As demand has spiked all across the cryptocurrency board, especially stablecoins, leading spot and derivatives trading platform OKEx has announced support for two of the most market’s most popular stablecoins on the Algorand protocol.

The move is in response to users searching for more options related to stablecoins and alternative protocols to avoid rising transaction fees.

OKEx Introduces USDTa and USDCa, Coming In Days

The Bitcoin market has been booming over the last twelve months, reviving the interest surrounding cryptocurrencies. The resurgence of development activity and users led to an explosion of new DeFi applications with incredible use cases.

Users have flocked to DeFi applications, many of which are built on Ethereum, causing related ETH gas fees to soar. When it comes to DeFi projects, it is a necessary cost associated with doing business. However, stablecoins on the Ethereum protocol have also been impacted by substantial transactions, discouraging users from sending stablecoins at such a high cost.

The beauty of the free market of crypto is that stablecoins can also run on other protocols, such as Algorand. Crypto exchange platform OKEx is often ahead of the curve when it comes to responding to consumer trends, and the latest move is no different. OKEx is providing users with the alternatives they desire.

Why Support Stablecoins On Algorand Protocol? OKEx CEO Explains

OKEx has introduced both USDTa and USDCa, running on the Alogrand protocol and offering the same benefits as their ERC-20 counterparts, but at only a nominal fee. OKEx CEO Jay Hao said that the platform had seen “such high demand” for the stablecoins, and because “user experience” is the platform’s “number-one priority,” they have begun to “offer users the chance to transact quickly and cheaply by providing a safe alternative to Ethereum while a solution is found for its rising gas fees and network congestion.”

Rising gas fees have benefited Ethereum holders, as it is driving up the prices per ETH. However, stablecoin transaction fees have reached an average of $25 in fees each, bringing to light the sudden need for suitable alternatives.

“Algorand is a technically sound protocol that provides the scalability essential to furthering crypto adoption that Ethereum doesn’t currently have,” Hao added.

Algorand-based stablecoins USDTa and USDCa will become available on OKEx in the next few days. OKEx has teased a variety of promotions to support the launch, with more information.

Disclaimer: The information presented here does not constitute investment advice or an offer to invest. The statements, views, and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author/company and do not represent those of Bitcoinist. We strongly advise our readers to DYOR before investing in any cryptocurrency, blockchain project, or ICO, particularly those that guarantee profits. Furthermore, Bitcoinist does not guarantee or imply that the cryptocurrencies or projects published are legal in any specific reader’s location. It is the reader’s responsibility to know the laws regarding cryptocurrencies and ICOs in his or her country.

Bitcoin price is back over $50,000 after bullish news broke this morning regarding Coinbase officially filing to go public. However, according to a fractal from the last bull market cycle kicking off in early 2017, that number could be merely the halfway point to where the cryptocurrency will trade in just two months from now.

Here’s a look at the similarities between the two cycles, and the roadmap that takes the price per BTC to $100,000 and higher within the next couple of months.

Characteristic Bitcoin Volatility Returns, Price Swings Reach $10,000 In A Single Day

Bitcoin volatility is picking up, starting with an explosive move from $10,000 to $50,000 in a few short months. The complete repricing of the coin has been due to institutional investors scrambling to buy what they can of the scarce crypto asset.

RELATED READING | BITCOIN HASN’T REACHED MANIA STAGE YET, ACCORDING TO THIS METRIC

At only 21 million coins and a market cap of under $1 trillion, Bitcoin is expected to grow in the long-term reliably. And in an economic climate where growth is challenging to come by, the cryptocurrency has become especially attractive.

But as Bitcoin price discovery takes place, volatility is bound to ensue and is has in recent weeks as the cryptocurrency recently shed 20% in a single day. At prices of $50,000 per coin, a 20% dive means $10,000 in value apiece evaporating into thin air, compared to the $1,000 per plunge crashes during the last bull market.

The structure is strikingly similar, albeit less volatile overall | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

Early 2017 Fractal Suggests Deeper Downside Possible, Rebound To $100K By May

On the way up the last time around, price action closely resembled the current market volatility. Taking a comparison between early 2017 when Bitcoin was trading in the four-digit range and now, the similarities are strikingly clear.

If the same path is followed, Bitcoin could see further collapse before experiencing a sharp rebound to more than double the price. The price action will play out quickly, taking Bitcoin price first to $75,000 in April, then $100,000 by the time May rolls around.

RELATED READING | BITCOIN TREND STRENGTH MORE POWERFUL THAN 2017, ONLY JUST BEGINNING

It is also important to note that the path following the fractal continues onward from there as well. By the time the fractal runs out of room on the price chart above, the cryptocurrency tapers off at just $2,000 per BTC.

The cryptocurrency did another 10x from the end of the above price action, and if the fractal continues the same from current levels, it could potentially put each Bitcoin at a price of $1 million per coin before the top of this cycle is in.

What do you think – can Bitcoin price really climb that high before the next peak is in?

Featured image from Deposit Photos, Charts from TradingView.com

Cryptocurrencies are experiencing a bullish phase in a major way. Across the entire market, coins are setting new all-time highs with every new passing day. Bitcoin and Ethereum are in full price discovery mode, and profits from them have flooded into other value projects such as utility coins and other top altcoins.

As a result, OKEx’s utility token OKB has set a new all-time high. Here’s why (both fundamentally and technically) OKB’s uptrend is only just getting started.

OKB Sets New All-Time High Alongside Massive Crypto Capital Inflows

According to the Dow theory, efficient markets will price assets effectively by being a direct reflection of all available information currently. And right now, all the information (public and private) is pointing towards going all-in on value projects in the crypto industry.

Investing in Bitcoin early has paid off handsomely, and other cryptocurrencies are following suit. The potential is there, but only for projects with lasting power that have both fundamental strength and technicals to back up their price momentum.

The overall crypto trend has caused coins everywhere to perform well, but certain categories have benefited more so than others, including DeFi tokens, and exchange utility coins like OKB.

OKEx’s native utility token recently rose along with the greater crypto price trend, reaching a new all-time high of over $23 per coin. The number is a 4,000% increase from the bear market bottom, and a nearly 400% increase in 2021 alone, making it one of the most successful coins in the space.

But investors are becoming aware of the value of utility tokens only now. OKB is only beginning its uptrend, according to technicals, and has the fundamentals to back it up.

Technical And Fundamental Factors Driving The OKEx Utility Coin Bull Run

The Average Directional Index is a trend strength measuring tool that can provide clues to where an asset is in its current trend. On higher time frames, the bullish trend is the strongest it has ever been historically for OKB and has only just started to blossom.

OKB in 2020 broke through its bear market resistance and confirmed it as support. After the critical bullish retest took place, it was clear skies ahead for OKB. With resistance flipped as support, and strong fundamentals to support longevity, OKB has only just begun to soar.

OKB allows OKEx customers to enjoy a discount on trading fees, access token sales, and much more. The token is also central to the OKExChain ecosystem and can be used or spent in a number of ways and applications already. Few cryptocurrencies can claim such utility and prices will appreciate accordingly and have already been doing so for some time.

OKEx trading volumes are also soaring as the greater crypto market trend stays magma hot. With token turns keeping the already limited supply shrinking, the asset’s value is designed to stay high and increase steadily over time, with less volatility than assets like Bitcoin and others.

Just as the GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) shares exploded higher in the final hours of trading on Wednesday, Jim Cramer advised the videogame retailer’s board to buy Bitcoin to increase its stock prices further.

“One last time GME,” tweeted the CNBC’s Mad Money host. “Issue one billion dollars in stock, buy one billion in bitcoin, and watch your stock go to $430.”

The statement appeared as other firms on Wall Street opted to replace a portion of their cash reserves with the benchmark cryptocurrency.

On Wednesday, Nasdaq-listed MicroStrategy revealed that it purchased $1.06 billion worth of additional bitcoins atop its 70,000-plus BTC reserves. Meanwhile, payment company Square also announced that it had added $900 million to its $50 million BTC profile on the same day.

Bitcoin rose from $3,858 to over $58,000 on booming institutional adoption against a depreciating US dollar. Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

Tesla, a Fortune 500 company, also invested $1.5 billion into Bitcoin to protect its reserves from the US dollar devaluation risks. The US carmaker went a step ahead by announcing that it would also start accepting the cryptocurrency for its services and products. The revelation came in early February.

Why Buy Bitcoin

Since the coronavirus pandemic began, the economic cycle came to a halt. The US government and its central bank, the Federal Reserve, responded by injecting additional US dollar liquidity into markets via banks (also known as quantitative easing), making loans affordable (cutting interest rates near zero), and providing direct aid to people (via stimulus).

The US dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of foreign currencies, fell by more than 12 percent due to its oversupply.

Many corporates were sitting atop huge piles of cash reserves. They did not want their dollars to get devalued due to inflation. It led them to Bitcoin, a nascent hedging asset that promises to retain its value against fiat devaluation. That became the main reason MicroStrategy, Tesla, Square, and many other firms decided to purchase the cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin surged by more than 1,200 percent from its mid-March nadir to $3,858 after the Federal Reserve’s commitment to providing infinite quantitative easing. MicroStrategy’s investment into the cryptocurrency has so far earned it twice its original input. Tesla is also sitting atop a $1 billion profit owing to Bitcoin’s parabolic uptrend.

But…

…Mr. Cramer proposed Bitcoin as a financial asset that could safeguard the so-called pandemic losers as well. His advice to the GameStop board to buy the cryptocurrency had more to do with generating adequate capital to fund its futures operations, especially as it came closer to bankruptcy last month.

The GME stock is currently in the midst of volatile price swings. On Wednesday, its value spiked by 104 percent to close at $91.71. TraderAlert data showed that the GME’s options activity also surged to its highest levels in two weeks, with bullish contracts outnumbering the bearish ones. The spike happened almost without any concrete catalyst.

