Despite widespread losses being posted throughout the crypto market, Ethereum whales have been busy buying and selling Ether (ETH) at a rate not seen since January this year.
According to data from Santiment, Ethereum whales made a total of 2,956 transactions, each valued at over $1M on Wednesday, marking the highest day of whale transactions in nearly 5 months. Santiment clarified that whales are typically defined as any account holding between $1M to $10M.
#Ethereum‘s whales have been extremely active today, firing off 2,596 transactions valued at $1M or more. This is the highest day of whale transactions since January, and something to monitor if $ETH drops below $2k for the first time since last July. https://t.co/FZoTsFJwEnpic.twitter.com/MVFEpzysxN
The data comes as the ETH/BTC paring also continues its display of relative strength, despite the Terra-based contagion that continues to put downward pressure on the market and general sentiment.
It isn’t just the Ethereum whales that have been busy either — according to data from Glassnode, Wednesday also marked the largest one day transfer of Bitcoin from Whale Entities to exchanges.
Speaking to Cointelegraph, Carlos Gomez, the Chief Investment Officer at Belobaba crypto hedge fund said that this type of market activity may mean crypto investors are closer to the bottom of the current market dip than they realize.
Gomez said that the above graph shows a “clearly coordinated movement of most of the large holders in a specific 24-hour-window,” meaning that whales are continuing to hunt for weak hands.
Gomez added that it’s hard to say whether or not the bottom is well and truly in but he suggested that “recent evidence shows that we’re not too far from it — the only thing is, we may have to live down here at these levels for a few weeks before going up again”
The Flow ecosystem is set to get a boost in support from a new $725 million fund that will be used to invest in the growth of the nonfungible token network.
Flow (FLOW) is a layer-1 blockchain developed by Dapper Labs and purpose-made for NFTs. Dapper Labs also created the popular NBA Top Shot NFT collection. Flow utilizes an eco-friendly proof of stake (PoS) consensus algorithm.
The new fund was backed by 17 firms that have experience backing other Web3 companies, including large investment firms a16z, Spartan Group, and CoinFund. The funds will be used to attract developers to bring their work onto Flow as opposed to competitor Ethereum (ETH) which still dominates NFTs despite high gas fees. Within the Flow ecosystem itself, the funds will provide support for gaming, infrastructure, decentralized finance (DeFi), content and creators.
Today, we’re announcing a $725 Million ecosystem fund to accelerate growth across the entire Flow ecosystem
This is the largest joint fund made for ANY blockchain, available for both existing and future developers #onFlow
Projects awarded grants through the ecosystem fund will be supported by FLOW tokens investments, and what the fund’s webpage calls “in-kind support.”
Flow is currently the third largest blockchain by NFT sales volume behind Ethereum and Solana (SOL). Not including May, throughout 2022, Flow has averaged $50.3 million in monthly NFT sales according to CryptoSlam, an NFT market tracker.
Host of the NFT-focused podcast The First Mint LG Doucet tweeted on Tuesday a list of five new products he believes should be supported through the funds. They include a whitelist app to help users get whitelisted for a mint, a mobile app, video education, wallet integration on Shopify, and non-cartoon, animal, and athlete art. He added that Flow needs “actual INNOVATION, not just roadmaps that copy ETH projects.”
Although Flow is operated by Dapper Labs, which has produced some of the biggest NFT products over the last two years, its NFT sales still lag behind larger layer-1 ecosystems. This may be due to weaker network effects and a smaller ecosystem of decentralized apps (Dapps) running on it. The new ecosystem fund aims to tackle that shortcoming.
Other Dapper Labs NFT products include CryptoKitties, one of the first NFT games, UFC Strike, NFL All Day, and Cheeze Wizards.
Australians will soon have more options for spot cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) after a previous hold-up was given the green light this week and new funds entered the ETF market.
The latest update came late on May 9 as Cboe Australia issued a round of market notices that three funds previously delayed are expected to begin trading on Thursday, May 12. They include a Bitcoin ETF from Cosmos Asset Management, plus Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) spot ETFs from 21Shares.
Cboe Australia and Cosmos did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but a spokesperson from 21Shares confirmed to Cointelegraph:
“We’re listing on May 12, this Thursday. The downstream issues are resolved.”
On April 26, a day before three of the first crypto ETFs were set to launch, the Cboe Australia exchange delayed the listing of all three funds due to what it said were “standard checks”.
