Blockchain

In a recent development, Bitcoin proponent and crypto advisor to El Salvador’s President Max Keiser has made a future prediction for the Bitcoin price, joining the ranks of analysts who have made bold assertions about the flagship cryptocurrency’s trajectory. 

Keiser Says Bitcoin Price To $220,000

In a tweet shared on his X (formerly Twitter) platform, Keiser stated that the Bitcoin price will experience an explosive rise to $220,000 in the short term. However, he didn’t specify how soon the crypto token would see such a rally. He made this assertion in response to a CNBC article about the current decline in the financial market amid economic and inflation concerns.

In a subsequent tweet, Keiser once again reiterated that Bitcoin would rise to $220,000 as he claims that “Central banks will print a wall of money visible from outer space.” His belief seems to stem from the fact that many will be looking to use Bitcoin as a hedge against rising inflation. 

He even alluded to the fact that the US dollar was losing its purchasing power “at a very rapid pace.” He gave an instance of how paying $100 for hamburgers years ago looked like a joke, but he had just spent “$84 for a very ordinary hamburger.” 

For the longest time, Keiser has been bullish on the foremost cryptocurrency. In 2011, he called Bitcoin the “currency of the resistance” and the “biggest story of the decade.” Additionally, he always touted a financial collapse as what would spark a massive rally in the Bitcoin price. Then, he stated that Bitcoin’s adoption and price will increase as banks collapse. 

Arthur Hayes, the co-founder of BitMEX, also shares similar sentiments with Keiser. He recently stated that the government would likely resort to money printing to save the bond market, which could lead to a meteoric rise in Bitcoin’s price and other cryptocurrencies. 

Is Inflation Good Or Bad For Crypto?

There seem to be divergent views on how rising inflation could affect Bitcoin and the crypto market by extension. While people like Keiser and Hayes see rising inflation as bullish for Bitcoin, others like Crypto analyst Nicholas Merten believe that inflation could spell more trouble for Bitcoin’s price. 

According to Merten, the Federal Reserve needs to keep hiking interest rates to bring down the inflation rate as there is excess money in the system due to the “excess printing of money.” Meanwhile, Bloomberg analyst Mike McGlone warned that the rising interest rates could cause a further decline in the Bitcoin price. 

There also seems to be a correlation between the stock and crypto markets. As such, it doesn’t seem like Bitcoin and the crypto market exist in isolation, as any financial crisis could significantly impact it. 

Solana (SOL), a layer 1 proof-of-stake blockchain, has introduced version 1.16, which enhances user privacy through “Confidential Transfers.” This update includes encrypted Solana Program Library (SPL) token transactions, ensuring confidentiality rather than anonymity. 

The adoption of version 1.16 by Solana’s network of validators has reached a majority after ten months of development and an audit by Halborn, a blockchain security firm.

Solana Labs Rolls Out Privacy-Enhancing Update

According to the announcement made by Solana’s infrastructure provider Helius, The update has undergone rigorous testing, with v1.16 running on testnet since June 7, 2023. 

Volunteer and canary nodes have reportedly played a crucial role in identifying and resolving issues during the testing phase. Solana Labs has also deployed canary nodes on mainnet-beta to monitor the stability of v1.16 under real-world conditions.

Solana employs a feature gate system to prevent consensus-breaking changes, ensuring that validators running older versions do not fork off the canonical chain. 

What’s more, Consensus-breaking changes now require a Solana Improvement Document (SIMD) and greater transparency through documentation.

Confidential Transfers, introduced by Token2022, utilize zero-knowledge proofs to encrypt balances and transaction amounts of  SPL tokens, prioritizing user privacy. 

Looking ahead, Solana Labs plans to adopt a more agile release cycle, targeting smaller releases approximately every three months. 

Room For Growth

According to a Nansen report, Solana has witnessed a significant surge in its Total Value Locked (TVL) throughout this year, nearly doubling since the beginning of 2023, and currently boasting a TVL of 30.95 million SOL. 

Monthly transactions on the Solana network have remained relatively stable, with an increase in vote transactions, encompassing both vote and non-vote transactions.

Furthermore, Nansen highlights that Solana has implemented innovative solutions such as state compression and isolated fee markets to address prominent issues within its tech stack.

