Pudgy Penguins challenge BAYC

February 19, 2024

Reading time: 5 minutes

Avalanche prepares for token unlock amidst analyst predictions of bullish momentum

Key points:

  • Avalanche's upcoming token unlock on February 22nd will release 9.54 million AVAX tokens.

  • Over the past few weeks, AVAX whales have been consistently accumulating.

News - Avalanche is preparing for a significant event: a token unlock scheduled for February 22nd. This unlock will see 9.54 million AVAX tokens, roughly 2.6% of the total supply, released into circulation.

While token unlocks often trigger concerns about price drops due to increased supply, AVAX's previous unlock in November 2023 defied expectations. Instead of a dip, the price surged 5% in the first week and a whopping 44% within two weeks. Currently, AVAX trades at $40.2, doubling in value since the November unlock.

What do the metrics say? This historical performance fuels bullish sentiment for the upcoming unlock. Several indicators suggest investors might view it as a positive catalyst. AVAX whales have been actively acquiring tokens, accumulating over 12 million since February began. Their holdings now represent more than 85% of the total supply. Long-term holders have also increased their positions, indicating broader market confidence.

What about the derivative market? Derivatives traders are also showing bullish behavior. Open Interest (OI) in AVAX futures has risen 38% this month, mirroring the price increase. Furthermore, at press time, long positions dominated the market, with a Longs/Shorts ratio exceeding 1. This paints a clear picture of bullish expectations.

NFT market heats up as Pudgy Penguins challenge BAYC for supremacy

Key points:

  • In the past three months, Pudgy Penguins witnessed a 270% increase in its floor price.

  • Existing holders accumulated more Pudgy NFTs than Apes in the last 30 days.

News - The NFT market, once frozen in a winter of low activity, is thawing, and a heated battle is unfolding at the top. On February 17th, Pudgy Penguins, a collection of adorable cartoon penguins, briefly dethroned the blue-chip heavyweight Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) in a surprising turn of events.

According to data analysis by AMBCrypto, Pudgy Penguins' floor price, the minimum asking price for an NFT in the collection, reached 22.9 ETH at 10 AM UTC, surpassing BAYC's 22.65 ETH price at the same time. However, BAYC quickly reclaimed its position, with its floor price rising to 23.6 ETH, while Pudgy Penguins fell slightly to 21.89 ETH.

What does it imply? This brief power shift highlights a significant trend: surging demand for Pudgy Penguins compared to BAYC's recent struggles. Over the past three months, Pudgy Penguins' floor price has skyrocketed by 270% and sales volume has doubled, while BAYC's floor price has plunged by 25% and sales volume has plummeted 83%.

This contrasting demand is further reflected in the behavior of existing holders. Pudgy owners added a staggering 224 NFTs to their collections in the last month, while BAYC holders only added 72.

Both collections launched at the peak of the 2021 NFT boom, but their trajectories have diverged. While BAYC initially enjoyed immense success, the recent excitement surrounding Pudgy World, an upcoming project, has fueled renewed interest in Pudgy Penguins.

Bitcoin's hash rate spikes, but miner fees raise eyebrows

Key points:

  • Rising Bitcoin prices led to increased network difficulty and hash rate.

  • Technical indicators suggest a strong bull run, but additional network activity is needed for higher miner fees.

News - Recent data reveals a complex interplay between Bitcoin's price, network difficulty, hash rate, and miner revenue. While rising prices led to increased difficulty and hash rate, miner fees, a significant revenue source, have surprisingly declined.

Network heats up, difficulty rises - The Bitcoin hash rate, a measure of network processing power, has surged alongside the recent price increase. Currently hovering around 610 trillion hashes per second, it's not an all-time high, but near recent peaks. This surge in processing power has resulted in a significant jump in network difficulty, reaching its highest level in months.

Despite the network's increased activity, the miner fee hasn’t followed suit. Starting February at over 5%, it peaked at 15% but has since plummeted to around 3%, the lowest point this year. While not the absolute lowest, it represents a significant drop.

