Ethereum Futures' unexpected ATH

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Ether Futures Open Interest at an ATH: Bullish Sign or an overheated market?

Key points:

• Ethereum's price has been stuck around $3,600 for a few days despite a 58.8% increase since February.

• The growth of ETH futures market is being seen as a positive sign for liquidity.

News - Ethereum has been hovering around $3,600 for the past few days, despite a significant price increase of 58.8% since February. This stagnation has sparked debate among analysts about the factors influencing the market.

Some attribute the muted upside to uncertainty surrounding a potential spot Ether ETF approval in the US. Others point to the rising Ether futures open interest as evidence of strong institutional demand.

Futures market stats - The growth of the Ether futures market, particularly on the regulated CME, is seen as a positive development due to increased liquidity and participation from large institutions. However, the record-high open interest doesn't necessarily translate to bullish sentiment.

While Binance and Bybit dominate the ETH futures market with a combined $6.95 billion in positions, CME's open interest sits at $1.3 billion.

Furthermore, the current positive funding rate of 0.04% in ETH perpetual contracts suggests a moderate bullish bias, with traders utilizing leverage to amplify potential gains. However, this rate remains below the 1.2% weekly threshold typically associated with excessive optimism.

Google search now shows crypto wallet balances for multiple blockchains

Key points:

• Google now allows users to search for token balances across several blockchains, including Bitcoin, Arbitrum, and Ethereum.

• This feature raises privacy concerns for some Bitcoin users due to centralized data aggregation.

News - Google has significantly expanded its cryptocurrency search capabilities, allowing users to directly view token balances across popular blockchains like Bitcoin, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Optimism, Polygon, and Fantom.

Well, by simply entering a wallet address, users can see the token balance for each supported network, along with the last update time.

What’s interesting? This update extends Google's reach into the world of decentralized finance by incorporating on-chain data from various blockchains directly into search results. The ability to search three Bitcoin address formats (P2PKH, P2SH, and Bech32) provides users with a convenient way to check current balances and recent transactions.

How users are reacting? While some see this feature as a step towards mainstream crypto adoption, privacy-focused Bitcoin users are concerned about the implications of centralized data aggregation. This new offering follows Google's previous introduction of Ethereum Name Service (ENS) domain search, which allows users to search balances using human-readable domain names like "vitalik.eth" instead of complex wallet addresses.

Optimism price shows potential for upswing on increased investor activity

Key points:

• Active addresses on the Optimism network have surged over 30% in the past 24 hours.

• This increase in user engagement coincides with a decline in OP's price, creating a price-DAA divergence.

News - The price of Optimism is attracting attention as market signals suggest a potential buying opportunity. While the beginning of March saw a dip in OP's value, the past few days have shown a positive trend, potentially fueled by a rise in investor participation.

This surge in activity is reflected by a significant increase in active addresses on the Optimism network, exceeding 30% in the last 24 hours. This uptick in user engagement coincides with a decline in OP's price, creating a technical indicator known as price-Daily Active Addresses (DAA) divergence.

What DAA hints at? This divergence is a situation where a cryptocurrency's price movement and the number of daily active addresses on its network trend in opposite directions. It can signal a potential disconnect between the market's valuation of the asset and its actual use or adoption. In this case, a falling price accompanied by rising active addresses suggests a possible buy signal.

Analysts believe that if current OP holders continue to accumulate the token within their wallets, it could trigger a price surge. This increased demand from existing investors could push the price upwards, potentially exceeding its performance so far this year.

FTX collapse fallout: Former execs settle lawsuit, agree to cooperate

Key points:

• Former FTX executives and promoters settle lawsuit with defrauded investors for $1.36 million.

• Former FTX.US compliance officer Friedberg also settles, claiming he was unaware of the fraud.

News - Former executives and promoters of the failed crypto exchange FTX have agreed to a nearly $1.36 million settlement with a group of defrauded investors. This comes alongside their cooperation in the ongoing legal battle against other parties involved in the FTX fiasco.

