2023-10-19 17:25

In a week marked by diverse developments in the cryptocurrency market, Deutsche Bank and PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) have made significant moves, reflecting strong institutional interest. Amidst an 8.6% contraction in the crypto market in Q3 2023, Bitcoin appreciated by 63.1% due to anticipation of spot BTC ETF filings. On Tuesday, PayPal launched its stablecoin PYUSD, a major step for the fintech giant in the digital currency space. This move comes on the heels of other significant institutional engagements in the cryptocurrency sector. In the same quarter, Deutsche Bank also increased its involvement in the crypto market. The specifics of Deutsche Bank's engagement were not detailed in the context provided. The DeFi sector saw a decline of 13.1% due to lower yields and a declining ETH price. However, Near's Layer-1 protocol exhibited promising growth alongside Ethereum's "Base" Layer-2 solutions, indicating that not all altcoins followed the same path amidst the market volatility. Grayscale secured a victory over the SEC, which suggests a growing integration of cryptocurrency into traditional finance and potential influence on future regulatory standards. Similarly, Ripple also secured a partial victory against the SEC, suggesting a maturing regulatory environment. Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) expanded its services during this period by obtaining approval for crypto futures listing and offering retail perpetual trading. These developments occurred amid economic uncertainties marked by Fitch's U.S credit rating downgrade and the U.S Congress passing a stopgap funding bill. Notably, Microstrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) made a considerable purchase of Bitcoin during this period. Franklin Templeton filed for a BTC ETF while the SEC delayed its decision on the ARK 21Shares spot BTC ETF. This week also saw the CFTC settle charges against three DeFi platforms. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/deutsche-bank-paypal-make-moves-in-crypto-market-amid-q3-volatility-93CH-3203354

2023-10-19 17:24

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters In a remarkable development in the cryptocurrency sector, Bitcoin (BTC), Ripple's XRP, and Ethereum (ETH) saw transactions amounting to $800 million within a 17-hour span on Wednesday. The sudden flurry of activity has prompted speculation about the parties involved and their intentions. According to reports from Whale Alert (@whale_alert), the event began with Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN), a leading cryptocurrency exchange, receiving an inflow of 3,000 BTC valued at $85.24 million. This was quickly followed by a transaction of over 13,000 BTC, equivalent to $376.76 million, between two unidentified wallets. Coinbase's involvement continued with additional transactions totaling 5,603 BTC ($158.76 million). The exchange's role in these significant movements underscores its central position within the crypto market. In addition to Bitcoin, Ripple's XRP also experienced substantial movement. Bitstamp and Bitso, crucial corridors for Ripple Payments, received 30.1 million and 22.85 million tokens valued at $14.73 million and $11.17 million respectively. Ethereum was not left out of this crypto spectacle. An enormous transfer of 70,704 ETH ($110.6 million) occurred between undisclosed wallets followed by another transaction of 22,374 ETH ($34.73 million) directed towards Coinbase. The identities behind these transactions remain unknown, adding to the intrigue surrounding this event. The sizeable movements in such a short timeframe have raised questions about potential market impacts and the motives behind these transactions. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/crypto-transactions-surge-moving-800-million-in-17-hours-93CH-3203353

2023-10-19 17:23

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters Ethereum (ETH) experienced a decline in its value this week, with its price currently hovering around $1,552. The cryptocurrency dipped intraday to $1,548 on Wednesday after briefly touching a high of $1,584. Despite this, bulls are striving to maintain the price near the $1,600 mark, indicating a potential for a short-term bullish trend. The critical support levels for ETH at $1,550 and $1,500 are being tested. If these levels are breached, the cryptocurrency could potentially plummet to $1,375. Meanwhile, the primary resistance for ETH is at $1,750 with a significant target at $1,975. These price movements come amidst remarkably low transaction fees on the Ethereum network since late 2022. This follows the launch of Ethereum's futures ETFs which failed to replicate the success of Bitcoin's (BTC) ETFs. In addition to these factors, the potential approval of an ETF by the SEC and overall market sentiment are key influencers of ETH's price. Despite a 24-hour decline of 1.50%, a monthly decrease of 0.79%, and an 11% drop in daily trading volume, the resilience of bulls suggests they could uphold the price near the $1,600 level. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/ethereum-struggles-to-hold-support-levels-despite-low-transaction-fees-93CH-3203352

