Stellar price has been falling since May 2021.

Stellar (XLM) price is showing signs that the ongoing correction since November 2021 may be coming to an end.

Stellar is a decentralized network created by the Stellar Development Foundation. The network’s native crypto asset is XLM, which helps manage cross-border transactions and transaction fees. Stellar also serves as a decentralized marketplace and exchange.

With the XLM price stuck in a bear market for over a year, there are signs that the correction may end soon.

Long-term Price Corrections

The Stellar price has been falling since May 2021 when it traded as high as $0.798. The XLM price created a lower high in November of the same year, and then accelerated its downward pace thereafter.

So far, the XLM price reached a low of $0.072 on December 15 this year. The lower move triggered a breakout of the $0.084 horizontal support zone. This is a crucial development, as the zone had intermittently played the role of resistance and support since 2019.

If the lower move continues, the next closest support zone would be at $0.062. The decline is supported by the weekly RSI, which is down and has invalidated its bullish divergence trend line.

On a weekly basis, the only bullish sign for the XLM price is that the move is contained within a falling wedge, considered a bullish reversal pattern.

However, even if the wedge is set up correctly, the price of XLM may gradually decline within it until it reaches the $0.062 support zone. A break of the wedge would also indicate a recovery of the $0.084 resistance zone. This would imply that a bullish reversal has begun.

XLM Price Could Start a Rally

The daily chart offers a more bullish outlook than the weekly chart. The main reason for this is the RSI reading. The indicator generated a bullish divergence in a one-month time frame and broke out of its oversold territory. These are two signs that a bullish move is expected soon.

The fact that the divergence took place right at the support line level of the wedge increases its importance and makes it more likely that the price of Stellar will rise. If such a rise occurs, the $0.084 area should provide resistance.

Conversely, a daily close below the support line of the wedge would suggest that further lows are likely. This could push the price of XLM toward the $0.062 support zone.

Wave Number Admits a Bottom Would Have Been Found

Finally, the wave count lines up with the possibility of a bottom. Since the beginning of October, the price of XLM has completed a downward movement in five waves. The main feature of this formation is the symmetrical triangle of the fourth wave. Also, the fifth wave ended near the 1.61 outside retracement of the fourth wave, which is common in this type of formation. A drop below the $0.072 low would invalidate this wave count.

To conclude, while the weekly time frame readings are still bearish, the three reasons mentioned above indicate that the XLM price correction may end soon.

By Audy Castaneda

To find freedom and go live in his parents’ luxurious home while awaiting trial, Sam Bankman-Fried didn’t have to pay a single dollar of that $250 million bail.

Sam Bankman-Fried, the former head of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, was extradited to the United States on Wednesday night. He agreed to return to his country to face the legal proceedings against him. Among other things, he is accused of having used the assets of his clients to make personal investments. Damage is estimated at several billion dollars.

The FTX case is already considered one of the biggest financial scandals in American history. SBF, 30, is charged in particular with wire fraud, securities fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, money laundering, and political donation fraud. He risks 115 years in prison.

The Biggest Bail Bond of All Time?

Less than 24 hours after returning to the United States, former cryptocurrency mogul Sam Bankman-Fried appeared before Lower Manhattan court judges, who set at bail at $250 million. During the hearing, the magistrates described such bail as “enormous”. One of the judges indicated that this is probably the greatest personal guarantee of all time.

There are many conditions for release by Sam Bankman-Fried. He must live at home with his parents, wearing an electronic bracelet, as well as other means of electronic tracking. The judges prohibited him from opening new lines of credit and starting businesses. He was also prohibited from making any transactions over $1,000, except to pay lawyers.

Controversies Over Sam Bankman-Fried’s Bail

On social media, many members of the crypto community criticized the court’s decision. For some, Sam Bankman-Fried may not be eligible for bail. This is due to the seriousness of the charges against him. Others mentioned the amount of the deposit, guaranteed by their parents.

In this regard, the famous crypto-personality Alexandra Hulk posted a tweet in which she questions the ability of Sam Bankman-Fried’s parents to guarantee such a sum, claiming that “The calculation does not hold.”

The crypto Youtuber Bitboy has questioned the origin of the money and alluded to a conspiracy. In addition, many have abounded in this direction. For them, Sam will never go to prison, because he was a great supporter of the American political class.

SBF Did not Have to Pay a Single Dollar of Bail

Indeed, it is only a deposit of appearance. Sam Bankman-Fried’s parents signed an affidavit of bail, which makes it mandatory for the defendant to pay the court $250 million bail if he fails to appear in court, or fails to meet the conditions of his bail; no fee is paid in advance.

SBF will, therefore, not spend Christmas in prison, but with his parents in a sumptuous house. This is news that shocks bankrupt FTX clients, whose funds were stolen and used by the “Bernie Madoff of cryptocurrency”, as well as by his former collaborators also indicted.

By Audy Castaneda

According to several studies, the size of the metaverse market could be in the region of $1 trillion by 2030. Experts believe that laws are needed to deal with crimes in the metaverse.

