Ethereum’s gaming sector could fuel its resurgence, with notable growth in gaming protocols. The increased use of gas and interest in NFTs could contribute to the possible return of Ethereum.

Despite recent setbacks, Ethereum [ETH] has the potential to make a comeback, buoyed by its booming gaming sector. The Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) announcement negatively affected the price of Ethereum in recent days, but a resurgence of interest within its network, particularly in gaming, could help ETH regain its previous price levels.

Not Just a Game for Ethereum

Gaming protocols such as The Sandbox [SAND] Infinite Axie [AXS] and its project tokens ($SAND, $ENJ, $CHZ, and $AXIE) have seen substantial growth on the Ethereum network, as reported by Artemis via Twitter on June 15:

“Despite the market volatility, gaming tokens have seen a significant increase in the number of active addresses over the last 7 days. Gaming on $ETH saw the largest week-over-week increase, with social project tokens such as $SAND, $ENJ, $CHZ, and $AXIE leading.”

This increase in gaming activity has led to an increase in unique active wallets for these dApps, positively impacting overall network volume and transactions, which bodes well for Ethereum.

The increase in gaming activity has resulted in increased gas usage on the Ethereum network, which is beneficial for Ethereum as it demonstrates increased network activity and increased demand for decentralized applications. This strengthens the utility and value proposition of the network.

What is the NFT Sector Like?

The Ethereum NFT sector has also been witnessing increased interest, with significant growth in the number of NFT trades on the Ethereum network in recent days, as indicated by data from Santiment.

However, the surge in NFT interest has been driven primarily by newly minted sets, while established top-tier NFT sets such as BAYC, MAYC, and Azuki have all seen a significant decline in volume and sales over the past year. month.

In addition to NFT enthusiasts, Ethereum network validators have also shown increasing numbers. According to data from Staking Rewards, the number of validators has increased by 7.09% in the last 30 days.

However, the revenue generated by these validators has experienced a substantial decline of 46.35% during the same period. Future stakeholder optimism regarding ETH remains uncertain.

“ETH generated the highest revenue in the first quarter, driven by its high usage and gas fees,” according to Messari’s recent tweet. Ethereum’s revenue was $457 million, nearly 2.8 times the combined revenue of all other prominent L1s.

However, things changed in the second quarter of this year. Data from Token Terminal revealed that ETH revenue had declined. After skyrocketing on May 5, 2023, Ethereum’s revenue plummeted sharply, which was not good for the Blockchain.

ETH was recently trading at $1,669.23. The speed of ETH transactions has also seen a decline, indicating a relative lack of ongoing ETH trades.

Trader sentiment towards ETH remained largely bearish, with 52.02% of all positions short. This reflected a prevailing bearish sentiment among traders.

According to CryptoPredictions, the ETH Price is forecasted for today (06.17.2023) to be in the $1,417.406 – $2,084.421 price range. Ethereum is predicted to end today at $1,667.537.

By Audy Castaneda

The SEC lawsuit against Binance and Coinbase continues to be the mainstream narrative of the crypto market. With extreme bearish forces at play, Sui prices fell more than 14% over the past week and 44% in 30 days.

Sui saw a huge 2000% surge when it was listed in May after its pre-sale, but despite an upcoming major network upgrade, the token is expected to continue to struggle through June.

On the other hand, two new cryptocurrency pre-sale tokens, Wall Street Memes and Ecoterra, have surged with bullish momentum in recent weeks, as traders look to hedge against the bear market.

Sui Can’t Avoid Crypto Bears, More Selling Pressure Expected in June

The Sui Blockchain, which derives its name from the Japanese word for water, has gained strong traction for its flexible architecture and scalability. Proof-of-stake Blockchain boasts faster transaction speeds and low costs. However, the SUI token is having a difficult time, with an extremely bearish trend driving down its price.

Earlier this week, Sui saw a spike when the network announced its latest SIP 6 proposal, which enables liquid participation and allows developers to build features for it. However, the token eventually gave way under strong bearish pressure created by the SEC suing Binance and Coinbase.

Despite the token not being explicitly mentioned in the lawsuit, it has plunged 14% over the past week. The downward movement continues as the token corrected another 5% in the last 24 hours.