One notable solution, state compression, has substantially reduced the cost of non-fungible token (NFT) minting on Solana more than 2,000 times. 

 State Compression Unleashes Affordable NFT Minting

For instance, the cost of minting 1 million NFTs before the introduction of state compression would have amounted to approximately $253,000. In contrast, with state compression enabled, the cost is significantly reduced to just $113. 

In comparison, minting a similar collection size on Ethereum would cost approximately $33.6 million, and on Polygon, it would amount to around $32,800.

Furthermore, the liquid staking landscape on Solana is experiencing rapid growth, with leading platforms like Marinade Finance, Lido Finance, and Jito taking the forefront. 

However, despite this growth, the current amount of staked SOL in Solana’s liquid staking protocols accounts for less than 3% of the total staked SOL, indicating substantial room for expansion.

It is worth noting that the report by Nansen raises concerns about the uncertainty surrounding FTX/Alameda’s SOL holdings, as FTX holds over 71.8 million SOL, representing approximately 17% of the circulating supply and 13% of the total supply. 

While this situation may present temporary risks to Solana’s growth trajectory, it is essential to monitor its impact closely.

On the other hand, the native token of the protocol, SOL, continues to exhibit substantial gains across all timeframes. The token is trading at $23.68, reflecting an increase of over 4% in the past 24 hours.

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com 

A crypto analyst has presented a 39-month analysis that could determine when the XRP price will rally to a new all-time high. The analysis marks a return of this trend, which could see XRP rise as high as $1,000.

The 39-Month Cycle

Pseudonymous crypto analyst NeverWishing on TradingView has presented a rather convincing 39-month cycle trend that often ends with the XRP price seeing a significant rise. The last time this trend was completed was back in mid-2020 just before the 2020/2021 bull market began.

When this trend was marked three years ago, it ended with the XRP price rallying from $0.17 in June to $2 in April 2021. Since then, another 39-month cycle began counting and once again, it has reached the point where a surge usually occurs.

In the chart presented by NeverWishing, the expected price jump this time around will be less like the 2020-2021 trend and more like the 2017-2018 jump. In 2017 when the 39-month cycle jump took place, XRP went from $0.005 to $3.3 at its peak, meaning a 66,000% jump in price.

However, the analyst expects even more explosive growth with the XRP price going from around $0.53 to $1,000 by the time the rally is complete. This means a more than 188,000% rise from the current price levels.

When Will The XRP Price Reach $1,000?

The previous 39-month cycle jumps outlined by the crypto analyst both hit their peak a little less than a year later. The 2017-2018 rally was 11 months and the 2020-2021 rally was 10 months, so it is expected that it will stick close to this timeframe this time around.

NeverWishing’s chart shows the rally starting in November and hitting $2 in the next four months. From then on, there are multiple important price levels outlined including $16 by the end of April 2024 and $118 by June 2024.

Then for the grand prize of $1,000, the crypto analyst sets a target date for December 2024, around 13 months from the rally’s start. So if this prediction does come to pass, the XRP price could be trading between $869-$1,000 in a little over a year.

The 39-month cycle trend looks similar to the four-year Bitcoin cycle. However, unlike Bitcoin whose four-year cycle is characterized by the infamous halving event, the XRP 39-month cycle does not have a significant event. Instead, it looks to just follow work mainly on a timeframe basis.

Nevertheless, some recent developments could lend credence to a bull rally such as Ripple’s multiple wins over the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) just this year alone. Additionally, Ripple has been expanding its footprint globally as it looks to take a big chunk of the payments sector for itself.

Over the past week, Bitcoin price has displayed a notable bullish momentum. This comes after a prolonged consolidation phase during which the leading cryptocurrency remained stagnant below the $27,000 mark for an entire month.

However, with the recent breakout and the resurgence of bullish sentiment in the market, experts are now predicting a potential surge that could propel Bitcoin’s price above $30,000.

Bitcoin Price Bullish Momentum Continues

Technical analyst Gert Van Lagen highlights a significant breakout from a long-term descending channel, signifying the end of a corrective wave and paving the way for a parabolic surge in Wave 5. 

Gert Van Lagen emphasizes the monumental breakout of a 2.25-year descending channel, marking the end of an expanded flat corrective wave 4. 

