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Author: BTCLFGTEAM

  • CEEK VR gains 100%+ as push toward virtual reality and Metaverse development intensifies

    CEEK VR gains 100%+ as push toward virtual reality and Metaverse development intensifies

    Nonfungible tokens (NFTs), decentralized finance (DeFi) and the Metaverse are three of the hottest trending topics in the cryptocurrency ecosystem and each is helping the world slowly move toward the mass adoption of blockchain technology. 

    One project looking to capitalize on these trends is CEEK VR (CEEK), a entertainment and creator-focused platform aiming to use virtual worlds to connect music artists, athletes and digital content creators with their fans.

    Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that since trading at a low of $0.289 on March 15, the price of CEEK has gained 123% to hit a daily high of $0.646 on April 7 as its 24-hour trading volume spiked 178% to $90 million.

    CEEK/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView

    Three reasons for the climbing price of CEEK include being featured in the gift lounge at the Grammy awards, deeper integration with the BNB Smart Chain (BSC) and several new cryptocurrency exchange listings.

    Major partnerships and a booth at the Grammy’s

    CEEK hosted a booth in the gift lounge at the 2022 Grammy and this may have provided a new level of exposure for the project since a number of influencers and music fans would have visited the pop up.

    Hosting the booth was made possible through CEEK VR’s partnership with Universal Music, which grants the protocol the rights to live performances for many popular artists including Lady Gaga, Bon Jovi, U2, Sting and Ziggy Marley.

    The project is also partnered with Meta Oculus, Apple and Microsoft, which are three of the biggest names working on the development of virtual reality (VR) technology. In future, this partnership could expand access to VR headsets beyond the protocol’s native CEEK VR headset.

    Integration with BNB Smart Chain

    A second factor helping attract more attention to CEEK has been its integration with the BNB Smart Chain ecosystem and the recent addition of cross-chain support in late 2021.

    CEEK originally launched on the Ethereum (ETH) network but the high-cost of conducting transactions on the network was hampering adoption, especially in terms of making micropayments for streaming content usage, tracking and artist payments.

    Since launching support for the BSC, CEEK has been selected for the BNB Chain MBVIV Incubation Program which provides the protocol with a series of incubation events, mentorship and community support.

    New exchange listings

    A third development backing CEEK’s rally is new exchange listings on Huobi Global and KuCoin.

    While trading for CEEK doesn’t begin until April 8 on both platforms, the announcements have led to a spike in demand for the token because users tend to accumulate tokens before any significant exchange listing.

    The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

  • Solana v Waves – Which one to buy the dip?

    Solana v Waves – Which one to buy the dip?

    Solana has much better news now and makes for a better buy.

    • Solana seems to have recovered from the negativity that followed its 2021 network outages. 

    • Waves has been hit by rumors of it being a Ponzi scheme when the market is yet to emerge from the bear trend fully. 

    • Solana has better prospects than Waves in the short term. 

    Solana (SOL/USD) is a smart platform blockchain that has grown in popularity for its high speed and low transaction speeds. Before the cryptocurrency correction of the last two days, Solana had started outpacing most of the other top 10 cryptocurrencies in gains. This is an indicator that investors are getting more confident in Solana’s future growth after a series of network outages towards the end of 2021. Given the heavy investments that are going into Solana NFTs, Solana’s growth prospects look good. 

    Waves (WAVES/USD), on its part, is also a smart contracts platform that has grown in popularity for its use cases in DeFi. A few weeks back, Waves outperformed most cryptocurrencies by a huge margin. Following the sanctions, this followed speculation that it was a Russian project and that Russians would use it to transact and protect against wealth erosion. However, Waves has dropped harder than average in the last few days as fast as it gained. This follows rumors that it could be a Ponzi scheme. 

    Which one to buy the dip

    While Solana and Waves are high-potential cryptocurrencies and will recover from this dip, Solana has better prospects. One of the reasons why Solana has better odds is that it has a much bigger ecosystem of projects building on top of it. Solana also has a lot more hype, especially among institutional investors, which could play well in its favor as bulls return to the market.

