Risk Management

Jan 22 2021

YIELD App, Created by Fintech and Cybersecurity Experts, to Expand its DeFi focused Digital Banking Solution to Avalanche

YIELD App is getting ready to expand its decentralized finance (DeFi) banking solution to Avalanche.

According to a blog post published on January 22, 2021 by Ava Labs, which supports the ongoing development of Avalanche, a distributed ledger technology (DLT)-focused platform and project, this new integration will allow YIELD users to more easily gain access to new opportunities within Avalanche’s evolving DeFi ecosystem so they can “maximize their crypto returns.”

As confirmed in the update, the YIELD App will be expanding to Avalanche following the completion of the integration during the second quarter of this year. The initiative will aim to take advantage of the “rapid growth of opportunities” in Avalanche’s DeFi ecosystem.

As noted in the announcement:

“YIELD App is led by an experienced team of capital markets, Fintech, cybersecurity, and crypto professionals, and adheres to internationally recognized standards under global financial, regulatory, and licensing best practices.”

The YIELD App’s main product combines two major components its team believes were not found in the majority of DeFi apps. They include a “proprietary” portfolio management engine on the back-end and a digital banking and wealth management app on the front-end.

By leveraging all these capabilities, the app can regularly monitor and assess/evaluate the overall profitability of strategies across the DeFi space, such as liquidity mining, arbitrage, liquidations, margin and collateralized lending, and various other income-generating methods.

It employs an advanced risk management solution, allowing consumers to “achieve their optimal risk/reward ratio.”

YIELD App users are able to generate a “minimum of 12% APY and up to 20% APY–returns are maximized by eliminating gas fees and paying interest daily,” the announcement noted.

Tim Frost, CEO of YIELD App, stated:

“DeFi’s growth has been undeniable, but in order to bring it into the mainstream, hybrid crypto financial services providers, DeFi project owners, and innovators must collaborate to build better, more accessible products and services. This collaboration with Avalanche provides an opportunity for YIELD App to work with a best-in-class DeFi protocol developer and blockchain pioneer to make it easier for all investors to acquire digital assets and participate in DeFi services.”

YIELD App’s user-friendly application and web platform allow users across the globe to generate fairly high returns from various DeFi products “without having to go through a lengthy, complex, and often costly learning process.”

YIELD provides an investment fund that’s managed by a team with considerable experience in the Fintech and cybersecurity space.

As noted in the update, at “the core of its strategy is the YLD token, which rewards community members and allows them to boost their APY from 12% to 20%.”

As previously reported, Avalanche is an open-source platform for creating DeFi apps and enterprise-grade blockchain or DLT deployments in “one interoperable, highly scalable ecosystem.” Software engineers who create solutions on Avalanche are reportedly able to develop robust, reliable, and highly-secure software and customized DLT networks with “complex rulesets” or build on various private or public subnets (sub-networks).

Source

Jan 21 2021

Ignoring Bitcoin, Hedera Hashgraph, Reef and Perpetual Protocol rally higher

Bitcoin (BTC) price tumbled more than 10% today to hit a low near $31,000 and at the time of writing it looks like the sell-off has a bit further to go. In a weekly report from crypto fund provider, CoinShares, some institutional investors seem to be booking profits and the analysts also cited the strengthening (trade-weighted) U.S. dollar.

Another indicator that points to professionals selling Bitcoin is the drop in “Coinbase Premium.” As markets continue lower, an increasing number of investors may dump their positions with the intent to buy again at lower levels.

*Crypto market data daily view. Source:* *Coin360*

Guggenheim Partners chief investment officer Scott Minerd has turned bearish on Bitcoin for the year. In an interview with CNBC, Minerd said that Bitcoin may have topped out and could “see a full retracement back toward the 20,000 level.”

If Bitcoin plunges, altcoins are also likely to witness selling pressure. Although this may be the case, during sell-offs, tokens backed by strong fundamentals may outperform.

Let’s have a look at three tokens which have held steady during the current market correction.

HBAR/USD

Hedera Hashgraph (HBAR), the enterprise-grade distributed ledger, has been entering into various partnerships to leverage blockchain technology in real-world use cases in several sectors. If these initial projects are successful, it will open a plethora of future possibilities around the globe. Some of the recent collaborations are highlighted below.

Hedera and content services provider Hyland recently presented a proof of concept to the Texas Secretary of State to secure and verify government-issued records using electronic Apostilles, which will be recognized universally.

