Category: TRENDING

  • 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.

  • PancakeSwap (CAKE) can flip this resistance to support – Here is why this is a huge deal

    PancakeSwap (CAKE) can flip this resistance to support – Here is why this is a huge deal

    PancakeSwap (CAKE) has shown remarkable strength heading into April. The coin added nearly 60% of its value in the last two weeks or so. If this rise continues, CAKE could in fact flip a crucial overhead resistance zone into support. This will be a huge deal. Here are some of the details:

    • CAKE has faced major resistance around $11 as it looks to maintain its upward trend.

    • The coin has been rejected severally at that price and has since fallen sharply

    • CAKE is likely going to try and target $11 in the coming days.

    Data Source: TradingView 

    PancakeSwap (CAKE) – Can $11 become support?

    If bulls are able to transform the $11 resistance into support, then CAKE has the potential of seeing a major bullish breakout. The DEX coin has tried severally to break past this zone over the last few days but has been rejected firmly. 

    As a result, CAKE has fallen sharply in fact, it was down nearly 13% over the last 24 hours. We expect CAKE bulls to try and retest the $11 mark in the days ahead. If indeed they are successful in smashing past it, then we could see the token hit $15 in the near term. 

    This will be a gain of nearly 90% from its current price. But if $11 becomes a bridge too far for the coin, CAKE will likely fall back to $8.32 or thereabout before the next bull run.

    Should you buy CAKE now?

    Well, as a rule, you don’t want to buy any coin when it’s very close to resistance. The downside risks are just very high. A good play here will be to wait and see if the $11 is breached. 

    If this happens, then you can buy in and ride the wave. Also, if CAKE is rejected at $11 again, wait for the pullback and enter at $6 or thereabout.

  • PancakeSwap (CAKE) can flip this resistance to support – Here is why this is a huge deal

    PancakeSwap (CAKE) can flip this resistance to support – Here is why this is a huge deal

    PancakeSwap (CAKE) has shown remarkable strength heading into April. The coin added nearly 60% of its value in the last two weeks or so. If this rise continues, CAKE could in fact flip a crucial overhead resistance zone into support. This will be a huge deal. Here are some of the details:

    • CAKE has faced major resistance around $11 as it looks to maintain its upward trend.

    • The coin has been rejected severally at that price and has since fallen sharply

    • CAKE is likely going to try and target $11 in the coming days.

    Data Source: TradingView 

    PancakeSwap (CAKE) – Can $11 become support?

    If bulls are able to transform the $11 resistance into support, then CAKE has the potential of seeing a major bullish breakout. The DEX coin has tried severally to break past this zone over the last few days but has been rejected firmly. 

    As a result, CAKE has fallen sharply in fact, it was down nearly 13% over the last 24 hours. We expect CAKE bulls to try and retest the $11 mark in the days ahead. If indeed they are successful in smashing past it, then we could see the token hit $15 in the near term. 

    This will be a gain of nearly 90% from its current price. But if $11 becomes a bridge too far for the coin, CAKE will likely fall back to $8.32 or thereabout before the next bull run.

    Should you buy CAKE now?

    Well, as a rule, you don’t want to buy any coin when it’s very close to resistance. The downside risks are just very high. A good play here will be to wait and see if the $11 is breached. 

    If this happens, then you can buy in and ride the wave. Also, if CAKE is rejected at $11 again, wait for the pullback and enter at $6 or thereabout.

  • 4 clever crypto scams to beware — Dubai OTC trader Amin Rad

    4 clever crypto scams to beware — Dubai OTC trader Amin Rad

    Aminhossein “Amin” Rad runs an over-the-counter trading desk in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Searching for a business after dropping out of university, he started to style himself as a Bitcoin broker in 2016. Starting with his first deal after five months of wading through scammers and tire-kickers, Rad went on to found Crypto Desk, a business-to-business exchange that now deals millions of dollars of private crypto transactions among its 2,500 clients every day. 

    But why do people use OTC desks when centralized exchanges offer lower fees, and what dangers come with the business? Rad spills the beans on a sector of the crypto world that flies under the radar for most retail traders.