GameStop stock posts a wild intraday rally without reason. Source: GME on TradingView.com

GME earlier became a central focus of a Reddit-driven buying mania launched by trader Keith Gill, also known as by his pseudonym DeepF**ingValue, in January to hurt hedge funds short on the GameStop stock. Mr. Gill doubled down on his GME investments lately by purchasing 50,000 extra shares.

The GME stock jumped 13 percent after his call. GameStop currently had about $500 million in its cash reserves as of October 31 last year.

Driving crypto payment adoption to new heights requires competitive solutions. Hashbon focuses on empowering small and medium-sized businesses through a 0% commission approach. Its native HASH token, to be listed on an exchange soon, will also provide certain benefits. 

An All-Encompassing Crypto Payment Service

As cryptocurrencies’ appeal grows globally, more and more people see the merit of using Bitcoin or altcoins for payments. While the number of companies accepting this form of payment remains low, Hashbon has the tools to change this narrative. As a cryptocurrency payment service platform for both individuals and businesses, it provides global payment solutions to everyone.

Established in 2016 in the Czech Republic, the Hashbon team focused on building its crypto payment service from the ground up. With a strong focus on ease of integration and a frictionless user experience, the platform supports over 30 currencies today. Individuals and companies can accept payments in Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Dash, and many others. All of this functionality is part of Hashbon’s all-encompassing payment service platform.

Any business aiming to establish a global presence will need to experiment with universally-used payment solutions. Outside of traditional solutions such as payment cards and mobile options, cryptocurrencies are the next option on the list. By lowering the barriers to entry and adoption, Hashbon paves the way for global crypto payment adoption. 

Core List Of Features And Benefits

For small and medium-sized businesses, integrating support for alternative payment methods is often a costly endeavor. Hashbon acknowledges this aspect and ensures their solution can help decrease costs associated with handling payments. More importantly, the acceptance of cryptocurrencies can help any business or individual tap into new markets that would otherwise remain off-limits. 

Hashbon will never charge a commission for processing transactions in cryptocurrencies. Recipients will receive the full amount paid by the customer, minus the network’s transaction fee. Putting more money into the hands of those who accept these cryptocurrency payments is an essential priority for the team.  

Integrating this crypto payment solution only requires one line of code. Compared to other payment processing options on the market – either traditional or otherwise – the ease of integrating Hashbon is unprecedented. No technical knowledge is required to introduce this alternative and commission-free payment method to clients and customers. 

Other crucial benefits include:

• Mass-payouts (an excellent tool for companies dealing with overseas or freelance workers).
• Electronic billing (including WhatsApp supporting).
• The acceptance of traditional payment systems alongside cryptocurrencies.
  

More specifically, businesses and individuals can equally accept SEPA, PayPal, Payoneer, credit card, or Sofort. Having the ability to customize payment options for yourself or your business is worth its weight in gold. 

The HASH Token Explained

Hashbon launched its native HASH token in February of 2021, and the first exchange listing will take place on Coinsbit come February 26. As a utility token, HASH is designed to be stable and transparent. It will exist on the Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain blockchains.

Launching this token has allowed Hashbon to grow its community to over ten thousand members. Every holder of the token will gain special features – including lower exchange rates within the Hashbon payment system. 

Closing Thoughts

As a crypto payment service that caters to both B2B and B2C clients’ needs, Hashbon can help expand the appeal of global cryptocurrency payments. With an initial focus on Europe and Asia and its compliance with applicable laws, the projected market share of 30.2% by 2025 is within reach. Its language localization, partner program, and ease-of-use interface are crucial aspects of convincing B2B and B2C clients of the importance of alternative payment solutions. 

If you want to find out more about Hashbon, join their Telegram Chat and News Channel, follow the team on Twitter, and check out the Reddit community.

Disclaimer: The information presented here does not constitute investment advice or an offer to invest. The statements, views, and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author/company and do not represent those of Bitcoinist. We strongly advise our readers to DYOR before investing in any cryptocurrency, blockchain project, or ICO, particularly those that guarantee profits. Furthermore, Bitcoinist does not guarantee or imply that the cryptocurrencies or projects published are legal in any specific reader’s location. It is the reader’s responsibility to know the laws regarding cryptocurrencies and ICOs in his or her country.

Bitcoin reversed earlier losses after Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve chairman, reiterated the central bank’s tendency to stick with its infinite quantitative easing policies during the second day of his testimony to Congress.

The benchmark cryptocurrency ended Wednesday 1.71 percent higher to $49,737.82, having fallen by up to almost 22 percent in the previous two sessions. It opened Thursday on an upside note, rising to $50,888 in the early Asian session. Other high-cap tokens, including Ethereum and Binance Coin, also surged higher.

On Wednesday, a morning sell-off in the US Treasuries also pushed the yields on the 10-year note to slightly less than 1.43 percent, its highest level since February, before it slipped back to 1.37 percent. As of Thursday’s Asian session, the yields were higher, around 1.39 percent.

Expectations that the US president Joe Biden’s $1.9-trillion stimulus package will tend inflation have hit Treasuries.

That is because an additional US dollar liquidity into the economy erodes the cash value of the debt instruments’ interest payments. Nevertheless, a rise in long-dated yields, accompanied by a rise in real rates, signals investors’ optimism about the US economy’s growth.

But higher yields hurt corporates’ equity valuations by tampering with their price-to-earnings multiples. Companies whose earnings remain slim against their stock market valuations appear less attractive to investors. About 100 largest firms listed on Nasdaq have values 37 times larger than their earnings.

Bitcoin Against Cash

Tesla and MicroStrategy, two of the leading bitcoin investors on Wall Street, are among the ones with higher P/E ratios.

Meanwhile, the former holds $1.5 billion of the cryptocurrency in its reserves. The latter has upped its bitcoin holdings from about 71,000 BTC to a little over $90,500 BTC after putting an additional $1.06 billion into it, according to its press release published Wednesday.

NYSE-listed Square has also reported a higher P/E ratio, meaning its stock remains overvalued against its earnings results. On Wednesday, the mobile payment firm announced that it had purchased $900 million worth of bitcoin tokens.

Bitcoin rises after MicroStrategy and Square ups their BTC holdings. Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

So it appears, all the said firms expect their cash reserves to lose value in the coming sessions due to expansive stimulus packages. Meanwhile, with Mr. Powell suggesting to keep the Fed’s $120bn monthly asset purchase program and interest rates near zero, holding a depressed US dollar against rising yields seem unattractive for companies.

In turn, that helps boost Bitcoin’s anti-fiat narrative, given its scarcity against the dollar’s unlimited supply injection. Meanwhile, among investors, who expect the US economy to recover speedily, as the Food and Drug Administration approves the Johnson and Johnson vaccine for emergency approval, it has reduced their risk-off appetite.

Growth to Sustain: Bianco

The Dow Jones finished at a record on Wednesday amid higher risk-on sentiment among investors. That limited Bitcoin’s growth in the session. Nevertheless, analysts note that rising bonds’ yields do not affect the cryptocurrency in the long run. Jim Bianco, the president of Bianco Research, noted:

“They think it’s a reflation trade, so the path of the stock market [and bitcoin] will continue to be up,” said Mr. Bianco. “If they’re rising because earnings are coming back, people are getting their jobs back, the standard of living is going up, that’s OK.”

Rising Treasury yields likely won’t stop investors from piling into equities or bitcoin, says market forecaster Jim Bianco of @biancoresearch. Here’s why. Program sponsor: @CharlesSchwab https://t.co/HcsJYf58F8 pic.twitter.com/57ag3QE0nF

— Trading Nation (@TradingNation) February 17, 2021

Bitcoin was trading around $50,000 at this press time.

DeFi is a revolutionary concept in which traditional financial products and services can be operated without intermediaries like banks. The emergence of Uniswap created alternatives for traders to access liquidity, and since then there’s been an explosion of decentralized exchanges and quite a lot of decentralized perpetual swap protocols have been developed.

However, data shows that although decentralized perpetual swap protocols should be seeing about $4.7B in trading volume based on Uniswap’s daily average, combined, they don’t even come close. Here’s why decentralized perpetual swap protocols are so currently “lacking” despite a “50x” growth potential claimed by the same data.

CEX And DEX Platforms Rise In Tandem During Crypto Market Uptrend

A rising tide lifts all boats, and the latest cryptocurrency market uptrend has brought an increase in trading volume across nearly every type of cryptocurrency exchange in the market. Several platforms have been unable to keep up with the demand.

According to the latest research from Huobi, there is one type of option that is, unfortunately, “not applicable to many traders” and, as a result, has fallen behind the rest of the space.

The research begins with a comparison of centralized exchange Huobi Global, which offers spot and derivatives trading under the same roof. Internal data shows that when spot volumes increase, derivatives volumes typically also rise in tandem.

The data is then used to compare Uniswap as a decentralized spot ecosystem and decentralized perpetual swap protocol dYdX. Interestingly, while Huobi Global’s spot trading volume represented only 19% of the total derivatives trading, Uniswap beat out dYdX by 331% during the same period.

Decentralized Perpetual Swap Protocols Are Lacking, Despite 50x Growth Potential

Further demonstrating how decentralized perpetual swap protocols are “lacking” currently, the report looks at five different centralized exchanges. The average across the grouping saw roughly five times the derivatives volume over spot, projecting that the total decentralized derivatives market should represent $4.7 billion in trading volume. The figure is found by taking the average daily trading volume of Uniswap across the past 30 days and multiplying by a factor of 4.82x.

The analysis shows that although the total should be somewhere around $4.7 billion according to projections, instead, the actual average daily trading volume across the four currently launched decentralized perpetual swap protocols is only a meager $67.7 million, or only 1.4% of the projected estimate.

dYdX, DerivaDEX, Perpetual Protocol, FutureSwap, and AlphaX are four of the currently live or about to go live platforms available and used in the data. While these platforms do replicate some of the experience found on centralized exchanges, liquidity is severally lacking. That’s where established CEXs like Huobi Global really shine – ensuring instant order execution and minimal slippage.

