Blockchain

Hedera (HBAR), the open-source Proof-of-Stake (PoS) blockchain network, has made significant strides in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2023, according to a recent report by Messari. The network’s performance showcased notable growth in key metrics, outpacing the crypto market.

Hedera Outpaces Crypto Market With 78% QoQ Increase

During Q4 2023, Hedera’s circulating market cap experienced a 78% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) increase, reaching $2.9 billion. This growth surpassed the overall crypto market’s growth rate of 54%, signifying Hedera’s growing influence. The year-on-year (YoY) change for HBAR stood at 211%, reflecting the network’s progress and adoption.

In the same line, Hedera Network’s revenue witnessed a substantial 59% QoQ increase, amounting to $1.6 million in Q4 2023, primarily driven by a 66% QoQ surge in transactions, notably propelled by the Hedera Consensus Service. 

Furthermore, the revenue generated from Token and Smart Contract Services contributed approximately 14% of the total revenue, exemplifying a healthy distribution in Hedera’s revenue streams.

With a fixed total supply of 50 billion HBAR, Q4 2023 saw 33.6 billion HBAR, or 67% of the total supply, in circulation. 

The quarterly distribution of HBAR, reported through the Hedera Treasury Management Report, anticipates an additional 10% of the total supply to be unlocked in Q1 2024, including new ecosystem grants.

While the number of addresses experienced a decline in Q4 2023, with average daily active addresses decreasing by 22% QoQ to 6,600 and average daily new addresses dropping by 39% QoQ to 5,200, there was still substantial YoY growth. Active addresses were up 90% YoY, and new addresses witnessed a 123% YoY increase.

Hedera Network achieved a new record in transaction volume for the sixth consecutive quarter, with an impressive daily average of 164 million transactions in Q4 2023, marking a 66% QoQ surge. The Hedera Consensus Service remained the primary driver of this activity, accounting for 99% of all transactions on the network.

DEX Trading Volume Skyrockets 164% QoQ

In Q4 2023, the Hedera network reported 28 billion HBAR staked, representing 85% of the circulating and 56% of the total supply. 

Entities such as Swirlds and Swirlds Labs played a significant role in staking their HBAR allocations, and the Hedera Treasury supported validators in meeting the minimum staking threshold for network consensus. 

The Hedera network’s Total Value Locked (TVL) demonstrated positive growth, reaching $64 million by the end of 2023, reflecting a significant YoY increase of 169%. The TVL denominated in HBAR reached 733 million, indicating a 16% QoQ and YoY increase. Interestingly, Hedera’s TVL ranked among the top 40 blockchain networks.

Moreover, Hedera Network experienced a 164% QoQ increase in average daily decentralized exchange (DEX) trading volume, reaching $1.3 million, an all-time high. SaucerSwap dominated DEX trading volume on the Hedera network, accounting for most of the trading activity, as seen in the chart below.

Lastly, the stablecoin market cap on the Hedera network grew by an impressive 73% QoQ, culminating in a year-end total of $6.3 million. Circle’s USDC stood as the sole stablecoin available on Hedera. 

The network’s rank in the stablecoin market cap among blockchain networks improved by four spots QoQ, solidifying Hedera’s position in the stablecoin market.

Under current market conditions, the price of HBAR stands at $0.0736, showcasing substantial growth in the past 24 hours, with a 5% increase. 

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com 

Binance Smart Chain (BSC) has demonstrated notable growth in key metrics during the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2023, as highlighted in a comprehensive report by Messari. 

As the third-largest Layer-1 protocol by market capitalization, BSC experienced positive progress across its financial indicators, signaling a productive quarter for the blockchain ecosystem.

Binance Smart Chain Record-Breaking Transactions

The report reveals that BSC’s market capitalization witnessed a 48% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) surge. This surge reflects renewed interest in BNB (Binance Coin), the native asset of BSC, following two consecutive quarters of decline.