Fighting against money laundering and combating terrorism financing are critical regulatory requirements for every financial institution and these obligations are closely monitored by governments. TRM Labs has integrated with the Hedera public ledger to provide robust compliance and risk management solutions to the developers building on Hedera.

The team also has partnered with Everyware to monitor the cold storage equipment used to store COVID-19 and other vaccines at Stratford Upon Avon and Warwick hospitals.

Along similar lines, AVC Global and its Subsidiary MVC’s Track-and-Trace Platform have chosen to collaborate with Hedera to develop intelligent supply chains to reduce risk and fraud and enable the right product to reach the right place at the right time.

Hedera’s strength can be found in its diversified enterprises and the organizations that are part of the Hedera Governing Council. As the number of use cases for the protocol increase, it’s possible that HBAR will also continue to perform well.

HBAR has risen from an intraday low of $0.04151 on Jan. 12 to an intraday high at $0.12467 today, a 200% rally within a short span. The sharp rally on Jan. 20 cleared the overhead hurdle at $0.083.

*HBAR/USDT daily chart. Source:* *TradingView*

However, the sharp rally of the past few days has pushed the relative strength index (RSI) deep into the overbought territory, which may have attracted profit booking from traders. This has resulted in the formation of a Doji candlestick pattern today, suggesting indecision among the bulls and the bears about the next directional move.

The HBAR/USD pair could retest the recent breakout level at $0.083. If the price rebounds off this support, the bulls will again try to resume the uptrend. A breakout and close above $0.12467 could resume the uptrend, with the next target objective at $0.16616.

This bullish view will invalidate if the bears sink the price below the $0.083 support. Such a move could drag the pair to the 20-day exponential moving average ($0.06) as a deep fall tends to delay the resumption of the uptrend.

REEF/USD

The growing popularity of the DeFi space shows no signs of slowing down. Several new platforms promising innovative products pop up every other day and this makes it increasingly difficult to keep track of all new developments.

Reef’s (REEF) AI and Machine Learning powered algorithms attempt to address this problem by aggregating liquidity from various sources in order to offer users the most profitable option.

To achieve this objective, Reef has entered several partnerships in the past few weeks. The platform added support to Avalanche, enabling Reef’s clients to directly access the products available on Avalanche without leaving Reef’s platform.

Similarly, a partnership with bZx Protocol offers clients several trading and lending opportunities. The addition of a bZx farming pool to Reef’s AI and Machine Learning powered analytics engine will further widen the options available to Reef’s clients.

Reef’s collaboration with OpenDeFi allows users to invest in synthetic versions of real-world assets that are held by a custodian. Traders can invest in physical assets such as gold, silver, or even real estate and they can stake them to receive loans.

Reef finance was recently listed on Binance Launchpool, increasing its accessibility and a recent code audit by Halborn is likely to increase investors’ confidence in the project.

REEF rallied from an intraday low at $0.006516 on Jan. 13 to an intraday high at $0.023 today, a 252% rally within a short period. Due to the short trading history, a 4-hour chart has been used for the analysis.

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

The REEF/USD pair is currently trading inside an ascending channel, with both moving averages sloping up and the RSI in the positive territory. This suggests that the bulls have the upper hand.

If the pair rebounds off the 20-EMA, the uptrend could resume its up-move inside the channel. A breakout and close above the channel will suggest a pick up in momentum. The critical level to watch on the upside is $0.031 and then $0.042.

Contrary to this assumption, if the bears sink the price below the support line of the channel, the pair could drop to the 50-simple moving average. A break below this support could signal that bears have taken control.

PERP/USD

Perpetual Protocol (PERP) is a relatively new entrant in the DeFi space, listing on the Ethereum mainnet on Dec 14. The recent crypto bull run could have accelerated its adoption as traders have been using perpetual contracts to profit from the speeding market.

Even though the platform supports only three trading pairs, Perpetual said their 7-day volume puts them in the top 10 on the DEX Metrics highlighted by Dune analytics.

After its initial success, Perpetual plans to add a fourth trading pair and then follow it up with more additions in due course. The staking pool may launch in February, which will allow PERP token holders to stake and earn rewards on fees generated by trading on the platform. The team is currently working to integrate limit orders sell options to the platform and the feature is expected to go live before the end of Q1.

PERP rallied from $1.844 on Jan. 12 to an intraday high at $6.055 on Jan. 17, a 228% rally within a week. After a three-day correction, the bulls are currently attempting to resume the uptrend.