    Waves is a much smaller chain and aren’t as well-known as Solana. Besides, after the recent rumors of it being a Ponzi, Waves could take longer to gain traction since the market is highly volatile.

    Summary 

    Both Solana and Waves are high-potential smart contract blockchains. However, following a negative rumor about Waves, Solana could be a better buy in the short term. This makes SOL a better buy in the current cryptocurrency market dip.

  • Solana risks 35% price crash with SOL price chart ‘megaphone’ pattern

    Solana risks 35% price crash with SOL price chart ‘megaphone’ pattern

    Solana (SOL) risks crashing 35% in the coming days as it comes closer to painting a so-called “megaphone” pattern.

    SOL price “megaphone” pattern

    In detail, megaphone setups consist of a minimum of lower lows and two higher highs and form during a period of high market volatility. But generally, these patterns consist of five consecutive swings, with the final one typically acting as a breakout signal.

    SOL has been sketching a similar pattern since the beginning of 2022, with the coin undergoing a pullback after testing the megaphone’s upper trendline near $140 as resistance — the fourth wing.

    As a result of the pattern, the Solana token could extend its decline to test the megaphone’s lower trendline as support near $65, about 35% below today’s price. 

    Could SOL crash further?

    If this scenario plays out, SOL could crash further after forming the fifth swing on its prevailing megaphone structure. While finding a perfect downside target in case of a breakout is tricky, traders typically select it by measuring the distance between the two trendlines from the point the lower one breaks and book profits when the price reaches 50-60% of that distance.

    SOL/USD weekly price chart featuring ‘megaphone’ breakout scenario. Source: TradingView

    A bearish breakout risks putting SOL’s price en route to nearly $40 in the coming weeks.

    A pullback scenario

    On the other hand, SOL’s bearish megaphone setup could fall short of achieving its breakout target as its price holds above a flurry of concrete support levels.

    These levels include SOL’s 50-week exponential moving average (50-week EMA; the red wave) and an upward sloping trendline (the black line) that have served as accumulation zones for traders, as shown in the chart below.

    As a result, an early pullback from 50-week EMA could invalidate the megaphone scenario.

    SOL/USD weekly price chart featuring 50-week EMA and rising trendline support. Source: TradingView

    Suppose the price falls below the 50-week EMA, only to seek a bounce from rising trendline support. In that case, it could confirm the presence of a “rising wedge” or “bear flag” setup in conjugation with the megaphone pattern’s upper trendline — again a bearish setup.

    SOL/USD weekly price chart featuring bear flag/rising wedge scenario. Source: TradingView

    The rising wedge’s downside target appears to be near $60 after measuring the maximum distance between its upper and lower trendline (about $40) and subtracting it from the potential breakout point near $100.

    Related: Profit taking and Bitcoin consolidation give bears an opportunity to take control

    Meanwhile, the bear flag’s downside target is near $30 after calculating the height of its previous uptrend (about $60) and subtracting it from the potential breakout point near $90.

    The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

  • Altcoin Roundup: Interoperability push puts attention back on Polkadot

    Altcoin Roundup: Interoperability push puts attention back on Polkadot

    The Polkadot ecosystem sorely underperformed compared to other layer-1 networks in 2021, while the slow roll-out of parachain auctions and mainnet launches left the network playing catch-up in 2021.

    It appears that this trend came to an end in mid-March when numerous projects in the Polkadot ecosystem saw their prices climb higher after users began to engage with networks that expanded their offerings and made a push toward Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatibility.

    DOT, GLMR, ACA, ASTR, SAITO, CFG and KYL in USDT pairs. Source: TradingView

    Here’s a look at six top moving protocols in the Polkadot ecosystem that are helping to establish a presence in the cryptocurrency market.

    Interoperability is the key

    Interoperability has been one of the driving themes of the cryptocurrency market for the past year, and Moonbeam (GMLR) and Astar (ASTR) are two Polkadot parachains focused on bringing multichain compatibility with Ethereum other networks.