Moreover, BSC’s revenue measured in USD experienced a significant QoQ growth of 27%. This revenue surge, amounting to over $39 million in Q4, indicates increased activity on the protocol and the implementation of various initiatives throughout the year.

Gas fees burned in BNB, a metric reflecting network activity, also saw a notable QoQ increase of 21%. The rising number of transactions and smart contract interactions contributed to increased gas fees burned, further reinforcing the Binance Smart Chain ecosystem.

In addition to financial metrics, BSC showcased impressive improvements in other areas. The number of active validators increased by 25% QoQ, highlighting growing trust and participation in securing the network. BSC’s commitment to decentralization was evident as the protocol experienced a 54% YoY increase in active validators.

According to Messari, throughout 2023, BSC demonstrated its ability to handle heightened activity while simultaneously reducing costs for users. Daily transactions on the network witnessed a 35% year-over-year (YoY) increase and a 30% QoQ surge, averaging around 4.6 million transactions per day in Q4. 

These spikes in transaction volume were attributed to inscription-related activity, with BSC processing a record-breaking 32 million transactions on December 7, 2023.

BSC’s DeFi Ecosystem Reaches $4.6 Billion TVL

Despite a decline in daily average active addresses and new unique addresses, primarily due to users exploring alternative chains like opBNB, BSC’s on-chain activity remained robust. 

The protocol’s ecosystem of stablecoins, dominated by Tether’s USDT, reached a total value locked (TVL) of $4.6 billion in Q4, showcasing a 33% QoQ increase in Decentralized Finance (DeFi) TVL.

While Non-Fungible Token (NFT)- related metrics declined in Q4, Binance Smart Chain and Ethereum (ETH) witnessed a resurgence in activity toward the end of the quarter, indicating a potential upward trend in the next market cycle.

In addition to BSC’s growth, BNB also experienced notable price movements. After a sharp drop, BNB surged from $238 to reach the $338 level. However, it later retraced to $287 following a correction. 

In the past 24 hours, BNB has recorded a growth of 3.7%, pushing its current trading price above $302. 

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com 

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency in the market, experienced a price recovery on Friday; however, industry experts anticipate a further test of sub-$30,000 levels in the near term. 

The prolonged downtrend observed over the past fourteen days, coupled with mounting selling pressure, has raised concerns about the sustainability of the recent rebound.

BTC’s Local Bottom Predicted

Chris Burniske, co-founder of a New York-based venture crypto firm, highlights several factors contributing to the anticipated downward movement of Bitcoin. 

Burniske suggests that the consolidation phase may extend longer than expected due to many variables, including crypto-market dynamics, macroeconomic conditions, adoption trends, and new product developments. 

Burniske offers his outlook on Bitcoin, stating that a local bottom could be reached in the $30,000 to $36,000 range. However, he wouldn’t be surprised if the cryptocurrency tests the mid-to-high $20,000 before recovery occurs, leading to a renewed push toward previous all-time highs. 

Burniske cautions that the path to such a recovery will likely be volatile, marked by potential fakeouts, and may span several months.

The market expert advises investors to exercise patience during this period of uncertainty. Burniske suggests that other cryptocurrencies may experience more significant percentage declines if his predictions hold Bitcoin. Burniske further stated:

Before you get mad with, “We’re just getting this cycle started, Chris!!!” Mostly agree, ~called the cycle bottom in Nov 2022 and continue to believe the long-term trend remains robust. Have also seen a lot of crypto volatility over the last decade+…. recently, I’ve specifically been discussing a local top and local low, not a cycle-wide top and low. 

Buy Signal For Bitcoin

Crypto analyst Ali Martinez has provided insights into potential price movements for Bitcoin in its latest analysis conducted on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter). 

Martinez’s assessment indicates that the TD Sequential indicator recently flashed a buy signal on the daily chart, coinciding with Bitcoin’s current position above the 100-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) at approximately the $40,000 level. 

According to Martinez, if Bitcoin surpasses the $40,550 resistance level, it may trigger an upswing with a target price of $43,000. This bullish scenario implies a potential price rally for Bitcoin soon. 

