Chris J Terry, a cryptocurrency analyst and enthusiast, has revealed his insights on the price action of Bitcoin, predicting a continuous decline in the price of the crypto asset.

Analyst Says Bitcoin Will Continue To Drop

The crypto analyst shared his insights regarding Bitcoin with the cryptocurrency community on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), anticipating a possible “continuation of a flat or declining trend.”

He highlighted that the downtrend will continue until Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) is fully “liquidated.” According to him, the liquidation will be possible with a whopping $25 billion worth of selling activity over the next few weeks.

Terry cites Grayscale’s choice to keep Bitcoin ETF fees at 1.5% as the cause of what he sees to be the “biggest strategic error” in cryptocurrency history. This implies that Grayscale’s action might have a long-term impact on the crypto market and may prevent wider adoption.

The post read:

Looks like the BTC price will continue flat/down until GBTC is liquidated, $25B of selling over the next few weeks. Grayscale decision to keep ETF fees at 1.5% will go down as the biggest strategic error in crypto history. Greedy idiots.

His analysis emphasizes how investment vehicles are interconnected and how this affects the state of the cryptocurrency market as a whole. However, this has attracted disbelief from a few famous figures in the community.

One of the figures who has expressed disbelief is Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz. He asserted that he “disagrees” with Chris Terry’s analysis because although Novogratz experts some selling pressure activity, he believes investors will move to other ETFs, especially supporting BTCO. Novogratz also pointed out that the Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF (BTCO) is his favorite among the products.

Furthermore, Novogratz highlights the significance of maintaining perspective in light of transient market conditions. He noted that the latest development will facilitate older investors’ or boomers’ entry into the crypto landscape.

In addition, he has highlighted the potential for enhanced leverage by having 4×5 exposure to Bitcoin via BTCO. He then shared an optimistic look, noting that “BTC will go higher in the next six months after this indigestion.”

BTC Sees $25 Million Outflows 

A recent report from Coinshares has revealed that Bitcoin witnessed an outflow of a whopping $25 million. Coinshares shared the information in its most recent weekly “Digital Asset Fund Flows.”

It also noted a massive $11.8 billion in BTC trading volume last week. According to Coinshares, this is seven times more than the average weekly trading activity recorded in 2023.

There were notable withdrawals from digital asset investment products last week, totaling about $24.7 million. Notably, this spike in trading activity indicates that ETFs account for 63% of all Bitcoin volumes on reliable exchanges.

As of the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at $40,827, indicating a decline of 2.16% in the past day. Despite the price drop, its trading volume is currently up by over 81% in the last 24 hours.

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Popular Crypto YouTuber Ben Armstrong has shared his bullish prediction for the Cardano (ADA) price. While giving his prediction, Armstrong also alluded to a recent ADA price prediction that crypto analyst Ali Martinez made. 

Armstrong’s Bull Case For Cardano Is $11

In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Ben Armstrong mentioned that his bull case prediction for ADA is $11. However, the crypto YouTuber didn’t share any analysis to back up his bullish sentiment. Instead, he only referred to an earlier ADA analysis that Martinez had shared as part of his prediction of ADA hitting $7. 

In his analysis, Martinez highlighted how ADA was currently mirroring its “late 2020 behavior.” He further elaborated on how ADA could hit $7 if history were to repeat itself. According to him, if that were to happen, then ADA would resume an upward trend in April, while a pattern continuation will ultimately lead to the crypto token hitting that price level. 

Meanwhile, Armstrong isn’t the only one who believes that the Cardano price could rise to as high as $11. Dan Gambardello, the founder of Crypto Capital Venture, had previously predicted that ADA would hit this price level at the peak of the next bull market. Unlike Armstrong, Gambardello provided deeper insights as to why he holds this belief. 

He explained how Cardano has more functionalities now, unlike in the previous bull run. This includes the features that have allowed the DeFi landscape on the network to grow since 2021. The analyst also highlighted similarities between Ethereum and Cardano’s development while hinting that ADA could mirror the run that ETH enjoyed in the last bull run. 

ADA Getting Ready For The Next Bull Run

Gambardello, who once hinted that the next bull run was going to begin after the Bitcoin Halving, recently noted in an X (formerly Twitter) post that the bottoming out structure for Cardano was getting reading for this event. He highlighted how ADA cools off prior to the Halving event. According to him, this is “so bullish for ADA” as it possibly prepares for a move to the upside. 

In the meantime, he hinted that ADA could experience a 30 to 40% move to the downside as it looks to consolidate with Bitcoin and the broader crypto market. Gambardello had previously mentioned that he wasn’t concerned by ADA’s price action and still wouldn’t be even if ADA were to drop below its current price level. 

At the time of writing, ADA is trading at around $0.49, down over 3% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. 

