Blockchain

XRP achieves yet another milestone with its recent approval of derivative contracts particularly designed for institutional investors on the San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase.

XRP Milestone Could Spark A Bullish Run

Due to XRP’s recent milestone, Wall Street expert Linda Jones believes that the token is very bullish following the increase in interest from institutional investors toward the XRP market.

Linda Jones took to her official X (formerly Twitter) handle to express her viewpoint on XRP’s future. She noted that XRP will probably experience a bullish trend since the approval of derivative contracts enables institutional investors to trade the token with significant capital.

Linda further highlighted that institutional investors’ adoption is more likely to trigger a bullish trend for XRP than with just retail investors. According to the expert, Wall Street firms, notably hedge funds, are drawn to derivative trading because it gives them the chance to take advantage of price changes in digital assets to maximize profits.

Coinbase approving perpetual futures contracts for trading XRP means:
1) XRP is very bullish. If XRP’s price was not going to fluctuate or change a lot, no one would be interested in trading it. Futures contracts allow for maximum leverage and can lead to outsized profits (or…

— Linda P. Jones (@LindaPJones) October 18, 2023

In the post, Linda anticipates that leading investment firms could be investigating jurisdictions that are familiar with hedge funds and offshore funds, such as the Cayman Islands or Bermuda.

The introduction of institutional investors to the XRP market covers a larger connection for the digital asset’s market stability and adoption. This marks a major step for the digital asset.

It indicates a growing interest and adoption of XRP in the midst of institutional investors and an increase in investment in XRP might trigger the digital asset’s overall market dynamics since institutional investors are attracted to volatile assets like XRP.

The increased interest from institutional investors in the token may also trigger an increase in demand for the token from several types of investors including retail investors and businesses.

Linda Jones On The Ripple IPO

Linda Jones has previously commented on XRP and the potential value if Ripple were to undergo an initial public offering (IPO) and become a publicly traded company.

Jones compared Ripple going public to the valuation at which Coinbase went public and presented a possible $107 billion valuation for the company. With such a valuation, the crypto firm’s stock price would be $600. The Wall Street veteran also believes that Ripple should be considered a high-value company such as Nvidia or Apple because it has what it takes.

If Ripple were to be as highly valued as Jones posited, then there would be an obvious impact on the XRP price. Wells Fargo manager Shannon Thorp believes that as Ripple continues to capture the cross-border payments sector, its price could rise as high as $500.

Solana (SOL) has witnessed an impressive resurgence, climbing to $25.46, marking a remarkable 10% rally in the past 24 hours. This surge is part of a broader trend, with SOL’s price experiencing a seven-day surge of 19.4%, further solidifying its position as one of the prominent players in the crypto sphere.

Solana’s remarkable journey to its current valuation is a testament to its resilience, especially considering the tumultuous events it weathered nearly a year ago. In November, the cryptocurrency faced a severe setback due to the FTX implosion saga, which sent SOL plummeting to $8. 

However, Solana has emerged from the ashes, and the crypto community is taking notice of its remarkable recovery.

Solana Technical Signals Point To A Bullish Momentum

The recent surge in SOL’s price can be attributed to several key factors. One notable driver is the increasing network activity and substantial growth within the Solana ecosystem, particularly in the realm of decentralized finance (DeFi). 

This snippet is from my “Is Solana Dead” video. Despite the FTX fallout, $SOL still has a lot going on behind the scenes!

If you want to see the whole video, its on my channel, I will post the link on my X profile! pic.twitter.com/De6j5aNGxx

— Frankie Candles (@Frankie_Candles) October 19, 2023

The crypto world was offered a glimpse of this growth in a video shared by @Frankie_Candles, which shed light on the vibrant activity happening “behind the scenes” in the Solana ecosystem.

Notably, the total value locked in Solana’s DeFi smart contracts has seen a significant upswing, soaring from $210 million in January 2023 to $331 million in October, as reported by DefiLlama.

Furthermore, Solana bulls have reinforced the bullish outlook by successfully maintaining support at the $25 mark and breaching the upper dotted falling trendline. 

