Coin360 news

[kidis]

I Believe I Can Fly





The bullish momentum continued for yet another day, Bitcoin traded in the high $5,300 area, while Ethereum looks set to test the psychologically important $200 level. Compared to the flurry of activity on the CME last week, the trading volume on Monday was rather light, with only 9,769 contracts exchanging hands. Still, FOMO looks to be in full force according to New York Times journalist and crypto influencer Nathaniel Popper, who Tweeted: “Update on Facebook’s cryptocurrency: Sources tell me that Facebook is now looking to get VC firms to invest in the Facebook cryptocurrency project we reported on earlier this year. I hear they are targeting big sums — as much as $1b.” According to one source Popper talked to, the social media company might utilize the invested funds as collateral for the new digital asset.

Read the full article: https://coin360.com/blog/i-believe-i-can-fly

[kidis]

Back To The Jungle





Regardless of whether you find yourself in the bull or bear camp of the crypto market, it is always worth reminding yourself that this is a very speculative market. Fundamental metrics do not always correlate to the underlying cryptocurrency prices and, more often than not, proposed valuation models are biased and subject to data overfitting. At the same time, the OTC market resembles a very archaic way of doing business and is full of dream chasers. Crypto maximalists may disagree but for Wall Street to roll up their sleeves and commit to crypto, they do not necessarily need to believe in the technology. If there is a secondary market for the asset class and there are inefficiencies to be exploited, then there is no reason to expect them refrain from trading cryptocurrencies, just like they trade pork bellies and the longevity market. With that being said...the crypto market remains in a bullish bias, a positive outlook echoed in the derivatives market. ETH contango is being pushed wider, which is also driving other assets higher (given the correlation and hedging strategies). However, the Bitcoin curve remains subject to regular shifts from contango to backwardation, which indicates increased interest from spread traders.


Read the full article: https://coin360.com/blog/back-to-the-jungle

[kidis]

Turbulence Ahead





Bitcoin rallied all the way to $5,500 after brief setbacks following the previous high of $5,350. Ethereum got to $185, but notably failed to reach previous highs around the $187 mark. Interestingly, Ethereum Sep futures also topped out a few dollars under the key $200 level, giving it more substance as a barrier. The contango has tightened, with spot ETH vs Sep contracts at around $10 vs $15 yesterday. In short, the trend remains bullish, especially given the apparent indication of demand from China where buyers are paying premiums over the official USD/CNY rate.


Read the full article: https://coin360.com/blog/turbulence-ahead

[kidis]

Appear Weak When You Are Strong





The meteoric climb of Bitcoin (BTC) all the way to $5,500 came to a crashing halt yesterday, at least that’s what social media and the “moon boys” will tell you. However, profit taking at this stage is actually a healthy development for the market that is so heavily driven by leverage and speculative flow. The underlying blockchain metrics do not necessarily indicate whether the rally should or should not have taken place; the hash rate has been on a very steady but gradual uptrend, while the total number of unique addresses used on the Bitcoin blockchain is showing little growth. In fact, one can argue that the fundamentals point to much lower valuation. However, as with anything speculative, do not underestimate the power of FOMO. Also, given the growth in the derivatives market, being aware of the flow in both the options and futures markets is becoming increasingly important in judging the short-term direction of the market.


Read the full article: https://coin360.com/blog/appear-weak-when-you-are-strong

[kidis]

Information Cascade





It is notoriously difficult to measure institutional demand, not only are there too many assumptions to take into account but even data that on paper indicates "institutional" demand is far from being clear cut. Most recently, the CME Commitment of Traders report indicted a sharp increase in demand from asset managers/institutional market participants, which is, of course, a good sign for a cryptocurrency market trying to clean up its image and appeal to professional money managers. However, CME’s latest report has indicated that the healthy appetite has been somewhat short lived.


Read the full article: https://coin360.com/blog/information-cascade

[kidis]

Corporate Governance 101





The contentious Bitcoin Cash hard fork that took place at the back end of last year resulted in liquidity being drained out of the market, in turn causing the market to suffer significant losses. The new chain dubbed BSV, supported by Calvin Ayre, has consequently carved out a not insignificant share of the market. However, for much of its existence, it has underperformed its counterpart, BitcoinCash.


