altcoin

Apr 07 2021

3X as many crypto figures make it onto Forbes 2021 billionaires list as last year

Forbes released their annual billionaires list on April 6, with Amazon overlord Jeff Bezos and his $177 billion topping the list for a fourth consecutive year.

Announcing Forbes’ 35th Annual World’s Billionaires List — The Richest in 2021 #ForbesBillionaires https://t.co/Sc7ie8JlQI pic.twitter.com/YniOjfZwSi

— Forbes (@Forbes) April 6, 2021

The “digital gold rush” has seen nine new crypto billionaires join the Forbes list, pushing the total up to 12 (depending on whether you count the Winklevoss twins as one or two entries.) That’s up from just four in last year’s Forbes World’s Billionaires list

Sam Bankman-Fried – Newcomer

Sam Bankman-Fried is the wealthiest crypto-billionaire, with a net worth of $8.7 billion. Bankman-Fried founded trading firm Alameda Research and popular derivatives exchange FTX. The 29-year old has made waves in the crypto space, with FTX recently winning the naming rights to Miami Heat’s home stadium for 19 years. Cointelegraph recently ranked Bankman-Fried as the third most influential figure in crypto for 2020.

The Winklevoss Twins – Newcomers

Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss have a net worth of $3 billion each and started investing in Bitcoin in 2012. The brothers famously sued Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg for IP theft in 2004 and won a $65 million settlement which they used to invest in Bitcoin. They started the crypto exchange Gemini in 2014, and they purchased Nifty Gateway in November 2019.

Chris Larsen – Returnee

Larsen, the co-founder of Ripple Labs saw his net worth grow from $2.6 billion to $3.4 billion over the past year.

Larson and Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse have been fighting an ongoing dispute with the SEC in relation to XRP and unregistered securities offerings. However, the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple hasn’t appeared to affect its token too badly, with XRP increasing by 387% in the last 12 months.

Jed McCaleb – Newcomer

McCaleb is another co-founder of Ripple, and reportedly holds 3.4 billion XRP and 1 billion Stellar Lumens — the cryptocurrency he founded after leaving Ripple — with his holdings adding up to a net worth of $2 billion. Cointelegraph reported that McCaleb sold off $400 million worth of his XRP holdings in 2020 alone.

Michael Saylor – Newcomer

Saylor is the CEO of listed company MicroStrategy and co-founded the software giant in 1989, and now has a net worth of $2.3 billion. Saylor has become the leading advocate for corporations holding Bitcoin on balance sheets. Since its first purchase of Bitcoin in August 2020, Microstrategy has invested $2.226 billion, taking its tally up to 91,579 Bitcoins at an average cost of $24,311 per Bitcoin.

MicroStrategy has purchased an additional ~253 bitcoins for $15.0 million in cash at an average price of ~$59,339 per #bitcoin. As of 4/5/2021, we #hodl ~91,579 bitcoins acquired for ~$2.226 billion at an average price of ~$24,311 per bitcoin. $MSTR https://t.co/OMQMhA85xw

— Michael Saylor (@michael_saylor) April 5, 2021

Brain Armstrong – Returnee

Armstrong is the CEO and co-founder of Coinbase and his net worth has gone from $1 billion to $6.5 billion within 12 months. Coinbase also had a successful year, generating $1 billion in revenue, and it’s set for a direct listing in a week. That will value Armstrong’s shares somewhere north of $14B, meaning he may well top the crypto billionaires’ list next year.

Fred Ersham – Newcomer

Ersham co-founded Coinbase with Brian Armstrong in 2012 and left the firm in 2017. He is now a board member of the company, and his 6% stake has an estimated worth of $1.9 billion.

Changpeng Zhao

Zhao is the founder of the largest crypto exchange Binance and owns an estimated 30% stake in the company. Zhao’s net worth is $1.9 billion, and the digital gold rush has been good to the Binance founder, with Binance Coin becoming the second-largest altcoin by market cap. Zhao revealed earlier this week that he holds close to 100% of his portfolio in crypto.

