The rewards will be active until July 7 and will incentivize users to trade, earn, deposit, and borrow on the platform.

A new Ethereum Improvement Proposal, EIP 7702, spearheaded by Vitalik Buterin and fellow collaborators, aims to refine account abstraction on the Ethereum network, enhancing quantum resistance and compatibility with existing standards. EIP 7702 Targets Enhanced Security and Compatibility According to the Github summary, EIP 7702 emerges as a pivotal alternative to the existing EIP-3074, addressing […]

Anyone who spent at least $4,653 on Trump’s ‘Mugshot’ NFTs will be able to have dinner with the former president in Florida on May 8.

Thomas Jong Lee, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Fundstrat, an independent financial research boutique, has maintained a bullish stance on Bitcoin. The financial analyst has predicted that the world’s largest cryptocurrency could surge massively, doubling its current price to reach $150,000 during the 2024 crypto market cycle.  Bitcoin Could Go Parabolic In 2024 During a recent interview on Squawk Box, CNBC on May 7, Lee doubled down on his previous Bitcoin forecast, expressing strong confidence that the pioneering cryptocurrency would experience a dramatic surge before the end of 2024. He predicts that Bitcoin, currently priced at $62,371, according to CoinMarketCap, will exceed previous all-time highs and reach $150,000.  Related Reading: Can Ethereum Reclaim $4,000? Fragile Fundamentals Threaten To Send ETH Crashing The Fundstrat CEO disclosed earlier in April in an interview with CNBC Television, that “Bitcoin would definitely make new all-time highs this year,” predicting that the cryptocurrency could surge to $150,000 in 2024, and $500,000 long term.  He highlighted that the strong demand for BTC has been fueling its price increase. Furthermore, the integration of the Rune Protocol, a new token standard for issuing fungible tokens on the Bitcoin network, has also bolstered the blockchain’s network.  Lee’s ambitious forecast of Bitcoin comes at a time when the market has been experiencing significant volatility and periods of fluctuations. Bitcoin previously surged to an all-time high above $73,000 in March, propelled by the hype and demand for Spot Bitcoin ETFs. However, after Bitcoin halving on April 20, which many analysts and investors believed would trigger another price rally, BTC witnessed a dramatic drop, falling as low as $57,000 at some point in May.  Despite the upheaval in the broader crypto market, Lee remains optimistic about Bitcoin’s long-term value. His unwavering confidence in the cryptocurrency’s robust price fundamentals is reflected in his expectations of a potential price surge to or even exceeding half a million in the coming years.  Factors Point To Upward Momentum After FED Rate Cut While Lee made his bullish projections about Bitcoin, he also discussed the present inflationary situation and economic conditions of the United States. According to the Fundstrat CEO, inflation in the US is set to cool off dramatically, potentially triggering an upward momentum for Bitcoin if this happens.  Related Reading: Here’s How This Ethereum Whale Made $16 Million From A Single Trade The CEO disclosed that the Federal Reserve (FED) currently has more leeway to cut rates, citing their impacts on the country’s banking balance sheet. Although he refrained from specifying a precise timeline for the drop in the US inflation rate, Lee indicated that it could potentially occur by the second half of 2024.  Overall, the Fundstrat CEO has maintained an optimistic outlook for inflationary pressures in the US, with Bitcoin typically serving as a hedge against inflation and a store of value during these periods of economic uncertainty.  BTC price continues to fluctuate | Source: BTCUSD on Tradingview.com Featured image from CNBC, chart from Tradingview.com

Coincheck and Thunder Bridge Capital filed their registration statement with the SEC, bringing their merger and Nasdaq listing closer to completion.

Grayscale has retracted its application to list its ethereum trust, known as ETHE, as detailed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. James Seyffart, a Bloomberg analyst specializing in exchange-traded funds (ETF), expressed puzzlement over Grayscale’s decision to do so. Grayscale’s Strategic Ethereum Trust Retraction Filing Raises Questions Per a filing with […]