    Moonbeam is a smart contract parachain aiming to make it easier to use Ethereum developer tools to build or redeploy Solidity projects in Polkadot’s substrate-based environment.

    It was the first parachain to go live on the Polkadot mainnet and plans to bring on-chain governance, staking and cross-chain integration to the base Ethereum feature set.

    Astar is a decentralized application (DApp) hub that supports a variety of standards including Ethereum, WebAssembly (WASM) and layer-2 solutions like zk-Rollups. The goal of the protocol is to become a multichain smart contract platform capable of supporting multiple blockchain networks and virtual machines.

    Since its launch in late January, the Astar network has seen the total value locked on the protocol hit a high of $1.47 billion, and the metric currently sits at $1.31 billion, according to data from DefiLlama.

    Total value locked on Astar. Source: DefiLlama

    Moonbeam and Astar provide an important service to the Polkadot ecosystem as the Polkadot Relay Chain does not support smart contracts.

    Polkadot’s DeFi ecosystem is still in its infancy

    The decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem on Polkadot has started to gain traction, thanks to new developments from Acala and Centrifuge.

    Acala has filled an important role in Polkadot’s DeFi ecosystem by bringing the network its first native stablecoin — aUSD.

    Stablecoins have become a fundamental piece of the underlying DeFi infrastructure and the addition of aUSD brings a decentralized stablecoin to market that is collateralized by Polkadot (DOT), DOT derivatives and eventually, by cross-chain assets like Bitcoin (BTC) or Ether (ETH).

    With Acala and aUSD, the Polkadot ecosystem has now joined the likes of Terra, Frax Share and Curve Finance in the ongoing “stablecoin wars” that have become a dominant theme in the evolution of DeFi.

    Centrifuge is a decentralized asset financing protocol designed to bridge the real world with DeFi through the tokenization of assets like invoices, real estate and royalties.

    The main objectives of the protocol are to help users generate profits that are not tied to cryptocurrency assets, lower the cost of capital for small mid-size enterprises and provide investors with a stable source of income.

    With Centrifuge, companies are able to use tokenized real assets as collateral to access financing on the DApp lending protocol Tinlake.

    Acala and Centrifuge are taking part in the $250 million “aUSD Ecosystem Fund” that was launched on March 23, shortly before the Polkadot ecosystem began to trend higher.

    Web3 pivot catalyzes growth

    Web3 is another buzzword trending across the crypto ecosystem, and the term is really just a fancy term for the integration of blockchain technology with the internet.

    Saito and Kylin are two protocols in the Polkadot ecosystem that are focused on facilitating the evolution of Web3 through scalability and data management.

    Saito is a blockchain network designed to process Terabytes of data by paying rewards to nodes in the peer-to-peer (P2P) network, instead of using miners or staking, as its method of delivering a permissionless and scalable network.

    This functionality is needed to one day power decentralized versions of popular sites that currently hold a monopoly in Web2, like Twitter, Facebook and Amazon.

    As for data management in the Polkadot ecosystem, Kylin has led the charge by providing a decentralized data infrastructure solution known as DeData for Web3. The Kylin ecosystem consists of a data oracle, data analytics and a data marketplace.

    Kylin data analytics is a set of tools designed for data warehouses that extract meaningful data findings, patterns and interpretation, all while implementing low-cost commercialization functionalities for the public.

    The Kylin data oracle is an advanced decentralized data feeding protocol that is capable of processing any type of data on- and off-chain in a validated way.

    Want more information about trading and investing in crypto markets?

    The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

  • Top 3 crypto assets to buy for a 1-year investment strategy

    Top 3 crypto assets to buy for a 1-year investment strategy

    Long-term investments in crypto can help you unlock a lot of value. With increased volatility in the market, it can be hard finding coins that give you the promise of superb long-term growth. But there are a few coins that you can check out. Here is why long term investing in crypto makes a lot of sense:

    • Long term strategies help you avoid the hectic daily volatility in crypto

    • Many crypto projects will need a year or so for the real value to come

    • Holding assets for a year can give you better control of your crypto portfolio.

