Category: Crypto market

Apple uninterested in Bitcoin

Posted on by Olumide Adesina
Apple’s decision not to invest in Bitcoin or actively engage with cryptocurrencies can be attributed to several strategic, financial, and philosophical reasons 
Conservative Financial Strategy:
Apple CEO Tim Cook
Apple has traditionally maintained a conservative approach to its cash reserves. With over $200 billion in cash, Apple tends to invest in assets considered more stable or directly beneficial to its business operations. Cryptocurrency like Bitcoin is seen as highly volatile, which might not align with Apple’s risk management policies.
Apple’s business revolves around selling hardware, software, and services. While interest in blockchain technology for improving supply chain transparency or other applications, the direct investment or acceptance of cryptocurrencies for transactions isn’t seen as central to their current business model or customer base expectations.

Michael Saylor the president of MicroStrategy recommended that Apple invest $100 billion in Bitcoin instead of repurchasing stock.

The plan is to turn the tech behemoth into a significant financial force. However, the ambitious and fascinating plan, of igniting the crypto-sphere hidden behind this audacious vision. The possibility of a partnership between Apple and Bitcoin has not been confirmed, but it has the potential to upend the financial industry.

Saylor discussed incorporating Bitcoin’s multi-signature solutions into Apple products in June last year. According to him, “the future biggest financial institution in the world could well be Apple integrating secure crypto-related solutions into its products,  the company could solidify institutional adoption of bitcoin and usher in a new era of digital finance. Furthermore, it appears that MicroStrategy is formulating a daring scheme to link Bitcoin to a trillion dollars. Excessive aspirations or the start of a new financial era?

Tim Cook, the head of Apple, told Sorkin of DealBook that he has owned Bitcoin for roughly three years. However, the CEO clarified that Apple has no immediate plans to join the cryptocurrency trend and that his interest and research in Bitcoin are personal.

According to the Apple executive, owning Bitcoin as a component of a diversified portfolio was “reasonable.”. He did clarify,  that he was merely sharing his personal feelings and not offering investment advice.

Tim Cook maintained that although Apple is investigating cryptocurrency, Apple is not ready to integrate it into its main operations. According to The New York Times, other businesses, such as Tesla, have already accepted Bitcoin for their electric cars and have acquired $1.05 billion worth of the cryptocurrency to keep in their corporate treasury. Not because he wouldn’t invest his own money, but because investors weren’t purchasing Apple stock to profit from cryptocurrency, the Apple executive stated that he would not invest the company’s funds (roughly $200 billion in cash) in Bitcoin.

 

Stellar’s XLM up 82% in 7 days despite market correction 

Posted on by Olumide Adesina

Stellar has increased by 82% in the past 7 days, indicating bullish sentiment despite recent market corrections.  XLM trading volume has increased significantly, hitting its highest level since May 2021.  

 XRP and XLM have a similar composition, their prices have always been closely linked.  The project was founded by Jed McCaleb, whose prior project was Ripple. Stelar focuses on cross-border payments as well.  

The recent surge in XRP’s value brought on by the new regulatory approval and increased whale activity has also helped the XLM tokens. 

Stellar has risen to number 20 on the CoinMarketCap crypto index because of its recent surge, and it will easily break into the top 20 with a few more days of growth. It currently has a $7 billion market valuation 

 Stellar and IBM have already teamed up to incorporate a decentralized financial system. IBM began accepting cryptocurrency payments, and their collaboration with XLM was finalized. This payment protocol, which American Express has tested, is a direct rival of Ripple’s xRapid. Its dual goals are to ease international payments and address the banking industry’s liquidity issues. These collaborations may contribute to Stellar’s $1 mark by 2025. 

XLM technical analysis  

The price of Stellar has risen sharply since the beginning of September. In November, XLM reached a new yearly high of $0.255, marking the end of its upward trend.  

 The token had broken above multiple important resistances and reached the long-term horizontal resistance of $0.25. The token’s price is presently trading within the $0.25 long-term horizontal resistance area.  

The next resistance at $0.400 could be reached by XLM if there were a breakout from this region, which would quicken the increase. Before the 2021 high of $0.8, this is the last area of resistance.

Shaquille O’Neal agrees to $11 million compensation in Solana NFT Lawsuit

Posted on by Olumide Adesina

Basketball great Shaquille O’Neal has consented to pay out $11 million as part of a settlement concerning a lawsuit filed by holders of the Astrals NFT collection.

