Bitcoin's April target

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Bitcoin's rally continues, analyst predicts $100K mark by April's end

Key points:

  • Analyst Fred Krueger predicts BTC could reach $100,000 by April. Long-term price targets of $200,000 to $1 million are expected by the next halving cycle.

  • However, Ethereum's programmability poses a potential threat to Bitcoin's dominance.

News - Bitcoin's meteoric rise has been nothing short of extraordinary, with the leading cryptocurrency maintaining a double-digit rally since the fourth quarter of 2023. Well, after a 56.8% surge in Q4 2023, BTC has continued its rally in Q1 2024, currently boasting a gain of over 60%.

Fred Krueger, a prominent tech investor and Bitcoin advocate, believes the current market conditions present a highly favorable opportunity for Bitcoin. He emphasizes that "Bitcoin's risk-reward ratio is the best it's ever been."

 BTC’s future trajectory - Looking ahead to the upcoming Bitcoin halving event in late 2028, Krueger predicted that a significant price increase can be expected. He estimated BTC could reach $90,000 to $100,000 by April of this year, with a long-term target of $200,000 to $1 million by the next halving cycle. The analyst further envisioned a future where Bitcoin would become the dominant form of currency.

However, Krueger acknowledged Ethereum as a potential threat to Bitcoin's dominance. Ethereum's programmability makes it more suitable for tokenizing real-world assets, a trend that could benefit Ethereum at Bitcoin's expense.

Current status of BTC - At press time, the king coin was changing hands at $70,432 with a 5.38% increase over the last seven days. The Open Interest (OI) in the derivatives market has seen a significant jump after 24 March. Thus, signifying more traders are interested in speculating the price of BTC.

Ethereum hits 1M validators milestone; 32M Ether staked worth $114B

Key points:

  • Ethereum network surpassed one million validators count, a significant security improvement.

  • Concerns arise regarding the potential downsides of a high validator count.

News - The Ethereum blockchain achieved a significant milestone on 28 March, surpassing one million validators on its network. This signifies a major step towards a more secure network, with validators playing a crucial role in preventing fraudulent activity.

Currently, 32 million Ether are staked on the network, representing roughly $114 billion. Interestingly, Lido, a staking pool service, contributed around 30% of the staked ETH.

Why Lido made a big contribution? Staking pools like Lido allow users with smaller holdings to participate in the validation process. Validators themselves are responsible for monitoring the network for suspicious transactions and ensuring the smooth operation of the blockchain. To become a validator, users need to stake 32 ETH, receiving rewards in return for their contribution to network security.

Is there any concern? Despite the apparent benefit of a growing validator count, some community members have expressed concerns. Venture capitalist Evan Van Ness believes the current number of validators might already be excessive, while others like Gabriel Weide, who runs a staking pool, fear an eventual rise in failed transactions due to the sheer volume of validators.

Well, in an attempt to address concerns about validator centralization, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently proposed a new system. Buterin's proposal involves penalizing validators based on their failure rate. This could potentially level the playing field and prevent large stakers from holding a disproportionate amount of influence.

QuadrigaCX co-founder faces asset forfeiture in British Columbia court battle

Key points:

  • Canadian government targeted QuadrigaCX co-founder Michael Patryn with an unexplained wealth order.

  • The UWO aims to seize assets potentially linked to money laundering activities.

News - Canadian authorities are cracking down on suspected crypto fraudster Michael Patryn, co-founder of the defunct cryptocurrency exchange QuadrigaCX. The B.C. Civil Forfeiture Office filed an unexplained wealth order (UWO) against Patryn in the British Columbia Supreme Court.

This UWO aims to seize a significant amount of assets linked to Patryn, including cash, gold bars, and luxury items. The move highlights the government's commitment to combating financial crime, particularly in the cryptocurrency space. Evidence suggests Patryn and the deceased CEO, Gerald Cotten, may have planned to misappropriate customer funds as early as 2014.

What’s more? Patryn's past criminal record and his lawyer's defense might not be enough. If he cannot prove the legitimacy of these assets by the 30 April court date, they could be forfeited.