    Well, in case you are searching for coins to invest in as part of a long term investment strategy in crypto, here are some options:

    FTX Token (FTT)

    The FTX Token (FTT) is the native token of the FTX exchange, one of the largest platforms for trading crypto derivatives and other assets. The FTX exchange has seen a sharp increase in trade volume over the years. 

    Data Source: Tradingview

    It is also opening up new offices in new regions, including the middle east and others. As long as the widespread acceptance of crypto keeps growing, FTX will see increased trade volume and a lot of value. This makes the coin a good option for a long-term play.

    Aave (AAVE)

    It is also nice to have some investments in DeFi since this is one area in crypto that will explode in the near term. Aave (AAVE) is a leading DeFi protocol and offers incredible underlying fundamentals. It is one of the projects that is going to fully unlock DeFi, so you cannot afford to miss out.

    Gala Games (GALA)

    Gala Games (GALA) is hoping to become the go to chain for GameFi. Blockchain gaming is going to also become a huge part of the crypto project. As an investor, getting your money in this space is huge, and GALA gives you the chance to do it.

  • Crypto gems: These 3 undervalued altcoins could be worth a fortune in the future

    Crypto gems: These 3 undervalued altcoins could be worth a fortune in the future

    Please be aware that some of the links on this site will direct you to the websites of third parties, some of whom are marketing affiliates and/or business partners of this site and/or its owners, operators and affiliates. We may receive financial compensation from these third parties. Notwithstanding any such relationship, no responsibility is accepted for the conduct of any third party nor the content or functionality of their websites or applications. A hyperlink to or positive reference to or review of a broker or exchange should not be understood to be an endorsement of that broker or exchange’s products or services.

    Risk Warning: Investing in digital currencies, stocks, shares and other securities, commodities, currencies and other derivative investment products (e.g. contracts for difference (“CFDs”) is speculative and carries a high level of risk. Each investment is unique and involves unique risks.

    CFDs and other derivatives are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how an investment works and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

    Cryptocurrencies can fluctuate widely in prices and are, therefore, not appropriate for all investors. Trading cryptocurrencies is not supervised by any EU regulatory framework. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Any trading history presented is less than 5 years old unless otherwise stated and may not suffice as a basis for investment decisions. Your capital is at risk.

    When trading in stocks your capital is at risk.

    Past performance is not an indication of future results. Trading history presented is less than 5 years old unless otherwise stated and may not suffice as a basis for investment decisions. Prices may go down as well as up, prices can fluctuate widely, you may be exposed to currency exchange rate fluctuations and you may lose all of or more than the amount you invest. Investing is not suitable for everyone; ensure that you have fully understood the risks and legalities involved. If you are unsure, seek independent financial, legal, tax and/or accounting advice. This website does not provide investment, financial, legal, tax or accounting advice. Some links are affiliate links. For more information please read our full risk warning and disclaimer.

  • Shiba Inu (SHIB) could double your money in the near term – Here is why

    Shiba Inu (SHIB) could double your money in the near term – Here is why

    Doubling your investment in crypto is not always that hard, especially when you are talking about meme coins like Shiba Inu (SHIB). But for all its glory back in 2021, SHIB has actually fallen sharply this year albeit we saw some recovery at the end of March. But the coin has the potential for doubling your money. You will see why below but first, check out these important takeaways:

    • Shiba Inu appears to be sitting within a significant demand zone.

    • The coin could break out in a decisive bullish run with 100% gains.

    • SHIB also remains above strong support with very low downside risk

    Data Source: Tradingview 

    Can SHIB actually deliver 2x in the near term?

    Yes, the chart appears to show that there is a setup for 100% gains. Right now, SHIB has entered a crucial demand zone of between $0.0000235 to $0.0000263. This has actually happened before in late February, and once SHIB broke, it went on to rally by a huge margin. 