*PERP/USD daily chart. Source:* *Beta.Dex Vision*

The shallow correction of the past three days suggests that the bulls are not closing their positions in a hurry. If the buyers can push the price above $6.055, the next leg of the up-move could begin. The next target objective on the upside is $9.41.

On the contrary, if the price turns down from $6.055, the PERP/USD pair may correct to $4.275 and remain range-bound between these two levels for a few days.

A break below $4.275 may intensify selling with the next support at the 50% Fibonacci retracement level. A breakdown and close below the 20-day EMA ($3.19) will signal a possible trend change.

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.

Ignoring Bitcoin, Hedera Hashgraph, Reef and Perpetual Protocol rally higher

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Jan 13 2021

Anchorage gets OCC’s first national charter to a crypto bank

Custody pioneer Anchorage is the first crypto firm to see a charter from the U.S. national bank regulator.

Per a Wednesday announcement from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Anchorage will have conditional authorization to operate as a trust institution nationally.

Per the announcement, Anchorage’s continued charter will hinge upon unique requirements:

“As an enforceable condition of approval, the company entered into an operating agreement which sets forth, among other things, capital and liquidity requirements and the OCC’s risk management expectations.”

The actual agreement between Anchorage and the OCC specifies a po

Hitherto, such registration was done state-by-state. The OCC’s ambitions for a federal charter stretch back to the time of Barack Obama, but current Acting Comptroller Brian Brooks has been a notable advocate pushing for an accelerated timeline on such authorizations.

Nonetheless, state regulators have expressed concern that the OCC’s push to charter non-depository institutions represents a threat to their authority.

This story is breaking and will be updated.

Anchorage gets OCC\’s first national charter to a crypto bank

Source

Jan 11 2021

Kava DeFi Platform to Release Robo-Advisor Service to Automate Strategies for Financial Services and Other 2021 Updates

The Kava decentralized finance (DeFi) platform is “coming out the gates swinging” in 2021 with a “feature-packed” product roadmap – which includes two new native apps and crypto tokens, “decentralized bridges” to onboard major cross-chain digital assets, and several other features to “reinforce the safety and security measures already enjoyed by all users of Kava’s DeFi applications and services,” according to Scott Stuart, who works on Product at Kava Labs Inc.

As noted by Stuart, Kava’s 4-month “major release cycles are targeted for Kava 2021 Development.” The platform’s HARD Protocol Version 2 will include “borrowing with variable interest rates and a distribution of HARD [tokens] to both asset suppliers and borrowers.” As confirmed by the Kava team, HARD Governance will be enhanced to include “more protocol parameters quickly by the HARD community.”

The DeFi platform’s developers revealed:

“Kava has seen significant usage in 2020, as such a number of software optimizations are needed to be made in order for validators to validate blocks in a timely manner, there are also consensus tweaks to improve system performance based on production data.”

They further noted:

“Kava services including cross-chain claim and refund bots, app front-ends, price reference software, Full nodes, historical nodes, REST and API endpoints, and others are run on Kava Cloud infrastructure. Significant enhancements in standardization, security, monitoring and alerting tools have been added to Kava Cloud services that drive infrastructural and end-user services.”

An Autonomous Market Making (AMM) service and application will reportedly be launched and will operate as an on-chain liquidity pool for Kava users so that they can swap different assets on the platform for use in other financial services.

The Kava SAFU fund will be proposed in order to provide more protection to Kava users by insuring and underwriting “some portion of infrastructure and cross-chain activities on Kava.”

As noted in the announcement, the KAVA staking derivative is an asset “derived from KAVA that is staked for POS security.” KAVA staking derivatives “allow more KAVA (derivative) liquidity to be used in various financial services on Kava while not foregoing the security and rewards offered by KAVA POS staking.”

The platform’s developers claim that the safety of Kava users’ assets is “the number one objective which guides development of the Kava DeFi platform.” The Kava team further noted that risk management optimizations such as the enhanced Tendermint mempool queuing and “prioritization of critical services in the mempool will improve transaction safety.”

As confirmed in the update:

“A Robo Advisor service and application will be released to help automate strategies amongst the various financial services offered on Kava, and will increase user onboarding by opening up a larger pool of less hands-on Kava users to participate in yield generating strategies.”

A direct Ethereum bridge to Kava will also be introduced in order to onboard native Ethereum-based assets such as ETH and ERC-20 tokens including LINK and DAI. A fairly large number of users have reportedly requested that they should be able to transfer Ethereum assets directly to Kava and “this bridge should be their service of choice.”