The presence of a buy signal is often considered an encouraging sign for traders, reinforcing confidence in the cryptocurrency’s upward trajectory.

One key technical aspect to watch out for is the potential for a “golden cross.” A golden cross occurs when a short-term moving average crosses above a long-term moving average, typically signaling a possible bullish breakout. This could be a pivotal moment for Solana, as it may provide further confirmation of its bullish momentum.

SOL Neckline Resistance

Another significant element to monitor on the charts is the possibility of Solana conquering the neckline resistance once again. The neckline resistance represents a critical point that acts as a threshold for bullish momentum.

Historically, breaking through this level has been a precursor to sustained uptrends, suggesting the potential for further gains in the near future. If Solana manages to achieve this, it will mark a strong resurgence, reaffirming its position as a strong force in the ever-evolving cryptocurrency landscape.

(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

In the next three days, our team at Bitcoinist will cover xDay 2023, an event organized by MultiversX in the Palace of Parliament, Romania. Formerly known as Elrond, the project rebranded in 2022 to focus on the Metaverse, one of the hottest trends in crypto.

During the event, the head of product for MultiversX’s native “SuperApp” xPortal, Sergius Biris, unveiled new features to expand the ecosystem. The project aims to onboard new users to the network by providing social interactions, a bridge with other blockchains, and more to compete with Elon Muk.

xPortal Goes After Elon Musk’s Ambitions

Since last year, when Musk acquired Twitter (rebranded as “X”), the entrepreneur has progressively tried to turn it into something more. The social media app allows users to receive tips, subscribe to their favorite content, and interact with non-fungible tokens.

These features highlight the relevance for users to operate with a single hub. MultiversX and xPortal want to compete with Elon Musk by providing users access to these and other features announced during the conference, such as gamification, access to the metaverse, and NFTs to provide a “multifaceted digital experience.”

In contrast with X and Musk’s attempts, the team behind xPortal believes they have a critical advantage: their product is live and has over 1.5 million users already transecting and interacting with the MultiversX ecosystem.

Moreover, MultiversX has a vision to remove all friction from onboarding their ecosystem. Thus, xPortal announced a new fiat to crypto on and off-ramping capability and a feature enabling users to swap their tokens.

For European users, xPortal will enable peer-to-peer fiat payments with the traditional banking system, SEPA and SWIFT, earlier next year. During the conference, Biris stated:

The features launched today, most notably the debit cards, were a long time in the making. Today’s launch elevates xPortal from a crypto wallet to a financial super app. We thus created a bridge to an interconnected future where the lines between crypto, fiat, and emerging technologies like AI dissolve, bringing an unparalleled user experience.

The new features also included tools for developers and creators to leverage the MultiversX ecosystem. The xPortal app already allows them to launch their products for users to download quickly, similar to Apple’s Appstore and Google’s PlayStore.

Turning Web3 And Crypto Into “Money”

The conference has been conducted under a key vision: users want to leverage the technology, so crypto projects need to focus on security, scaling, and making accessible products. Rather than “Web3” or “Web4,” xPortal is about turning crypto into “money” available for anyone.

Sergiu Biris, Head of Product at xPortal, spoke to us during the event in an exclusive interview and shared the project’s vision:

They have to be able to do anything, whether it’s crypto or fiat, they don’t have to think about Blockchain is this, blockchain is not money. We are trying to dissolve those barriers between crypto and fiat because in our vision, money, it’s just money. And that’s why we want to make it easier for anyone to do whatever they need in terms of financial needs through the app.

Cover image from MultiversX, chart from Tradingview

Shiba Inu (SHIB) has been displaying a bearish structure accompanied by a noticeable capital outflow, leading to a plunge in its value. Despite the prevailing technical indicators, there is a lingering possibility of a short-term range formation. 

At present, the critical resistance on the charts is identified at $0.000007. Notably, this level experienced a brief shift to support earlier in the week, but the bullish momentum was ultimately unable to sustain its grip.

As of the latest update, the current SHIB price on CoinGecko hovers at $0.00000692, with a moderate 24-hour rally of 3.5% and a modest seven-day gain of 1.2%. The recent descent below the trendline support does not necessarily invalidate its strength. 

