Author: dfmines

In a turbulent market marked by falling prices, Bitcoin (BTC) has once again dipped below the $85,000 threshold, driven by growing speculation that Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy, may be on the verge of selling some of its Bitcoin holdings.  This intensified after a recent interview on the What Bitcoin Did podcast, during which Strategy CEO Phong Le was directly asked whether the company would consider parting with any of its BTC holdings.  While the firm’s former CEO, Michael Saylor, has consistently maintained a resolute stance against selling, Le’s comments have raised concerns about potential sales in the future. Is A Bitcoin Sell-Off Imminent?  Le indicated that if Strategy’s stock trades below the actual value of its Bitcoin holdings and the company is unable to raise additional capital for preferred dividends, selling some Bitcoin could become a necessity.  “If the stock trades below the value of our Bitcoin… then mathematically we would have to sell some Bitcoin. It would be the last resort,” he explained.  While this does not confirm an imminent sale, it visibly places the option on the table, leading to increased speculation about a forced sale as preferred dividend payments approach due on December 31. Related Reading: Here’s Why The Bitcoin Price Is Crashing Today Adding to the unease, Strategy disclosed in a recent filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it has established a USD Reserve of $1.44 billion to cover these upcoming preferred dividends and mitigate the interest on its substantial debt.  This reserve was funded through the proceeds from sales of its class A common stock under the company’s at-the-market offering program. Such moves have diluted current shareholders and contributed to a nearly 11% drop in Strategy’s stock price. Strategy Downgrades BTC Price Forecast This shift contrasts sharply with the company’s previous forecasts, which predicted that Bitcoin would soar to $150,000 by the end of the year. Strategy has now revised its expectations, projecting prices to range between $85,000 and $110,000.  The forecast for BTC yields has also been revised down to 24% from a previous estimate of 30%, along with projected Bitcoin gains decreasing significantly from $20 billion to $10.6 billion at the midpoint. Related Reading: $300 Million Crypto Bet: Kazakhstan’s Central Bank Gears Up As Bitcoin’s value continues to plummet, it further unravels Strategy’s financial outlook. Nevertheless, social media experts have pointed to a paradox within the company’s messaging.  AlejandroXBT noted that while Saylor has consistently stated he will never sell Bitcoin, he has been conducting private presentations to clients outlining various strategic approaches, suggesting a potential disconnect between public declarations and private planning. When writing, the market’s leading cryptocurrency trades at $84,880, recording major losses of over 7% in the 24-hour time frame.  Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com 

Fears tend to mount whenever an OG crypto whale starts shifting funds, but this one used it to double down on the blockchain network.

BitMine now holds over $10 billion in Ether, doubling down on its strategy to accumulate 5% of the supply despite being underwater on its total position.

XRP price started a fresh decline below $2.10. The price is now struggling and faces resistance near the $2.050 pivot level. XRP price started a fresh decline below the $2.050 zone. The price is now trading below $2.050 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. There is a bearish trend line forming with resistance at $2.120 on the hourly chart of the XRP/USD pair (data source from Kraken). The pair could continue to move down if it settles below $2.00. XRP Price Dips Again XRP price attempted a recovery wave above $2.150 but failed to continue higher, like Bitcoin and Ethereum. The price started a fresh decline below $2.10 and $2.050. There was a move below the $2.00 support level. A low was formed at $1.984, and the price is now consolidating losses below the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $2.275 swing high to the $1.984 low. The price is now trading below $2.050 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. If there is a fresh upward move, the price might face resistance near the $2.050 level. The first major resistance is near the $2.120 level. There is also a bearish trend line forming with resistance at $2.120 on the hourly chart of the XRP/USD pair. It is near the 50% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $2.275 swing high to the $1.984 low. A close above $2.120 could send the price to $2.20. The next hurdle sits at $2.250. A clear move above the $2.250 resistance might send the price toward the $2.2850 resistance. Any more gains might send the price toward the $2.350 resistance. The next major hurdle for the bulls might be near $2.40. More Losses? If XRP fails to clear the $2.050 resistance zone, it could start a fresh decline. Initial support on the downside is near the $2.00 level. The next major support is near the $1.9850 level. If there is a downside break and a close below the $1.9850 level, the price might continue to decline toward $1.920. The next major support sits near the $1.880 zone, below which the price could continue lower toward $1.820. Technical Indicators Hourly MACD – The MACD for XRP/USD is now losing pace in the bearish zone. Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for XRP/USD is now below the 50 level. Major Support Levels – $2.00 and $1.9850. Major Resistance Levels – $2.050 and $2.120.

