A cryptocurrency analyst has explained that Polygon could be on the brink of a major move due to a pattern in an on-chain indicator.

Polygon Whale Transactions Have Shot Up Recently

In a new post on X, analyst Ali has pointed out how the whales have shown a notable surge in activity on the MATIC network recently. The relevant indicator here is the “whale transaction count,” which keeps track of the total number of Polygon transfers happening on the blockchain that exceed a value of $100,000.

When the value of this metric is high, it means that the a large amount of such transactions are taking place right now. Such a trend is a sign that the whale entities have an active interest in trading the cryptocurrency.

On the other hand, the indicator being low implies the whales are potentially not paying much attention to the asset currently, as they aren’t making too many moves.

Now, here is a chart that shows the trend in the Polygon whale transaction count over the past month:

As displayed in the above graph, the Polygon whale transaction count has observed a sharp rise in the last few days and has attained high levels not seen at any point during the past month.

In the chart, Ali has also attached the data for another version of the metric that keeps track of only the MATIC transactions that are carrying a value of at least $1 million.

These massive transactions are the ones more likely to move the market and it would appear that they have also gone up in number recently, implying that the whales haven’t been shy of moving around large stacks.

“Such significant movements often signal impending price changes,” explains the analyst in the post. “So we could be on the brink of a major MATIC price move!”

Any volatility that may arise of this high whale activity, however, could theoretically go in either direction, as the whale transaction count only tells us whether the whales are active or not, and doesn’t contain any info about whether buying or selling is dominant.

Considering that the transactions have spiked after the price has registered a significant drawdown from its recent local top above $0.94, though, it’s possible that the whales are making these moves to buy at the current relatively low prices.

It now remains to be seen how the Polygon price develops in the coming days given the high amount of trading activity that the whales have been participating in.

MATIC Price

Following the recent plunge, Polygon hasn’t been moving much in the last few days as its price has gone rather stale below the $0.80 level. The below chart shows how the cryptocurrency has performed during the last 30 days.

The crypto industry went through a period of evolution in 2023 to reiterate its position in the global market. This evolution was particularly spearheaded by Bitcoin’s dominance, with the crypto registering gains in the last quarter that were practically absent in the earlier parts of the year. 

All the signs are there; interest is picking up, big money from institutions is sniffing around again, several important technical and on-chain pricing models this year have been confirmed, and the dust seems to have finally settled from the prolonged bear market in 2022.  

The Crypto Winter Thaws: Signs of Life in 2023

2023 was majorly a year of correction for the extended bear market in 2022 which saw Bitcoin fall 76% from its all-time high to trade at a bottom of $15,883. According to a report from Glassnode, major market structure shifts are now taking place within the crypto industry to reflect growing optimism. 

Bitcoin, for one, is showing a strong interest from its long-term holders, as the industry awaits the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US. One particular feature of the year that indicated a strong bullish momentum was the shallow depth of market correction, indicating the industry is maturing into a more stable market in terms of price volatility. 

Bitcoin’s deepest correction in 2023 closed just -20% below the local high, better than historical pullbacks of least -25% to -50%. 

Ethereum also saw shallow corrections, with the deepest reaching -40% in early January. 

From an on-chain perspective, the realized cap in the 2022 bear market for both assets showed a net capital outflow of -18% for BTC and -30% for ETH. The momentum kickstarted in October, as the news of various applications of spot Bitcoin ETFs turned the crypto market on its heels. As a result, Bitcoin finally broke above the $30,000 level which it had traded below for the majority of the year. 

This cascaded into the altcoin market, with Solana, Cardano, and Ethereum all seeing renewed interest and growth in prices and DeFi TVL. According to Glassnode, the total value locked into Ethereum’s layer-2 blockchains increased by 60%, with over $12 billion now locked into bridges.

According to CoinShares, the bullish sentiment has also flowed into institutions. October’s rally sparked an 11-week run of inflows into digital asset investment funds. At the time of writing, the year-to-date inflows now sit at $1.86 billion.

The crypto industry, particularly Bitcoin, is primed for astounding growth in 2024, with various price catalysts like the SEC’s approval of spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs in the US, and the next Bitcoin halving. The altcoin market should also follow, spearheaded by Ethereum. 

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is up by 159% this year, outperforming other asset classes. On the other hand, Ethereum and Solana have dominated the altcoin market, up by 82% and 616% respectively.

