Solana's new direction

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Bitcoin’s $70K move could get a major push from these holders

Key points:

  • Bitcoin has been trading within a tight price range on the charts.

  • BTC holders now accumulating, instead of selling for profits.

News - A notable accumulation pattern has emerged among Bitcoin holders as BTC attempts to break $70,000. According to a Cryptoquant report, medium-term holders, defined as those who have held their assets for a period between six months and seven years, are exhibiting a preference for holding on to their assets.

The shift in behavior among this cohort of BTC holders, as its price continues to face resistance at the $70,000-price level, suggests growing confidence.

What history tells us - Assessing the coin’s historical performance, the report found that in the third quarter of 2019, when a similar accumulation pattern was seen among BTC’s mid-term holders, its price moved sideways for over six months before eventually recording a rally.

One may argue that this historical context provides a potential parallel for the current market conditions. It hints at the possibility of more sideways movement, before a significant uptrend on the charts.

Do datasets point to a rally? Hyblock revealed that the $66.2k-$66.7k zone is home to a cluster of liquidation levels, and BTC might dip to this region soon.

Alternatively, the liquidity at $67.8k, which has already been swept, might be enough to propel Bitcoin back to $71.2k. Traders need to be prepared for both outcomes.

Will Solana’s latest proposal make SOL inflationary?

Key points:

  • Solana validators to get 100% of the priority fees.

  • However, the proposal will take several months to be implemented.

News - A recently passed proposal on the Solana network mandates that validators will now receive 100% of the priority fees. This change comes as network fees have increased, raising concerns about its potential impact on SOL.

In the old model, fees were split 50/50 between being burned and rewarding validators.

The new proposal presented to the Solana community suggested that validators should receive 100% of the priority fees on the network. On 27 May, voting concluded with 77% in favor of the proposal, known as SIMD-0096. 

An inflationary byproduct - However, some community members have expressed their concerns about the latest proposal’s potential inflationary impact on SOL. 

Under the existing arrangement, 50% of the fees are burned, reducing the amount of SOL in circulation and making SOL more deflationary. This should theoretically increase its value. 

However, analysis suggests the net inflation rate will climb to 5.2% from the current compound inflation rate of 4.97% once the proposal is fully implemented.

Top FTX executive sentenced to over 7 years in prison

Key points:

  • Salame was a high-ranking executive at FTX for most of the exchange's existence.

  • Sentence exceeds the 5-7 years prosecutors recommended.

News - Ryan Salame, Head of FTX’s subsidiary in the Bahamas, was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison on 28 May. He is the first of Sam Bankman-Fried’s deputies to be sentenced since the crypto exchange collapsed in November 2022.

What are the details? Salame pleaded guilty last year to illegally making unlawful U.S. campaign contributions and to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan of the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, who imposed the sentence, called Salame’s crimes “astonishing.”

He further said,

“The state of our political life in this country is in jeopardy. Efforts like that undertaken by Mr. Salame and Bankman-Fried only make matters worse.”

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, who announced the sentence, said,

“Ryan Salame agreed to advance the interests of FTX, Alameda Research, and his co-conspirators through an unlawful political influence campaign and through an unlicensed money transmitting business, which helped FTX grow faster and larger by operating outside of the law.”

First to face the music - Additionally, Salame has also been sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay more than $6 million in fines and more than $5 million in restitution.

Three other FTX executives are awaiting sentencing for their roles in the exchange's collapse - Caroline Ellison, who was CEO of the FTX hedge fund Alameda Research, Gary Wang, Co-founder of FTX, and Nishad Singh, FTX's Head of Engineering.

Former CFTC Chair calls for regulation of stablecoins

Key points:

  • Former Chair of the CFTC advocated for new stablecoin regulations.

  • Comments came on the back of SEC’s sustained crackdown on the industry.

News - Former Chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Timothy Massad, is in the news today after he stressed the need for stablecoin regulations. He believes that a proper framework is needed to regulate stablecoins to avoid illicit activities.

What exactly is the issue here? A stablecoin is a kind of cryptocurrency meant to be backed by real assets. They are used by many to enter the cryptocurrency market.

Stablecoins continue to come under the scrutiny of regulators, however, given the rapid growth of the billions-strong market and its potential to affect the broader financial system.

The former CFTC chair highlighted that lack of proper regulation of stablecoins can lead to national security implications. The widespread adoption of stablecoins could undermine the U.S.’s ability to impose sanctions effectively, he added.

Hamas and Russia too? Providing examples of the same, the Obama-appointed chair for the CFTC told Bankless podcast,

“Hamas is using crypto and stablecoins to some extent. Similarly, there were reports that Russians were using Tether to buy arms and evade sanctions, so I think it is happening.”

Since stablecoins settle on decentralized blockchains, this may pose a challenge in terms of tracking and regulating transactions effectively, the exec concluded.

Did you know?

  • In 2014, the Dogecoin community raised over $30,000 worth of DOGE in just two weeks to fund clean water projects in Kenya through the Doge4Water campaign. This initiative demonstrated the community's charitable spirit and willingness to use Dogecoin for social good.

  • It's estimated that around 20% of all Bitcoins mined so far are lost or inaccessible. This includes Bitcoins stored on forgotten or lost wallets, Bitcoins sent to invalid addresses, and early Bitcoins mined by Satoshi Nakamoto, which have never been spent.

  •  Ethereum's name was chosen by its creator, Vitalik Buterin, as a reference to the "Ether," a hypothetical invisible medium that permeates the universe according to ancient natural philosophy.

Top 3 coins of the day

Shiba Inu (SHIB)

Key points:

  • SHIB prices have been in a consolidation phase for some time now.

  • Outflow analysis showed that more SHIB was sold than bought.

What you should know - After the approval of the Ethereum ETFs, the crypto market has turned slightly volatile. The popular memecoin Shiba Inu enjoyed some gains in the last 24 hours as its price had climbed by nearly 12% at press time. SHIB has been in a consolidation phase since April and is now trying hard to break out of its sluggish trend. The RSI at 62 highlighted that there was buying pressure behind the memecoin. Additionally, SHIB’s price stayed above its short Moving Average (green line) - A sign suggesting that its overall trend has not been negative.

Solana (SOL)

Key points:

  • SOL’s price appreciated by a little under 2% in 24 hours.

  • Solana’s volume chart revealed a positive correlation between its price, social volume.

What you should know - Solana [SOL] surged by nearly 165% from late January until the end of March, before consolidating on the charts. At press time, the altcoin was valued at around $167. Between 14 and 20 May, Solana’s price appreciated by approximately 23%, rising from around $141.9 to over $186. This hike suggested that Solana might reclaim the $200-level. However, SOL’s price retraced after hitting $186. Also, Coinglass data on Solana’s Long/Short Ratio showed that the same has been high over the last several days - A sign of bullish momentum building. The Bollinger bands on the daily chart widened too, indicating a highly volatile market.

Book of Meme (BOME)

  • BOME, at press time, had recorded a hike of 53% in just 30 days.

  • Altcoin now the seventh-largest memecoin on the rankings.

With the hype in Solana-based memecoins returning to the market, the BOOK OF MEME is once again on a constant uptrend. This resulted in the memecoin reclaiming its market cap of $1 billion on the charts. Additionally, BOME seemed to also successfully breach its resistance at $0.0143. With a value of 63, BOME’s RSI confirmed the existence of buying pressure in the market. Finally, the MFI at 75 was a sign that traders have been preferring to buy over profit-taking lately.

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