The channel, determined by the green dots, has contained the ABC correction of wave 4. With wave five on the horizon, breaking 10% above the channel, around $30,000, is expected to trigger a parabolic surge. 

Notably, Gert believes that wave 5, a “blow-off wave,” may exhibit steep growth, with the final impulse indicating a significant upward movement.

While the potential for further upside gains is promising, remaining aware of key considerations and potential invalidation points is crucial. In this context, paying attention to $13,800 would be essential, as the invalidation point lies when wave four falls below wave 1. 

Bitcoin-Gold Ratio Indicator

Prominent figures in the crypto analytics industry, the co-founders of Glassnode, have expressed their belief in Bitcoin’s potential to reach six figures. Drawing attention to the BTC-Gold ratio, they suggest that Bitcoin could rise to approximately 98 times the price of Gold. 

The BTC-Gold ratio serves as a critical metric for understanding the relative performance and value of Bitcoin compared to Gold. Analyzing this ratio, the Glassnode analysts note several positive indicators suggesting a Bitcoin price surge. 

The rising RSI (Relative Strength Index) and its position above 50 indicate increasing buying pressure and positive momentum. Additionally, the bullish MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence) crossover and a rising trend reinforce the bullish sentiment surrounding Bitcoin.

Using Fibonacci extensions provides further insight into potential price levels for Bitcoin. These extensions, derived from mathematical ratios, are often used to identify price targets during upward trends. 

Based on the analysis, the Fibonacci extensions suggest that Bitcoin could reach valuation levels around $120,000, while Gold maintains a price of around $1,200.

The Glassnode co-founders’ analysis fuels optimism within the crypto community. Bitcoin’s potential for six-figure valuations could attract more investors and solidify its status as a digital store of value. 

The predicted surge in Bitcoin’s price would likely have a ripple effect, generating increased interest and investment in the broader cryptocurrency market.

When writing, BTC is trading at $27,900, just below the significant psychological level of $28,000. This level currently represents a crucial threshold for bearish sentiment towards BTC.

BTC must maintain support at the $27,000 level to sustain its bullish momentum. By surpassing the current resistance line at its current trading level, BTC can reclaim the $30,000 mark and set its sights on the annual high of $31,800. 

This upward movement could position the cryptocurrency to challenge the 1-year resistance level at $39,000, with the potential for consolidation above the $40,000 mark.

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com 

Ethereum (ETH), a forerunner in the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem, has seen a notable surge in its staking activities. This staking boom has raised eyebrows among experts from JPMorgan concerned over ETH’s increase in centralization and the consequences that may arise.

Ethereum, aiming to transition to a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism, opened the floodgates for staking. This meant holders could ‘stake’ or lock their tokens to support network operations like block validation. However, while this promises rewards for the stakers, JPMorgan analysts have reported that there could be ripple effects.

Ethereum Centralization Concerns Rise To The Surface

JPMorgan analysts, led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, highlight the inadvertent increase in Ethereum’s network centralization, particularly post the Merge and Shanghai upgrades. The Ethereum network became “more centralized as the overall staking yield declined,” they noted. 

According to the analysts, what’s leading to this centralization could be attributed to liquid staking providers. Lido, a notable player, has been pinpointed for its dominant role. The JPMorgan report noted:

The top 5 liquid staking providers control more than 50% of staking on the Ethereum network, and Lido specifically accounts for almost one-third.

The analysts further disclosed while platforms such as Lido tote their decentralized nature, the underlying reality appears different. The analysts said these platforms “involve a high degree of centralization.”

According to the analysts, the ramifications of such centralization can’t be understated. They mentioned that “a concentrated number of liquidity providers or node operators” might compromise the network’s integrity, leading to potential points of failure, attacks, or even conspiracy, resulting in an “oligopoly.”

They further highlighted that such centralized entities could censor or exploit user transactions, undermining the community’s interests.

The Rehypothecation Risk And Declining Rewards

Another dimension to the staking story is the looming threat of ‘rehypothecation.’ In simple terms, it’s the act of leveraging staked assets as collateral across various DeFi platforms. According to the JPMorgan’s analysts:

Rehypothecation could then result in a cascade of liquidations if a staked asset drops sharply in value or is hacked or slashed due to a malicious attack or a protocol error.