Given the potential of DeFi, there’s no surprise that everywhere you turn in the cryptocurrency industry, there’s a new development, product, or platform. And while almost all of them do offer promise in the long-term, traders should be wary that the lack of liquidity, among other issues, means that these decentralized perpetual swap protocols aren’t currently “applicable” for traders who might want to stick to proven centralized platforms until more growth is achieved.

You can read the full report and analysis here.

Bitcoin and Ethereum might be capturing the most mainstream media attention as the two largest cryptocurrency networks by market cap. But unfortunately, their market size can get in the way of investors discovering a world of innovation around in the rest of the blockchain space. 

Here’s why PIVX is a coin you might have heard about before but will soon be hearing a lot more as its value proposition is brought to the forefront of finance in the future ahead. 

The Backwards Battle Of Blockchain Intelligence

Blockchain is being heralded as the most disruptive technology of the modern age, following the internet itself. In addition to the network of data, the value lies in the transparency and immutability of the underlying distributed ledger technology. 

Cryptography, more so related to the assets that transact across these ledgers, adds a layer of pseudo-anonymity to cryptocurrencies but falls short of providing complete privacy for the end-user. 

Through blockchain intelligence and on-chain analysis, governments have begun to utilize the data to trace Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency wallets back to individuals through bank accounts, KYC, and more. If governments possess this ability, then cybercriminals can also do so, ten times more efficiently.  

As blockchain adoption goes mainstream, the need for financial privacy and to conceal user data related to transactions will become a crucial fight. 

Governments have demonized privacy coins in the past for their illicit uses. However, their application for specific industries, especially finance or anything related to personal privacy, will become critically important in the all-digital future. 

For instance, banks keep personal data private so that criminals don’t target the wealthy. Another example involves cybercriminals following a blockchain-based shipment waiting to intercept a rare luxury item that utilizes a blockchain-based RFID tag for supply chain transparency. Or imagine if blockchain is used for voting – an ideal application for the technology – yet every vote was made public. Removing all aspects of privacy from blockchain would destroy its potential in most situations. 

PIVX And The Unrealized Value Of Privacy

Protecting innocent users in the all-digital world will become so critical, governments will have no choice but to rethink the benefits of privacy coins and potentially adopt aspects of privacy protocols for the proposed central bank cryptos like the digital dollar and euro. One of the benefits of using cold hard cash is that no one knows what you did with it after.

Just as there was once a time when no one could imagine Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies as money or a worthy investment, they are now the talk of the financial world. However, another cryptocurrency with a deep-rooted history in the blockchain space with an introduction in 2015, PIVX, is even more revolutionary. 

PIVX solves the issues with current privacy coins by letting the user and use case dictate if the transaction data should remain obfuscated or not. The groundbreaking technology powering PIVX retains all the initial value of blockchain and DLT transparency while preserving privacy for any and all parties that desire it. 

Solving Cryptocurrency’s Notorious Volatility Problem

Another reason for Bitcoin’s recent emergence has been the claim that the cryptocurrency is a hedge against dollar inflation due to its limited supply. Pundits argue some inflation is necessary for economic expansion, while others look to deflationary assets to preserve wealth. 

What is really broken in terms of the current monetary system is that although quantitative easing was a necessary evil to save the economy, there’s never been any plan to remove excess money from circulation for balance. And while Bitcoin does bring some balance to how inflationary the dollar has become, it is too volatile ever to be used as a currency. 

Here’s yet another way that PIVX raises the bar for crypto projects. PIVX solves the volatility issue with a dynamic coin supply. When trading volumes are high, coins are burned to encourage saving. When volumes are low, coins are minted at a higher rate, and transaction fees are burned to encourage spending instead. This constant cycling toward equilibrium enables steady growth in the PIVX price, rather than volatile and unpredictable price action. 

 Even Ethereum 2.0 Tries To Catch Up With PIVX Protocol

We now know how PIVX solves the Bitcoin volatility problem and tears down the barriers surrounding privacy coins, but even Ethereum cannot keep up with PIVX and is now trying to catch up. Features that are native to PIVX are now slated for the Ethereum 2.0 upgrade. PIVX operates on the SHIELD protocol, a customized zk-SNARKs sapling deployment compatible with PoS. 

By relying on PoS while retaining the most essential aspects of privacy coins, PIVX achieves efficient scaling and prevents critical issues such as 51% attacks. Ethereum 2.0 will implement this solution, and the altcoin’s founder Vitalik Buterin has shared his positive thoughts about the technology with the development community. 

PIVX also features a comparable staking system to what Ethereum is planning, providing masternode operators with as high as 9% annually in rewards as well as one vote per masternode. PIVX puts governance in the hands of masternode operators who can shape the future of the treasury, upgrades, and much more. 

PIVX, like many other coins that debuted years prior, are now bearing the fruits of the labor of the development teams and supporters. Technical issues are now solved, and soon PIVX will bring to light the value of privacy as it pertains to blockchain data and transform the face of financial data for the future. 

To learn more about PIVX, check out the official website. 

Disclaimer: The information presented here does not constitute investment advice or an offer to invest. The statements, views, and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author/company and do not represent those of Bitcoinist. We strongly advise our readers to DYOR before investing in any cryptocurrency, blockchain project, or ICO, particularly those that guarantee profits. Furthermore, Bitcoinist does not guarantee or imply that the cryptocurrencies or projects published are legal in any specific reader’s location. It is the reader’s responsibility to know the laws regarding cryptocurrencies and ICOs in his or her country.

Only recently has the world of finance open its eyes to the potential of Bitcoin. As the asset’s price climbs, the various use cases it could serve also comes to light. According to new data, as much as 5% of the total BTC supply is projected to be used as collateral by the year 2023.

Here’s why Bitcoin is quickly becoming the collateral asset of choice, and how the cryptocurrency can achieve such penetration within just two short years.

BTC Collateralized To Reach 1M Worth of Total Supply

Bitcoin was first imagined to be the first ever form of peer-to-peer digital cash and at the time was virtually worthless.

Since then the cryptocurrency’s narrative has evolved several times from a payment currency, to a store of value, and more recently, “digital gold.” At the same time, the price per coin has ballooned year over year and is now trading around $50,000.

RELATED READING | BITCOIN MARKET CAP TOPS $1 TRILLION FOR FIRST TIME EVER

In the future, the leading cryptocurrency by market cap’s narrative is expected to shift toward a unit of account instead. However, a detailed report released by Arcane Research in collaboration with cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp, claims that the future of banking collateral will be built on BTC.

Bitcoin's narrative has changed many, many times over the years | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

The report claims that BTC has been increasingly used for collateral in recent years, but the total supply locked up as collateral for things like loans or derivatives trading, could reach as much as 1 million coins, or 5% of the total supply sans Satoshi’s coins.

Bitcoin To Become The Future Of Collateral Assets

A more than 60-page report has been published entitled, “Banking on Bitcoin: The State of Bitcoin as Collateral.” The report details all the reasons supporting the case for BTC becoming the primary collateral asset, due to attributes only the cryptocurrency can provide.

RELATED READING | BITCOIN HASN’T REACHED MANIA STAGE YET, ACCORDING TO THIS METRIC

BTC represents as much as 95% of the open interest in Options markets currently. The cryptocurrency’s use in derivatives contracts demonstrated its effectiveness as a highly portable collateral asset, but that’s now evolving into traditional lending and more.

The total BTC used as collateral could reach 1M by 2023 | Source: Arcane Research

The total Bitcoins used as collateral grew by over 1100% year over year, and is already nearing half a million BTC. This is theoretically expected to double by 2023, as the first ever cryptocurrency continues to disrupt the finance space.

Collateral globally is a $20 trillion market that Bitcoin is just waiting to tap into. If Bitcoin can absorb the $20 trillion to become the primary collateral asset, the cost per coin would near $1 million each.

Featured image from Deposit Photos, Charts from TradingView.com

Bitcoin Press Release: Bitcoin PR Buzz is upgrading its services to better serve its long list of loyal clients. Upgrades include the addition of  AMBCrypto, APNews, Techbullion, and MorningTick to its distribution packages.

22nd February 2020, London, United Kingdom: As the cryptocurrency market indulges itself in optimism and sees record-breaking levels of innovation and development, Bitcoin PR Buzz, in its role as the megaphone of the growing cryptocurrency and blockchain industry, sees an opportunity to add even more value to its clients’ endeavors.

As the oldest press release distribution company crypto, Bitcoin PR Buzz provides a hassle-free and cost-effective marketing service for businesses looking for a voice in crypto. It leverages its experience to handle everything from the point of idea creation to getting those businesses the placements they deserve.

Breaking Through the Media Wall

Following recent changes, Bitcoin PR Buzz is pleased to announce the addition of both AMBCrypto and APNews to their most demanded and highest-profile package, worth over $500. Breakthrough guarantees placement of clients’ press releases and articles on media sites with exclusively over 1 million readers per month for the most ambitious projects. These sites include Yahoo Finance, APNews, Bitcoin.com, Hackernoon, Bitcoinist, NewsBTC, and over 300 additional sites in the Crypto & Fintech space.

AMBCrypto is one of the premier news media organizations in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space, whilst APNews is a globally renowned mainstream news media outlet, serving more than half of the world’s population in 250 locations worldwide on a daily basis.

Combined, the upgrade to include these media giants will allow Breakthrough clients to put their projects and press releases in front of up to 70 million more pairs of eyes each month.

For more on Bitcoin PR Buzz’s services or to book a free PR consultation, navigate to the website here. 

Gaining Traction and Momentum

For growing and large companies, the Momentum package balances great exposure whilst keeping costs in mind. Momentum delivers unmatched value, guaranteeing placement on sites with between 100,000 and 1 million readers per month on sites such as Yahoo Finance, Coinidol, BTC Manager, CoinGape, and over 150 more sites.

Momentum now benefits from the addition of London-based, but globally focused, mainstream FinTech news site, TechBullion. Replacing Coincodex, TechBullion has over 340,000 unique monthly views compared to the former’s 100,000, offering Momentum clients the potential to be seen additional 240,000 people worldwide.