The metaverse and virtual reality were the talks of the town in 2021. What are the predictions for 2023 after a challenging 2022?

The hype for the metaverse led the bull run in 2021, with leading tokens like Decentraland (MANA) and Sandbox (SAND) pumping nearly 100 times. Excitement among enthusiasts peaked when Facebook changed its name to Meta in October 2021.

Studies have projected that the size of the metaverse market will be between $500 million and $1 trillion by 2030. How would the market develop in 2023?

Multiple Metaverses to Coexist

The pillar of the Web 3.0 ecosystem is decentralization. So it would be ironic if a single metaverse had a monopoly on the market.

Think of it as different social media platforms, be it Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, or TikTok. Each of these platforms offers unique use cases to users. Similarly, multiple metaverses can coexist, serving special utilities. The potential is huge for multiple metaverses to coexist. Platforms can offer interoperability for users to transfer their assets from one platform to another through bridges.

If a person buys hoodies from a metaverse that provides offline delivery and NFT hoodie for the online avatar, they would want to wear that hoodie on a different platform where they attend college lectures, for example.

Metaverse-Based Enterprises

The metaverse has attracted the attention of leading brands and companies this year. In November, companies filed about 5,364 US trademark applications for metaverse and related services.

The technology has attracted luxury watchmakers like Rolex and shoe brands like Nike, Adidas, and Reebok.

The virtual world could give a thrill ride to car lovers soon. BMW has applied to trademark its logo for the metaverse. Most recently, Mike Kondoudis, a trademark attorney, tweeted that Mercedes has filed trademark applications for NFT, metaverse, and related services.

AI-powered Virtual Worlds

Notable metaverse platforms have focused on creating user-generated content (UGC) experiences. According to a PwC article, AI can make it possible for even those with no technical background to create immersive metaverse experiences.

Sam Hamilton, the creative director of the Decentraland Foundation, believes that technology could, and should, be used to create a better metaverse experience.

Critics, however, have raised some concerns about the use of AI in the metaverse. There are fears that bad actors will use AI to commit identity theft in the virtual world.

In addition, AI technologies not only facilitate identity theft in the virtual world, but also serious crimes such as sexual assaults. The metaverse can intensify the hate or emotional abuse of users. With the potential for these crimes, there is a need to keep an eye on the metaverse.

By Audy Castaneda

FTX fell from the 7th most popular crypto service to 21st in November 2022 after filing for bankruptcy. Binance, Coingecko, and Coinbase dominated the most popular crypto services in 2022.

Binance and CoinGecko remain the only crypto services to fall into the financial services category, which is still dominated by heavyweights like PayPal, Stripe, and Alipay.

The financial sector generally includes a large group of industries associated with banking, lending, insurance, and investing, as well as different business activities related to the allocation of wealth and cash. Currently, though, there is a change in trend.

There is a growing dispute between the heavyweights of the traditional industry and the upcoming and relatively new crypto services. That is mainly due to the differences between both categories.

Crypto: Decentralized Nature of Financial Services

What stands out about crypto financial services compared to traditional financial assets?

The first attribute is transparency. Consider the markets for private placement, bond issuance, and stocks. Transparency of where those assets are located is not available to the average person. How they can be found is something fundamentally different compared to Blockchain.

Assets on the Blockchain, like Bitcoin and Ethereum, have transparency in terms of how they move, as well as which wallets hold different types of investments. There is transparency in terms of where those assets are located in the wallets. That is a fundamentally different operation mode.

The second difference is the settlement and compensation models between traditional finance, Blockchain, and digital assets. In mainstream finance, outside of over-the-counter (OTC) assets, most major products are centrally cleared assets found in large financial institutions.

The latter is actual control of the asset. Traditional financial institutions use promissory notes; promising institutions will issue assets when necessary.

Meanwhile, the former controls the leverage or lends it. For the latter, the digital asset space has the ability and technology, such as ledger devices, to manage assets to hold physical assets.

Financial crypto services have taken a significant hit, given events like the rise in illicit activities and the collapse of crypto institutions.

Cons of the Decentralized System

The fall of FTX dealt a heavy blow to the credibility of cryptocurrency exchanges, as investors questioned the safety of their money, and many returned to traditional payment services.

Since then, the heads of other companies have tried to reassure investors that their platforms are not at risk of facing the same problems as FTX.

For clients, a liquidity issue stands out. Individual consumers have much more faith in accessing their funds from traditional payment services than from crypto services.

Given the fear, uncertainty, and growing doubt (FUD) against cryptocurrencies, the rankings of big-name service providers have also taken a hit compared to traditional giants.

The dataset shared by Cloudflare Radar, a free tool that allows anyone to view global trends and information on the Internet, shed some light on the narrative. Said data shows that crypto-service institutions are still fragile compared to traditional financial giants. That crypto sector will take months or maybe years to move past the haunted past of 2022.

By Audy Castaneda