Author: dfmines

BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF saw a record outflow on Christmas Eve amid a four-trading day outflow streak from US Bitcoin funds.

Addresses linked to North Korean hackers have lost nearly half a million dollars betting on ether using Hyperliquid, a decentralized exchange with its own layer one (L1) blockchain platform. While rumors of an impending exploit circulated on social media, Hyperliquid denied all allegations, stating that no exploit was detected or reported by third parties. Korean […]

Solana remained stable above the $175 level. SOL price is now recovering losses and facing hurdles near the $200 and $205 levels. SOL price started a fresh increase after it tested the $175 zone against the US Dollar. The price is now trading above $190 and the 100-hourly simple moving average. There was a break above a connecting bearish trend line with resistance at $185 on the hourly chart of the SOL/USD pair (data source from Kraken). The pair could start a fresh increase if the bulls clear the $205 zone. Solana Price Eyes Upside Break Solana price formed a support base and started a fresh increase from the $185 level like Bitcoin and Ethereum. There was a decent increase above the $190 and $192 resistance levels. There was a break above a connecting bearish trend line with resistance at $190 on the hourly chart of the SOL/USD pair. The pair climbed above $195 and tested the 50% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $228 swing high to the $175 low. However, the price is now facing many hurdles near $200. Solana is now trading above $190 and the 100-hourly simple moving average. On the upside, the price is facing resistance near the $202 level. The next major resistance is near the $208 level or the 61.8% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $228 swing high to the $175 low. The main resistance could be $215. A successful close above the $220 resistance level could set the pace for another steady increase. The next key resistance is $235. Any more gains might send the price toward the $250 level. Another Decline in SOL? If SOL fails to rise above the $208 resistance, it could start another decline. Initial support on the downside is near the $195 level. The first major support is near the $188 level. A break below the $180 level might send the price toward the $175 zone. If there is a close below the $175 support, the price could decline toward the $162 support in the near term. Technical Indicators Hourly MACD – The MACD for SOL/USD is gaining pace in the bullish zone. Hourly Hours RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for SOL/USD is above the 50 level. Major Support Levels – $195 and $188. Major Resistance Levels – $208 and $215.

According to a report published today by blockchain security firm Hacken, decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols witnessed a steep decline in exploits in 2024, while centralized finance (CeFi) platforms more than doubled their losses due to security breaches. DeFi Platforms Show Better Security Mechanisms In its annual “Web3 Security Report,” Hacken outlined the general trends in the cryptocurrency industry with regard to scams and security infrastructure. The report notes that total losses arising from security failure in 2024 stood at $2.91 billion. Related Reading: WazirX Exchange Releases Post-Mortem Report: Was North Korea Behind The $235M Exploit? DeFi protocols accounted for $474 million in losses this year, a 40% decline from $787 million in 2023. This sharp drop reflects the growing adoption of advanced security techniques, such as zero-knowledge cryptography and multi-party computation, across the DeFi ecosystem. One key factor contributing to the reduction in DeFi exploits was the sharp decline in cross-chain bridge hacks. Losses from these attacks have consistently fallen – from $1.89 billion in 2022 to $338 million in 2023, and finally to $114 million in 2024. In contrast, CeFi platforms, including cryptocurrency exchanges, reported $694 million in losses in 2024, more than double the $339 million recorded in 2023. CeFi accounted for nearly one-third of all crypto-related incidents, highlighting persistent vulnerabilities in centralized systems. Gaming and metaverse projects were another major target in 2024, responsible for nearly 20% of all crypto-related hacks, with $389 million in losses. The largest gaming/metaverse breach of the year was the PlayDapp exploit in Q1 2024, which resulted in a $290 million loss. Phishing scams also remained a significant concern, causing more than $600 million in losses this year. These scams highlight increasingly sophisticated social engineering tactics in the Web3 space. In November, the sector faced a $129 million address poisoning attack. For context, address poisoning phishing involves attackers sending small transactions from an address that closely resembles one the victim has interacted with, tricking them into mistakenly sending funds to the fraudulent address in future transactions. Memecoins And Rugpulls Continue To Prey On Users While memecoins were all the rage for the majority of 2024 – particularly on the Solana (SOL) blockchain due to its low transaction costs – a significant proportion of them preyed on investors through presale scams and celebrity-endorsed rug pulls. Related Reading: Dogecoin & Other Memecoins No Longer Grabbing Social Media Attention: Santiment One notable example is the Hawk Tuah memecoin, launched by viral influencer Hailey Welch, popularly known as “Hawk Tuah Girl”. The coin’s value plummeted 95% shortly after launch, sparking severe backlash from the wider Web3 community.  The rise in memecoin-related scams also underscores the need for greater investor education, particularly when engaging with such speculative assets. At press time, Bitcoin (BTC) trades at $98,921, up 5.8% in the past 24 hours. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from Tradingview.com

