Ethereum Price Analysis: ETH at Risk of Breakdown

Audy Castañeda
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<strong>Ethereum Price Analysis: ETH at Risk of Breakdown</strong>

Ethereum price is gaining bearish momentum below the $1,885 resistance against the US Dollar.

ETH is the native token of the Ethereum blockchain, created by Vitalik Buterin. The long-term outlook for ETH is somewhat hazy.

The ETH price is now trading below $1,885, and the 55 simple moving average (4 hours). There was a break below a key uptrend line with support at $1,885 on the 4-hour chart, according to Coinbase. The pair could rally but is likely to face sellers near the $1885 resistance zone.

The Ethereum price is dipping below $1,885 against the US Dollar. ETH/USD remains at risk of further downside below the $1,800 support zone.

Ethereum Price Analysis

Last week, Ethereum struggled to clear the $2,020 resistance zone against the US Dollar. ETH’s price struggled to gain pace above the $2,000 level and reacted lower.

The recent high was formed near $2,020 and the price started a new decline. There was a dip below the $1,920 and $1,885 support levels. The pair even spiked below the $1,820 support. A low is formed near $1,810 and the price is now consolidating losses.

It is now trading below $1,885 and the 55 simple moving average (4 hours). On the upside, the price is now facing resistance near the $1,860 level. It is close to the 23.6% Fibonacci retracement level of the recent drop from the $2020 high to the $1810 low.

The next major resistance is near the $1,885 level above which could test the 50% Fibonacci retracement level of the recent drop from the $2,020 high to the $1,810 low.

The next major resistance is near the $1,970 area. A clear move above the $1970 and $1980 resistance levels could require a further move to $2020. Further gains could even send the price toward the $2,120 or even the $2,200 resistance zone in the near term.

On the downside, the initial support is near the $1800 level. The next major support is now near the $1,775 level. A break below the $1775 support could take the price to $1720. If the bulls fail to protect the $1,720 support, the price could drop to $1,650.

The Ethereum price is trading below $1,885 and the 55 simple moving average (4 hours). Overall, Ether’s price could rally but it is likely to face sellers near the $1885 resistance zone.

Technical Indicators

4 hours MACD – The MACD for ETH/USD is now gaining momentum in the bearish zone.

4 Hours RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for ETH/USD is now below the 50 level.

Key support levels: $1,800, followed by the $1,775 zone.

Key resistance levels $: $1,885 and $1,915.

To conclude, it should be noted that Ethereum is undergoing a period of significant transformation that began with The Merge last September when it transitioned to Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus. Once The Surge becomes available after Dencun, Ethereum will experience three other major upgrades in the form of The Verge, The Purge, and The Splurge.

The Verge will introduce Verkle trees and stateless clients to lighten Ethereum and enforce decentralization. Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum co-founder and chief scientist, said that after The Verge, users will be able to launch nodes “without having hundreds of gigabytes on their drive.”

By Audy Castaneda

Ripple to Spend $200 Million Fighting the SEC

Audy Castañeda
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<strong>Ripple to Spend $200 Million Fighting the SEC</strong>

CEO Brad Garlinghouse said that the legal dispute with the SEC could cost Ripple $200 million.

According to Ripple Labs CEO Brad Garlinghouse, the conflict between his company and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will be painful. Based on the executive’s estimates, by the end of the trial, the firm would have spent $200 million.

In December 2020, the SEC sued the company for allegedly selling securities without a license. According to the regulatory agency, the XRP token, and others of its kind, belong to the group of so-called securities. Under US law, trading these types of assets requires a license issued by the agency itself.

Under this premise, the authorities sued Ripple and its main managers. The latter denies that their native token belongs to the category of securities, so the accusation lacks merit. In other words, the SEC would have no authority to sue in a case in which it has no authority, the crypto firm argues.

Ripple’s Dispute with SEC Approaches Its Third Anniversary

Regardless of whether or not Ripple is right in the dispute with the SEC, the company would end up spending around $200 million in the process. Although this legal battle involves only one of the many companies in the crypto sector, its outcome could be decisive.

During an interview with CNBC, the CEO of the crypto company lashed out at the SEC, specifically its chairman Gary Gensler. He said that the head of that agency has made statements in which he contradicts his statement about the security quality of XRP.

“With the SEC, we will spend — this is the first time I’ve shared this publicly — by the time all’s said and done, we will have spent $200 million defending ourselves against a lawsuit, which from its very beginning, people were like, well, this doesn’t make a lot of sense,” Garlinghouse expressed to the aforementioned media outlet.

