2024-03-18 11:13

Richard Teng replaced Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) as the new CEO of the crypto exchange in November 2023 after the latter resigned as part of a $4.3 billion settlement with U.S. authorities. Teng expects family offices and endowment funds to increase their investment in bitcoin ETFs. Standard Chartered also raised their year-end bitcoin price target to $150,000. Binance’s new boss, Richard Teng, expects bitcoin (BTC) to blow past the $80,000 mark by the end of this year, according to Bloomberg. Teng said, "with supply reducing and demand continuing to come through,” he expects the world’s largest cryptocurrency to cross his previous estimate of $80,000. The crypto market has been steadily reaching new highs this year on the back of the spot bitcoin ETF approval in the U.S., with bitcoin crossing $73,000 for the first time last week. The market rally, which is being driven by institutional adoption, has turned many financial firms bullish on crypto. On Monday, Standard Chartered (STAN) raised its year-end target for bitcoin to $150,000. Richard Teng replaced Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) as the new CEO of the crypto exchange in November 2023 after the latter resigned as part of a $4.3 billion settlement with U.S. authorities. Family offices and endowment funds will also increase their investment in bitcoin ETFs in the near term, the report said, citing Teng. Teng was speaking at an event in Bangkok on Sunday and also said the rally won’t be a “straight line,” and the ups and downs will be good for the market, the report said. Read More: Binance Spun Off Venture Capital Arm Earlier This Year https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/03/18/binance-ceo-richard-teng-sees-bitcoin-crossing-80k-by-year-end/

2024-03-18 10:48

The bank also predicted that approval of an ether ETF could be expected on May 23, leading to as much as $45 billion of inflows in the first 12 months and ETH climbing to $8,000 by the end of 2024. Standard Chartered increased its year-end bitcoin price forecast by 50% to $150,000. The bank also predicted BTC will reach a high for the cycle of $250,000 during 2025 before settling around $200,000. The ether price could climb to $8,000 by year-end if a spot exchange-traded fund is approved in the U.S. Standard Chartered (STAN) raised its year-end forecast for bitcoin's (BTC) price to $150,000 from $100,000. The bank also predicted BTC will reach a high for the cycle of $250,000 next year before settling around $200,000, according to an emailed investment note on Monday. Standard Chartered based its analysis on a comparison with the price of gold after gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) were introduced in the U.S. and a correlation between ETF inflows and the BTC price. Spot bitcoin ETFs started trading in the U.S. in January. "We think the gold analogy – in terms of both ETF impact and the optimal portfolio mix – remains a good starting point for estimating the ‘correct’ BTC price level medium-term," the note said. "If ETF inflows reach our mid-point estimate of $75billlion, and/or if reserve managers buy BTC, we see a good chance of an overshoot to the $250,000 level at some stage in 2025." Standard Chartered also said the Securities and Exchange Commission could approve an ether (ETH) ETF on May 23, leading to inflows of as much as $45 billion in the first 12 months and ETH reaching around $8,000 by the end of 2024. It was recently trading around $3,570. "In 2025, we see the ETH-to-BTC price ratio rising back to the 7% level that prevailed for much of 2021-22," Standard Chartered said in a separate note. "Given our estimated BTC price level of USD 200,000 at end-2025, that would imply an ETH price of $14,000." Read More: Ether ETFs Could Be Bigger Than Bitcoin ETFs, Says VanEck https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/03/18/standard-chartered-raises-year-end-btc-forecast-to-150k-sees-2025-high-of-250k/

