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JunoSwap, Solidly and VVS Finance Refresh DeFi

By
Stanislav Shishkin
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0
JunoSwap, Solidly and VVS Finance Refresh DeFi

DeFi is undergoing a revival and this time, it’s happening on Ethereum network competitors.

Decentralized finance (DeFi) was the talk of the town in early 2021, but it has since taken a back seat to more appealing sectors like nonfungible tokens (NFTs), memecoins and blockchain gaming. 

Now that cross-chain bridges and interoperability have allowed for the easier migration of assets to competing chains, a new class of DeFi protocols is arising to challenge those left from 2021.

Here’s a look at three DeFi projects that have launched on some of the up-and-coming layer-1 blockchain networks, catching the eye of the crypto community.

VVS Finance

VVS Finance is the largest DeFi protocol on the Cronos network, a project that emerged out of the Crypto.com ecosystem which has since been fully rebranded to Cronos (CRO).

The goal of VVS Finance is to offer instant swaps with low fees, low slippage and attractive yields for liquidity providers (LPs).

As a reward for providing liquidity, two-thirds of swap fees collected on the exchange are distributed to the LPs of the respective pools and LP tokens can also be locked in the protocol’s Crystal Farms to earn VVS rewards.

VVS holders also have the ability to single stake their tokens in the “Glitter Mines,” where they can currently auto-compound for 65.78%. Future plans include the addition of VVS rewards for those who swap tokens through the exchange.

According to data from DefiLlama, the current TVL for VVS finance is $1.35 billion, accounting for more than half of the $2.37 billion in value locked on the Chronos network.

Total value locked on VVS Finance. Source: DefiLlama

The steady rise in TVL on VVS has come as the protocol has added support for new assets including Dogecoin (DOGE), Shiba Inu (SHIBA), TrueUSD (TUSD) and Cardano (ADA).

Solidly

Solidly is a decentralized exchange (DEX) on the Fantom network and it claims to offer “low fees, near-zero slippage on correlated assets and a strong focus on secondary markets for tokenized locks as NFTs.”

In simpler terms, Solidly is designed to function as an interface for swapping stablecoins and other crypto assets.

The DEX is the latest creation by Andre Cronje, DeFi architect and founder of Yearn.finance. It was launched in January 2022 with the goal of offering fair and balanced access to decentralized finance.

The protocol’s focus on stablecoins has thrust it into the Curve Wars debate with its own twist. This comes at the time when Solidly Wars have broken out among the Fantom DeFi community, with the Solidex protocol currently accounting for 33.74% of all Solidly emissions.

Despite launching just a little over a month ago, the total value locked (TVL) on the protocol recently hit a high of $2.19 billion and saw more than $317 million in volume on March 3 as the wider crypto market experienced a sell-off.

Total liquidity and 24-hour trading volume on Solidly. Source: Solidly

SOLID, the native token, holders can stake their tokens on the network for varying lock-up periods ranging from one week to four years. They are also able to receive vested equity nonfungible tokens (veNFT) that represent the staked assets and confer voting rights.

Liquidity providers are also rewarded with veNFTs and earn between 40% and 100% based on their own ve-token balance. Fees generated from activity on the Solidly exchange are distributed to veNFT token holders.

Juno

Juno is a decentralized, public and permissionless network for cross-chain smart contracts that is part of the Cosmos ecosystem. While it is not necessarily a DeFi-specific protocol, Juno has enabled the creation of multiple decentralized applications (DApps) and DeFi protocols like Junoswap with others currently in development.

The protocol was created by a group of developers, validators and delegators within the Cosmos ecosystem to become a kind of sister hub to the Cosmos Hub, which can help “preserve the neutrality of the Hub by offloading smart contract usage/congestion to a designated contract zone.”

Juno is also home to CosmWasm, a program that enables WebAssembly (WASM) virtual machines in the Cosmos SDK. The addition of WASM allows software to be written in many different coding languages, making it so that developers don’t need to learn a new language just to build on Cosmos.