Frequently observed in technical analysis, assets often retest critical support levels to confirm their resilience before any substantial directional shift. If SHIB can promptly reclaim its position above this trendline, it might signal the commencement of a potentially bullish phase.

Shiba Inu: Struggle For Support

Analyzing the four-hour chart, the market structure of SHIB took a bearish turn following the decline below the $0.00000693 mark, ultimately reaching the local lows of $0.00000673. Similar market movements were witnessed earlier this month, which led to the plotting of a set of Fibonacci levels. 

Notably, the 61.8% and 78.6% levels failed to witness a successful H4 trading session closure above them, despite a brief spike to the $0.00000729 mark. In the last 12 hours, SHIB bulls have managed to put a temporary halt to the prevailing bearish momentum, thereby indicating a possibility of a bounce back towards the $0.000007 level.

Evaluating the moving averages, SHIB currently lies below both its short-term and long-term averages, historically indicating the presence of bearish momentum. However, considering the broader context, this positioning could potentially signify a consolidation phase, setting the stage for an imminent reversal in its trajectory.

Potential Impact Of Current Market Trends On SHIB’s Long-term Outlook

The recent market trends have raised concerns regarding SHIB’s long-term trajectory, with the bearish structure and substantial capital outflow posing significant challenges for the cryptocurrency.

However, market analysts continue to highlight the potential for a short-term range formation despite the persisting technical indicators. As the cryptocurrency grapples with critical resistance levels and the possibility of retesting support, investors remain cautiously optimistic about the potential for a bullish phase.

Notably, the recent drop below the trendline support has added to the uncertainty surrounding SHIB’s near-term performance. However, technical analysis suggests that a quick reclaim of the position above this trendline could serve as a crucial indicator for a potential bullish phase. 

The recent positioning of SHIB below both its short-term and long-term moving averages has raised concerns about the persistence of bearish momentum. However, experts underline the importance of considering the broader context, emphasizing the potential for a consolidation phase that could pave the way for a reversal in SHIB’s market trajectory. 

(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 BeChewy

Crypto financial services platform Matrixport has predicted that an approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) could push the price of Bitcoin between $42,000 and $56,000 per unit.

BTC, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, has experienced notable increases in value throughout the current week, with the aim of surpassing the significant threshold of $30,000.  The cryptocurrency has been influenced by the operations of a spot Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) as investors continue to await approval to onboard institutional and mainstream exposure to the digital asset. 

Bitcoin Is Headed For $56,000

Matrixport conducted an analysis in its newly released report, examining the potential effects of a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) on the cryptocurrency market, with a specific focus on BTC. Applications for these investment vehicles have gained momentum in recent months, with many now expecting a green light from the SEC.

The report draws a parallel close to the $120 billion precious metals ETF industry. If just 10–20% of investors in precious metal ETFs diversified their holdings into Bitcoin ETFs, it would result in an influx of $12b billion to $24 billion into these investment vehicles.

According to Matrixport, an approval, particularly a BlackRock Bitcoin ETF application, would see leading stablecoin USDT increase by as much as $50 billion in market cap. This, in turn, would lead to Bitcoin’s price rising to $56,000, with Tether acting as an intermediary facilitating the inflow of investments to BTC. 

“Our earlier reports analysed the 15,000-strong US registered investor advisor (RIA) community overseeing around $5 trillion. This group holds immense potential, and even a modest 1% allocation recommendation for Bitcoin would usher in around $50 billion in inflows,” the report said.

A lesser influx of $24 billion into Tether would see BTC rise to $42,000 in the short term. With BTC currently trading at $29,370 with a market cap of $625.03 billion, this represents an increase of 90% and 43% in both scenarios. 

What’s Next For BTC? Is A Rally Inevitable?

The price of Bitcoin has always reacted to news regarding spot Bitcoin ETFs. Just news of applications from BlackRock, Fidelity, and other investment companies sent BTC surging. Recently, rumors that the SEC had approved BlackRock’s ETF application sent the industry into a frenzy, and $74 million worth of BTC positions were liquidated in just a few minutes.

