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‘The current Market Structure at $47.5K Mirrors the Early Bull-Market from 2017’ Experts Say

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'The current Market Structure at $47.5K Mirrors the Early Bull-Market from 2017' Experts Say

Bitcoin price succumbed to another wave of selling, but analysts say the current market structure at $47,500 mirrors the early bull-market from 2017.

Crypto markets tanked again after Bitcoin (BTC) price slipped to $47,500 on Dec. 9, but most analysts agree that the price is destined to remain in the $40,000 to $55,000 range until the holiday season has passed.

BTC/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView

Data shows that the early morning defense of the $50,000 support level was overwhelmed by sellers and according to independent market analyst Ben Lilly, bids at underlying support levels are not inspiring much confidence from bulls.

Here’s a look at what analysts and traders are saying about the recent price action and whether BTC’s current downside is a signal that a bear market is in the making.

Bulls aim to hold the $47,000 support

Insight into the weekly price action was provided by analyst and pseudonymous Twitter user Rekt Capital, who posted the following chart, which outlines the levels of support and resistance that are currently relevant to the price action for BTC.

BTC/USDT 1-week chart. Source: Twitter

Rekt Capital said,

“BTC is threatening to lose this red support but no confirmed breakdown. Below red is the orange area, a strong support which ended two -25% corrections in February and September. Generally red needs to hold to avoid a drop to orange. Still holding here until further notice.”

Full-time trader and Cointelegraph contributor Michaël van de Poppe is also keeping an eye on the price action around these important support levels and posted the following chart outlining the “make it or break it” support level in the low $40,000s.

BTC/USD 1-day chart. Source Twitter

Poppe said,

“Chop, chop, chop it is for Bitcoin. A crucial area to hold is that region we’ve touched already at $42K. The close was above $46K–47K and I’d prefer not to lose that at all.”

Pennant formation hints at an eventual bounce

Further analysis of the weekly price action for BTC was provided by analyst and pseudonymous Twitter user TechDev, who posted the following tweet outlining the formation of pennants, which have proven to be followed by bullish breakouts in the past, on the Bitcoin chart.

As expressed by TechDev at the end of his tweet, nobody ever said that making money and holding firm on the long-term outlook for BTC was easy, and the biggest rewards are reserved for those that can persevere during times of struggle like that which the market is currently facing.

Bitcoin price action resembles the 2017 market

A final bit of insight was offered by the crypto trader and pseudonymous Twitter user Nunya Bizniz, who posted the following chart comparing the price action for BTC during the 2017 bull market cycle to the current chart and hinted at a possible breakout approaching for Bitcoin in the near future.

2017 BTC/USD price action vs. present-day BTC/USD price action. Source: Twitter

Nunya Bizniz said,

“Price action at a prior ATH that has been most similar to now was in 2017. Maybe?”

While what happens with Bitcoin price in the near future remains to be seen, it’s looking as if the handful of $100,000 predictions by the end of 2021 will fall short and possibly not occur until sometime in 2022, if at all.

The overall cryptocurrency market cap now stands at $2.25 trillion and Bitcoin’s dominance rate is 40.1%.

BTC whales move point to concerns that a fresh Bitcoin price dip could still occur

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BTC whales move point to concerns that a fresh Bitcoin price dip could still occur

Large-volume trader moves point to concerns that a fresh Bitcoin price dip could still occur.

Bitcoin (BTC) whales may be planning to sell at short notice as BTC price action struggles around $47,000.

In its daily QuickTake market updates on Dec. 5, on-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant warned that large volume movements on exchanges were increasing again.

Data points to whales increasingly eager to sell

Highlighting its exchange whale ratio metric, CryptoQuant deduced that major Bitcoin investors were taking no chances when it comes to short-term price action.

Exchange whale ratio measures the size of the largest inflows and outflows from exchanges relative to total inflows and outflows.

Before Saturday’s dip to $41,900, the metric spiked above the peak 0.95 level — and as of Monday, is back in the same territory.

“Whales are still depositing BTC to exchanges. Exchange Whale Ratio reached over 95% again,” CryptoQuant commented.

“Taker Buy Sell Ratio still remains negative, indicating the futures market sentiment is bearish.”

