Blockchain

Pepe Coin, the meme-inspired cryptocurrency, just doesn’t run out of surprises, skyrocketing by nearly 140% in the weekly timescale. This remarkable comeback has not only caught the attention of cryptocurrency enthusiasts but has also ignited renewed interest in meme coins as a whole.

Pepe Coin, once languishing in the shadows, has now emerged as a frontrunner in the meme coin space. Its market capitalization has soared to an impressive $1.1 billion, and analysts predict that it could potentially reach its all-time high market cap of $1.8 billion, necessitating a tenfold price appreciation from its current levels.

Pepe Coin: Speculation And Social Media Frenzy Fuel Resurgence

The crypto’s resurgence is not solely a result of market dynamics but is also driven by key factors within the meme coin ecosystem. Speculation and trading activity have played a significant role, fueled by the growing interest in Ethereum-based meme coins. Pepe Coin, with its distinctive frog-themed branding, has captured the imagination of investors and meme enthusiasts alike.

Social media platforms, particularly Twitter, have become a breeding ground for discussions surrounding Pepe Coin. The cryptocurrency has trended with over 53,000 posts dedicated to its vibrant community and its potential as a promising investment opportunity. The widespread traction on social media has further boosted Pepe Coin’s popularity and contributed to its surging value.

PEPE Whales, High-Volume Transactions Boost Profits

Notable events within the PEPE ecosystem have also contributed to its recent success. Six influential wallets executed trades, resulting in the offloading of nearly 2 trillion PEPE tokens. This high-volume transaction amounted to approximately $4.37 million in sales, generating substantial profits of around $2 million. Such significant market activity underscores the growing momentum surrounding the meme coin during this surge.

As Pepe Coin’s value continues to climb, it finds itself in the midst of a broader bullish sentiment in the cryptocurrency market. Bitcoin has reached an impressive price point of $57,000, while Ethereum trades above $3,200. This positive market sentiment provides a favorable backdrop for Pepe Coin and other digital assets, signaling a potentially lucrative period for investors.

Pepe Coin, a green-colored frog-themed meme coin, was launched in May 2023 and quickly gained popularity among cryptocurrency enthusiasts. With its total supply of 420.69 trillion PEPE tokens, all of which are already in circulation, Pepe Coin stands out as a unique and intriguing player in the meme coin market.

PEPE’s recent surge of over 140% and its ascent to a market cap of over $1 billion showcases the growing influence of meme coins in the cryptocurrency landscape.

Featured image Pexels, chart from TradingView

Bitcoin price rallied further toward $58,000. BTC is now consolidating gains and might soon attempt more gains toward the $60,000 resistance.

Bitcoin price is consolidating gains below the $57,500 resistance zone.
The price is trading above $56,000 and the 100 hourly Simple moving average.
There is a rising channel forming with resistance near $57,650 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).
The pair could extend its current rally toward the $60,000 resistance zone.

Bitcoin Price Faces Fresh Hurdle

Bitcoin price extended its rally above the $55,000 resistance zone. BTC gained bullish momentum after it broke the $55,500 and $56,000 resistance levels. There was also a spike above the $57,000 resistance zone.

A new multi-week high is formed near $57,572 and the price is now consolidating gains. There was a minor decline below the $57,000 level, but the price is still above the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the recent wave from the $50,950 swing low to the $57,572 high.

Bitcoin is now trading above $56,000 and the 100 hourly Simple moving average. Immediate resistance is near the $57,200 level. The next key resistance could be $57,500.

Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

There is also a rising channel forming with resistance near $57,650 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair, above which the price could rise toward the $58,000 resistance zone. If the bulls remain in action, the price could even surpass $58,000 and test $58,800. The main hurdle for them is visible near the $60,000 zone.

Are Dips Supported In BTC?

If Bitcoin fails to rise above the $57,500 resistance zone, it could start a downside correction. Immediate support on the downside is near the $56,800 level.

The first major support is $56,000. If there is a close below $56,000, the price could start a decent pullback toward the 50% Fib retracement level of the recent wave from the $50,950 swing low to the $57,572 high at $54,250. Any more losses might send the price toward the $53,200 support zone.