Matthew Roszak – Newcomer

Roszak is the Chairman and co-founder of blockchain technology firm Bloq and is a leading crypto and blockchain investor. Roszak is also a founding member of Tally Capital a crypto-focused private investment firm and has a net worth of $1.5 billion.

Tim Draper – Newcomer

Draper is a crypto evangelist with a net worth of $1.5 billion. He bought $18.7 million worth of Bitcoin in 2014 after it was confiscated from the Silk Road black market. Draper was also one of the primary investors in the Tezos project and co-founded Draper Fisher Jurvetson, a leading investment firm in early-stage tech startups.

Barry Silbert – Newcomer

Silbert founded the crypto conglomerate Digital Currency Group in 2015 and has a net worth of $1.6 billion. The DCG owns asset management firm Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, which currently has $46 billion worth of assets under management.

3X as many crypto figures make it onto Forbes 2021 billionaires list as last year

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Mar 28 2021

PancakeSwap (CAKE) aims to take a slice out of Uniswap’s DeFi dominance

Decentralized finance has taken a back seat to nonfungible tokens over the past month but this hasn’t stopped the top DeFi projects from developing and strategizing how to grow their ecosystems and market share.

One project that has outperformed the field as of late is PancakeSwap (CAKE), the Binance Smart Chain-based automated market maker (AMM) that allows users to exchange tokens and earn a portion of fees through yield farming.

*Monthly trading volume on PancakeSwap. Source:* Delphi Digital

According to a recent report from Delphi Digital, several factors have played a significant role in helping the PancakeSwap ecosystem grow in recent months and analysts predict that the protocol will continue to be a serious competitor to Uniswap.

Users flee high Ethereum fees

Anyone who has tried to transact on the Ethereum (ETH) network in 2021 will have noticed the astronomical rise in gas fees which has been compounded by the rising price of Ether.

*Average Ethereum gas fee. Source:* *Etherscan*

If you compare this chart of the average gas fees on Etherum with the chart above detailing the monthly trading volume on PancakeSwap, a correlation can be seen between higher fees and more activity on the DeFi platform.

While Ethereum fees were ballooning, Binance Smart Chain (BSC) emerged as a viable option thanks to numerous cross-chain bridges and low transaction costs. PancakeSwap is the largest, most established DEX on the BSC thus it benefits from the influx of users and Binance’s large user base.

Delphi Digital analysts identified Binance’s immense ecosystem as another major factor providing a boost for CAKE as its “vast network effect” comes from being the “biggest crypto exchange that’s typically the first choice for retail traders.”

Prospective users can gain access to the BSC by simply withdrawing their tokens from Binance to a BSC-supported wallet.

PancakeSwap could be a ‘perpetual vampire’

Delphi Digital also highlighted CAKE’s token economics as a significant factor for its future growth.

Unlike UNI and SushiSwap (SUSHI), there is not a hard cap on the supply of CAKE tokens which gives the platform the “ability to perpetually conduct targeted vampire attacks in order to attract liquidity and incentivize projects to launch on PancakeSwap’s AMM.”

The current weekly inflation rate for CAKE is 3.78%, which is significantly higher than UNI’s 2% yearly inflation rate.

Even with various deflationary measures implemented by CAKE developers, the “net emission is approximately 1,000,000 CAKE per week – which translates to 37% real inflation annually (or 0.7% weekly).”

According to Delphi Digital, PancakeSwap is aware of how the current inflation numbers look and the team announced a governance vote to change the emission schedule with the options to leave it the same, decrease it to 23.5 or 22 CAKE per block.

The option to reduce emissions to 22 CAKE, a 20% decrease, is currently favored to win and this would reduce CAKE emissions by 1,050,000. This would help to neutralize inflation while also allowing the project to keep its vampire attack capabilities in the long-run.