Memecoin interest in 2024 was largely directed to Solana-based tokens, followed by those on Coinbase’s blockchain Base, according to a CoinGecko study.

XRP price corrected some losses and climbed above the $2.25 zone. The price is now struggling to clear the $2.350 resistance zone. XRP price is attempting a fresh increase above the $2.250 resistance zone. The price is now trading above $2.25 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. There is a connecting bullish trend line forming with support at $2.285 on the hourly chart of the XRP/USD pair (data source from Kraken). The pair might start a decent increase if it clears the $2.350 resistance. XRP Price Faces Hurdles XRP price started a fresh increase above the $2.20 support level, like Bitcoin and Ethereum. There was a decent increase above the $2.25 and $2.30 levels. The price even tested the $2.35 level before the bears appeared. A high was formed at $2.348 and the price is now consolidating gains. There was a minor decline below the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $2.130 swing low to the $2.348 high. The price is now trading above $2.25 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. There is also a connecting bullish trend line forming with support at $2.285 on the hourly chart of the XRP/USD pair. On the upside, the price might face resistance near the $2.32 level. The first major resistance is near the $2.35 level. The next resistance is $2.40. A clear move above the $2.40 resistance might send the price toward the $2.50 resistance. Any more gains might send the price toward the $2.550 resistance or even $2.650 in the near term. The next major hurdle for the bulls might be $2.720. Another Decline? If XRP fails to clear the $2.350 resistance zone, it could start another decline. Initial support on the downside is near the $2.28 level and the trend line. The next major support is near the $2.240 level or the 50% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $2.130 swing low to the $2.348 high. If there is a downside break and a close below the $2.240 level, the price might continue to decline toward the $2.20 support. The next major support sits near the $2.050 zone. 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 above the 50 level. Major Support Levels – $2.280 and $2.240. Major Resistance Levels – $2.350 and $2.40.

Ethereum price started a recovery wave from the $3,220 support. ETH is now recovering some losses and might rise if it clears the $3,550 resistance. Ethereum started a fresh increase above the $3,350 zone. The price is trading above $3,420 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. There is a connecting bullish trend line forming with support at $3,425 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken). The pair could start a decent increase if it clears the $3,520 and $3,550 resistance levels. Ethereum Price Starts Recovery Ethereum price remained stable above $3,220 and started a recovery wave like Bitcoin. ETH was able to climb above the $3,350 and $3,400 resistance levels. The price even cleared the $3,500 resistance level. However, the bears remained active below the $3,550 level. A high was formed at $3,534 and the price is now consolidating gains. It corrected some points below the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the recent wave from the $3,226 swing low to the $3,534 high. Ethereum price is now trading above $3,420 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. There is also a connecting bullish trend line forming with support at $3,425 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD. On the upside, the price seems to be facing hurdles near the $3,520 level. The first major resistance is near the $3,540 level. The main resistance is now forming near $3,550. A clear move above the $3,550 resistance might send the price toward the $3,650 resistance. An upside break above the $3,650 resistance might call for more gains in the coming sessions. In the stated case, Ether could rise toward the $3,720 resistance zone or even $3,800. Another Decline In ETH? If Ethereum fails to clear the $3,550 resistance, it could continue to move down. Initial support on the downside is near the $3,425 level and the trend line. The first major support sits near the $3,375 zone. A clear move below the $3,375 support might push the price toward the $3,320 support. Any more losses might send the price toward the $3,220 support level in the near term. The next key support sits at $3,110. Technical Indicators Hourly MACD – The MACD for ETH/USD is losing momentum in the bullish zone. Hourly RSI – The RSI for ETH/USD is now above the 50 zone. Major Support Level – $3,425 Major Resistance Level – $3,550