However, the analyst also highlights the importance of closely monitoring the 100SMA support level, as a breach of this level could have significant implications for the cryptocurrency’s price trajectory.

Martinez cautions that if the 100SMA support level is breached, it might result in Bitcoin experiencing a downward move toward the $33,300 level. This potential downside scenario indicates a critical support level that, if broken, could lead to increased selling pressure and a bearish sentiment in the market.

At the time of writing, BTC’s price has recovered 3.8% over the past 24 hours, resulting in a current trading price of $41,400.

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com

The decentralized open-source blockchain, XRP Ledger, is set to introduce more innovative solutions to XRP holders through its new Automated Market Maker (AMM) feature. The XRP community is currently buzzing with excitement as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Ripple, David Schwartz, unveils how the AMM offers a unique avenue for earning passive income.

XRPL AMM To Empower XRP Holders

In a recent X (formerly Twitter) post, Schwartz discussed the ways an XRPL AMM could provide opportunities for XRP holders to make regular income through the AMM’s distinct trading mechanism. 

When asked by an XRP enthusiast about the potential risks of losing XRP investments if they participated in the AMM, Schwartz responded by stating that “it is not supposed to be possible to lose.” He clarified that the occurrence of losses would mean there was a flaw or unexpected bug in the implementation of the AMM. 

The Ripple CTO provided details of how investors can make passive income through the AMM’s liquidity pools. He stated that when a user provides liquidity to an AMM by making a deposit to its pools, they will receive “liquidity tokens” specific to the AMM liquidity pool they deposited to. 

Illustrating the strategy and mechanics behind the XRPL AMM, Schwartz revealed that the AMM works by permitting an increase in the value of a user’s liquidity token. He explained that this unique strategy was employed because it effectively converts volatility into a higher value for a token over a period of time. 

While the prospect of generating passive income through the AMM exists, Schwartz emphasized that an AMM does not prevent or safeguard against a decline in the actual value of your position. 

Expatiating his words with an example, Schwartz pointed out that if a user exchanged 1 XRP for $1 and after applying the AMM strategy the user received 1.05 XRP worth $1.05, then the strategy successfully increased the value of the XRP. However, if the price of XRP in dollars decreases, the overall value of your position may be lower. 

Advantages And Disadvantages Of An AMM

In a recent X post, co-founder of Anodos Finance, Panos Mekras, provided a comprehensive definition of an AMM and its impact on the XRPL ecosystem. Using an analogy, Mekras described an AMM as a self-operating store where the price of items is not fixed by a single entity but determined by the availability of the item. 

Mekras revealed that when there is high demand for an item, active trades increase, and the AMM adjusts the price of items to reflect an inflated value. Conversely, if there is low demand, the AMM lowers the price of items to encourage trade. In essence, the AMM works by balancing the supply and demand system of an item. 

Schwartz also emphasized the mechanics behind the XRPL AMM by listing out several advantages and disadvantages of the feature. According to the Ripple CTO, the benefits of the AMM include turning volatility into yield, increasing yield by providing people willing to pay a spread to trade and minimizing the risk of losing the value of your assets. 

In contrast, the drawbacks of the XRPL AMM include the absence of a guaranteed yield, potential financial losses if the price of the token drops, exposure to counterparty risks, and susceptibility to potential bugs in the AMM’s implementation. 

In a post shared on X on January 26, crypto analyst BitQuant forecasts that Bitcoin (BTC) will recover from the current downtrend and surge past its all-time high of $69,000 to over $250,000 before the upcoming Bitcoin halving in April.

Bitcoin To $250,000 Before Halving?

From the chart shared, BitQuant notes that Bitcoin is still trending inside a rising channel. Out of the multi-year uptrend that the coin is in, this channel’s next “touch” is projected to be at around $250,000.