Open interest on futures markets fell dramatically at the end of last week, but a debate remains over whether the flushing out was enough to save price action from further losses.

Bitcoin exchange whale ratio annotated chart. Source: CryptoQuant

“The period where the majority of the markets are only expecting further downside to happen,” Cointelegraph contributor Michaël van de Poppe continued on the day about market sentiment.

“Just like three weeks ago majority were expecting a parabolic run to be happening in December.”

Exchanges resume overall BTC losses

Continuing, CryptoQuant noted that exchange reserves were already back to their existing long-term downtrend after briefly spiking immediately before the dip.

“The futures market started cooling off as the estimated leverage ratio dropped -22%,” it added.

Exchange inflows annotated chart. Source: CryptoQuant

Throughout the past few days, smaller investors have conversely been adding to their positions — a contrast to both whales and Bitcoin price corrections from earlier in 2021.

Hopeful Trend’s prediction for the Crypto Market

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Bitcoin and Ethereum Price, ETC and LEO Rally Story
  • Ethereum is expected to fall below $3.6k in the following few weeks.
  • Lower highs have been established since the $4,891 ATH.

The crypto market’s value decreased from $2.8 trillion to $2.18 trillion in only a month. ETH, SOL, and ADA are all down 30-40 percent from their all-time highs in terms of market capitalization. Further revisions will be expected within a few weeks.

According to crypto analyst Micheal Van De Poppe, the bull market will begin in early 2022. Previously, he spoke on the current remedial perspective in a recent video.

Unlike September or November, he expects a three- to four-week respite in the market. He also predicted Bitcoin and Ethereum’s upcoming bull wave.

Bitcoin (BTC) – There’s been a lack of movement in the flagship asset since November, and it’s been setting lower highs since then. Micheal Van De Poppe is certain that a bear market will begin within the next three to four weeks. This week, the price of Bitcoin returned to the $48,000 level that was seen in August.

After claiming ATH in October, it strengthened between $56k and $58k, then slid below the level. The analyst predicts a $45,000 correction in the price. He expected a significant rise in Q1 2022 if support levels between $49k and $51k were maintained.

BTC/USDT: Source: TradingView

Van De Poppe has highlighted that Ethereum’s price has continued to strike the bottom support since October’s parabolic surge. Lower highs have been established since the $4,891 ATH.

To check whether investors are still interested in the protocol, it may continue to fall below its critical level of support. Ethereum is expected to fall below $3.6k in the following few weeks before resuming its bull run in early 2022, according to him.

ETH/USDT: Source: TradingView

By early 2022, the crypto market must sustain current market bottoms to verify the long-predicted bull cycle. On the other hand, experts urge the community to look for entry points as soon as the bear cycle is through.

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What’s about Bitcoin and Altcoins in 2022?

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What’s about Bitcoin and Altcoins in 2022?

On Saturday, December 11, the global cryptocurrency market fell somewhat more despite a steady decrease over the previous several days owing to a variety of issues.The crypto market is yet to recover from the recent slumps as BTC struggles to cross $50K, and the rest of the altcoins trade in red. 

As the year 2021 draws to a close, crypto expert Michaal van de Poppe is making a series of wild forecasts for Bitcoin (BTC) and the overall crypto markets.

Bitcoin has already reached a critical “make it or break it” area of support, according to Van de Poppe’s Twitter followers.

“Chop, chop, chop it is for Bitcoin. A crucial area to hold is that region we’ve touched already at $42K.”

He says he’d rather not lose anything because the closing was above $46-47K.

Despite recent bumpy market activity, Van de Poppe believes Bitcoin’s long-term bull run will continue into the new year. He says the Bull market is still going to continue for Bitcoin.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $48,271 down by 2.6% in the last 24 hours. 

Altcoins

Van de Poppe believes that the bottom is nearly in for the rest of the crypto and altcoin markets.

Markets will bottom out this month when the majority of people realize we aren’t going parabolic right now, he said

Though he no longer expects cryptocurrencies to “go stratospheric” in the final three weeks of 2021, the trader believes crypto markets will return significantly in the first three quarters of 2022.

An important breakthrough in Q1 2022, including the alt season… Q2/Q3 2022 is the peak of the bull cycle according to him. 