Furthermore, as Ethereum continues its journey on the staking path, the staking rewards seem to diminish. The report indicated a drop in total staking yield from 7.3% before the Shanghai upgrade to roughly 5.5% recently.

Regardless, Ethereum has shown a slight upward trajectory of 1.5% in the past 24 hours, with a market price currently sitting at $1,643 and a market cap of approximately $9 billion, at the time of writing.

Featured image from Unsplash, Chart from TradingView

Based on several factors, the latest Bitcoin news points to a potential bullish continuation in the long term. However, the short term remains uncertain; the cryptocurrency continues to trade in a tight range, although BTC has shown a spike in volatility.

As of this writing, the Bitcoin price trades at $25,500 with a 2% loss in the last 24 hours. In the previous seven days, the cryptocurrency maintained some of its profits as most of the tokens in the top 10 by market cap traded in the red after experiencing a slight uptick.

Bitcoin News: BTC At Risk Of Topping For Remaining Of The Year

The bigger picture for Bitcoin leans to the upside with the approval of a BTC spot Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) in the US gaining momentum. However, analyst Rekt Capital believes current prices are similar to those in late 2019 and early 2020.

As the chart below shows, at that time, the price of Bitcoin was trending to the upside in a tight triangle with a top at around $10,000. The cryptocurrency eventually broke about this resistance and entered uncharted territory.

As the chart shows, this scenario has some obstacles for optimistic investors. Before the breakout, the price of Bitcoin revisited the lows and event wicked below critical support at $3,250.

The analyst believes that BTC could display similar price action as it approaches the top of its current channel. In this scenario, which aligns with BTC’s pre-halving behavior, the cryptocurrency could re-visit the low of the trend.

As a result, a return to $20,000 and even the $15,000 lows seems likely. The analyst stated:

Here’s the thing about current prices. Right now, there’s a risk of them representing the Top for 2023. But after the Halving, these same exact prices will represent a Re-Accumulation range (red) before lift-off into a Parabolic Uptrend (green).

Still Hope For BTC Price Bulls

As mentioned, this scenario could hint at short-term losses for BTC, but the analyst shared other Bitcoin news in a more positive tone. First, Rekt Capital believes that the next 6 months into the Bitcoin halving could provide the “last ever retrace” to the $20,000 lows.

As the market approaches this event, the price of Bitcoin is more likely to trend upwards, with a “stronger” beat back to previous highs and potentially into uncharted territory. The analyst concluded:

Next ~6 months may offer the last ever retrace to low $20,000s (orange) And 2 months Pre-Halving, we’ll likely see some stronger upside volatility (light blue) Lots of volatility to both the downside & upside await between now and the Halving.

Cover image from Unsplash, chart from Tradingview

The civil trial of the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) case against Ripple and its top executives, Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen, is set to commence on April 23, 2024. However, the Founder of Dizer Capital, Yasin Mobarak, believes that the SEC will withdraw its charges against Garlinghouse and Larsen before then.

Why The SEC Will Drop Charges Against Ripple Founders

In a tweet shared on his X (formerly Twitter) platform, Mobarak stated that the reason for his prediction is that it is not in the SEC’s interest to have “a trial where their corruption can be exposed.” He further stated that the Commission’s “agenda” is bigger than these two executives.

Prediction: The SEC will withdraw charges against @bgarlinghouse and @chrislarsensf .

It is not in their interest to have a trial where their corruption can be exposed, not to mention their agenda is far bigger than just these two executives. The longer $XRP solidifies the…

— Yassin Mobarak (@Dizer_YM) October 4, 2023

Garlinghouse and Larsen were joined as co-defendants when the SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple in December 2020. The Commission alleged that the executives structured and promoted the XRP sales to finance the company’s business. Additionally, it accused both individuals of effecting “personal unregistered sales of XRP totaling approximately $600 million.”

Mobarak shares similar sentiments with pro-XRP legal expert Fred Rispoli, who stated that the SEC is unlikely to pursue a trial against them and outlined reasons for his assertion. One of the reasons he gave was that the SEC would not want a situation where its credibility is questioned, which he believes could happen if someone like the former SEC Director Bill Hinman was called to testify. 