The Traction package allows clients to get the word out in a big way on a small budget. Traction offers guaranteed placements on Zycrypto, Coinspeaker, and Cryptomode perfect for small crypto-startups or bootstrapped blockchain businesses looking to target sites with 10,000 – 100,000 readers per month.

Traction will now include MorningTick, a non-funded crypto-media platform that delivers unbiased reporting on all things crypto and fintech. MorningTick is also featured on Google News, ensuring clients get the chance to appear in front of up to 24 million monthly unique visitors.

For more on Bitcoin PR Buzz’s services or to book a free PR consultation, navigate to the website here. 

Up to $1300 off of Services at Bitcoin PR Buzz for 30 Days

To celebrate its recent upgrades, Bitcoin PR Buzz is offering 10% off all of its services for the next 30 days. So start your release distribution today whilst the offer lasts, and see what the buzz is about.

About Bitcoin PR Buzz 

Established in 2012, Bitcoin PR Buzz was the first marketing agency to form in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space. Leveraging exclusive relationships with media outlets crypto and mainstream, it provides a press release distribution service that is 100% guaranteed.

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Bitcoin bulls should prepare for its price to drop into the $35,000-40,000 area, per an apprehensively accurate fractal.

First highlighted by TradingShot, an independent crypto trading consultancy, the fractal relies on a flurry of technical indicators to make its short-term bearish case. They include a so-called pitch-fan, three moving averages, and two momentum indicators. All of them have predicted Bitcoin’s short- and medium-term trends in the recent sessions.

The TradingShot study focuses on the support and resistance levels that constitute the pitch-fan. In it, Bitcoin’s every higher high formation leads to an upside rejection at the upper band or the median. Meanwhile, the lower band provides the much-required support to resume the uptrend, as shown in the chart below.

Bitcoin pitch-fan setup, as highlighted by TradingShot. Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

“A moderate projection shows that the median (red line) within 2-3 weeks can again provide support, this time making contact with the 1D MA100 (green trend-line),” noted the TradingShot analysts.

“The dotted lines are the 0.5 levels and have been supporting since November 10, 2020. Contact with the lower 0.5 bands will be a -40 percent correction, which only happened once during the 2017 Parabolic Run,” they added.

Bitcoin corrections from local highs since 2017. Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

In retrospect, each of Bitcoin’s corrections from local tops tested the 1D MA100 thrice and the 1D MA50 twice as support since December 2017. Currently, the 1D MA100 level sits near $40,000 while the 1D MA50 is near $35,000.

More Bearish Cues

The possibility of Bitcoin correcting into the $35,000-40,000 region also increased due to a bearish LMACD indicator, a backronym for “Logarithmic Moving Average Convergence Divergence.”

In retrospect, the LMACD represents the logarithmic difference between Bitcoin’s 12-period moving average and its 26-period moving average. When LMACD slips below the 9-period moving average, it signals a bearish crossover. Conversely, when MACD breaks above the 9-period MA, it alerts about a bullish crossover.

The Bitcoin chart above shows the LMACD forming a bearish crossover, pointing to an extended sell-off in the coming sessions. That suits the pitch-fan theory.

“Every such prior formation not only came shortly after a Top but was also a Higher High on the Pitchfan,” the TradingShot analysts said. “The RSI got rejected just before entering its multi-month Sell Zone (Resistance) and is fast approaching its Buy Zone (Support). Notice how every hit on the RSI Buy Zone has been a Bottom.”

Bitcoin Long-Term Setup

TradingShot remained biased towards bulls from a long-term perspective, expecting that a lower probability of 40 percent correction would assist Bitcoin in resuming its upside run. The firm recommended traders time plan their bitcoin purchases near the provable support levels.

“We still have the better part of this Bull Cycle ahead of us,” it added.

The price of Bitcoin steeply pulled back yesterday, on February 23. Following the major 17% correction, investors and fund managers remain generally optimistic.

What’s behind the optimism towards Bitcoin?

Typically, after such a large sell-off, the market sentiment often dwindles. However, in the case of Bitcoin in the last 24 hours, the market sentiment has improved significantly.

Kelvin Koh, a partner at the Spartan Group, an advisory and one of Asia’s biggest DeFi-focused funds, outlined four silver lining to the recent correction.

Silver lining to the latest selloff:
1. Tether FUD played out
2. Leveraged wiped
3. Weak hands shaken out
4. Technicals looking the best in a few months

— SpartanBlack (@SpartanBlack_1) February 24, 2021

Shortly before the Bitcoin recovery, Bitfinex settled with the New York Attorney’s office regarding a lawsuit against the exchange and Tether. The official press release from the Attorney’s office read:

“An agreement with iFinex, Tether, and their related entities will require them to cease any further trading activity with New Yorkers, as well as force the companies to pay $18.5 million in penalties, in addition to requiring a number of steps to increase transparency.”

The settlement gave crypto a much needed closure around Tether, which accounts for a large portion of Bitcoin’s daily trading volume.

Many traders rely on Tether, a stablecoin backed by the value of the U.S. dollar, to trade cryptocurrencies across major exchanges.

Hence, clarity around Tether and its legitimacy is a catalyst for the crypto market in that it removes one of the existential threats against the market.

Where does BTC go from here?

If the price of Bitcoin remains stable above $50,000 and establishes it as a support area, the potential for an extended upside could increase.

There is little resistance between $50,000 and $56,000, and then to the all-time high at $58,000.

The price of Bitcoin. Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

One positive factor is that the funding rate of the futures market has completely reset to 0.01%. Before the correction, the funding rate was hovering at around 0.15%.

It is now 15 times lower than where it was several days ago, which is indicative that the market is much less overheated and overcrowded.

When the market is less crowded, the likelihood of a long squeeze decreases, which makes severe drops like the one on February 22 less probable.

Still, there is a risk of a deeper drop if Bitcoin fails to stabilize above $50,000 and drops below $48,000 once again.

So far, the $48,000 support area has served well as the final line of defense before BTC becomes at risk of falling below into the bear zone.

Yerevan (Bitcoinist) – Bitcoin underwent a modest recovery this Wednesday after Square, a payment service rival to PayPal, revealed its recent investments into the cryptocurrency.

The Twitter-fame Jack Dorsey’s firm purchased $170 million worth of bitcoin tokens at an average rate of $53,125. Combined with its $50 million investment into the cryptocurrency previously, the latest BTC acquisition represents approximately five percent of Square’s total cash reserves, cash equivalents, and marketable securities as of December 31, 2020.

BTC/USD Retraces

Bitcoin popped nearly 5 percent following Square’s investment, hitting an intraday high of $51,398 before correcting lower modestly ahead of the European session. The cryptocurrency majorly held onto the support levels near its 20-day exponential moving average (green wave) that further underpinned its recovery after two days of relentless sell-offs.

Bitcoin rebounds after Square reveal its additional BTC investments. Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

The price retracement appeared on the prospects that high-profile investments into the Bitcoin space would propel more corporates into buying the cryptocurrency. What would compel them is higher inflation and an overly devalued US dollar caused by the Federal Reserve’s ultra dovish monetary policies and the US government’s expansive stimulus packages.

Bitcoin Liquidity Crisis

Vijay Boyapati, a long-term bitcoin supporter, noted that—if not for new buyers—companies that remain exposed to the cryptocurrency’s market would accumulate more of it in the future as their cash reserves erode.

“It’s important to understand that these purchases, as with MicroStrategy, are not one-time,” he said earlier Wednesday. “They’re a trend in allocating a portion of all future cash flow to Bitcoin, which will slowly but surely absorb the tradeable supply and drive the price higher.”

Ben Lilly, a crypto economist, also discussed the ongoing liquidity crisis in the Bitcoin market in one of his recent newsletters. The analyst noted that companies including Tesla, MicroStrategy, Grayscale Investments, Square, and others had accumulated more bitcoin tokens in the recent months than the miners produced.

Grayscale Investments have continued its bitcoin purchasing spree into the new year, reflecting higher institutional demand. Source: ByBt.com

He added that retail traders had treated the high-profile BTC accumulation as a cue to become holders. That was visible in the massive BTC withdrawals from all exchanges in recent months, pointing to traders’ willingness to trade less and hold more. Meanwhile, many put their bitcoin into decentralized finance pools as collateral to earn yields.

“Bitcoin were, and still are, leaving exchanges by the bucket load,” Mr. Lilly noted last week. “In effect, this means the amount of bitcoin available for willing buyers is drying up. Which in turn creates scarcity, demand pressure… And the reason many of us are here: higher prices.”

With Bitcoin trading above $55,000 USD, a common question is whether Bitcoin is now too expensive to buy. While the answer primarily depends on one’s investment goal, time horizon, risk appetite and so forth, it really also depends on our understanding of Bitcoin. 

Apart from the original Whitepaper by Satoshi Nakamoto, the work by PlanB can be instructive. PlanB’s Stock-To-Flow Model has been getting a lot of attention these days, mostly due to the consistent precision of its price projections, but with institutions moving in, could we be on the verge of breaking through the model? 

PlanB & The Stock-To-Flow Model 

In true crypto fashion, it is not yet clear who PlanB is exactly, but he introduces himself as a Dutch institutional investor in his late 40s. In his narrative, his now former daytime job as an investor in traditional markets is ‘Plan A’, while his interest in Bitcoin represents ‘Plan B’.

PlanB is best known for his Stock-to-Flow model (S2F), a simple but profound model that looks at how much new Bitcoin is minted, the available amount in circulation and what this means in terms of price. 

In March 2019, as Bitcoin struggled to climb above $5,000 USD, critics found it difficult to take the model seriously, but two years later it turns out that PlanB’s prediction that Bitcoin would reach $55,000 USD by early 2021 had been spot on.

