Bitcoin on January 26, 2023: But Where Are the Whales?

Audy Castañeda
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<strong>Bitcoin on January 26, 2023: But Where Are the Whales?</strong>

The next resistance could be near the $24,200 level. More gains could send the price of BTC towards the $25,000 level.

The price of Bitcoin (BTC) is returning to levels close to $23,000. For the moment, the cryptocurrency has reacted little to the release of new macroeconomic data. On paper, it could go up to $27,000, without the whales getting involved.

Bitcoin price rises to $23,273 on Bitfinex on January 26, 2023. The cryptocurrency is trading at $23,038 right now. Markets are currently entitled to a Doji candle pattern.

The founder of trading firm Eight, Michaël van de Poppe, returned to the previous day’s bullish momentum, which saw Bitcoin test levels around $23,600, and which was followed by relatively quick rejection.

Michaël van de Poppe then referred to the US GDP data release, wondering if the numbers would “push the price to new highs” or if markets would see the price of Bitcoin return below $22,900, “which means lower prices in the future.”

BTC Markets Undecided on US GDP

The US Department of Commerce announced today that GDP for the fourth quarter of 2022 grew at an annualized rate of 2.9%, against forecasts of 2.8% by economists surveyed by the Dow Jones.

The CNBC article published earlier in the day specifies that this growth rate is slightly lower than that observed during the third quarter, which amounted to 3.2%.

Will these statistics ease or increase fears among economists and investors about the possibility of a US recession this year? The Bitcoin price seemed to have little reaction to the release of these figures, with indecision seeming to be reigning in the markets right now.

Key Levels for Bitcoin Price, according to Whales

After Bitcoin’s recent plunge to levels near $22,000, and the rise that brought it closer to $24,000, how low can the cryptocurrency go or go anytime soon?

The Whalemap team shared a chart showing the existence of major support and resistance areas respectively at $21,300, and for $27,100, based on areas of concentration of whales.

There is a gap in the projections where, theoretically, therefore, whales should not exert a significant influence on changes in the price of Bitcoin.

Bitcoin failed to hold above $23,400, which acts as major resistance on a weekly basis. Will today’s Doji candle pattern be followed by another attack from this level or a bearish correction, which would take the cryptocurrency to around $22,000 in the very short term?

It would be worth considering the following technical indicators:

Hourly MACD – The MACD is now losing pace in the bullish zone.

Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for BTC/USD is now below the 50 level.

Main support levels: $22,500, followed by $22,400.

Major Resistance Levels: $23,000, $23,150, and $23,500.

By Audy Castaneda

Snowfall Protocol (SNW) Seeks to Benefit from and Influence Competitors of Tron (TRX) and Litecoin (LTC) Investors

Audy Castañeda
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<strong>Snowfall Protocol (SNW) Seeks to Benefit from and Influence Competitors of Tron (TRX) and Litecoin (LTC) Investors</strong>

Apparently, Snowfall Protocol (SNW) presents a better alternative to TRX and LTC, as it is a newer project with much higher growth potential than its peers.

On the back of muted bounces, and large market caps with large floats, Tron (TRX) and Litecoin (LTC) investors are looking to diversify or migrate elsewhere entirely. SNW, the Snowfall Protocol token, will be people’s preferred destination.

Snowfall Protocol (SNW) is building a cross-chain platform that not only expands existing Blockchain applications but also eliminates the need for various flawed intermediaries built on Tron and Litecoin.

SNW is leveraging its 10-year experience in Blockchain across its entire team, which has worked tirelessly to strengthen the project’s base product while solidifying its market presence. Meanwhile, the native SNW token is increasingly attracting investors from competitors such as Tron and Litecoin, as it navigates areas where both projects fell short.

Tron (TRX)

In recent years, Tron (TRX) has been impressive. Its token, TRX, rode the waves of layer 1 Blockchain speculation in 2021, benefiting greatly from the cheap fees it charged, as well as strong adoption by Tether’s USDT users.