As noted in the announcement, Kava is currently evaluating assets which will use Kava’s “audited Issuance module for USDT, USDC, WBTC, and HBTC amongst others, and will continue to do so through the first half of 2021.”

Kava has moved more than $100 million in asset value “automatically between Binance Chain and Kava.” There have reportedly been many requests to “apply a similar technology to Ethereum assets and Kava will deliver this in Kava 6, such that any project partners built on Ethereum will have access to Kava decentralized financial applications and services,” the update confirmed.

Kava remains focused on helping more users join the DeFi space. The Kava API will be launched as a standardized plugin for application developers and financial institutions to “unlock DeFi services for their users initially including borrowing, lending, and trading.” Prototypes have been integrated with partners such as Binance and Bitmax.io with “many more business integrations to come in 2021.”

Source

Jan 01 2021

Price analysis 1/1: BTC, ETH, XRP, LTC, DOT, BCH, ADA, BNB, LINK, BSV

Bitcoin (BTC) rallied from an intraday low at $17,573.29 on Dec. 11 to an intraday high at $29,310.19 on Dec. 31, a 66.78% rally in a short span. This shows strong demand from traders at every higher level.

Institutional crypto investment giant Grayscale bought 72,950 Bitcoin in December, which was 159.49% more than the 28,112 Bitcoin mined during that period, according to data from Coin98 Analytics.

It is not only the institutions buying — a strong bull run also attracts speculators and momentum traders who try to piggyback on the up-move. This can be seen from the surge in Bitcoin’s transaction volume in December 2020, according to on-chain analytics resource Digital Assets Data.

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

However, at some level, buyers will stop chasing prices higher, and that could cause the rally to turn down. When it does, the speculators and momentum traders may rush to the exit, and the buyers are likely to wait for lower levels to purchase again. This scenario could result in a sharp pullback. Hence, traders should employ suitable risk management strategies.

In a strong bull run, traders may watch the resistance levels for signs of a possible turnaround, but when the levels are scaled with ease, it shows that the trend remains strong. Let’s study the charts of the top 10 cryptocurrencies to identify the critical resistance levels on the upside.

BTC/USD

Bitcoin (BTC) is in a strong uptrend, and traders are buying every intraday dip without waiting for a deeper correction. The long-legged Doji candlestick pattern on Dec. 31 suggests that bears tried to start a correction but the bulls bought the dip aggressively.

However, the strong up-move of the past few days has pushed the relative strength index (RSI) deep into the overbought territory. This suggests the BTC/USD pair could enter a minor consolidation or correction near the $30,000 mark.

Contrary to this assumption, if the bulls drive the price above $30,000, the pair could continue its rally and rise to $37,000. But with every leg up, the risk to the downside increases.

If the price turns down from $30,000, the pair could drop to the 20-day exponential moving average ($24,842). A strong rebound off this level will suggest that the uptrend remains intact, but a break below it could pull the pair down to the 50-day simple moving average ($20,614).

ETH/USD

Ether (ETH) has been facing resistance near the $750 level for the past few days, but the positive sign is that the bulls have not given up much ground. This suggests that traders are not booking profits aggressively, as they expect the uptrend to resume.

If the bulls can push and sustain the price above $750, the ETH/USD pair may rally to $800 where the bears may again try to stall the uptrend. The rising moving averages and the RSI near the overbought zone suggest that bulls have the upper hand.

However, if the pair dips below $717, the correction could deepen to the 20-day EMA ($663). If the price rebounds off this support, it will suggest that the sentiment remains bullish and traders are buying on dips.

On the contrary, a break below the 20-day EMA will suggest that traders are not buying the dips and are booking profits aggressively. That could signal the start of a deeper correction.

XRP/USD

XRP formed an inside day candlestick pattern on Dec. 30 and 31, which shows indecision among the bulls and bears. The uncertainty resolved to the upside today, and the bulls have started a relief rally.

In a strong downtrend, traders use rallies to establish short positions or close their long positions. The downsloping 20-day EMA and the RSI near the overbought territory suggest that bears are in command.

Therefore, the current attempt to move up may face strong resistance at the 20-day EMA ($0.357). If the price turns down from this level, the bears will try to resume the downtrend. If they can sink the price below $0.172536, the XRP/USD pair could fall to $0.10.

This negative view will be invalidated if the bears push the price above the 20-day EMA. Such a move will suggest that selling has exhausted, and a few days of range-bound action could follow.

