Layer 2 scaling solution Polygon has maintained strong network activity even as the broader cryptocurrency market and its native token, MATIC, experienced a downturn in the second quarter of 2024, according to a new report from market intelligence platform Messari. Polygon Weathers Crypto Market Downturn While MATIC saw a 44.3% drop in its circulating market cap to $5.5 billion over the quarter, placing it as the 20th largest crypto asset (currently at the 26th position), the protocol’s on-chain metrics remained strong. This is in contrast to larger cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, which saw their market capitalization decline by 12% and 6%, respectively, over the same period. Related Reading: Why Is ETH Price Struggling Despite The Spot Ethereum ETFs Launch? The key driver behind Polygon’s stability in network performance during the second quarter of the year, according to Messari, was the implementation of Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 4844 on the Polygon mainnet in Q1 2024. This upgrade, which introduced “blobs” to the network, significantly reduced the average transaction fee on Polygon from $0.017 to just $0.01, resulting in a decrease of 41.1%. As a result, Polygon’s revenue derived from network transaction fees fell 40.6% to $4 million in Q2 2024. However, this drop was not due to a decrease in user activity, but rather the lower fees enabled by EIP-4844. In fact, Polygon’s user metrics continued to soar, with the protocol seeing strong growth across several key indicators. On-Chain Activity And Ecosystem Growth According to the report, the average number of daily active addresses climbed to 1.2 million, a 47.6% increase quarter-over-quarter (QoQ). The average number of daily returning addresses rose even more, up 50.5% to 1 million. Moreover, new addresses being added to the network grew by 31.7% to 167,800 per day on average. The report also notes that Polygon’s transaction volume also held steady, averaging 4.1 million daily transactions, just below its all-time high and representing a 3.9% increase from the prior quarter. In comparison, fellow Layer 2 networks Arbitrum (ARB) and Base saw average daily active addresses of 545,000 and 528,000 respectively. Related Reading: Crypto AI Token RENDER Soars 15.6% After Rebrand, Can It Hit $10? While Polygon’s decentralized finance (DeFi) total value locked (TVL) dropped 22.9% to $1 billion, this was largely attributable to the decline in MATIC’s price rather than a net outflow of capital. Messari reported that TVL denominated in MATIC actually increased by 38.1% to 1.8 billion tokens. However, DeFi protocols on Polygon saw mixed results, with Aave, Uniswap, and SushiSwap all experiencing declines in TVL ranging from 13% to 25%. Quickswap saw the largest drop at 35%. Lastly, Polygon’s non-fungible token (NFT) market also remained stable, with average daily NFT volume dipping slightly by 5.7% to $1.8 million. However, the number of daily NFT sales actually increased by 1.8% to 52,000, underscoring ongoing collector interest. At the time of writing, MATIC has experienced a mere 5% increase to a trading price of $0.512, after hitting a 2-year low of $0.428 on July 5th. Coupled with this worrying price action, the token has seen a 30% decrease in trading volume over the past few days, amounting to $197 million, according to CoinGecko data. All of this has resulted in an 82% difference to MATIC’s all-time high of $2.91, which was set during the 2021 bull run. Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com

