Cryptocurrency markets have slipped on Tuesday in tandem with US stock prices as US yields and the US dollar rise in wake of hawkish commentary from US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell at the first day of his semi-annual testimony before the US Congress on Tuesday.
Powell warned that the Fed could lift interest rates higher and at a faster pace than previously signalled. Analysts interpreted Powell’s remarks as an opening of the door to a possible 50 bps rate hike at this month’s policy meeting.
Bitcoin was last trading just above $22,000 following its first dip beneath that level since mid-February earlier in the session and was last down about 1.5% on the day. Technicians pointed out that Tuesday’s drop means Bitcoin has now broken below an uptrend that had been in play since mid-January, opening the door to a potential retest of February’s lows in the $23,000s and perhaps even the 18th January low in the $20,300s.
Certainly, the 14-Day Relative Strength Index (RSI) suggests that there is plenty of room further downside before Bitcoin reaches a point of being oversold. Bitcoin’s RSI was last around 40, with a score below 30 seen as signifying that market conditions have become overly bearish.
Some bears think that a retest of Bitcoin’s 200-Day Moving Average and Realized Price (the average price at which each Bitcoin last moved on the blockchain) in the $19,700-800 region is a possibility. Crypto futures traders certainly seem to have turned more bearish, with the futures margin funding rates having turned negative in recent days to a degree not seen since early January.
US interest rates rising higher and at a faster pace than previously signaled, as Powell warned was a possibility, depends upon how hot upcoming US economic data is. Crypto traders will now be nervously monitoring this week’s US jobs data, hoping the data doesn’t reveal too strong a labor market. The current stronger-than-expected US labor market is viewed as a challenge for the Fed, who are trying to get inflation under control.
If the jobs data does come out on the stronger side, this could trigger further downside in crypto as traders increase bets on a 50 bps rate hike from the Fed later this month. That would likely worsen sentiment in the crypto market.
Options Markets Still Sanguine on Volatility Risks
Despite concerns that a further hawkish repricing of Fed tightening expectations could provoke fresh cryptocurrency market volatility, Bitcoin options markets continue to signal that price risks remains limited. For example, Deribit’s Bitcoin Volatility Index (DVOL) remained unchanged at 51 on Tuesday, still not too far above January’s record lows of 42, according to data presented by The Block. Deribit is the dominant exchange for cryptocurrency derivatives.
Meanwhile, the 25% delta skew of Bitcoin options expiring in 7, 30, 60, 90 and 180 days also largely continue to go sideways, within recent ranges and, for the most part, still pretty close to zero, indicating a fairly neutral market positioning bias. In fairness, the 25% delta skew for shorter-term expiries like the 7 and 30-day are slightly negative at around -1.5, while the 180-day is at around 2.4, implying the market is a little more optimistic on the medium to long-term Bitcoin price outlook than in the short-term.
The 25% delta options skew is a popularly monitored proxy for the degree to which trading desks are over or undercharging for upside or downside protection via the put and call options they are selling to investors. Put options give an investor the right but not the obligation to sell an asset at a predetermined price, while a call option gives an investor the right but not the obligation to buy an asset at a predetermined price.
A 25% delta options skew above 0 suggests that desks are charging more for equivalent call options versus puts. This implies there is stronger demand for calls versus puts, which can be interpreted as a bullish sign as investors are more eager to secure protection against (or bet on) a rise in prices.
Options markets are sending a message that a major near-term collapse in prices is unlikely. That could suggest that Bitcoin will find strong dip-buying interest if/when it retests key support areas, like around $21,400, in the $20,300s or in the $19,700-800 area.
BIS building in Basel, Switzerland. Source: Adobe/doganmesut
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has completed a pilot study of the use of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) for cross-border payments in collaboration with central banks in Norway, Sweden, and Israel.
The pilot study, called Project Icebreaker, aimed to test the “technical feasibility” of transfers across borders that involve different CBDC, and to get an understanding of “key technical and policy choices and trade-offs.