The seized assets were found in a Vancouver safety deposit box. This action showcases the government's intent to reclaim suspected crime proceeds and utilize them for the benefit of the community. It also marks British Columbia's third UWO case, demonstrating the region's resolve to fight money laundering and organized crime.

Ondo Finance transfers $95 Million to BlackRock's tokenized fund

Key points:

  • Ondo Finance transferred $95 million to BlackRock's BUIDL fund, a first for crypto protocols.

  • This move aims to enable instant settlements for Ondo's US Treasury-backed token, OUSG.

News - Ondo Finance, a platform specializing in tokenized real-world assets, has taken a groundbreaking step by transferring $95 million to BlackRock's recently launched BUIDL fund. This move marks the first time a crypto protocol has utilized a tokenized fund to facilitate its offerings.

The primary objective behind this initiative is to enable instant settlements for Ondo's US Treasury-backed token, OUSG. This will significantly enhance the token's usability and attractiveness within the cryptocurrency market.

What was the aim behind this initiative? According to Nathan Allman, CEO of Ondo Finance, the switch to BlackRock's BUIDL will streamline the subscription and redemption process for OUSG. Previously, settlements for OUSG followed a traditional trade date plus two days format. BUIDL will enable immediate transactions, addressing a major pain point for investors accustomed to the crypto market's 24/7 operation.

This development comes in response to investor concerns regarding the sluggish redemption times associated with OUSG. These delays clashed with the fast-paced nature of the cryptocurrency market.

Interesting facts

  • One Bitcoin transaction’s carbon footprint is equivalent to more than 762,000 Visa transactions, according to Digiconomist.

  • The difficulties of tax reporting and the controversy surrounding crypto have resulted in digital assets being entirely banned in ten countries: Algeria, Bolivia, Bangladesh, Dominican Republic, Ghana, Nepal, North Macedonia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Vanuatu.

  • Surprisingly, the concept of cryptocurrencies can be traced back to the 1980s. The idea of untraceable peer-to-peer digital money was first proposed by an American IT named David Chaum in 1983 — long before the creation of Bitcoin.

Top 3 coins of the day

Shiba Inu (SHIB)

Key points:

  • SHIB’s daily volumes have increased significantly over the last two weeks.

  • The rally has majorly been powered by retail investors, thanks to the sharp increase in addresses holding between 0–10 coins.

What you should know - Shiba Inu has been trading with bullish forces after a breakout on 1 March. A key resistance level remains at $0.000038, breaching which could spur a 40% rise in SHIB’s value to even $0.000052. However, a weakening of the $0.000031 level could see the coin go down to the $0.00002531 mark in no time. Well, the chances of which looked bleak, at press time. The coin was facing buy pressure and technical indicator RSI revealed that it could go up a little further before corrections set in. The rate at which new users have been entering the network has accelerated sharply in recent weeks, implying growing adoption.

Polygon (MATIC)

Key points:

  • The token’s social volume remained high for the majority of the last week.

  • However, its Weighted Sentiment was low, implying that bearish sentiment was dominant.

What you should know - MATIC, at the time of reporting, was trading at $1.01 with analysts predicting that the psychological mark of $1 could be lost soon, thanks to the bears. Its local top was found at $1.29. But it’s worth noting - After 14 March, long-term traders have been taking profit and cashing out. In the coming days, the price trajectory could improve, provided MATIC builds on its demand side. As for the technical indicators, the picture looked a bit bearish - Awesome Oscillator flashed a red signal; it was possibly looking for a bullish confirmation ahead. Traders can be advised to take caution since massive volatility is on the cards.

Binance Coin (BNB)

Key points:

  • BNB was up 4.22% over the last seven-days and 2.42% in the past day.

  • The Open Interest has decreased considerably after 17 March.

What you should know - BNB's 1-D price chart revealed that the weeks following 16 March haven't been easy for the altcoin. It fell by around 10.82% in the last 12 days, however, in the last week, the bullish momentum picked up. There have been more long liquidations than shorts. And, this is expected to continue for the next few days, as per the reading of the technical indicators. In accordance with the bearish narrative, the volume oscillator too has been on a freefall after 19 March, thus, highlighting that the trading activity was low. Unless adequate demand kicks in, a bullish recovery is difficult.

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