Category: Cryptocurrency News

In a month marked by a challenging correction in the crypto market, Layer 2 (L2) blockchain protocol Optimism has emerged as a standout performer. Within the past 24 hours, Optimism’s native OP token skyrocketed by 9%, positioning it as the best-performing token among the top 100 cryptocurrencies.  Behind this surge lies venture capital firm a16z, which has reportedly invested around $90 million in Optimism’s OP token, signaling further institutional support for the layer 2 protocol.  OP Receives Major Investment Sources familiar with the matter have revealed to Unchained that a16z has acquired a significant stake in Optimism’s OP token.  The investment, which comes with a two-year vesting period, underscores a16z’s interest in the Layer 2 protocol and aligns with its growing involvement in crypto. Notably, a16z’s portfolio already includes crypto exchange Coinbase.  Related Reading: Machine Learning Algorithm Predicts Dogecoin Price For May 2024 The investment by a16z comes amidst notable activity and growth within the Optimism ecosystem. Optimism’s OP Stack has experienced increased usage, further validating its value proposition. The protocol’s ability to increase scalability and reduce fees on the Ethereum blockchain has also garnered significant attention.  Optimism’s spokesperson expressed enthusiasm for the investment, acknowledging the energy and momentum surrounding the protocol. The partnership with a venture capital firm like a16z is expected to fuel further development and innovation within the Optimism ecosystem. On March 7, the Optimism Foundation disclosed the sale of approximately 19.5 million OP tokens, valued at nearly $90 million, to an undisclosed buyer.  These tokens were reportedly sourced from a 30% pool of OP’s original treasury, dedicated to the foundation’s working budget. Reports indicated that the buyer could delegate their tokens to third parties, enabling them to participate in Optimism’s governance. The foundation clarified that, due to the private nature of the sale, specific details regarding the terms and purchaser were not disclosed.  Key Levels To Watch For Optimism Despite the recent surge in the Optimism ecosystem and its native token OP, the token still trades well below its all-time high (ATH) reached on March 6, 2024, currently down over 47% from that level. However, OP’s trading volume has experienced a notable surge, indicating continued interest in the token. According to CoinGecko data, the OP trading volume has increased by over 113% compared to the previous trading day on April 30, amounting to nearly $600 billion in 24 hours. Related Reading: Bitcoin Euphoria Cools Off As BTC Distribution Enters Fear Zone Key levels to monitor for the token soon include OP’s significant resistance at the $2.62 price mark and a potential retest of the $3 zone.  However, a clear indication of a positive trend for the Optimism token would require a successful consolidation above the $3.92 zone, marking the end of the month-and-a-half downtrend structure. Conversely, the $2.37 zone has proven to be a crucial support level for OP, as it has held for the past five days and prevented further price decline for the token.  Digging deeper, the $2.25 mark is also a key support, with the most critical support level at $2.11. This level holds the key to Optimism’s macro bullish structure, as it initiated the token’s current uptrend. Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com 

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Riot’s net income was boosted by a 131% year-on-year increase in Bitcoin’s price despite the cryptocurrency becoming more difficult and expensive to mine.