Shiba Inu will Take Time to Recover- SHIB Price Analysis

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Shiba Inu will Take Time to Recover- SHIB Price Analysis

Following a flash drop last week, DOGE killer Shiba Inu has struggled much like the other cryptocurrencies.

The crypto market is currently in a bearish trend, and even meme currencies are not immune to the current shifts. Shiba Inu has suffered during the recent recession, with losses of 15.05 percent in seven days. The 24-hour losses are also 0.5 percent, implying that it will take time to recover. At the time of writing the meme coin is trading at $0.00003438.

Bulls await a major breakout

Awaiting a huge breakthrough, Bulls are attempting to initiate a new upward trend towards the All-Time High (ATH) of $0.000088. SHIB has been caught between the two important averages. The meme-based coin is looking for a significant push to break through the $0.0000350 barrier.

With the downward-sloping 21-daily moving average at $0.0000400, Shiba Inu’s price has been moving in a confined range. Shiba Inu Coin would need to break out from $0.000035 levels to avoid another day in the red after another reversal on Friday.

To reach the first significant resistance level at $0.0000353, Shiba Inu Coin would have to break through the pivot at $0.0000343. Support from the larger market, on the other hand, would be required for Shiba Inu Coin to reclaim $0.000035 levels. If there isn’t a sustained crypto rise, the first significant resistance level and Friday’s high of $0.00003618 will likely be the limit to the upside.

Shiba Inu Coin could test resistance at $0.000037 if a protracted breakthrough occurs. $0.0000372 is the second significant resistance level.If the pivot at $0.0000343 is not crossed, the first major support level at $0.0000325 will be tested. Shiba Inu Coin should avoid the second major support level at $0.0000315 unless there is another protracted sell-off.

Best Performing DeFi Coins: Syscoin and other Price Analysis

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Best Performing DeFi Coins

With Bitcoin displaying southbound movement, some DeFi coins have soared and made headlines in the past few days. These altcoins come with less liquidity and often more volatility, giving investors a chance to make profits over a short span of time. Out of the best performing cryptocurrencies, Syscoin, Injective Protocol and Near Protocol have managed to grab attention. Here’s an analysis of how they have performed over the past few days.

In recent news, Smart Contracts will soon be introduced on Syscoin and the coin propelled 16.8% over the last 24 hours. At press time the coin was priced at $0.644 with immediate resistance at $0.684, if Syscoin continues to move upwards, it could trade near $0.780 which is the one-week high for the coin. The altcoin reversed 16.8% of the losses that it incurred over the last week.

The buying strength also increased as prices rose, on the Relative Strength Index the indicator was seen above the half-line after a week. The On Balance Volume was also seen increasing on the four-hour chart indicating an uptrend. Bollinger Bands remained parallel with chances of volatility remaining in check, prices would remain sandwiched between $0.644 and $0.524.

On the flip side, if Syscoin fails to hold itself over $0.524 then it could dip to trade close to its support level of $0.386. The other support level stood at $0.345.

INJ/USD Chart In The 4-hour Time Frame

Injective Protocol was priced at $9.69 after securing a gain of 13.8% over the last 24 hours. Immediate resistance for the coin stood at $9.85, toppling over which it could trade near its one week high of $11.01. As buying pressure had managed to revive, at press time, the buying strength dropped as investors have held on to their assets in anticipation of a price increase.

Awesome Oscillator displayed bullishness with green histograms. The On Balance Volume noted an uptick and if buying pressure manages to remain above the zero-line, the coin can remain positive over the upcoming trading sessions. The Relative Strength Index remained on the half-line highlighting even the number of buyers and sellers.

On the flip side, Injective Protocol’s local support lay at $8.46.

NEAR/USD Chart In The 4-hour Time Frame

Near Protocol surged 6% over the past day and was priced at $10.33 with immediate resistance at $10.37. The trading volume of the coin also increased over the last 24 hours. If the crypto manages to break over its immediate price ceiling, it can attempt to trade near its all-time high which it secured a month back and a half back.

Just a few days back, Near Protocol registered overbought conditions. The Relative Strength Index was still near its overbought territory as investors have rushed in to get hold of the coin. Chaikin Money Flow made a bounce back as capital inflows have picked up after it dipped just a day back.

