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Ethereum staking breaks records
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BNB price surges, but long positions face liquidation risk
Key points:
BNB faces potential liquidation risk for long positions, especially around $329-$340.
The Negative Funding Rate metric hints at a potential short-term bounce.
News - While the broader cryptocurrency market enjoys an upswing, Binance Coin (BNB) sits at a crossroads, potentially facing a downward correction despite recent gains.
Traders with long positions on BNB should be cautious, as AMBCrypto's analysis identifies a cluster of liquidity around $329-$340. This zone poses a significant liquidation risk, meaning leveraged positions could be automatically closed due to insufficient margin or breached stop-loss areas.
Any bearish indicator? The Cumulative Liquidation Level Delta (CLLD), which aggregates the difference between long and short liquidation levels, currently sits positive for BNB. This often indicates a bearish bias and suggests that the coin could see a potential retracement towards $315.
Further, on-chain data revealed a $1 billion increase in BNB's trading volume, potentially reflecting rising interest in the coin. If this upward trend continues alongside price gains, BNB could surpass $327 in the near term. However, a simultaneous volume spike with a price reversal could signal a loss of bullish momentum, leading to a 10% correction in the coming weeks.
What about the Funding Rate? Well, the Funding Rate reading was skewed more towards the bullish side. At press time, it was in negative territory. Even though the Funding Rate was negative at -0.008%, indicating a discount for holding onto long positions, the fact that there isn't aggressive shorting happening suggests that BNB might bounce back. If the rate becomes even more negative, reaching -0.01%, it could lead to a sudden rise in BNB's price, possibly up to $400.
Crypto crime booms in Russia, nearly all scams now involve digital currencies
Key points:
Some Russian politicians see potential in CBDCs like the digital ruble, predicting they could replace traditional banking functions.
However, Digital Ruble, launched in July 2023, faces skepticism from a significant portion of the population.
News - Russia's Central Bank paints a worrying picture, with criminals increasingly turning to cryptocurrency for their nefarious activities. Their recent report reveals that nearly all fraudulent schemes in 2023 involved crypto, marking a significant rise from 2022's already concerning numbers.
The report found that from pyramid schemes to illegal brokerages, cryptocurrencies became the preferred tool for these scams, highlighting the need for stricter regulations and investor education. Inter
How govt. is mitigating the risk? The Russian government has increased its vigilance and simultaneously is pushing for the digital ruble, signed into law by President Putin in July 2023. While intended to counter the rise of unregulated crypto, a survey by Bankinform in August 2023 revealed that only 13% of respondents were eager to use it, with 34% expressing skepticism. This public hesitation comes despite Putin's earlier ban on crypto as a payment method in July 2022.
Adding to the complexities, major crypto exchange Binance exited the Russian market in September 2023 citing compliance concerns. However, there's still support for Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) among some politicians.
Ethereum staking booms as investors embrace stability over short-term gains
Key points:
ETH holdings on exchanges have fallen to multi-year lows, indicating a preference for staking over trading.
Staked ETH supply has more than doubled since April 2023, reaching 38.7 million.
News - Ethereum staking has witnessed a significant boost since the launch of the Shapella Upgrade last year, with the staking participation rate recently surpassing 25%. This means that a quarter of ETH's circulating supply is now locked into the network, contributing to its decentralization and security.
What are the factors behind the growth?
The growth in staking is attributed to several factors, including the ability to earn passive income on deposits and the recent unlocking of staked ETH in April 2023. Since then, the staked supply has more than doubled, reaching 38.7 million as of February 12th.
Furthermore, the amount of ETH held on exchanges has dropped to multi-year lows, currently accounting for only 11.1% of the total circulating supply. This trend indicates that ETH holders are increasingly favoring guaranteed returns over volatile market trading, potentially reflecting a shift in perception toward ETH as a long-term investment asset.