Activity for the JUNO token saw a noticeable uptick near the end of December 2021, climbing from a price of $7.70 on Dec. 20 to a record-high of $45.85 on March 3.

JUNO/USD 1-day chart. Source: CoinGecko

Alongside interest in the cross-chain smart contract capabilities of Juno, investors have also been attracted to the protocol for several high-profile airdrops that have been distributed to JUNO holders and stakers such as the GovDrop for Neta (NETA) and Marble DAO.

Want more information about trading and investing in crypto markets?

  • Injective Protocol (INJ) rallies 100%+ after launching cross-chain support for Cosmos
  • Interchain Accounts is the biggest upgrade to Cosmos since Stargate
  • Altcoin Roundup: Cross-chain bridge tokens moon as crypto shifts toward interoperability
  • Crypto.com to acquire two US exchanges for derivatives and futures offerings
  • Dragonfly Research claims Ethereum is the ‘MS-DOS’ of blockchains

Major NFT Projects For Movies

By
Alicia Garcia
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0
Major NFT Projects For Movies

In brief

  • Some notable NFT projects, including World of Women and Aku, are being turned into feature films.
  • In other cases, the creators of massive projects have signed representation to explore potential film deals.

We’ve seen movies funded by NFTs and there are at least a couple documentary films in the works about the NFT craze—but what about movies based on NFT collections?

They’re coming. Amid last year’s wild NFT market boom, which generated $25 billion in trading volume for these hot, ownership-authenticating tokens, we saw successful NFT projects ink deals to bring their characters and stories to the big screen. And the announcements keep coming.

Here’s a look at the major NFT projects that have been announced to get the film treatment, as well as those that have signed representation to explore potential movie deals and more.

World of Women

World of Women NFTs are growing in popularity. Image: World of Women

Actress Reese Witherspoon has gotten into NFTs in a big way, and now she’s aiming to turn the leading women-led and women-centric project into an entertainment juggernaut. Last month, Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine production studio announced plans to create movies and TV series based on Yam Karkai’s World of Women NFT project.

In January, World of Women signed with veteran music industry exec Guy Oseary to represent it with such media and product deals. Witherspoon said that World of Women NFT holders will have a say in the creation of projects based on the profile picture collection.

Aku

Aku, an NFT character created by former MLB player Micah Johnson
Aku is an NFT character created by former MLB player Micah Johnson. Image: Micah Johnson

Artist Micah Johnson’s Aku—a Black boy who dreams of being an astronaut—was the first original NFT character optioned for film and TV projects in April 2021, just two months after the first Aku NFT dropped. It was optioned by Anonymous Content and Permanent Content, with the latter company formed by musician Shawn Mendes and manager Andrew Gertler.

Aku’s star has grown significantly since then across subsequent drops, as well as the lavish Aku World experiential show held at Art Basel Miami last December. Johnson, a former MLB player, told Decrypt last August that Aku NFT holders may be able to influence the direction of the IP as it expands into the world of film and beyond.

“What’s more powerful than allowing fans to directly have participation in the growth and expansion of that IP?” said Johnson.

Huxley

Huxley is the latest addition to this list. Just last week, longtime Marvel film producer Ari Arad (“Iron Man”) and his Arad Productions studio announced plans to co-produce a film adaptation of artist Ben Mauro’s Ethereum NFT comic book project. Arad will develop alongside Web3 production studio Feature as well as Oscar-nominated VFX supervisor, Jerome Chen.

Mauro spent years as a concept artist for films like “Elysium” and “The Hobbit” along with Call of Duty and Halo games before making the leap into the world of NFTs. His projects have now yielded many millions of dollars’ worth of trading volume. Huxley’s post-apocalyptic sci-fi vibe could translate well to the big screen, as shown by this cinematic CG animated concept trailer. However, it’s not yet confirmed whether the film will be live-action or animated.