There’s no denying the amount of capital a spot Bitcoin ETF would unlock for the crypto industry. If approved, a spot Bitcoin ETF could unlock a massive inflow of capital from institutional investors, up to $17.7 trillion from financial institutions.

According to Fundstrat co-founder Tom Lee, spot ETFs could push BTC to $150,000 or maybe even further by the end of next year.

Crypto analyst Jaydee recently took to X (formerly Twitter), sharing another intriguing chart of XRP. The analyst presented the 2-month XRP dominance chart spanning from 2014 till today, shedding light on the cryptocurrency’s historical and potential future price actions. This examination brings to focus a falling trend line and a horizontal resistance line, which showcases a critical XRP dominance level at 2.62% that could be key for the price’s next parabolic move.

XRP Dominance Sits Just Below Key Level

Delving into the historical performance, the chart showcases moments when the token experienced rapid increases and furious drops in terms of crypto market dominance. There was a period where XRP underwent a staggering 39x price jump, reaching $0.39 in just 56 days in 2017. Shortly after, another surge saw the digital asset climb 17x within 28 days, marking its value at $3.31.

Both times, the dominance was rejected at the yellow 5.5-year trend line. This resistance line has consistently acted as a major barrier to XRP’s dominance in the crypto market. Every approach or touch of this line led to significant price actions toward the downside.

Remarkably, the cryptocurrency’s price experienced a similar situation from 2015 to 2017 when the dominance was also held below a falling trend line for more than two years. However, the breakout of this trend signaled a massive price surge as XRP dominance rose from merely 1% to above 30% in just four months in 2017.

Fast-forward to today, the cryptocurrency could be in a similar situation as in 2017. It has breached the trend and is moving beyond the red trend line. However, instead of an instant surge as in 2017, XRP’s dominance now contends with the pivotal 2.62% mark.

According to the analyst’s chart, it’s currently at 2.55%, narrowly missing the critical level. Notably, over the past 14 months, dominance hasn’t achieved a close above 2.62% on the bi-monthly chart. However, if it does surpass this threshold, it might signal the onset of the next parabolic ascent, as outlined by Jaydee.

Currently hitting the yellow resistance line. If we can have a full 2-month candle close above the yellow resistance line, expect the next parabolic move! Is 2024 the year?

Weekly Chart: When ‘Moon’?

Jaydee shared another chart on X (formerly Twitter) today, stating with regards to the weekly XRP/USD chart: “Still creating higher high (HH) in Price while lower low (LL) in RSI and SRSI on the WEEKLY, while bouncing off the 2-year trend line.” From this, he discerns three key takeaways before XRP can “moon.”

First, the cryptocurrency needs to gather momentum. He suggests that it needs to break past the $0.54 mark, at least on the daily chart. Second, the Stochastic RSI (SRSI) for the weekly timeframe should cross the 20-level, indicating potential for a bullish move. Lastly, the most important point in Jaydee’s analysis is the yellow 6-year trendline. For XRP to witness a parabolic move, breaking this trendline is imperative.

At press time, XRP traded at 0.5198.

The XRP price saw an impressive run over the last day after news broke that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was dropping its lawsuit against Ripple’s executives. This surge carried on into Friday as the altcoin’s price was able to clear the $0.53. Naturally, there has been a pullback from this price level, but whale transactions suggest that the rally may not be over.

Crypto Whales Flex Their Buying Power

In the last day, crypto whales have been showing their buying power as the price of cryptocurrencies such as XRP saw a recovery. The first indication of this was a number of large USDT transactions that were making their way toward centralized exchanges.

The first of these reported by whale tracker Whale Alert was $100 million in USDT transferred to Binance. Then two other transactions carrying the same amount of tokens followed suit, all headed for the Binance exchange as well. Another 50 million USDT would make their way to the exchange just a couple of hours later.

Then the minting of $1 billion USDT at the Tether Treasury took place as Thursday drew to a close. What followed was a number of transactions carrying USDT in 50 million tranches headed for Binance. The transactions continued into Friday, with the most recent being two hours old, at the time of this writing.