For now, if the trend line guides, Bitcoin has immediate resistance at about $80,000. This level should be the next key target for bulls to retest. According to BitQuant, it is likely that Bitcoin will float above this line to $250,000 by April before the network automatically halves block mining rewards.

Extrapolating from the analyst’s preview, the Bitcoin uptrend remains valid until the upper limit defined by the rising trend line is “touched.” Even so, when this level will be breached is not specified.

Once this line is tested, placing the coin at over $250,000, it will likely follow its historical pattern by cooling off. The depth of this retracement is not also defined but is expected to be deep since BitQuant said the coin will “die.”

BitQuant explained that this “dying” period refers to Bitcoin’s price going below its previous all-time high. The retracement will be expected. This is common after halving since supply tends to increase as demand for the coin softens. Despite this temporary setback, BitQuant remains confident that BTC will regain momentum and continue its long-term upward trend.

Spot Bitcoin ETF Issuers Buying, BTC Stabilizes Above $39,500

Though the analyst remains bullish, it is unclear how prices will pan out for now. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently approved multiple spots for Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

Though issuers have been ramping up purchases, Grayscale Investments have liquidated their Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), selling shares and dumping coins via exchanges.

Recent data from Lookonchain reveals that GBTC reduced 10,872 BTC worth over $447 million on January 25. Meanwhile, eight spot Bitcoin ETF issuers added 8,744 BTC, with BlackRock adding 4,284 BTC. On January 24, GBTC reduced 13,179 BTC with Fidelity Investments, another spot Bitcoin ETF issuer, buying 4,023 BTC.

With BTC finding demand, prices have started stabilizing, looking at the development in the daily chart. The coin is steady above $39,500, rejecting the intense selling pressure of January 22.

Peter Schiff, a well-known critic of Bitcoin, recently engaged in a thought-provoking discussion about Bitcoin’s value relative to gold. Despite his longstanding skepticism, Schiff has presented a scenario where Bitcoin could reach roughly $10 million by 2031.

However, the Bitcoin critic responded that this could happen under particular economic conditions.

Schiff’s Extreme Hypothesis On Bitcoin’s Ascent To $10 Million

This bold statement arises from the Economist’s comparison of Bitcoin’s potential growth trajectory to gold, highlighting the volatility of crypto assets and the spirited optimism of their proponents.

No matter how low the price of #Bitcoin falls, its proponents will always be able to claim its outperformed #gold. For example, even if Bitcoin falls to $100 in 2031 and gold rises to $10,000, they will claim that Bitcoin is up 100x in the past 20 years, while gold is only up 5x.

— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) January 26, 2024

Commenting under this post, an X user asked, “What if Bitcoin goes to $10,000,00 by 2031?” Schiff then replied with a “hypothetical” scenario that pivots on the dramatic collapse of the US dollar, akin to the fate of the German Papiermark post-World War I. During that period, Germany experienced rampant hyperinflation, devastating the value of its currency.

Schiff suggests that only if a similar downfall of the US dollar happens does the BTC price catapult to $10 million. However, it’s important to note that this scenario is highly “hypothetical,” and the crypto critic is trying to convey that Bitcoin can only reach $10 million in an “extreme” case of economic turmoil.

If the U.S. dollar goes the way of the German Papiermark then I supposed that’s possible.

— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) January 26, 2024

Community Reactions To Schiff’s Post

Notably, Schiff remains a staunch critic of Bitcoin. He recently expressed concerns about potential regulatory changes under the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler. He predicted increased regulations could raise Bitcoin’s transaction costs and adversely affect its market value.

The crypto community, however, often counters Schiff’s bearish outlook with a mix of criticism and humor. Influential figures like Samson Mow and Mike Alfred have directly responded to Schiff’s comparisons between Bitcoin and gold, often highlighting Bitcoin’s resilience and growth over the years.

Bro, in 2011 when gold was $2k and BTC was $10 you said BTC was going to zero and everyone should buy gold. 13 years later and gold is still at $2k and BTC is at $40,000. Just stop.