Bitcoin has recently concluded April, marking its most significant monthly decline. Despite the bearish momentum, leading market analysts, including Michael van de Poppe, believe that the worst may soon be over, suggesting that Bitcoin is nearing the end of its current correction phase. Bitcoin At The End Of Correction? April was challenging for Bitcoin, as its value plunged nearly 20%, dipping below $57,000, the lowest level traded since late February. Related Reading: Bitcoin’s Profit Crunch: Hash Price Hits Record Low Post-Halving—What’s Next For Miners? This drop is part of an intense market sell-off that has slashed the combined cryptocurrency market cap by nearly 10%, bringing it down to $2.2 trillion. Amid these declines, Michael van de Poppe, a revered figure in the crypto analysis space, provided hope. In his recent statements on the social platform X, Van de Poppe suggested that Bitcoin’s current price levels might be nearing the bottom of this correction cycle. He highlighted the critical price range of $56,000 to $58,000 as pivotal for Bitcoin’s short-term trajectory, indicating potential areas for a rebound. #Bitcoin is at the end of the correction. It’s already down 20% from the highs and we’ll have some more downside to happen from here. If the correction continues, then I think the green zones between $56-58K are essential to watch.#Altcoins to bounce before. pic.twitter.com/4Mu3NA1HSg — Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) May 1, 2024 A Closer Look At Predictions And Market Sentiments Van de Poppe isn’t alone in his optimistic outlook. Other analysts, like Checkmate, an on-chain expert, have analyzed Bitcoin’s historical data to predict future movements. Checkmate introduced the term “chopsolidation,” describing it as a phase of stagnant yet volatile market conditions that could precede a significant bullish run. He expects this phase to last about six months, followed by a potential 6 to 12 months of explosive growth reminiscent of past cycles. Furthermore, historical data from Bitcoin’s Halving years support the theory that after a halving event, the market tends to perform strongly towards the end of the year. Related Reading: Expert Makes Bold Call: It’s Time To Swap Your Dollars For Bitcoin However, there are not all optimistic forecasts in the crypto realm. The spot Bitcoin ETF market witnessed over $300 million in net outflows in April, breaking a three-month streak of inflows, reflecting a broader sentiment of caution among investors. Moreover, Charles Edwards, founder of Capriole Investments, has voiced concerns over the market’s extraordinary bullishness, warning of the necessity for corrections within such a volatile asset class. “Sell in May and go away.” This looks like distribution to me. As long as we trade below $61.5K, scenario (1) is technically more likely. A strong reclaim of $61.5K would give some hopes to the bulls for scenario (2). A flush would also be good for the sustaining continuation of… pic.twitter.com/6E3oJ1vgs3 — Charles Edwards (@caprioleio) May 1, 2024 Featured image from Unsplash, Chart from TradingView

Economist and gold advocate Peter Schiff has declared bitcoin to be in a bear market, despite the recent surge in interest in spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Additionally, he cautioned that economic data provides conclusive evidence that stagflation is not merely a future prospect for the U.S. economy, “but already a current reality.” Peter Schiff […]

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Altcoins have suffered more in the crypto market following the Bitcoin price crash, leaving a lot of investors in losses. This is not out of the ordinary as these altcoins are known to have a higher volatility compared to Bitcoin, hence, their price swings can be more pronounced. Given the recent decline, the expectation is that the altcoins will recover. However, one analyst does not agree with that assessment. Altcoins Headed For 40% Crash In an analysis posted on X (formerly Twitter), seasoned crypto analyst Benjamin Cowen shocked the crypto community with his expectations for altcoins. According to the analysis, the worst is far from over for the altcoin market, as there are still more crashes to come. Related Reading: Crypto Analyst Reveals Why $59,800 Is An Important Level For Bitcoin Cowen explained that this was analyzed using altcoins versus Bitcoin pairs, and it seems each one looks weak against the apex cryptocurrency. This is due to the expected rate cuts, and historical performance suggests that a decline will follow. The crypto analyst pointed to the 2019 rate cuts and how altcoins had reacted to that development back then. Following the rate cuts, altcoins plunged against Bitcoin, with major players recording up to 40% losses during this time. “Perhaps this time is not different? This would mean ALT/BTC pairs drop another 40% from here over the next few months,” Cowen said. Cowen expects this to place out regardless of what happens in the market in the meantime. He explains that even if the market does recover in the short term, it does not invalidate the thesis. “Short-term countertrends do not invalidate this view,” he stated. If this repeats, then it could turn an already harsh market trend even bloodier. The altcoin market cap has already fallen below $1 trillion as of the time of writing, but a 40% decline from here could send it as low as $600 billion. Bitcoin Crash Drags Down Crypto Market While the Bitcoin crash has been brutal, the impact on altcoins has been much more pronounced. Ethereum has held up nicely with less than a 4% decline during this time, but others such as Stacks (STX), Arweave (AR), Neo (NEO), and Sei (SEI) are down an average of 9% in the last 24 hours. Related Reading: Ethereum Price Prediction: Crypto Expert Says ETH Is Yet To Bottom Against Bitcoin Meme coins were also not left out of the bloodbath, with market leader Dogecoin dropping 6% to $0.126 and Pepe (PEPE) plunging 7.74% to $0.0000063. Bonk (BONK) recorded a 5% decline to eliminate some of its gains from last week, and Shiba Inu fell 4.18%. Amid all of this, though, there have been some market winners, with Optimism (OP) recording 12% gains. Cosmos (ATOM) followed with a 9.8% increase, and Starknet (STRK) rose 9%, making them the top gainers of the day, according to data from Coinmarketcap. Altcoin market cap at $952 billion | Source: Altcoin total market cap from Tradingview.com Featured image from Analytics Insight, chart from Tradingview.com