2024-07-27 09:30

The on-chain analytics firm Santiment has revealed how Shiba Inu and XRP are among altcoins that are seeing a bullish divergence on the MVRV Z-Score. MVRV Z-Score Says XRP And Shiba Inu Traders Are Seeing Losses Currently In a new post on X, Santiment has discussed how the various top coins in the cryptocurrency sector look on the MVRV Z-Score. The “Market Value to Realized Value (MVRV) ratio” is a popular indicator that, in short, measures the deviation between the total value held by the investors of an asset (that is, the market cap) and what they used to purchase it (the realized cap). When the value of this indicator is positive, it means the holders of the given coin as a whole are currently holding net unrealized profits. On the other hand, the metric being below zero suggests the dominance of losses in the market. Related Reading: Bitcoin Crashes To $64,000: Will This Historical Support Hold? Now, here is the chart shared by the analytics firm that shows the trend in the MVRV Z-Score for different top assets by market cap over the past few months: As displayed in the above graph, Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Dogecoin (DOGE), and Toncoin (TON) are all currently in the positive territory of the MVRV Z-Score, suggesting that their average traders are currently enjoying profits. At the same time, XRP (XRP), Cardano (ADA), Shiba Inu (SHIB), Chainlink (LINK), Polygon (MATIC), and Uniswap (UNI) are witnessing their investors carrying a higher unrealized loss than profit. Generally, the investors in profits are more likely to sell their coins, and the likelihood of this profit-taking only increases with more gains they hold. As such, a high MVRV Z-Score has historically led to tops for any cryptocurrency’s price. Related Reading: Cardano Among Alts Likely To See Price Boosts, Santiment Says Of the four assets in positive territory of the indicator right now, Toncoin has the indicator at the highest level, suggesting that a selloff due to profit-taking could be probable for it. In the case of the coins inside the negative region, their prices could see a bullish outlook instead, as there may not be many sellers left for them now. Shiba Inu and Uniswap are particularly seeing the most deviation between the market and realized cap. “If you believe markets are about to surge, history says that buying into assets that traders have experienced the most pain in have a greater probability of netting high returns for you,” notes Santiment. As such, coins like SHIB may be offering the best buying window right now, according to the MVRV Z-Score. SHIB’s Price Analysis Shiba Inu has consolidated sideways over the past month as its price still trades around the $0.0000168 mark. Featured image from Shutterstock.com, Santiment.net, chart from TradingView.com

2024-07-27 08:30

During the 2024 Bitcoin Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, Jan van Eck, CEO of global asset manager and Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) issuer VanEck, made headlines with his revealing comments about his personal Bitcoin holdings. Van Eck Reveals Personal BTC Holdings During his appearance at the conference, Van Eck began by sharing his perspective on Bitcoin’s growth and evolution over time, likening it to a “teenager” that is not yet fully formed, as many investor classes have not yet joined the market. Related Reading: Wall Street Expert Sees 20x Potential In Ripple Via XRP And IPO Addressing his investment approach, Van Eck revealed that in his conversations with other attendees at Bitcoin conferences, he has found that they tend to hold significantly more Bitcoin in their portfolios. He further stated: Everyone I meet at Bitcoin conferences owns way more in their own portfolio, and I always say, wait a minute, I always want to tell people what I’m doing personally because they should know. Interestingly, when asked about his portfolio, Jan Van Eck replied that he owns “well over 30%” in Bitcoin without disclosing the amount in BTC or USD. This disclosure comes as VanEck recently published a report outlining a significant bullish long-term price projection for BTC, suggesting that the Bitcoin price could reach a value of $2.9 million per coin by 2050. $2.9M Bitcoin Forecast By 2050 Per the report, Bitcoin’s scalability issues, which have historically hindered widespread adoption, will be resolved through the emergence of advanced Layer-2 (L2) solutions. By combining Bitcoin’s “immutable property rights and sound money principles” with the increased functionality of Layer 2 technology, the asset manager envisions creating a new, globally accessible financial system. Under this optimistic scenario, the VanEck team believes that by 2050, Bitcoin could be used to settle 10% of the globe’s international trade and 5% of the world’s domestic trade. According to the report, this level of adoption could lead to central banks holding 2.5% of their assets in Bitcoin, driving the price of the largest cryptocurrency on the market to a substantial $2.9 million per coin by the year 2050. Related Reading: Why Is ETH Price Struggling Despite The Spot Ethereum ETFs Launch? In addition, the report estimates that Bitcoin L2 solutions could be worth a total of $7.6 trillion, or approximately 12% of Bitcoin’s total projected value. The asset manager further noted: Though it has established itself as an important store of value assets, our projection of its price more than 25 years into the future is predicated on the assumption that increasing numbers of people around the globe use Bitcoin as a medium of exchange. At the time of writing, BTC was trading at $67,600, up over 4% in the last 24 hours, after hitting a weekly low of $63,500 on Thursday. Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com