2023-10-19 17:04

In the ongoing debate between Solana and Ethereum, recent data points to a shift in investor preference despite Ethereum's dominance in the total value locked (TVL) in the cryptocurrency space. As of Thursday, Ethereum's TVL stands at 53% of the total crypto space, while Solana's accounts for less than 1%, according to a comparison by Ichigo. Despite this significant gap, Solana has attracted positive inflows of $59 million year-to-date, while Ethereum reported negative flows of $111 million. This shift might be indicative of an evolving investor preference in the crypto market. Solana's developer activity has also been noteworthy, with 542 code commits reported. However, Ethereum maintains a robust developer community with significant activity, reporting 1.28K code commits. The comparison also highlighted differences in energy efficiency and carbon emissions between the two blockchain platforms. Solana is more energy-efficient, consuming 658 joules per transaction compared to Ethereum's 144,000 joules. Despite this, Solana reported higher carbon emissions (10,651.2 tonnes CO2) than Ethereum (870 tonnes CO2), emphasizing the complexity of evaluating environmental impact in the crypto space. Apart from energy considerations, the debate also discussed modularity versus monolithic technology stacks. Solana has demonstrated excellence in both energy efficiency and scalability, yet Ethereum dominates in terms of supported protocols and daily active users. With 324.21k daily active users, Ethereum maintains a market cap of $188.59 billion against Solana's $9.93 billion and its 81.49k daily active users. Despite potential scalability issues, Ethereum's resilience due to its robust developer community and EVM activity continues to solidify its position within the crypto space. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/ethereum-maintains-market-dominance-despite-solanas-energy-efficiency-93CH-3203343

2023-10-19 16:49

XRP, the digital asset linked to the blockchain payment protocol Ripple, saw its value dip 0.65% to $0.4881 on Tuesday, October 18, 2023. This follows a 1.38% loss the previous day, driven by concerns over increased US scrutiny of digital assets. Over 100 lawmakers, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, are urging the White House to address illicit cryptocurrency use in terrorism financing. The Financial Times reported that Israeli authorities forced Binance to close Hamas-linked accounts, leading to the seizure of millions in crypto assets. From 2021 to June 2023, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) raised over $130 million in cryptocurrencies and transferred millions among themselves. These developments led lawmakers to draft a bipartisan letter to the White House Administration, which could significantly impact the crypto market if it results in stricter scrutiny of US crypto exchanges and existing Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) protocols. Historically, increased White House scrutiny has negatively impacted investor sentiment in the digital asset space. The ongoing SEC vs Ripple case and regulatory uncertainty have caused XRP to pull back from its post-ruling high of $0.9327, despite increased adoption after a court ruling on XRP and Programmatic Sales. Currently, XRP is trading below both the 50-day and 200-day Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs), indicating bearish signals. If it drops below $0.4850, it might hit the $0.4700 support level. Conversely, breaking above the $0.5042 resistance level could initiate a bull run. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) suggests a potential drop below the $0.48 mark before entering oversold territory. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/xrp-value-dips-amid-potential-us-regulatory-scrutiny-93CH-3203328

2023-10-19 16:44

On Thursday, Wall Street expert Linda Jones expressed a positive outlook for XRP on X, formerly Twitter, attributing the bullish sentiment to an influx of institutional money via derivative contracts on Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN). The cryptocurrency exchange platform recently included XRP in the initial four assets for its perpetual futures trading, offered on its Advanced platform for international clients. The appeal of these futures contracts lies in their capacity to handle extreme price fluctuations, offering maximum leverage that could lead to substantial profits or losses. This volatility is particularly attractive to Wall Street firms and hedge funds, as they often seek high-risk, high-reward opportunities. In May, Coinbase obtained regulatory approval to offer futures contracts to non-US institutional investors. This offering was later extended to retail investors, further broadening the potential pool of participants in the cryptocurrency market. However, Jones criticized Coinbase's lack of transparency concerning the countries authorized for futures trading. She speculated that top firms participating in these trades might be located in offshore financial centers such as Bermuda or the Cayman Islands. Despite the criticism, Jones emphasized that the increased institutional access to XRP through futures contracts on Coinbase is a significant bullish indicator for the digital asset. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/xrp-optimism-rises-due-to-increased-institutional-access-on-coinbase-93CH-3203322