CAKE attempts to break above resistance

Data from Cointelegraph Markets and TradingView shows that since reaching a low of $8.30 on Feb. 28, the price of CAKE has made several attempts to break out to a new all-time high and at the time of writing the altcoin trades for $15.63.

*CAKE/USDT 4-hour chart. Source:* *TradingView*

According to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro, market conditions for CAKE have been favorable for some time.

The VORTECS™ score, exclusive to Cointelegraph, is an algorithmic comparison of historic and current market conditions derived from a combination of data points including market sentiment, trading volume, recent price movements and Twitter activity. A recent test of the system resulted in investment returns as high as 1,497% using specific strategies outlined in the report.

*VORTECS™ Score (green) vs. CAKE price. Source:* *Cointelegraph Markets Pro*

As seen in the chart above, the VORTECS™ Score for CAKE turned green and registered a 65 on March 21, roughly six hours before the price began to rally over the next four days.

After the initial precise rise on March 22, the VORTECS™ Score continued to climb and reached a high of 81 on March 25, three hours before the price began to rally 36%.

Strong backing from Binance and low fees on BSC have PancakeSwap in an enviable position to attract additional liquidity from the Ethereum-based DeFi protocols as a practical solution to high gas fees remains elusive. Despite inflation-related concerns, analysts have suggested keeping an eye on this Uniswap competitor as the battle for DeFi dominance continues to unfold.

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.

PancakeSwap (CAKE) aims to take a slice out of Uniswap’s DeFi dominance

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Mar 19 2021

Price analysis 3/19: BTC, ETH, BNB, ADA, DOT, XRP, UNI, LTC, LINK, BCH

A report by Deutsche Bank Research said that Bitcoin (BTC) has become “too important to ignore” and may attract regulation by the end of 2021. Deutsche Bank analysts expect Bitcoin to reach a turning point in about “two or three years” when it will be clear whether Bitcoin will evolve into an asset class or not. In the short term, the report forecast Bitcoin to “remain ultra volatile.”

A different report by Bank of America provided some insight into the possible reasons for Bitcoin’s volatility. Bank of America analysts estimated that Bitcoin price may rise by one percent when there is a $93 million inflow. Compared to that, gold needs about $2 billion worth of funds to move it by a single percentage point.

This large disparity in the price reaction to the inflow of funds is attributed to Bitcoin holders who have not parted with their coins during the current bull run.

*Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source:* *Coin360*

While it is difficult to predict at what price the Bitcoin whales will book profits on their holdings, Kraken growth lead Dan Held said in a recent interview with Cointelegraph that Bitcoin could reach $1 million during the current supercycle.

Held believes that the confluence of events such as the coronavirus crisis, money printing by central banks and the rising lack of trust in legacy financial firms are the triggers supporting the crypto bull run.

Let’s study the charts of the top-10 cryptocurrencies to determine whether the uptrend will resume or is the bull run showing signs of exhaustion?

BTC/USD

Bitcoin rebounded off the 20-day exponential moving average ($54,844) on March 17 and rose above the $58,341.03 overhead resistance. But the advance to $60,102.15 witnessed profit-booking on March 18.

However, the positive sign is that the bulls purchased the dip and have again pushed the price above $58,341.03. A rise above $60,102.15 could retest the all-time high at $61,825.84.

The upsloping moving averages and the relative strength index (RSI) in the positive zone suggest the path of least resistance is to the upside. A break above $61,825.84 could start the next leg of the uptrend to $72,112.

Although the RSI is showing negative divergence, traders should follow the price action closely because a sharp rally from the current levels may invalidate this bearish development.

If the price turns down and breaks below the 20-day EMA, it will be the first sign of weakness. A deeper correction could be signaled if the bears sink and sustain the BTC/USD pair below the 50-day simple moving average ($48,578).

