Goldman Sachs analysts believe that whether the upcoming Bitcoin halving will turn out to be a “buy the rumor, sell the news” event may have less impact on bitcoin’s medium-term outlook. They explained that the bitcoin price performance will likely continue to be driven by the supply-demand dynamic and continued demand for spot bitcoin exchange-traded […]

Amidst the ongoing fluctuations in the cryptocurrency market, the price of Bitcoin has surged by 1.7% in the past 24 hours, hovering above the $62,000 mark. However, recent warnings from CryptoQuant, a leading crypto analytics platform, suggest that Bitcoin could face a significant downturn to $52,000 if specific key levels are violated. This cautionary note comes amidst growing uncertainty in the Bitcoin derivatives market, with derivative traders showing unprecedented caution compared to previous halving cycles. Related Reading: Bitcoin Halving Hysteria: Will History Repeat Itself Or Are We Heading For A Market Meltdown? Bitcoin Risky Level CryptoQuant’s analysis highlights declining open interest and funding rates in the Bitcoin derivatives market, indicating a “cautious” stance among traders, particularly with the arrival of several institutional participants. CryptoQuant analyst Shiven Moodley noted: At this halving, derivative traders exhibit far more caution than in previous instances. This season witnesses the entry of numerous new institutional players into the market. According to the analyst, If Bitcoin’s price falls below the critical $60,000 support level, the top cryptocurrency could experience a notable correction to $52,000, signaling a potential short-term bearish trend. Derivative Uncertainty “If the price breaks below $60,000, we might witness a decline to $52,000 before a subsequent rise.” – By @ShivenMoodley Full post 👇https://t.co/XSBnfexbzZ — CryptoQuant.com (@cryptoquant_com) April 18, 2024 However, the presence of institutional Bitcoin Spot ETFs may mitigate the severity of the decline by absorbing “excess supply from liquidations” around the $60,000 support zone. Moodley stated: If the price breaks below $60,000, we might witness a decline to $52,000 before a subsequent rise. However, given the significant dominance of institutional ETFs, I wouldn’t be surprised if they accumulate excess supply from liquidations near the short-term support level of $60,000. Analysts Sound Alarm On BTC’s Fragile Position Meanwhile, crypto trader and analyst Ali has further fuelled concerns by identifying a pivotal price level for Bitcoin. Ali’s analysis indicates that if Bitcoin drops to $50,500, over $15 billion in liquidations could occur on the Binance alone. #Bitcoin dropping to $50,500 will trigger over $15 billion in liquidations on #Binance alone! pic.twitter.com/9wQTVwprgx — Ali (@ali_charts) April 17, 2024 Such a significant liquidation event could exert immense pressure on the market, potentially leading to further price declines and heightened volatility. This outlook echoes recent warnings from prominent analyst Crypto Rover, who has also cautioned about a potential liquidation event affecting short holders if Bitcoin climbs back to the crucial price mark of $71,600. Despite these concerns, some analysts remain optimistic about Bitcoin’s long-term prospects. Crypto analyst Plan B, known for his Stock-to-Flow (S2F) model, has made bullish predictions for Bitcoin’s future price movements. Related Reading: Bitcoin Bears Beware: $3 Billion Short Liquidation Looms At This Price Mark, Warns Analyst According to Plan B, Bitcoin’s upcoming Halving event will serve as a central driver for price increases, with the cryptocurrency expected to surpass $100,000 this year and exceed $300,000 by 2025. Featured image from Unsplash, Chart from TradingView

Asset management firm Bitwise has cautioned that data suggests the upcoming Bitcoin halving is a “sell the news” event. However, the firm explained that the market likely “prices in the short-term impact of the halving but underestimates the long-term impact,” emphasizing that the data “also suggests that, long-term, the halving may be conducive to price […]