The executives targeted by the regulators’ lawsuit, Garlinghouse and Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen, dismiss the entity’s arguments. They believe that the SEC should classify XRP as a cryptocurrency, and not as a security.

Other companies recently received similar allegations from the agency as well. The outcome of this SEC conflict against Ripple will be decisive for the trading of digital assets within the United States.

In Search of a Clear Regulation

Among the companies targeted by the SEC are the exchanges Kraken and Coinbase. The board of the second regularly lashes out in the media against the agency’s accusations. The head of that platform, Brian Armstrong, regrets that there is no sufficiently clear regulation in the country that serves to stop the pressure.

Garlinghouse stated that there are videos of the SEC chairman stating that 75% of digital assets were commodities. These statements, he explains, were made in his time as an MIT professor. But now, as the SEC chairman points out, “he says they’re all securities because he’s looking for power and he’s putting power before sound policy to grow an economy in the US.”

The outcome of this controversy is expected to occur sometime in 2024, according to people close to the case. Despite this, there is no official date for the next hearing. Last year, both parties had a deadline of November 30 to deliver their closing arguments. They were made public on December 2, 2022.

By Audy Castaneda

Litecoin Forecast for the End of 2023

Audy Castañeda
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<strong>Litecoin Forecast for the End of 2023</strong>

Litecoin’s course could follow Bitcoin’s course and its momentum again in the coming weeks.

Litecoin remains one of the best-known and most respected cryptocurrencies twelve years after its creation. It is considered Bitcoin’s “little brother”, and tends to grow very parallel to Bitcoin.

The Litecoin course has seen a moderate increase in 2023 so far. At the end of the year 2022/2023, the price of Litecoin was $70. Litecoin has lost more than 80% since its all-time high of $412. Especially in the first weeks of 2023, the LTC price was able to rise considerably. By mid-February, the rate had risen back to $100.

In the weeks that followed, the price fell more sharply again. In March, the price of Litecoin rose again more strongly after the banking crisis. In recent weeks, however, the price has fallen towards the turn of the year. Due to the last bearish days, the rate fell back to $77. Therefore, the Litecoin forecast for the end of 2023 is somewhat uncertain at this time.

Why Was the Rise of Litecoin Only Moderate?

The Litecoin price usually follows the Bitcoin price movement very closely. There may be phases where Litecoin rises faster than Bitcoin. In other phases, the Litecoin rate falls much lower.

In a bear market like the current one, Litecoin falling more sharply than Bitcoin is typical. This also explains why the Litecoin price was only able to rise by around 10%, while the Bitcoin price is still up 80% in 2023.

What is the Litecoin Forecast for the End of 2023?

The Litecoin forecast for the end of the year should look quite positive despite the losses of the last few days. Litecoin’s course could follow Bitcoin’s course and its momentum again in the coming weeks. The Bitcoin course should see a bull run again in the next few weeks.

If the Bitcoin price experiences a bullish summer, the Litecoin price could see an equally strong rise as well. A bull run like the one in January and mid-February then seems likely.

How High Can the Litecoin Price Go?

If the Litecoin forecast for the end of the year is basically bullish, the question arises as to how much the price can go up by December. A bullish summer should push the price of Litecoin well above the $100 mark.

In the second half of 2023, it depends a lot on whether the uptrend continues towards the end of the year or if there is a downtrend again towards the end of the year. In the comparison year of 2019, there was a bullish summer, but a bearish end of the year. At first, a price of $200 for Litecoin seems possible, but this price is not seen in the forecast yet.

The Litecoin forecast points to a range between $120 and $170 by the end of 2023.

According to CryptoPredictions, Litecoin started in May 2023 at $88,724 and is expected to end the month at $67,340. During May, the expected maximum price of LTC is $99,283 and the minimum is $67,340.

Additionally, the LTC price for today (09.05.2023) is forecast to be in the price range of $69,430 – $102,103. Litecoin price is forecast to end today at $81,682.

By Audy Castaneda

Binance to Support Bitcoin NFTs Thanks to Ordinals

Marina Meza
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<strong>Binance to Support Bitcoin NFTs Thanks to Ordinals</strong>

The major exchange and cryptocurrency heavyweight on the planet, Binance, is the latest contender to enter the Ordinals ring.

Ordinals are the hottest development on the Bitcoin blockchain currently. On Monday, February 13, signups using Ordinals surpassed 100,000 as users flooded the network with images, video games, and other content.