Maybe: CryptoPunks/Meebits

CryptoPunks NFTs
CryptoPunks are among the earliest NFTs. Image: CryptoPunks.

In August 2021, United Talent Agency (UTA) announced that it signed Larva Labs—creators of CryptoPunks, Meebits, and Autoglyphs—to help take its IP into Hollywood. UTA will represent Larva with endeavors in film, TV, video games, and beyond.

Exactly how that will take shape remains to be seen, however. Nothing more has been announced since then, and Larva Labs has famously (or perhaps, infamously) been pretty hands-off with its community since the NFT market exploded in early 2021. So we could see CryptoPunks and Meebits in film, but when and how are still unknown.

Maybe: Bored Ape Yacht Club

Bored Ape Yacht Club
The Bored Ape Yacht Club is a limited series of Ethereum-based NFTs. Image: Bored Ape Yacht Club

Along those same lines, Bored Ape Yacht Club creator Yuga Labs signed with Guy Oseary in October 2021 to explore bringing the popular Ethereum NFT profile picture project to film, TV, music, and video games.

It’s similar in scope to what Larva Labs is doing with UTA, from what we know, with no further details released since the initial news. However, it’s worth noting that Bored Apes have since become immensely popular amongst celebrities, with folks like Eminem, Justin Bieber, Steph Curry, and Snoop Dogg “aping into” the project. There could be a significant push to see the Bored Apes come to life on the big screen.

Will BTC Hitting $50 K This Month?

By
Stanislav Shishkin
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0
Will BTC Hitting $50,000 This Month?

The CEO of Devere Group has predicted that the price of bitcoin will reach $50,000 by the end of this month. He explained that geopolitical tensions from the Russia-Ukraine war and institutional investment are key drivers boosting the price of bitcoin. He also said, “the dollar’s reserve status could, ultimately, be in jeopardy.”

Devere’s CEO on the Future of Bitcoin

The CEO of Devere Group, Nigel Green, has predicted that bitcoin’s price will reach $50,000 by the end of this month. Devere is an independent financial advisory and asset management firm headquartered in the UAE.

The executive said on Tuesday after the price of bitcoin surged more than $6,000 in 24 hours:

As it currently stands, I can see no reason why this price momentum should falter. I think we can expect to see bitcoin hit $50,000 by the end of this month.

However, he noted that it is “too early to say” when the price of bitcoin will revisit last year’s all-time highs. Based on data from Bitcoin.com Markets, BTC peaked at $68,892 on Nov. 9.

Green believes that “It’s not that big a leap from $50K to $68K.” He emphasized: “The world and the crypto market are moving at an accelerated rate in recent times. It’s certainly not out of the realms of possibility.” At the time of writing, bitcoin is trading at $39,007.

Geopolitical Tensions and Dollar’s Reserve Status

The Devere executive sees two key drivers boosting the price of bitcoin: geopolitical tensions and institutional investment.

He explained that the war between Russia and Ukraine “has caused significant financial upheaval.” It has driven individuals, businesses and government agencies globally to look for “alternatives to traditional systems,” he detailed.

“As banks close, ATMs run out of money, threats of personal savings being taken to pay for war, and the major international payments system SWIFT is weaponized, amongst other factors, the case for a viable, decentralized, borderless, tamper-proof, unconfiscatable monetary system has been laid bare,” the chief executive further opined, elaborating:

And as alternatives, such as crypto, prove to be credible and workable, the dollar’s reserve status could, ultimately, be in jeopardy.

“Savvy investors know this and will be further increasing their exposure to cryptocurrencies before prices rise further,” he predicted.

Institutional Investors to Boost Demand for Bitcoin

The Devere boss further predicted: “As more and more institutional investors take control of the sector, credibility increases, trading volumes go up and volatility goes down.”