    The most conservative estimate will be a 38% upswing this time round. But where will the 100% rise come from? Well, you see SHIB is also sitting above a very strong support zone. This means that the risk of steep corrections is minimal. 

    For this reason, it is likely that SHIB will swing by around 40%. After that, a small correction will come where SHIB will pull back slightly before rising again. In the end, it’s conceivable that the price will double in the near term.

    Is it time to get SHIB?

    Well, Shiba Inu will break out sooner or later. It, therefore, makes sense to start accumulating these coins within this demand zone. 

    From a long-term point of view, SHIB remains a bit risker due to uncertainty over long-term investor sentiment. But considering that it has fallen sharply from its 2021 ATHs, it could be a great time to buy the meme coin at a discount.

  • xASTRO staking and upcoming ‘Terra wars’ send Astroport price to new highs

    xASTRO staking and upcoming ‘Terra wars’ send Astroport price to new highs

    Projects that launch on up-and-coming blockchain networks can often benefit from a low competition environment that allows them to attract  new users and liquidity at a faster rate than crowded networks like Ethereum. 

    A recent example of this is Astroport (ASTRO), an automated market maker (AMM) on the Terra (LUNA) network that has seen an influx of activity alongside the increased attention that is being focused on the Terra ecosystem and its Terra USD (UST) stablecoin. .

    Data from CoinGecko shows that since hitting a low of $1.28 on March 7, the price of ASTRO has exploded 194% to hit a new all-time high of $4.80 on April 5.

    ASTRO/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView

    Three reasons for the price appreciation seen in ASTRO include the increased attention the Terra ecosystem has received related to the recent Bitcoin (BTC) purchases to back UST, the launch of xASTRO staking rewards and a rise in the total value locked on the protocol.

    Terra buys Bitcoin as collateral for UST

    The rising popularity of the Terra network could be one of the most significant factors helping to attract attention and users to Astroport as the ongoing purchase of BTC by the Luna Foundation Guard (LFG) for the purpose of providing collateral to back UST is shining a light on the networks decentralized finance ecosystem.

    UST is now the largest decentralized stablecoin by circulating supply and following the addition of BTC to the LFG treasury, Astroport is the main AMM currently in operation on the network.

    Launch of xASTRO

    A second development helping to boost demand for ASTRO was the release of xASTRO staking that offers ASTRO holders a way to increase their stack.

    ASTRO staking statistics. Source: Astroport

    ASTRO stakers can currently earn an APY of 48.77% for staking their tokens on the protocol and 0.1% of all trading fees on Astroport are distributed to ASTRO stakers. More than 65% of the available supply of ASTRO is currently being staked on the protocol which helps put positive pressure on the price of ASTRO due to a reduced circulating supply amid the increasing demand.

    Along with a high APY and fee share, ASTRO stakers receive xASTRO in return. xASTRO is the governance token for the protocol and it allows holders to help contribute to future decisions involving the development of Astroport. ASTRO tokens can be un-staked at any time without a cool-down period.

    Related: Biggest future BTC whale explains why Bitcoin was chosen for ‘decentralized Forex reserve’

    Terra liquidity wars and a rising TVL

    The increased attention on Terra and subsequently Astroport led to an increase in the total value locked on Astroport, which is currently at a record-high $1.71 billion according to data from Defi Llama.

    Total value locked on Astroport. Source: Defi Llama

    The increase in demand for both ASTRO and UST has given rise to the “Terra liquidity wars,” which are expected to mirror the Curve wars that have been taking place within the stablecoin ecosystem on the Ethereum network.

    Similar to the competition for liquidity direction and fees on Curve Finance, DeFi protocol Retrograde is positioning itself as a Convex Finance clone that aims to accumulate xASTRO for the rewards and the ability to influence the emission rates for different Astroport pools.

    If the number of protocols looking to accumulate xASTRO increases, more of the circulating supply of ASTRO will be locked and this is likely to place more buy pressure on ASTRO price.