    Amin Rad
    Dubai OTC trader Amin is Rad by name and nature.

    The devil is in the deal-tails

    The crypto asset industry has its share of rampant unethical behavior that is encouraged by anonymity and a lack of regulation or enforcement. Having come across all types of scams over his years in the industry, Rad differentiates between what he calls soft scams and hard scams. The former are things such as indirect and impersonal rug-pulls, while the latter are more direct and targeted.

    He says most buyers see “shitcoins and memecoins as a joke or a game,” and relatively few experience much emotional trauma when the game ends and prices take a nosedive. However, getting scammed is far from a joke when a serious investor is looking to invest a portion of their hard-earned wealth into the crypto market or cashing out to buy real estate.

    “The psychological effects of hard scams are much more deteriorating” in part because they are direct, playing on the mark’s trust rather than greed, and the money is not always an amount that the victim can afford to lose. Rad goes on to explain the common scams.

    Amin Rad, CEO of Crypto Desk, is at home in his office in downtown Dubai. Photo by Elias Ahonen.

    Third-party scam 

    A third-party scam involves a cybercriminal who finds a buyer and seller, introduces themselves as a broker, and offers an attractive deal to both. Rad explains that after building trust and “playing mind games,” the scammer will convince both the buyer and seller to meet in person for the exchange, with perhaps the buyer arriving at the seller’s office with cash. 

    Between these transacting parties will be a broker, or, more commonly at least, what appears to be a chain of brokers. The buyer will share their address with the broker, who will instead forward their own address to the seller. The seller then “transfers the coins to the address without thinking twice because the cash is right in front of him, and the coins will arrive in the cybercriminal’s wallet,” Rad explains. With a suitcase of money on the table, chaos will ensue as the BTC fails to arrive.

    “Huge volumes of money can disappear in a second — even professional people who get scammed once can sometimes get distracted and lose focus, only to fall victim again.”

    Fake crypto coin scam

    A fake crypto coin scam involves the scammer sending a different, usually worthless cryptocurrency to the buyer who mistakes it for the real thing. This could be as simple as sending Bitcoin Cash or Ethereum Classic instead of BTC or ETH. Often, it involves the creation of an entirely new token that looks like the real thing when it arrives in the buyer’s MetaMask wallet. This is easily done because “Ethereum is an open platform, and anyone can create any coin they want, like USDTx in place of USDT,” Rad stresses. To be sure, one should check the smart contract — don’t trust, verify.

    OpenSea offers on an NFT listed for 121.95 ETH — note the currency! Screenshot by Elias Ahonen

    A variant of this has been seen on NFT marketplace OpenSea, where buyers can bid in Ether or stablecoins USDC or Dai, both of which are worth $1 each. As the Dai symbol can be mistaken for that of Ether’s, an inexperienced or tired user might accept a bid of 79 Dai on their 80-ETH NFT, only to realize too late that they are down by a quarter of a million dollars. While it can be argued whether such a transaction is a scam in the legal sense since there is no direct misrepresentation, those making such offers in bad faith are surely bankrupt in terms of morality.

    Transfer recall scam

    A transfer recall scam works by way of chargebacks, where a dishonest buyer of a cryptocurrency sends funds to the seller, receives cryptocurrency, and goes on to file a fraudulent complaint with their bank or payment provider, alleging that they themselves have fallen victim to a scam. 

    “Some banks immediately return the money,” Rad says. “This is actually one of the most difficult types of scams to follow up on” because neither banks nor the police are likely to understand much about cryptocurrency. 

    “Let’s say this case goes to court — you will end up having to pay the government to hire a specialist to make sure that you transferred cryptocurrency to that guy. It is very difficult unless you have powerful lawyers and are willing to spend a lot of money,” Rad describes.

    Wallet import scam

    A wallet import scam happens when a seller of cryptocurrency says that they cannot send directly to the buyer’s wallet by way of a public address but insists that the Bitcoin must be imported. “They import a watch-only address to your wallet,” Rad says, referring to a setting that allows the wallet to mirror an address it does not control.