Emphasizing that the current Russia-Ukraine crisis has highlighted bitcoin’s key traits, Green concluded:

This is why bitcoin is now the 14th most valuable currency in the world. I expect it to jump further still up the rankings in coming months.

Green is not the only one who sees a positive outlook for bitcoin. Veteran investor and fund manager Bill Miller said this week that the situation in Russia is “very bullish for bitcoin.”

China’s Digital Yuan Is Edging Ever Closer To A Nationwide Rollout With Banks and Airports

By
Alicia Garcia
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0
China’s Digital Yuan Is Edging Ever Closer To A Nationwide Rollout With Banks and Airports

China’s digital yuan is edging ever closer to a nationwide rollout, with banks, airports, and provinces looking to boost their adoption efforts following last month’s Winter Olympics and ahead of the Paralympic Winter Olympics.

The Paralympics begins on March 4, and overseas attendees will again be invited to make use of the digital CNY at Olympic venues in the capital Beijing and other parts of the country hosting events. But media outlets in the country hinted that the pilot is looking yet further ahead, with multiple Chinese provinces making multiple mentions of digital CNY in their latest five-year plans.

JRJ reported that in a raft of new, economic development-focused five-year plans – the 14th such iterations since the People’s Republic of China was founded – the digital yuan was mentioned on more than one occasion by “more than 10 provinces and cities.”

Henan Province, for instance, wrote of its intention to make “clear strides” to advance the pilot in the “digital economy” section of its plan – although the central People’s Bank of China (PBoC) is still yet to announce an official launch date.

Meanwhile, small and medium-sized Chinese banks appear to be throwing themselves into digital CNY business with great gusto. Earlier this year, two smaller financial institutions announced that they would no longer handle banknotes and coins – and would focus their efforts almost entirely on e-CNY business.

The China Business Network (via East Money) reported that “a number of urban commercial banks” have recently begun cooperation efforts with major domestic banks, most of which have been working with the PBoC on the pilot for several years.

The report explained that these efforts included a project that will see Chinese financial institutions co-build a digital CNY app “sharing platform” – likely an interoperability network that would allow the already numerous digital CNY wallet and app offerings to be used on a cross-platform basis.

Bank shareholders have also spoken about their institutions’ work in the development of digital CNY applications.

Banks including the Bank of Sichuan have hired software firms to help them build interoperability solutions, while a financial expert and professor at Beijing’s Renmin University of China was quoted as explaining that many smaller banks have now “combined” their digital CNY adoption drives with their greater digital transformation efforts.

The e-CNY’s nationwide rollout may still be some time off, but lift-off could be much closer: YNet wrote that Beijing has signed off on a plan that will see a number of major airports cooperate on a digital CNY-powered initiative that will build on the capital’s “experience of building a payment service environment for the Beijing Winter Olympics.”

The initiative will allow “international passenger payments” to be made using the digital CNY and will see the capital’s two biggest airports, the Beijing Daxing International Airport and Beijing Capital International Airport work together on the project, which will largely concern itself with cargo-related business.

The city indicated that it would “actively expand the application of the digital yuan,” and “encourage cross-border e-commerce companies to apply new technology to innovate business models.”

And Wuhan, the Hubei Daily (via Worker.cn) reported, will also launch “more than 20 major digital economy projects this year” – including a number of “metaverse and blockchain” initiatives. However, these are likely drives that will not make use of public networks such as Ethereum (ETH) – but instead rely on private networks.

Bitcoin is still consolidating and remain supported near $43,000

By
Stanislav Shishkin
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0
Bitcoin Traders Are Beginning To Open Fresh Longs To Reclaim $40,000

Bitcoin spiked above the $45,000 resistance zone and traded as high as $45,349.

The price is trading above $43,000 and the 100 hourly simple moving average.

There is a major bullish trend line forming with support near $42,500 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).

The pair could correct lower, but the bulls might be active near $43,000 or $42,500.