It seems counterintuitive for a model to be so accurate when there are a myriad of factors that can impact price. Skeptics might argue the model is simply a self-fulfilling prophecy, but this is a weak argument that overestimates the influence the model might have on millions of traders around the world. 

In his own explanation, PlanB has mentioned that the model’s accuracy might have something to do with the fact that Bitcoin uniquely introduces a constant into economics.  

Land, real estate, gold, diamonds; we might say these are scarce assets, but it’s easy to imagine scenarios where such scarcity loses meaning. Equally, scarcity can be manufactured. It is well-known, for example, that diamonds are not as scarce as the industry would have us believe, and while diamond connoisseurs are keen to point out that ‘real diamonds’ differ from artificially created ones, we all know that’s just branding. 

Bitcoin, on the other hand, has a fixed maximum supply, hardwired into code. If demand were to rise significantly, miners cannot simply decide to mine more Bitcoin. This mathematically enforced discipline baked into Bitcoin is powerful and keeps the market on track.

The 100 Trillion Dollar Thesis

Since developing the Stock-to-Flow model, PlanB has released a modified more extensive version (S2FX). The main difference is that in the first model, ‘time’ provides the framework for analysis while in the latest model it’s all about ‘transitions’. 

Just as water comes in various forms that each exhibit different characteristics (frozen, liquid, gaseous etc), and just as the US dollar changed in nature when, say, it was decoupled from gold, so Bitcoin’s horizon changes as it transitions. 

Over the years, PlanB argues, Bitcoin has shifted from proof of concept (Whitepaper), to payment vehicle (USD parity), to E-gold (after 1st Halvening, almost gold parity), to where we are today, with Bitcoin constituting a global financial asset. 

In each phase, Bitcoin is capable of higher orders of disruption – potentially able to absorb the monetary energy currently held in stores of value such as gold, silver, bonds and real estate. In PlanB’s estimation, the price of Bitcoin is set to reach a valuation of $288,000 USD in the period between 2020-2024. 

In an interview, he furthermore states that while the model can plot price discovery until Bitcoin’s market cap reaches $100 trillion USD, there is no telling what might happen after that. All bets are off, so to speak. 

The Saylor Super-Cycle 

In a recent podcast, MicroStrategy’s CEO, Michael Saylor, said that crypto traders are at risk of reading Bitcoin’s charts with the presumption it will behave as it has done in the past. Basically, a few months after the Halvening, the asset is expected to skyrocket to a new all-time high at the upper band of the long-term trend on the logarithmic, and then we will see an 80% drop, leading to a long, cold crypto winter. 

The point is, once you’re out of the earth’s orbit, everything we know in terms of seasonality loses value and we have to learn how to navigate cosmic seasons instead. Everything we know, all our previous experiences with Bitcoin, Saylor argues, are meaningless now. Since the stock market crash in March 2020, the world has changed forever, Saylor says, and all models are out the window. 

However, while Saylor’s perspective makes sense, PlanB’s Stock-To-Flow model still completely accounts for any movements we’ve seen so far – even after Tesla’s $1.5 billion allocation to Bitcoin and MicroStrategy’s over-attended Bitcoin for Corporations conference. 

Interestingly, PlanB welcomed Saylor’s perspective and sees the link with his model, saying that there is a possibility that as people start to realize the inevitability of Bitcoin, we could see people front running the Stock-To-Flow model, en masse, kicking off a super cycle – or, as some might call it, the Saylor Super-Cycle.

Adoption of The Bitcoin Standard 

We live in a fast-paced world, focused on instant gratification and quick gains. The biggest mistake now, might be to approach Bitcoin in terms of a get-rich-quick scheme, with the goal of selling the top. Instead, if we are to see a Saylor Super Cycle where everyday people, retail and institutional investors, corporations and central banks cannot but ditch inferior assets for Bitcoin, not to get rich quick, but to redenominate wealth in general, in such a case, selling the top means settling for less. 

It makes sense for people to be skeptical about a ‘digital currency’, but nothing about cash makes any sense, and instead of looking to sell Bitcoin’s top, perhaps we ought to change our perspective and sell cash at the top (too late now). 

Bitcoin is indeed volatile, but the case for an anti-inflationary asset is strong, and as evinced by PlanB’s Stock-To-Flow, it’s on the right track.  

About the Author

Ben Caselin is head of research and strategy at AAX, the first cryptocurrency exchange to be powered by London Stock Exchange Group’s LSEG Technology 

The meteoric rise of decentralized finance across 2020 exposed numerous vulnerabilities with the Ethereum network. While the Ethereum blockchain is one of the most secure and ‘battle-hardened’ infrastructures, high gas costs and scalability issues have led some projects to innovate instead of waiting for the long-desired Ethereum 2.0.

Second-layer solutions have gained notoriety lately as companies endeavor to reduce gas fees and foster Ethereum scalability by shifting transactions to sidechains. 

Polygon, a recent rebrand of Matic Network, intends to build a “multi-chain system” utilizing solutions like Optimistic Rollups, xkRollups, and Validium. Some advisors describe Polygon’s approach as part of a strategy to function as a “Polkadot on Ethereum” and compete against the open-source project founded by the Web3 Foundation. 

A price surge in February 2021 drove Polkadot’s DOT token to sit as the fourth-largest by total market capitalization, according to CoinMarketCap. The surge began after Polkadot released a para chain rollout map and noted it was in the Rococo testing phase.

Matic Network’s rebrand places Polygon and Polkadot as two of the most prominent Ethereum-based layer-two solutions focused on shifting the Ethereum ecosystem. 

Understanding the history, focus, and structure of both projects is vital for those curious in learning more about the “complex narrative” of Ethereum. 

Polkadot & Polygon: History & Background 

Polkadot relies on a sharded multichain network – known as parachains – to process transactions in parallel on smaller chains. Many Polkadot projects are built on the Substrate framework, heralded for its ability to let dApp developers focus more on the business side of projects rather than building and operating a blockchain. 

Gavin Wood, a co-founder and former core developer of Ethereum, says the idea for Polkadot hit in early 2016 as he waited for Ethereum 2.0 sharding specifications to solidify. Wood left Ethereum in January 2016 and finished Polkadot’s first white paper draft by October of the same year. Polkadot’s initial October 2017 token sale accrued around $145 million.

Polkadot announced its first Proof of Concept and successful on-chain protocol upgrade in 2018. The proof-of-stake network officially launched in May 2020, leading Wood to remark how the project is the “biggest bet in this ecosystem against chain maximalism.” 

Polygon, formerly Matic Network, was started in 2017. The team writes about a vision to “help create a better, open world, primarily by improving Ethereum infrastructure.” 

Since 2017, the team has onboarded more than 80 applications, including Polymarket, Neon District, and Skyweaver, overall powering around 7 million transactions across 200,000 user addresses. 

Along the way, Matic Network implemented Mactic PoS Chain, a PoS-secured Ethereum sidechain and Matic Plasma Chains – a “production-ready Ethereum Layer2.” 

Upon the February 2021 rebrand to Polygon, the team explains in a blog post how the recrafted entity is “the first well-structured, easy-to-use platform for Ethereum scaling and infrastructure development.” 

Polygon SDK underpins Polygon. The flexible framework supports building secured (Layer 2 chains). The protocol is ideal for applications requiring high security and teams who find it challenging to establish a decentralized and secure validator pool. 

The SDK also supports the construction of stand-alone chains, offering a high level of independence and flexibility and the ability to partially inherit Ethereum security. 

Overall, Polygon “effectively transforms Ethereum into a full-fledged multi-chain solution.” 

Despite the rebrand, existing Matic solutions and implementations remain fully functional, according to the Polygon team. The team notes structures like Matic PoS Chain and Matic Plasma Chains will continue to be developed and grown as essential Polygon components. 

Polkadot & Polygon: Understanding Multi-Chain Functionality 

Matic and Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal explains the new approach with Polygon incorporates a variety of mechanisms related to interoperability, like asynchronous messaging systems and a potential ‘overlay rollup’ combining Layer 2 platforms. 

A rollup-centric roadmap espoused by Polygon would involve layer-two solutions tethered by shards. Easy interoperability with Ethereum would greatly benefit dApps desiring easy composability and who are looking to scale. 

Gavin Wood explained in an interview how Polkadot’s interest is functioning as a meta protocol “with a lower level abstraction than Ethereum, i.e. smart contract level… that are much more about say, off-chain on-chain cooperation than interactions in a smart contract.”  

The upside with Polygon’s construction as an integral part of the Ethereum ecosystem is it is able to benefit from the network effects of Ethereum while reaping the rewards of the protocol’s inherent security. Polygon maintains the ability to incorporate any Ethereum (already the largest multi-chain system in the world) infrastructure or scaling solution. 

Looking At Second Layers As DeFi Continues To Boom 

Ether’s (ETH) value continues to grow as decentralized finance builds steam. The growing adoption of Layer 2 solutions opens up large amounts of space in the cryptocurrency ecosystem to improve applications and infrastructure. 

As Ethereum 2.0 remains far off (with Phase 1.5 already looking at a 12+ month timeline), projects like Polkadot and Polygon represent effective Layer 2 solutions to remedy Ethereum’s major stumbling blocks. 

When it comes down to a head-to-head comparison, Polygon’s multi-chain infrastructure and ability to fully benefit from Ethereum’s network effects rather than serving as a competing ecosystem gives the project significant upside in comparison to other systems.

A dark cloud has been lifted from Bitcoin, and it could mean clear skies for the crypto market for here on out. Why? The most dangerous potential “black swan” hanging over the crypto market for years, has now been significantly derisked. According to breaking news, the company behind the stablecoin Tether and crypto exchange Bitfinex, has settled with the New York Attorney General’s office for some $18.5 million to clear the firm of accusations of “any wrongdoing.”

Here’s why this is such a big deal for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the rest of the crypto market.

Dark Cloud Of Tether FUD Lifted From Crypto Market

Tether has long been the center of controversy in the cryptocurrency market. The stablecoin trading under the USDT ticker, earned itself a notorious reputation early on for a lack of transparency into the fiat and assets said to be backing the asset.