21Shares said to Cointelegraph at the time that a “service provider downstream” needed more time to support the launch of the products which was believed to be a prime broker or other major financial institution.
The listing date comes just in time as a new competitor stepped into the ETF race. 3iQ, the Canadian firm with Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), submitted two offer notices to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) on April 28.
The notices revealed plans for the firm to offer units of its Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs on the Cboe Australia exchange. It will provide exposure to the crypto assets by purchasing units of the existing funds on the TSX similar to Cosmos’ ETF which purchases the Canadian Purpose Bitcoin ETF.
It’s unclear when the funds from 3iQ will be listed but with the announcement of the Cosmos and 21Shares funds listing this week, it’s unlikely 3iQ will win the competition of being the first Australian crypto ETF, the prize of which it’s believed could be over $1 billion in inflows.
Shiba Inu (SHIB) price dropped by over 10% to $0.00001641 on May 9 amid a broader crypto market decline. This year, SHIB’s returns were 50% below zero, one of the worst performances by a top-ranking cryptocurrency in 2022.
Last week, luxury fashion brand Gucci named Shiba Inu in the list of tokens it would accept for payments in five of its U.S.-based stores. Nonetheless, the bulls have ignored the major adoption news as SHIB price continues to fall under macro and technical pressures.
SHIB/USD daily price chart. Source: TradingView
Shiba Inu triangle breakdown
The prospect of Shiba Inu facing more yearly losses increases as it stays on the path toward its “symmetrical triangle” breakdown target near $0.00001197.
The level, which sits around 30% below May 6’s price, results from a technical rule that measures symmetrical triangles’ profit targets by adding the maximum distance between the structure’s upper and lower trendline to the breakout/breakdown point.
Nevertheless, SHIB’s shorter-timeframe charts reflects an interim bullish bias.
Short-term 20% bounce in play
SHIB has dropped near the red horizontal line near $0.00001667, which has served as an accumulation zone for traders three times since October 2021. For instance, Shiba Inu had rallied by over 100% two weeks after testing the $0.0000167-level as support in January 2022.
The level also coincides with the lower trendline of the descending parallel channel, as shown in the chart below. As a result of this confluence, SHIB eyes a price rebound, with the channel’s upper trendline near $0.00002000 acting as the interim upside target for the May–June period.
Meanwhile, SHIB’s daily relative strength index (RSI) has dipped below 30, an oversold territory that could further catalyze a short-term rebound.
Nonetheless, macroeconomic catalysts — primarily a hawkish Federal Reserve — continue to pose downside risks for the crypto market, including SHIB. So price rallies are likely to sell off at higher levels, thus keeping SHIB on track toward its triangle breakdown target near $0.00001197.
Bright future promised
Shiba Inu’s developer Shytoshi Kusama offered a bright outlook for the project in what appeared to be an effort to pent-up the market demand for SHIB tokens.
The disclosures came after an Ethereum whale bought 74 billion SHIB (worth $1.23 million at press time).
The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq have declined for five consecutive weeks, indicating that traders continue to reduce exposure to risky assets. Bitcoin’s (BTC) close correlation with United States equity markets has resulted in its price remaining under pressure.
When the sentiment is bearish, traders sell on every negative news. The de-peg of Terra’s U. S. dollar stablecoin TerraUSD (UST) also appears to be increasing sell pressure across the crypto market.
After Bitcoin’s six consecutive weekly closes in the red, is it time for a recovery? Let’s study the charts of the top-5 cryptocurrencies that are showing signs of stabilizing in the near term.
BTC/USDT
Bitcoin turned down from the 20-day exponential moving average (EMA) of $38,268 on May 5 and plummeted below the support line of the ascending channel. This move also invalidated the positive divergence on the relative strength index (RSI).
BTC/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView
The moving averages have started to turn down and the RSI is nearing the oversold zone, signaling that bears are in control.
The BTC/Tether (USDT) pair has a minor support at $34,322 but if bulls fail to defend this level, the decline could extend to $32,917. This is a crucial level to keep an eye on because if it cracks, the pair could witness panic selling and the next stop may be $28,805.
If the price turns up from $34,322, the recovery could face selling near the 20-day EMA. If the price turns down from this level, it will suggest that the sentiment remains negative and traders are selling on rallies. That could enhance the prospects of a resumption of the downtrend.