Technical indicators:

Hourly MACD – The MACD is now losing pace in the bullish zone.

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

Major Support Levels – $56,800, followed by $56,000.

Major Resistance Levels – $57,500, $57,650, and $58,000.

With Bitcoin recently surpassing the $57,000 mark, marking its highest level since 2021, a surge in bullish outlook among analysts and experts has emerged.

Bitcoin To $88,000

Among them is Ryan Rasmussen, a Senior Crypto Research Analyst at Bitwise, who recently shared his insights during an interview with Yahoo Finance. Rasmussen projected a bullish trajectory for Bitcoin, foreseeing a potential price surge to $88,000 by the close of 2024.

According to Rasmussen, Bitcoin trading at this price mark is possible, citing factors such as excitement and bullish sentiment surrounding the upcoming halving event and future traders taking bullish positions.

Rasmussen noted, disclosing Bitwise’s prediction for 2024:

We think that Bitcoin will certainly set all time highs in 2024. That previous price is right around $69,000 but we don’t think its going to stop there, we think we’ll at least see a 10% to 15% bump over the last all time highs in 2024. That will take us to the mid $80,000 range so I think our target was $88,00 by 2024, and I’m still sticking by that.

Despite Bitcoin trading below Rasmussen’s projected $88,000 mark, it maintains a bullish trend, with recent highs surpassing $57,000. Other analysts, including legendary trader Peter Brandt, share this optimism and predict a $200,000 target for the current bull market cycle.

Additionally, crypto analyst Ali has identified a “megaphone pattern” on Bitcoin’s daily chart, suggesting the potential for a substantial rally towards $60,520 if $50,000 to $53,000 price levels are maintained.

Ethereum’s Momentum Surges

Notably, aside from Bitcoin, Rasmussen also talked about Ethereum. So far, Ethereum’s price has outperformed that of Bitcoin.

Rasmussen attributed this surge in Ethereum’s value to speculation surrounding approving a spot Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the US and the DenCun upgrade scheduled for March, which is expected to reduce transaction costs.

However, regardless of Ethereum’s optimism, Rasmussen cautioned that the approval of Ethereum spot ETFs might not be as straightforward as BTC spot ETFs.

He pointed out the reluctance of the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s Chair, Gensler, towards spot Bitcoin ETFs, suggesting a similar stance towards Ethereum.

Rasmussen also noted that the recent Grayscale lawsuit may not have the same positive impact on Ethereum spot ETF approval as it did for Bitcoin. Looking ahead, he estimated a 50% chance of approval or rejection for Ethereum spot ETFs in May.

The introduction of BTC spot ETFs has already significantly impacted the market, with billions flowing into spot Bitcoin ETFs. Should Ethereum spot ETF get approved, Rasmussen anticipates a similar demand for Ethereum spot ETFs, which could drive buying pressure and potentially increase prices.

Featured image from Unsplash, Chart from TradingView

February has been an overall notable month for cryptocurrencies and the crypto industry. We’ve seen Bitcoin and Ether, the two largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, reach milestones not seen since the crypto winter started.

The bull run has seemingly started, as many analysts and investors have announced, and it appears to be following a ‘2-year trend’ where the industry is beginning to reclaim the heights lost in 2022. Consequentially, the rally has propelled the overall market cap of the crypto industry.

Stablecoins Remain Stable, But The Market Is Expanding

According to data from DefiLlama, stablecoins have joined the crypto market in the bullish rally, as its market capitalization hit $140 billion for the first time since December 2022.

Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies designed to have value pegged to another currency, like the US dollar, or a commodity, like gold. They account for a large portion of the daily trading volume of cryptocurrencies, as many consider them more useful for everyday transactions.

The slow and steady recovery of the crypto industry has been maturing the bullish sentiment in the community. Fueled by investors’ trust in crypto assets and important developments in the industry, the crypto market seems to be recovering to achieve a performance like that of the previous crypto bull run.