Tethers are tied one to one with the dollar in terms of value, and are said to be backed by a corresponding dollar or asset valued accordingly. The New York Attorney General’s office, however, made allegations against Tether after issues arose stemming from a portion of the company’s assets it could no longer access.

RELATED READING | ONE YEAR LATER: BITCOIN EMERGES AS “THE STIMULUS ASSET”

Tether today revealed that it has settled with the NYAG’s office for $18.5 million, while admitting to no wrongdoing. According to a statement, over 2.5 million pages of documents were submitted providing insight into operations, helping to defend the company’s innocence. ‘

A settlement, however, doesn’t fully prove innocence, so there’s no telling the true situation behind the scenes at Tether.

As more USDT enters the market and supply rises, so does Bitcoin price | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

Forecast: Clear Skies For Bitcoin And Altcoins

The stablecoin was also demonized for being used to manipulate the price of Bitcoin during the 2017 bull market. There’s also a direct correlation with new stablecoins entering the crypto market, and large Bitcoin uptrends.

One of the darkest clouds hanging over Bitcoin this entire time, however, has been the claim that the cryptocurrency market’s capital was nothing but unbacked capital built on Tether, that was ready to come crashing down as soon as this case concluded.

RELATED READING | BITCOIN HASN’T REACHED MANIA STAGE YET, ACCORDING TO THIS METRIC

The crypto community speculated it could potentially mean the end of the current bull market, had that information come to light. Instead, a settlement means the case is now closed, and the company is essentially cleared of “any wrongdoing” as it claims.

With nothing wrong to report, and no pending cases against Tether. There’s nothing but clear skies for Bitcoin and the rest of crypto.

Featured image from Deposit Photos, Charts from TradingView.com

Decentralized finance applications have seen massive growth in the last year, currently storing over 50x times more value than at the start of 2020. The DeFi journey may just be beginning, however, as Radix has partnered with several of the most prominent names in crypto to launch the Goodfi Alliance, a DeFi growth initiative. In collaboration with AAVE, Chainlink, Messari Capital, and mStable, the dynamic group will be working to get 100 million people worldwide to put at least $1 into DeFi applications within the next four years.

Power to the People – 100 Million of Them

Goodfi is a non-profit alliance created and launched by Radix, a layer one blockchain protocol tailored specifically for DeFi applications. Through this initiative, Goodfi hopes to further education, research, and usage in a field that has the opportunity to empower millions directly. Decentralized finance allows for permissionless, borderless, and simple access to financial markets, something previously inaccessible to vast swathes of society. DeFi goes further, enabling the opportunity to lend or receive a loan, deposit assets to gain interest, take out or supply insurance, and stake digital assets to generate yield.

All of these possibilities are accessible with a smartphone and internet access, with both becoming cheaper and more accessible, especially in areas that are traditionally considered the most financially excluded. For many, DeFi will be their first access to financial services, as billions of people remain unbanked due to misaligned corporate incentives. This will provide them with vital services that will give them the opportunity to preserve their wealth against inflation and generate passive income through financial transactions.

How Goodfi Will Accomplish Its Goals

The teams behind the Goodfi Alliance understand that many hurdles currently prevent average users from accessing DeFi services, but they plan to tackle this problem head-on. Goodfi will focus on education, research, and awareness in order to promote DeFi to a wider user base. Goodfi and its members understand that users need assistance when buying their first digital assets and using dApps, so they will produce educational content that is agnostic to any particular chain, explaining the DeFi process as a whole. They will also create additional material so users can better understand the risks and opportunities that DeFi presents, as well as how to navigate the ecosystem more generally.

Many people reading this will have years of experience in the cryptocurrency space, putting them lightyears ahead of those who have never even heard the term ‘decentralized finance’ before. Better research will also better DeFine, as well as challenge, the assumptions currently surrounding the DeFi economy.

The final aspect of Goodfi’s data dissemination strategy is promoting widespread awareness. Retail investors involved in traditional markets were recently rocked by a potential conspiracy involving wealthy hedge funds and centralized market operators, instantly making the case for DeFi. More people need to understand that there is a non-manipulatable alternative that is readily accessible in DeFi, allowing for equal opportunities regardless of status or wealth. Goodfi plans to promote the industry and attract a broader user base from all spheres and sectors.

Room to Grow

This is just the beginning for Goodfi, with more companies and organizations poised to join in as they realize their shared objectives in the space. With plentiful resources contributed in the form of time and money, and the focus on active efforts from all participating and future companies, Goodfi has a lot of gas in its engine. They plan to grow, which will involve gaining a better understanding of these applications’ target audiences and highlighting the importance of learning about and using DeFi applications.

Disclaimer: The information presented here does not constitute investment advice or an offer to invest. The statements, views, and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author/company and do not represent those of Bitcoinist. We strongly advise our readers to DYOR before investing in any cryptocurrency, blockchain project, or ICO, particularly those that guarantee profits. Furthermore, Bitcoinist does not guarantee or imply that the cryptocurrencies or projects published are legal in any specific reader’s location. It is the reader’s responsibility to know the laws regarding cryptocurrencies and ICOs in his or her country.

Key Bitcoin Talking Points:

• Rising inflation hopes, depressed real rates, and a beaten US dollar may underpin Bitcoin prices in the sessions ahead.
• Holding the 20-day simple moving average as support could trigger the upside bias.
• Meanwhile, an extended downside correction could also let the market retain its long-term bullish sentiment.

Bitcoin fell by almost 20 percent after touching its record high of $58,367 on Sunday as traders decided to secure their profits against the US economy’s recovery prospects.

Nevertheless, the top cryptocurrency expects to recover in the sessions ahead—probably even reclaim its previous peak—as Jerome Powell attends his semi-annual monetary policy testimony before the Congress on Tuesday and Wednesday. Savvy crypto investors believe that the Federal Reserve Chairman’s economic outlook would underpin Bitcoin prices.

Dovish Fed Chairman

Per his previous statements, Mr. Powell may reiterate the central bank’s commitment to supporting the US economy by keeping benchmark rates at record lows while continuing to purchase at least $40 billion of mortgage securities and $80 billion of Treasury notes every month.

It will continue the quantitative easing program until the US economy achieves maximum employment and price stability goals. The substantial dovish package’s impending delivery expects to keep the yields on short-dated Treasury notes near-zero, pushing investors into the long-dated bonds as safe-haven.

Meanwhile, investors with a higher risk appetite could increase their exposure in the Bitcoin market for its short-term, high-return record throughout 2020 and so far in 2021.

More tailwinds for Bitcoin…

…come from the US government’s impending fiscal package of $1.9 trillion. Mr. Powell may repeat his calls for expansive monetary support to bolster the economic recovery. In his earlier statements, the chairman has said that “it will require a society-wide commitment, with contribution from across government and the private sector” to recover jobs.

His comments become meaningful given the recent disappointing data in the US labor market in December and January. That further raises the Fed’s possibility of going extra-aggressive on its dovish policies. It may lead to long-dated Treasurys’ purchase as the central bank avoids pushing the short-term bond yields below zero.

“Powell will likely note recent progress in the data but reiterate that the economy is far from fully recovered, thereby defending the accommodative monetary policy,” Michelle Meyer, an economist at Bank of America, said in a note Friday.

US Treasury yield curve rates as of Monday. Source: Treasury.gov

On Friday, the House of Representatives expects to put President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus stimulus package to the vote. Many analysts agree that additional US dollar liquidity would lead to higher inflation across the commodity board, which may aid Bitcoin’s bull run.

“It’s my opinion that if the dollar starts to gain strength and yields start rising, then either the FED or more U.S. government stimulus will take place (early estimates are late March),” said Ben Lilly, a crypto economist, in his Monday note.

“If so, then it’s back to the races for bitcoin. The timeline for this to play out would be nearly all of March,” he added.

Bitcoin slips after logging its record peak level. Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

Bitcoin was trading below $48,000 at this press time, supported by a strong buying area between its 20-day and 50-day moving averages.

Bitcoin fell sharply on Monday and continued declining into the early Tuesday session as traders feared its excessive valuations after a 100 percent rise this year.

The benchmark cryptocurrency lost more than $8,000, or 13.91 percent, to trade below $50,000. At its week-to-date low, it was changing hands for as much as $46,700. Bitcoin’s closest market rivals, Ethereum and Binance Coin, also fell 20 and 17 percent in the same period, respectively.

Bitcoin slips after logging its record peak level. Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

Corporate Boom in Bitcoin Space

All of the said assets were trading at records before posting broad declines. That raised concerns among traders that the cryptocurrency market is getting capitulated, a reminder of a crash in 2018 that followed a supersonic bull run in the previous year.

Such assets powered the cryptocurrency market’s rebound from a coronavirus pandemic-led sell-off in March last year. They also became a favorite for the small investors who piled into options trading during the lockdown. The retail boom received further tailwinds when Wall Street started taking an interest in Bitcoin as their bet against inflation.

The last couple of months saw MicroStrategy—a public-listed software intelligence firm--upping their Bitcoin reserves to more than 71,000. Tesla, a Fortune 500 company, also purchased $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin in February, a move that propelled the cryptocurrency market’s cap above $1 trillion for the first time in history.

Meanwhile, PayPal launched a crypto-enabled service onto its traditional payment platform. Mastercard announced its entry into the emerging space. Bank of New York Mellon took a similar call, stating that it would integrate bitcoin custodianship services into the platform that its clients use for traditional securities and cash.

Yield Effect

Bitcoin’s adoption on Wall Street boomed because corporates and investment firms speculated on the cryptocurrency’s emerging role as a safe-haven asset amid global economic uncertainties.

This week’s sell-off did not have a clear catalyst, but it appeared as the US government bond yields rose. Investors lately grew confident for a continued US economic recovery. Treasurys went down, pushing up their yields, which move opposite to the rates. That increases the government bonds’ attractiveness, reducing the appeal of riskier assets such as bitcoin.