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In the world of cryptocurrencies, XRP has once again captured the attention of market enthusiasts with a surge in whale activity. The movement of a staggering 26.8 million XRP tokens has sparked speculation among traders and investors alike.

Blockchain data tracked by Whale Alert, a renowned tracker of large cryptocurrency transactions, revealed that an unknown wallet, identified as r4wf7enWPx…5XgwHh4Rzn, transferred the substantial amount of XRP.

Ripple’s Strategic Moves Trigger XRP Transfers

The tokens, valued at approximately $14.75 million, were sent to Bitstamp, a prominent exchange based in Luxembourg City, Europe.

Interestingly, this is not the first time the mentioned wallet has made similar transfers to Bitstamp during periods of price dips. The recurrent nature of these transactions has piqued the interest of market participants, especially considering Ripple’s recent strategic stake acquisition in the exchange.

The correlation between Ripple’s involvement and the XRP transfers to Bitstamp has not gone unnoticed by astute traders and investors.

However, the recent movement of XRP tokens aligns with a downward trend in the token’s price. XRP’s value has experienced a decline of 2.34% in the past 24 hours, trading at $0.5389 at the time of writing.

The weekly chart also paints a dreary picture, showing a significant fall of 7.30%, while the monthly downturn stands at 12.61%. Both market capitalization and trading volume have also taken a significant hit.

Despite the prevailing market sentiment, XRP Whale, a reputable crypto market analyst, remains bullish on the token’s prospects. Contrary to the price decline, the analyst predicts that February will bring positive developments for the Ripple-backed cryptocurrency.

Investor Skepticism Persists Amid Market Volatility

Such optimism is met with skepticism, as investors grapple with the current state of the market and seek reassurance amid the ongoing volatility.

It is important to remember that the cryptocurrency market is highly unpredictable, and caution should always be exercised when making investment decisions.

While the whale activity surrounding XRP and the positive outlook from XRP Whale may spark intrigue, it is crucial to conduct thorough research and seek advice from financial professionals before making any investment moves.

Worries of an XRP crash are rampant, fueled by the recent whale sell-off and a confluence of negative technical indicators. The coming days and weeks will be crucial in determining whether XRP can weather this storm or succumb to the immense selling pressure.

Featured image from iStock

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The Terra Classic Community recently had something to cheer about following revelations about the amount of LUNC and USTC token burns that were carried out in the past week. During that period, a significant amount of LUNC and USTC tokens are said to have been burned, something which could positively affect the crypto tokens’ prices. 

The Number Of LUNC And USTC Burned

In an X (formerly Twitter) post, AlexCryptoBull, a member of the Terra community, brought to the community’s attention how 700 million LUNC and 230,000 were burned last week. Data from LUNCMetrics also confirms this development. 

The Terra ecosystem has had to intensify its token burns ever since the Terra LUNA crash in a bid to revive the LUNC and USTC tokens. So far, 94.31 billion LUNC and 1.50 billion USTC tokens have been burned and wiped out from circulation since May 13, 2022, around when the LUNA crash occurred. 

As part of this burn initiative, the community at one time had to vote on a proposal that, if passed, would have seen 800 million USTC tokens being burned. The proposal was, however, rejected due to legal concerns. 

Meanwhile, the Terra community has also deployed other initiatives to help in the resurgence. Interestingly, the community recently voted against a proposal that seemed promising. This proposal involved the development team exploring the possibility of the Terra blockchain becoming an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible platform. 

Terra, being EVM-compatible, offers numerous benefits to the network, including the possibility of LUNC and USTC surging in prices due to new money flowing into the ecosystem. However, some validators seemed to have had concerns about the funding that would have been needed to implement such a project and ultimately voted against the proposal. 

Terra Community Faces Another Setback

The Terra community was recently dealt another blow following the news that Terraform Labs had filed for bankruptcy. Considering the crypto firm’s ties with the Terra ecosystem, the LUNC and UST tokens experienced notable declines following this development. This could also mark the beginning of torrid times ahead for the community in their efforts to revive both tokens.

Specifically, there could be potential LUNC and USTC selloffs from the crypto firm as part of the bankruptcy proceeding, something which will no doubt trigger a decline in their price. The Terra community has already had to deal with legal troubles, which Terraform Labs is currently facing, with the court ruling that LUNA and TerraUSD were unregistered securities. 

At the time of writing, LUNC and USTC are trading at around $0.0001042 and $0.02536, respectively, both down over 5% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. 

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Bitcoin price started a fresh decline below the $41,250 support zone. BTC is showing bearish signs and might decline heavily below the $40,000 support zone.