— Jeff Berwick (@BerwickJeff) January 26, 2024

Mow, in particular, has pointed out that once Bitcoin surpasses gold’s market cap, gold could be relegated to its “industrial utility cost.”

Once #Bitcoin surpasses gold’s market cap, gold will be demonetized to its industrial utility cost.

— Samson Mow (@Excellion) January 26, 2024

These responses from the crypto community showcase the strong belief in Bitcoin’s potential and its role in shaping the future of global finance.

Meanwhile, in the current market, BTC has shown signs of recovery. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading above $40,000, a notable increase from its earlier values of below $39,000 earlier this week.

Featured image from Unsplash, Chart from TradingView

The US government has revealed its plans to offload a significant portion of its Bitcoin (BTC) holdings. This move has raised concerns in the crypto community, considering how much selling pressure this could add to what the crypto market is already facing.  

US Government To Sell $130 Million Worth Of Bitcoin

The Department of Justice (DOJ) gave notice of its intent to dispose of over $130 million worth of Bitcoin. These crypto assets form part of what had been forfeited to the government in its case against Joseph Farace. The DOJ specifically noted that it had seized almost 2875 BTC from Farace and Sean Bridges and an additional 58.7 BTC from Farace alone. 

Farace, also known as the Xanaxman, had ties to the Silk Road as he pled guilty to manufacturing and distributing alprazolam on the dark web marketplace. The Bitcoin confiscated from him forms a portion of the over 69,369 BTC, which the US government is believed to have recovered as proceeds from Silk Road. 

Related Reading: Bitcoin Whales Go On Buying Spree As Price Dips, Here’s How Much They Bought

A sale of such magnitude is concerning as it could have a notable impact on Bitcoin’s price and the broader crypto market. Moreover, it comes at a time when the market is already under significant selling pressure from whales like Grayscale, Celsius, and FTX. However, it is worth noting that this proposed sale by the government might not happen anytime soon. 

In the notice, the DOJ also announced that any other person aside from the defendant claiming an interest in the forfeited property had 60 days to come forward with its claims. As such, it is more than likely that the sale will not occur until the expiration of the 60-day period, which doesn’t lapse until sometime in March. 

Selling Pressure Might Soon Cool Off

The daily outflows that Grayscale’s GBTC has faced recently suggest that the Bitcoin selling pressure might soon cool off. The Spot Bitcoin ETF has seen lower outflows since Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart reported that the fund saw $640 million flow out on January 22, its largest yet. 

Since then, GBTC is said to have seen outflows of $515 million, $429 million, and $394 million on January 23, 24, and 25, respectively. If this turns out to be a trend, then the investment fund is expected to stop bleeding soon enough. That also spells good news for the crypto market as Grayscale will cool off on offloading large sums of Bitcoin daily. 

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading just a little above $40,000, up in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. 

On-chain data shows that Bitcoin investors have been clearing out their wallets recently as the asset continues to be disappointing in this post-ETF era.

Bitcoin Small Wallets Have Been Displaying Signs Of Capitulation

According to data from the on-chain analytics firm Santiment, the number of small BTC wallets has seen a sharp decline during the last few days. The indicator of relevance here is the “Supply Distribution,” which tells us about the amount of wallets that currently belong to the different holder groups on the Bitcoin network.

The addresses are divided into these groups based on the number of coins they are carrying in their balance right now. A wallet carrying 0.5 BTC, for instance, would belong inside the 0 to 1 BTC cohort.

Now, here is a chart that shows the trend in the Supply Distribution for three different Bitcoin wallet groups over the last few months:

The first wallet group on the chart is the “0 to 1” coins cohort. The owners of such small wallets are usually the retail investors, popularly known as the “shrimps.”

From the graph, it’s visible that these small hands have seen the total number of their wallets go down in the last few days. To be more specific, around 487,300 shrimps have cleared out their wallets in this selloff, a decline of almost 1%.

