact the price of ETH. Currently, according to CoinGecko, Ethereum is trading at $1,798, showing a modest 0.6% increase in the last 24 hours, with a minor 0.9% decrease over the past seven days.

Venture capitalist Arthur Cheong has provided intriguing insights into the potential price trajectory of Ethereum. Cheong, the founder of DeFiance Capital, suggests that ETH could experience a significant rally if a specific scenario unfolds.

He points to BlackRock, a financial giant, and its application for a spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF). If BlackRock’s BTC ETF application is successful, it could pave the way for a similar Ethereum ETF application in the future.

“ETH is probably the best six to 12 month long among large-cap assets now when BlackRock applies for a spot ETH ETF six to 12 months down the road,” Cheong wrote on the social media platform X.

ETH is probably the best 6 to 12m long among large cap assets now when BlackRock applies for spot ETH ETF 6 to 12m down the road. Ethereum’s ESG friendliness and native staking yield will be appealing to institutional investors should BTC spot ETF turn out to be a success.

— Arthur (@Arthur_0x) October 24, 2023

Implications And Future Prospects

The significance of Ethereum’s role in DeFi and blockchain technology cannot be overstated. Its smart contract functionality revolutionized the crypto space and enabled the birth of countless decentralized applications and platforms. The recent surge in DEX volumes underscores its pivotal role in facilitating crypto trading.

As the crypto world closely watches developments surrounding BlackRock’s potential ETFs, Ethereum’s future appears promising. Should a BTC spot ETF materialize and pave the way for an Ethereum ETF, institutional investors may flock to Ethereum for its ESG attributes and staking yield opportunities.

(This site’s content should not be construed as investment advice. Investing involves risk. When you invest, your capital is subject to risk).

Featured image from iStock