What This Means For XRP Price

The continuous transfer of stablecoins to centralized exchanges can often signal a willingness to purchase cryptocurrencies. Mostly, these purchases are in Bitcoin but the buying power tends to have a trickle-down effect. Meaning, that as the price of Bitcoin goes up, so will the XRP price.

In this case, if whales continue to buy and push the Bitcoin price past $30,000, then the XRP price is likely to follow suit and break the $0.55 resistance while at it. However, the XRP price also faces strong resistance as whales have taken to selling.

As Whale Alert shows, there were a number of large XRP transactions headed toward centralized exchanges. The most notable of these are the 32.3 million XRP worth $15.79 million at the time sent to the Bitso exchange, as well as the 31.1 million XRP worth $15.2 headed to the Bitstamp exchange.

These whale movements suggest a battle between bulls and bears as they struggle for dominance. But XRP price continues to show strength with 7.44% gains in the last 24 hours, and up 6.94% in the last seven days.

Over the course of the past four days, Bitcoin SV (BSV) has witnessed a substantial surge in its price, marking an impressive milestone by reaching its highest point in the last 100 days. Remarkably, within this surge, BSV managed to breach the long-standing $40 horizontal resistance level, which had persisted since the month of July.

This recent surge in the price of BSV has sparked considerable interest among cryptocurrency enthusiasts and investors. It signifies a notable shift in the market dynamics, as BSV’s price trajectory has taken a positive turn after months of relative stagnation.

At the time of writing, BSV was trading at $53.84, up 27% in the last 24 hours, and erecting a solid 63% rally in the last seven days, data from crypto market tracker Coingecko shows.

Bitcoin SV 100-Day High Signals Renewed Market Interest

The fact that BSV has achieved a 100-day high is indicative of a more sustained and potentially significant upward trend. This suggests that the cryptocurrency has garnered renewed interest from traders and investors, possibly driven by fundamental developments or market sentiment.

Bitcoin SV (BSV), which originated in 2018 as a hard fork of Bitcoin Cash with the aim of increasing scalability through larger block sizes, has experienced a notable revival.

Following an extended duration of rather stagnant price fluctuations, BSV has had a substantial spike of 57% subsequent to reaching a nadir in August. This resurgence in price enabled BSV to overcome a crucial resistance level which had been a significant barrier since July.

The recent surge in cryptocurrency prices is mainly driven by the widespread excitement surrounding the potential approval of a Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. This sentiment was further bolstered when the SEC chose not to appeal the legal case involving Grayscale.

However, the spike in BSV’s price can be attributed to a misleading article, which falsely claimed that the SEC had anticipated the launch of the iShares Bitcoin Trust, briefly causing Bitcoin’s value to rise to around $30,000 before rapidly declining.

Binance Relaunches BSV, Leading To Price Surge

Meanwhile, Binance – one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges – relaunched BSV through a USD-M BSV Perpetual Contract with 50x leverage on Friday, resulting in a 30% surge in BSV’s price and over $500,000 in short position liquidations, as reported by Coinglass.

This move comes after a period of turmoil that began on April 15, 2019, when Binance delisted BSV because of a dispute between Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao and BSV creator Craig Wright, primarily over Wright’s claim to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the anonymous founder of Bitcoin, which resulted in alleged attacks on critics of his identity on Twitter.

Bitcoin SV’s recent price surge, pushing it to monthly highs, could propel it towards the yearly peak near $57, as it broke key moving averages in the $33-35 range and has been on an upward trend since August lows at $26. Notably, BSV has faced strong resistance from its 200-day moving average since early 2021.

(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 Coinpedia

In a recent development, leading investment bank Morgan Stanley has weighed in on when the lingering Bitcoin bear market is likely to end. Interestingly, they share some similar views with analysts who have made predictions in the past. 

Bitcoin Halving A Major Factor

In an article released by the investment bank, Morgan Stanley highlighted Bitcoin’s importance as the leading crypto and how the Bitcoin Halving, which is set to take place in April 2024, could affect its price and other crypto tokens by extension. 