On-chain data shows that XRP whales have been making exchange inflows in the past day, a sign that may be negative for the asset’s price.

XRP Whales Have Made Multiple Large Exchange Inflows Today

According to data from the cryptocurrency transaction tracker service Whale Alert, the XRP network has handled a few large transactions during the last 24 hours.

In total, there have been four such transfers, each worth at least $10.9 million. Given the huge scale of these moves, it’s likely that whale entities were responsible for them.

The whales are naturally influential players on the network as they carry large amounts in their wallets. Thus, their transfers can be worth watching, as they may end up causing fluctuations in the market.

How such a transfer would influence the price depends on what the intent behind it was. It’s generally hard to find the exact motive behind any transaction, but depending on what type of transfer it was and which wallets were involved, some hints can perhaps be gathered.

Three of the whale transactions from the past day have been similar in structure. Here are the address details of the first of these large transfers:

As is visible above, this transaction involved a movement of 24.6 million XRP (worth over $15 million at the time the transfer went through) between an unknown wallet and an address attached to the cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp.

Unknown wallets are addresses unaffiliated with any known central entity, so the sender address here was likely the whale’s personal wallet. One of the main reasons why an investor would transfer coins from their self-custodial wallets to an exchange is for selling purposes, so it’s possible that this humongous holder has made this move to part with the stack.

Interestingly, the second exchange inflow transaction from the last 24 hours also appears to have been made by the same whale, as the sending addresses match.

While the receiver in the case of this transaction worth 18 million XRP ($10.9 million) is also an exchange, the platform is Bitso this time, and not Bitstamp as was the case with the other transfer.

The third and final exchange inflow seems to have involved both a different sender and receiver, suggesting that a different whale entirely was responsible for this 20 million tokens ($12.1 million) transfer.

As mentioned earlier, it’s hard to say for sure anything about the intent behind these moves, but given that they are exchange inflows, they can potentially end up proving to be bearish for the cryptocurrency.

The fourth and the oldest large transaction that has occurred inside this window was actually the largest one and it would appear that Ripple, the company behind the cryptocurrency, was the sender involved.

As is apparent above, the firm has shifted 120 million XRP ($73.8 million) to an unknown wallet. There can be many reasons why the company would have made such a transaction, ranging from a simple change of wallets to a selling move.

Token Price

XRP has mostly been moving sideways recently as it currently trades around the $0.61886 level.

Crypto analyst Dark Defender has also weighed in on the recent narratives revolving around the XRP tepid price action. The analyst is choosing not to listen to any of those as he is confident that the future trajectory of the XRP token is bullish. 

No Need To Listen To FUD

In a post on his X (formerly Twitter) platform, Dark Defender mentioned that he doesn’t listen to the FUD (Fear, uncertainty, and doubt). He also seemed to be urging the XRP community to ignore the FUD as he stated that the token is still proceeding according to “our plan” based on the weekly time frame. 

Source: X

He alluded back to several comments and analyses he had made about XRP’s price action. One of them was on June 4, when he had set Wave 1 on the charts to $0.89. On June 21, he also detailed the target levels that XRP could attain. Meanwhile, he had set the limit for Wave 2 to $0.46 and Wave 3 to $1.88 on September 13. 

Dark Defender noted that nothing has changed since then, as the targets “were and are the same.” The crypto analyst was basically suggesting that there was no need to be worried about XRP’s price action as everything was going according to plan from a technical analysis perspective.  

XRP Still Headed To $5.85

As to XRP’s future trajectory, Dark Defender reaffirmed that the upcoming target is still $1.88 and $5.85 based on the Elliot Waves, which he had highlighted months back. From the accompanying chart that he shared, Dark Defender focused more on the $5.85 price level. 

Source: X

He is confident in XRP hitting that price because he foresees the token touching the “261.80% Fibonacci Level at $5.85.” It won’t, however, be up from $1.88 as the crypto analyst predicts that there will be a correction from that price level. 

Going by Dark Defender’s past price predictions, $5.85 won’t be the peak, as one can still expect upward price movement. The crypto analyst had previously mentioned that XRP would hit $18 soon enough. He noted then that XRP was likely going to face a strong resistance at $1.08. However, he projects that it will be “kaboom” once XRP is able to break from that level. 

In the meantime, many will be hoping that XRP can at least experience a significant rally to end the year. At the time of writing, XRP is trading around $0.61, up over 1% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. 