The increasing demand for staking is further evidenced by the surge in the number of validators seeking to join the network, reaching a four-month high on February 12th. This growing illiquidity of ETH could also positively impact its market stability by reducing volatility, potentially attracting more conservative investors.
Japan's financial regulator proposes measures to prevent unlawful crypto transfers
Key points:
Japan's FSA has proposed measures to prevent unlawful transfers to cryptocurrency exchanges.
The FSA's request is currently presented as a recommendation, and its impact on banks' operations and the P2P market remains to be seen.
News - Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA) is proposing steps to safeguard users from "illegal transfers" to cryptocurrency exchanges, with one recommendation potentially disrupting the peer-to-peer (P2P) trading landscape.
Citing an ongoing prevalence of fraudulent transactions involving crypto assets, the FSA, alongside the National Police Agency (NPA), issued a request to Japanese banks on February 14th. This request urges banks to "further solidify user protection," outlining several initiatives.
What’s more? One initiative calls for "enhanced monitoring of unlawful transfers to crypto exchanges," while another, potentially more impactful proposal, recommends "halting transfers if the sender's name doesn't match the account name on the crypto exchange."
However, P2P transactions by nature involve mismatched names between fiat account holders and crypto wallet owners. Implementing this recommendation could significantly hinder the P2P market.
It's crucial to note that the FSA's request is currently non-binding, acting more as a recommendation than a strict mandate. How banks respond and the potential impact on the P2P market remain uncertain.
More stories from the crypto ecosystem
Interesting facts
In 2013, a man threw away a hard drive containing 7,500 Bitcoins, worth roughly $400 million today. He even hired a data recovery specialist later but to no avail.
In 2014, a notable event occurred when a small quantity of Bitcoin was sent to space via a satellite launch facilitated by Blockstream's Blockchain Satellite.
El Salvador became the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021, with over 4 million citizens now using it for payments.
Top 3 coins of the day
XRP
Key points:
XRP’s velocity surged as the price of the coin remained stagnant.
The network growth declined indicating a lack of interest from new traders.
What you should know - Following an 8.47% decline in the past month, XRP's price was in a state of limbo over the last few days. It was fluctuating between the 0.539 and 0.488 levels majorly. The price tested the 0.539 resistance level multiple times, suggesting that the move upward was weakening. On the technical side of things, RSI stood in neutral territory but the OBV surged, indicating that the trading volume was predominantly tilted toward buyers. Thus, potentially signaling bullish momentum in the XRP market. If this bullish sentiment persists, the price of the coin could reach its previous highs of $0.592 and $0.623 in the coming weeks.
Bonk (BONK)
Key points:
A bullish flag pattern formed on BONK’s 24-H price chart.
The social volume of the token declined considerably, reflecting a declining interest from users.
What you should know - BONK took the crypto markets by storm when it was first launched. However, as time passed, its price exhibited massive fluctuations. In the last 24 hours alone, BONK fell by 3.10% after witnessing a massive uptick of 26.91% over the last week. Despite the large volatility showcased by the meme coin, many traders continue to indulge in betting on its price movements. Interestingly, its price chart showcased a bullish flag suggesting a possible move pushing past the $0.00001422 resistance level. The RSI grew in tandem with its price which suggested that bullish momentum was strong. However, the CMF noted a decline, implying that the flow of money into the BONK token wasn’t significant enough for a reversal, at the time of writing.
Blur (BLUR)
Key points:
BLUR’s price moved up by a massive 17.38% in the last 24 hours.
Its supply held by top addresses declined, indicating that retail interest was behind the surge in price.
What you should know- BLUR was one of the tokens that gained massive traction over the last month as its price surged by 24.62%. It noted many higher highs and higher lows showcasing the bullish trend. At press time, the token was trading at $0.748, the volume also grew in the last 24 hours by a significant 261.92%. Indicators such as the CMF and AO spiked, showing that there was an increasing inflow of money into BLUR. Despite all the positive signals, a trend reversal, in the near term, can’t be ruled out.
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