The results of the study were published this week in a report from the BIS, which said the study came after the G20 had issued a call for action on how to enhance cross-border payments.
Different CBDCs can interoperate
According to the report, the study found that central banks will have “almost full autonomy” when it comes to the design of their own CBDC, while still making the CBDC interoperable with other CBDCs for cross-border transactions.
It also said that the project has demonstrated that cross-border transactions involving multiple CBDCs can be completed in just seconds. That compares to transfers times of several days with today’s commonly used SWIFT system for international transfers.
Additionally, the study showed how a new CBDC system can reduce costs and lower settlement and counterparty risks for users.
One requirement to be able to reap these benefits, however, is that the system for retail CBDCs is operational 24 hours a day, every day.
Part of “global effort to improve cross-border payments”
In a comment in the report, Torbjørn Hægeland, Executive director for Financial Stability at Norway’s central bank, said the project “contributes to the important global effort to improve cross-border payments,” and that it has added “significant value” to the bank’s work on an experimental CBDC for Norway.
Similarly, Aino Bunge, Deputy Governor of Sweden’s central bank, also praised the project, saying CBDCs “could enable instant cross-currency transactions in a way that would greatly benefit the end users.”
The BIS is often referred to as the ‘central bank of central banks’, and is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. The organization is today led by former Bank of Mexico Governor Agustín Carstens, who is known as a sharp critic of Bitcoin (BTC).
In the past, Carstens has referred to Bitcoin as “a combination of a bubble, a Ponzi scheme and an environmental disaster.” Similarly, BIS’ Head of Research, Hyun Song Shin, has compared crypto with baseball cards, saying “without users, it would simply be a worthless token.”
Dogecoin (DOGE), the cryptocurrency that powers the Dogecoin blockchain, has dropped back after an attempt to push back to the north of the $0.076 level earlier in the day. A spike in the US dollar and US yields combined with downside in US stocks in wake of hawkish remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell is weighing broadly on crypto prices, hence the intra-day pullback.
Powell warned that the pace of interest rate hikes could rise once again and that interest rates could go higher than expected if inflationary pressures remain too hot. Dogecoin was last changing hands around $0.074, down around 1.0% on the session, having found support at the weekend lows in the $0.072s.
News of Dogecoin whales moving significant amounts of tokens off of Binance and into self-custody has failed to lift optimism in the Dogecoin market. According to blockchain monitoring Twitter account Whale Alert, 67,455,315 DOGE were transferred from the world’s largest exchange to an unknown wallet on Tuesday.
At the current price, those tokens are worth roughly $5.0 million. Typically, investors moving significant sums of tokens off of exchanges is seen as bullish for a cryptocurrency, as it implies they have no plans to sell the tokens on the exchange. On the contrary, significant exchange inflows is typically seen as bearish for a cryptocurrency, as it could be a lead indictor of increased sell pressure.
Price Prediction – Where Next for Dogecoin?
Dogecoin bulls will be hoping the cryptocurrency can continue to find support to the north of the $0.072 support area, as a break below it could open the door to a fresh drop back towards Dogecoin’s late 2022 lows in the $0.066 area.
Indeed, Dogecoin’s recent decisive break back below its 200-Day Moving Average (at $0.0786) and support in the form of the late February lows in the $0.0782 area continues to bode poorly for the cryptocurrency’s near-term outlook. Certainly, a break back to the north of resistance in the upper $0.07s will be a tough ask in the absence of a big improvement in broader crypto market sentiment.
DOGE Alternatives to Consider
Dogecoin’s near-term outlook looks patchy, with a significant risk of further near-term losses. Investors looking for better, shorter-term coins may want to diversify their holdings with some presale tokens that have a great risk-reward – indeed, whilst presales are risky (as all crypto is), crypto investors that have historically secured the best returns are those who got in early on a presale. In the list below, we’ve reviewed the top 15 cryptocurrencies for 2023, as analyzed by the Cryptonews Industry Talk team.
The list is updated weekly with new altcoins and ICO projects.