Awesome Oscillator flashed one green signal bar highlighting bullishness.  On the reverse, Near Protocol’s support line stood at $9.23, failing to remain over which the coin can fall to $8.29. Additional price floors awaited the coin at $6.90 and $5.89.

Some Tips for Traders to Effectively Analyze DeFi Tokens

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Somthing To Do in a Crypto Bear Market

DeFi presents a wealth of opportunity for investors, but there are also risks. Here are three metrics investors use to analyze decentralized finance tokens and their associated protocols.

Much to the chagrin of cryptocurrency proponents who call for the immediate mass adoption of blockchain technology, there are many “digital landmines” that exist in the crypto ecosystem such as rug pulls and protocol hacks that can give new users the experience of being lost at sea. 

There’s more to investing than just technical analysis and gut feelings. Over the past year, a handful of blockchain analysis platforms launched dashboards with metrics that help provide greater insight into the fundamentals supporting — or the lack thereof — a cryptocurrency project.

Here are three key factors to take into consideration when evaluating whether an altcoin or decentralized finance (DeFi) project is a sound investment.

Check the project’s community and developer activity

One of the basic ways to get a read on a project is to look at the statistics that show the level of activity from the platform’s user base and developer community.

Many of the top protocols in the space offer analytics that track the growth in active users over time. On-chain dashboards like Dune Analytics offer more granular insights into this metric such as the following chart showing the daily new users on the Olympus protocol.

Olympus daily new users. Source: Dune Analytics

Other pertinent data points to consider when it comes to evaluating community activity include the average number of active wallets on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. Investors should also look at the number of transactions and volumes transacted on the protocol, as well as social media metrics such as Twitter mentions that can help with gauging investors’ sentiment about a particular project.

Alert systems provide up-to-date notifications on a project’s Twitter mention volumes and unusual changes in trading volume that can be an early sign that a cryptocurrency is turning bullish or bearish.

CT Markets Pro twitter and trading volume dashboard. Source: Cointelegraph Markets Pro

Regarding project development and developer activity, GitHub has been the go-to place for learning about upcoming upgrades, integrations and where the project is in its roadmap.

If a protocol is boasting about “soon to be released” features but showing little ongoing development or commits being submitted, it might be a sign to steer clear until the activity is better aligned with the claims.

On the other hand, spotting an under-the-radar project with steady development activity and a committed user base could be a positive sign.

Look for steady increases in total value locked

A second metric to look at when assessing the overall strength of a project is the sum of all assets deposited on the protocol, otherwise known as the total value locked (TVL).

For example, data from Defi Llama shows that the total value locked on the DeFi protocol DeFiChain (DFI) has been rising lately following a major protocol upgrade, with the TVL hitting new all-time highs on several days so far in December. This signals that momentum and interest in the project are increasing.

Total value locked on DeFiChain. Source: Defi Llama

DeFi aggregators like Defi Llama and DappRadar allow users to dive deeper into the data and look at the statistics for different blockchain networks such as the TVL on the Ethereum Network or Binance Smart Chain, as well as by individual projects like Curve and Trader Joe.

Protocols with a higher TVL tend to be more secure and trusted by the community, while projects that rank lower on the list generally carry more risk and tend to have less active communities.

Identify who the majority token holders are

Other factors to take into consideration are the benefits that token hodlers receive for holding and being active in the community. Investors should also look into the manner in which the token was launched and who the dominant token holders currently are.

For example, SushiSwap allows users to stake the native token SUSHI on the platform to receive a portion of the exchange fees generated, whereas Uniswap, the top decentralized exchange (DEX) in DeFi, currently offers no such feature.

While other factors like trading volume and daily users have made Uniswap a legitimate investment for many holders, some traders prefer to hold SUSHI because of its revenue-sharing model and multichain trading capabilities.

On the flip side, caution is warranted when excessive yields are offered for low liquidity, anonymously-run protocols with little community activity because this can be the perfect setup for catastrophic losses. In DeFi, these are called rug pulls, and typically they occur after a large amount of money has been deposited onto smart contracts controlled by a single anonymous party.

Examining the token distribution for the protocol, as well as keeping an eye on the percentage of tokens allocated to the developers and founders vs. the tokens held by the community can give some useful signal on whether a platform could fall victim to a rug pull or the whimsy of mercenary capital.