However, stablecoin’s recent market expansion is not only fueled by the positive sentiment. Tether (USDT) sits as the third largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, with over $98 billion, and it has continued to extend its reach in the last few years.

Just this month, USDT’s market cap increased by $2 billion; in the last year, it has risen by over $28 billion. USDT is also ranked as the first cryptocurrency by trading volume in the previous 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

Circle’s USDC, ranked fifth by daily trading volume and seventh by market cap, has also seen impressive growth, with its $2 billion market cap increase showing a recovery this month.

The stablecoin’s market capitalization saw a 1-year slump after dropping from $40 billion in March last year. However, the relisting of its trading pairs on Binance and the recent expansion to international markets has fueled USDC’s ‘resurgence,’ as Coinbase recently called it.

Crypto Market Cap Hits $2T

Today, the total crypto market cap hit $2 trillion as Bitcoin’s price spiked to $57,000, increasing 32.2% monthly and 101.3% in the past year. This milestone has not been reached since April 2022, when the total crypto market cap was at $2.1 trillion.

However, Bitcoin’s parabolic surge is not the only reason behind this achievement, as the altcoin market cap, which includes all cryptocurrencies except for BTC, has grown 29.35% in 30 days.

Accordingly, the market capitalization for altcoins hit $255 billion, representing a 111.6% surge last year. Similarly, this level has not been seen since April of 2022.

The altcoin market has seen green throughout February as interest in cryptocurrencies soared massively, led by the ETFs frenzy that started building at the end of last year and exploded in January.

In a significant development for the Floki Inu memecoin, digital asset market maker investment firm DWF Labs has revealed its plans to purchase $10 million worth of FLOKI tokens. The announcement has triggered a remarkable surge in the token’s price, propelling it to a new 9-month high at $0.00005097.

DWF Labs Strengthens Partnership With Floki Inu

According to the official statement, DWF Labs will acquire the tokens directly from the Floki treasury over two years, reflecting DWF Labs’ commitment to support the protocol’s ecosystem. 

As announced, the firm recognizes the potential for an “explosive” bull run in the cryptocurrency industry and aims to leverage FLOKI’s utility and marketing strength to capitalize on this opportunity.

The partnership between Floki and DWF Labs was initially established in May 2023, when DWF Labs purchased $5 million worth of FLOKI tokens. Since then, DWF Labs has played a pivotal role in boosting FLOKI adoption. 

Through the partnership, DFW Labs reportedly facilitated key exchange listings, introduced Floki to influential industry projects, and publicly championed the token’s progress and achievements. DFW Labs concluded in the announcement:

This massive FLOKI token purchase will further deepen our relationship with DWF Labs while strategically positioning FLOKI for dominance in an increasingly competitive landscape during this bull run

Price Soars, TVL Rises, And Chinese TV Exposure

Exciting developments continue for FLOKI as it gains significant exposure on China’s national sports TV channels, CCTV5 and CCTV5+. This exposure results from a strategic market partnership announced in 2023, which took place during the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals in Busan 2024.

According to the memecoin development team, this opportunity to be featured on mainstream Chinese television has introduced Floki and its sister asset, TokenFi (TOKEN), to an extensive audience of over 340 million people and solidified their presence in the Chinese market.

The Floki Inu team expressed their excitement about this milestone, emphasizing that being featured on mainstream Chinese television is remarkable, making them among the very few cryptocurrencies to receive such recognition.

Another achievement for Floki Inu is the success of their FlokiFi Locker, a decentralized finance (DeFi) crypto locker protocol. The team announced that the Total Value Locked (TVL) in the FlokiFi Locker had reached an all-time high of $111 million, setting a new record and highlighting the widespread adoption of the token’s utility products.

In addition, the team announced that the total value locked for staked FLOKI tokens has reached an all-time high of $105 million. This represents 25% of the token’s supply, with $105,313,899 worth of tokens locked and staked for up to 4 years.

This position of dominance in staking distinguishes the dog-themed token from other major “memecoins” such as DogeCoin (DOGE), Shiba Inu (SHIB), BONK, and PEPE, as FLOKI has the largest share of its supply staked among them.