2024-03-18 10:17

The regulator proposed increases to all supervision fees as the government blamed crypto for recent economic woes. Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission proposed dramatic hikes to supervision fees for crypto firms. Regulators and government officials have been cracking down on the crypto industry as the country's currency weakens to record lows. Nigeria's securities watchdog proposed a 400% increase to registration fees for crypto firms as the country cracks down on the sector, according to a notice published Friday. The proposed amendments to the rules for crypto issuers, exchanges and custody platforms include increases to all supervision fees. Instead of a 100,000 naira ($64) application fee and a 30 million naira registration fee, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) now wants 300,000 naira with every application and hopes to charge crypto firms a 150 million registration fee. The proposals come as the Nigerian naira weakens to record lows against the dollar, with the government blaming the crypto industry for facilitating illegal capital outflows. Earlier this month, reports surfaced that the SEC was updating its guidelines for crypto service providers in the country. While the government may have taken action against several crypto firms, officials have singled out exchange platform Binance, accusing it of setting the naira exchange rate. Nigeria has detained two Binance executives and is reportedly considering hefty penalties against the firm. The SEC also proposed doubling the minimum paid-up capital (non-borrowed capital) requirement for interested crypto service providers to 1 billion naira. The proposals "to rearrange" the rules are to "provide clarity to the market as well as to incorporate suggestions from industry stakeholders particularly with regards to the recent engagements with the [central bank of Nigeria]," the SEC said. https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/03/18/nigerias-sec-proposes-400-increase-to-crypto-firm-registration-fees/

2024-03-18 09:10

From March 20, interoperability protocol Celer will allow MOON holders to move coins to Arbitrum One. r/CryptoCurrency subreddit’s MOON token clocked a record high of 84 cents over the weekend. Interoperability protocol Celer has decided to support MOON, allowing token holders to bridge or move their coins to Arbitrum One. The bridge will debut on March 20. Reddit's IPO, due March 21, is four to five times oversubscribed, per Reuters. Moons (MOON), the native cryptocurrency of Reddit’s r/CryptoCurrency community, is rallying ahead of the debut of Celer’s bidirectional bridging facility, which will allow token holders to transfer coins between Arbitrum Nova and Arbitrum One. MOON rose to a record high of 84 cents over the weekend, surpassing the previous peak of 65 cents registered in July 2023, CoinDesk data show. At press time, the cryptocurrency changed hands at 50 cents, down 5% on a 24-hour basis compared to the 7% gain in the CoinDesk 20 index. Moons are ERC-20 tokens distributed as rewards to users for their posts or comments in the r/CryptoCurrency subreddit. The tokens can be freely traded, tipped, or spent in the community. Last month, r/CryptoCurrency announced that Celer, an interoperability protocol for cross-chain fund and message transfers, has decided to support MOON. The bridge, set to go live by March 20, will allow users to bridge or move their MOON tokens to layer 2 scaling solution Arbitrum One blockchain without having to wait one week, as is the case with Arbitrum’s official bridge. Ethereum scaling solution Arbitrum operates two layers on the Ethereum blockchain – Arbitrum One, and Arbitrum Nova. The former is designed for DeFi trading activities, while the latter is focused on reducing transaction costs for high-throughput decentralized applications. MOON is currently listed on Arbitrum Nova. After the bridge goes live, MOON holders can bridge coins from Nova to One and from One to Nova. As of writing, Arbitrum One boasts higher liquidity, with $3.43 billion worth of cryptocurrencies locked in its decentralized finance ecosystem, according to DeFiLlama. Meanwhile, Arbitrum Nova had $2.09 million. The relative popularity of Arbitrum One means bridging MOON to the platform will expose the cryptocurrency to a broader range of DeFi applications while minimizing the risk of potential shutdowns, r/CryptoCurrency's official post explained. Users who bridge MOON to Arbitrum One will retail voting power. However, distribution and tipping of the token will continue over Nova, which has low transaction costs, the post added. Lastly, Reddit's initial public offering (IPO), due on March 21, may have generated investor interest in the community token. As per Reuters, the IPO is four to five times overly subscribed, which suggests the shares in the social media platform could debut with a valuation of $6.5 billion. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/03/18/reddit-community-token-moon-hits-record-high-ahead-of-celers-multidirectional-bridge-launch/