If most of the available supply is held by the creators and backers, there is always going to be a chance that these tokens will later be sold at market rate if or when early investors choose to exit their position.

A Big Owner Sold His Namesake CryptoPunk for over $10M worth of ETH

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A Big Owner Sold His Namesake CryptoPunk for over $10M worth of ETH

Discontent swirls around Larva Labs’ leading NFT avatar collection as one prominent holder bows out with an eight-figure sale.

  • Some CryptoPunks NFT holders are frustrated with Larva Labs over a lack of communication, licensing guidance, and community engagement.
  • One notable owner, Punk4156, sold his namesake CryptoPunk for over $10.25 million worth of ETH yesterday.

Larva Labs’ CryptoPunks are the O.G. Ethereum NFT profile picture (PFP) collection, yielding more than $1.75 billion worth of trading volume to date, including dozens of million-dollar sales. It’s the ultimate in Twitter cachet, with crypto personalities plus celebrities like Snoop Dogg and Jay Z using them—but some of the shine may be wearing off.

As the market increasingly shifts towards NFTs with utility or additional perks, some collectors see CryptoPunks as a relic. Licensing and commercial usage by NFT holders remains unclear for the project, in stark contrast to the rising Bored Ape Yacht Club, which lets users turn their owned Apes into music acts, brand ambassadors, and merchandise.

All the while, Larva Labs has been curiously quiet about Punks as their value surged this year, thus far not opting to layer in added benefits for holders or provide clear guidance on IP rights issues. Many CryptoPunks holders identify as their respective Punks and have built social media brands around the pixel PFPs, but discontent is on the rise.

Recent complaints about the ethos and utility of CryptoPunks came to a head yesterday when the pseudonymous collector Punk4156—a co-creator of Ethereum NFT project, Nouns—sold his titular NFT for 2,500 ETH, or more than $10.25 million. He told Decrypt today that it was “time to move on” following frustration over Larva Labs and the project’s future.

Will other prominent holders follow suit, and if so, will that diminish the allure of the Punks?

Rise of the Apes

There’s an apparent correlation between growing discontent around CryptoPunks and the rising prominence of its most popular successor, the Bored Ape Yacht Club. Yuga Labs’ collection of 10,000 Ethereum NFTs debuted in April and has skyrocketed in value since, with the cheapest available NFT now listed at 52 ETH on OpenSea, or about $205,000.

However, with Bored Apes, there’s value in more than just the original image itself. The Yacht Club bills itself as an exclusive community for holders, and the perks have been sizable.

Holders have received subsequent free Bored Ape Kennel Club and Mutant Ape Yacht Club NFTs, each valued at five figures or more, plus exclusive merchandise and access to an October concert featuring Beck, Chris Rock, and The Strokes during NFT.NYC. Some CryptoPunks holders grumbled on Twitter over Larva Labs’ lack of events that week.

For some holders, there’s an even larger opportunity around Bored Ape NFTs: Yuga Labs grants holders commercial rights to their individual ape illustrations. Now, music producer Timbaland and major label Universal Music Group have launched separate virtual bands based on Apes, Arizona Iced Tea has used its Ape for marketing, and other holders have made merchandise.

Why would companies and creators want to tap a Bored Ape for such purposes? The project has risen dramatically in value and allure since launch, especially in recent weeks as celebrities like Jimmy Fallon and Post Malone have “aped into” ownership. The Bored Ape Yacht Club brand has also partnered with apparel giant Adidas on a metaverse push.

It’s a cultural phenomenon that is expanding beyond the crypto world. Amid all of that, the Bored Apes’ star is rising: its price floor has jumped from 30 ETH a month ago to 52 ETH today. CryptoPunks, on the other hand, has seen a drop in the same span, from an entry-level price of about 80 ETH one month ago to about 68 ETH as of this writing.

While still immensely valuable (68 ETH is about $271,000), the value of floor CryptoPunks is falling, as is sentiment amongst some collectors. How much of that is due to the success of the Bored Ape Yacht Club is unclear, but the divergent price trends show a clear contrast of late.

A ‘glaring’ omission

More than four years after the CryptoPunks were first minted on Ethereum and the vast majority were given away free to the public (who only paid a gas fee), the question of copyright and commercial use of the NFT avatars remains unclear. Remember, this is an NFT collection that currently generates millions of dollars each day in trades.