Disclaimer: The Industry Talk section features insights by crypto industry players and is not a part of the editorial content of Cryptonews.com.
The cryptocurrency market has experienced minimal activity and lackluster performance in recent days as US regulators continue to target crypto companies and fiat onramps and offramps into crypto are disrupted. Meanwhile, the crypto and other risk asset markets are responding to Jerome Powell’s less than bullish comments to Congress about the economy and interest rate policy.
How might this impact the selection of the best cryptos to buy today?
Bitcoin and Ethereum have seen a decline of 1.02% and 1.05%, respectively, today, bringing their prices to $22,338 and $1,561.
As the market responds to ongoing economic revelations, investors and traders are keenly anticipating upcoming economic data and Fed policy updates. Powell is scheduled to speak before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday, which may fuel further market action.
Several analysts have warned that negative headlines have dented market optimism and that the worst may not yet be over, with any rebound potentially leading to a significant correction.
CryptoQuant analysts have released data suggesting that the current funding rates of digital assets are indicative of a bearish market, indicating that further declines could be imminent.
Although some Federal Reserve members would prefer to remain at the current 25 basis points raise, other policymakers are willing to consider higher increases. According to CME’s FedWatch tool, the chances of a 50-basis point rise on March 22nd are estimated to be approximately 29%.
Nevertheless, the impending employment report on Friday could drastically alter this picture and render prior forecasts irrelevant.
Investors in the cryptocurrency market are currently in a state of uncertainty, with the Federal Reserve’s future monetary decisions and economic indicators likely to have a significant impact on the market’s direction.
As a result, it is now more critical than ever for investors to carefully consider both fundamental and technical analyses when choosing investment options.
According to these analyses, several cryptocurrencies, including FGHT, MANA, CCHG, GMX, TARO, and RIA, seem to be among the best cryptos to buy today.
Fight Out a Knockout Combination of Fitness App and Fantasy Sports
Fight Out is a new and exciting way to engage with the world of fighting and fitness. This innovative platform allows users to create virtual teams of fighters and bet on the outcome of real-life fights. It’s a new spin on traditional fantasy sports games, and it’s one that’s sure to capture the imagination of sports fans and fitness enthusiasts alike.
The platform is built around the concept of move-to-earn (M2E), which is becoming increasingly popular in the fitness industry. Fight Out takes this concept to a whole new level, combining it with a fantasy sports game to create an integrated fitness and training platform.
One of the key features of Fight Out is its ability to allow users to engage in virtual fights with their own NFT avatars. This adds a new level of excitement and engagement to the fitness app experience, as users can see their training and achievements reflected in the performance of their avatar.
Fight Out also offers a comprehensive fitness solution, with plans to launch Web3-powered gyms worldwide. The gyms will feature state-of-the-art equipment and services, as well as Web3-powered features like digital mirrors displaying the user’s fitness profile and sensors tracking workouts for ongoing advice and insights.
Users can earn REPS tokens by completing workouts at home or in a gym and can also compete with other users for additional tokens. These tokens can be redeemed for discounts on app subscriptions, gym memberships, personal training sessions, and items.
In addition to its fitness features, Fight Out also offers a variety of fun and addictive games with both PVP and PVE modes. Users can pay $FGHT to enter leagues, tournaments, and special contest modes to win glory, titles, and claim the lion’s share of the prize pools.
Overall, Fight Out is an innovative platform that brings together the worlds of fighting, fitness, and fantasy sports. With its cutting-edge technology and comprehensive approach to fitness, it’s sure to be a hit with sports fans and fitness enthusiasts around the world.
With its FGHT token presale smashing the $5.25 million mark and continuing to surge, Fight Out is undoubtedly one of the best cryptos to buy today before it launches.
Visit Fight Out Now
Decentraland (MANA)
Decentraland’s MANA cryptocurrency has recently experienced a shift in market sentiment, as various indicators suggest a possible change in momentum. Although the cryptocurrency saw an impressive 152.24% rally in token price in January, it has faced multiple rejections at the $0.80 resistance level since then.