 

The esteemed basketball player, Shaquille O’Neal, has settled accusations that he endorsed unregistered securities linked to the Astrals non-fungible token venture on the Solana blockchain. As the collection’s prominent celebrity figure, O’Neal leveraged his fame to attract funding for Astrals NFTs, as stated in legal documents.

O’Neal and related Astrals entities would provide $11 million in monetary relief as part of the proposed settlement to reimburse settlement class members and cover legal costs. It would essentially put an early end to O’Neal’s legal issues with the NFT, pending court approval.

Investors that bought NFTs from O’Neal’s Astrals project, which featured 10,000 Solana-based “metaverse-ready avatars,” or a governance token connected to the project’s DAO called GLXY, were the target of the alleged class-action lawsuit.

This settlement follows allegations that O’Neal promoted unregistered securities tied to the Astrals non-fungible token project on the Solana network.  O’Neal utilized his fame to draw investment toward Astrals NFTs as the collection’s main celebrity.

O’Neal famously posted the “I’m not f***ing leaving” Wolf of Wall Street meme on Astrals’ Discord, urging token holders to hold onto their holdings even though bankruptcies like FTX caused wider drops in virtual currencies and NFT markets

Astrals NFT investors sued O’Neal in a Florida district court as part of a class action lawsuit. The claims were pursued in court despite his efforts to avoid subpoenas and have the case dismissed. According to Miami District Judge Federico Moreno, Astrals NFTs were legally considered securities.

O’Neal had previously advocated for Galaxy, a decentralized autonomous organization token, which was also mentioned in the ruling. Judge Moreno’s approval is required for the $11 million settlement to become legally enforceable.  The money if approved will help investors pay for legal fees and recover losses.

124,246 traders burn as XRP, Solana crash

Posted on by Olumide Adesina

The crypto market posted significant losses after Bitcoin reached an all-time high on Tuesday. XRP posted high declines of almost 5% at the mid-week trading session despite Bitcoin reaching $94K on Tuesday, further decimating futures traders in the cryptocurrency market.

$28 million was virtually liquated in the last 24 hours at the XRP market.

Solana, the 4th most valuable crypto asset by market valuation dipped to $233 down by almost 300 basis points while about $11 million was liquidated for the day in the Solana’s future market

 

 

Over the last day, 124,246 traders were liquidated, bringing the total liquidations to $329.40 million. The largest single liquidation order occurred on Bitmex, where XBTUSD was valued at $6.02 million.

XRP price has been trending sideways for the past week, which is concerning for investors because this consolidation is a bearish continuation pattern. Even with the decline, XRP has recovered greatly from the sharp decline the asset saw at the beginning of October, rising 64% this month.

Market fundamentals show that on-chain liquidity tightening for XRP indicates that capitulation is imminent, a prerequisite for a full-fledged bull run.

 

Fear and Greed Index shows more capitulation

the Fear and Greed Index, which gauges market sentiment, is in the “extreme greed” range. This has historically indicated possible reversals in the cryptocurrency market. Extreme greed is frequently a sign of overconfidence on the part of investors. The market consequently becomes more susceptible. Additionally, it is prone to collapsing when abrupt selloffs occur. Even though Bitcoin, XRP, and Solana have proven resilient in comparable circumstances, this elevated sentiment might be a turning point. Their macro momentum may find it more difficult to sustain their current price levels When coupled with a drop in transaction volume

 

Bitcoin fundamentals healthy despite recent market correction

Bitcoin is expected to continue setting records when it approaches $100,000 later this year. Nevertheless, even though headwinds are already noticeable at the 90K zone, overbought daily studies indicate that traders may be able to recover some of the gains from a robust rally in recent days.

The market is still extremely optimistic due to the excitement surrounding Trump’s win, so the correction will likely be minor and serve as positioning for a push through 90K. The lower pivot should ideally remain at 80K while dips are contained by solid supports in the 86500/84000 zone.

U.S President elect considers Crypto lawyer to lead SEC

Posted on by Olumide Adesina

Teresa Goody Guillén, a partner at BakerHostetler and co-head of the firm’s blockchain team, is one of several candidates being considered by the Trump transition team for the next SEC chair. Goody Guillén is a seasoned securities attorney who has represented both traditional and blockchain companies before the SEC and against the agency.   