The SEC filing a motion for an interlocutory appeal was considered by many as a means to prolong the trial unnecessarily, which Judge Analisa Torres had reasoned in her order. Following the denial of this appeal, Mobarak believes that the SEC will now move to end this case quickly so it can appeal to the Court of Appeals and “continue to sustain this cloud of uncertainty on the whole industry.”

SEC Needs An Incentive To Do So

In response to Mobarak’s tweet, another X user mentioned that it would be surprising if the SEC decided to drop the charges against Ripple’s executives “without some incentive from Ripple given to them.” Such an incentive would likely relate to the crypto firm agreeing to a form of settlement. 

This is something that Rispoli had suggested when he said that the SEC didn’t intend to maintain a suit against Garlinghouse and Larsen but simply wanted to pressure the company into a “weak settlement.” 

However, it is unlikely that Ripple is willing to reach any form of settlement with the Commission as Ripple’s President Monica Lang asserted that her company intends to see the case “all the way through.” 

Moreso, there is no reason why Ripple should be willing to settle, considering that they already scored two major victories against the SEC and seem to have the upper hand now. 

Ripple and its executives will also have it at the back of their mind that the crypto community is looking to this case for clarity, as any judgment will likely set a precedent for how the crypto industry should be regulated.

Chainlink (LINK) is trading at $7.60, still unable to escape the range between $5 and $8 it has spent over a year in. Its recent attempt at a rally, however, has triggered an important “parabolic”signal following a length, 28-month long downtrend.

Chainlink Taps Parabolic SAR After 28-Month Downtrend

Chainlink earned itself a reputation as a “blue chip” cryptocurrency during the last bear market. While Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other altcoins remained relatively bearish until the end of 2020, LINKUSD defied all odds and expectations by rising nearly 10,000% leading up to the same timeframe.

From October 2020 when the rest of the crypto market broke out, Chainlink still did another 600% before reaching a peak at over $50 in May 2021. But since then, it has been almost all downhill and a lot of sideways.

After that price peak, a rejection all the way down to $15 in the same month set the downtrend in motion. At that moment, it also tagged the Parabolic SAR, signaling that the uptrend had “stopped and reversed.”

The cryptocurrency first spent 12 months in an aggressive downtrend, followed by over 16 months of painful sideways. In total, the coin lost 90% of its value from top to the current local bottom. But what’s next now that the Parabolic SAR has been touched once again?

Is LINKUSD Ready For A 1,000% Rally? How About Three Of Them?

The Parabolic SAR is a technical analysis indicator created by J. Welles Wilder, Jr., and is used to tell a trader when a trend as potentially “stopped and reversed.” It is commonly used in conjunction with Wilder’s other tools, such as the Relative Strength Index, and Average Directional Index.

Much like the tool nailed the exact trend change at the top, it might once again be accurately signally a positive trend change after 28 months of downward Parabolic SAR movement. Previous uptrend according to the 1M LINKUSD Parabolic SAR were parabolic indeed.

Across the three times where the Parabolic SAR flipped bullish, LINKUSD gained 1,000% each time. Another 1,000% rally would take Chainlink to over $80 per token. The last primary bull market in Chainlink produced not one, but three of these 1,000% rallies. A 3,000 uptrend could take the coin to over $230 each.

Coincidentally, the LMACD is also crossing bullish for the first time in 28 months, adding plenty of confluence. With the Parabolic SAR now below price, will the cryptocurrency go on another parabolic uptrend?

This chart initially appeared in Issue #22 of CoinChartist (VIP) alongside 30 other exclusive crypto charts. Subscribe for free.

On-chain data shows that mid to large Bitcoin holders have purchased almost $2 billion in the asset during the past six weeks.

Bitcoin Holders With 1 To 10,000 BTC Have Neared All-Time High Holdings

According to data from the on-chain analytics firm Santiment, the mid to large-sized BTC addresses have added 71,555 BTC to their holdings recently. The relevant indicator here is the “BTC Supply Distribution,” which keeps track of the total amount of Bitcoin that each holder group in the market is holding right now.

The investors or addresses are divided into these cohorts based on the total number of tokens that they are currently carrying. The 1-10 coins group, for instance, includes all holders who own at least 1 and at most 10 BTC.