2024-03-18 08:03

Scores of newly issued tokens boast trading volumes of tens of millions, showcasing network usage and demand for blockspace. SOL crossed its previous market cap high of $75 billion. The network activity is likely being driven by the meme coin frenzy. Solana’s SOL crossed $200 for the first time since November 2021 as network activity continues to grow rapidly on the back of the meme coin frenzy. SOL is now 22% away from its lifetime peak of $260 but has already crossed its record market capitalization of $75 billion market capitalization, CoinGecko data shows, as new tokens entered the market over the past year. Data shows that various metrics, such as network volumes, active wallets, total value locked (TVL), fees, and SOL’s market capitalization, crossed lifetime peaks over the weekend, led by a surge in pre-sale activity. The network amassed $3.2 million in fees over a 24-hour period, beating a $300,000 record from 2021. Onchain volumes climbed over $3 billion, flipping a November 2022 record of $300 million. However, net inflows to the Solana blockchain have been negative over the past week, suggesting there has not been a significant influx of new money into the ecosystem. Sentiment data shows Solana network activity has been likely led by retail traders who chased newer meme coins and presales that popped up on the network over the weekend. SOL was trading at $202 during Asian morning hours, up 10% since Sunday. Meanwhile, bitcoin was hovering over $68,000, while the broader CoinDesk 20 index is up 6%. https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2024/03/18/sol-crosses-200-as-meme-coin-frenzy-bumps-demand-for-solana-network/

2024-03-18 06:34

Increased crowd chatter may be a sign of an impending retail investor frenzy. SOL and BOME received the most crowd attention over the weekend, according to data tracked by Santiment. Both cryptocurrencies have outperformed ETH, BTC and the broader market in the past seven days. Increased crowd chatter may be a sign of an impending retail investor frenzy. Solana’s SOL and The Book of Meme (BOME), the meme coin built on Solana, were the top two trending tokens on crypto social media over the weekend, data tracked by Santiment shows. “$BOME and $SOL are the top two trending assets across X [formerly Twitter], Reddit, Telegram, and 4Chan due to their outperforming the markets as of late. The crowd continues to regard Solana and associated meme coins as viable alternatives to Ethereum-based projects,” Santiment said in a market insights post. SOL’s price has surged 45% in seven days, tapping highs of over $200 for the first time since December 2021, CoinDesk data show. The Book of Meme (BOME) has surged 82% since its debut on March 10. Crypto exchange Binance listed BOME perpetual futures on March 16. Ether (ETH), the native token of the world’s leading smart contract blockchain, has declined 6.3% to $3,640 despite successfully implementing the Dencun upgrade. Meanwhile, bitcoin (BTC), the market leader, has held flat at around $68670, while the broader CoinDesk 20 Index has gained 0.7%. Solana’s market-beating rally is consistent with renewed interest in its DeFi ecosystem. Data tracked by Top Ledger and OurNetwork show that Solana-based decentralized exchanges have registered a trading volume of $30 billion this month. That’s ten times higher than a year ago. Increased crowd chatter The number of “SOL” mentions on social media has risen to 322, according to Santiment. A similar spike in late December saw the cryptocurrency peak at $125 and eventually correct to $85. Meanwhile, at press time, Google Trends, a widely used tool to gauge general or retail interest in trending topics, shows a provisional value of 100 for the worldwide search query “solana.” A score of 100 represents peak popularity – the maximum number of searches observed for a term during a given time frame. It’s a sign that more and more people are scanning the web for information about the cryptocurrency that has outshined market leaders recently. Increased crowd chatter is widely taken to represent an impending retail investor frenzy often observed at market tops. Google trends showed similar values in the final four months of 2021 as SOL’s bull market peaked above $200. Google Trends provides a mostly unfiltered sample of search requests made to Google and scales their searches to a range of 0 to 100, according to the company. The search value represents the search interest relative to the highest point on the chart for the selected region and time. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/03/18/sol-bome-trend-on-social-media-as-ether-bitcoin-lag/