 

Goody Guillén worked as an attorney in the SEC’s Office of the General Counsel From 2009 to 2011 led by Mary Shapiro, the first woman to hold the position. In her later role as managing director and chief operating officer of Kalorama Partners, Goody Guillén advised clients against SEC enforcement cases alongside former SEC chair Harvey Pitt.  

The Trump transition team wants to restructure the SEC and unwind the agency’s expansion during Gensler’s leadership.  

Goody Guillén is a seasoned securities attorney who has represented both traditional and blockchain companies before the SEC and against the agency. Teresa Goody Guillén is also a U.S. veteran. However, President-elect Donald Trump is still considering several candidates to head the Securities and Exchange Commission.

According to people familiar with the matter, President-elect Donald Trump is considering several candidates to head the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

Trump and Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong allegedly had a private meeting to talk about hiring new staff Following a campaign in which the industry spent more than $130 million on the former president and other Republican candidates, crypto experts are listening to the Trump team during the selection process To replace SEC chair Gary Gensler, who started using the past tense last week and is anticipated to resign before Trump’s inauguration on January 20, Goody Guillén has entered a competitive shortlist.  

It is common for SEC chairs to step down when a new administration takes office. Trump promised to “fire” Gensler on his first day in office while running for office. 

Coinbase set to delist Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC)

Posted on by Olumide Adesina

Coinbase has declared its intention to delist Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), stating that it no longer satisfies the exchange’s listing requirements as of its “most recent review.”. This will take effect on December 19. The Coinbase Wrapped Bitcoin (cbBTC) token, introduced as a rival to this one, has angered Justin Sun, a charge of WBTC custody.

 

 

What is Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC)

Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) is a tokenized form of Bitcoin (BTC) that operates on the blockchain. It complies with the Ethereum blockchain’s core compatibility standard, ERC-20. This compatibility allows WBTC to be completely integrated into the Ethereum ecosystem as crypto lending services, and other DeFi applications that are compatible with ERC-20.

WBTC is backed 1:1 by Bitcoin via a network of custodians and merchants are automated. This will guarantee that its price is fixed to that of Bitcoin and enable users to move money between the BTC and ETH networks in a decentralized and independent way.

More options

The tokenized bitcoin space has been undergoing significant upheaval since BitGo revealed in August that it was establishing a new joint venture with Justin Sun and BiT Global to oversee the custody of WBTC.

Coinbase and Kraken have launched tokenized competitors because of Sun’s involvement, which has caused significant industry outrage. Additionally, it led to a disastrous plan by Threshold Network to purchase the token. The introduction of these rivals has also prompted Sun to attack cbBTC, asserting that Coinbase’s inability to finish a proof of reserves procedure is proof that the exchange is “unable to meet the requirements.”.

Notably, Sun-owned Poloniex has never finished a proof-of-reserves procedure and runs a tokenized version of Bitcoin on Tron that is significantly bigger than cbBTC.

More than half of all bitcoin on Sun-advised HTX is also Poloniex bitcoin on Tron. Coinbase has now determined that the modifications to WBTC are so substantial that they no longer satisfy Coinbase’s requirements.

Ripple expresses concern on likely SEC chair nominee 

Posted on by Olumide Adesina

Brad Garlinghouse, the CEO of Ripple, is worried about Bob Stebbins possibly becoming the securities regulator’s chair.  

 

Robert Stebbins is one of several contenders to succeed Gary Gensler as SEC chairman. According to the law firm Willkie, where he is currently a partner, he was instrumental in advising on more than 85 rules and supervising more than 2,750 enforcement actions during his time as the agency’s general counsel. 

“If Trump wants to make the US the crypto capital, Stebbins should be out of the question,” the industry executive said in response to a post on X by crypto researcher “Anders,” who called Stebbins “the old guard candidate for the SEC chair.”. 

“Out of some strong candidates for SEC Chair, it’s unconscionable to consider someone directly involved in Bill Hinman’s unethical (probably illegal) push to pick winners and losers in crypto,” Garlinghouse concurred.  It would be like going back to the beginning of the era of regulation by enforcement if we chose Stebbins. ” 

The industry’s top pick, Hester Peirce, popularly referred as “crypto mom,” is another possible candidate for SEC chair. Additionally, there is Paul Atkins, a former SEC commissioner and member of Trump’s 2016 transition team, Robinhood CLO, and former commissioner Dan Gallagher. 