ETH/USD

Ether (ETH) has been trading just above the 20-day EMA ($1,756) for the past three days. This is a positive sign as it shows that the bulls are accumulating on dips to the 20-day EMA.

If the bulls can propel the price above $1,850, the ETH/USD pair could rise to $1,942.92 and then challenge the all-time high at $2,040.77. A breakout and close above this resistance could start the journey to $2,614.

The moving averages are sloping up and the RSI is in the positive territory, suggesting the bulls have a slight edge.

However, this positive assumption will be negated if the price turns down and breaks below the moving averages. Such a move could pull the price down to $1,289 and keep the pair range-bound for a few more days.

BNB/USD

Binance Coin (BNB) has successfully held the 20-day EMA ($251) for the past four days but the bulls are struggling to push the price above $280 and challenge the overhead resistance at $309.50.

However, the 20-day EMA is sloping up gradually and the RSI is in the positive zone, which shows a minor advantage to the bulls. A breakout and close above $309.50 will complete a bullish ascending triangle pattern. This setup has a target objective at $429.

On the contrary, if the price turns down from the current level and breaks below the trendline of the triangle, it will suggest the bears have overpowered the bulls. That could result in a drop to $189.

ADA/USD

Cardano (ADA) turned down from the all-time high at $1.48 on March 18 as traders booked profits. However, the positive sign is that the bulls are attempting to defend the breakout level at $1.23.

A strong bounce off the current level could increase the possibility of a break above the all-time high. The next target objective on the upside is $2.

The rising moving averages suggest the bulls are in command, but the negative divergence on the RSI shows the momentum is weakening.

If the bears can pull the price below the 20-day EMA ($1.14), it will indicate that supply exceeds demand. The trend may turn in favor of the bears if the ADA/USD pair plummets below the 50-day SMA ($0.94).

DOT/USD

Polkadot (DOT) has been sustaining above the 20-day EMA ($35) for the past two days, which is a positive sign. The bulls are currently trying to push the price above the resistance line of the symmetrical triangle.

If they succeed, it could resume the uptrend. The bulls may face stiff resistance at the all-time high at $42.28 but if they can thrust the price above it, the DOT/USD pair could rise to the pattern target at $55.

The 20-day EMA is moving up gradually and the RSI has risen above the downtrend line, which shows the bulls are attempting to gain the upper hand. This view will invalidate if the pair turns down and breaks below the support line of the triangle.

XRP/USD

XRP has been trading in a tight range for the past few days as the bears are defending the overhead resistance at $0.50 and the bulls are buying on dips to $0.42. The flat moving averages and the RSI just above 52 suggest a balance between supply and demand.

Usually, a tight range trading is followed by a trending move. In this case, if the bulls can propel the price above $0.50, the XRP/USD pair could rally to $0.65 where it is again likely to counter stiff resistance from the bears.

Alternatively, if the bears sink the price below $0.42, the pair could drop to $0.36. This is a critical support to watch out for because a break below it could intensify selling and clear the path for a slide to $0.25.

UNI/USD

Uniswap (UNI) is in an uptrend and it has been holding above the 20-day EMA ($29.41) for the past few days, which shows the bulls are buying the dips to this support. If the bulls can push the price above $32, a retest of the all-time high at $34.92 is possible.

A breakout and close above the all-time high could start the next leg of the uptrend that may reach $46. The upsloping moving averages suggest that bulls are in control but the negative divergence on the RSI warrants caution.

If the bears sink and sustain the price below the 20-day EMA, it could signal the start of a deeper correction. The first stop could be the 50-day SMA ($24.78) and if this support also cracks, the decline may extend to $22.

LTC/USD

The bulls are attempting to keep Litecoin (LTC) above the 20-day EMA ($199.41). If they succeed, the altcoin could move up to the resistance line of the symmetrical triangle where the bears are likely to mount a stiff resistance.

However, if the bulls manage to propel the price above the triangle, it will suggest a resumption of the next leg of the uptrend. The first stop could be $246.96 and if this level is crossed, the LTC/USD pair could rally to $300.