Leading cryptocurrency exchange platform Binance announced today that it will admit Ordinals enrollments on its NFT marketplace later this month, dipping its toes into the Bitcoin-based marketplace.

Ordinals Enrollments, similar to NFTs, are digital assets enrolled in a satoshi, the lowest denomination of a Bitcoin (BTC). Enrollment in satoshis, named after Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto, is made possible by the Taproot update launched on the Bitcoin network on November 14, 2021.

Binance’s NFT marketplace upgrade is expected to roll out “in the coming weeks,” the company said, which will allow users to buy and trade Ordinals registrations through their Binance accounts.

The NFT marketplace expanded its list of supported networks in March when it added certain Polygon NFT collections to the platform. Offered alongside NFTs on Ethereum and BNB Chain, Binance product manager Mayur Kamat called compatibility with Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency token by market cap, a notable addition.

“Bitcoin is the OG of cryptocurrencies,” he said. “We believe this is just the beginning and are eager to see what the future holds in this space.”

Several enrollment marketplace platforms emerged amid Ordinals’ initial surge in popularity, including Ordswap, Ordinals Market, and Ordinals Wallet. And Magic Eden, Solana’s largest NFT marketplace, was the first among established venues to join the Ordinals ring, launching an enrollment marketplace in March.

Binance’s NFT Marketplace

Binance’s NFT marketplace announcement comes just days after the exchange temporarily paused Bitcoin withdrawals, blaming network congestion while its competitors continued to operate normally. The pause came at a time when Bitcoin transaction fees were very high and the network’s mempool, where transactions await verification, was severely congested.

The consensus on Crypto Twitter was that transactions involving BRC-20 tokens were hurting the network. Built and traded using Ordinals, the same protocol that produces Bitcoin’s so-called NFTs, BRC-20 “token standard” is an experimental fungible token built with Ordinals and Inscriptions and stored on the bitcoin base chain and are coins built on top of Bitcoin using text-based tokens instead of image-based tokens.

Kamat told that the current version of Binance’s Bitcoin NFT marketplace does not support BRC-20 tokens. In recent weeks, image-based enrollments have been largely eclipsed by these new Bitcoin-based tokens and text-based enrollments.

On Sunday, 99.7% of enrollments made through Ordinals were text-based, according to a Dune dashboard. At the same time, 65% of all Bitcoin transactions were related to BRC-20 tokens, according to another Dune dashboard.

The fervor around BRC-20 tokens intensified Monday when Ordi, the first BRC-20 token launched as an experiment in March, was listed on cryptocurrency exchanges Crypto.com and Gate.io.

On the other hand, by adding Bitcoin Ordinals to the Binance NFT marketplace, the users at the crypto exchange Binance will be able to purchase and trade Bitcoin NFTs directly through their Binance accounts.

By Marina Meza

Binance Shuts down BTC Withdrawals During Bitcoin Network Congestion

Marina Meza
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Binance Shuts down BTC Withdrawals During Bitcoin Network Congestion

The largest exchange on the planet, Binance, has just announced that withdrawals for the Bitcoin network will be temporarily halted due to the current congestion the network is experiencing.

In a statement released on the afternoon of May 7, the Binance team explained that they are working on a solution while the network stabilizes. They also explained that there is no date to resume withdrawals, as long as the congestion continues.

According to Mempool.space data, the network is at its highest congestion point in recent months, even reaching levels not seen since 2021, with an average of 200 sat/byte, around USD per transaction.

The current congestion situation is due to BRC-20 tokens, a standard that uses the Ordinals protocol to issue Bitcoin tokens.

The Bitcoin mempool was jammed with more than 400,000 transactions waiting to be processed at the time of writing.  The mempool is known as the “holding area” for incoming transactions before they are independently verified by each node on the network.

The announcement, while eye-catching, is quite exceptional. In 2021, with Bitcoin soaring to its all-time high above USD 69,000, Bitcoin suffered the worst congestion in history. However, by this date, despite the situation, Binance did not take the decision to pause Bitcoin withdrawals from the platform.

Binance Resumes Withdrawals

Binance tweeted that BTC withdrawals had resumed after nearly an hour of standstill. According to CryptoQuant data Outflows on the cryptocurrency exchange peaked on Sunday, reaching USD 187 million.

Behind the congestion is believed to be a surge in transactions on BRC-20 in recent days due to memecoins such as Pepe (PEPE). The boom in memecoins transactions drove Bitcoin transaction fees to their highest point in two years.