This negative view could invalidate in the short term if the bulls push and sustain the price above the 20-day EMA. If that happens, the pair could rise to the 50-day simple moving average (SMA) of $41,466.
BTC/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView
The downsloping moving averages indicate that bears are in command but the oversold levels on the RSI suggest that a relief rally or a consolidation is possible in the near term. If the recovery fails to rise above the 20-EMA, the bears may maintain the selling pressure and the pair could drop to $32,917.
Conversely, a break and close above the 20-EMA could signal the start of a strong relief rally. The pair could then rise to the 50-SMA. The buyers will have to push and sustain the price above $40,000 to signal that the downtrend may be over.
ALGO/USDT
Algorand (ALGO) has been trading inside a descending channel pattern for the past few days. The price bounced off the support line of the channel on May 1 and the bulls have cleared the hurdle at the 20-day EMA of $0.69, indicating that the selling pressure could be reducing.
ALGO/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView
If buyers sustain the price above the 50-day SMA of $0.76, the ALGO/USDT pair could rally to the resistance line of the channel. This is an important level for the bulls to overcome. If they manage to do that, it will suggest the start of a new up-move. The pair could first rise to $1.10 and later to $1.25.
On the other hand, if the price turns down from the resistance line, it will suggest that the pair may extend its stay inside the channel for a few more days. The bears will have to sink and sustain the price below the channel to indicate the resumption of the downtrend.
ALGO/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView
The 20-EMA has turned up and the RSI is in the positive territory, indicating advantage to buyers. There is a minor resistance at $0.80 and if bulls clear this hurdle, the pair could rise to the resistance line of the channel.
On the downside, the 20-EMA is the critical level to keep an eye on. If the price rebounds off this level, it will suggest that the sentiment has turned in favor of buyers. That could increase the likelihood of a break above $0.80. Alternatively, if the price slips below the 20-EMA, the next stop could be the 50-SMA.
XMR/USDT
Monero (XMR) has been finding support near psychological support at $200 for the past few days. The buyers have not allowed the price to break below the downtrend line, suggesting that they are attempting to flip the level into support.
XMR/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView
The bulls will have to push and sustain the price above the 20-day EMA of $223 to suggest that the corrective phase may be over. There is a minor resistance at $240 but if bulls clear this hurdle, the XMR/USDT pair could rally to $289.
On the contrary, if the price turns down from the current level or the 20-day EMA, it will suggest that the bears have not yet given up. That could increase the likelihood of a break below $200. If that happens, the selling could intensify and the pair may drop to $150.
XMR/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView
The pair has formed a symmetrical triangle pattern suggesting indecision among the bulls and the bears. If bulls drive the price above the resistance line of the triangle, it will suggest that the downtrend could be over. The pair could then rally to the 200-SMA and later rise toward the pattern target at $252.
Conversely, if the uncertainty of the triangle resolves to the downside, it will suggest that the triangle had acted as a continuation pattern. That could signal the resumption of the downward move. The pattern target on the downside is $164.
Tezos (XTZ) broke below the long-term uptrend line on April 29 and the bears successfully defended the breakdown level on May 5. The bears tried to start the downtrend but are struggling to sustain the lower levels.
XTZ/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView
If bulls push and sustain the price above the uptrend line, it will suggest that the markets have rejected the breakdown. The XTZ/USDT pair may then attempt a rally to the overhead zone between the 50-day SMA of $3.18 and $3.40.
This positive view could invalidate if the price once again turns down from the uptrend line. If that happens, it will suggest that bears have flipped the uptrend line into resistance. A break and close below $2.39 could start a new downtrend which could reach $2.00.
XTZ/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView
The 20-EMA has flattened out and the RSI has formed a bullish divergence on the 4-hour chart suggesting that the negative momentum is weakening. The pair could now attempt a rally to $2.90 where the bears may offer a strong resistance. A break and close above this level could open the doors for a possible up-move to $3.00 and later to $3.30.
Alternatively, if the price turns down from the current level or the overhead resistance, it will suggest that bears are selling on rallies. That could keep the pair range-bound between $2.90 and $2.39. The downtrend could accelerate if bears sink the price below $2.39.
THETA/USDT
Theta Network (THETA) had been trading between $2.27 and $4.40 for the past several weeks. This range resolved to the downside on May 6, indicating that bears had the upper hand.