Bitcoin price is gaining bearish momentum below the $41,500 zone.
The price is trading below $41,500 and the 100 hourly Simple moving average.
There is a key bearish trend line forming with resistance near $41,320 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).
The pair is now at risk of more downsides if it breaks the $40,000 support zone.

Bitcoin Price Resumes Downtrend

Bitcoin price struggled to stay above the $42,200 support zone. However, BTC failed to clear many hurdles and started a fresh decline below the $42,000 level.

There was a move below the $41,500 and $41,250 support levels. The price even spiked below the $40,500 level. A low is formed near $40,369 and the price is now consolidating losses. It is now trading near the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the recent drop from the $42,260 swing high to the $40,369 low.

Bitcoin is now trading below $41,500 and the 100 hourly Simple moving average. Immediate resistance is near the $41,000 level. The first major resistance is near the $41,250 level. There is also a key bearish trend line forming with resistance near $41,320 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair.

Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

The trend line is close to the 50% Fib retracement level of the recent drop from the $42,260 swing high to the $40,369 low. A clear move above the $41,320 resistance could send the price toward the $42,000 resistance. The next resistance is now forming near the $42,200 level. A close above the $42,200 level could push the price further higher. The next major resistance sits at $43,250.

More Losses In BTC?

If Bitcoin fails to rise above the $42,200 resistance zone, it could continue to move down. Immediate support on the downside is near the $40,500 level.

The next major support is $40,000. If there is a close below $40,000, the price could gain bearish momentum. In the stated case, the price could drop toward the $38,500 support in the near term.

Technical indicators:

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

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

Major Support Levels – $40,500, followed by $40,000.

Major Resistance Levels – $41,500, $42,000, and $42,200.

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In a twist of fate, SOL, the native token of Solana, navigates through a period of volatility after a robust bullish run that spanned from September to December 2023. The once-surging token has encountered a steady decline over the past three weeks, leaving investors on the edge.

Solana Meteoric Rise Falters Amid Corrections

Initially hailed for its remarkable performance, SOL skyrocketed by an astonishing 500% since October 2023, with December alone contributing a remarkable 105% gain. The surge was largely attributed to the fear of missing out (FOMO) surrounding Solana’s SPL token airdrops, where tokens such as Jito (JTO), BONK, and Dogwifhat (WIF) played a significant role.

However, the currents have turned since the dawn of the new year. Recent weeks have witnessed a correction in SOL’s value, shaking investor confidence. Excessive optimism regarding airdrop expectations and delayed launches have contributed to this correction, as the boost to decentralized applications (dapps) proved short-lived.

The decline in SOL’s value has been evident, with the coin rarely surpassing the $107 mark in recent times. On January 19th, SOL faced a 9% decline, plunging to a low of $95. Analysts have observed a consistent rejection from the $100 level, further fueling investor caution.

At the time of writing, SOL was trading at $89.72, down 2.4% and 6.7%, respectively, in the last 24 hours and seven days, data from Coingecko shows.

SOL Faces Price Dip Amidst Growth

While SOL’s token price experiences a downward trend, there are positive signs of growth in other aspects. Solana’s total value locked (TVL) in SOL tokens reached an all-time high of 15.4 million on December 19th, 2023, indicating a substantial 60% growth compared to the previous month.

Furthermore, Solana has demonstrated an increase in network activity, particularly in transactions and volumes. Despite a slight decline in transactions and active dapp users over the past week, Solana’s dapps volume reached an impressive $594 million, with a staggering 72.3 million transactions.

Technical analysis paints a mixed picture for SOL’s future. While the token remains above its 50-day and 200-day exponential moving averages, suggesting a bullish sentiment, recent price action raises concerns of a potential reversal.

SOL’s relative strength index (RSI), on the other hand, sits at 43.70, indicating a bearish market, while the moving average convergence and divergence (MACD) stands at 55.50, pointing towards an upward trend.

Initially, analysts were optimistic, predicting a continued bullish run for SOL in 2024, with price projections ranging from $250 to $300. However, the general price dip observed since the beginning of the year, coupled with increased selling pressure, has shifted control towards the bears.

$SOL

Top is in.

Will trade under $60 in 2024. pic.twitter.com/AHH7I8KZug

— Toni Ghinea (@ToniGhinea) January 19, 2024

A struggle between bulls and bears has ensnared investors. A lot of people are just going to sit tight and see what happens because of the resistance levels and the cautious market mentality.

It is worth mentioning that expert Toni Ghinea has predicted a possible decline to $60 by the end of 2024, which might intensify the negative sentiment around the SOL market.

Featured image from Shutterstock

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On Saturday, January 20, the Dogecoin price rose by more than 23% within 5 hours. As NewsBTC reported, the creation of the X Payments account was the cause of the sudden price increase, which reignited hopes within the community about the integration of DOGE. However, the speculative surge was short-lived, with only around 4% of the gains remaining at time of publication.