Crypto analyst Trend Rider has drawn Cardano (ADA) holders’ attention to the crypto token’s potential to experience a significant price rally soon enough. Based on Trend Rider’s analysis, Cardano could rise to as high as $3 when this happens.  Cardano To Rise To $3 If History Repeats Itself Trend Rider mentioned in an X (formerly Twitter) post that if history repeats itself, Cardano might be on the brink of its “ultimate support test” before it makes a parabolic move to the upside. He further suggested that the crypto token could soar to $3, considering the same happened in October 2020 when Cardano’s price dipped to $0.10 and skyrocketed to $3 afterwards.   Related Reading: Crypto Exchanges Bitcoin Supply Can Only Last For 9 Months, ByBit Report The crypto analyst also revealed that Cardano was currently experiencing a bullish Relative Strength Index (RSI) crossover and retest, which could mean it was indeed gearing up for another parabolic move. This RSI crossover is an indicator that “perfectly predicts bull and bear markets for ADA.” Source: X Meanwhile, in an earlier X post, Trend Rider explained how crucial it was for Cardano to hold its current support level. According to him, ADA’s price is “right now at an extremely critical level, and if it fails to hold its current support zone, then it could fall quickly to $0.25.” However, if Cardano manages to hold above this support level, then this could be the “exact bottom right now” before it rises to $1, Trend Rider claimed.  Trend Rider further elaborated that Cardano’s next move will depend “entirely” on what Bitcoin does. He predicts that altcoins like Carano will experience a “monstrous bounce” if the flagship crypto rises above $65,000 after its current price dip. However, if Bitcoin’s price continues to dip, then it is “bear market mode,” Trend Rider added.  Cardano Won’t Be In The Red Forever  Crypto analyst Alan Santana has provided some form of optimism to ADA holders, stating that the crypto token won’t be red forever. He made this statement while acknowledging that Cardano has maintained a bearish outlook, having been in the red for seven weeks now. Despite that, he remains bullish on the crypto token’s future trajectory as he predicts that Cardano will experience a “big green” in the “latter part of 2024 and most of 2025.” Related Reading: Historical Trends Show What To Expect For Bitcoin Price Following The Halving Santana also noted that this was an excellent time to accumulate for those who intend to enjoy the “entire bullish wave.” For those looking to invest in ADA long-term, the crypto analyst highlighted the price range of $0.40 and $0.45 as a good “buy zone.” That is also the price area Santana had previously predicted Cardano could drop to in its bid to find support. At the time of writing, Cardano is trading at around $0.45, down almost 2% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.  ADa price struggles to hold $0.45 | Source: ADAUSDT on Tradingview.com Featured image from The Daily Hodl, chart from Tradingview.com

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler’s social media post expressing that “it’s been an honor to serve” as SEC chairman sparked speculation within the crypto community that he might be resigning from his position. Many people, including lawmakers, have criticized Gensler for taking an enforcement-centric approach to regulating the crypto industry. Gary […]

In a notable collaboration, Aptos Labs, the developer of the Aptos (APT) Layer-1 (L1) blockchain, announced a partnership with tech giants Microsoft, Brevan Howard, and South Korean telecommunications company SK Telecom for a new decentralized finance (DeFi) platform. Aptos Labs Unveils Aptos Ascend The announcement, made on Thursday, revealed that Aptos Labs is launching Aptos Ascend, which will leverage the technologies of cloud computing platform Microsoft Azure, Azure OpenAI service, and SK Telecom while benefiting from the expertise of Brevan Howard and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to provide digital currency and asset management services to its user base.  This partnership effort aims to set new benchmarks for secure and scalable financial solutions built on the Aptos blockchain, specifically through the launch of Aptos Ascend. Related Reading: Historical Data Sparks Excitement: VeChain Price Poised For A Bullish Breakout? Aptos Ascend introduces advanced Digital Asset Controls designed to provide precision and adaptability in asset management. Key features include customizable tokens tailored to specific financial requirements, access control limited to approved transactions and participants, and increased confidentiality through Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKP) that ensure compliant transaction details remain secure. Furthermore, Aptos Ascend’s Network Controls empower financial institutions to upgrade their infrastructure and address future financial challenges. This is achieved through customizable solutions that allow adaptation of network settings to meet regulatory requirements, implementation of multi-signature protocols for improved security, and maintenance of transparency through comprehensive audit trails. Convergence Of AI And Blockchain Mo Shaikh, Co-founder and CEO of Aptos Labs, believes the project will “unlock the on-chain potential that financial institutions have been eagerly awaiting.”  Shaikh emphasized that this collaboration signifies the beginning of a ‘financial revolution” and expressed excitement about the future pioneers who will leverage the capabilities of the Aptos Ascend suite. In August 2023, Aptos Labs had already announced their utilization of Microsoft’s infrastructure to deploy new offerings that combine artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technology. Among these offerings was Aptos Assistant, a chatbot that provides increased user experiences. Shaikh highlighted the convergence of AI and blockchain as “transformative forces” that shape the internet and society and emphasized the shared vision of Aptos Labs and Microsoft to make this technology accessible to a wider audience. APT Breaks Month-Long Downtrend Following the collaboration and the introduction of the new platform, APT has experienced a significant breakthrough in its month-long downtrend, which amounted to a decline of over 40%. The unlock event of a substantial portion of APT tokens primarily drove this decline. Before the unlock event on April 12, APT had already witnessed a price drop of nearly 16%. In this event, $141 million worth of tokens were distributed, with $100 million allocated to investors, $38 million among community members, and $16 million earmarked for the ecosystem development foundation. The released APT tokens account for 6% of the current circulating supply. Related Reading: Bitcoin To $455,000: Expert Echoes Previous Halving Pattern Currently, APT is trading at $9.54, recording a surge of 6% concurrent with the collaboration unveiling.  Moreover, according to data from CoinGecko, the token’s trading volume has experienced a remarkable increase, reaching $238 million, reflecting a 46% surge compared to the trading volume on Wednesday. Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com