THETA/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView
Although the 20-day EMA of $2.57 is sloping down, the RSI is attempting to form a bullish divergence, indicating that the selling momentum is weakening. If bulls push the price back above the breakdown level of $2.27, it could trap several aggressive bears who may have initiated short positions on the break below the range.
The THETA/USDT pair could then rise to the 20-day EMA. This is an important level to keep an eye on because if bulls overcome this barrier, the pair could rally to the 50-day SMA of $3.10.
This positive view could invalidate if the price turns down from the current level or the breakdown level at $2.27 and plummets below $2.00.
THETA/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView
The bulls are buying the dips close to the psychological level at $2.00. If buyers drive the price above the downtrend line, it will suggest that the bears may be losing their grip. The pair could then rally to the overhead resistance at $2.64. This level may again act as a strong resistance but if buyers clear this hurdle, the bullish momentum may pick up.
Contrary to this assumption, if the price turns down from the 20-EMA or the downtrend line, it will suggest that bears continue to sell on rallies. That could increase the possibility of a break below $2.00 and the resumption of the downtrend.
The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.
Coming every Saturday, Hodler’s Digest will help you track every single important news story that happened this week. The best (and worst) quotes, adoption and regulation highlights, leading coins, predictions and much more — a week on Cointelegraph in one link.
On Wednesday, the United States Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted to raise interest rates by 0.5%, marking its biggest upward adjustment in over two decades. It was the second rate increase of 2022, with seven increases expected in total for the year.
In a press conference following the FOMC meeting, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell further cemented the need to continue raising interest rates to combat inflation.
Coinbase took an important step toward bridging the mainstream world and the crypto world by using Bitcoin as collateral for a loan with Goldman Sachs. The actual mechanics of the deal involved Coinbase taking out a loan from Goldman that was collateralized with some of the exchange’s BTC holdings. Amounts were not specified, however.
“Coinbase’s work with Goldman is a first step in the recognition of crypto as collateral which deepens the bridge between the fiat and crypto economies,” Brett Tejpaul, head of Coinbase Institutional, told Bloomberg.
In April 2022, Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled his intent to purchase Twitter, pending certain approvals, for $44 billion. That $44 billion is not just from Musk’s pocket, but includes contributions from 19 other players. Crypto heavyweights Binance and Sequoia Capital Fund are among the contributors, putting up $500 million and $800 million, respectively.
A court decision on Thursday resulted in BitMEX co-founders Benjamin Delo, Arthur Hayes and Samuel Reed needing to pay a combined $30 million in civil penalties ($10 million each) for legal infractions pertaining to their running of the BitMEX exchange.
Claimed offenses included a lack of certain customer data requirements, failing to secure proper regulatory approvals, and more. The $30 million ordeal comes following other previous legal issues.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) plans on beefing up its Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit — an SEC division in charge of crypto industry policing. Plans include adding 20 people to the unit, bringing the total team count to 50 members.
The additional personnel will almost double the current size of the unit in terms of staff. Gary Gensler, Chairman of the SEC, spoke favorably of the plans while Hester Peirce, one of the SEC’s commissioners, questioned the move.
Winners and Losers
At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $35,983, Ether (ETH) at $2,689 and XRP at $0.59. The total market cap is at $1.65 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.
Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are TRON (TRX) at 27.92%, Anchor Protocol (ANC) at 17.18% and Algorand (ALGO) at 10.21%.
The top three altcoin losers of the week are ApeCoin (APE) at -39.48%, STEPN (GMT) at -34.06% and Kava (KAVA) at -27.18%.
“I think of Bitcoin the same way I think of the early internet. [The government] didn’t see it coming and now it’s a viable form of currency – you can actually buy things with it.”
“If you just did an overlay of the Nasdaq and the cryptocurrency markets, they are unbelievably correlated for right now, so I think that that’s creating a lot of churn and pain in the markets. While that’s happening, billions of dollars are going into Web3.”
“Why is a painting worth $10 million? It’s oil on canvas. So value is in the eyes of the beholder.”
Ken Griffin, founder and CEO of Citadel Securities
“Why are you going to invest a whole lot of effort to developing a […] stablecoin payment system if the Fed is just going to bigfoot you out of existence?”
Randal Quarles, former vice chair for supervision of the United States Federal Reserve
Bitcoin suffered some downward price action this past week. On Thursday, the BTC price dropped below $36,000 in a selloff that affected both crypto and legacy finance markets.