    The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

  • Bitcoin plumbs April lows as US dollar strength hits highest since May 2020

    Bitcoin plumbs April lows as US dollar strength hits highest since May 2020

    Bitcoin (BTC) neared new price lows for April on April 8’s Wall Street open amid a fresh surge in the U.S. dollar.

    BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView

    $43,000 hangs in the balance

    Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView captured another day of gloom for BTC bulls as the largest cryptocurrency slipped back under $43,000.

    In a classic move, BTC/USD reacted unfavorably to a resurgent dollar, with the U.S. dollar currency index (DXY) returning above 100 for the first time since May 2020.

    Coming on the back of tightening measures from the Federal Reserve, the greenback also spelled a headache for stocks, which opened down on the day.

    U.S. dollar currency index (DXY) 1-week candle chart. Source: TradingView

    While some considered the DXY event a temporary show of strength, its impact on crypto markets was clear to see, exacerbating an already wavering recovery from months of downside.

    “Now the bullish chart is getting confirmation, which tells me we are closer to the end of this bull leg on DXY,” popular analyst Aksel Kibar told Twitter followers as a part of his comments.

    For Cointelegraph contributor Michaël van de Poppe, the area between spot price and $40,000 was crucial to hold to preserve Bitcoin’s uptrend.

    Beyond the dollar, Bitcoin was also struggling against another resurgent currency just weeks after hitting all-time highs against it.

    The Russian ruble, fresh off record lows against all major world currencies, returned with a vengeance over the week, on April 8 beating its 2022 best in USD terms.

    BTC/RUB traded at 3.46 million at the time of writing, its lowest since Feb. 27 and 34% below its record. 

    BTC/RUB 1-day candle chart (Binance). Source: TradingView

    LUNA brings up the rear on major altcoins

    On altcoins, Ether (ETH) was a rare island of calm on the day as many of the top ten cryptocurrencies by market cap showed signs of strain.

    Related: Bitcoin trader eyes $38K dip as Cathie Wood confirms $1M BTC price target by 2030

    ETH/USD traded flat at $3,220, limiting weekly losses after some impressive levels were reclaimed.

    A notable weak performer on the daily chart was Terra (LUNA), down 6% at the time of writing, despite the buzz behind its issuer’s stablecoin backing plans.

    LUNA/USD 1-day candle chart (Binance). Source: TradingView

    Near Protocol (NEAR), also planning to release an algorithmic stablecoin, saw considerable upside over the past 24 hours after raising $350 million.

    The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

  • April Shopping list: 3 altcoins to consider right now

    April Shopping list: 3 altcoins to consider right now

    As we start a brand-new month, the crypto market has looked quite good in recent weeks. Investor sentiment is now very positive, and we are starting to see most coins recover the losses at the beginning of the year. So, April is shaping up as a good buyer’s market, and here is why:

    • Most coins have bullish outlooks in the near and medium-term

    • The fears surrounding the conflict in Eastern Europe and fed rate hikes are now priced in.

    • Investors are ending the wait-and-see attitude and jumping back into the market.

    With these factors in mind, we thought it would be great to create a list of possible altcoins that you can consider this April. Here it is:

    Hedera (HBAR)

    Hedera (HBAR) was one of the top-performing coins in the last two weeks of March. But we have seen a sharp fall ever since. This could suggest that the coin has in fact gone through the correction you would expect after a major rally.

    Downside risks are therefore relatively low compared to other coins. For this reason, HBAR is a decent buy for April, and with improved sentiment in the market, it’s only a matter of time before it resumes its bull run.

    Waves (WAVES)

    Just like HBAR, Waves (WAVES) has also seen a substantial correction after an unprecedented rally. The coin has in fact lost around 46% over the last 7 days. Although this is not always a good sign, it’s still an expected outcome given the kind of rally we saw with WAVES.

    Nexo (NEXO)

    The good thing about Nexo (NEXO) is the fact that it’s been quite steady in recent weeks. Although the coin has surged upwards, it appears to be consolidating gains, and we have not seen any major sharp fall. This could suggest that there is more potential for more positive gains.