Industry’s Top Pick 

 Potential outsiders include former CFTC Chairman Heath Tarbert and another SEC commissioner, Mark Uyeda. Gary Gensler hinted that he might resign soon, but he remained firm in his enforcement regulations last week.  

“Democracies have consequences,” as Gary Gensler himself has stated, and this is no exception. Within weeks of the election, his three most recent predecessors resigned. Gensler ought to take their example and declare his intention to resign right away.  

‘As his shortcomings mount and his credibility erodes, he is instead clinging to power and strutting around on a so-called “legacy tour,” according to the Cedar Innovation Foundation. 

Forex Signals Brief November 19: Canada Inflation to Jump by 3 Points

Posted on by Skerdian Meta

Yesterday the economic calendar was light, while today the CPI inflation from Canada is the focus, which is expected to show a 3 point jump in October, however we’ll see if it will help the CAD further after the climb yesterday.

Canadian CPI Inflation Report Expected to Jump 3 Points in October

Continue reading “Forex Signals Brief November 19: Canada Inflation to Jump by 3 Points” →

XRP at 3 year high, open interest all time high

Posted on by Olumide Adesina

XRP price is at levels not seen in three years as the larger crypto market gains from expected future political tailwinds in the world’s largest economy.

Data from Binance shows the ripple-made token is up more than 80 percent for the week to $1.16, despite losing 16 percent of its value from a Saturday peak of $1.26. Since President-elect Donald Trump won the U.S. election, the coin has been on a bullish momentum. Ripple now has a market valuation of $64 billion and is ranked 6th in terms of market valuation in the crypto market.

The futures market for the sixth-largest cryptocurrency is the clearest example of this, with open interest reaching all-time highs of just under $2 billion, according to CoinGlass data. The number of open futures or options contracts that have not yet been closed or settled is known as “open interest.”.

A spike in speculative trading, where traders wager on future price movements, is frequently reflected in high OI.  This may trigger more volatility because leveraged positions magnify responses to market news or events.

The recent surge in altcoin’s open interest to record levels indicates a rise in traders’ interest, which is frequently a sign of market bullishness.

As traders position themselves to take advantage of expected price movements, the activity demonstrates XRP’s growing appeal and dynamic position within the trading community, indicating speculative optimism.

Additionally, XRP’s technical analysis is extremely bullish. A bullish trend is confirmed by the token’s trading substantially above the 50- and 200-day exponential moving averages (EMAs). Furthermore, XRP could break through the September 2021 record of $1.4 if the $1.2 support line isn’t breached in the mid term., which would only lead to a further price breakout above $1.5. However, if token can’t maintain the key support line at $1, it may drop even lower to $0.88, which would then trigger the $0.82. level.

This buy signal comes amid rumors that Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler may resign soon after Trump’s inauguration on January 20. Numerous industry insiders claim that Gensler has continued its “crusade” against digital assets companies, such as Ripple. Investor interest in several digital assets including meme coins, is still leading the market rally in overall performance.

Goldman Sachs plans building a crypto exchange

Posted on by Olumide Adesina

Goldman Sachs is preparing to spin out its cryptocurrency platform to establish a new business dedicated to developing and trading financial instruments on blockchain networks. 18.

 

American-based tier 1 investment bank is partnering to expand the platform’s functionality and create new products, Goldman’s global head of digital assets, Mathew McDermott, stated to Bloomberg.

One of the new entity’s strategic partners will be the electronic trading platform Tradeweb Markets. According to McDermott, the spinout should be finished within the next 12 to 18 months in the aftermath of regulatory approvals

The plans are still in the early phases. “Having something owned by the industry is best for the market,” McDermott told Bloomberg.

McDermott stated in July that Goldman Sachs is getting ready to introduce three new tokenization products in the US and Europe later this year because of “a major uptick in interest from clients” in cryptocurrency. McDermott allegedly stated that Goldman Sachs would concentrate on the “fund complex” in the US and European debt markets and build marketplaces for tokenized real-world assets (RWAs).

The investment bank will only use permissioned blockchains and its new products are aimed at financial institutions rather than individual investors. He claimed that by increasing the variety of assets pledged as collateral and by executing transactions more quickly, the real-world assets marketplace would set itself apart. McDermott highlighted the “renewed momentum in the crypto market” was triggered by the continued growth of digital asset exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

If Goldman Sachs’ asset allocation remains unchanged, it currently owns more than $1 billion in Bitcoin ETFs. This figure may be significantly higher if the group keeps moving in the same direction.