Sui may additionally face difficulties from the global economy. While the Federal Reserve announced that it will halt any further interest rate hikes for now, it did mention that it may see another two hikes this year alone. Such an aggressive stance can result in an extreme downtrend for the token.

Could Wall Street Memes Be the Next Big Crypto Early Sale After Raising $7?

After its launch on May 26 of this year, the Wall Street Memes token has raised over $7 million in less than three weeks. With the token adding $350k every day to its total, it won’t be long before it hits the $10 million milestone.

The success of the token is not surprising, considering the incredible track record of the Wall Street Memes group. It received worldwide fame during GameStop’s historic shortfall in 2021 when a group of small internet merchants seized power from wealthy institutions and won.

Investors are also attracted to the token’s community-driven tokenomics. All of WSM’s supply is available to the community, with 50% available during the pre-sale itself. Also, 30% of the tokens are allocated to cool community rewards.

Analysis of the token highlights that investors may have to face more potholes in June. TradingView gives Sui a strong sell signal on the daily time frame, with the token underperforming by 7 out of 8 major moving average indicators.

The New Green Ecoterra Token Also Grows with More Than $5 Million in Presale

As investors become more and more environmentally conscious, there is a growing demand for green tokens. The newly launched Ecoterra token dominates this demand, having raised over $5.1 million in a short span of just a few weeks.

Projects like Ecoterra may end up playing a crucial role in changing the general perception of the industry in regard to the token’s energy consumption.

By Audy Castaneda

The economic outlook for 2023 divides analysts, with some forecasting an expansion while others predicting that the US could fall into a deep recession, possibly triggered by the Fed’s aggressive stance on interest rates. As uncertainty continues, economists advise investors to keep a long-term outlook.

As market jitters mount, as well as rumors of an impending recession, a group of financial experts continues to debate whether the storm will really break, or if the economy is setting the stage for another expansion. Such uncertainty is reminiscent of the adage, “economists have predicted nine of the last five recessions.”

This time, it’s an intertwined narrative of skepticism, expansion optimism, and widespread recession anticipation.

US Economy May Have Entered an “Expansion Phase”

Wall Street’s most optimistic analyst, Tom Lee of Fundstrat Global Advisors, remains firm in his conviction. He argues that the economy is not entering a recession but, rather, entering an expansion phase. Lee’s arguments revolve around a cocktail of factors such as falling commodity prices, a recovering supply chain, and an invincible job market.

“I think these are conditions for earnings to really outperform, and at a time when investor positioning has been so off the mark. I don’t think stocks are overextended. I think the FANG did the heavy lifting [at this year’s rally]. And if we’re slipping into expansion, a lot of other names will be involved,” Lee said.

His argument lines up with Jay Hatfield of Infrastructure Capital Management, who predicts a future drop in inflation that would allow the Federal Reserve to end its wave of rate hikes. Although the Fed recently opted to maintain current interest rates, new projections indicate that borrowing costs may need to rise by as much as half a percentage point before the end of the year. As Hatfield sees it, falling inflation and the rise of AI could keep the stock market going and boost economic activity.

On the contrary, bond traders and a large segment of financial experts believe that the Federal Reserve’s aggressive stance on interest rates could ultimately drive the economy into recession. They believe that the Federal Reserve’s increased focus on controlling inflation could end up stifling the economy.

2023 Recession Risk is Real and CEOs Are Ready

A recent poll sums up the sentiment that a recession is near. Most respondents are convinced that the Fed’s tighter monetary policy could trigger a recession next year. This school of thought suggests that the central bank’s emphasis on containing inflation could have unintended consequences: an economic downturn.

Adding to the cautionary narrative is market guru Jeremy Siegel, which warns of an impending slowdown in the stock market rally, and a possible mild recession.

However, the economy currently presents a paradox. Despite recession fears, which have led 93% of CEOs to prepare for a potential downturn, the economy could still see robust consumer spending, low unemployment, and a rising stock market.

“To say this is a unique cycle is to state the obvious, but in terms of the nature of where we are in the cycle, there really isn’t a historical comparison,” said Liz Ann Sonders, director of investment strategy at Charles Schwab.

In conclusion, experts advise investors to keep a long-term perspective, favor high-quality stocks with strong balance sheets, and focus on bonds with high credit ratings. Now it seems prudent to navigate cautiously, staying agile and ready for all possibilities.

By Audy Castaneda