A comprehensive X thread by Bitcoin developer and observer 0xB10C has uncovered that several prominent bitcoin mining pools are using identical block templates and transaction prioritization methods, mirroring those of Antpool. This revelation follows earlier findings that highlighted a notable concentration of custodianship among the same pools. Analysis Reveals Shared Mining Practices Among Top Bitcoin […]

Analysts at Goldman Sachs, a leading global banking and investment management firm, have offered valuable insights into the anticipated effects of the forthcoming Bitcoin halving, on the price of the cryptocurrency. They emphasize that while the Bitcoin halving is a noteworthy event, other major factors will likely exert greater influence on Bitcoin’s future value.  Bitcoin Halving To Play Lesser Role In BTC’s Outlook In a note to clients, Goldman Sach’s analysts have cautioned against reading too much into the past Bitcoin halving cycles and their impact on the cryptocurrency. Based on historical trends, the Bitcoin halving cycles tend to have a favorable effect on the value of Bitcoin, often triggering a bull run.  The bank noted that whether the Bitcoin halving scheduled for April 20, becomes a “buy the rumor, sell the news event,” it would hold less significance for the cryptocurrency’s medium-term outlook. They argue that the future performance of the pioneer cryptocurrency would be more heavily influenced by the supply and demand dynamics within the current market. Additionally, the analysts highlighted that the growing interest and demand for Spot Bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) combined with the self-reflexive nature of the crypto market would be the primary contributing factor to Bitcoin’s price action and future outlook.  Sharing a similar perspective, analysts at CryptoQuant disclosed earlier in April that the 2024 Bitcoin halving was no longer a primary catalyst for Bitcoin’s bullish surge. They highlighted that factors such as increasing demand from large-scale investors and diminishing supply were now the key drivers of Bitcoin’s upward momentum.   Analysts Warn Of Macroeconomic Influence On New Halving Cycle Analysts at Goldman Sachs have predicted that macroeconomic factors such as inflation could have a significant influence on the upcoming Bitcoin halving event.  “Caution should be taken against extrapolating the past cycles and the impact of halving, given the respective prevailing macro conditions,” Goldman Sachs analysts noted. Related Reading: Crypto Analyst Says Don’t Buy Altcoins Just Yet – Here’s Why Unlike previous halving cycles, the present economic conditions display high inflationary pressures and interest rates, which could cause the 2024 Bitcoin halving cycle to diverge from historical patterns. In other words, the analysts have suggested that for Bitcoin’s historical halving bull runs to occur, macro conditions need to be supportive of investor risk-taking.  Currently, the United States faces challenges with high inflation, while interest rates stand above 5%. These conditions may exert pressure on Bitcoin’s market dynamics. However, despite the prevailing circumstances, many see the digital currency as a formidable inflation hedge and a beacon of hope against escalating inflationary pressures. BTC price at $62,000 | Source: BTCUSD on Tradingview.com Featured image from CryptoSlate, chart from Tradingview.com

A U.S. federal jury has convicted Avraham ‘Avi’ Eisenberg on charges of commodities fraud, commodities manipulation, and wire fraud due to his involvement in the $116 million exploit of Mango Markets, a Solana-based decentralized exchange (dex) platform. Jury Convicts Avi Eisenberg in $116M Mango Markets Crypto Fraud Case In this high-profile court case, Eisenberg was […]

