Category: Crypto market

Chainlink Forms alliance with MasterCard

Posted on by Olumide Adesina

Chainlink announced a new partnership with Mastercard, which allows payment cardholders worldwide to buy crypto assets directly on-chain.

 

This innovation removes long-standing obstacles that have prevented regular users from accessing the on-chain economy by Chainlink’s secure interoperability infrastructure and Mastercard’s reliable worldwide payments network. Zerohash provides the liquidity and on-chain services for seamless smart contract execution and fiat-to-crypto conversions.

Shift4 Payments, Swapper Finance, and XSwap offer additional integration support to provide a next-generation app experience using the Uniswap protocol.

“Chainlink was created to enable convergence between traditional and decentralized finance. Chainlink’s ability to facilitate this vital link between the over three billion people and the payments world excites me. Swapper Finance integrates Shift4 Payments and Zerohash to use XSwap, the leading DEX developed within the Chainlink ecosystem, utilizing the Chainlink standard for data and interoperability.

The core compliance, custody, and transaction infrastructure enables controlled fiat-to-cryptocurrency conversion for smart contracts. Shift4 ensures smooth card processing, and XSwap allows on-chain swaps by sourcing liquidity from decentralized exchanges like Uniswap.

These technologies work together to provide a seamless, legal, and user-friendly interface that gives regular cardholders direct access to cry

Bear Trap: Ethereum [ETH] Must Break $2,500 Resistance Line

Posted on by Olumide Adesina

Ethereum [ETH] is currently experiencing a new wave of momentum.  The innovation has given risky assets, including cryptocurrency, hope. Both institutional giants and individual investors showed confidence in ETH, as evidenced by the more than $1.4 billion in net inflows last week. The super altcoin is within the $2,500 mark amid high buying pressure.

Usage keeps rising as volatility trembles with broader sentiment, indicating that institutional and retail participants see current levels as a strategic entry. The combination of this inflow momentum and macro optimism makes it more likely that Ethereum will trigger a bullish run

Artemis data shows that Ethereum saw a startling $1.4 billion net inflows over the past week, far exceeding any other chain despite market volatility. Ethereum’s price action is coiling for a possible short squeeze as usage metrics are rising and shorts are aggressively stacking up since key liquidation levels are above $2,900.

Ironically, traders’ apprehension might signal a local bottom and then a bullish breakout. Based on the Fear and Greed Index, market sentiment has somewhat improved. At the time of writing, this sentiment indicator was at 45, indicating a more neutral position, up from a low of 37, which suggested investors were acting fearfully.

Today’s surge, though, appears to have re-energized traders, perhaps because they perceive a possible continuation of the upward trend now that the market has a catalyst available to carry out a short squeeze.

The daily charts indicate that ETH has successfully pulled a bear trap and climbed above its consolidation pattern, but it still needs to break the $2,500 barrier to reach $3K.

XRP: Cardano Expands into Ripple Ecosystem

Posted on by Olumide Adesina

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson discussed his plans for the Midnight partnership with the XRP ecosystem. Hoskinson stated that he wants Cardano’s privacy-focused sidechain, Midnight, to serve as the DeFi layer for the XRP ecosystem.

Cardano’s chief claims that Ripple and XRP holders can access higher DeFi yields without removing their tokens from the XRP Ledger. Hoskinson highlighted that XRP can maintain its integrity while accessing cutting-edge DeFi services.

 XRP users can utilize features like lending, staking, and liquidity pools. It can’t support these options because XRP’s native chain lacks smart contract capabilities.

The core of this strategy is Midnight, a Cardano sidechain created to safeguard user privacy. Interestingly, Midnight enables users to conduct private smart scams.

Hoskinson’s strategy is a part of a larger effort to foster collaboration rather than rivalry among blockchain communities.

He wants Cardano and XRP to function in tandem, with Midnight as a secure layer that broadens XRP’s application. Hoskinson, who hinted at a “full DeFi package,” confirmed that the integration doesn’t end with Midnight.

There are also plans to incorporate RLUSD, a stablecoin backed by USD, into the Cardano network. If this works, RLUSD will provide DeFi platforms that use Midnight with a reliable liquidity option.

Hoskinson has also discussed creating a seamless link between Midnight and the XRP Ledger with some of Ripple’s top executives, such as CEO Brad Garlinghouse and CTO David Schwartz. The goal of these discussions is to integrate XRP with Cardano’s smart contract capabilities

Forex Signals Brief June 24: Powell Faces Heat as Dollar Swings as Fed Wobbles on July Cut

Posted on by Skerdian Meta

Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s upcoming congressional testimony takes center stage as geopolitical theater, falling oil, and shifting rate expectations reshape markets. Continue reading “Forex Signals Brief June 24: Powell Faces Heat as Dollar Swings as Fed Wobbles on July Cut” →

Strategy: Bitcoin Stash Holdings Reach 592,345

Posted on by Olumide Adesina

Strategy paid $26 million for 245 Bitcoin in the past week, with an average price of $105,856 per Bitcoin. This acquisition is the company’s second-smallest Bitcoin purchase since November.

 

The company financed these purchases using the profits from the STRK and STRF ATMs. After this latest purchase, Strategy possessed 592,345 Bitcoin in total. The company’s total Bitcoin holdings were purchased for an average of $70,681.