When Will Dogecoin Price ‘Moon’?

In a new analysis, Skew, a well-known figure in the crypto analysis sphere, has presented a nuanced perspective on the potential drivers for an lasting upswing of the Dogecoin (DOGE) price. Skew’s findings are grounded in both technical and speculative market dynamics.

Skew’s examination of the DOGE 4-hour (4H) chart revealed a “Nice pump after the creation of the XPayments account,” suggesting that the market is speculating about ‘X’ possibly integrating Dogecoin as a payment option. Despite the positive momentum, Skew emphasized that for a sustainable uptrend, DOGE needs to “properly reclaim the 1W pivot ($0.08750) & Yearly open there after.”

He stressed the importance of the price trend aligning with the 4-hour Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs) and a Relative Strength Index (RSI) consistently above 50. “Systematically, I’m looking for price to trend with 4H EMAs & RSI above 50 to sustain a real uptrend,” he stated.

On the DOGE Binance spot market, Skew highlights a new price range formation, noting a significant spot demand zone around $0.07 and a large supply wall at $0.1. He pointed out: “New range being quoted here so far & clear larger range between current spot supply & demand.” Notably, large bids were filed during the recent move above $0.09

Regarding the Open Interest (OI) and Delta on Binance and Bybit for DOGE, Skew observed a “substantial OI increase on this +13% price move & more perp volume seen than spot volume.” He suggested monitoring spot market flows for bullish indicators such as a spot premium leading price, spot limit bids on dips, and neutral funding rates to anticipate further gains.

Skew reflected on the previous DOGE rally linked to ‘X’, noting that “Clean systematic confirmations prior to narrative pump” were evident, but the rally faltered due to “loss of narrative buyers” after the DOGE logo was removed. For a significant DOGE rally, Skew asserted that the market needs four clear signs:

A real narrative this time,
key price level reclaim,
4H trend sustained,
[and] higher spot flows to support perp speculation.

Adding to Skew’s analysis, crypto analyst @DaanCrypto provided insights on the 1-day DOGE/USD chart, stating, “DOGE I’m not over complicating things. Nice hold of the Daily 200MA/EMA. Narrative surrounding XPayments picking up.” However, he cautioned that “we have no idea if anything will come from it,” advising a focus on higher timeframes for a margin of safety.

At press time, DOGE traded at $0.08276.

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In the volatile world of cryptocurrencies, Binance Coin (BNB) has emerged as a strong contender, decoupling from the market’s recent downturn. While other digital assets fell, BNB showcased resilience, demonstrating a price surge towards a critical level that could dictate its future trajectory in the days to come.

At the time of writing, BNB was trading at $318, reflecting a solid 10% increase over the past seven days. With a market capitalization exceeding $47 billion, BNB’s performance overshadowed its counterparts, capturing the attention of both investors and analysts alike.

Binance Coin On A Strong Ascent

Prominent crypto analyst Crypto Tony recently underscored BNB’s ascent, emphasizing the coin’s trajectory toward a key resistance zone. If BNB manages to breach the $355 level, there is a high likelihood that it could establish this zone as a new support level, bolstering its prospects for further upward movement.

$BNB / $USD – Update

Flip into support at $355.00 and i am into a position. Just holding tight for now pic.twitter.com/ZFhhbIZRWK

— Crypto Tony (@CryptoTony__) January 20, 2024

However, the path to higher levels is not without its challenges. A closer examination of BNB’s liquidation heat map reveals a substantial increase in liquidations near $320.

Moreover, several additional resistance zones loom in the near term, acting as potential hurdles on BNB’s journey to $355. These resistance levels include $320, $325, and $340, necessitating careful monitoring to gauge BNB’s ability to surmount them.

To gain further insights into BNB’s potential, a comprehensive analysis of the coin’s daily chart was conducted. The Chaikin Money Flow (CMF), which experienced a slight downtick following a sharp uptick, offers a mixed signal.

Simultaneously, BNB’s Bollinger Bands indicate a shift towards a less volatile zone, suggesting a potential slowdown in price growth. However, the MACD presents a more optimistic outlook, with the possibility of a bullish crossover on the horizon.

Binance Coin RSI Shows Strength

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) for BNB remains high, indicating a continued uptrend in its price. Notably, despite these positive market indicators, bearish sentiment remains dominant in the market, as evidenced by a significant drop in BNB’s weighted sentiment over the past seven days.

This dichotomy between market indicators and sentiment highlights the uncertainty and cautiousness surrounding BNB’s future prospects.

Nevertheless, BNB continues to maintain its popularity within the crypto space, boasting a high social volume. This sustained interest further underscores the coin’s potential and the attention it garners from enthusiasts and investors alike.