Edward Lee, professor of law and director of program in intellectual property law at the Chicago-Kent College of Law, recently published a research paper attempting to clarify the question of what rights CryptoPunks owners have to their avatars.

“[When] Larva Labs first offered the CryptoPunks NFTs, Larva Labs’ webpage for the CryptoPunks didn’t discuss or provide a content license or the permissible terms of how buyers can use the CryptoPunks’ artwork or characters,” he wrote. “Today, such an omission is glaring.”

In January 2018, attorney Eric Adler—who registered the CryptoPunks’ copyright license—posted an article about attempting to reconcile the licensing confusion around the project. He recalled that Larva Labs co-founder John Watkinson reportedly “wanted each crypto-owner of a Punk to also be the copyright owner.”

However, that article is no longer published (an archived version is available), and Larva Labs has made no such public proclamations to that effect.

In 2019, Watkinson reportedly wrote in the CryptoPunks Discord channel that the company had adopted the NFT License created by Dapper Labs. The NFT License lets holders display the art and only use it for commercial purposes if it results in no more than $100,000 in revenue per year, but the holder cannot modify the artwork or use it to market third-party products.

On the Larva Labs website, the brief Terms and Conditions page for CryptoPunks does not include the NFT License stipulations or touch on copyright or commercial usage. By contrast, the company’s newest NFT project, Meebits, launched with a comprehensive Terms and Conditions page that digs into all of that in great detail. The Meebits license terms are similar in scope to those of the NFT License.

In August, Larva Labs signed a representation deal with Hollywood agency UTA to bring its properties to other entertainment formats. Furthermore, Larva has launched DMCA takedown requests against multiple derivative NFT projects this year.

The most notable example is CryptoPhunks, a self-proclaimed parody collection that flips the original Punks images to face left instead of right. Larva Labs successfully had Phunks removed from leading marketplace OpenSea, but trading volume has apparently grown as the Phunks community pushes back against the Punks creators.

Now with its own marketplace on notlarvalabs.com and using the Twitter handle notlarvalabs, the collection has purportedly generated more than $30 million in trading volume since being delisted from OpenSea, and marked a new top sale of 97 ETH (or $420,000) this week.

In an open letter to Larva Labs—which itself was sold as an NFT for $20,000 worth of ETH—the Phunks team chastised the original creators not only for providing unclear guidance about licensing terms for the NFTs, but also for going after derivative projects.

“It’s time for an awakening in the NFT community,” the letter reads. “It’s time to stand up for censorship resistance, for change beyond our pervasive Web2 systems, and for true decentralization. Phunks stand for these principles. What is truly punk cannot be stopped. Long live Phunks, on the blockchain, forever.”

Punk no more

Punk4156, as he’s been called for much of this year, purchased CryptoPunk #4156 for 650 ETH ($1.25 million) in February 2021. At the time, it was the largest-ever single CryptoPunks sale.

Like some other collectors (including Punk6529), he has built a brand and identity around his CryptoPunk, amassing more than 100,000 Twitter followers, being immortalized in Beeple artwork, and co-founding the Nouns NFT project.

4156 told Decrypt today that he “thought it would be fun” to build a brand around the avatar of a bandana-wearing ape—one of the rarest images in the bunch. The commercialization aspect was unclear when he purchased the NFT, he explained. 4156 suggested that he tried to engage with Watkinson on the copyright topic, but was ignored and unfollowed on Twitter.

Between Larva’s DMCA takedown notices for derivative projects and the media representation deal with UTA, 4156 gradually became disillusioned with Larva’s emerging position.

“Over that time, it became clear to me that there was probably no chance that I would ever own the rights to the thing that I was building,” he said. “It’s just kind of an illogical position to continue building your brand around something over which you don’t have the strongest claim.”

Nouns is at the forefront of the emerging open-source IP movement in NFTs. With a Creative Commons CC0 license attached, anyone can create derivatives and commercialize the Nouns IP as they please, even if they don’t own one of the NFTs. Nouns is now attempting to build a creative studio around the concept with Uglydoll co-creator David Horvath.