For the past two weeks, sellers have been gaining traction, indicated by the consecutive lower highs formed by the price action. While MANA posted a gain of 5.93% and closed yesterday’s candle at $0.6109, it is currently trading at $0.5886 with a loss of 3.65% today.
Buyers now face a significant challenge, as the resistance at the 100-day EMA at $0.61 may be challenging to overcome. A break below the critical support level of $0.5620 to $0.5769 indicates a possible shift to a sustained bearish trend, with prices potentially falling to the next support level of $0.4468 to $0.4587.
Overall, although there are some signs of bullish momentum, it may not be sustainable in the long run. The market structure remains bearish, with lower highs and lower lows since February 20. Investors and resellers should exercise caution, as there is a possibility that the recent bullish move may be a trap.
However, if macroeconomic conditions improve and MANA finds support, it may yet be a good buy again in the near future.
C+Charge: Solution to Power Up Your EV and Wallet One of Best Cryptos to Buy Today
C+Charge is transforming the EV charging experience with its blockchain-based platform. As more people turn to electric vehicles, the demand for charging infrastructure grows. C+Charge’s innovative approach offers a sustainable solution to this challenge.
The company plans to build new charging stations while collaborating with existing ones, creating a network that enables customers to find nearby charging stations quickly and pay with the CCHG token. The blockchain technology behind CCHG ensures transparent and efficient payment processing, and the platform’s app provides real-time information on local charging options and vehicle diagnostics.
C+Charge is not just a platform for charging and payment; it also provides EV owners with the opportunity to earn carbon credits in the form of Goodness Native Tokens (GNT). These tokens represent verified voluntary carbon credits that can be traded on the app.
Through its partnership with Flowcarbon, C+Charge enables EV owners to earn carbon credits every time they charge, offering a unique opportunity for EV owners to contribute to the fight against climate change while charging their vehicles.
C+Charge’s presale is divided into eight stages, with each stage lasting a week. The project’s CCHG presale has raised over $2.5 million so far, and the next presale stage will see the token’s price increase.
Visit C+Charge Now
GMX.IO (GMX)
GMX, the official utility and governance token of the decentralized crypto exchange, experienced a significant 5% price surge upon yesterday’s candle close.
Investors have been attracted to GMX’s derivatives trading focus, leading to steady growth within the ecosystem. The recent surge in GMX’s token price reflects the platform’s potential for growth and development.
A Fibonacci retracement level plotted in its recent swing shows that the cryptocurrency bounced off the Fib 0.236 level at $65 on March 4, followed by two consecutive green candles on March 5 and March 6. Earlier today, GMX retested Fib 0.5, reaching an intra-day high of $73.34.
As of now, the token is trading at $70.23, with a loss of 1.65% so far today. It appears that GMX is facing some resistance around the 20-day EMA levels, currently at $71.37. Support levels may be anticipated at Fib 0.382, at $69.56, followed by the trailing dynamic support of the 50-day EMA at $66.34.
Building Your Dream World: RobotEra Unleashes Your Creativity
RobotEra is an upcoming metaverse gaming project that allows players to participate in creating and managing their own world. The project will offer a fully immersive gaming experience where players can acquire resources, manage their land, create robot companions, and participate in the creation of a new world.
What makes RobotEra stand out is its use of decentralized features that allow players to truly own their assets, whether it be their land, robots, or resources. The use of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) ensures that each asset is unique and can be freely traded or leased.
This means that players have complete control over their assets and can monetize them in any way they see fit.
The platform also features a shared world that connects players’ unique lands together, opening up endless possibilities for theme parks, concerts, museums, and more. This creates a collaborative and interactive environment where players can work together to create a truly unique and engaging metaverse.
Another exciting aspect of RobotEra is the use of Web3 gameplay experience that allows players to earn money through various means, such as cultivating “sacred trees”, selling NFTs, advertising, staking tokens, and more.