In 2022, the token is down just 27%, compared to the overall market average of 60%. As the market recovers in 2023, Tron (TRX) is up a modest 13% in the first month of the year. Although this may sound impressive, it is relatively low compared to its peers, which is why most investors are now leaving it for high-flying tokens like Snowfall Protocol (SNW).

Litecoin (LTC)

The price of LTC increased by more than 300% in 2021, as more and more public services were introduced, and Digital Currency Group (DCG), one of the largest cryptocurrency conglomerates, got rid of it.

The LTC token currently sits at $90, but its inability to attract broader adoption despite being early in the game discourages investors from sticking with their bets. Many Litecoin (LTC) investors, including DCG, are now quietly exploring other investment options, and Snowfall’s SNW has caught the attention of many.

Snowfall Protocol (SNW)

The Snowfall Protocol (SNW) was born out of the need to enable the transfer of assets through Blockchains. Snowfall Protocol (SNW) makes transfers in a bundled way and uses efficient resource tools that make such transfers possible. In this sense, SNW differs from most digital assets, which are subject to certain standards that are particular to specific Blockchains, and therefore, cannot be shipped off-chain.

The SNW token is well-prepared for an incredible year ahead. Its first pre-sale attracted many big-name players and the token price more than doubled. This final pre-sale is ongoing and will close prior to the protocol launch on February 3rd. No one would want to miss out on this opportunity.

By Audy Castaneda

Cardano Might be the Best Bet over Solana, Why?

Audy Castañeda
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<strong>Cardano Might be the Best Bet over Solana, Why?</strong>

A recent network problem in the Cardano Blockchain brought a new result to assess its potential.

Cardano is a popular scalable proof-of-stake (PoS) Blockchain network. Charles Hoskinson, the founder of this project, was also one of the founders of the Ethereum Blockchain.

Cardano is a commercial Blockchain, unlike Ethereum, which is a non-commercial public Blockchain. The team behind Cardano is known for its development activities in the Cardano ecosystem rather than promotional stunts, unlike other projects.

Just three days ago, it was reported that block production on the Cardano network stopped for a few minutes, but then the network picked up without any network restart process. At that time, the developers also confirmed that it was an expected incident on the Cardano network, as part of their activities in the Cardano ecosystem.

About the Incident

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson spoke about this on Twitter and confirmed that the entire situation was under the supervision of the Cardano Input Output Hong Kong Global (IOG) engineering team, but no action was taken.

The team noticed that the hat issue was not detectable to users of the Cardano network because the network recovered, and the Cardano edge nodes were working perfectly without any disturbance.

Hoskinson tweeted that “this weekend showed the value of self-healing, fully decentralized networks. A cascade of node stalls can recover and continue operation without noticeable disruption. That’s a truly resilient system and one that will continue to evolve and thrive in the years to come.”

The Community Reactions

Many people in the Crypto Twitter community talked about the recent Cardano network failure, and compared it to the Solana Blockchain network, which faced multiple bugs in the last 12 months, and also went offline multiple times, which was the big reason behind the fall in its price.

Based on the abovementioned, Cardano could be considered a much better network than Solana. It is worth noting that, in the near future, Cardano will provide transactions with higher scalability than Solana, since its hydra protocol is in development activity.

It is worth considering that, according to Simon Peters, an analyst of crypto assets from the eToro multi-asset investment platform, “2022 was a difficult year for investors in crypto assets, with significant price volatility the market had not experienced since 2018. Our 2022 data shows that investors sought refuge in crypto assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.” Despite this, investors have continued to look for investment ideas in the crypto asset market and may even have been looking for crypto assets at a discounted price thanks to the weak market. Cardano, then, following this line of thought, appears to be a fruitful alternative.

By Audy Castaneda

Ethereum Price Holds Firm and Sees New Rally, Bulls Not Over Yet

Audy Castañeda
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Ethereum Price Holds Firm and Sees New Rally, Bulls Not Over Yet

ETH is trading above the $1,600 pivot level.