If the Supply Distribution is applied to this specific cohort, it would tell us about the total amount of the asset that the addresses on the network fulfilling this condition are currently holding as a whole.

In the context of the current discussion, the mid and large-sized investors in the market are of interest. Typically, these are the addresses ranging between 1 and 10,000 BTC.

Here is a chart that shows the trend in the combined Bitcoin Supply Distribution for all the cohorts falling inside this particular coin range over the past few months:

This wallet range covers a variety of groups, with the two most notable being the sharks and whales. The sharks are generally the entities with 100-1,000 BTC, while the whales are those with 1,000-10,000 BTC.

Both of these cohorts carry some power in the sector, because of the sheer size of their holdings. The whales, however, carry significantly more influence than the sharks, a natural consequence of their balances being much larger.

The rest of the investors inside this range (those with 1-100 BTC) are considered mid-sized holders, who may not be relevant individually, but as a whole, they can have a notable presence in the market.

From the graph, it’s visible that the combined holdings of all these groups have been heading up recently, implying that buying has been taking place. During the past six weeks alone, these investors have purchased a total of 71,155 BTC, which is equivalent to about $1.97 billion at the current exchange rate.

With this latest accumulation spree, the total holdings of these Bitcoin investors have hit about 15.2 million BTC, which is the largest amount that they have held since January 2022.

Not just that, their current holdings are also just 90,000 BTC shy from their all-time high back in November 2021, where they owned about 15.29 million tokens of the asset.

As is visible from the chart, the indicator has observed some particularly sharp growth during the past week or so, suggesting that these holders believe the current prices are worth buying at.

BTC Price

Bitcoin hasn’t moved much since its pullback a few days ago as its price is still trading around the $27,700 mark.

A Shiba Inu whale recently transferred a whopping $33 million in SHIB tokens off a crypto exchange into an unknown wallet. According to on-chain data from Whale Alerts, over 4.58 trillion Shiba Inu tokens worth $33.13 million have made their way into a private wallet from the crypto exchange Bitvavo. 

Details Of The Whale Transfer

Shiba Inu’s ecosystem is home to many whale investors, and transactions among these whales are not uncommon. Over the past few months, there have been huge transfers of SHIB from various whale addresses. This latest SHIB whale transfer was first spotted by Whale Alerts, a platform that tracks major cryptocurrency transactions. 

According to on-chain data, the transaction was made from the address “0xfd55” into a new private address “0xB96C”. The recipient wallet “0xB96C” now holds a total of over 4.58 trillion SHIB, worth more than $33 million at the time of writing.

4,584,530,677,374 #SHIB (33,132,403 USD) transferred from #Bitvavo to unknown wallethttps://t.co/HrCbR3oavs

— Whale Alert (@whale_alert) October 5, 2023

There’s no way to know what the whale plans to do with their huge SHIB holding, but large transfers like this tend to breed speculations from investors. When SHIB is withdrawn from exchanges, it reduces the selling pressure. This reduces the available supply of SHIB for sale, putting upward pressure on the price. 

While whale movements tend to reveal the current market sentiment, a single transfer cannot necessarily move the entire market. As a result, Shiba Inu’s price hasn’t reacted much to the transfer, although it has lost 0.32% of its market cap in the past 24 hours.

Future Outlook For Shiba Inu

Shiba Inu and its community have had to endure a few ups and downs around the launch of the layer-2 network Shibarium. Before its launch, Shiba Inu witnessed massive whale withdrawals from exchanges which increased buying pressure and the price of SHIB. 

While SHIB tokens are being removed from some crypto exchanges, others are simultaneously finding themselves on other exchanges. Recently, 425 billion SHIB tokens worth $3.2 million made their way into Coinbase as part of a potential selloff. Also, SHIB tokens in wallets linked to Ryoshi, Shiba Inu’s anonymous founder, were recently caught on the move. 

Although Shiba Inu witnessed a price increase at the beginning of the week, it has since lost most of these gains. Nevertheless, Shiba Inu currently maintains a market cap of $4.24 billion, so its price didn’t respond all that strongly to this shift. 

At the time of writing, SHIB is trading at $0.000007196. Data points to an upcoming rally with a price surge of over 400%.