2023-10-20 11:09

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters The dollar index experienced a 0.33% decrease on Thursday, October 19, 2023, following Federal Reserve Chair Powell's indication of maintaining interest rates steady at the forthcoming Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting and his cautious stance towards additional policy firming. This decline was mitigated by the 10-year Treasury note yield reaching a 16-year peak and weak stock performance, which spurred demand for dollar liquidity. Mixed U.S. economic news also influenced the currency market. Declines were observed in September's existing home sales, leading indicators, and Philadelphia Fed business outlook survey results. However, weekly unemployment claims decreased, suggesting a strengthening labor market. In response to Powell's slightly dovish comments, the euro saw a 0.47% rise. Yet, the EUR/USD was negatively affected by a dip in French business confidence. Meanwhile, the yen recovered from a two-week low against the dollar. This was driven by the Bank of Japan's quarterly report that upgraded economic assessments for six out of nine areas in Japan and a decade high in the Japanese Government Bond yield. Precious metals prices showed inconsistency. December gold reached a 2-1/2 month high due to a weak dollar, an increase in the 10-year U.S. breakeven inflation rate, and safe-haven demand spurred by the Israeli-Hamas conflict. Conversely, December silver closed lower. https://www.investing.com/news/forex-news/dollar-index-slips-euro-rises-amid-fed-chairs-dovish-remarks-93CH-3204183

2023-10-20 11:05

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters Lido Finance, a liquidity staking protocol that leverages Ethereum's Proof-of-Stake (PoS) model, has seen a significant increase in Ethereum (ETH) staking. Despite the rise, Lido's revenue growth remains sluggish compared to the surge in distributed rewards. According to data from Token Terminal, the staking rewards on Lido jumped from less than $10 million in early 2021 to over $60 million by June 2023. However, the average revenue during this period remained under $5 million. This discrepancy between staking rewards and revenue growth has raised concerns among market participants. Lido's protocol allows users to stake PoS coins like ETH without lock-up, issuing a derivative token called stETH for each ETH staked. This process enables users to have simultaneous access to their rewards and coins, increasing the attractiveness of the protocol. The shift of Ethereum to a PoS blockchain and the subsequent Shanghai upgrade in April 2023 have had a positive impact on Lido and similar protocols. The upgrade benefits Ethereum validators by allowing them to withdraw their staked ETH, which has contributed to an increase in staked assets on Lido. As of Wednesday, Lido reported a total value locked (TVL) of $13.913 billion, primarily in Ethereum assets. This substantial figure underscores the growing popularity of Ethereum staking on Lido's platform. Despite these benefits, there are persisting concerns about the potential centralization of Ethereum due to Lido's significant role in staking. As Ethereum continues its transition towards a PoS model, these concerns are likely to remain a focal point for stakeholders and market observers alike. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/ethereum-staking-climbs-on-lido-finance-amid-slow-revenue-growth-93CH-3204141

2023-10-20 10:57

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters. Morgan Stanley analysts, including Denny Galindo of Wealth Management, suggest a potential end to the 'crypto winter,' indicating the onset of a 'crypto spring.' The prediction is primarily based on the cyclical nature and price dynamics of Bitcoin (BTC), which dominates half of the cryptocurrency market share. On Friday, Galindo pointed out that Bitcoin's lowest prices typically occur a year after its peaks. For instance, after reaching nearly $68,000 in November 2021, Bitcoin hit its lowest point about a year later. A recovery of 50% from these lows often signals the end of downturns. Currently, Bitcoin has marked a year-to-date (YTD) surge of over 70% and a 77% rise since last year's low, hinting at an end to the downturn. Historically, price drops from peak values average around 83%. By November 2022, Bitcoin had fallen about 77% to roughly $16,000. However, the recent recovery signs show promise for the market. These analysts also highlighted the recurring 'halving' events that reduce inflationary tendencies by halving mining rewards. These events often trigger positive price spurts lasting 12 to 18 months post-halving. Since Bitcoin's emergence, there have been three such price surges. This analysis comes despite a bearish 'crypto winter,' characterized by reduced investments, miner's downturn, web3 collapses, and entities like Prime Trust Crypto Custodian filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Nevertheless, with an upcoming halving date in April 2024 and BTC's recent gains, the market shows promising signs of recovery. Historically significant BTC gains have been linked to these halving events and have triggered three bull runs since 2011. These bull runs lead to 'crypto summers' as BTC hits previous highs. Following these periods, increased media and investor attention typically occur as BTC sets new records. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/bitcoins-cyclical-nature-hints-at-crypto-spring-says-morgan-stanley-93CH-3204110