As cryptocurrency markets remain highly unpredictable, it is crucial for investors to exercise caution and conduct thorough research before making any investment decisions.

While BNB’s recent performance and positive indicators suggest potential upward movements, the presence of resistance zones and prevailing bearish sentiment warrant careful observation in the days ahead.

Featured image from Shutterstock

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The Avalanche (AVAX) network has gained prominence as a leading blockchain platform, providing users with a robust infrastructure for token transactions. It is a Layer 1 blockchain protocol that provides a high-performance platform for decentralized applications (dApps) and smart contracts. 

Avalanche strives to provide users with a fast, secure, and scalable ecosystem for token transactions. It is a blockchain platform that aims to address the blockchain trilemma of scalability, security, and decentralization, thanks to its unique Proof of Stake (PoS) mechanism. Avalanche is commonly regarded as a viable alternative to Ethereum.

Avalanche serves as a leading light in the Web3 ecosystem by innovating a secure network that doesn’t compromise scalability or decentralization. The network possesses a remarkable characteristic in the form of its consensus protocol, referred to as Snow. 

This protocol employs an innovative method known as “Snow consensus”, which enables the network to achieve nearly instantaneous transaction finality. Utilizing the “Snow consensus” method enables the network to achieve rapid confirmation times and efficient throughput by collectively validating transactions through a network of validators, overcoming the limitations of the blockchain trilemma. By addressing the challenges posed by the blockchain trilemma, Avalanche is actively working towards providing robust security and stability to the dynamic advancements in Web3.

This prominent network provides developers and investors with an advantageous blend of cost-effectiveness, high transaction speeds, dependability, and the scalability necessary for widespread acceptance. Avalanche’s commitment to sustainability and environmental consciousness further enhances its appeal. Consequently, it comes as no surprise that Avalanche has emerged as a prominent force in the Web3 ecosystem, commanding a significant presence.

How does Avalanche Work?

Avalanche’s platform sets itself apart from other blockchain projects through three fundamental design aspects: its distinctive integration of subnets, consensus mechanism and utilization of multiple built-in blockchains.

Subnetworks (subnets)

One capability that makes Avalanche innovative is Subnets, a game-changing technology that empowers developers to create projects on networks that they can design to fit their needs. Subnets are deeply customizable and inherit speed and security from Avalanche’s Primary Network. 

Subnetworks, composed of groups of nodes, play a crucial role in achieving consensus on the chains within Avalanche’s platform. Each subnetwork is responsible for validating a specific set of blockchains. Additionally, all validators within a subnetwork must also validate Avalanche’s Primary Network.

It is also important to note that the Avalanche blockchain can reportedly process 4,500 transactions per second (depending on the subnet), a significant improvement over Ethereum’s less than 20. Avalanche’s native token is AVAX, which is used to secure the network and pay transaction fees.

Avalanche Consensus

Avalanche Consensus is a novel protocol that builds upon Proof of Stake (PoS) to achieve agreement among nodes in a blockchain network. When a user initiates a transaction, it is received by a validator node that randomly selects a subset of validators to check for consensus. 

Through repeated sampling and communication, validators reach an agreement. Validator rewards are based on Proof of Uptime and Proof of Correctness, which consider staked tokens and adherence to software rules. Avalanche’s consensus resembles an avalanche, where a single transaction grows through repeated sampling and agreement.

Built-in Blockchains

Avalanche is built using three different blockchains in order to address the limitations of the blockchain trilemma. Digital assets can be moved across each of these chains to accomplish different functions within the ecosystem.

i. The Exchange Chain (X-Chain) is the default blockchain on which assets are created and exchanged. This includes Avalanche’s native token, AVAX.
ii. The Contract Chain (C-Chain) allows for the creation and execution of smart contracts. Because it is based on the Ethereum Virtual Machine, Avalanche’s smart contracts can take advantage of cross-chain interoperability.
iii. The Platform Chain (P-Chain) coordinates validators and enables the creation and management of subnets.

Unique Features of  Avalanche Network

The Avalanche ecosystem has experienced consistent growth, drawing the attention of a considerable number of projects, developers, and users. This expanding ecosystem fosters a dynamic and diverse trading environment, granting traders the opportunity to access an extensive range of assets and trading prospects. Participating in trading activities on the Avalanche network provides a multitude of significant advantages derived from the platform’s exceptional and unmatched features and capabilities. These include:

Enhanced Liquidity

The liquidity on the Avalanche network is strengthened as it continues to attract an expanding user base and an ever-growing assortment of projects. This heightened liquidity is important to traders, as it guarantees the presence of ample buyers and sellers within the market. Consequently, this diminishes slippage and fosters price stability, empowering traders to execute trades at their desired prices with minimal adverse effects.