Bitcoin halving is a deflationary measure that occurs every four years, during which the rewards of miners are ‘halved’, thereby creating scarcity. According to the bank, this event could potentially trigger a bull run as it has done in the past. 

The article further noted how there have been such bull runs in the past following the three halving events that have occurred and how the bull run lasted for 12 to 18 months after then. 

Morgan Stanley’s prediction echoes that of several crypto analysts who have predicted that the Bitcoin Halving could spark the next bull run. Specifically, the co-founder of Delphi Digital, Kevin Kell, while highlighting metrics that showed that the next bull run was close, noted that Bitcoin has broken to a new all-time high (ATH) seven months after the last two halvings occurred.

Understanding The Four Phases Of Crypto

While trying to avoid giving a definite time as to when to invest ahead of the next bull run, Morgan Stanley noted the importance of learning about the ‘four phases of cryptocurrency prices’ in order for one to make a conviction play as to the right time to invest. These four phases are said to correspond roughly to the four seasons of the year. 

The first phase is ‘Summer’ when Bitcoin experiences the most gains, which comes after the halving. The bull run is said to begin with the event and continue when Bitcoin’s price hits its prior peak. The next is the ‘Fall’ when the price “surpasses the old high.” This is the period when the bull market runs its full course after reaching a new high.

After ‘Fall’ comes ‘Winter’, which is when the bear market surfaces as this is the period that investors are locking in their gains, resulting in a massive sell-off. This usually occurs between the “new peak and the next trough.” Historically, there have been three winters, with each of them lasting for about 13 months. 

‘Spring’ is the last phase in the cycle and the one that potentially kickstarts the next bull run (another Summer). This is the period “preceding each halving,’ when Bitcoin’s price “generally recovers from the cycle’s low point, but investor interest tends to be weak.”

By understanding these phases, crypto investors could be well-prepared to take advantage of the next bull run to make the most profits.

In the next three days, our team at NewsBTC will cover xDay 2023, an event organized by MultiversX in the Palace of Parliament, Romania. Formerly known as Elrond, the project rebranded in 2022 and focused on the Metaverse, one of the hottest trends in crypto.

On day two of the event, the MultiversX team, spearheaded by Beniamin Mincu, announced a partnership with big tech giant Google. The partners will work on driving adoption and “accelerating” the expansion of Web3 and the MultiversX ecosystem.

Google Cloud Pledges Financial Support For MultiversX Ecosystem

In conversation with Daniel Rood, Head of Web3 EMEA for Google Cloud, the partners spoke about the similarities in the obstacles faced by Google to reach billions of users. Mincu stated that this partnership with the big tech giant will help the network increase its adoption.

The partnership will be supported by “4 pillars,” as stated by Rood. In that sense, the big tech giant announced that the data running on the MultiversX will be embedded directly into the Google Cloud infrastructure, adding an extra layer of security for the blockchain.

In the past two years, MultiversX, formerly Elrond, implemented a sharding architecture capable of handling over 100,000 transactions per second. The project has focused heavily on providing its users and builders with a secure and scalable infrastructure; this partnership is another step in that direction.

The MultiversX CEO stated the following about the partnership:

We are excited to unveil this collaboration as part of a strategic plan meant to expand our ecosystem and bring significant opportunities for users and developers. MultiversX is in a unique position, with great potential for accelerated growth, and the additional products and services brought by Google Cloud are a key contribution to that.

On the stage, Mincu expressed excitement about what the partnership represents for the MultiversX ecosystem and the nascent industry. The announcement was received with applause by the community.

The MultiversX CEO emphasized their role as the “engine” driving the ecosystem. Thus, Google Cloud will also offer financial aid and pledge to create spaces like hackathons where builders can benefit from the partnership.

During the xDay 2023 event, a hackathon will reward the community with $1 million in prizes and further funding. Daniel Rood, Head of Web3 EMEA for Google Cloud, added the following:

There are exciting opportunities to enable Web3 developers to build and scale faster and as we explore new verticals within the space, our partnership with MultiversX will allow us to expand our strategy and reach further and solidify our position as one of the main innovation drivers in the blockchain world.

Cover image from MultiversX, chart from Tradingview