Ethereum corrected lower sharply and tested $1,500 against the US dollar. ETH started a new rise and is now trading above the $1,600 pivot level.

Ethereum is picking up pace above the $1,580 and $1,600 levels. The price is now trading above $1,600 and the 100 hourly simple moving average.

There was a break above a major downtrend line with resistance near $1,615 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken). The pair could go higher if it sustains above the $1600 and $1580 support levels.

Ethereum Price Restarts Rise

Ethereum price started a sharp downward correction below the $1,600 level. ETH even dipped below the $1,550 support zone and the 100 hourly simple moving average.

However, the bulls were active near the $1,520 support zone. A low was formed near $1,518 and the price started a sharp rise, similar to bitcoin. There was a steady rise above the $1,550 and $1,580 resistance levels. The bulls even pushed it above the $1,600 level.

Additionally, there was a break above a major downtrend line with resistance near $1,615 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD. Ether price is now trading above $1,600 and the 100 hourly simple moving average.

A high is formed near $1,639 and the price is consolidating gains. It is trading near the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the up move from the $1,518 low to $1,639 high. An immediate resistance is near the $1,640 level. The next major resistance is near the $1,665 level.

A bullish break above the $1,665 resistance zone could start a new rally. In the indicated case, the price perhaps rises towards the $1,720 resistance.

Dips Limited in ETH?

If Ethereum fails to clear the $1,640 resistance, another correction to the downside could begin. An initial support on the downside is near the $1,610 level or the broken trend line.

The next major support is near the $1,580 level, or the 50% Fibonacci retracement level of the up move, from the $1,518 low to $1,639 high. If there is a break below $1,580, the price could drop towards the $1,550 support. Further losses could require a retest of the $1,520 zone.

Technical Indicators

Hourly MACD – The MACD for ETH/USD is now gaining momentum in the bullish zone.

Hourly RSI – The RSI for ETH/USD is now above the 50 level.

Major Support Level: $1,580

Highest Resistance Level: $1,640

Whether or not this is a good time to invest in Ethereum is a matter of making a financial decision after doing your own research, comparing its performance to that of other cryptos.

By Audy Castaneda

Which Coin to Invest in 2023: Dogecoin (DOGE), Orbeon Protocol (ORBN), or FTX Token (FTT)

Audy Castañeda
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Which Coin to Invest in 2023: Dogecoin (DOGE), Orbeon Protocol (ORBN), or FTX Token (FTT)

Orbeon Protocol can generate 20 times its profit this year.

Millions of cryptocurrency tokens are released every day. Keeping track of what should be in an investor’s investment portfolio can take time and effort. There is, however, a new token in phase 4 of its pre-sale currently, which can generate 20 times more profit in 2023: Orbeon Protocol (ORBN). It will soon be seen how it will compare to coins like Dogecoin (DOGE) and the FTX token (FTT).

Dogecoin (DOGE)

Dogecoin (DOGE), which was first created as a parody, has recently gained popularity. Celebs like Elon Musk tweeted in favor of Dogecoin (DOGE), which increased its value. In recent news, the Dogecoin Foundation (DOGE) has introduced a development fund of 5,000,000 Dogecoin (DOGE), which will be awarded to developers who help progress the project.

This caused a slight rise of 0.75% in the value of Dogecoin (DOGE), as it is currently trading at $0.08188. However, many investors avoid Dogecoin (DOGE) because they believe it is a meme coin with no real-world use cases. And for this reason, an investment in Dogecoin (DOGE) is not recommended at this time.

FTX Token (FTT)

FTX Token (FTT) is the native token of the now defunct FTX exchange. FTX Token (FTT) claims that it differs from other exchange coins because it offers unique features.