European authorities toppled Cryptomixer and seized millions in bitcoin, exposing a sprawling laundering pipeline that pushed more than a billion euros through the platform and intensifying a broader clash over privacy in digital finance. Switzerland and Germany Take Cryptomixer Down With Over 25M Euro in Bitcoin Seized Authorities intensified their crackdown on illicit crypto infrastructure […]

A Solidity engineer proposed a protocol earlier this year using zero-knowledge proofs and transaction relayers to enable a Secret Santa-like feature on Ethereum.

Data shows the Ethereum Open Interest has shot up by more than 4% following the sharp move down in the cryptocurrency’s price. Ethereum Has Seen A Pullback Over The Past Day The cryptocurrency sector as a whole has witnessed a plunge to kick off the new month, with Bitcoin and Ethereum both being down by more than 5% over the last 24 hours. ETH is back in the low $2,800 levels, having essentially retraced the recovery that it had made during the last week of November. Related Reading: Newbie Bitcoin Whales Capitulating, But Old Hands Stay Silent The sudden price decline has unleashed a wave of liquidations on the derivatives exchanges, leading to $158 million in Ethereum-related contracts being flushed. Of these, $140 million of the liquidations involved long positions alone. Below is a heatmap from CoinGlass that breaks down the liquidation numbers related to the various digital asset symbols. Interestingly, while notable liquidations have occurred, derivatives investors still haven’t become discouraged. ETH Open Interest Has Gone Up Since The Dip As pointed out by CryptoQuant community analyst Maartunn in an X post, the Ethereum Open Interest has witnessed a sharp jump following the price decline. The “Open Interest” here refers to an indicator that measures the total amount of positions related to ETH that are currently open on all centralized derivatives platforms. Here is the chart shared by Maartunn that shows the trend in this metric over the past couple of days: As displayed in the above graph, the Ethereum Open Interest initially collapsed alongside the price drop as long positions suffered forceful closures. As ETH’s bearish momentum tapered off and the price settled into a sideways rhythm, however, the metric saw a gradual reversal in direction, indicating that speculators have started opening up fresh positions. Since the dip, the ETH Open Interest has gone up by almost $654 million, equivalent to an increase of 4.3%. “Looks like the gamblers are back for another round,” noted the analyst. Historically, a high value on the metric has generally been something that has led to volatility for the cryptocurrency. This is because an extreme amount of positions implies the presence of a high amount of leverage in the sector. In these conditions, any sharp swing in the asset can induce a large number of liquidations in the market. These liquidations only feed back into the price move that caused them, making it more intense. Related Reading: Bitcoin Puell Multiple Plunges, But Not Inside Bottom Zone Yet An example of this pattern was already seen during the past day. With the Ethereum Open Interest now rising again, it remains to be seen whether more volatility will follow. Featured image from Dall-E, CryptoQuant.com, CoinGlass.com, TradingView.com

A fast climb to more than $336 million in assets since launch propelled Canary’s XRP fund to the top of the U.S. market, signaling intensifying institutional interest in regulated access to blockchain-based exposure. XRPC Ignites a New Era for XRP Exposure Canary Capital Group LLC announced on Nov. 30 that its Canary XRP ETF (Nasdaq: […]

Ethereum price started a fresh decline below $2,880. ETH is now attempting to recover from $2,720 but the bulls might face resistance. Ethereum started a fresh decline below $2,880 and $2,800. The price is trading below $2,850 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. There is a short-term bearish trend line forming with resistance at $2,820 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken). The pair could continue to move up if it settles above the $2,850 zone. Ethereum Price Attempts Recovery Ethereum price failed to stay above $2,950 and started a fresh decline, like Bitcoin. ETH price declined below $2,880 to enter a bearish zone. The bears even pushed the price below $2,800. A low was formed at $2,718 and the price is now attempting to recover. There was a move above the $2,750 level. The price climbed above the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $3,052 swing high to the $2,718 low. Ethereum price is now trading below $2,850 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. If there is another upward move, the price could face resistance near the $2,820 level. There is also a short-term bearish trend line forming with resistance at $2,820 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD. The next key resistance is near the $2,880 level or the 50% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $3,052 swing high to the $2,718 low. The first major resistance is near the $2,920 level. A clear move above the $2,920 resistance might send the price toward the $3,000 resistance. An upside break above the $3,000 region might call for more gains in the coming days. In the stated case, Ether could rise toward the $3,050 resistance zone or even $3,150 in the near term. Another Decline In ETH? If Ethereum fails to clear the $2,880 resistance, it could start a fresh decline. Initial support on the downside is near the $2,760 level. The first major support sits near the $2,740 zone. A clear move below the $2,740 support might push the price toward the $2,720 support. Any more losses might send the price toward the $2,650 region in the near term. The next key support sits at $2,550 and $2,500. Technical Indicators Hourly MACD – The MACD for ETH/USD is losing momentum in the bearish zone. Hourly RSI – The RSI for ETH/USD is now below the 50 zone. Major Support Level – $2,720 Major Resistance Level – $2,880

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