2024-07-27 07:00

Crypto analyst Kevin (formerly OG Yomi) has made a bullish case for Dogecoin (DOGE). Based on his analysis, the foremost meme coin could replicate its 2021 bull run when it enjoyed a price gain of 18,000%. Dogecoin Could Soon Replicate Its 2021 Bull Run Kevin suggested in an X (formerly Twitter) post that Dogecoin could soon replicate its 2021 run when it made a price gain of 18,000%. This came following his statement that DOGE is two to three weeks away from achieving its first weekly golden cross in four years. The analyst noted that the meme coin went “parabolic” for six straight months and enjoyed a price rally of 18,000% the last time this happened in 2021. Related Reading: Cardano In The Spotlight: Why The $0.6 Level Is Important To ADA Crypto analysts like Javon Marks have also raised the possibility of Dogecoin replicating its 2021 run and even surpassing it at different points in this market cycle. Marks predicted that the foremost meme coin could enjoy a price rally of over 21,000% in this bull run and rise to $17. This prediction is based on Dogecoin’s historical breakout trend, in which the meme coin has enjoyed more significant price rallies in every subsequent bull run. More recently, Marks stated that Dogecoin’s rise to $0.6533 is only a matter of time and that the meme coin could enjoy a 90% price rally to $1.25. While the analyst’s price prediction of $17 is undoubtedly ambitious since it will give Dogecoin a market cap of about $2.4 trillion, the price target of $1 looks more feasible, and this is a price level that some other analysts, like Altcoin Sherpa, have agreed that DOGE can reach. In the meantime, investors hope that Dogecoin can successfully achieve the Golden Cross and that history will repeat itself. DOGE is well in need of such a move, considering how the foremost meme coin has underperformed in comparison to other major meme coins like Pepe (PEPE), Floki (FLOKI), and Dogwifhat (WIF). One Last Opportunity To Buy DOGE Crypto analyst The Cryptomist recently suggested that investors will have one last opportunity to buy Dogecoin at a discount before it makes its parabolic move. Based on a rising wedge pattern highlighted on Dogecoin’s chart, she predicts that the foremost meme coin will still drop to as low as $0.08 and possibly $0.05. Related Reading: End Of The Road? Shiba Inu’s Shibarium Sees Massive 80.3% Crash In Active Accounts However, she is bullish on Dogecoin long-term, stating that the foremost meme coin has a “high chance” of reaching $1 this year. Crypto analyst Crypto Kaleo also recently predicted that Dogecoin could drop to as low as $0.08 before it runs to $1. At the time of writing, Dogecoin is trading at around $0.129, up over 4% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Featured image created with Dall.E, chart from Tradingview.com

2024-07-27 05:30

Recent insights from a CryptoQuant analyst suggest that Bitcoin’s recent price action could be the beginning of more substantial movements. The analyst, sharing insights on QuickTake, points to historical data on Bitcoin’s price trends and newcomer activities. This data comparison shows that the most significant bull cycles in Bitcoin history have often peaked when the influx of new investors reaches a specific threshold—a phenomenon fueled by a fear of missing out (FOMO) among new entrants. Related Reading: Bitcoin Traders Brace for Impact: QCP Capital Signals Incoming Price Drop—Here’s Why Bitcoin Quiet Buildup Interestingly, the current cycle presents a deviation from this established trend. Instead of experiencing new inflows at price tops, Bitcoin’s price ascent this time does not align with a significant increase in newcomer investments. This observation suggests that current upward price trends are not the result of a massive influx of new market participants but rather likely supported by different factors within the broader financial ecosystem. The current bull cycle’s support appears to rely heavily on the introduction and performance of spot ETFs (Exchange-Traded Funds) focused on Bitcoin. These financial products have provided both seasoned and new investors a regulated pathway to invest in Bitcoin, potentially stabilizing its price without the direct participation of newcomers typically seen in past cycles. However, as the market adjusts to these instruments, the same CryptoQuant analysis suggests a potential shift may be on the horizon. According to the analysis, the minor wave of new inflows observed in the first quarter of 2024 is a precursor to what might become more pronounced market behavior in future cycles. The analyst elaborated that the lack of major new entrant inflows near price tops at these levels could indicate that Bitcoin will likely experience longer periods of upside move when more existing and novice investors start participating in the market. This pattern, once initiated, could lead to more strong and longer-lasting bull markets compared to those triggered by temporary FOMO. BTC Market Performance and Outlook Meanwhile, Bitcoin is still seeing some fairly bullish price action. So far, the asset is still maintaining its price mark above $65,000, with a current trading price of $67,495, up by 3.8% in the past 24 hours. Amid this price performance, notable analysts in the space have continued to be bullish on Bitcoin, sharing their respective optimistic views on its price action. Just recently, an analyst known as Moustache on Elon Musk’s social media platform X disclosed an interesting observation on BTC’s chart. Related Reading: Analyst Breaks Down Bitcoin’s Potential for Surge and Setback, Reveals 5 Key Trends According to the analyst, Bitcoin has been copying the famous Wyckoff Reaccumulation Model, indicating that a major surge is on the horizon. #Bitcoin Did you know that $BTC copies the famous Wyckoff Reaccumulation Model almost perfectly? I’ve been sharing this chart for weeks now. Don’t let yourself be shaken out here. Higher soon. $70,000 next. pic.twitter.com/xv3d3soYq9 — 𝕄𝕠𝕦𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕔ⓗ𝕖 🧲 (@el_crypto_prof) July 25, 2024 Featured image created with DALL-E, Chart from TradingView