Amid turbulence surrounding the crypto market, popular founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Into The Cryptoverse Benjamin Cowen has taken the spotlight to shed his insights on the recent downtrend observed in the Ethereum/Bitcoin (ETH/BTC) pair. Cowen’s views examine the complex relationship between Ethereum and Bitcoin pricing and the potential for further downside risk. According to Benjamin Cowen, the ETH/BTC pair is currently on the downside, and the last 2 times that the pair declined, ETHUSD witnessed a steep decline of around 70%. Given that the crypto community has been eagerly anticipating an Altcoin season for the past 2.5 years, Cowen thinks it is crucial to warn the community that there is still a possibility of a downward movement. ETH/BTC Pair Rejected By The Bull Market Band Cowen has also confirmed that ETH/BTC is presently being rejected by the bull market support band, which he previously predicted days back due to a price pump. “I would expect it (ETH/BTC) to be rejected by the bull market support band, at least when looking at weekly closes ($0.053-$0.054),” he stated. He further noted that the pump appears to be mirroring the last cycle of rate cuts right before summer capitulation. Related Reading: Cracking the Crypto Code: ETH/BTC Signals The Next Altcoin Explosion – Here’s How Following the launch of Bitcoin Spot Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), Cowen mentioned that ETH/BTC saw a sharp rally. The analyst affirms that the rally was probably similar to the trend of the previous bull cycle, ushering in new lows. Furthermore, Cowen stated that there has been an unquestionable macro downtrend since November 2021, particularly following the merger of the ETH/BTC pair. However, it is also evident that the market did not decrease abruptly. As a result, investors held ETH instead of BTC all the way down from 0.085 to 0.048 because of the multiple lower highs, giving the impression that it was holding up quite well.  Prior to the Bitcoin Halving, Cowen predicted that the bull market support band would reject ETH/BTC, at least when considering weekly closes ($0.053-$0.054), should there be a rebound after the Halving, similar to that witnessed with BTC spot ETF launch. Regardless of what occurs, the expert is confident that ETH/BTC will reach between $0.03 and $0.04 by this summer. Heightened Divergence Between Ethereum And Bitcoin Being the two leading cryptocurrency assets, there is great interest surrounding Ethereum and Bitcoin. However, on-chain analytics firm Glassnode has highlighted a shift in performance between both digital assets. Related Reading: Ethereum Trouncing Bitcoin, ETH/BTC Ratio Bouncing Higher: Will This Trend Continue? According to the firm, the performance of Ethereum and Bitcoin has been increasingly diverging so far in the 2023–2024 cycle. This is due to poorer performance in ETH price, which is explained by a generally weaker trend in capital rotation. In addition, this is evident when particularly compared to preceding cycles and all-time highs. Featured image from iStock, chart from Tradingview.com

The role of crypto market makers is poorly understood: do they simply ensure crypto trades go through… or do they manipulate crypto markets?

Ethereum, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, finds itself in a curious position. While the price struggles for direction, its underlying network is experiencing a surge in activity. Related Reading: Whispers In The Deep: Why Are Ethereum Whales Disappearing? Ethereum Network Sees Increase In New Users According to crypto data firm Santiment, May 4th saw a whopping 200,000 new Ethereum addresses created, marking the highest single-day growth in nearly two years. This surge suggests a renewed interest in the Ethereum ecosystem, potentially driven by factors like the burgeoning Decentralized Finance (DeFi) space and the ever-evolving world of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). 📈 #Ethereum rebounded back above $3,200 this weekend, and saw massive network growth. 196.71K new addresses were created on the $ETH network on May 4, 2024, the largest single day of growth since October 8, 2022. This should be viewed as a #bullish sign. https://t.co/l9iFVWCJpE pic.twitter.com/MlHQTvKKN0 — Santiment (@santimentfeed) May 6, 2024 This network growth is a bullish signal, and indicates strong and increasing interest in Ethereum, which could translate to significant capital inflows when macroeconomic conditions become more favorable. Is The Price Dip A Buying Opportunity? While the network thrives, Ethereum’s price currently sits at $2,995, a 1.8% decline in the past 24 hours. This puts it precariously close to falling below its 200-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA), a technical indicator often interpreted as a sign of bearish momentum. However, a closer look reveals a potentially bullish twist. The price decline is accompanied by a drop in trading volume, which could indicate that selling pressure is waning. Historically, such a scenario has sometimes preceded a price reversal, where buyers re-enter the market, pushing prices upwards. Total crypto market cap currently at $2.2 trillion. chart: TradingView Investor Optimism Buoyed By Potential Fed Pivot The recent weakness in the US economy, highlighted by a disappointing jobs report, has sparked speculation that the Federal Reserve might consider easing interest rates. This could inject fresh liquidity into the market, potentially benefiting riskier assets like cryptocurrencies. According to analysts, a dovish pivot from the Federal Reserve could be a game-changer for Ethereum. Lower interest rates generally make holding cryptocurrencies more attractive compared to traditional fixed-income investments. Ether seven-day price action. Source: CoinMarketCap The future path of Ethereum remains uncertain. While the network’s fundamentals appear robust, the price faces immediate challenges. Navigating this complex scenario will require investors to carefully consider both the on-chain activity and the broader economic landscape. Regulation and Innovation: Key Factors to Watch Regulatory clarity around cryptocurrencies will undoubtedly play a crucial role in attracting institutional investors, a potential catalyst for significant price growth. Related Reading: Cardano (ADA) Trading Activity Goes Quiet: Will This Drag Down The Price? Featured image from Book My Flight, chart from TradingView