RobotEra also boasts an easy-to-use editing tool that allows players to add unique touches to their creations with no coding skills required. The editor lets players build production factories, dig for components and power blocks on their land to create robot companions, and construct buildings or decorations using item blocks.
This allows players to express themselves in the metaverse, creating works of art or high-tech assets.
Don’t pass up this opportunity to be one of the first investors in TARO, RobotEra’s crypto token that is quickly approaching $1 million raised during its presale. This digital coin has been identified as one of the best cryptos to buy today to take advantage of prices before they increase significantly with stage 2.
Visit RobotEra Now
Calvaria (RIA): Duels of Eternity Changing the Web3 Game
Calvaria: Duels of Eternity is an upcoming blockchain-based battle card game that offers players the opportunity to participate in strategic tournaments with unique characters, each with their own strengths and weaknesses.
The game distinguishes itself from others in the genre with its dedication to decentralization, enabling players to truly own their in-game resources and assets with the freedom to buy, sell, and trade as they please.
One of the game’s primary benefits is its elimination of barriers to entry, as players are not required to make any financial commitments or possess a high level of technical knowledge. Upon joining the game, players will receive free NFTs to start building their decks.
At the center of the Calvaria ecosystem is the $RIA token, which serves as the main currency of the game’s economy. Every purchase will contribute 10% to the staking pool to maintain economic stability, with the rest going to the prize pool.
By utilizing blockchain technology, Calvaria: Duels of Eternity promises to transform digital gaming by offering real ownership of game resources and cutting-edge technology. It offers a new level of value and engagement for players that sets it apart from its peers.
To invest in RIA, players can do so now on exchanges such as BKex, LBank, and Uniswap. As the game’s launch date draws closer, excitement continues to grow for the unique and innovative experience that Calvaria: Duels of Eternity is set to offer.
The ongoing FTX bankruptcy saga has resulted in a staggering cost of legal fees, as revealed by recent court filings. In January alone, the total bill for legal work and expenses reached $38 million.
Among the firms involved in the case, Sullivan & Cromwell has emerged as the biggest beneficiary. As the counsel responsible for discovery, asset disposition, and asset analysis/recovery, the firm submitted an invoice for $16.8 million to cover the 14,569 hours of legal work performed in January.
This is a significant improvement for Sullivan & Cromwell, as they had faced the risk of being removed from the case in December.
The Department of Justice objected to FTX hiring the firm claiming a conflict of interest in the proceedings.
Sam Bankman-Fried further posted objections, claiming that law firm staff pressured him into declaring bankruptcy in November 2022.
However, Sullivan & Cromwell received a vote of confidence when in Late January, a Delaware Court ruled they could continue to work on the case.
FTX Saga Legal Bill Stacks Up
Other legal firms were able to scoop smaller mouthfuls out of the pot.
Quinn Emmanuel Urquhart & Sullivan billed $1.4m as the Special Counsel responsible for asset analysis and recovery, alongside avoidance actions.
Meanwhile, Landis Rath & Cobb came away from January with the smallest take, charging only $663,995 for handling hearings, litigation, and asset disposition.
All in all, legal expenses accounted for just shy of $19m (around 50%).
Financial Services Take Second Stage
On the financial side, industry services firm Alvarez & Marsal submitted the largest charge, billing $12.3m for a combined 5,644 hours working on avoidance action, financial analysis, and accounting.
This was followed by AlixPartners, a firm retained on the case to conduct forensic analysis on DeFi products and tokens. They billed $2.1m for 2,454 hours of work.
Finally, investment bank Perella Weinberg Partners continued to charge their monthly fee of $450,000.
Responsible for devising a restructuring strategy, so far, the firm has focused on the sale of LedgerX and FTX to create liquidity for creditors.
Alvarez and Marsal Comprise 68% of FTX Expenses Costs
Collectively the firms billed an additional $325,000 in expenses with almost $20,000 spent on food in January alone.
Alvarez and Marsal were among the biggest spenders and they’re rising to become one of the most expensive components of the case. Representing 68% of the expenses costs for the case, this firm spent $12,347 on meals in January alone.