2024-07-27 04:00

The approval of Bitcoin ETFs by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in January 2023 has opened the floodgates for significant institutional investment in the newly approved market. However, US states are also rushing to capitalize on the success of these ETFs by allocating a portion of their pension funds to reap profits and diversify their investments. Wisconsin, Jersey City, Michigan Allocate Millions To Bitcoin ETFs The first state to take the plunge was Wisconsin, which in May 2023 allocated approximately $98.6 million, or 2% of its pension fund, to BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF. Now, two more states have joined Wisconsin in allocating state pension funds to Bitcoin ETFs. On Thursday, NewsBTC reported that the mayor of Jersey City, Steven Fulop, announced that it is updating its paperwork with the SEC to allow its pension fund to invest in Bitcoin ETFs. Related Reading: VacEck Places $52.4 Million Price Tag On Bitcoin, But How Is This Possible? The latest state to join the Bitcoin ETF investment bandwagon is Michigan; as in an SEC filing on Friday morning, the State of Michigan Retirement System reported owning $6.6 million worth of shares in the ARK Bitcoin ETF managed by Ark Invest, amounting to 110,000 shares as of June 30th. However, Jersey City remains the only one that discloses the percentage of the fund’s investment in the Bitcoin ETF market and which asset manager will be selected to manage the fund’s allocation. Still, this notes the significant traction that the new Bitcoin ETF market has gained over the past seven months among institutions and now these states, adding to the notable inflows and assets under management surpassing the $17 billion milestone, eclipsing tech-based ETFs. BTC Price Rebound Fueled By Spot ETFs The Bitcoin price has steadily recovered over the past two weeks, rebounding from a 6-month low of $53,500 at the beginning of July. However, according to a new report by on-chain and market data analytics firm CryptoQuant, this price recovery has continued to rely on spot Bitcoin ETFs rather than a surge of new investor inflows. The CryptoQuant report examined Bitcoin price movements and new investor holdings over the past 8 years and found that in previous long-term bull cycles, the Bitcoin price peaked when the number of new entrants crossed a certain threshold, indicating a strong “fear of missing out” (FOMO) driving inflows. However, the firm contends that the current Bitcoin bull cycle does not exhibit the same trend of new investor inflows at price tops. Instead, the report noted that the recent spike in new inflows seen in the year’s first quarter appears to be just a temporary wave between longer-term cycle tops. Related Reading: Bitcoin Supply Drop Signals Upbeat Price Movement, Analyst Says This suggests that Bitcoin’s recent price recovery has been driven more by the inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs rather than a surge of new investors entering the crypto market. While spot ETFs have supported the Bitcoin price, the report indicates that a more sustainable upside will depend on a return of new investor demand. When writing, the largest cryptocurrency on the market was trading at $67,530, up nearly 5% in the 24-hour time frame. Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com