Such CC0 projects, including CrypToadz, are entirely in the public domain. The idea is that spinoffs and derivatives will only accrue value back to the original work. It’s a position ripe for the era of internet memes, which 4156 and other advocates believe dovetails perfectly with provably scarce and verifiable digital assets in the form of NFTs collectibles.

Some fellow CryptoPunks owners find that idea radical, however. As 4156 and other notable owners have shared frustrations around Larva Labs in recent weeks, the Twitter discourse has turned adversarial at times. One collector, artist Claire Silver, tweeted that it was “terrifying to post” her view on the NFT copyright debate due to fear of blowback.

4156 told Decrypt that he believes that there’s “nothing at all radical about CC0,” and that it “embodies all of the same great things that we love about cryptocurrency,” but for culture.

Still, many CryptoPunks holders disagree with the notion that the collection needs to provide additional incentives, or allow owners to extensively commercialize the images. “The CryptoPunks don’t have to do anything but exist,” Twitter user Tycoon wrote.

“CryptoPunks are the Wright Brothers airplane of NFTs,” wrote DeFi Pulse co-founder Scott Lewis on Twitter. “Not literally the first non-fungible token ever attempted, but the first non-fungible token that ever flew. And they inspired a movement that is redefining the idea of art. Maybe you don’t care about owning that. I do.”

Ultimately, given the perceived philosophical differences with Larva Labs, 4156 felt compelled to minimize his exposure to Punks and move on. He sold several other CryptoPunks last week and originally planned to keep #4156, but eventually changed his mind after initially “ripping the band-aid off, so to speak” with the earlier batch, he said.

Yesterday, he parted with his NFT namesake, initially offering it up on Twitter for 3,500 ETH before ultimately selling for 2,500 ETH ($10.26 million), with the buyer as yet unrevealed. It’s the largest CryptoPunks sale (in USD) using Larva Labs’ on-chain trading platform, although there was an $11.8 million off-chain sale via auction house Sotheby’s in July.

He plans to focus his energy on Nouns going forward and may keep the “4156” number while dropping the “Punk” from his Twitter handle. “The number became special because of the time I spent building a brand with it, and I’d like to pay homage to that in some way,” he explained.

Larva’s move?

Whether 4156’s move ultimately inspires other high-profile CryptoPunks owners to bow out remains to be seen. However, there’s still contention amongst collectors over the Punks’ role in the growing NFT scene, Larva Labs’ current level of interaction, and whether the project should confer additional or expanded rights upon holders.

“I love the history of the project and everything that it stands for but am [starting] to feel more isolated as things move forward,” tweeted Manifold co-founder Richerd Chen, who turned down a $9.5 million offer for his own CryptoPunks NFT in October. He added yesterday that both he and 4156 made “decisions based on our ideals.”

EthHub co-founder Eric Conner offered a recent perspective on the situation that was co-signed by notable NFT artist FVCKRENDER, among others, suggesting that CryptoPunks holders deserve to take over IP ownership for making the project valuable and meaningful.

“I don’t think Punks need to sell out, have a roadmap, or compete with other NFTs in a clout measuring contest,” he tweeted. “However, I do think Larva Labs should turn over the license and IP to the community. Let those who got it here take over.”

Cardano Price Continues to Remain Range-Bound/ ADA Price Analysis

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ADA price continues to remain range-bound
  • Cardano-powered community media launchpad Flickto accompanies media financing to the masses.
  • ADA price continues to remain range-bound despite the growing impetus to the network.

The sixth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization is making rounds in the crypto town. As the platform’s use cases escalate to greater highs, alongside the initiatives that continue to reinforce the protocol. The buzz has been harvesting the interest and curiosity of enthusiasts in the crypto fraternity.

Projects built on the Cardano blockchain are flourishing at an accelerating rate. Projects like ADAlend, and community media launchpad Flickto have been raging ahead, instilling the faith of the masses in the Cardano blockchain. However, the price of ADA remains unaffected by the catalysts fueling the blockchain.

Reactants Triggering Cardano 

  Cardano-powered community media launchpad Flickto accompanies media financing to the masses. Flickto allows ADA users to find media projects in return for a reward. Flickto also provides financing to creators and artists through pools funded by investors. 

