Category: Cryptocurrency News

Optimism (OP) has been at the forefront of the blockchain industry with its incentive program, which recently led to the protocol’s cumulative trading volume exceeding an impressive $3.8 billion. Analyst Ryan Holloway has shed light on the remarkable impact of Optimism’s incentive program. The availability of OP trading rewards and incentives on various platforms, including Polynomial, played a pivotal role in this surge in usage metrics. Related Reading: Shiba Inu Tallies 77% Accumulation By Major Investors – Good For SHIB Price? The incentivization strategy employed by Optimism has proven wildly successful, resulting in an astounding 23-fold increase in trading volume for the protocol. This achievement, however, comes with a caveat, as it raises questions about the composition of this newfound trading activity. Just dropped an analysis with @t__norm on the impact of @PolynomialFi‘s OP incentive program that ultimately led to the protocol’s cumulative trading volume surpassing $3.8B 🧵 👇 pic.twitter.com/UahucTcVJ0 — Ryan Holloway (@raholloway) September 9, 2023 Rise In Trading Volume Masks Optimism’s Growth In Daily Traders While the surge in trading volume is undoubtedly impressive, a deep analysis reveals a more nuanced picture. The growth in daily traders has been relatively modest, suggesting the possibility of a significant rise in power users or, in a less favorable scenario, potential wash trading activities. But what exactly is wash trading? Wash trading involves artificially inflating trading volumes by executing simultaneous buy and sell orders for the same asset, giving the illusion of increased demand and activity. This practice is illegal in traditional financial markets and is viewed negatively in the cryptocurrency space due to its potential to mislead investors. Optimism market cap currently at $1 billion. Chart: TradingView.com Optimism Faces DeFi Sector Headwinds Optimism has faced its fair share of challenges in gaining a foothold in the competitive DeFi sector. Recent reports indicate a notable decrease in total value locked and decentralized exchange volumes on the network in recent weeks. This decline in activity is reflected in the network’s financials, with revenue plummeting by 37.5% in the last month, accompanied by an overall activity decrease of 19.7% over the same period. Despite these setbacks, Optimism’s native token, OP, currently holds a price of $1.26 according to CoinGecko, with a 0.9% gain in the last 24 hours. However, it has seen a 6.2% decline over the past week. Related Reading: Massive PEPE Token Dump: Whale Unloads 762 Billion At Loss As Price Wobbles Sustainability And Challenges In Optimism’s Post-Incentive Era The sustainability of Polynomial’s retention rates after the conclusion of the incentive program will be a crucial factor in determining its long-term impact on Optimism. As the network navigates the challenges posed by wash trading concerns and its struggles to establish a firm presence in DeFi, the cryptocurrency community will be closely watching for signs of resilience and adaptability. While Optimism’s incentive program has undeniably driven an astonishing surge in trading volume, the sustainability of this growth and the resolution of its challenges will determine the protocol’s long-term success in the highly competitive world of cryptocurrency. (This site’s content should not be construed as investment advice. Investing involves risk. When you invest, your capital is subject to risk). Featured image from Insperity

BTC price weakness shows as Bitcoin analysts debate the likelihood of a return toward $20,000.

Meta is reportedly in the process of building a new, more powerful and open-source AI model to rival the most powerful systems of its rival OpenAI.

The G20 member nations recommended addressing existing concerns around data protection, biases, appropriate human oversight, and ethics to ensure the responsible use and development of AI.

submitted by /u/GDFZ_SMF [link] [comments]

Amid the bankruptcy proceedings of crypto exchange FTX, the market is in a state of heightened anxiety, and Solana (SOL) in particular saw a 7% drop in price yesterday following the spread of rumors. FTX is scheduled to appear in Delaware Bankruptcy Court on Wednesday, September 13, to seek approval for the liquidation of $3.4 billion in SOL, FTT, BTC, ETH and other crypto assets. The event has led to widespread concerns among market analysts and participants, who speculate that the liquidation could exert significant selling pressure on an already fragile market. As of January 17, FTX’s crypto holdings were estimated to include $685 million in Solana (SOL) tokens, $529 million in FTT tokens, $268 million in Bitcoin (BTC), $90 million in Ethereum (ETH), and various other assets such as Aptos, Dogecoin, Polygon, XRP, and stablecoins. The Solana Situation Solana, which represents FTX’s largest holding, experienced a sharp decline in its price yesterday. This can be largely attributed to the rumors circulating on crypto Twitter (X) suggesting a massive dump of SOL by FTX. But, as it turns out, this rumor lacks substance. A screenshot that surfaced on Twitter, detailing the assets held by FTX debtors as of January 17, 2023, confirms that FTX is in possession of approximately 47.51 million SOL. Related Reading: Crypto Alert: Solana, Aptos, APE And More Token Unlocks Coming This September However, there’s a crucial detail that many seem to have overlooked. The SOL tokens held by FTX debtors are not readily available for sale. Contrary to the narrative presented in the visual data shared, these SOL tokens are under a lockup agreement. FTX, in collaboration with Alameda, had previously acquired 16% of the SOL supply directly from the Solana Foundation. This acquisition came with strings attached, namely a lockup schedule. The current stash of 47.51 million SOL, which represents 8.82% of Solana’s total eventual supply, is bound by this agreement. Thus, the misconception that this SOL reserve is liquid and primed for a market dump is fundamentally flawed. The reality is that these tokens are locked and will undergo a linear vesting process spanning from 2025 to 2028. Accessing these funds prematurely is not an option. Related Reading: VISA’s Stablecoin Payments On Solana Propel SOL To 5% Gain, Bulls Eye Price Breakout As per the terms of the agreement, the SOL tokens will undergo linear monthly unlocks until January 2028. Furthermore, specific tranches, such as the 7.5 million SOL acquired from Solana Labs by Alameda Research, will only become available on March 1, 2025. Another tranche of 61,853 SOL is slated for unlocking on May 17, 2025. In light of these facts, any fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) suggesting an imminent SOL dump by FTX can be confidently labeled as misinformation. SOL/USD 1-Day Yesterday’s 7% drop in the Solana price may have been an overreaction by the market, which believed the rumors of an upcoming dump and sold en masse out of panic. However, not much has changed in the technical chart picture for SOL in the 1-day chart. Already on August 31, SOL fell below the 50% Fibonacci retracement level at $20.26. The attempts to regain it failed in the second half of the week last week. Yesterday’s slide has now left SOL vulnerable to a correction lower to the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level at $17.39. A price recovery can be expected at this level. A rise above the 20-day EMA, below which Solana fell in mid-August, would be an important step for the bulls on the road to recovery. As then, a recapture of the 50% Fibonacci would be crucial. In a bearish scenario, which currently looks less likely, SOL also loses the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level. A drop to $13.30 would then be the bears’ next target. Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView.com

The country has introduced a non-obligatory Responsible Influence Certificate for those promoting crypto.