Read the full article: https://coin360.com/blog/corporate-governance-101

[kidis]

Don’t Look Back





Bitcoin reclaimed the $5100 level and, after overcoming a few road bumps, the price shot up into the mid-$5200 level, and the BTC futures curve has since been shifting from backwardation to contango (albeit modestly so). At the same time, Ethereum’s price moved back into the mid $160 area and the contango spread between perpetual rate vs Sep contract has widened to around $5-6. As a reminder, last week the spread was as wide as $15, however a bout of profit taking ahead of the $200 level saw the spread collapse. The price bias remains bullish, and the spread is again expected to widen as the cryptocurrency prices move back towards the key technical level. The delisting of Bitcoin SV (BSV) has not resulted in any major outflows, which in turn should also prove supportive for the crypto price action going forward. As a reminder, Bitcoin was trading around $6,500, while Ethereum was at $200 last year before the Bitcoin Cash hard fork, these levels should serve as a good indication for upcoming price targets. Also, something to be aware of is the upcoming Bitcoin Cash network upgrade, which is scheduled to take place on May 15, 2019.

Read the full article: https://coin360.com/blog/dont-look-back

[kidis]

Build It And They Will Come





The cryptocurrency market continued to trend higher, with Bitcoin edging into the 5,300 USD area before a mild regression back into the mid-$5,200 zone, while Ethereum rallied aggressively to 170 USD after stops were tripped breaking through $168. Both Bitcoin and Ethereum futures curves are now trading in contango, however, it remains to be seen whether this will be sustainable going forward. The amount of ETH locked into the MarkerDAO credit ecosystem has declined, albeit marginally, to 2.03% vs 2.08% prior to the most recent stability fee hike. The stablecoin DAI has also edged back towards its peg level and resumed trading more in line with its peers. As such, at least for the time being, further hikes are unlikely to be on the agenda. Still, as the crypto market continues to move higher, leverage will continue to remain an attractive option for maximizing returns, especially as the DeFi ecosystem continues to expand.


Read the full article: https://coin360.com/blog/build-it-and-they-will-come

[kidis]

There’s A Party Goin’ On

Bitcoin continued to surge higher, breaking above the previous resistance level of $5,500 to trade well into the $5,600 zone. Market capitalization is set to top $100bln level for the first time since mid-November of last year when the contentious Bitcoin Cash hard fork resulted in a temporary, albeit very aggressive, liquidity crisis. The upside target for BTC remains in the $6,300-6,500 area. Ethereum has also posted strong gains and remains well on track to make another test on the key $200 level. Interestingly, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin posted on Github that ETH will use a higher staking reward metric after the deployment of Ethereum Proof of Stake (PoS). If 1 million ETH is staked, a maximum amount of 181,019 new ETH would be issued annually with a max return rate of 18.1%.

Read the full article: https://coin360.com/blog/theres-a-party-goin-on

[kidis]

Go With The Flow





The cryptocurrency market continued to edge higher yesterday and, while profit taking at this stage should not come as a surprise, the bias higher remains intact. For contrarians out there, the current price levels offer an attractive opportunity to go against the trend but fighting the momentum in the crypto market could be a very dangerous game.


Read the full article: https://coin360.com/blog/go-with-the-flow

[kidis]

Resurrection





The crypto market staged a bit of a pullback in what can be described as a healthy bout of profit taking, especially considering the recent upside traction. The “buy on dips” trend looks to be intact and the 6,500 USD price area remains the next target for Bitcoin (pre-Bitcoin Cash hard fork in November 2018). At the same time, further downward movement and a break below the $5,200 level may incentivize sellers to aim for the Bitcoin’s price of 4,800 USD.


Read the full article: https://coin360.com/blog/resurrection

[kidis]

Spring Cleaning





The cryptocurrency market suffered a huge blow yesterday when the New York State Attorney General (NYSAG) announced that it is suing Bitfinex and affiliated firm Tether (USDT). The suit alleges that Bitfinex and Tether engaged in “undisclosed, conflicted transactions to cover Bitfinex’s losses by transferring money out of tether reserve funds.” It is alleged that Bitfinex commingled client funds through Crypto Capital, in other words, the firm mixed client funds with its own capital. Furthermore, according to the attorney general’s office over $700 million was drained from Tether’s reserves. The court has reportedly ordered the operators of both companies to immediately cease the dissipation of United States dollars that back Tether tokens and to produce investigation-related information and documents.