    “If you are not experienced, you will open your wallet and think, ‘Ooh, I have 100 Bitcoins here in my wallet,’ and you will hand over the cash, but later on, when you try to sell the Bitcoins, you understand that the coins are not transferable.”

    In order to pull off this scam successfully, the scammer must generally know which Bitcoin wallet the unwitting buyer is using. “You should never tell anyone what wallet you’re using. It’s none of their business. If the cryptocurrency is sent correctly, it will be received correctly,” Rad warns, using the analogy that you do not need to know whether someone is using an iPhone or Nokia in order to call them. 

    Of course, you should never allow anyone to see your seed phrases or private keys or hand them your wallet for any reason, he adds.

    In addition to avoiding scams, Rad recommends that anyone conducting OTC trades should take care to obtain and verify the identity of the other party and, regardless of regulations, sign an agreement stating that they have exchanged cryptocurrency and fiat with each other.

    The workings of an OTC desk

    Now in his mid-20s, Rad was born to a Middle Eastern family and grew up in Dubai, UAE. In 2012, he enrolled in an electrical engineering program at the American University of Sharjah, just north of Dubai. After studying in Sharjah for three years, he was not entirely satisfied with his prospects and dreamed of moving to America, receiving acceptances to continue his electrical engineering studies at both Stanford and the University of Texas at Austin. Despite what would appear to be a solid opportunity, Rad felt a deeper call to start a business back home in the UAE and decided not to move to the United States. He decided to drop out, as he saw no future in engineering.

    “I wanted to get into the technology business, but I didn’t know what to start with,” Rad recalls. It was around then that he heard Bitcoin and blockchain being discussed in his friend circles. “I got curious, so I independently went on to learn about this technology — blockchain and decentralization,” he explains.

    “There was no example in this region that I could follow — all the blockchain entrepreneurs were in China and the USA. There was no one here who was doing blockchain entrepreneurship.”

    Soon he found an opportunity: There was money to be made by brokering Bitcoin deals. Rad started to seek out contacts who were interested in buying or selling cryptocurrency and connecting them. “A lot of them were non-serious, and a lot of them were scammers,” he recalls, adding that filtering serious traders from time-wasters was a drain. Introducing himself as a broker and getting business through word of mouth, he also used online platforms like LocalBitcoins to find business. Often, he would pass referral fees to those introducing new clients.

    “It took five months until I made my first deal. For five months, I kept encountering non-serious people and scammers — a lot of scammers.”

    Rad explains that the margins on OTC transactions were higher in the early days, with 2%–3% being common in 2016 and 2017. “Now, there are more competitors in the market,” and rates have gone down, while volume has risen. Exact percentages change constantly according to market demand, but “the golden number is half a percent” for high-volume deals, while lower-volume retail traders can expect to pay double or triple. While he describes $1-million and $2-million transactions as common, “anything over $1 million is considered high volume,” Rad says. 

    Business was informal at first, and Rad came up with the Crypto Desk name in 2018. The company received a crypto trading license in early 2021, which he says makes the business easier and safer “because we can work in a regulated space instead of a gray one.”

    More than margins have changed since the early days. “At the moment, most deals on the OTC market are in USDT,” Amin states, which is a departure from the past when most people looked to buy or sell specific quantities of Bitcoin. USDT is easy to exchange into any cryptocurrency on both centralized and decentralized exchanges or back into fiat. While USDC and Dai appear to be held in higher regard in DeFi and NFT circles, “most people who use USDT are not so familiar with blockchain, and are afraid to change to another stablecoin,” Rad admits. USDT was the first stablecoin, after all. 

    Journey’s scribe Elias Ahonen visits Crypto Desk in Dubai’s downtown and just happens to have a copy of his book Blockland on hand!

    As Crypto Desk deals only in UAE dirhams, whose exchange rate has been pegged at 3.6725 dirhams to the U.S. dollar since 1997, exchanging USD stablecoins and AED is a relatively straightforward process with little exchange risk.

