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Ripple's Stablecoin powerplay
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Global investors drive Bitcoin surge: Non-US hours dominate Q1 growth
Key points:
Most Bitcoin gains post-spot ETF approval happened outside U.S. hours.
Analysts see this trend as an opportunity to maximize trade margins.
News - Following the launch of spot ETFs, more than 40% of Bitcoin gains occurred outside US hours. This means that most of BTC’s +60% rally in Q1 2024 occurred during US night hours.
On 4 April, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas noted that since the launch of US spot BTC ETFs, “the majority of 40% of BTC” gains happened outside of the regular US trading hours.
A trade opportunity? - BTC price action on 4 April confirmed the trend. It rallied 0.6% during US hours but surged 2.6% in non-US hours. 10X Research CEO and analyst, Markus Thielen, noted that the trend is a reversal in the past two years when most gains occurred during the US trading session.
However, Thielen saw the trend as a juicy opportunity for traders to buy “Bitcoin ahead of US trading hours and sell a few hours later.” He added that investors in other time zones buy BTC, anticipating a spike in ETF flows.
Ripple enters stablecoin market, challenges Tether, Circle
Key points:
Ripple seeks expansion into the stablecoin market by the end of 2024.
The firm sees a potential 18.6X growth in the sector by 2028.
News - Ripple Labs, the company behind XRP Ledger, plans to launch its dollar-pegged stablecoin at the end of the year. It aims to compete with Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC.
Ripple’s motivation - According to Ripple, the move was primarily informed by the massive growth opportunity in the stablecoin market. Now worth around $150B, the sector is set to expand to “$2.8T by 2028.” That’s an 18.6X potential growth in the next four years.
On looming stiff competition with Tether and Circle, Ripple CTO David Schwartz reiterated, “It is not a winner-takes-all situation.” He added, “If we were a solid number three and the market grows 12x, that's not a failure scenario.”
The firm aims for maximum transparency with monthly public audits. Through openness, Ripple strives to compete fairly with USDC, the most compliant stablecoin in the US market.
Memecoin rollercoaster: WIF plummets 28% in Q2 amid profit-taking
Key points:
WIF cools off after a +2500% wild rally in Q1.
Buyers are out of sight as losses extend to 28%.
News - One of the hottest memes, Dogwifhat [WIF], is off to a rough Q2 start. The meme was down 28% in the past four days after enjoying an explosive rally in Q1, posting over 2,500% gains.
Wild bull run in Q1 - WIF seems to be cooling off after a wild bull run in Q1. The meme had a wild parabolic run in Q1, posting 2721% gains, per Coingecko's Q1 market report. WIF was the second-best-performing meme segment of that period.
Interest wanes - However, WIF bulls have heightened their profit-taking as losses extended to 28% on four consecutive days.
Additionally, evaluation of its social standings shows a sharp drop in social volume, indicating interest across social networks waned significantly.
Late bulls into the party have been whipped. They have suffered $1.5M worth of long positions in liquidations in the past 24 hours as the price dropped below $3.5.
Besides, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) and Chaikin Money Flow (CMF) on the 4-H chart were below average, denoting constrained buying pressure and low capital inflows.
Key points:
Fierce competition has dropped Lido’s market share below 30%.
The drop could help ETH avoid the “security” tag by SEC.
News - JP Morgan analysts see decreasing Lido’s market share in staked ETH as helpful in avoiding the “security” tag in the future.
Lido’s risk factor - Lido Finance has been the dominant player in the staking ETH space, spooking one of the concentration risks amongst industry players.
However, intense competition has since eaten Lido's share, now below 30%. JP Morgan analysts have welcomed the fierce competition as a remedy to the staked ETH concentration risk.
In Q3 2023, JP Morgan analysts voiced concerns that platforms like Lido pose a serious risk to Ethereum. The analyst noted that although Lido was a “decentralized" liquid staking protocol, it had a “high degree of centralization,” which could be a risk factor.
Now, analysts see dropping Lido shares as an excellent way for Ethereum to avoid the ‘security' label in the future.
More stories from the crypto ecosystem
Crypto Scams Uncovered
Thodex, a defunct Turkish CEX, was one of the largest rug pulls in 2021. The CEO of the defunct CEX, Faruk Ozer, disappeared after Thodex disabled withdrawals. Over $2 billion worth of crypto assets were lost. However, Ozer was eventually apprehended and sentenced to 11,196 years in prison.
Solana meme rug pulls continue in Q2, with CONDOM as the latest culprit. Reportedly, the team raised 4965 SOL, worth over $900K at market prices for the coin’s presale but rugged before launch. The team deleted their X account with +50K followers and a golden ticker, showing that even verified accounts with a large following can also scam you.
Bitforex, a Hong Kong-based crypto exchange, followed Thodex script and pulled an exit scam worth $56.5M in February 2024. Before it stopped operations, a whopping $56.5M was withdrawn from its wallets. Bitforex was under scrutiny from Japanese regulators before fronting the exit scam.
Top 3 coins of the day
Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
Key points:
BCH was down 2% in the past 24 hours.
Weekly chart indicators showed an overheated scenario ripe for a reversal.
What you should know - BCH underwent its halving on 4 April, setting it to a 10% rally in a market that was overly in the red. But price action has hit a weekly bearish order block (OB) around $600 - $700. This is like a sell wall. Indicators showed overheated signals but were firmly bullish. Both RSI and CMF were above average, denoting spiked buying pressure and capital inflows. Based on the above-average indicators readings, overall market sentiment was bullish for BCH despite the sell wall above $600.
Pendle (PENDLE)
Key points:
PENDLE reversed part of April 4 gains, as losses hit 8% in the past 24 hours.
Bulls had the upside, but capital inflows were worryingly flat.
What you should know - PENDLE was amongst the top 10 trending coins. It posted 28% gains on 4 April. However, part of these gains were reversed as losses extended to 8% in the past 24 hours and slipped below $6. On the daily charts, key indicators assessed showed bulls still had leverage, but weak inflows could undermine them. The RSI was in the overbought area, denoting strong buying pressure. However, capital inflows were stifled, as shown by the sideways movement of CMF. So, a drop below $5.5 would embolden sellers.
Jupiter (JUP)
Key points:
JUP lost over 20% on weekly charts and was down 15% in the past 24 hours.
The price slump hit a crucial and potential demand level.
What you should know - JUP was the biggest loser on the market. It was down over 15% in the past 24 hours and traded at $1.35. But the slump had eased into a crucial demand zone (D1 bullish OB) around $1.3. Daily chart indicators flashed mixed signals. The CMF slipped below average but showed signs of reversal, denoting a slight uptick in inflows. However, the RSI eased near the average 50 level but was yet to show a reversal sign at press time.
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