“History tells us that this is typically a sign of capitulation, which can lead to a market price bounce until smaller traders begin to get optimistic toward crypto as an investment vehicle once again,” explains the analytics firm.

“The disappointment of market performances since the 11 ETF approvals over 2 weeks ago is largely attributed as the cause for these wallet liquidations,” Santiment adds.

The spot ETFs have been one of the main topics in the cryptocurrency community during the last few months, and the price rally in Bitcoin was in part driven by anticipation around them. Unlike what some investors had imagined, though, the market sold at the news, and BTC has been unable to recover so far.

The shrimps aren’t the only ones that have capitulated recently, though, as the 1-1,000 coins group has seen a decline of 4,752 wallets since January 5th, while the 1,000+ BTC entities have shed 27 addresses since December 27.

The former group includes the mid-sized Bitcoin holder groups like the “sharks,” while the latter cohort includes the largest of the hands on the network: the “whales.”

Clearly, however, these larger entities had started selling ahead of the spot ETF approvals, while the shrimps had still been optimistic about the event. And interestingly, since the smallholders have started their latest capitulation, the whales have, in fact, seen some growth in their addresses.

BTC Price

Bitcoin has seen some sharp recovery push in the past day as the asset’s price has now bounced back to the $40,800 mark.

On Thursday night, Algorand CEO Staci Warden’s X Account (formerly known as Twitter) was compromised. Since then, the crypto community and the hacker have been having a back-and-forth conversation.

Justin Sun Will Boost Algorand To “New Heights”

Algorand Foundation’s X account was the first to inform about the hack and advised users to be careful when interacting with the compromised account or any link promoted by it. The hacker then took Staci Warden’s compromised account to start a series of controversial posts and replies.

The hacker called Algorand’s community “poor” in the initial post, later suggesting it would be better for the community if they “sold ALGO and instead bought Ether.” Both posts have amassed a combined total of 150,000 views and, as it’s worth noting, contain racial slurs.

Additionally, the hacker offered a fake airdrop giveaway, claiming they would send “1 $ETH for every % $ALGO drops this week.” While following some users’ petitions, the hacker shared music and changed the account’s bio, claiming that Warden had exited Algorand Foundation and had become a “semi-professional pole dancer.”

Most notably, a fake story was shared in the account narrating a call with Tron founder Justin Sun, referred to as “his excellency” by the hacker. In the fake story, Sun promised to take Algorand to “new heights” under the condition that Algorand’s CEO gave total control over the network and allowed Sun to mint any token to back TRUE USD (TUSD).

A sarcastic comment insinuating that Sun’s projects will be the reason behind “the next major financial collapse in crypto” closed the story.

Just when I thought it was all over for Algorand — my phone rang — it was his excellency. Justin told me that he would boost Algorand to new heights by launching TUSD (TRUE USD) and VRUSD (VERY REAL USD) on Algorand, and all I had to do was agree to give him total control over… pic.twitter.com/Rr9K28uGwh

— staci.algo (@StaciW_DC) January 26, 2024

Algorand CEO Criticized By The Community

The original announcement about the hack and the different posts shared on the compromised account ignited comments from the crypto community. Most users took the incident with humor, while others have taken the opportunity to express their discontent with the CEO.

One user claimed that Algorand CEO “qualifies to be an intern” at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), clearly referencing the recent hack to the SEC’s X account suffered and resulted in a false report about the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs.

Similarly, known crypto sleuth ZachXBT shared his thoughts about the hack, “Unpopular opinion: Staci hacker would make a better CEO for Algorand Foundation.” To which the hacker jokingly replied, “Hey bro, I just send you $10,000. Keep up the good work for this industry, buy your mom some flowers, and take your father out for a nice dinner,” referencing a previous X post informing the crypto detective of a donation made about a week ago.

No further posts have been shared in the last hours, but the account appears to still be under the hacker’s control, as none of the posts have been taken down, and there’s no official statement about the account’s recovery.