2024-07-27 02:30

Crypto analyst RLinda has revealed that XRP is showing impressive strength despite the decline in Bitcoin and Ethereum’s price. She explained why XRP suddenly has such a bullish outlook, considering that the crypto token has underperformed since the start of the year. XRP Is The “Strongest” In The Market RLinda mentioned in a post on TradingView that XRP is the strongest in the market. She noted that the crypto token has been holding quite well as traders and investors are again becoming bullish on XRP due to its “improving fundamental backdrop.” She alluded to the long-running legal battle between the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and how Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse recently stated that he expects the lawsuit to end “very soon.” Related Reading: Crypto Analyst Says Bitcoin Is Headed For $260,000 But This Must Happen First RLinda also mentioned the rumors that the SEC’s closed-door meeting on July 25 was related to a potential settlement with Ripple. As such, these bullish fundamentals have led to rising trading volumes, prices hitting local highs, and increased whale activity. Bitcoinist recently reported that XRP whales accumulated over 140 million XRP tokens this past week. Network activity on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) has increased significantly, with a notable increase in the number of new addresses on the network and total addresses interacting on the network, both metrics at their highest levels since March. This again highlights the bullish sentiment that investors are beginning to have towards XRP in anticipation of higher prices. These investors expect that the conclusion of the legal battle between the SEC and Ripple could trigger a massive rally for XRP, especially considering that this case is believed to have been a stumbling block to XRP’s growth in the 2021 bull run. XRP is also long overdue for such a rally, seeing how it has consolidated for over six years. As such, an end to the lawsuit could provide the much-needed catalyst to spark such price movement. Interestingly, crypto analysts like JackTheRippler previously predicted that XRP could climb as high as $100 once the case between the SEC and Ripple ends. Key Price Levels To Watch Out For RLinda mentioned that the price range between $0.6378 and $0.5712 is worth paying attention to from a technical perspective. She claimed that XRP’s price may test liquidity below the support before subsequent growth if it fails to break the resistance level at $0.6378. She also highlighted another crucial resistance level at $0.7440. Related Reading: Ethereum Whales Rapidly Accumulate ETH Amid Price Decline Meanwhile, according to RLinda, $0.5712 and $0.5100 are crucial support levels that XRP needs to hold above, as a drop below these levels could invalidate its bullish outlook. The analyst again alluded to the lawsuit and asserted that it would give XRP a “second life.” She suggested this could lead to a successful breakout from the $0.6378 price level, which she added will “open a new path” for the crypto token. At the time of writing, XRP is trading at around $0.6, up almost 1% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Featured image created with Dall.E, chart from Tradingview.com