Read the full article: https://coin360.com/blog/spring-cleaning

[kidis]

Don’t Blame The Player





The crypto market continues to show plenty of resilience to the recent Tether/Bitfinex news, so much so that even with Tether premium trading at over 6%, Bitcoin is yet to fall below the key $5,000 level. Still, it is worth keeping an eye on the derivatives market; that tends to be less forgiving and things can turn ugly very quickly from here. Metrics to watch - futures open interest, implied volatility, Tether premium and of course basis, and the shape of the curve.


Read the full article: https://coin360.com/blog/dont-blame-the-player

[kidis]

It’s A Hard Fork Life





Despite the uncertainty surrounding Tether and Bitfinex, which has resulted in the Tether premium spiking to over 6%, the cryptocurrency market continues to show plenty of resilience. Specifically, the 5,000 USD price level for Bitcoin remains intact and Ethereum has also managed to settle above the $150 level. Still, given the highly leveraged and speculative nature of crypto markets, the catalyst for a sell-off might be just around the corner. Late last year, at a time when Tether was exhibiting similar risk premia, the catalyst for another leg lower was the contentious Bitcoin Cash hard fork.

Read the full article: https://coin360.com/blog/its-a-hard-fork-life

[kidis]

The Truth Will Set You Free





It is now official, Bitfinex, the cryptocurrency exchange which has had its share of controversy, especially considering all the recent development surrounding Tether, will conduct an Initial Exchange Offering (IEO). Bitfinex’s token which has been dubbed LEO, will first be offered to private investors, then subsequently opened to the public after May 10 if there is any allocation left, according to information shared by shareholder Zhao Dong. The Block has also reported, citing Zhao Dong, that Bitfinex has already raised $600 million in private, verbal commitments.


Read the full article: https://coin360.com/blog/the-truth-will-set-you-free

[kidis]

Invincible





Remember the saying "don't fight the trend"...fighting the highly speculative and leveraged crypto market can be a particularly frustrating experience and, as it stands, the trend is pointing to further gains. The Bitfinex & Tether developments have been a net negative but the IEO announcement by the exchange is a good reminder of the amount of capital still on the sidelines which can be deployed at such short notice. Do not underestimate the power of crypto FOMO, it is Alan Greenspan's version of irrational exuberance but on steroids!


Read the full article: https://coin360.com/blog/invincible

[kidis]

Get The Popcorn Ready





The market is ebullient, Bitcoin is up nearly 38% for the month-to-date and is now trading above the $7,000 level, and Ethereum looks set to again test the technically significant $200 level. The rally has been very broad but Bitcoin has been the clear frontrunner, and, as pointed out last week, the market has been fragmenting even more with a pronounced decoupling taking place.

Read the full article: https://coin360.com/blog/get-the-popcorn-ready

[kidis]

Hot Money





The market remains in a jubilant mode, with Bitcoin rallying above $8K and Ethereum advancing all the way to $215. Citing CME Group, the Chicago exchange declared its Bitcoin futures product recorded a new all-time record of 33.7K contracts sold in one day — shattering the prior records of 22.5K and 18.3K set on Apr. 4 and Feb. 19, respectively. Another market positive statistic is the growth of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust flows which reached an all-time high in April. Inflows in April (11,236 BTC) were approximately equal to those of the previous four months combined and, USD adjusted, nearly $58.2 million was added to Grayscale’s holdings in April, which is almost as high as the $60.8 million at the height of the bull market in December 2017. What is more interesting is the GBTC premium, which currently stands at nearly 40% and has increased consistently since December.


Read the full article: https://coin360.com/blog/hot-money

[kidis]

It’s All Relative





The parabolic upswing by Bitcoin has eased somewhat as the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization entered a consolidation phase around the $8000 level. It remains to be seen how long the price will be able to remain at this level, as the temptation to take profit will rise by the day. At the same time, the FOMO effect could easily push the price all the way through $10,000 level in the blink of an eye.


Read the full article: https://coin360.com/blog/its-all-relative

[kidis]

Leverage!





As pointed out yesterday, Ethereum underperformed significantly vs BTC in the recent run-up, so much so that Y/Y basis Bitcoin is nearly flat, while Ethereum was down around 60% in the same metric. As such, there was some leeway for relative value plays to re-enter the market and close the gap, even if only partially. The above materialized in dramatic fashion, as Bitcoin remained relatively stable around the $8k mark, while Ethereum rallied from $218 area well into $270 region.


Read the full article: https://coin360.com/blog/leverage