Price holds steady, bullish signs remain - Despite a slight decline on February 17th, Bitcoin's price has held above $50,000 for the fifth consecutive day. Currently trading around $51,800, it shows potential for further upside, with the short-term moving average acting as support at $44,300.

Although Bitcoin's price and network activity are positive, a sustained increase in miner fees likely requires additional network activity beyond current levels.

Crypto stocks in Hong Kong surge, what’s next for the sector?

Key points:

  • Cryptocurrency-related stocks in Hong Kong have experienced a significant surge.

  • The licensed crypto exchange OSL and the crypto custodian Sinohope Technology saw the most growth.

News - Amid the broader market recovery, Hong Kong-based crypto stocks have witnessed significant gains. Licensed crypto exchange OSL and crypto custodian Sinohope Technology reported weekly increases of 46% and 36%, respectively.

This was particularly remarkable considering the prevailing bear market conditions in the Hong Kong and Chinese stock markets. The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong has experienced a 24% decline over the past year, currently trading at its lowest levels since 2009. For context, the Hang Seng Index (HSI) is a stock market index that represents the performance of the Hong Kong stock market.

At press time, OSL and Sinohope Technology boast market caps of $650 million and $140 million, respectively.

What are the companies up to? Both OSL and Sinohope are actively working to broaden their partnerships within the traditional finance sector.

Despite this, Sinohope's recent share price recovery followed a challenging period marked by declines in revenue and profits, partly attributed to the unavailability of $18.1 million worth of digital assets held on the failed crypto exchange FTX. These assets are currently inaccessible for capital deployment, as Sinohope continues to participate as a creditor in FTX's ongoing bankruptcy proceedings.

Did you know?

  • In 2022, a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) called PleasrDAO raised a whopping $4 million in cryptocurrency to acquire a rare copy of the first-ever printed pizza menu from 1894.

  • Diamonds are no longer your best friend? Crypto diamonds are here: A Swiss company called Diamond Foundry creates lab-grown diamonds and uses blockchain technology to track their origin and authenticity.

  • Vancouver was the first city in the world to have a Bitcoin cash machine.

Top 3 coins of the day

Worldcoin (WLD)

Key points:

  • Worldcoin (WLD) experienced a remarkable 140% surge in the past week.

  • This surge coincided with the protocol surpassing 1 million daily users.

What you should know - On Feb. 16, OpenAI introduced Sora, a text-to-video generator enabling users to create video clips from text prompts. The hype generated by this update played a major role in the surge of WLD’s price over the last week. During this period, WLD pushed past the $4.773 resistance level. At press time, the token was trading at $7.28. Its Chaikin Money Flow (CMF) also grew - A growing CMF, especially in positive territory, signals increased buying pressure. If a correction occurs after the excitement around OpenAI subsides, the $4.773 level may establish itself as a support in the near future.

ApeCoin (APE)

Key points:

  • APE’s price witnessed a spike of 14% in the last 24 hours.

  • Sentiment around APE grew positively during this period.

What you should know - After experiencing a decline and testing the $1.423 support, APE gained momentum, marking a positive shift with a 39.71% price increase. During this period, it witnessed multiple higher highs and higher lows, indicative of a bullish trend. The surge in price led to a test of the $1.762 level, previously examined on January 2nd. If sustained bullish momentum continues, APE might retest this resistance, potentially breaking past it and reaching the previously attained $1.81 levels. Additionally, APE's RSI climbed to 60.57, indicating a surge in bullish momentum.

Near Protocol (NEAR)

Key points:

  • The price of NEAR grew by 13.59% over the last week.

  • The volume at which it was trading, surged by 31.16% in the last 24 hours.

What you should know - Even though there was an uptick observed in terms of price, a significant trend wasn’t established by the coin. While looking at the price’s movement over the last 2 months, it was seen that the price exhibited multiple lower lows and lower highs, showcasing a bearish trend. As NEAR’s price approached the $3.613 level, there was a reduction observed in its CMF, indicating a bearish divergence. This bearish divergence can potentially impact the price by establishing weakening buying pressure, possibly leading to increased selling pressure and a downward movement.

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