Bitcoin Price Remains Supported

Bitcoin price remained supported above the $43,000 level. BTC made another attempt to start a fresh increase above the $44,500 level. It even spiked above the $45,000 resistance level.

However, there was no upside continuation above $45,350. A high was formed near $45,349 and the price is now correcting gains. There was a move below the $45,000 and $44,500 levels. The price also tested the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $37,030 swing low to $45,349 high.

It is now trading above $43,000 and the 100 hourly simple moving average. There is also a major bullish trend line forming with support near $42,500 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair.

Bitcoin Price
Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

Bitcoin is now facing resistance is near the $44,250 level. The first key resistance is near the $45,000 level. A clear move above the $45,000 resistance might set the pace for a larger increase. In the stated case, the price could surpass $45,500 and test the $46,500 resistance zone. The next major resistance for the bulls may possibly be near the $47,200 level.

Dips Limited in BTC?

If bitcoin fails to clear the $45,000 resistance zone, it could start a downside correction. An immediate support on the downside is near the $43,380 zone.

The next major support is seen near the $43,000 level or the trend line support. If there is a downside break below the trend line support, the price might gain decline towards $41,200. It is near the 50% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $37,030 swing low to $45,349 high.

Technical indicators:

Hourly MACD – The MACD is now losing pace in the bullish zone.

Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for BTC/USD is now near the 50 level.

Major Support Levels – $43,380, followed by $42,500.

Major Resistance Levels – $44,250, $45,000 and $45,350.

Bitcoin, Ethereum and Altcoin Price Analysis

By
Stanislav Shishkin
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0
Bitcoin, Ethereum and Altcoin Price Analysis
  • Bitcoin price is still struggling to clear the USD 45,000 resistance.
  • Ethereum struggled near USD 3,050, XRP is still below USD 0.80.
  • ATOM and ZEC are up around 6%.

Bitcoin price attempted an upside break above the USD 45,000 resistance. BTC spiked above USD 45,200, but it faced sellers near USD 45,350 and is now down 2% in a day. It is currently (04:17 UTC) trading below USD 43,500, with a key support at USD 43,000.

Similarly, most major altcoins are also facing resistance. ETH is struggling to gain momentum above USD 3,020 and is down almost 4%. XRP failed near USD 0.80 and corrected lower. ADA traded below USD 0.95 and tested USD 0.92.

Total market capitalization

Source: tradingview.com

Bitcoin price

After a move above USD 45,000, bitcoin price faced resistance near USD 45,350. BTC failed to stay above USD 45,000 and corrected lower. There was a move below the USD 44,200 and USD 44,000 levels. An immediate support is near the USD 43,200 level. The next key support is near the USD 43,000 level, below which the price may perhaps decline to USD 42,500.

On the upside, the price is facing resistance near the USD 44,200 level. The key hurdle is still near the USD 45,000 level, above which the price might start a stronger increase.

Ethereum price

Ethereum price attempted a close above USD 3,000, but failed. ETH faced sellers near USD 3,040 and USD 3,050. It is now trading below USD 3,000 and consolidating. On the downside, an initial support is near the USD 2,900 level. The next key support is near the USD 2,850 level, below which the price might dive to USD 2,750.

On the upside, the price must settle above the USD 3,000 resistance to gain momentum. The next pivot level could be near the USD 3,050 level.

ADA, BNB, SOL, DOGE, and XRP price

Cardano (ADA) started a downside correction and traded below the USD 0.95 support. It is now struggling to stay above USD 0.92. If there is a downside break, the bears might even push the price below USD 0.90.

BNB is consolidating gains above the USD 400 level. An immediate resistance is near the USD 412 level. The key resistance is still USD 425, above which the price might accelerate higher.

Solana (SOL) tested the USD 105 level, where sellers appeared. The price corrected lower and traded below USD 100. The next major support is near USD 95, below which the price might test the USD 88 level.