Data shows the Bitcoin market sentiment is still quite close to the extreme greed zone, a potential sign that a further price cooldown may be needed before a bottom. Bitcoin Fear & Greed Index Still Has A High Greed Value The “Fear & Greed Index” refers to an indicator created by Alternative that tells us about the average sentiment among investors in the Bitcoin and wider cryptocurrency markets. The index uses a numeric scale that runs from zero to hundred for representing this mentality. Its value being greater than 53 means the investors as a whole are showing greed, while it being under 47 implies the presence of fear in the market. Values lying between these cutoffs correspond to a net neutral sentiment. Related Reading: Bitcoin Coinbase Premium Giving Potential Buy Signal, Quant Says Now, here is how the current sentiment in the sector looks according to the Bitcoin Fear & Greed Index: As is visible above, the indicator has a value of 73 at the moment, which suggests the average trader is holding a sentiment of greed. This greed sentiment is also a particularly strong one, so strong in fact that it’s sitting very close to a special region called the extreme greed. The extreme greed occurs when the index reaches a value of 75 or higher. A similar zone also exists for the fear side, known as the extreme fear, and is situated at 25 or under. Historically, the extreme sentiments have proven to be important for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, as tops and bottoms have tended to occur while the market has been inside these zones. The relationship between price and sentiment has generally been an inverse one, meaning extreme greed leads to tops and extreme fear to bottoms. The BTC top earlier in the month occurred when the index was at a value of 87. With the price decline that has occurred since then, market sentiment has cooled off a bit. The question is: has it cooled enough? While other phases of the market usually require dips into fear or extreme fear for bottoms to take place, bull markets generally don’t see pullbacks that deep. Related Reading: Dogecoin & Other Memecoins No Longer Grabbing Social Media Attention: Santiment Often times, a venture into the normal greed zone or the neutral territory is enough for the price to regain steam. That said, the recent sentiment has still been quite close to extreme greed, so it may need a bit more before a real turnaround is reached. The Fear & Greed Index calculates its value using multiple factors, one of which is social media sentiment. While the overall sentiment has still been positive, it seems social media users have started to show fear, as the analytics firm Santiment has pointed out in an X post. BTC Price Bitcoin has shown a sharp 6% rebound during the last 24 hours, a potential indication that the dip into the greed sentiment may have been enough for the rally to restart after all. Featured image from Dall-E, Santiment.net, chart from TradingView.com

Bitcoin price started a recovery wave above the $95,000 level. BTC might continue to rise if it clears the $100,00 resistance zone. Bitcoin started a decent upward move above the $95,000 zone. The price is trading above $95,000 and the 100 hourly Simple moving average. There was a break above a key bearish trend line with resistance at $95,000 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken). The pair could start another increase if it stays above the $96,000 support zone. Bitcoin Price Starts Recovery Bitcoin price remained supported near $92,500 and started a recovery wave. BTC was able to climb above the $94,500 and $95,000 resistance levels. There was a break above a key bearish trend line with resistance at $95,000 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair. The pair cleared the $98,000 resistance level and traded close to the $100,000 resistance level. A high was formed at $99,400 and the price is now consolidating gains. It declined a few points below the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $92,417 swing low to the $99,400 high. Bitcoin price is now trading above $95,000 and the 100 hourly Simple moving average. On the upside, immediate resistance is near the $99,000 level. The first key resistance is near the $99,500 level or the recent high. A clear move above the $99,500 resistance might send the price higher. The next key resistance could be $100,000. A close above the $100,000 resistance might send the price further higher. In the stated case, the price could rise and test the $102,500 resistance level. Any more gains might send the price toward the $104,000 level. Another Decline In BTC? If Bitcoin fails to rise above the $99,000 resistance zone, it could continue to move down. Immediate support on the downside is near the $97,000 level. The first major support is near the $96,000 level or the 50% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $92,417 swing low to the $99,400 high. The next support is now near the $93,200 zone. Any more losses might send the price toward the $92,500 support in the near term. Technical indicators: Hourly MACD – The MACD is now gaining pace in the bullish zone. Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for BTC/USD is now above the 50 level. Major Support Levels – $97,000, followed by $96,000. Major Resistance Levels – $99,000 and $100,000.

Canadian-based gold tokenization firm Matador Technologies wants to diversify away from Canadian dollars and is adding Bitcoin to its balance sheet.