Some technical strategists consider the $37,500 level to be the pivotal line in the sand in terms of bullish versus bearish narratives. Bitcoin’s fall below that threshold suggests its short-term outlook has flipped bearish.
Reddit user Andre, a.k.a. u/Divinux, recently posted a warning on the social media site explaining that a mobile phone’s predictive text can potentially guess the owner’s crypto seed phrase if the phrase has been entered on the device. Andre tested his findings across several device brands, finding similar results. This could potentially put the mobile phone’s owner at risk for crypto theft.
Crypto-related theft via hacks and other malicious activity in 2022 has already eclipsed the two prior years combined, according to data from blockchain security firm CertiK. In total, 2022 has thus far seen the appropriation of about $1.6 billion in crypto assets.
That being said, context is everything. The decentralized finance market has soared in value over the past two years and currently sits at roughly $200 billion in terms of total value locked, according to DeFi Llama.
In Argentina, financial institutions are barred from providing crypto trading to customers, as per a ruling from the Central Bank of Argentina, or BCRA. In justifying its decision, the central bank cited familiar concerns surrounding crypto, including a lack of proper regulation for the asset class.
Earlier in the week before the BCRA’s motion, a pair of notable Argentinian banks unveiled plans to offer certain crypto assets for purchase by customers.
The United States continues to be a global leader in embracing the cryptocurrency industry thanks to the work of Sen. Patrick Toomey, with the White House being at the forefront of crypto regulation. Last year, President Joe Biden signed a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill — and it included some new legislation that would impact the crypto sector. And more recently, the U.S. president announced a “whole-of-government” approach to regulating cryptocurrency in an across-the-board executive order directing multiple government agencies to answer specific questions on cryptocurrencies. The U.S. for the last year has clearly been seeking to help make the crypto industry more sustainable, which will make it significantly easier for cryptocurrency platforms to operate.
But the Stablecoin Transparency of Reserves and Uniform Safe Transactions Act of 2022, dubbed the Stablecoin TRUST Act for short, makes the U.S. likely the only country, or at least the only Western country, to fully regulate and accept stablecoins as an official part of the financial and banking system.
Introduced by Sen. Toomey, the ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, the Stablecoin TRUST Act forces stablecoin issuers to adhere to certain rules. The regulations in the act are sweeping and comprehensive. The bill clarifies that payment stablecoins are not securities, which is a great thing for the industry. The bill also refers to stablecoins as “payment stablecoins” — digital assets that can be “convertible directly to fiat currency by the issuer” and that have a “stable value relative to a fiat currency or currencies.”
Stablecoin issuers would have to choose between securing the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) license, a state money transmitter, or similar license or a traditional bank charter. Stablecoin issuers operating in the U.S. would be subject to a disclosure regime that would require them to secure regular audits, detail clear redemption policies and specify what actually backs the stablecoins they issue.
Any need for a U.S. CBDC?
With the discussion draft of the bill circulating and garnering feedback in congress, I beg the question: If the act becomes law, would the U.S. government still need to develop a central bank digital currency (CBDC), or what some call the digital dollar?
It doesn’t appear to be necessary for the U.S. to develop a digital dollar if private stablecoin issuers are accepted as part of the broader financial system. Would there be a need for the government to have both private and public digital dollars, one issued by providers and another by the federal government? These questions will play out over the coming months as U.S. regulators continue to tackle them.
But it’s clear that part of Biden’s executive order includes placing “urgency on research and development of a potential United States CBDC, should issuance be deemed in the national interest,” according to an accompanying fact sheet released by the White House.
It would be the first time in history in which a nation allows both private stablecoin issuers and the government-issued stablecoin to operate in a single market. Some countries have banned private stablecoins because they want to promote their own CBDC, but the U.S. is taking a different route that could spur significant innovation in the stablecoin industry — and, of course, make it more transparent and sustainable. But there are problems, with possibly serious consequences.
Interest rates will be capped — expect consolidation
The Stablecoin TRUST Act regulates what assets can back their USD-pegged stablecoins, which would be cash, where interest rates are incredibly low, and Treasury Bills (T-Bills), where interest rates aren’t much better. This poses a major problem to both current stablecoin issuers and future players, as they won’t be able to earn higher interest from riskier assets.