The Artificial Intelligence (AI) financial blockchain, Injective (INJ), had its price reach an unprecedented $44 on December 20, capping a year of gains of an astounding 3,200%. The Injective ecosystem’s biggest investors started to increase their holdings after INJ passed its previous all-time high of $22, according to on-chain data.

In 2023, INJ started a parabolic climb. The token hit a new all-time high at the end of this sharp rise before somewhat declining. Although there are some indications of temporary weakening, the general outlook is still very optimistic about continued price growth.

INJ Flexes Its Muscles

Over the last month, INJ increased by an impressive 150%. Despite big wallet addresses profiting from it, it kept rising. The token’s price gains are supported by on-chain measures.

As of this writing, INJ weakened a bit, and was trading at $38.60, still up roughly 28% in just the previous seven days despite the retreat. Although some analysts had earlier forecast that INJ prices will probably soar over $40 before the year is up, that is still up in the air given a number of macroeconomic considerations.

On Wednesday, injective saw yet another surge as investors kept pouring money into the altcoin and cryptocurrency markets. Situated squarely at the crossroads of decentralized finance and AI, its governance token has emerged as one of the most successful digital assets of 2023.

Market watchers have identified a number of major factors driving this incredible rally, including the acceleration from leverage-seeking short-term traders, centralized exchanges’ incentives for creating volatility, and a spike in trading volumes for INJ perpetual futures contracts that exceeded $25 billion in a single day.

More Whales Are Gobbling Up INJ

Between December 4 and December 19, whale trades for $100,000 and more increased, contributing to the boom. The Network Realized Profit/Loss measure shows that this is in line with taking profits. The Santiment chart above shows that INJ holders made money on their token sales in December.

Meanwhile, INJ has shown a fantastic price rise that has exceeded a remarkable 500% growth in value since middle of October. A closer study using technical analysis indicates a bullish prognosis, suggesting that there are currently clear skies ahead for the token’s ascent, especially above $44.

Analysts and investors believe that INJ will likely hit and even surpass the $40–$50 price range in the near future, which highlights the cryptocurrency’s good performance and the market’s favorable attitude toward it.

In a related development, current on-chain data shows a bullish movement among high net worth investors and business organizations in INJ. Santiment notes a substantial increase in purchasing activity among the top 100 Injective wallets this week.

As of December 8, these wallets had 96.63 million units of the token, as seen in the chart above. But as of December 20, they had quickly added 460,000 INJ to their holdings, bringing their total value to 97.06 million INJ.

Featured image from PIxaybay

The past two months have been a green flag for the broader crypto market in the run-up to the festive season. Although the hype has since cooled down, a few outliers continue to follow the upward trend. NEAR is one of those tokens that aren’t showing signs of cooling down.

According to Coingecko, the token is up nearly 8% in the daily, with the biggest jump being at 23% in the weekly timeframe. With this price ascent, NEAR just reached a new high of $2.81. The token hit its all-time high of $20.42 in January 2022. 

The token’s market capitalization has likewise ballooned significantly, currently priced around $2.8 billion. Several on-chain integrations power this new wave of bullishness for NEAR. 

NEAR: Monolithic And Modular?

Recently, eyes are on NEAR as it continues to improve its systems. According to a Medium article last week, the protocol is implementing more changes to become what they call “a monolithic going modular” blockchain. 

“In a monolithic blockchain, all four functions are executed by the same set of nodes. This has some benefits, such as high security, easier deployment, and potentially improved utility for users thanks to the ability to specialize the entire network,” the Medium article said. 

Although the NEAR team says that the token is a monolothic chain, its implementation of sharding do not overwhelm individual validators. However, this isn’t enough for users as both users and developers quickly realized that publishing on Ethereum becomes an expensive ordeal. 

But NEAR DA aims to change that. 

NEAR DA (“DA” meaning data availability) will give rollup operators access to NEAR’s storage capacity. 

“NEAR runs four shards with roughly 16MB throughput a second. Assuming 100 bytes per transaction, you can store quite a significant amount of your data on NEAR at a fraction of the cost of publishing to NEAR,” the article explained.

As of writing, only a handful of rollups are using NEAR DA; namely Caldera, Fluent, and Movement Labs. Once this capability is in the hands of commercial users and other rollup operators, NEAR will be able to increase exposure to other investors. 

Meanwhile, according to Artemis data, there has been a significant increase in network activity on the NEAR blockchain since the beginning of the month.