2024-07-27 01:00

Today, the Render Network finalized its RENDER crypto AI token migration and upgrade. Following the highly anticipated rebrand, the AI token saw a positive price action, surging over 15% on the last day. Investors and market watchers expressed optimism about the rebranded token and consider it could hit $10 soon. Related Reading: Ethereum Targets Recovery: Can It Mirror Bitcoin’s Performance? From RNDR To RENDER Last year, the Render Network Foundation changed from Ethereum (ETH), where it was initially launched, to Solana (SOL). The move followed a community vote that passed two major upgrades for the Network. According to the announcement, the Solana switch was “proposed for faster transactions, cheaper fees, and the project’s needs to achieve more ambitious goals with more on-chain data and transactions.” The community also voted to rebrand the token from RNDR to RENDER, which would conclude in 2024. This month, the foundation informed users that many crypto exchanges, including Binance, Kraken, OKX, Crypto.com, and KuCoin, would automatically swap the RNDR tokens for the rebranded token on a 1:1 ratio. On Monday, the RNDR delisting from crypto exchanges began ahead of the scheduled migration on July 26. Exchanges halted most operations with the token, negatively impacting its performance over the week. Moreover, Whales seemingly contributed to the impact of the token’s price. Online reports revealed that some major holders sold their RNDR following the news, dragging the price from above the $7 support level to below the $6.5 price range. The token continued to plunge in the following days, dropping below the $6 mark, a 17% drop in four days. Nonetheless, the highly anticipated migration and listing of the new RENDER token seems to have kickstarted a price recovery. AI Token Skyrockets 17% Following Binance Listing The newly rebranded crypto AI token surged over 17% today after being listed by crypto exchange Binance. On Friday, the exchange announced that RENDER had been added to Binance Simple Earn, Buy Crypto, and Binance Convert. Additionally, it revealed that the Binance Margin and Futures options would be available today for the AI token. Meanwhile, the Auto-Invest option will be added on Monday, July 29. On that date, Kraken, the crypto exchange, will also list the RENDER and delist the RNDR. Investors and market watchers expressed their optimism over the rebrand and Binance listing. An X user claimed that, as the project begins this new era, “the RENDER token with this fresh chart of around $6.5 lows has potential to reach unimaginable heights.” Crypto analyst Coinboss considers that the token could “do a flipperino” if it has a clean break out above the $7 resistance level. A successful retest of the target could potentially lead the token to reclaim the $11 mark, further fueling a surge above RNDR’s all-time high (ATH) of $13.53. Another pseudonym crypto analyst believes RENDER could reach $10 soon, stating, “Thanks for the fud. See you above $10.” Some users also consider that investors will regret not getting the “greatest buying opportunity.” Related Reading: Solana’s Celebrity Tokens Down 94%, MOTHER Community Defends The Memecoin In the last 24 hours, the crypto AI token has seen a remarkable 140% surge in market activity, with $83.1 million daily trading volume. As of this writing, RENDER is trading at $6.89, a 15.6% rise in the past day. Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com

2024-07-26 23:30

CRV, the native token of Curve, a stablecoin decentralized exchange (DEX), is under immense selling pressure. After the hack of July 2023, CRV has never been the same again. However, the painful liquidations of Michael Erogov’s loans have worsened the situation for holders. Curve Founder Forced To Sell $677,000 Of CRV, Token Falling After the forced liquidation in mid-June, which pushed prices below $0.30, data showed that the founder was also forced to sell CRV in the market to repay part of his loan. Yesterday, on July 25, Lookonchain data showed that Erogov was liquidated for $677,000 worth of CRV. Currently, CRV continues to print, discouraging lower lows. Even though the dump has not been as rapid as in June, the token is weak and could plunge below crucial support levels. For now, this level is at the double bottom at $0.21. On the upper end, resistance lies at $0.30. Interestingly, this resistance level served as support in June when prices slammed through the floor, accelerated by Erogov’s loans being liquidated. Then, due to the amount in the picture, there was fear across the crypto board that the founder’s loans would further destabilize the protocol, negatively impacting CRV holders. On-chain data shows that Erogov had borrowed roughly $100 million in stablecoins using $140 million in CRV as collateral. Some claim the founder bought prime real estate with this loan. Related Reading: Solana Set For 900% Rally With Breakout From This Pattern — Analyst However, what’s known is that the series of forced liquidations and the scramble by the founder to offload CRV, which allowed him to be liquidated after the hack, forced prices even lower. Hopes On Spot Ethereum ETFs And Community Initiatives Since the hack on July 30, CRV has cratered by over 50%. Holders are facing it rough now that crypto prices are also sliding, retracing from their March 2024 peaks. Selling pressure has since eased after most of the CRV collateral posted by Erogov was reclaimed by lending protocols—including Frax and Aave. However, the token is still struggling for momentum. This weakness is a concern, especially considering the positive developments this week. As an Ethereum-based DEX, the approval and trading of spot Ethereum ETFs would benefit the protocol in the long run. Beyond the derivative product opening up institutions to Ethereum, Curve is also growing in strength. Recently, the community okayed a proposal to further boost CRV liquidity by bridging the gap between Solana and Ethereum via USDT. Related Reading: Wall Street Expert Sees 20x Potential In Ripple Via XRP And IPO Through this initiative floated by Picasso Network, a pool of USDT on Solana and USDT on Ethereum was launched. The goal is to encourage cross-chain activity and provide even more incentives for liquidity providers. Feature image from Canva, chart from TradingView

2024-07-26 22:00