ADAlend a decentralized lending protocol on the Cardano blockchain. Makes use of Cardano’s smart contracts to ease out the nerve-wracking process of loans. The protocol needs no prerequisites in order to contend in the lending operation. Anyone can deposit any amount and receive the associated APY value set by the protocol in share tokens. 

The blockchain’s first ERC-20 converter AGIX goes live on Cardano testnet. In the initial testnet version, users can move singularity NET’s AGIX tokens to Cardano and back to Ethereum via the permissioned bridge. AGIX is a major step towards interoperability betwixt blockchain to establish a functional environment for De-Fi. In addition, Plutus based smart contracts have been on a steep incline.

Cardano (ADA) Price

  ADA price at the time of press is trading at $1.26 while registering dips of 5.7%. The market capitalization of ADA is hovering at about $40,421,061,648. While the volume of trades around the clock is at $1,522,024,347.

Cardano’s price has been trading in the bandwidth from the lows of $1.26 to the highs of 1.34. The ATH of ADA is currently far from sight at $3.09, the current price falls short by 59.1% from the ATH. From the charts, the steady downfall is clearly evident that. ADA price could further plunge to the clutches of bears at levels around $1 if the bulls fail to yank the price from the current trend.

Collectively, Cardano has been on a treacherous cycle ever since the Alonzo hard fork upgrade. The stimulants have been ineffective in triggering the price surge of ADA. Netizens have been awaiting major upgrades in the protocol, which could help the network retrieve the lost shares. Hopefully, with the commencement of 2022, Cardano would rise from its shadows.  

Ethereum, Bitcoin and Altcoin Analysis

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Bitcoin, Ethereum And Altcoins Price Analysis

BTC

Bitcoin (BTC) had been following an ascending support line since the beginning of July. On Dec 4, it broke down from the loine and proceeded to reach a low of $42,000. 

However, it bounced shortly afterwards and validated the line as resistance (red icon). The line also coincides with the 0.382 Fib retracement resistance level at $52,450. 

Until it manages to reclaim it, the trend cannot be considered bullish.

Chart By TradingView

ETH

Unlike BTC, Ethereum (ETH) is still following its ascending support line. The Dec 4 fall only caused a validation of this line and created a long lower wick (green icon). This is considered a sign of buying pressure.

Therefore, the price movement of ETH is more bullish than that of BTC and could eventually move towards a new all-time high price.

Chart By TradingView

XRP

XRP (XRP) has been decreasing since Sept 5. However, the movement was contained inside a descending parallel channel. This is considered a corrective pattern, meaning that a breakout would be expected the majority of the time. 

On Dec 4, XRP bounced above the support line of the channel. 

While it has yet to initiate a considerable upward movement, the bullish structure remains intact as long as XRP is trading inside this channel.

Chart By TradingView

AXS

Axie Infinity (AXS) had been trading inside an ascending parallel channel since Oct 4. However, it broke down from it on Dec 4 and validated it as resistance (red icon) four days later.

However, AXS bounced once it reached the $93.15 support, which is both a horizontal support area and the 0.618 Fib retracement support level. 

As long as it is trading above this level, the possibility of a short-term bounce remains.

Chart By TradingView

XTZ

Tezos (XTZ) has been falling since Oct 4, when it reached an all-time high price of $9.17. The downward movement has so far led to a low of $3.22, which was reached on Dec 4. 

During the decrease, XTZ broke down from an ascending support line. 

However, it bounced on Dec 4 and validated the $3.80 area as support. Currently, it is attempting to move above the $6.05 resistance area (red icon). Doing so could accelerate the rate of increase.

Chart By TradingView

EOS

EOS (EOS) has been falling since Sept 6. Initially, the downward movement was halted close to the $3.30 hoirzontal area. However, EOS broke down on Dec 4.

However, EOS has reclaimed the area since. Is successful in holding above it, it would render the previous decrease as only a deviation. 

This would be a bullish development that often leads to bullish trend reversals.

Chart By TradingView

NEAR

Near Protocol (NEAR) has been falling since Oct 26, when it reached an all-time high price of $13.22. The decrease led to a low of $6.20 on Dec 4. 

However, the token bounced afterwards and validated the $7.20 area as support. This is a crucial level, since it previously acted as the all-time high resistance. 

As long as NEAR is trading above it, the trend can still be considered bullish.

Chart By TradingView