In recent news, the new CEO of FTX, John J. Ray III, stated that a renaissance for FTX could be in the offing. This announcement caused the price of the FTX token (FTT) to rise 50% last week. However, the FTX token (FTT) is currently valued at $2.23, down 5.63% in 24 hours. The market capitalization of the FTX token (FTT) has also decreased by 5% during that period. As this FTX Token (FTT) surge seems to be cooling off, many FTX Token (FTT) holders are looking for other projects that could bring them profit.

Orbeon Protocol (ORBN)

Orbeon Protocol (ORBN) will establish a revolutionary new investment platform that will allow users to buy fractional NFTs to invest in startups. These NFTs, in return, will be backed by real rewards or shares in the companies themselves. This is a great incentive for any budding Orbeon Protocol (ORBN) investor.

Due to this new crowdfunding method, brands and startups will reach their funding goals at a faster rate, while simultaneously entering the Web3 space. Investors shouldn’t wait, though; the stage 4 pre-sale will end soon, which will cause the price of the Orbeon Protocol (ORBN) to go up.

Due to the innovation it brings to the crowdfunding table, the Orbeon Protocol (ORBN) token could go as high as $0.24 when the pre-sale ends, representing an increase of 1400%. This is an excellent opportunity to get a top notch potential coin for a fantastic price.

By Audy Castaneda

Binance Processed $346 Million for Crypto Exchange Bitzlato, Claims Report

Audy Castañeda
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Bitzlato was the target of what US authorities described as a “significant blow to the crypto crime ecosystem.”

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance reportedly processed nearly $346 million in cryptocurrency transactions for Bitzlato, the coin trading platform that was shut down in an international police operation. US authorities say the world’s largest trading platform for digital assets was among the main counterparties of Bitzlato.

Binance has allegedly transferred nearly $346 million worth of cryptocurrency to Hong Kong-based Bitzlato, a little-known Russian-owned exchange, Reuters reported.

Blockchain Data Shows Binance Moved over 20,000 BTC for Bitzlato Since 2018

Last week, the Department of Justice announced that Bitzlato’s co-founder and majority shareholder, Anatoly Legkodymov, a Russian national who lives in China, was arrested in Miami, and charged with operating an unlicensed money-changing business that processed $700 million in illicit funds.

On Wednesday, the US Treasury Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) said that Binance was the only major crypto exchange that traded with Bitzlato, and that it was one of its major counterparties. Among the others were darknet marketplace Hydra, peer-to-peer (P2P) exchange Localbitcoins, and crypto investment scam Finiko, the largest financial pyramid in Russia in recent years.

According to data compiled by Blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis, and seen by Reuters, Binance moved more than 20,000 BTC for Bitzlato, worth $345.8 million at the time the transactions took place, between May 2018 and its closure. Around $175 million worth of Bitcoin was transferred to Binance from Bitzlato during the period, making Binance its largest receiving counterparty, the report also noted.

Biggest Crypto Exchange Says It Helped in Bitzlato Investigation

Binance has “provided substantial assistance” to international law enforcement to support their investigation of Bitzlato, a spokesperson for the exchange told the news agency via email, while declining to provide any further details about the crypto giant’s dealings with Bitzlato or their cooperation with the authorities.

Finland-based Localbitcoins said it has never had “any kind of cooperation or relationship” with Bitzlato and admitted that some P2P merchants on its platform “would also have been operating on Bitzlato’s P2P marketplace,” but noted there has been no transactions between the two exchanges since October 2022.

Reuters commented that it has no evidence that Binance, Localbitcoins, or Finiko’s transactions with Bitzlato violated any laws or regulations. Reuters was also unable to establish whether Binance’s dealings with Bitzlato are currently being reviewed.

Several European countries are also involved in the investigation against Bitzlato. Last week’s announcement revealed that French law enforcement authorities have dismantled the platform’s digital infrastructure in the country and seized its website. On Monday, Europol reported that four more members of the exchange team have been arrested in Spain and Cyprus.

By Audy Castaneda

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