As May 1st started, Bitcoin (BTC) faced a new correction that made the price stumble under the $60,000 support level. The flagship cryptocurrency has seen several retraces during this bull cycle, with BTC swiftly recovering the crucial support zones each time. However, in the past 24 hours, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization has struggled to regain its momentum. Some analysts believe Bitcoin’s bottom this cycle might be in as this correction officially became its deepest retrace. Related Reading: If History Repeats, This Is How Bitcoin Price Will Perform In The Next 6 Months Is The Bitcoin Bottom Here? In the early hours of Tuesday, Bitcoin started to plunge from the $64,000 price range. As the day continued, BTC prolonged its fall to briefly trading around $59,958 – $59,191 before recovering. This time, the recovery didn’t last long as Bitcoin’s price resumed its downward trajectory to $57,000. In an X thread, crypto trader Milkybull examined some data suggesting the bottom might finally be in. According to the analyst, BTC is “following the 2017 PA.” This would suggest that “either the bottom is in or close.” Moreover, he urged investors to remember that while good news “usually signals the top,” bad news signals a bull market’s bottom. In the thread, the trader pointed out that the Bitcoin Bull Market Support Band indicator historically serves strong support during BTC’s bull cycles. As a result, he considers that the flagship cryptocurrency might “wick through the support and bounce back.” 2024’s Bitcoin Bull Market Support Band indicator resembling 2017’s. Source: MilkybullCrypto on X According to the analyst, Bitcoin and global liquidity are also strongly correlated, with BTC currently at a level it has previously bounced back from. These bouncebacks initiated “huge rallies across the crypto market” in October 2022 and October 2023. Lastly, the thread highlighted that Bitcoin “is at a critical decision point for the local bottom.” The trader considers that while some call for a $48,000 bottom, the $51,000 support level might be where BTC bounces back to resume its cycle to this cycle’s top. Bitcoin’s Deepest Retrace This Cycle According to crypto analyst and trader Rekt Capital, this correction has officially been the deepest BTC retrace this cycle. Per the post, today’s -23.64% retrace surpasses the -22.91% retrace seen in February 2023. The analyst also compared this cycle’s “Post-Halving” pullback to 2016’s. Moreover, the trader considers that this bullish cycle might be more similar to the 2016 one than investors think. #BTC We are here (orange circle) And we've seen Post-Halving pullbacks like this in the past (e.g. 2016)$BTC #Bitcoin #BitcoinHalving pic.twitter.com/OvOcmJTzFk — Rekt Capital (@rektcapital) May 1, 2024 Previously, Rekt Capital listed three reasons these two cycles might be similar. Per the trader, the resemblances include the “Pre-Halving Re-Accumulation Range Breakout,” the “Pre-Halving Retrace Beginning,” and the “Similar Initial Reaction after the beginning of the Pre-Halving Retrace.” After today’s retrace, the analyst added the “Continued downside in the three weeks after the Halving” as a fourth similarity between the 2016 and 2024 cycles. Like eight years ago, Bitcoin faces an “additional downside below the Range Low of its Re-Accumulation Range” in the three-week window after Bitcoin’s “Halving.” Moreover, the analyst suggests that the current price development comes “as no surprise,” as it mirrors 2016’s “post-Halving Danger Zone.” As of this writing, the flagship cryptocurrency is trading at $57,794.89. This correction represents a 6.2% drop in the past 24 hours. Similarly, BTC is registering 13.4% and 17.7% price decreases in the weekly and monthly timeframes. Related Reading: Bitcoin Price Nosedives, Can Bulls Save The Key Support at $60K? Bitcoin’s price performance in the weekly chart. Source: BTCUSDT on TradingView Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com

Oregon joins five other states that have delicensed Binance.US after former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to felony charges.