Meanwhile, an investor filed a lawsuit against the top executives of a strategy and IT company on Thursday, claiming they violated their fiduciary duties before a multibillion-dollar Bitcoin loss in the company’s first-quarter results.

Abhey Parmar filed a shareholder derivative lawsuit in a federal court in Virginia, alleging that Saylor, Strategy CEO Phong Le, Andrew Kang, the financial chief, and four board members “made materially false and misleading statements” regarding a change in accounting practices.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board rule that Strategy adopted in January went into effect a month earlier, allowing corporate cryptocurrency holders to report the estimated market value of their cryptocurrency on their balance sheets, according to the complaint.

The complaint also states that Strategy’s executives “failed to accurately disclose the full extent” of the potential impact of the accounting change and “the risks associated with Bitcoin’s volatility” before the release of the results.

XRP Break $2 Mark after President Trump announced Israel-Iran Ceasefire

Posted on by Olumide Adesina

President Donald Trump said on Truth Social Monday night that Israel and Iran had reached a “Complete and Total Ceasefire” after what he called “THE 12 DAY WAR,” which caused the Ripple token to spike in value. XRP was up 6% the day after breaking the $2 resistance line.

 

According to his post, the ceasefire will begin about six hours after the announcement, once both nations have “wound down and completed their in-progress, final missions.” Israel will join the ceasefire twelve hours after Iran starts the initial 12-hour ceasefire.

Trump declared that the war would “officially” come to an end.  Trump said opposing sides will remain PEACEFUL and RESPECTFUL during each ceasefire period. It was announced a few days after we bombed three nuclear sites in Iran. High-yield bunker busters dropped by the US military hit Iran’s underground nuclear facilities.

The steady inflow trend reflects growing interest in XRP-related products, including spot Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), and institutional interest in XRP and related products stabilized last week. Canada introduced three XRP spot ETFs last week, while the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continues to review several proposals. Webus International, based in China, invested $300 million; Trident Technologies, based in Singapore, invested $500 million; and VivoPower, based in London, invested $121 million in XRP-focused treasury funds.

These funds have been directed toward the XRP Ledger and decentralized finance (DeFi). Fundamentally, XRP remains strong; however, as of May 12, exchange reserves fell by nearly 21% to $2.3 billion from $3 billion, according to CryptoQuant.

The Exchange Reserves metric counts coins in exchange wallets. The continued decline of this value indicates lower sell-side pressure, which could put XRP at risk of a sustained decline.

Circle (CRCL) Targets $300 per Share

Posted on by Olumide Adesina

Circle stock (CRCL) rises for the third consecutive day as investor interest in stablecoins remains high. The stock was up 23% at the first trading session of the week, breaking the $260 resistance line

Shares surged after the Senate passed legislation establishing a federal framework for stablecoins, digital tokens backed by assets like the US dollar.

Wall Street strategists also identified deal-making in the digital asset space as another advantage for the USDC stablecoin issuer (USDC-USD).

Fintech company Fiserv (FI) announced it would use the infrastructure from issuers Paxos and Circle to launch a digital asset platform by the end of this year, including a new stablecoin (FIUSD).

Jeff Cantwell, an analyst at Seaport Research Partners, wrote in a note on Monday, “For CRCL, we like seeing its inclusion as a leading partner of FI as FI develops its stablecoin – this is a nice ‘win’ for CRCL, which highlights the company’s ongoing rise.’

Cantwell initiated coverage of Circle last week with a $235 price target and a Buy rating. Since their June 5 IPO price of $31, shares have increased by more than 800 percent. Last Wednesday, the stock jumped after the Senate passed the GENIUS Act, a piece of legislation that Wall Street expects the House to pass and the President will sign this year..

Forex Signals Brief June 23: More Volatility Ahead for Gold, BTC, S&P 500 as Risks Multiply

Posted on by Skerdian Meta

A packed week of global economic events features key PCE inflation, sentiment surveys, and multiple central bank decisions that could shape market direction ahead of July. Continue reading “Forex Signals Brief June 23: More Volatility Ahead for Gold, BTC, S&P 500 as Risks Multiply” →

Bitcoin’s takes Control, Solana, XRP, Ethereum still in Pain

Posted on by Olumide Adesina

Bitcoin rebounded above $101K after dropping below $98.5K on Sunday. Its market dominance is currently at 65%, while popular altcoins struggle. BTC fell to a multi-week low after the U.S. attacked several Iranian nuclear sites, marking yet another decline in the last day.

Bitcoin’s increasing dominance underscores that altcoins have experienced even more significant price drops. As tensions in the Middle East escalated, Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP), Solana, Dogecoin, and Cardano posted high corrections.

Bitcoin is at its crucial support level, approximately $101,500; a close below this level would indicate further correction. Meanwhile, ETH and XRP have fallen below important support levels, suggesting that a correction and weakness could drive ETH toward $2,000 and XRP toward $1.8.

The crypto market’s latest price action suggests that altcoins are faring even worse. Notably, the smaller caps aren’t the only ones suffering; Ethereum, the most valuable altcoin, dipped further after dropping more than 7% in the last day.

Market activity shows that Bitcoin is still correcting and closing below $100,000 daily; it may continue to decline and retest its Sunday low of $98,200. The daily chart’s Relative Strength Index (RSI), at 38, indicates strong bearish momentum as it sits below the neutral level.

Moreover, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) on the daily chart displayed a bearish crossover and a rising red histogram bar below its neutral level, pointing to the downtrend continuation and high bearish strength.