Despite the criticism, TradFi institutions still prefer using public blockchains for real-world asset tokenization.

Following two days of positive inflows, U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) experienced a decline, with $15.7 million exiting on Tuesday. Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) saw $29 million leave during the day’s trading sessions, overshadowing the break-even and positive reports from the other spot bitcoin funds. Fidelity, Ark Invest, Invesco Report Gains While GBTC Struggles […]

The recent unimpressive price action of Bitcoin is playing out in the minds of institutional investors, with recent data highlighting their bearish sentiment. This has led to a wave of massive outflows from  Bitcoin investment products, which could negatively impact the flagship crypto.  Bitcoin Investment Products Record $284 Million Of Outflows CoinShares revealed in a blog post that Bitcoin investment funds recorded an outflow of $284 million last week. Most of these outflows are said to have come from the US Spot Bitcoin ETFs, which saw outflows of $156 million last week. CoinShares noted that last week was the first time these funds recorded such a measurable amount of outflows.  Related Reading: Can Ethereum Reclaim $4,000? Fragile Fundamentals Threaten To Send ETH Crashing These US Spot Bitcoin ETFs indeed had a week to forget last week, as even BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) recorded its first day of outflows since launch, with almost $37 million exiting the fund.  CoinShares suggested that the magnitude of outflows was likely due to Bitcoin dropping below $62,000, which they estimate is the average purchase price of these ETFs since launch. Therefore, they claim that Bitcoin’s decline may have triggered automatic sell orders.  Before now, institutional investors had already shown mixed feelings towards these funds thanks to Bitcoin’s recent price action. As such, it makes sense that Bitcoin dropping below $60,000 made them panic sell instead of holding their positions.  Despite this development, CoinShares noted that the Spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs in Hong Kong which launched last week, were a bright spot, recording $307 million in inflows in the first week of trading. The launch of these funds could prove timely, with Bitcoin needing a catalyst to continue its upward trend.  Interestingly, CoinShares revealed that Bitcoin was the only crypto asset to record outflows. On its part, Ethereum broke its seven-week streak of recording outflows, with $30 million flowing into Ethereum investment products. Other altcoins like Avalanche, Cardano, and Polkadot also saw inflows.  Spot Bitcoin ETFs Still Not In The Clear With Grayscale’s GBTC recording its first day of net inflows last week, there was the feeling that such development could spark a turnaround in the outflows that the Spot Bitcoin ETFs have been recording. However, that hasn’t been the case. On May 7, these funds recorded a net outflow of $15.7 million.  Related Reading: Here’s How This Ethereum Whale Made $16 Million From A Single Trade GBTC was again the primary culprit, with the fund seeing a net outflow of $28.6 million. These outflows have continued to affect Bitcoin’s price negatively, given the amount of selling pressure it is piling on the flagship crypto.  At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at around $62,300, down over 2% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.  BTC price at $62,300 | Source: BTCUSD on Tradingview.com Featured image from The Independent, chart from Tradingview.com

FTX is poised to repay nearly all its account holders fully, according to a reorganization plan presented in court. The bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange has raised about $15 billion mainly by selling investments from itself and its affiliate, Alameda Research. This fund will ensure payments of 118 cents on the dollar for 98% of creditors with […]

As of May 8, 2024, bitcoin’s price is coasting along at $62,378, experiencing a 24-hour intraday range from $62,096 to $64,413, with a trading volume of $17.91 billion and a market capitalization of $1.22 trillion. Despite a decline of 2.1% over the past 24 hours, bitcoin has gained 9.3% over the last seven days. Bitcoin […]

The potential flip could further cement Solana’s status as an “Ethereum-killer,” which has been questioned due to the recent network outages.