On May 3, the total amount of commissions paid on the Bitcoin blockchain reached USD 3.5 million, which was a jump of nearly 400% since the end of April, Cointelegraph reported, this can be seen in a graphic called  Bitcoin outflow on Binance over the past seven days published by CryptoQuant.

Developed from Ethereum’s ERC-20 token standard, BRC-20 is a recently introduced experimental token standard that allows users to create and transfer fungible tokens on the Bitcoin blockchain. It is currently becoming a hot spot for meme tokens.

CoinMarketCap data shows that PEPE’s price has risen more than 263% in the last week. However, at the time of writing, memecoin is down more than 7% after a 30% drop on May 6, when the whales benefited from Binance’s recent listing. Two weeks ago, cryptocurrency exchanges MEXC Global, Bitget, Gate.io, and Huobi listed PEPE trading pairs, kicking off the token fever.

Since the introduction of Dogecoin in 2013, memecoins have become an important part of the cryptocurrency world, making and ruining fortunes alike.

Investopedia defines a memecoin as a cryptocurrency represented “with comic or animated memes, which are supported by enthusiastic traders and online followers.”

On the other hand, memecoins has been attacking the major cryptocurrency networks and are the main cause of the congestion of Bitcoin, making related crypto partners take disproportionate decisions affecting the market and users.

By Marina Meza

DigiToads (TOADS) Emerges as Top Investment Opportunity as Ethereum (ETH) and Polygon (MATIC) Dip

Audy Castañeda
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<strong>DigiToads (TOADS) Emerges as Top Investment Opportunity as Ethereum (ETH) and Polygon (MATIC) Dip</strong>

The future outlook for both ETH and MATIC is discussed, as well as how DigiToads has managed to stay ahead of numerous established cryptocurrencies, consistently delivering exceptional performance.

As the crypto market experiences turmoil, major altcoins like Ethereum and Polygon have recently faced significant declines. While these fluctuations can be disconcerting to investors, they also present an ideal opportunity to discover truly promising digital assets.

Amid this uncertain landscape, DigiToads (TOADS), an emerging meme coin, has continued its successful pre-sale, demonstrating that savvy investors remain committed to taking advantage of high-growth prospects, regardless of market direction.

DigiToads Ranks First Among Best ICOs of 2023

DigiToads has emerged as a captivating ERC20 token, gaining considerable attention in the DeFi market due to its unique features and potential for steady growth. The project features an immersive gaming platform where users can collect, trade, and engage in battles with digital toads, fostering an active and engaged community.

With a strong tokenomic system, DigiToads offers participation opportunities and rewards for its users. The deflationary nature of the project guarantees returns for investors, attracting the attention of those seeking high growth potential within the crypto landscape.

Additionally, the project hosts on-chain trading competitions, with Platinum Toads symbolizing the most elusive and valuable assets available, which give winners access to a treasury segment, allowing them to trade and secure rewards for themselves and the project.

Another distinctive aspect of DigiToads lies in its unwavering dedication to green initiatives. The project allocates 2.5% of its profits to organizations that restore the natural habitat of living toads in the Amazon rainforest. Such commitment to green causes sets DigiToads apart from other altcoins and adds value to their proposition.

The DigiToads pre-sale has been structured into several phases, each experiencing overwhelming demand. The initial four legs sold out successfully, amassing over $2.45 million. The current fifth stage has only just opened, but it is already nearing completion, with an impressive 83% token sale in just a few days.

Said strong pre-sale performance speaks volumes about the attractiveness of the project, as well as its potential for sustained growth.

Turbulence over ETH and MATIC

The long-term outlook for ETH appears uncertain as it trades within a broader pattern, and the direction of a potential bounce or breakout may determine its future trend. Some positive signs point to a possible uptrend, such as the ETH price breaking out from a downside resistance line that had been around since its all-time high.

Meanwhile, MATIC has seen its bulls fight for dominance since mid-February. The token has lost about half of its gains since early 2023, but there may still be a chance for bulls to redeem themselves.

MATIC maintained a bearish theme in the second half of April, with the token price recently extending its bearish side and consolidating near the $0.95 level. Despite this, one key observation suggests that the bulls may be primed for another redemption attempt.

As a closing comment, it should be noted that DigiToads has become a standout choice among new ICOs, thanks to its attractive utility, credibility, and rapidly growing popularity. DigiToads is certainly a project worth keeping a close eye on, as analysts believe this could be the most important investment opportunity in recent times.

By Audy Castaneda

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