Details about the settlement - The settlement involves Zixiao "Gary" Wang, FTX co-founder, Nishad Singh, former engineering lead, and Caroline Ellison, ex-CEO of Alameda Research, FTX's sister trading firm. As part of the settlement, Wang, Singh, and Ellison have already begun sharing documents and data they provided to prosecutors in securing a 25-year sentence for their former boss, Sam Bankman-Fried. They will also surrender records related to FTX's bankruptcy proceedings and be available for questioning and court hearings.

The agreement also includes the forfeiture of their assets, with a judge in their criminal case deciding how these funds will be recovered and distributed to victims. Importantly, they cannot oppose the investors' request to have these funds distributed through the class-action lawsuit, rather than through FTX's bankruptcy process or other lawsuits.

In conclusion - This move by former FTX insiders signifies a potential turning point in the legal aftermath of the exchange's collapse. Their cooperation with the defrauded investors could significantly impact the ongoing lawsuit against other parties involved in the FTX saga.

More stories from the crypto ecosystem

• SHIB, DOT, Cardano prices crash – Do predictions say it’s a good time to buy?

• With Bitcoin now down 6%, where does Schiff’s halving prediction stand?

• Is Solana ‘overdue’ a price correction? – Exec’s prediction after altcoins crash

• Is Arbitrum’s token unlock a ‘sell the news’ event?

• Analyst claims MATIC might see ‘extreme’ price hikes once…

Crypto Scams Uncovered

• BitConnect lured users with promises of high returns on unbeatable trading but turned out to be a $4 billion Ponzi scheme. Users lent crypto, received investment payments, and then watched it all crash. They even launched a second scam, BitconnectX, before disappearing.

• Inspired by Squid Game, $SQUID promised play-to-earn riches. But like a real-life rug pull," creators cashed out, leaving investors with worthless tokens after a meteoric rise and crash. In merely seconds, the fraudsters ran away with $3.3 million.

• Quadriga, Canada's once-trusted crypto giant, crashed amidst fraud accusations. Founder Cotten, holding sole access to $250M in user funds, died mysteriously in India. Most people don’t believe he died and only faked his death.

Top 3 coins of the day

Solana (SOL)

Key points:

• SOL reached its local top on 18 March at $209 - A level last seen on 4 December 2021.

• Starting the first week of March, the coin has been forming higher highs on its daily chart.

What you should know - After year-long sideways trading, SOL finally saw a bullish breakout on 20 December 2023, which couldn’t sustain its momentum. Consequently, SOL changed hands within a tight range of $84-$125 for over two months. Come 26 February, it saw buy pressure picking up, taking the price to a local high of $209. Since then, the coin has struggled to turn that level into support. The liquidity zone was found under the $117-$132. In the near-term, SOL is likely to continue its bullish streak, thanks to the unprecedented demand from retail investors. RSI, at press time, was hovering near 60-mark, away from the overbought zone - a good sign for the coin.

Internet Computer (ICP)

Key points:

• The trading volume has increased significantly over the last three months.

• At press time, the coin was up 36.67% over the last seven days.

What you should know - Out of the top 20 coins by market capitalization, ICP was among the star performers in the third week of March. It gained demand after 20 March and the bullish movement continued for the next six days, thus, pushing the price to $20.92. However, at this level, the profit-taking increased, following which the coin initiated a downward move. At the time of writing, RSI too was on a downtrend. Thus, highlighting that the token had lost its bullish momentum. And this negative price movement might as well continue for the next few days. In case, bulls outweigh sellers, there could be a change in the market momentum.

Bitcoin Cash (BCH)

Key points:

• Bitcoin Cash's rally has been fueled by the anticipation around its upcoming halving event on 3 April.

• The first Bitcoin Cash halving occurred on 8 April 2020.

What you should know - The price of BCH has increased since falling to a low of $90 on June 2023. Last week, it moved and closed above the $460 resistance area. Interestingly, it reached a new yearly high of $621 on 29 March. Technical indicator MACD was bullish, supporting the continuation of the upward trend. As per some analysts, the next closest resistance area is at $780. While demand has been picking up for the alt, a trend reversal can soon be expected after the halving takes place because profit-taking will dominate the market.