Cross-chain Interoperability

Avalanche facilitates cross-chain interoperability through its support for the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), enabling smooth interaction and compatibility with assets and decentralized applications (dApps), built on the Ethereum network. 

This cross-chain interoperability broadens the horizons of trading opportunities, granting traders access to a wider selection of assets and the ability to leverage the liquidity present in other blockchain networks.

Security

Security is a top priority for the Avalanche network, and it implements robust Byzantine fault tolerance (BFT) mechanisms. These measures safeguard the network against malicious attacks and guarantee the integrity of transactions. 

As a result, users can confidently participate in token transactions and interact with dApps on the Avalanche network, knowing that their security remains uncompromised.

Ecosystem Expansion

The expanding market depth on Avalanche empowers traders to broaden their asset selection, granting them access to a more extensive array of trading options. As adoption gains momentum, an increasing number of projects and tokens are introduced on the platform, enriching the diversity of available assets. 

This diverse assortment of assets facilitates portfolio diversification and facilitates the exploration of various investment opportunities, accommodating a wide range of trading strategies and individual preferences. Avalanche works with a wide variety of Ethereum DApps and infrastructure projects, including Trader Joe and UniSwap.

How To Get Started On The Avalanche Network

In order to engage in token transactions on the Avalanche (AVAX) network, users are advised to acquire a Metamask wallet. Metamask is a widely utilized browser extension wallet that facilitates interactions with blockchain networks such as Ethereum. It can be easily accessed and installed as an extension on popular web browsers like Google Chrome.

To add your Metamask Wallet to your browser as an extension, simply click on the ‘Add to Chrome’ icon located in the top right corner, as depicted below:

After you have installed and set up MetaMask, you can use it to manage your cryptocurrency wallets, interact with decentralized applications (DApps), and safely perform transactions on supported blockchains directly from your browser. 

Remember to write down your seed phrase on paper and keep it in a secure place. Avoid storing it online or on your device.

Afterwards, you can add the Avalanche (AVAX) network to your Metamask wallet by following the instructions provided on the Metamask website here.

Trading On The Avalanche (AVAX) Network

In order to execute trades on the Avalanche Network, users will need to fund their wallet with AVAX tokens. AVAX is the native cryptocurrency for the Avalanche Network, and it functions as the primary medium of exchange for transactions, gas fees and liquidity provision on the platform. Hence, users should ensure a sufficient amount of AVAX tokens in their wallet to cover the cost of trading on the Avalanche network.

Users have the option to purchase AVAX on centralized exchanges like Binance. Once you have obtained AVAX, you can copy your wallet address from Metamask and proceed to send the AVAX tokens from Binance to your Metamask wallet.

You can also buy AVAX directly from your Metamask wallet.  Click on the buy/sell button within Metamask to open the interface. Here, you can put how much AVAX token you intend to buy in terms of dollar amounts, pick your payment method, and then click “Buy”.

Kindly note that if you wish to buy cryptocurrencies directly within Metamask, you will need to provide information such as your country and state of residence. Rest assured, the process is quick and uncomplicated, typically taking just a minute to complete.

The arrival of your AVAX tokens in your wallet should take no more than a few minutes. Once they are successfully deposited, you are ready to commence trading tokens on the Avalanche network. 

Now, it’s time to visit Trader Joe, and embark on your trading journey.

How To Trade Tokens On The Avalanche Network Using TraderJoe

Trader Joe is a decentralized exchange (DEX) on the Avalanche network. It allows users to trade tokens directly from their wallets using liquidity pools. Trader Joe prioritizes user control, security, and privacy while providing a user-friendly trading experience.

Make sure to be on the right Trader Joe website so as to protect your assets from malicious activities. The first step on the website is clicking on the “Connect Wallet” option at the top right corner, as shown in the image below:

Connect to the preferred wallet option (Metamask) as presented in the image below:

Once connected, switch Metamask to AVAX (no need to switch if you’re already on the AVAX network):

After connecting MetaMask to the Avalanche network, go to Trader Joe, and then you can start trading on the Avalanche (AVAX) network using Trader Joe. 

Once you reach the Trader Joe interface, you can proceed by choosing your desired tokens. Since Trader Joe follows a token-to-token trading model, simply click on the “select token” button to pick the trading pair you wish to trade against. Users can search tokens by name, symbol or contact address:

Buying and Selling Tokens With The Metamask Wallet

Users of the Avalanche (AVAX) Network have the option to purchase and sell tokens directly through the Metamask extension wallet, which is already connected to the Avalanche network.

To proceed, ensure that you are connected to the Avalanche network and possess AVAX tokens for swapping and paying transaction fees. Next, locate the “Swap” button, illustrated below, and click on it. This action will redirect you to the Swap interface within Metamask.