The memcoin token is trading at $0.00004080, maintaining its gains with a surge of over 32% in the last 24 hours. As a result, the market capitalization has jumped to nearly $500 million, reaching $475 million, according to the latest update.

Additionally, the trading volume for FLOKI has significantly increased, reaching $204 million in the past 24 hours.

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com

On-chain data shows a Polygon whale has made a sizeable deposit to the cryptocurrency exchange Binance, a sign that may be bearish for MATIC.

Polygon Whale Has Deposited $13.7M Worth Of MATIC To Binance

According to data from the cryptocurrency transaction tracker service Whale Alert, a massive MATIC transaction has been spotted on the blockchain during the past day.

The transfer in question involved the movement of 13.1 million MATIC, worth almost $13.7 million in US Dollars, when the transaction went through on the network. Given the large scale of the transfer, it’s likely that a whale entity was responsible for it.

Whales can be influential beings on the blockchain due to their sheer scale of holdings. As such, their movements can be worth watching, as they may lead to fluctuations in the market or, at the very least, inform us about the sentiment among these humongous entities.

As for what any such transaction may imply for the market, it comes down to the intent behind it. Below are additional details regarding the latest Polygon whale transfer, which may reveal its context.

As is visible above, the sending address involved in this Polygon transaction was an unknown wallet. This means the address was unaffiliated with any known centralized platform like an exchange and, thus, was likely to be an investor’s wallet.

On the other hand, the receiving address was connected to a centralized entity: the cryptocurrency exchange Binance. Moves like this that go from unknown wallets to exchanges are known as exchange inflows.

The whale making an inflow to Binance suggests they wanted to use one of the platform’s services, which can include selling. As such, the transaction may prove to be bearish for Polygon’s price if the whale ends up selling their stack.

MATIC Is Behind Market With Only 1% Surge Today

Whereas the rest of the cryptocurrency market has been racing up in the past day, led by Bitcoin’s strong surge towards $57,000, Polygon has lagged as the asset has only been able to see an uplift of 1% in the last 24 hours.

The below chart shows how the coin has performed in the last few days.

However, Polygon’s returns of around 7% over the past week aren’t too far off from Bitcoin’s 9% profits in the same period. Still, the relatively poor performance in the past day may be why the whale has potentially decided to sell their large stack.

Regarding market cap, MATIC is currently the 14th largest coin in the sector, with its closest competitor, Polkadot (DOT), speeding away with its gains of more than 6%.

Cardano (ADA) could be on the path to breaking new price levels in the coming weeks, as indicated by on-chain data and adoption growth. The creation of new wallets on the Cardano blockchain has seen multiple spikes on various days since the beginning of February, showing a potential influx of new money into Cardano.

According to on-chain data, new addresses on the Cardano network spiked 89% between February 22 and February. Similarly, this metric witnessed a 248% surge earlier in the month between February 1 and February 2. Such a huge influx of new wallets is a very bullish signal for ADA. 

Cardano Metrics Points To Increased Interest

One of the major factors to consider when considering the adoption rate of cryptocurrencies is the amount of new wallets created. According to on-chain data, the number of new wallets added to the Cardano blockchain spiked from 1,706 on February 22 to 3,227 on February 23. Similarly, this metric witnessed a larger spike from 1,553 on February 1 to 5,414 on February 2.

While the number of new wallets created daily has slowed down since February 23, it has steadied above 1,500 since the beginning of February. The total number of wallets registered on the Cardano network has also been steadily climbing and is almost at 4.6 million addresses. 

Active daily addresses have climbed above 30,000 since the beginning of the year, recently reaching 64,568 active addresses on February 16. This growth on the back end shows that interest in the Cardano ecosystem is skyrocketing as more people want to get their hands on the native ADA token. This could translate into more demand for ADA, leading to a price increase.

ADA To Reclaim $3.1 Price Level?