DOGE failed to clear the USD 0.142 resistance. There was a bearish reaction below the USD 0.135 level. If the bears remain in action, the price could decline below the USD 0.130 support.

XRP price traded below the USD 0.78 support level. It is now holding the USD 0.75 support. If there is a downside break, the price may perhaps drop to USD 0.712.

Other altcoins market today

A few altcoins are up over 4%, including ATOM, FTM, ZEC, CRV, ANC, and ROSE. Out of these, ANC rallied 19% and traded above the USD 4.5 level. Meanwhile, ATOM and ZEC jumped around 6%, hitting USD 33 and USD 126, respectively. ATOM is now also up 31% in a week, while ZEC extended its gains to 29%.

Overall, bitcoin price is still struggling to clear the main resistance at USD 45,000. If BTC fails to stay above USD 43,000, it could start a stronger downside correction in the near term.

Bitcoin Investors Are Selling

By
Stanislav Shishkin
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0
Bitcoin Investors Are Selling

Bitcoin nearly reached $69,000 in November. New data shows that most who bought at the top of the market have since sold.

It’s been almost four months since Bitcoin nearly touched $69,000—an all-time high—and, according to a new report, it now appears that most top-of-the-market buyers have since unloaded their coins.

According to on-chain analytics provider Glassnode, more than half of the coins once bought for about $60,000 have since been resold for about $35,000 to $38,000. Meanwhile, multiple indicators showed remarkably strong hands from long-term holders, even in the face of geopolitical conflict.

The Glassnode report zoomed in on Bitcoin’s UTXO Realized Price Distribution (URPD) on significant dates last year, comparing them to today. URPD essentially tracks the prices at which existing Bitcoin last moved on-chain. This data can be useful for identifying how many buyers profited—or find themselves underwater.

For example, on May 10, Bitcoin URPD was highly concentrated in the $54,000 to $60,000 range, followed by a massive price drop, which Glassnode described as a “weak hand to strong hand distribution event,” meaning newer buyers were selling to more experienced holders.

When Bitcoin returned to similar highs in November, URPD was more evenly distributed around the $35,000, $47,000, and $62,000 areas. Many who bought from May to July sold BTC at a profit from August to November, the report shows.

Despite Bitcoin’s slow, steady decline below $40,000 over the following months, the distribution pattern has remained mostly intact. However, to the degree that redistribution did occur, it came from a capitulation of $60,000 buyers to other holders near $35,000.

“This spending behaviour describes a market dominated by price insensitive HODLers, who appear unwilling to liquidate their coins, even if held at a loss,” the report says. “Meanwhile top buyers have been significantly flushed out, and represent a far smaller proportion of the investor cohort when compared to May-July 2021.”

Other data shows that HODLers, a crypto community term for dedicated long-term investors, are holding steady, even as other market participants get flushed. For instance, exchange withdrawal levels have remained steady since July, while deposit levels are falling—meaning the market is increasingly dominated by buyers who don’t plan to sell soon.

Parler Have Rare Trump NFTs

By
Stanislav Shishkin
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0
Parler Have Rare Trump NFTs
  • Parler is a social media platform for conservatives
  • They now have an NFT platform, called DeepRedSKy
  • They have brought out some rare Trump NFTs. Maybe Melania will buy them?

Trump NFTs are here. Parler, a self-professed “viewpoint-neutral, free speech social media platform” announced it is reinventing the non-fungible token (NFT) space. They are doing this with its new NFT platform, DeepRedSky.

This new NFT marketplace plans to deliver an engaging yet simplified user experience. DeepRedSky say the platform “connects fans and collectors with world-class individuals and brands across politics, media, sports, and the arts. DeepRedSky will feature creators who share the values of freedom of expression and protection from Big Tech, Big Media, and Big Government.”