Right now, certain stablecoin issuers back most of their tokens by higher paying commercial papers, which cannot be evaluated without more transparency and an audit. According to USDT stablecoin issuer Tether on March 31, 2021, over 65% of their reserves were backed by commercial papers, only around 4% were backed by cash, and about 3% are backed by T-Bills. Therefore, Tether and other stablecoin providers will have to completely change the composition of their reserves to fall in line with the Stablecoin TRUST Act if it becomes law.
Competition may slow down in the stablecoin industry and we may see some consolidation. Since stablecoin issuers will not be able to use higher-paying assets to generate high interest, it will become difficult for them to make profit while managing compliance risk, HR taxes and general management costs.
The big players will find a way to make it work, more than likely, but smaller stablecoin issuers will find it difficult to make profit if the bill becomes law.
Let’s get the Stablecoin Trust Act passed
Although the Stablecoin TRUST Act may set up some barriers to new participants in the industry, I do believe that it will make the industry more transparent and sustainable. Enforcing disclosure and redemption requirements for the USD stablecoins will make them significantly more safe and transparent in the future.
One of the best parts about the Stablecoin TRUST Act is that it really does bring stablecoins into the traditional U.S. financial system. OCC-licensed issuers will have access to the Federal Reserve’s master account system, which would give them the ability to tap the broader financial system and larger amounts of liquidity in transacting.
There is still some time before the Stablecoin TRUST Act becomes law, but if it stays true to its current form, the U.S. will continue to set the gold standard in cryptocurrency regulation. So, let’s work together to make sure that the act becomes law.
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.
The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.
Raymond Hsu is the co-founder and CEO at Cabital, a cryptocurrency wealth management platform. Prior to co-founding Cabital in 2020, Raymond worked for fintech and traditional banking institutions, including Citibank, Standard Chartered, eBay and Airwallex.
The total crypto market capitalization has been trading within a descending channel for 24 days and the $1.65 trillion support was retested on May 6. The drop to $1.65 trillion was followed by Bitcoin (BTC) reaching $35,550, its lowest price in 70 days.
Total crypto market cap, USD billion. Source: TradingView
In terms of performance, the aggregate market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies dropped 6% over the past seven days, but this modest correction in the overall market does not represent some mid-capitalization altcoins, which managed to lose 19% or more in the same time frame.
As expected, altcoins suffered the most
In the last seven days, Bitcoin price dropped 6% and Ether (ETH) declined by 3.5%. Meanwhile, altcoins experienced what can only be described as a bloodbath. Below are the top gainers and losers among the 80 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.
Weekly winners and losers among the top 80 coins. Source: Nomics
Tron (TRX) rallied 26.9% after TRON DAO rolled out a USDD, a decentralized stablecoin, on May 5. The algorithmic stablecoin is connected to the Ethereum and BNB Chain (BNB) through the BTTC cross-chain protocol.
1inch (1INCH) gained 5.6% after the decentralized exchange governance application became Polygon’s (MATIC) network leader by completing 6 million swaps on the network.
STEPN (GMT), the native token of the popular move-to-earn lifestyle app, declined 35.7%, adjusting after a 70% rally between April 18 and April 28. A similar movement happened to Apecoin (APE) after the token pumped 94% between April 22 and April 28.
The Tether premium flipped negative on May 6
The OKX Tether (USDT) premium gauges China-based retail demand and it measures the difference between the China-based peer-to-peer trades and the United States dollar.
Excessive buying demand puts the indicator above fair value at 100%. On the other hand, Tether’s market offer is flooded during bearish markets, causing a 4% or higher discount.
Tether (USDT) peer-to-peer vs. USD/CNY. Source: OKX
The OKX Tether premium peaked at 1.7% on April 30, indicating some excess demand from retail. However, the metric reverted to a 0% premium over the next five days.
More recently, in the early hours of May 6, the OKX Tether premium flipped to -1% negative. Data shows retail sentiment worsened as Bitcoin moved below $37,000.
Futures markets show mixed sentiment
Perpetual contracts, also known as inverse swaps, have an embedded rate that is usually charged every eight hours. Exchanges use this fee to avoid exchange risk imbalances.
A positive funding rate indicates that longs (buyers) demand more leverage. However, the opposite situation occurs when shorts (sellers) require additional leverage, causing the funding rate to turn negative.