ADA holders have been left wondering if the price can revisit its all-time high above $3.1 this year. After ranging and trading mostly $0.6 last week, ADA has now broken past the $0.62 mark again after a 6.99% influx into the entire crypto market. At the time of writing, Cardano is now trading at $0.6211, up by 6.23% in the past 24 hours and up 29.85% in the past 30 days.

However, ADA’s path back to the all-time high of $3.1 remains difficult, as it must overcome numerous price resistances. The first stage would be to get significant traction above $0.63. If successful, ADA might launch a new rise above $0.63, reaching $0.66 for the first time since December 2023.

As long as Cardano stays above $0.66, it is in good shape to eventually reach $1.20. Many long-term holders (529,000 addresses) who bought around this price point would likely sell here to break even. But if adoption increases and demand is strong enough, ADA could power right through.

Bitcoin (BTC) has witnessed a remarkable ascent, surpassing the $57,000 mark and recording a year-to-date surge of over 142%. The cryptocurrency’s market capitalization has also surged towards $1.14 billion, reaching levels not seen since December 2021. With the previous all-time high (ATH) of $69,000 within sight, the bullish sentiment surrounding Bitcoin is becoming increasingly evident.

Setting Eyes On $100,000 And $200,000.

Prominent Bitcoin maximalist Max Keiser, known for his optimism even during the harshest bear markets, has suggested the possibility of a “God Candle” scenario given the current market conditions.

To provide further context, this term describes a vast and powerful candlestick pattern on a price chart that indicates a significant and sudden price movement. According to Keiser, if such a pattern were to emerge, it could propel Bitcoin toward the $100,000 price level, shattering its previous record. 

Traders and analysts interpret a “God Candle” as a highly bullish signal, reflecting robust buying pressure and the potential for a trend reversal or continuation. It often signifies a notable shift in market sentiment and catalyzes further price appreciation.

Adding to the optimistic outlook for Bitcoin, crypto analyst Gert van Lagen has projected a target of $200,000 for BTC. Analyzing the 1-week chart, van Lagen notes that Bitcoin’s price has been following a “parabolic trajectory” since November 2022 and is on track to reach $200,000 soon. 

According to the analyst, this parabolic pattern aligns with the previous fifth sub-waves that have historically similarly intersected the blue trendline, as seen in the chart below. 

Notably, van Lagen points out that a breach of the 78.6% Fibonacci retracement level, which Bitcoin has already crossed, tends to trigger an immediate parabolic spike.

Finally, the analyst highlights the rising risk-on sentiment in the stock market and the strong correlation between Bitcoin and the S&P 500 since late 2021 as additional support for this bullish forecast.

Bull Market Cycle For Bitcoin Until 2025?

Renowned market expert Peter Brandt revised his Bitcoin price target in a recent post on social media X (formerly Twitter), raising it from $120,000 to $200,000. 

Brandt attributes this adjustment to Bitcoin’s recent breakthrough above the upper boundary of a 15-month channel, indicating a potential bull market cycle until August or September 2025. However, the analyst says a close below last week’s low of $50,600 would invalidate this interpretation. 

As Brandt points out, the $50,600 price level represents a 1-week resistance level for the largest cryptocurrency on the market, which, in the event of a price correction, as has historically happened whenever a sudden price spike occurs in BTC’s price action, Bitcoin would likely retest the $49,900 support level on its weekly chart. A drop towards $47,000 could be imminent in a more extreme scenario.

However, with Bitcoin currently trading at $56,800, up 4.2% in the last 24 hours, its bullish uptrend seems far from over, potentially leading to a parabolic continuation of its price, as van Lagen and other analysts suggested.

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com

With the Bitcoin price rallying, one analyst has taken to X, highlighting the current state of bullish affairs. In a post, the analyst thinks the world’s most valuable coin is approaching “escape velocity,” with price action deviating from candlestick arrangements in the past. This is usually the case, especially when prices are approaching all-time highs.

Will Bitcoin Rip Past $70,000 In Coming Days?

The analyst notes that a normal BTC cycle would, at current prices and considering how the coin has been rallying in the past few weeks, typically have seen a pullback. The correction would then be followed by an extended period of consolidation, often stretching at least six months.