LTC/USD

Litecoin (LTC) has held above $124.1278 for the past few days, which suggests that the bulls are attempting to flip this level to support. The upsloping moving averages and the RSI in the positive zone suggest that the bulls are in control.

If the bulls can propel the price above the $140 resistance, the LTC/USD pair may resume its uptrend. The bears may again try to stall the rally at the psychological resistance at $150, but if this level is scaled, the up-move could reach $160.

Contrary to this assumption, if the bears sink and sustain the price below $124.1278, the pair may drop to the 20-day EMA ($113.79).

If the price rebounds off this level, the bulls will again try to resume the uptrend. However, a break below the 20-day EMA will open up the possibilities for a deeper correction to the 50-day SMA ($91.96).

DOT/USD

Polkadot (DOT) resumed its up-move after a one-day minor correction on Dec. 30. The 28.145% rally on Dec. 31 shows that the altcoin is backed by strong momentum.

However, the uptrend has pushed the RSI into the overbought territory, and the bears are currently trying to stall the up-move in the $9.51 to $10 overhead resistance zone.

If the DOT/USD pair again witnesses a minor correction and turns up from the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level at $7.7614, it will suggest that traders are not closing their positions in a hurry and are buying on every minor dip. This may push the pair to $11.

Conversely, if the bears pull the price below $7.7614, a retest of the breakout level at $6.8619 is possible.

BCH/USD

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) turned down from the $370 overhead resistance on Dec. 28 and slipped below the $353 support on Dec. 31. The bulls are currently attempting to sustain the price above the 20-day EMA ($323).

If the price turns up from the current levels, the bulls will make one more attempt to drive the price above $370. The upsloping moving averages and the RSI in the positive zone suggest that bulls have the upper hand.

A breakout and close above $370 could resume the up-move, and the BCH/USD pair could reach $430 and then $500. This positive view will be invalidated and the pair may remain stuck in the range if the bears sink the price below the 20-day EMA.

ADA/USD

Cardano’s ADA has been holding above the $0.175 support for the past two days, which suggests that the bulls have been purchasing the dips to this level. However, the failure to resume the up-move indicates that demand dries up at higher levels.

The range has contracted for the past two days, and soon, this will be followed by a range expansion. If the range resolves to the upside and the bulls push the price above $0.1966315, the ADA/USD pair could rally to $0.22 and then to $0.235.

The rising moving averages and the RSI in the positive zone suggest that the path of least resistance is to the upside. This positive view will be invalidated if the bears sink and sustain the price below the 20-day EMA ($0.165). If that happens, it will suggest that the recent breakout was a bull trap.

BNB/USD

Binance Coin (BNB) did not even correct to the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level of the latest leg of the rally, and it turned up from $36.5157 on Dec. 31. This suggests that traders aggressively bought the dip.

If the bulls can push the price above the $40 resistance, the BNB/USD pair could resume its rally and reach $45 and then $50. The rising moving averages and the RSI near the overbought territory indicate bulls are in control.

Contrary to this assumption, if the price again turns down from $40, the pair may remain range-bound between $35.69 and $40 for a few days. The trend could change if the bears sink the price below the 20-day EMA ($34).

LINK/USD

Chainlink’s LINK is trading inside a descending channel. The failure of the bears to sink and sustain the price below the $11.29 support has attracted buyers today who are attempting to push the price above the 20-day EMA ($12.13).

If they succeed, the LINK/USD pair could rise to the resistance line of the channel. A break above the channel and the $13.28 resistance could start a new uptrend that could reach $16.39.

However, if the price turns down from the current levels or the resistance line of the channel, then the bears will again try to break the $11.29 support. If they manage to do that, the pair could drop to $10 and then to the support line of the channel near $9.60.

BSV/USD

The bulls are struggling to push Bitcoin SV (BSV) above the 20-day EMA ($167), and the bears are not able to sustain the price below $160. This suggests a balance between supply and demand, but this tight range action may not continue for long.

If the bulls push the price above the moving averages, the BSV/USD pair could rally to $181 where the bears are likely to mount a stiff resistance. If the price turns down from this level, the range-bound action is likely to extend for a few more days.

On the other hand, if the pair dips below $160, the pair could drop to $146 where the buyers may step in. A strong bounce could keep the price inside the angle for some more time. The indicators are not showing a clear advantage either to the bulls or the bears.

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 1/1: BTC, ETH, XRP, LTC, DOT, BCH, ADA, BNB, LINK, BSV

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