    “My daily turnover is $4 million–$5 million, but that comes from several different transactions,” Rad clarifies, adding that all of his clients are based in the UAE. He explains that there is a natural balance to the business, with UAE locals tending to be buyers looking to allocate money into the crypto sphere, while those from abroad are most often looking to sell cryptocurrency “in order to purchase real estate, cars, and pay their living expense in the UAE,” Rad explains.

    “In my opinion, the UAE will be the center of blockchain in the world.”

    In the future, Rad foresees his localized model thriving around the world. Though the market is now controlled largely by big players, Rad believes that “local exchanges have better knowledge of the local market’s needs and regulations.”

    So, what about the mythical buyer who is looking for $100 million in cryptocurrency?

    “They exist. I can facilitate up to $30 million per day, but I don’t find them,” he says, adding that $4 million–$6 million is the maximum he regularly sees from any single client. When a large order comes in, it falls onto Rad to figure out if the deal is real, a process he says takes only two or three minutes.

    “When I see them, I understand: Are they a $100-million person or not?” Rad says with marked confidence. For him, conversation is a better marker of seriousness than appearance. “Most scammers have branded items, and most serious people try to keep a low profile,” he concludes.

  • Near Protocol eyes a Terra-like price rally after new $350M funding raise

    Near Protocol eyes a Terra-like price rally after new $350M funding raise

    Near Protocol (NEAR) has rallied by almost 30% after announcing on April 6 that it had raised $350 million in a funding round led by Tiger Global, a New York-based hedge fund. 

    NEAR price eyes 100% price rally

    NEAR’s price reached over $19.75, just about 2.5% below its all-time high. However, many analysts agreed with the potential for the NEAR/USD pair to reclaim its best level to date, and even rise above it in the coming weeks.

    NEAR/USD daily price chart. Source: TradingView

    Adoption remained the key focus behind the bullish predictions. For instance, Zoran Cole, the founder of the popular Telegram group Crypto Insiders highlighted that Near Protocol will announce the launch of its own native algorithmic stablecoin called USN as early as April 20.

    The stablecoin will reportedly use a Terra-like native token burn mechanism to maintain the U.S. dollar peg, effectively reducing NEAR supply.

    Additionally, as Cole asserted in his investment thesis, Near will offer stakers an annual percentage yield of around 20%, thus incentivizing DeFi capital rotation toward its pools and boosting NEAR’s demand simultaneously.

    “This will lead to a comparison of Near to Terra as the narrative for attractive stablecoin yields proliferates,” he noted, adding:

    “Terra currently has a market capitalization of approximately $40 billion while Near sits at $10 billion. The catalysts above will strengthen Near’s fundamentals in both the short and long term and likely cause its market capitalization to appreciate by 100% at minimum over the next few months.”

    Slim Trady, a pseudonymous market analyst, also expects NEAR to reach new all-time highs, noting that there is “no substantial resistance left” on the coin’s chart that could cap its upside moves.

    NEAR Coinbase listing near? 

    Despite being in the top-20 crypto assets by market capitalization, NEAR remains listed only on a few crypto exchanges, including Binance, Huobi, KuCoin, and Upbit, limiting its exposure, especially in voluminous markets like the U.S.

    Related: Terra buys $200M in AVAX for reserves as rival stablecoins emerge

    But Kole noted that Coinbase, one of the leading U.S.-based crypto exchanges, will list NEAR on its platform “in the next couple of months,” noting that it would help boost the coin’s retail visibility.

    “This also paves the way for Near NFTs to be integrated into Coinbase’s upcoming NFT marketplace.

    FTX, a crypto exchange headed by Sam Bankman-Fried, could also list NEAR pairs given its investment arm FTX Ventures being one of the backers in Near Protocol’s latest $350 million funding rebound.

    Price levels to watch

    From technical perspective, NEAR now eyes a run-up toward its current record high above $20.50.

    NEAR/USD daily price chart. Source: TradingView

    A decisive break above the level, which coincides with the 1.0 FIb line of the Fibonacci retracement graph, drawn from $20.78-swing high to nearly $6-swing low, could have NEAR eye $29.70 as its next upside target.

    Conversely, a pullback risks putting NEAR’s price en route below its interim support near $17.55, with the next downside target at around $15.

    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.