However, since there is a clear deviation, looking at price action in the monthly chart, the analyst is convinced that Bitcoin is about to lift off. The resulting rally would be at “escape velocity,” the coin would easily extend gains, easing past all-time highs. 

Bitcoin is firmly in an uptrend at spot rates, looking at events in the daily chart. Specifically, Bitcoin trades above $57,200 when writing, registering new 2024 highs. Over the past day, the coin has broken above key resistance levels, easily breaking $53,000 and later $55,000 in a buy trend continuation formation.

Rising Funding Rates And Open Interest As Institutions Double Down

With soaring interest, exchange data shows that there has been a spike in annualized funding rates and open interest across multiple platforms, enabling the trading of Bitcoin perpetual futures. Data from Coinglass shows that the funding rate in Binance is now at over 0.0686%. The same has been observed with open interest, which now stands at over $6.2 billion on Binance.

Changes in open interest and funding rates are leading indicators that can be used to gauge market sentiment. Usually, rising open interest and funding rates suggest increasing bullish sentiment, especially among leverage traders. In this scenario, the possibility of prices maintaining the uptrend remains high.

Confidence among traders is exceptionally high. It is fueled by recent institutional developments, macro factors, and the expectations ahead of the incoming halving event. For context, the ten approved spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States have since received billions.

Observers now worry that at this pace, and ahead of the Bitcoin halving event, there would be a supply shock crisis. The concern is that after April, the number of coins released will be way less than those being gobbled by institutions. BTC prices will likely rally out of this, which will be out of reach for ordinary folks.

Like Bitcoin, Ethereum has also picked up steam, with the second-largest crypto token crossing the $3,000 resistance level for the first time since 2021. Interestingly, this crypto analyst believes the rally is far from over, as he highlighted a key price level that ETH could hit soon enough. 

Ethereum Could Rise To As High As $4,000

Crypto analyst Altcoin Sherpa suggested in an X (formerly Twitter) post that Ethereum could rise to as high as $4,000. His prediction looks feasible when one considers crypto analyst Bitcoin Ape’s recent analysis of Ethereum from a technical analysis perspective. 

In his X post, Bitcoin Ape noted that the ADX (average directional index) indicator is currently “very high,” signalling that ETH’s bullish trend is strong. Indeed, this bullish momentum might be very strong as the crypto token has since crossed the $3,130 price level, which Bitcoin Ape highlighted in his post as ETH’s new resistance level. 

Interestingly, the analyst noted that Ethereum had already faced four resistance levels in February alone and has so far broken all of them, having also crossed the $3,130 mark. Although Bitcoin Ape failed to give his short-term prediction for ETH, he expects the crypto token to hit its all-time high (ATH) of $4,891 when the bull run returns in full force.  

Meanwhile, Altcoin Sherpa isn’t the only one who believes that ETH could rise to $4,000 soon enough. Standard Chartered Bank had also predicted that the crypto token would hit this price level by the time the Spot Ethereum ETF is approved in May. 

Crypto analyst Rager also recently gave a bullish prediction for ETH’s price, although he put his short-term target at $3,500. However, he added that this price level is only the beginning, stating that it isn’t the “peak high by any means.”

Ethereum’s Rally Not Hinged On Bitcoin’s Success

There is reason to believe Ethereum’s current bullish momentum isn’t due to Bitcoin’s price surge, as the Ethereum ecosystem also has narratives that may be driving ETH’s rally. For one, the Ethereum network’s ‘Dencun’ upgrade is set to take place on March 13. This much-anticipated event is significant as it would usher in advancements in the scalability, security, and usability of the Ethereum network.

Meanwhile, talks about a Spot Ethereum ETF likely being approved in May have created a lot of excitement for investors who have chosen to double down on their investments in the second-largest crypto token in anticipation of this happening. 

The increased interest in ETH is expected to spark significant rallies in its price ahead of the May deadline, when the SEC will have to approve or deny VanEck’s Spot Ethereum ETF application.