As reported by NewsBTC, ALGO outperformed the general crypto market growth in Q4 2023, experiencing an increase in market capitalization, transaction volume, revenue, and user adoption. ALGO’s prince trades at $0.1652, a 3.18% surge in the last 24 hours.

Among the 20 most important cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, Chainlink (LINK) is currently recording the second-highest loss of -10.4 % in the last seven days. This puts it just behind Ethereum, which recorded a slightly sharper decline of -10.9 %.

Despite this, a glimmer of optimism emerges when delving into the 1-day chart of LINK/USD. The analysis suggests a potential turnaround on the horizon. Should the current market structure remain intact, there’s a promising indication that the recent corrective phase for LINK might be drawing to a close.

Chainlink Price Analysis: Indicators To Watch

Several key indicators and patterns emerge that warrant the attention of traders and investors alike. Firstly, the price action has been demonstrating a series of higher lows, which could be indicative of an ascending triangle pattern forming – a bullish continuation pattern. As long as the LINK price holds above the rising trend (black line) established in late October of the previous year, the bulls remain in control.

At press time, LINK was trading at $13.82, presenting a nuanced narrative in its Exponential Moving Average (EMA) positioning. A critical observation is that LINK’s price is buoyantly positioned above the longer-term 100-day and 200-day EMAs, recorded at $14.6679316 and $11.61, respectively. This configuration typically signals a robust long-term bullish momentum, underpinning investor confidence in the asset.

Contrastingly, the short-term outlook is conveyed by the positioning of the 20-day and 50-day EMAs. With the 20-day EMA at $14.67 and the 50-day EMA at $14.58, both hover above the current price level, imparting a potential resistance zone. This immediate overhead resistance is indicative of a short-term bearish pressure or consolidation phase, possibly reflecting a market pause as traders and investors reassess their positions.

The Fibonacci retracement levels, drawn from the swing low in June to the peak in December, suggest that LINK has recently tested the 0.236 retracement level at $14.70 as resistance. The subsequent levels to watch are 0.382 at $12.85, followed by 0.5 at $11.53, which could serve as potential support levels if a bearish reversal occurs. Conversely, a break above the 0.236 level may open the door to test the $17.69 level, which stands as a significant resistance.

On the volume front, trading activity has been moderate, with no significant spikes indicating a decisive market direction. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is hovering around the 50 mark, which typically denotes a neutral market sentiment without clear overbought or oversold conditions.

The MACD indicator exhibits a bearish signal with the MACD line at -0.1407939, positioned below the signal line, which is at -0.1508732. The negative value of the MACD line suggests that the short-term momentum is weaker than the long-term momentum, indicating bearish sentiment in the current market.

Furthermore, the distance between the MACD and the signal line is very narrow, as reflected by the small histogram value of -0.0100794. This small negative histogram value indicates a weakening of downward momentum, as the MACD line is close to crossing above the signal line.

Traders might view such a crossover as a potential change in momentum, possibly hinting at an upcoming bullish phase. However, until the crossover occurs, the prevailing sentiment indicated by the MACD remains bearish in the short term.

LINK/BTC: Bulls In Control

The LINK/BTC trading pair (weekly chart) is also favoring the bulls. The descending trend line, which has historically acted as a resistance since the peak in 2020, was decisively broken in October last year. This breakout is a key development, indicating a potential reversal of the downtrend that has dominated the LINK/BTC pair for a significant period.

Following the breakout, a retest of the descending trend line occurred, a move often anticipated by technical analysts. The successful retest occurred in the second week of January, when the price bounced off the trend line, reinforcing it as a new support level.

This retest is indicative of a shift in market sentiment, where former resistance levels transform into support, a classical sign of a trend reversal. A breakout above 0.0004472, and LINK could be exploding towards 0.0006875 or even 0.0009.

In summary, Chainlink’s technical posture is one of cautious optimism, with a clear upward trend since November but facing immediate resistance near the $14.70 level. Market participants should watch these technical indicators closely for signs of either a continuation of the uptrend or a potential reversal if support levels falter.