Using the image above as a guide, you can also search for tokens using the name or the contract address, just like on Trader Joe. Input the amount of AVAX you want to swap, confirm that you have the correct token, and then click “Swap.” 

Once the transaction is confirmed, the tokens you just bought will be sent to your wallet.

Tracking Token Prices on The Avalanche  Network

Utilizing on-chain tools such as Dexscreener, users of the Avalanche network can access extensive market insights for specific tokens. These insights encompass crucial data like price information and contract details, equipping users with reliable and up-to-date information. By leveraging these insights, users can make informed trading decisions and engage in the market with confidence.

Dexscreener also allows Avalanche users can stay updated on token metrics and market dynamics, thereby improving their trading strategies and enhancing their overall trading experience. It provides valuable information such as price data, market cap, token supply, contract details, etc, that empowers users to make more informed decisions and navigate the market properly.

Dexscreener provides a range of beneficial features specifically designed for users on the Avalanche network. One standout feature is its advanced charting functionality, which offers real-time and historical price data for a diverse selection of tokens.

Through these charts, users can access valuable information about price trends, trading volumes, and other essential metrics. This empowers them to identify optimal entry and exit points for their trades with accuracy and certainty.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Avalanche network provides a robust ecosystem for decentralized finance (DeFi) and token trading. With its fast transaction speeds, low fees, and high scalability, Avalanche offers an efficient and user-friendly platform for buying, selling, and trading tokens.

The network supports various decentralized exchanges, such as Trader Joe, and provides on-chain tools like Dexscreener to empower users with market insights. It is important for users to stay informed, exercise caution, and adapt to the evolving landscape of the Avalanche network to make the most of its features and opportunities.

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Optimism (OP) is a Layer 2 network that solves Ethereum’s scalability issues, bringing low fees and faster transactions to users. Scalability and low gas fees have always been Ethereum’s major problems. This is because, amid the trilemma of crypto, where security, decentralization, and scalability are not equal, Ethereum chose more security than decentralization and more decentralization than scalability to focus on. This is the reason Ethereum has a lot of layer 2s to help solve the scalability difficulties. 

Over the years, people have had to spend huge amounts of ETH gas to perform a transaction, but no one really cared at the time because the value of ETH was small. For example, spending 0.001 ETH when ETH was worth $300 means that you were spending $0.03 on gas fees, which was cheap. 

This was also at a time when the network was less congested, but over time, the value of ETH increased from $300 to over $2,000. In a more congested period, users have found it could cost upwards of $80 in gas fees to approve a transaction on the Ethereum chain. 

OP network is one of the Layer 2 fixes for ETH

What better way to solve this issue than to introduce the Ethereum Layer 2s, which will give you almost the same properties as Ethereum but is expected to be better in what Ethereum is lacking. Ethereum is lacking in the scalability aspect, some of the layer 2s are helping to fill the void while some are not. One layer 2 Ethereum chain that is helping to feel the void is the Optmism chain. 

Ethereum is great, but imagine not wanting to transact on the chain because you feel the gas fee is too expensive. It’s like spending $50 on a delivery fee to buy a $10 item. Although Ethereum boasts of strong security, some people still detest the expensive gas fee and decide to build on other chains. 

Optimism (OP) Network Benefits: Cheap gas fees and lightning-fast transaction speed

 Optimism is an Ethereum rollup that is known for cheap gas fees and lightning-fast transaction speed. Using the chain to transact will make you appreciate it so much and will make you want to transact on the chain regularly. 

If you were used to paying $10 on gas fees on the ETH network, you would appreciate the Optimism network more, as you would spend less than $0.01 on gas fees. The Optimism Network is one of the most successful Ethereum layer 2 chains, with a very successful airdrop of its native token called Optimism (OP), which can be traded on centralized exchanges. 

Important things to know about the Optimism Ecosystem:

Let’s explore the Optimism ecosystem to help you know how to navigate and use the decentralized applications (DApps) on the network, which keeps you safe from falling for fake sites and phishing links. 

The optimism mainnet chain uses optimism ETH, opETH, for gas fees. Tokens on the chain are sometimes represented as opX, where X represents the token. For instance, if you have Bitcoin on the Optimism chain, it is represented as opBTC, so Ethereum on the Optimism chain is opETH. 

How to Buy, Sell, and Trade Tokens on the Optimism Chain or Network:

To buy any token on the optimism chain, you need optimism ETH; you can get OPETH in two ways: through the centralized or the decentralized way. Let’s talk about the centralised way first because it doesn’t require much effort. 

If you have a Binance account, Bybit, Kucoin, or HTX, and you have some USDT, you can trade the USDT for ETH. Then, withdraw the ETH on the Optimism network to your EVM wallet like Metamask. 