As shown above, the accumulated seven-day funding rate is slightly positive for Bitcoin and Ether. Data indicates slightly higher demand from longs (buyers), but nothing that would force traders to close their positions. For instance, a positive 0.15% weekly rate equals 0.6% per month, thus unlikely to cause harm.
On the other hand, altcoins’ 7-day perpetual futures funding rate was -0.30%. This rate is equivalent to 1.2% per month and indicates higher demand from shorts (sellers).
Signs of weak retail demand as indicated by OKX Tether data and the negative funding rate on altcoins are a signal that traders are unwilling to buy at the critical $1.65 trillion crypto market capitalization. Buyers seem to be waiting for further dips before stepping in, so further price corrections will likely follow.
The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph. Every investment and trading move involves risk. You should conduct your own research when making a decision.
Ready Games, provider of developer and creator tools for the Web3 community, will launch a new ecosystem with the goal of incentivizing Web2 game creators to explore and switch to Web3 with minimal development time and cost while distributing games “as normal” through traditional app stores.
On Friday, the company announced the launch of the ecosystem that will include the utility token AURA and a set of developer tools, specifically aimed at bringing mobile Web2 games into Web3 in compliance with Apple and Google app stores’ rules. This process took only five days in the ecosystem’s Alpha version, Ready Games claims. As the release goes:
“The ability to quickly integrate a shared utility token- $AURA- allows devs to seamlessly go live with a compliant web3 game, and get immediate learning on how web3 gaming can bring value to their gaming portfolio”
The ecosystem will also allow artists to create and upload styles and gadgets to be purchased and traded within Ready’s games, while players will be rewarded in an “indirect way.”
Some major game guilds, including the five million-strong SnackClub, have already partnered with Ready to participate in the ecosystem. Ethan Kim, co-founder & partner at Hashed, also confirmed the partnership:
“We are excited to partner with Ready in building the leading Web3 mobile gaming and user-generated content ecosystem. Along with Ready’s ability to seamlessly onboard a wide spectrum of games and content, their in-depth understanding of developers, creator communities and players will accelerate mass adoption of blockchain-based gaming.”
As specified in Ready’s FAQ, blockchain-based games are not banned from Apple and Google app stores per se. Complying with Apple and Google rules means that the app platform providers must get their commission from any NFT-backed in-game purchases, and that game creators must avoid in-app links to external means to purchase in-game assets.
Coinbase, one of the largest crypto exchanges by volume, opened its beta non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace to the public on May 4 with on-chain data showing a maximum of 150 total transactions on the day and $75,000 in USD volume.
The transactions captured by Dune Analytics show the total amount which took place through the 0x Protocol, the infrastructure behind Coinbase’s marketplace. Whilst not all transactions are guaranteed to be from Coinbase, since 0x announced its support for NFTs in January it has yet to announce any other partners apart from Coinbase.
Number of market transactions on the 0x Protocol. Dune Analytics.
The number pales into insignificance compared to expectations arising from the marketplace’s waitlist. More than 8.4 million email addresses signed up for the waitlist before it moved into beta testing on April 20 with only a select few able to create profiles to buy and sell NFTs. Analytics show just over 1,200 total users have transacted on the platform up until May 5, a mere 0.014% of the waitlist.
It’s been 2 weeks. Raise your hand if you’ve made a purchase on @Coinbase_NFT
As a matter of fact, raise your hand if you’ve even logged in
Market volume figures in USD aren’t hitting the mark either, May 4 saw just over $74,700 in volume transacted on Coinbase’s new marketplace. While that might please critics who claim the NFT market is in sharp decline, by comparison the largest NFT market OpenSea recorded $1.18 billion in transaction volume on the same day.
Coinbase announced the waitlist for its NFT platform almost seven months ago in mid-October 2021 with some Twitter users noting that the launch took too long to open to a public who had other options like OpenSea and LooksRare listing popular collections.
Some users report that the marketplace in its current form doesn’t differentiate from its competitors as it needs a self custody wallet and requires gas fees. Coinbase does have future plans to change this as its January partnership announcement with Mastercard will look to make the platform friendlier to first time users with the ability to purchase NFTs via credit card.
The low user numbers for its marketplace come over a week before a Q1 earnings call on May 13, Coinbase’s stock price is down 68% from its all-time high of $357 on November 10 hitting a low of $112 on April 29.