The yield on benchmark US 1o-year Treasury note rose from 1.338 percent to 1.367 percent on Monday, its best levels since last February. That led the tech stocks lower, which, like bitcoin, were trading near their record highs.

US government bond yields reach a 12-month high. Source: US10Y on TradingView.com

But analysts in the cryptocurrency space see the latest decline as a short-term shock.

Ben Lilly, a crypto economist, noted that the Federal Reserve would need to buy up more government bonds to keep the economy afloat and yields capped. The statement took cues from Fed chair Jerome Powell’s commitment to keeping its dovish programs intact until they achieve maximum employment in the US.

“If the FED does scale up their purchase of Treasuries, then this can be bullish for bitcoin,” he added.

For the last six years, Ethereum has dominated the smart contract landscape and has been arguably the only viable platform for launching decentralized applications (dApps) — due to its sizeable developer community and first-mover advantage.

But in the last year, Ethereum’s limitations have begun to show, leading to an exodus of sorts among its once fervent developer community. Here, we take a look at three of the main reasons why developers are migrating from Ethereum to alternative platforms.

The Fees Are A Major Barrier

If you’ve used Ethereum more than a few times recently, then you may be aware that it has been experiencing something of a gas price pandemic in the last few months.

As decentralized finance (DeFi) and stablecoin usage on the platform have skyrocketed in the last year, so too has the average Ethereum transaction fee — which recently reached over $25 a pop and potentially several times higher when invoking a smart contract function.

Ethereum gas fees are becoming a serious bottleneck to growth. (Image: fees.wtf)

Understandably, developers are generally trying to build platforms and applications that are accessible to a wide audience — not just those that can stomach a $25+ fee with each transaction.

As a technology designed to empower the many, rather than the few, these high transaction fees are posing a significant barrier to entry for users looking to interact with dApps.

To circumvent this problem, developers are now migrating to more advanced platforms with much lower fees. Arguably the most prominent of these is Metaverse, a platform that uses a hybrid consensus system to keep fees down to a bare minimum while remaining speedy.

Metaverse’s compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) is another major reason why solidity developers are jumping ship in preparation for the release of the hyperspace mainnet.

Interoperability Is On the Agenda

Right now, interoperability is a buzzword in the crypto space. As more projects begin to realize the merits of producing cross-chain applications, there has been a major push to develop bridges between blockchains — helping to provide a seamless experience across blockchains and power a new wave of interoperable applications.

Though Ethereum has seen some improvement in this area, with the development of numerous token wrapping protocols, layer 2 swapping platforms, and bridges, it still offers only limited interoperability with other blockchains.

But with true interoperability promising to bring assets from one blockchain to any other, and enabling new, ever more powerful decentralized applications and use cases, developers have begun taking matters into their own hands — by adopting platforms built with interoperability at the core.

In recent weeks, the substrate-powered Polkadot blockchain has emerged as a major focus for these developers — as its novel relay chain and bridge technology make it easy to build cross-chain applications without enforcing uniformity across blockchains.

Likewise, platforms like Metaverse and Binance Smart Chain have also seen an influx of developers looking to build interoperable applications due to their advanced interoperability capabilities.

Doubling Down on Efficiency

Several years after Bitcoin launched, something became painfully obvious — though massively secure, Bitcoin’s consensus mechanism was also incredibly wasteful when it comes to energy usage.

Though this wasn’t a major problem in its early days, when the Bitcoin mining network was small, it has become increasingly problematic in recent years, as its energy usage (and hence its effect on the environment) now rivals that of a small country.

Ethereum isn’t much different. With one of the most extensive proof-of-work (PoW) mining networks currently operating, Ethereum requires an incredible amount of energy to maintain the security of its network. And although Ethereum 2.0 is set to resolve this with its transition to a mixed proof-of-stake and proof-of-work consensus system, it has been a long time coming — and it’s still not ready.

But developers generally don’t have the time to wait around. Because of this, they have begun looking for more efficient alternatives.

Generally, this search leads them to one of the numerous proof-of-stake blockchains, which are able to achieve consensus by using a network of validators — which consume far less energy but achieve similar levels of security.

Platforms built on Parity Technologies’ substrate technology are currently garnering much of this attention, due to the possibility of combining the security of proof-of-work with the efficiency of proof-of-stake in a hybrid consensus mechanism.

Nigeria’s central bank recently made headlines enforcing cryptocurrency restrictions on how the country’s banking sector works. Specifically, CBN reminded regulated financial institutions yesterday that a 2017 regulation prohibits them from facilitating cryptocurrency transactions or facilitating payments for exchanges. In a press release meant to showcase the rationale for the restrictions, the bank provided the following:

“Cryptocurrencies have become well-suited for conducting many illegal activities including money laundering, terrorism financing, purchase of small arms and light weapons, and tax evasion. Indeed, many banks and investors who place a high value on reputation have been turned off from cryptocurrencies because of the damaging effects of  the  widespread  use  of  cryptocurrencies  for  illegal  activities.”

Limiting the ability of investors to work through traditional Nigerian financial clearinghouses to buy, sell, or trade cryptocurrency, the bank ignored the evident popularity of cryptocurrency trading within the country and made some arguments that cryptocurrency proponents consider being erroneous. For example, CBN reportedly claimed that the nation of China has similarly banned all cryptocurrencies, which is not accurate. Then, in a bid toward the influence of Western sentiments, CBN apparently mentioned Warren Buffett and his past animosity toward crypto-assets. What the bank did not mention was that with Berkshire Hathaway contemplating blockchain-adjacent investments, Buffett’s rejection of Bitcoin and other digital decentralized assets is now mostly seen, stateside and elsewhere, as a thing of the past. 

If unpopular and constraining, the bank’s actions would be less inflammatory if not for Nigeria’s recent history of successfully protesting the emergence of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad or SARS. After much brutality and abuse by this special police department, much of it specifically revolving around controlling the financial activity of citizens on the street, activists won the day with the actual dissolution of SARS months ago as President Muhammadu Buhari pledged a commitment to reform.

In fact, according to accounts of the activity leading up to the successful abolition of SARS, those organizing around these protests began to use Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as they found themselves locked out of traditional banking and fundraising avenues.

Now, many believe that the central bank’s actions will create a rise in peer-to-peer trading that is beyond the reach of official bank jurisdictions. Decentralized finance itself, they point out, provides the keys to getting around the actions of punitive or restrictive governments.

Around the African continent, the use of new digital currencies and fintech solutions is expanding, as a common interest in decentralized finance grows. One example is at Jelurida Africa, where a recent Africa Blockchain Developer Call Series program promoted more entrepreneurs and engineers getting involved in the cryptocurrency world. Jelurida Africa is an offshoot of a Swiss firm of the same name, which was incorporated in the Netherlands in 2016 and moved to Switzerland in 2017. Now, Jelurida Africa is engaged in prelaunch project testing and other goals ahead of additional expansion to a greater number of African nations. At the same time, Jelurida Africa  Managing Director Adedayo Adebajo is addressing the Nigerian bank’s notice by noting the conflict between fiat and crypto systems. 

“My question is, will the CBN reinstate the cryptocurrency support if the fundraising is carried out in support of the sitting government?” Adebajo said, according to reporting at Bitcoin.com. “Situations like this provide more reasons why decentralization, as offered by the blockchain technology, is highly required in Africa.”

Indeed, this dialectic is shaping up all over the world, but most nations, recognizing the ubiquity and strength of cryptocurrency markets, have begun to provide integrating regulation. Will Nigeria do the same? And if it does not, what will happen to the national economy as global decentralized finance continues to evolve?

Bitcoin price has been in a steady uptrend for months now, but a sudden sharp selloff turned the crypto market into a sea of red today. Ahead of the market turning red, a whale was spotted moving a substantial amount of BTC to a popular cryptocurrency exchange, taking reserves to the highest level all year. Since the deposit was made, nearly 20% has been taken off the price of the leading cryptocurrency by market cap. 

Here’s how on-chain data could have called the move in advance and what technicals are currently saying about the Bitcoin bull run.

Whales Move 28,000 BTC Worth $1.6 Billion Ahead Of Selloff

Yesterday, while Bitcoin price was setting records and nearing $60,000, a whale was making a massive deposit of 28,004 BTC to the Winklevoss twins owned cryptocurrency exchange Gemini.

A whale moved 28,000 BTC worth $1.6 billion at the time to Gemini  | Source: CryptoQuant Alerts Beta

Cryptocurrency quantitative analysis platform CryptoQuant released an alert of the aggregated inflows to Gemini at roughly 2:30PM ET, and warned of the risk of potential dumping. Hours later, the price action began turning down.

RELATED READING | BITCOIN MARKET CAP TOPS $1 TRILLION FOR FIRST TIME EVER

The inflows marked the highest level of BTC hitting exchange reserves all year, and overnight the drop continued deeper. Leading up to the New York market open this morning, Bitcoin dove as low as $47,600 for the first time in over a week as shown below.

There’s no telling how many of the 28,000, worth roughly $1 billion at the time, have been sold or left to go, but the market has now been shaken.

A massive red candle on the daily has been left behind following the 28,000 BTC deposit | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

Technicals Suggest Uptrend Remains In Tact, Whales Can’t Turn The Tides

Bitcoin price suffered a deep plunge early this morning, shaving 17% off the price per BTC. Bitcoin has been in a strong uptrend, and despite the whale-driven selloff, there’s several layers of support that are still holding or remain untouched.

If the steepest uptrend line (dotted) fails, a fall to the next (dashed) trendline could follow. The dashed trendline coincides with horizontal support at $40,000, and would be a roughly 32% drop. The previous correction from $42,000 to $28,000, was only a 30% decline, and might all buyers will allow compared to past bull markets.

Several lines of support remain for buyers to take position at | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

Losing the dashed trendline and $40,000 wouldn’t mean the entire trend is over. Support at $30,000 could be retested, which would also match up with the lowest (solid) uptrend line.