2023-10-20 10:48

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters. Significant Bitcoin outflows were observed this week, with major exchanges experiencing a plunge in Bitcoin balances to a year-to-date low of 2.3 million, indicating increased investor confidence despite market turbulence. This move has been particularly noticeable on platforms such as Bittrex and Binance. Bittrex recorded its largest outflow since May 2023, with about $40 million exiting the platform, while Binance saw one of its largest outflows this year, nearing $150 million. On Tuesday, Bitcoin surpassed the $29,000 threshold, leading to approximately $200 million in Bitcoin being transferred from these platforms to private wallets. The current trading price stands at $28,788 after a 7% surge in the past week, remaining above the psychological support level of $28,000. According to CryptoQuant data, there was a withdrawal of 33,000 Bitcoins ($924 million) from exchange wallets within five days. Bitstamp has seen its biggest annual outflow of 5,000 Bitcoins, marking its lowest holdings since 2013. On the other hand, OKX experienced its largest three-year inflow of 8,000 Bitcoins, reaching about 143,000 Bitcoins in total. Analysts interpret these movements as an indication of long-term holders' bullish outlook on Bitcoin. The trend reminds them of the bull run in November 2020. The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) non-opposition to Grayscale Investments’ bitcoin ETF reversal also signals potential approvals for multiple ETFs involving Bitcoin. This could lead to a possible market injection of $1 trillion and potentially drive Bitcoin's price up to $73,000. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/bitcoin-outflows-surge-amid-bullish-market-sentiment-93CH-3204091

2023-10-20 10:20

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters. Ana Boata of Allianz (ETR:ALVG) Trade warned in an interview on Bloomberg TV on Friday of a potential surge in oil prices due to possible escalation of hostilities between Israel and Hamas, which could lead to a wider Middle East conflict. The potential conflict could disrupt crude supplies, causing oil prices to increase from $90 to a peak of $140 per barrel and averaging at $120 next year. The steep rise in oil prices would result in severe human and economic costs. Central banks might adopt a wait-and-see approach before reducing interest rates due to the higher energy prices. This could potentially lead to faster inflation and weaker economic growth and might trigger a global recession, slowing growth to around 2%, close to contraction levels. The boat drew comparisons with the 2012 sovereign crisis, highlighting increased sovereign risks associated with such a scenario. She noted that governments lack clear strategies for adjusting their public finances amidst such a crisis. These concerns about the potential impact on oil were also shared by Christine Lagarde, chief of the European Central Bank, and officials from the International Monetary Fund. Boats also pointed out that real interest rates are significantly higher than growth. https://www.investing.com/news/commodities-news/oil-prices-may-surge-due-to-middle-east-conflict-warns-allianz-trade-93CH-3204056

2023-10-20 09:12

Ether staking yields have lost their appeal as falling payouts on pledged tokens currently stand at an annualized 3.5%, according to FalconX's David Lawant. This yield is lower than the 5% offered by US government bonds, signifying a shift from pandemic-era low-interest rates toward traditional financial assets. The Validator Queue data has shown a significant reduction in the waiting list for validators on the Ethereum network, indicating decreased demand for Ether staking. The number of validators directly influences these staking payouts. Services like Lido and Rocket Pool (NASDAQ:POOL), which gained traction following Ethereum network upgrades, have made access to staking rewards easier. However, strategists at JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), including Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, suggest that this surge has negatively impacted Ethereum's yield attractiveness compared to traditional financial assets. Other blockchains such as Solana and Cardano also use staking, with about 72% of Solana's SOL token and 63% of Cardano's ADA token locked for staking. In contrast, Ethereum's staking ratio stands at 22.6%. This differs from Bitcoin's approach, which does not employ staking. Data from the Dune Analytics dashboard, provided by 21Shares AG, shows a significant drop in Ether coins staked from May to September amid the digital-asset rout. Despite Ether's year-to-date rise, it lags behind Bitcoin's rally, which has been driven by speculation of the US allowing Bitcoin exchange-traded funds. Digital asset research company Kaiko reported that Ether’s price rose 1% to $1,581 while Bitcoin pushed 1.7% higher to $29,211 on Friday. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/ether-staking-loses-appeal-as-yields-fall-traditional-assets-regain-favor-93CH-3203888