Decentralized Way To Buy Optimism (OP)

To get opETH the decentralised way, you would need to know what wallets to use. Optimism network supports varieties of EVM wallets. Here are some EVM wallets that are compatible with Optimism network; we have Metamask, which’s the universal EVM wallet, Trustwallet, Coinbase Web 3 wallet, Rainbow wallet, Brave wallet, Taho wallet, OKX Web 3.0 wallet, Rabby Wallet, Zerion wallet, and lots more. Check here for the full list of Optimism ecosystem wallets. 

How to Bridge to Optimism Network:

You should have your compatible EVM wallet and your ETH in wallet ready, the next step is to bridge your ETH. There are different ways to bridge your ETH. You can use native ETH or other layer 2 ETH, and you can get native ETH from centralized exchanges or through P2P from your local crypto vendor. 

You can also get native ETH by buying directly from Metamask like this:

Go to Metamask portfolio and connect your Metamask wallet or whatever EVM wallet you have. Choose your location, and select a payment method. After that, you can select the coin you want to do, this method gives you a variety of coins on different chains. 

You can select ETH on the optimism chain and easily get the ETH on the optimism chain, this way it’s easier for you to get ETH on the optimism chain or any other chain without using any centralized crypto platform. The downside to this is the spread; you can spend $100 only to end up getting $75 worth of ETH, and the rest will be used for charges. 

However, if you already have native ETH or ETH on Arbitrum or any other layer 2 chains, you can bridge in two ways.

Bridging using the Optimism native bridge: With this, you can bridge from the available ETH networks to the Optimism network. This bridge primarily supports bridging from native ETH to optimism but doesn’t primarily support other chains to the optimism chain. So it uses a secondary bridging platform like hop protocol, stargate, and more. 

Using the Optimism bridge is pretty easy, but you will have to have native ETH in your wallet. Go to the site, connect your wallet to the site, and review the deposit.

From the review deposit, you will see that you have to pay a gas fee to the optimism chain. This gas fee is for the optimism chain, and after paying that, you still need to pay another gas fee to initiate the transaction, depending on the gas fee congestion at that moment. 

For instance, the gas fee congestion states I pay an extra $8.51 because the Ethereum chain has a high gas fee. 

So if you do the math, you will notice that we have spent over $16 just to bridge from the Ethereum mainnet to the optimism chain. This is why we need to consider the other bridging option, which is bridging using the secondary bridging platforms. 

There are varieties of secondary bridging platforms you can use, and each of them has its different bridging fees. 

Bridging using the Optimism app bridge: You can access all the secondary bridging platforms on the Optimism app bridge https://www.optimism.io/apps/bridges. Even though most of them are cheaper than the native bridge option, you have to do your research and find the cheapest with the fastest transaction time. 

Most of them are pretty easy to use, and some recommendations include Orbiter. finance, Bungee, and Layerswap. Transactions on these platforms are pretty cheap and can support bridging from other chains. 

Enter their sites from the Optimism bridging apps, choose any of your choices, connect to your wallet, select what network you want to bridge to the optimism chain, approve, and bridge. 

How to Find and Trade Tokens on the Optimism Chain:

With your optimism ETH in your wallet, let’s trade. To trade on the optimism chain, you need to know what to trade. On the optimism chain, you can only trade tokens on the optimism chain. To find tokens on the Optimism, you will have to use Dexscreener. 

Dexscreener is an on-chain tracker used to check most EVM and non-EVM coins and tokens. However, we will be focusing on the optimism chain right now, so navigate to the Optimism chain Dexscreener.

You can see a variety of tokens to trade on the optimism chain. If you have a specific optimism token in mind, you can type the name in the search button. If you don’t know the name of the token but have the smart contract address, you can also input that and the token will be displayed. 

From Dexscreener, you can also find the token contract address just by clicking the token name on Dexscreener. 

For Instance, click on any token, scroll down and you will see the contract address, just like Smile in the red box. 

Now you know how to get token smart contracts, it’s time to trade them. There are different DEXes to trade these tokens, as shown below:

Check the Optimism Defi Section to select which DEX to use. People mostly use the Uniswap DEX, 1INCH DEX, and Sushi Swap. 

Let’s use SushiSwap to show how to trade optimism tokens on the optimism network. Go to the SushiSwap swap section. Connect your wallet and change the network to the optimism network. 

If you want to swap opETH for any optimism token, click on the denominator side, input the contract address of the token, and approve the token. Now you can trade. 

Conclusion

The Optimisim network is just like any other decentralized network when it comes to trading and buying these tokens carry their own unique risks. A lot of the tokens on decentralized exchanges are new, and are therefore untested. So when trading these tokens, always risk what you are willing to lose in the event a project does turn out to be a scam or a rug.

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