RELATED READING | ONE YEAR LATER: BITCOIN EMERGES AS “THE STIMULUS ASSET”

The correction notably takes place at the blue dashed line, which was also a “top” back in August, as well as weeks ago at $42,000.

Featured Image from Deposit Photos, Charts from TradingView.com

Pulse Network is taking medical care to the next level with its initiative to create an information repository and sharing platform that is accessible globally. It is one of the rare projects that is combining blockchain and AI, some of the most advanced modern technologies to tackle long standing problems.

Pulse Network is building a state-of-the-art infrastructure to support AI-enabled diagnostics and treatment capabilities for everyone around the world. This is no simple undertaking, partially explaining why no other project has succeeded in developing such a solution.

Pulse is determined to succeed where others have failed by embarking on this bold initiative fully aware of the numerous challenges and with a clear plan on how to overcome the obstacles along the way. 

Pulse Network Overview

JPMedsn, the business behind Pulse was launched in 2012 and has over the years built innovative technical capabilities in the medical care field. Subsequently, the company has obtained a number of patents that it will deploy on the platform to help bring reliable data and medical care worldwide.

The JPMedsn has accumulated medical expertise, knowledge and management experience that will be critical in the development of the Pulse Network. Most importantly, the Pulse team will rely on their understanding of the medical care sector to break down the barriers that continue to stifle the dissemination of information globally and in different localities.

The platform will gather user medical data from hospitals, clinics and mail health checks around the world using their patented software. This proprietary software will be installed in medical care facilities enabling them to share the data in an anonymous manner with the patients’ consent. 

All the obtained data will be processed into a common readable format thus allowing Pulse to obtain and efficiently share tons of useful medical information easily.

Pulse will provide its solutions through 2 main products:

Pulse-EMR – JPMedsn has collated a well-researched database of diagnostics, treatment guidelines, recommended prescriptions, and latest drug information which it makes available to medical practitioners on their Pulse-EMR platform. Also, their patented data input technology significantly reduces the time taken by doctors to create patient record entries.

Pulse-Personal – It collates individual health data, lifestyle data and clinical records and gives complete control over this data to the patient itself. For instance, if a person visits a new medical practitioner, then their medical history can be seamlessly transferred to their new doctor with their permission using PulsePersonal. 

Pulse Value Proposition

Pulse is committed to delivering the most advanced medical care by bringing knowledge closer to the expertise. Having practised in the medical sector, the team behind Pulse understands that the biggest gap in the field is between knowledge and expertise. Research and development in medical care is quite advanced, bringing new solutions for ailments on a regular basis. 

However, these findings, prescriptions, diagnosis, and therapies are not effectively disseminated across the entire sector globally. Few institutions and experts hoard tons of information that could be very useful to medical practitioners and patients. This needs to change.

Pulse’s mission is to democratize medical care by collating a database of medical expertise and knowledge from all over the world and making state-of-the-art medical care available equally everywhere and to everyone. 

The project aims to expand the reach of advanced medical care, new-found knowledge and health information all over the world. They believe that by equipping practitioners with a global health database they can bridge the gap between knowledge and expertise, paving the way for advanced health care provision. 

AI and blockchain integration

Pulse is integrating both AI and blockchain as underlying technologies for its infrastructure. These modern technologies facilitate the development of a secure, robust and useful medical information platform, thanks to their numerous capabilities.  

Building Pulse on the blockchain ensures data integrity and data security, and facilitates data sharing in the specialized field of medicine. Particularly, the platform will benefit from these blockchain features:

Immutability – Data stored in a blockchain is timestamped, cryptographically sealed and immutable, and any retrospective changes are immediately apparent. Use of blockchain technology will therefore make data falsification a thing of the past.

Security – The decentralized nature of blockchain ensures that there is no single point of failure which can bring down the data creation, processing and access mechanism. Information is available 24/7.

Smart contracts – Will be used to automate administrative processes like billing, issuing and filling prescriptions, filing and receiving insurance claims.

Transparency and Authenticity – It makes it possible to verify data, especially given the sensitivity of medical data.

Pulse will use AI and machine learning to support diagnosis through the analysis of huge volumes of the accumulated data. Practitioners can use a combination of patient’s genetic information and medical history with the most updated medical information to establish the diagnosis. Through AI they can apply different steps, approaches and logic to improve the accuracy of diagnosis using an integrated database.

These features are just a tip of the Pulse Network possibilities, revealing the platform’s huge potential in transforming the medical care sector. Through the integration of these advanced technologies, Pulse will enable doctors to practice more accurately by serving as the bridge between knowledge and expertise. By doing so, Pulse will not only be tackling some of the sectors’ biggest limitations but will also be building a new future for medical care. 

The post Pulse Network to Leverage Blockchain and AI to Revolutionize Healthcare Diagnostics and Data Management appeared first on NullTX.

Decentralized finance is seen as the next big thing in the cryptocurrency market. However, several top cryptocurrencies are unable to be a part of DeFi and bring value to their holders. This could change very soon as Flare Finance will launch its product on Flare Network. Leveraging the Flare Network, Flare Finance is expected to bring smart contract functionality to XRP, LTC, and DOGE coin making that fully programmable money.

Flare Finance DeFi Products

Flare Finance is expected to go live on the Flare Network a month after the main net is launched. It will initially launch six products FlareX, FlareFarm, FlareUSD, FlareLoans, FlareMutual, and FlareMine. The products will allow users to earn passively by staking or providing liquidity right from their Flare Wallets. A complete decentralized financial infrastructure will be available for the first time for XRP, LTC, DOGE, and Spark tokens.

Flare Finance ecosystem will utilize three tokens: YFLR, YFIN, and YMIN. All Spark token holders will receive DFLR tokens which will have to be swapped to YFLR within a week. This is possibly being done to ensure that active participants become a part of the ecosystem. YFIN and YMIN will have to be harvested from the platform utilizing the YFLR tokens. The snapshot date is not announced yet, but users can check on Flare Finance’s social media channels to get more details about it.

Why is this a big deal?

Flare Finance is bringing DeFi to XRP, LTC, DOGE, and Spark tokens which will unlock value of these cryptocurrencies. From being held in the wallet, users will now be able to securely stake or provide liquidity to make a passive earning. DeFi is set to grow exponentially and it would be detrimental for the top cryptocurrencies to be left out. Flare Finance is enabling the path for other cryptocurrencies to become a part of DeFi.

The Flare Finance products are set to be audited by Certik Foundation. These audits could help users in trusting the platform and its products. Besides, Flare Finance has already conducted a Private Beta and is all set to roll out a Public Beta program. Users can participate to stand a chance of winning Samurai NFT.

Disclaimer: The information presented here does not constitute investment advice or an offer to invest. The statements, views, and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author/company and do not represent those of Bitcoinist. We strongly advise our readers to DYOR before investing in any cryptocurrency, blockchain project, or ICO, particularly those that guarantee profits. Furthermore, Bitcoinist does not guarantee or imply that the cryptocurrencies or projects published are legal in any specific reader’s location. It is the reader’s responsibility to know the laws regarding cryptocurrencies and ICOs in his or her country.

A high-volumed transfer to a Bitcoin exchange wallet made on February 21 has raised calls for a broader price correction among risk-averse traders.

An entity (or a group of entities) credited about 28,000 BTC worth over $1.5 billion to an address that reportedly belongs to OKEx’s over-the-counter services. A Twitterati noted that the OTC address further credited BTC into several wallets, one of which reportedly belongs to a “rich” address that has shown associations with multiple cloud mining scams and money laundering activities in Asia.

The highlighted address allegedly belongs to a bitcoin scam artist. Source: This Is Bullish

Analysts perceive larger crypto transfers to exchanges and their associated services as a sign of imminent selling pressure. A trader most likely deposits bitcoins to public wallets when s/he intends to sell them for cash or exchange them for other cryptocurrency tokens.

Conversely, larger withdrawals point to their intention of not selling/exchanging but holding the bitcoins.

Bitcoin Liquidity

Of late, data on exchanges showed massive drops in exchanges’ BTC reserves, dropping by around 635,000 from its March 2020 top, just shy of 3 million. They largely coincided with a dramatic rise in the BTC/USD exchange rates, which rose by around 1,200 percent in the same period.

Bitcoin reserves on all exchanges plunged heavily since March 2020. Source: CryptoQuant

The OKEx deposit, as mentioned above, meanwhile, appeared when Bitcoin was showing signs of topping out. On Sunday, the cryptocurrency achieved a new price milestone above $58,000, leaving the Twitterati concerned about an imminent sell-off ahead.

“The ‘OKEx Whale’ is ‘LOUD’ in the way they conduct business, they don’t care about #hodl or #lazereyes,” the pseudonymous blockchain investigator explained. “[It is] happy to market dump on you. This coin flow tells us they now have ammo to increase sell-pressure in the future.”

A Short-term Shock?

There are also possibilities that the market ends up absorbing the selling pressure as Bitcoin grows into mainstream investors’ conscience as a safe-haven asset.

Ben Lilly, a cryptocurrency economist, penned a paper that focused on an ongoing liquidity crisis in the Bitcoin market. He stated that three sectors: crypto-enabled investment firms, corporations/institutions, and decentralized finance, have been actively sucking Bitcoin’s supply out of the exchanges.

Corporations/Institutions@michael_saylor at MicroStrategy: 71k BTC during this span.@elonmusk at Tesla: Let's say about 42k BTC using an avg price of $35k/BTC.

Square, Bitwise, Stone Ridge Holdings, Ruffer (yes sold back some, but still relevant): 72k

185k BTC to this group

— Ben Lilly (@MrBenLilly) February 17, 2021

“It means bitcoin is in fact becoming scarce. If this continues, a liquidity crisis will transpire pushing prices considerably higher.”

Bitcoin maintains bullish bias above technical support levels. Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

Technically, Bitcoin expects to extend its short-term upside bias due to a reasonable relative strength indicator reading and well-defined support levels in its 20- and 50-4H moving averages.