XRP investors are eyeing a potential price surge, and one analyst forecasts an optimistic outlook for the cryptocurrency. Dark Defender, a prominent figure in the XRP community, has drawn parallels between the current market movement and the 2017 historic rally. According to Dark Defender, this resemblance suggests a significant upward trajectory for XRP, potentially culminating in what he refers to as a “God Candle.” Related Reading: XRP Price Recovery Could Soon Fade, These Are Key Levels To Watch Market Analysis And Forecast: A Closer Look At XRP’s Future Dark Defender’s analysis centers around the observation that the current market dynamics echo the 2017 cryptocurrency boom, characterized by substantial shifts in digital asset valuations. During this time, XRP experienced a notable ascent from mere fractions of a cent to over $3, reaching an all-time high in January 2018. Drawing from this historical context, Dark Defender suggests that XRP’s current sideways movement may indicate an impending surge, highlighting consistent Fibonacci points as evidence of potential price targets. This moment is not just a coincidence, it’s a Deja Vu. A Deja Vu that takes us back to 2017, a time of significant shifts in the cryptocurrency market. We had one of the most extended sideways but the targets and the support Fibonacci points are still the same. I have added the… pic.twitter.com/rnWanciV1i — Dark Defender (@DefendDark) April 17, 2024 While recent market activity has seen XRP’s value decline by approximately 22% over the past week, with prices dipping from last Thursday’s $0.60 to as low as $0.44 during the weekend, there are signs of resilience within the altcoin. In the early hours of today, XRP exhibited a modest uptick, posting a marginal increase of around 1.2% and reaching a 24-hour high of $0.50. However, at the time of writing, the altcoin has retraced back down by 0.4% with a current market price of $0.49. XRP Market Sentiment Amidst this fluctuation, XRP whales have demonstrated a bearish sentiment. Particularly, Whale Alerts, a whale transaction tracker, has recently shared significant transactions on social media platform X, highlighting the movement of large volumes of tokens. One notable transaction involved the transfer of 158 million tokens valued at $77 million from a private wallet to the Binance crypto exchange. This sizable transfer raised concerns among investors anticipating a shift from a bearish trend to a bullish surge. Additionally, another transaction involved the transfer of 28.9 million XRP, equivalent to $14.2 million, to Bitstamp. Despite the prevailing bearish sentiment, cryptocurrency analyst Javon Marks, similar to Darkdefender, has revealed his optimistic outlook on the altcoin. Related Reading: XRP Price Set For 3,000% Rally To $22, Analyst Predicts Marks, previously recognized for his bullish stance on the altcoin, recently adjusted his predictions, envisioning a 400x surge in XRP’s price. His forecast projects the altcoin to soar to roughly $288. With a Full Logarithmic Follow through, prices of $XRP (Ripple) may be more than poised for $200+. Prices of Ripple went on an over +108,000% run in the 2017-2018 run and has since setup and broke out of its largest resisting structure EVER! A mind-boggling, +33,030% run from… https://t.co/RWklG3ALh0 pic.twitter.com/r1Jie98X9s — JAVON⚡️MARKS (@JavonTM1) April 5, 2024 Featured image from Unsplash, Chart from TradingView

Binance, the leading cryptocurrency exchange globally in terms of trading volume, has shifted its SAFU (Secure Asset Fund for Users) reserves into the stablecoin USDC to bolster “its reliability.” During the early hours of Thursday, the platform transferred two substantial amounts of BTC and BNB. Binance Executes Dual Crypto Moves on Thursday: What’s Behind the […]

Crypto analyst Crypto Rover has provided insights into what could happen if the Bitcoin price drops below $58,000. The flagship crypto has continued to suffer price declines lately and risks dropping to that price level if it manages to break the crucial $60,000 support level.  What A Drop Below $58,000 Would Mean For The Bitcoin Price Rover mentioned in a video on his YouTube channel that Bitcoin dropping below $58,000 would mean a breakdown for the flagship crypto token. He, however, quickly added that there’s still a lot of liquidity in the market, which he believes Bitcoin can take in and help drive its price back above $60,000 if the drop below $58,000 happens.  Related Reading: XRP Price Set For 3,000% Rally To $22, Analyst Predicts He sounded optimistic about Bitcoin’s quick recovery if it dropped below $58,000. He revealed that he would not close his positions but rather open millions of dollars long positions if the flagship crypto dropped between $57,000 and $60,000. Meanwhile, Crypto Rover revealed that Bitcoin is still in the middle of a “gigantic and enormous consolidation phase” and that Bitcoin will have a “massive breakout” when this consolidation period ends. For now, he highlighted that Bitcoin’s top side is still trending downwards while Bitcoin’s low side is trending upwards.  Therefore, Crypto Rover claimed this is causing a “compression” in Bitcoin’s price. However, once this compression ends, Bitcoin will come out with a “banger,” the analyst added. Crypto Rover then alluded to the funding rates, which are currently negative. He noted that historically speaking, negative or low funding rates are always a Bitcoin buying opportunity.  The Big Gains Are Yet To Come For BTC Crypto Rover also noted that the majority of Bitcoin’s gains always come after the Bitcoin halving and not before. As such, despite the crypto token rising to a new all-time high (ATH) before the halving, the analyst asserted that “what we have seen so far is nothing for what we are about to be getting.” Related Reading: XRP Whales Are On The Move Again, But Are They Bullish Or Bearish? He suggested that the halving event would be the catalyst for Bitcoin’s rise to $100,000, mainly because it would create more scarcity. This would undoubtedly help increase Bitcoin’s value, especially if its demand continues to skyrocket. However, such a price surge might not come immediately, considering that Bitcoin’s price tends to increase 6 to 12 months after the halving.  Hannah Phung, a lead analyst at on-chain analytics platform SpotOnChain, also recently made that observation, although she admitted that things could be different this time around, as this market cycle looks to be more different and mature than past ones.  At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at around $60.900, down almost 5% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. BTC price recovers above $62,000 | Source: BTCUSD on Tradingview.com Featured image from PYMNTS, chart from Tradingview.com