The gradually upsloping moving averages and the RSI in the positive zone indicate a minor advantage to the bulls. This positive view will invalidate if the price turns down and breaks below the triangle.

LINK/USD

Chainlink (LINK) once again turned down from the overhead resistance on March 18, which shows the bears are defending this level. However, the positive sign is that the bulls did not allow the price to dip below the 50-day SMA ($28.38), indicating buying at lower levels.

The LINK/USD pair has formed an ascending triangle pattern that will complete on a breakout and close above $32. This setup has a target objective at $43.20.

Contrary to this assumption, if the price turns down from the current level or the overhead resistance and breaks below the trendline of the triangle, it will invalidate the bullish setup. That could result in a drop to $24 and then to $20.11.

Array

The bulls and the bears are battling it out to gain the upper hand in Bitcoin Cash (BCH). Although the price had dipped below the moving averages for the past four days, the bears could not capitalize on the situation. This suggests selling dries up at lower levels.

*BCH/USD daily chart. Source:* *TradingView*

The flat moving averages and the RSI just above the midpoint suggest the BCH/USD pair could remain range-bound for a few more days.

If the consolidation resolves to the downside and the price closes below $500, the pair could start a deeper correction to $440 and then to $320.

Conversely, if the bulls push and sustain the price above $560, the pair may again try to rally to $631.71 and then $745.

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

Market data is provided by HitBTC exchange.

Price analysis 3/19: BTC, ETH, BNB, ADA, DOT, XRP, UNI, LTC, LINK, BCH

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Mar 12 2021

Coinbase effect and strong fundamentals send Polygon (MATIC) and Skale higher

In previous bull markets, one of the most consistent price movers for cryptocurrency projects was being listed on Coinbase, a phenomenon that became known as the ‘Coinbase effect’.

The recent announcement that Polygon (MATIC), SKALE (SKL) and SushiSwap (SUSHI) would be added to the exchange and begin trading on March 11 has proven that the Coinbase effect remains potent as the tokens witnessed record trading volume and double-digit price movements since the listing took place.

Data from Cointelegraph Markets and TradingView shows that SKL has been the biggest beneficiary of the Coinbase effect, increasing more than 200% since the announcement on March 9, while MATIC has grown by 88% and SUSHI has gained a modest 7%.

SKL/USDT

SKALE describes itself as an ‘elastic network’ that is designed to bring scalability to the Ethereum (ETH) network by boosting transaction capacity and reducing latency as a way to ensure payments can be conducted as inexpensively as possible.

According to the project’s website, Solidity smart contracts can run “thousands of times faster at a fraction of the mainnet cost” and the platform is well-suited for gaming and content streaming services that get bogged down by congestion on the main Ethereum network.

*SKL/USDT 4-hour chart. Source:* *TradingView*

Congestion and high transaction costs on Ethereum have once again emerged as a significant issue in the cryptocurrency community over the past two months as the lure of decentralized finance and non-fungible tokens have led to significant increases in network activity and gas fees.

MATIC/USDT

Polygon (MATIC) has been on a roll so far in 2021, with the Coinbase listing being the most recent event that has boosted the altcoin’s price.

Previous significant developments include the rebranding from Matic to Polygon, which was done as the project pivoted toward becoming the “Polkadot of the Ethereum network,” by focusing on bringing interoperability with separate blockchain networks to the Ethereum ecosystem.

Since the rebranding, multiple projects have integrated with or migrated to the layer 2 solution which offers significantly reduced transaction costs and faster confirmation times.

*MATIC/USDT 4-hour chart. Source:* *TradingView*

The price of MATIC has increased by 150% since the Coinbase listing announcement and on March 12 the altcoin saw a record $2.6 billion in 24-hour trading volume.

VORTECS™ data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro began to detect a bullish outlook for MATIC on March 6, prior to the recent price rise.