The data source claims that there has been a 975% increase in the daily count of unique wallet addresses sending on-chain transactions on the network.

How Does This Affect NEAR’s Price? 

As of now, the token is on its way to break through $2.90 price ceiling. However, it seems that the January 2022 high of $20.42 will be a tough nut to crack as the bears mount a strong defense. But the advent of strong on-chain development along with good market conditions will bring more bullishness in the short to medium-term. 

For now, investors and traders should brace for a possible correction towards $2.25 once the hype starts to settle down. 

Featured images from Shutterstock

Ethereum price is still struggling to climb again above $2,250 while Bitcoin broke $43,500. ETH is showing a few concerning signs and might take a major hit.

Ethereum is struggling to gain pace for a move above the $2,250 resistance zone.
The price is trading below $2,220 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average.
There is a key bullish trend line forming with support near $2,170 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken).
The pair could decline heavily if it stays below $2,250 for a long time.

Ethereum Price Faces Hurdles

Ethereum price made another attempt to clear the $2,250 and $2,265 resistance levels. However, ETH failed to settle above the $2,250 resistance. There are clearly more than two rejections noted near the $2,250 and $2,265 levels.

On the other hand, Bitcoin gained pace for a move above the $43,500 resistance. This could be a warning sign for ETH bulls. The recent low was formed near $2,155 and the price is now consolidating. It is above the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the recent decline from the $2,265 swing high to the $2,155 low.

There is also a key bullish trend line forming with support near $2,170 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD. Ethereum is now trading below $2,220 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average.

On the upside, the price is facing resistance near the $2,210 level. It is close to the 50% Fib retracement level of the recent decline from the $2,265 swing high to the $2,155 low. The next key resistance is near the $2,250 level or $2,265. A clear move above the $2,2650 zone could send the price toward the $2,320 level.

Source: ETHUSD on TradingView.com

The next resistance sits at $2,365. Any more gains could start a wave toward the $2,450 level, above which Ethereum might rally and test the $2,500 zone.

More Losses in ETH?

If Ethereum fails to clear the $2,250 resistance, it could start another decline. Initial support on the downside is near the $2,170 level and the trend line.

The first key support could be the $2,120 zone. A downside break and a close below $2,120 might spark strong bearish moves. In the stated case, Ether could revisit the $2,000 support. Any more losses might send the price toward the $1,880 level in the coming sessions.

Technical Indicators

Hourly MACD – The MACD for ETH/USD is losing momentum in the bullish zone.

Hourly RSI – The RSI for ETH/USD is now below the 50 level.

Major Support Level – $2,170

Major Resistance Level – $2,250

AVAX price rallied over 10% and traded above the $45 level. Avalanche is gaining pace and might soon clear the $50 resistance zone.

AVAX price is moving higher from the $38.00 support zone against the US dollar.
The price is trading above $42.00 and the 100 simple moving average (4 hours).
There is a major rising channel forming with support near $40.80 on the 4-hour chart of the AVAX/USD pair (data source from Kraken).
The pair could continue to rise if it stays above the $40 and $38 support levels.

AVAX Price Could Extend Rally

After a downside correction, Avalanche’s AVAX found support near the $38.00 zone. A low was formed near $36.48, and the price started a fresh increase.

The price gained over 10% and broke many hurdles near $40. It even outperformed Bitcoin and Ethereum. There was a clear wave above the 76.4% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $45.33 swing high to the $36.48 low.

AVAX price is now trading above $42 and the 100 simple moving average (4 hours). There is also a major rising channel forming with support near $40.80 on the 4-hour chart of the AVAX/USD pair.

Source: AVAXUSD on TradingView.com

On the upside, an immediate resistance is near the $45.40 zone. The next major resistance is forming near the $46.80 zone. If there is an upside break above the $45.40 and $46.80 levels, the price could surge over 10%. In the stated case, the price could rise steadily toward the $50 level or even $52.

Dips Supported in Avalanche?

If AVAX price fails to continue higher above the $45.40 or $46.80 levels, it could start a downside correction. Immediate support on the downside is near the channel trend line at $40.80.

The main support is near the $38.00 zone. A downside break below the $38.00 level could open the doors for a major decline towards $34.20 and the 100 simple moving average (4 hours). The next major support is near the $27.50 level.

Technical Indicators

4 hours MACD – The MACD for AVAX/USD is gaining momentum in the bullish zone.

4 hours RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for AVAX/USD is now above the 50 level.