The World Gold Council, an authority in global gold markets, expects the recent gold price rally to continue, supported by geopolitical risks, steady central bank purchases, and demand for coin and jewelry. The council also sees gold ETFs fueling a future rise in prices given their precious metal’s low ownership levels. World Gold Council Paints […]

Local sources have reported that a South Korean inmate, temporarily released to attend a funeral, exploited a cryptocurrency over-the-counter (OTC) deal to rob another individual. He enticed the buyer by offering to sell the digital assets at a rate below the prevailing market value and stole 500 million won. Temporary Release Turns Criminal A face-to-face […]

In the ever-evolving world of cryptocurrency, Marcel Knobloch also known as Collin Brown, a crypto expert has offered an audacious prediction for Bitcoin, foreseeing a significant rally to unprecedented heights post-BTC Halving event scheduled to take happen this month. Bitcoin Poised For Massive Growth Post-Halving According to Collin Brown, the fourth mining reward Halving for Bitcoin will take place in the next 48 hours. This event will cut down the current 6.25 BTC per block output to 3.125 BTC per block. Related Reading: Bitcoin Halving Hysteria: Will History Repeat Itself Or Are We Heading For A Market Meltdown? Brown noted that following the last Halving event, Bitcoin witnessed over 700% growth, bringing the crypto asset to its previous all-time high of $69,000 achieved at the peak of the 2021 bull cycle. Given the impact of the previous Halving, the crypto expert has predicted the coin will reach $455,000 should BTC mirror this pattern. The post read: In just forty-eight hours, Bitcoin’s fourth mining reward halving will occur. This quadrennial occurrence will slash the per-block emission of BTC to 3.125 BTC from the current 6.25 BTC. After the last halving, Bitcoin prices surged 700%, which would now bring $455,000. It is worth noting that since the cryptic developer of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, introduced the coin about 15 years ago, the Halving has been ingrained in the crypto’s program. This year’s event will happen when block 840,000 is created, which might increase BTC’s value by reducing supply. Historically, the three previous halvings have caused the price of the digital asset to soar significantly, amassing substantial gains. Data shared by Brown shows that following the first halving event, Bitcoin saw a whopping 9,360% rise, topping out around $1,135 from $12. However, it took the crypto asset approximately 371 days to reach the aforementioned figure after the Halving. Furthermore, the second halving, which occurred in 2016, drove Bitcoin’s price from $650 to $19,640, indicating an over 2,920% increase. Meanwhile, the last instance secured a 700% rally, taking prices from $8,626 to the previous peak of $69,045. Primarily, it took BTC more than 500 days in the preceding two cycles to reach new records. Considering the past trends, Brown’s forecast appears to be reasonable and possible. Should any of these trends reoccur, the crypto expert’s prediction might manifest in the following year. BTC On The Downside Collin Brown remains optimistic despite Bitcoin showing signs of weakness to retest its new all-time high of $73,000. Since reaching its new peak in mid-March, the value of BTC has plummeted by over 10%. Related Reading: Bitcoin Drops As Iran Launches Missile Attack On Israel – What We Know So Far Today, the price of Bitcoin fell sharply, reaching a low of about $60,000 and reaching its lowest level since late February. At the time of writing, BTC was trading at $62,916, down more than 10% over the past week. While its trading volume has increased by over 20%, its market cap is slightly down by 0.20% in the last day. The decline in BTC’s price is considered to be triggered by recent geopolitical tensions or global turmoil. The conflict between Israel and Iran caused major sell-offs among investors, leading to a broader market downturn. Featured image from iStock, chart from Tradingview.com