*VORTECS™ Score (green) vs. MATIC price. Source:* *Cointelegraph Markets Pro*

As seen in the chart above, VORTECS™ score registered a high of 81 on March 6, three days prior to the announcement of the Coinbase listing. After pulling back to a low of 48 on March 8, the VORTECS™ score then increased to a high of 89, roughly two days before the price rally to a new all-time high.

SUSHI/USDT

SushiSwap (SUSHI) was the third coin listed on Coinbase this week and it received a more subdued response even though SushiSwap is one of the top decentralized exchanges and it currently has $4.21 billion locked in its protocol.

Decentralized finance has been one of the hottest topics in the cryptocurrency sector since December 2020, but has seen a noticeable pullback in activity over recent weeks as nonfungible tokens have stepped into the limelight.

*SUSHI/USDT 4-hour chart. Source:* *TradingView*

SUSHI had previously seen its price grow 675% in 2021, from a low of $2.69 on Jan. 1 to an all-time high of $20.57 on March 2, so it’s not completely unexpected that its price had a more muted response to the announcement of a Coinbase listing.

One notable correlation between the three projects discussed has to do with offering solutions to the current issues plaguing the Ethereum network.

While the Coinbase effect might have helped jumpstart the recent price gains for each project, the larger needs of the cryptocurrency community and the solutions offered by these protocols have MATIC, SKL and SUSHI well positioned to see further upside as active participation in the cryptocurrency ecosystem continues to increase.

Coinbase effect and strong fundamentals send Polygon (MATIC) and Skale higher

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Mar 11 2021

This month’s Ethereum options expiry suggests ETH’s upside is limited

To date, Ether (ETH) price has gained 85% in 2021, and options traders are still highly optimistic about the altcoin’s short-term performance.

The upcoming March 26 expiry holds over 96,000 ($172 million) call option contracts open interest between $2,240 and $3,520. Does a 25% or higher gain correctly reflect the current market sentiment, or are these traders simply over-optimistic about Ether’s odds?

*Ether price in USD. Source: TradingView*

Even though the effective price for the right to acquire Ether at a fixed price on March 26 is much lower, these options cost buyers at least $2 million. If Ether fails to increase by 25% from the current $1,808 price in two weeks, these $2,240 call options will be completely worthless.

*Ether options aggregate open interest,* *March 26.* *Source: Bybt*

As shown above, the call-put ratio is relatively balanced at 1.07, and the more bearish put options above the $1,800 strike are nonexistent. Meanwhile, bullish traders have crowded the scene above $2,240, partially because of their low price. The cost per option contract over the past couple of weeks ranged from $6 to $40.

Even if these call option holders previously bought while Ether was trading below $1,400, it would make sense to close the position and lock in profits. These options will lose value over time as the March 26 deadline arrives unless the price rises above their respective strike price.

Therefore, either these traders effectively expect Ether to break $2,240 in two weeks, or the options are being used in more complex strategies. Cointelegraph previously explained how $10,000 Ether call options are often used on calendar spreads.

The primary risk indicator for options is neutral

To assess traders’ optimism level after Ether marked a local $1,880 top on March 9, one should look at the 25% delta skew.

Whenever the options market is unwilling to take downside risk, the indicator shifts negatively. On the other hand, a positive 25% delta skew indicates traders are demanding less premium (risk) for upside protection.

*3-day Ether options 25% delta skew. Source: laevitas.ch*

The above chart shows the indicator ranging from 5 to negative 10, which is considered a neutral zone.

Had option traders effectively been bullish, the upside-protection call options would have been trading at a premium.

There’s a possibility, as previously stated, that investors are using a more complex strategy that involves different expiry dates or strikes. Still, if these options have been bought exclusively for upside leverage, it certainly doesn’t reflect the overall sentiment as measured by the skew indicator.

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

This month’s Ethereum options expiry suggests ETH’s upside is limited

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