Trump and the CryptoTRUMP Club

DeepRedSky’s first showcase collection is the Official CryptoTRUMP Club. It will feature the one-of-a-kind 45th President of the United States. Each CryptoTRUMP is unique, and will show the former President Donald Trump in various settings. This early release of Trump on DeepRedSky is made up of 250 extremely rare NFTs. It will be part of a more extensive collection of 10,000 to be released a later date.

The Official CryptoTRUMP Club

DeepRedSky say they have already completed a variety of projects with well-known creators. George Farmer is the CEO of Parler. He says, “The development of DeepRedSky is an essential next step toward the company’s mission to be a frontrunner in Web3 technologies. As promised, Parler is launching its inaugural NFT marketplace that will become the new standard in premium branded NFTs.”

Can’t live without your Trump NFT? You can purchase these via credit card and receive the assets through any wallet on the Solana blockchain.

Ethos

Parler say they have a bold vision to make freedom of expression, security, and privacy a reality. They will do this through social media and blockchain technology. “Over 16 million users have chosen Parler as their social media platform to protect against the authoritarian powers of Big Tech, Big Government, and cancel culture. Parler uses the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution as a guide, making it possible for people to speak freely without fear of being suspended or labeled ‘dangerous’ and banned. Parler is the public town hall where everyone is welcome.”

Whatever you feel about Trump, Parler, or the absolute circus that is American politics, we can all agree that big tech censorship will never be in fashion.

Bitcoin, Ethereum and Altcoin Price Analysis

By
Stanislav Shishkin
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0
Bitcoin, Ethereum and Altcoin Price Analysis
  • Bitcoin price is now facing a strong resistance near USD 45,000.
  • Ethereum fluctuates around USD 3,000, XRP struggles to clear USD 0.80.
  • LUNA extended gains, while NEAR and RUNE rallied in double-digits.

Bitcoin price remained supported above the USD 43,500 level and climbed above USD 44,500 before correcting lower again. It is currently (04:25 UTC) consolidating gains near USD 44,888 and is up almost 3% in a day.

Similarly, most major altcoins are also facing hurdles. ETH broke an important resistance near USD 3,000 again and is up almost 4%. XRP struggled to clear the USD 0.80 resistance. ADA might continue to face hurdles near USD 1.00.

Total market capitalization

Source: tradingview.com

Bitcoin price

After a steady increase, bitcoin price was able to settle above the USD 43,500 level. BTC extended its increase and spiked to USD 45,000, where it faced a strong selling interest. It is now consolidating gains and trading near USD 44,500. The next key support is near the USD 43,750 level, below which the price may perhaps decline to USD 43,200.

On the upside, the price is facing resistance near the USD 44,500 level. The main breakout zone is now forming near the USD 45,000 level, above which the price might accelerate.

Ethereum price

Ethereum price extended increase above the USD 2,850 resistance. ETH even spiked above the USD 3,000 resistance zone.  On the downside, an initial support is near the USD 2,900 level. The next key support is near the USD 2,850 zone.

The price must settle above the USD 3,000 resistance zone to start a stronger increase in the coming sessions.

ADA, BNB, SOL, DOGE, and XRP price

Cardano (ADA) gained momentum above the USD 0.95 resistance level. The price even broke the USD 1.00, but there was no upside continuation. It is now consolidating near the USD 0.95 pivot level.

BNB extended rally above the USD 405 and USD 412 levels. It even spiked above USD 420, but faced sellers near USD 425. On the downside, the previous resistance near USD 400 may possibly act as a support.

Solana (SOL) is up over 7% and there was a clear move above the USD 100 level. The next key resistance is near the USD 105 level, above which the price might rise towards the USD 112 level.

DOGE is struggling to clear the USD 0.142 and USD 0.145 resistance levels. If there is a downside correction, the USD 0.130 level might provide support. The next key support is USD 0.125.

XRP price cleared the USD 0.78 resistance zone. It even attempted a move above the USD 0.80 resistance zone, but failed. It is now correcting gains and trading near USD 0.78.