Major Support Levels – $40.80 and $38.00.

Major Resistance Levels – $45.40, $46.80, and $50.00.

Bitcoin price is moving higher and recently broke the $43,500 resistance. BTC is still in a strong uptrend and might gain pace for a move above $45,000.

Bitcoin extended its increase and climbed above the $43,500 resistance zone.
The price is trading above $43,000 and the 100 hourly Simple moving average.
There is a connecting bullish trend line forming with support near $43,100 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).
The pair could continue to move up if there is a close above $44,500 and $45,000.

Bitcoin Price Regains Strength

Bitcoin price remained stable above the $42,000 resistance zone. BTC gained bullish momentum and climbed above the $43,000 resistance zone. It even cleared the key $43,500 barrier.

Finally, the price tested the $44,300 level. A high is formed near $44,300 and the price is now correcting gains. There was a minor decline below the $44,000 level. The price dipped below the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the recent increase from the $41,828 swing low to the $44,300 high.

Bitcoin is now trading above $43,000 and the 100 hourly Simple moving average. There is also a connecting bullish trend line forming with support near $43,100 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair.

The current price action and the recent breakout calls for more gains. On the upside, immediate resistance is near the $44,000 level. The first major resistance is forming near $44,300 and $44,500. A close above the $44,500 resistance could set the pace for a move above $45,000.

Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

The next key resistance could be near $46,500, above which BTC could rise toward the $47,200 level. The next major target for the bulls could be $48,000.

Another Decline In BTC?

If Bitcoin fails to rise above the $44,500 resistance zone, it could continue to move down. Immediate support on the downside is near the $43,200 level.

The next major support is near $43,000 or the 50% Fib retracement level of the recent increase from the $41,828 swing low to the $44,300 high. If there is a move below $43,000, there is a risk of more losses. In the stated case, the price could drop toward the $42,000 support in the near term.

Technical indicators:

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

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

Major Support Levels – $43,100, followed by $43,000.

Major Resistance Levels – $44,300, $44,500, and $45,000.

Hardware wallet manufacturer Ledger has responded to a recent security breach resulting in the theft of $600,000 worth of user assets. 

The company has pledged to enhance its security protocols by eliminating Blind Signing, a process where transactions are displayed in code rather than plain language, by June 2024.

Ledger Takes Responsibility For ConnectKit Attack

In a statement, Ledger emphasized its focus on addressing the recent security incident and preventing similar occurrences in the future. 

The company acknowledged the approximately $600,000 in assets that were impacted by the ConnectKit attack, particularly affecting users blind signing on Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) decentralized applications (dApps). 

Furthermore, Ledger pledged to make sure affected victims are fully compensated, including non-Ledger customers, with CEO & Chairman Pascal Gauthier personally overseeing the restitution process. 

According to the statement, Ledger has already initiated contact with affected users and is actively working with them to resolve their specific cases.

In addition, by June 2024, blind signing will no longer be supported on Ledger devices, contributing to a “new standard of user protection” and advocating for “Clear Signing,” which refers to a process that allows users to verify transactions on their Ledger devices before signing them across dApps.

On this matter, Ledger’s CEO Pascal Gauthier stated: 

My personal commitment: Ledger will dedicate as much internal and external resources as possible to help the affected individuals recover their assets.

Heightened dApp Security Measures

According to an incident report released by the hardware wallet manufacturer, the attack exploited the Ledger Connect Kit, injecting malicious code into dApps utilizing the kit. 

This malicious code redirected assets to the attacker’s wallets, tricking EVM dApp users into “unknowingly signing transactions” that drained their wallets. 

Ledger addressed the attack by deploying a genuine fix for the Connect Kit within 40 minutes of detection. The compromised code remained accessible for a limited time due to the nature of content delivery networks (CDNs) and caching mechanisms.

Ledger acknowledged the risks faced by the entire industry in safeguarding users and emphasized the need to continually raise the bar for security in dApps. 

The company plans to strengthen its access controls, conduct audits of internal and external tools, reinforce code signing, and improve infrastructure monitoring and alerting systems. 

Additionally, Ledger will educate users on the importance of Clear Signing and the potential risks associated with blind signing transactions without a secure display.

Notably, with Clear Signing, users are presented with a clear and readable representation of the transaction details, enabling them to review and validate the transaction before providing their signature. 

This added layer of transparency and verification helps users mitigate the risks associated with front-end attacks or malicious code injected into decentralized applications

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com