Overall, Alvarez and Marsal also charged the highest hourly rate of any firm.
As the costs continue to stack up, creditors remain at a loss, and as is all too often in bankruptcy proceedings, the real winners are the representatives, at least for the time being.
Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news. __________
Security news
Russia-backed interest groups are crowdfunding expenses to cover weapons, supplies, and other materials by promoting their digital wallets across a large network of Telegram channels, the latest report by the crypto security firm CertiK revealed. This network of channels represents groups ranging from pro-Russian English language propaganda channels to sanctioned Neo-Nazi militias. These groups move most of their funds through centralized exchanges, and there appears to be an increasing reliance on smaller exchanges and peer-to-peer platforms that don’t require KYC/AML, it said.
The number of crypto-related scams reported in Hong Kong in 2022 equaled 2,336 cases, surging 67% from 1,397 cases recorded by police in 2021, the South China Morning Post reported. Financial losses from these scams doubled to more than $216.6m last year, with the latest police figures showing they accounted for more than half of the $407.66m conned out of city residents, as well as some victims living abroad, in nearly 23,000 reports of technology crimes last year, it said.
Tax news
Thailand’s cabinet agreed to waive corporate income tax and value-added tax for companies that issue digital tokens for investment, Reuters reported, citing a government spokeswoman. Companies will have access to alternative ways of raising capital through investment tokens in addition to traditional methods like debentures. Also, the government estimates that there will be 128bn baht ($3.71bn) worth of investment token offerings over the next two years and that it would lose tax revenue worth 35bn baht, said the spokeswoman.
Regulation news
China will form a new national financial regulatory body, consolidating oversight as part of a wider government overhaul that includes plans for a national data bureau, Reuters reported. It said that the current banking and insurance watchdog, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC), will be abolished.
Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that the US White House is “aware of the situation” regarding troubled crypto bank Silvergate and that it will “continue monitoring the reports.” She stated that “it is obviously only the latest company in the cryptocurrency field to experience significant issues.”
Gaming news
Payment processor for the gaming industry ZEBEDEE and mobile-gaming studio Bear Hug Entertainment announced their partnership “aimed to disrupt the casual-gaming market by adding real-money player rewards to familiar gaming concepts,” said the press release. Bear Hug’s first “rewarded game” Coin Mahjong, is live on Android, with an iOS version coming up. It pays out small amounts of money to players as a prize for completing levels, with no entry fees or upfront costs. Several more titles are in the pipeline, it added.
Investment news
The TON Foundation, a non-profit association supporting The Open Network (TON), announced that Tonstarter, the primary fundraising platform on TON, has closed a seed round of $1.5 million from Kingsway Capital, Gate.io, and DWF Labs. Tonstarter, incubated by First Stage Labs, will support projects on TON, including decentralized finance (DeFi), decentralized exchanges (DEXs), non-custodial wallets, lending and borrowing protocols, gaming, and the metaverse, a press release said.
The major producer of Bitcoin (BTC) mining equipment, Canaan, announced its unaudited financial results for the three months and twelve months that ended December 31, 2022. It reported revenues of $56.8m, a decrease of 59.9% from Q3 2022 and a decrease of 82.1% from the same period of 2021; mining revenue of $10.5m, an increase of 16.3% from Q3 2022 and an increase of 368.2% from the same period of 2021; revenues of RMB4,378.9m ($634.9m), compared to RMB4,986.7m in 2021; and mining of RMB218.6m ($31.7m), compared to RMB21.7m in 2021.
Crypto exchange KuCoin found that, despite the volatility of the crypto market, 52% of surveyed female crypto investors said that they HODL crypto, much higher than 38% among male investors. It further reported that 35% of female crypto investors are “very confident” in crypto investment, which is lower compared to 47% of male investors. Also, 58% of women said they made crypto investment decisions by doing their own research, and 49% of female crypto investors are reported to be self-motivated to start their crypto journey.