Other altcoins market today

Multiple altcoins are up over 5%, including LUNA, SHIB, NEAR, SAND, AXS, XMR, WAVES, RUNE, CHZ, KSM, and AR. LUNA extended it’s gains above USD 95, wile NEAR rallied 21% and traded above the USD 11.60 level, and RUNE jumped 42%, reaching the USD 5.85 level. RUNE is now up 60% in a week, while NEAR increased 29%.

Overall, bitcoin price is facing another strong resistance near USD 45,000. If BTC corrects lower, it might find support near the USD 43,200 level in the short term.

The OpenSea NFT Reveal Was “a Horrible Mistake.” An Alpha Release of The Game Is Still Planned For Later

By
Stanislav Shishkin
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0

Syber, the founder, said an alpha release of the game is still planned for later this year.

After much anticipation, and a $70 million mint, the artwork reveal for Ethereum NFT gaming project Pixelmon is getting crushed on social media.

Syber, Pixelmon’s founder, called the reveal “unacceptable,” but said the project’s development would continue. (NFTs are unique blockchain tokens that signify one’s ownership over a digital asset. In the case of Pixelmon, each NFT signifies ownership over an in-game asset.)

When the game launches, according to the Pixelmon website, players will be able to catch other Pixelmon and collect them as NFTs in an open-world RPG. The first collection that minted “are playable genesis collectibles” that won’t be available to catch in-game. Holders of the first set of NFTs also will “gain exclusive access to an airdrop of Pixelmon land.”

Pixelmon mint prices—the cost to buy an NFT in a primary sale—began at 3 ETH (about $8,100) and slowly declined via a Dutch auction format, meaning some mints cost less than 3 ETH.

Some on Twitter expressed disappointment with the artwork, saying it was comical how much had been paid for the pixelated NFTs, while others said some of the NFTs were “broken,” and accused the project of being a scam.

Over the weekend, Syber spoke out about what happened, saying the NFTs that minted did not accurately reflect what the in-game assets would look like. On Discord, he apologized and said the OpenSea NFT reveal was “a horrible mistake.”

“The plan was always to use the funding raised from mint to create proper and better models,” he wrote on Twitter, adding that the NFTs “are updateable and what they look like now is poor quality—we own up to that—they will be made better.” He also said that the “funds raised will be used to build Pixelmon.”

“The goal was to create the first AAA NFT game,” Syber added.

Some of the Pixelmon assets appear to have been based on Unity stock models.

“We bought a lot of assets for our prototype on Unity … they were not used in our NFTS,” Syber said in the Pixelmon Discord server during a community AMA on Saturday. “Our intention was never to use these assets in the final game.”

“We need time to develop the game,” said Syber, adding that “we will aim for an alpha release before the end of this year.”

Back in December, Syber tweeted: “Pixelmon is the next blue chip. This is financial advice. Don’t do your own research.” The statement plays on the frequently uttered phrases “Not financial advice” and “Do your own research” used by crypto influencers.

The NFT gaming space is exploding, with top titles like Axie Infinity now valued at over $3 billion and the digital card game Splinterlands partnering with Warner Music Group to include musicians in future games. But many blockchain gaming projects have faced a backlash, and Pixelmon probably won’t be the last.

Twitch streamer and Axie Infinity player Brycent has been following the blockchain gaming space closely for about a year now and runs an esports guild, Loot Squad, which is backed by Delphi Digital.

“Pixelmon is actually a pull-away from a Minecraft-modded game,” Brycent told Decrypt. “So, in a sense, another developer on Minecraft created the whole Pixelmon idea, and this was already something that was in the Minecraft world … whereas Axie created its own IP, its own process.” That mod, according to Brycent, was directly inspired by Nintendo’s Pokémon.

“It’s going to be very difficult for the Pixelmon team to be able to provide value that justifies a 3 ETH mint price,” Brycent added. “And when you raise $70 million, that means you need to be able to provide $70 million worth of value.”

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