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Institutional Investors Turn To Competitors As Ethereum Tumbles

As the crypto market has taken a turn for the worse, institutional investors are phasing out their investments in Ethereum. The digital asset had been the victim of multiple outflows that had tanked its total AuM (Assets under management) and this trend has continued this week. Instead of moving to a larger competitor, Bitcoin, institutional investors are now moving to networks that are in direct competition with Ethereum.

Big Money Leaves Ethereum To Algorand

Algorand is one of the leading competitors of Ethereum which has been making waves in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space. Due to this, more institutional investors have been choosing to pitch their tent with the smart contract platform. What this has led to is the movement of institutional investors out of Ethereum and into competitors like Algorand.

Related Reading | Cardano TVL Jumps 30% In 24 Hours As It Recovers To $155 Million

Data from last week shows that while Ethereum continues to fall out of favor with big money, Algorand has been right behind it to soak up all of the inflows. This saw inflows into the DeFi protocol reach $20 million. It is a new high for the digital asset and is evidence of growing interest in other DeFi protocols besides Ethereum.

As for the leading smart contract platform, outflows continue to rock the asset. It saw a total of $11.6 million leaving last week. This has brought its year-to-date outflows to a staggering $250 million. Compared to other altcoins, Ethereum has had the worse luck among institutional investors.

ETH trading below $2,000 | Source: ETHUSD on TradingView.com

These other altcoins, which happen to be DeFi protocols, also recorded inflows for the year. Solana and Tron managed $1.8 million and $0.4 million in inflows respectively, indicating that big money remains bullish on these altcoins.

A Not Too Bad Week

For other coins in the market, last week proved to be not terrible. For example, inflows into bitcoin were $69 million. It may not be as high as other weeks of inflows have been but it speaks volumes about how institutional investors are viewing the market even through the present downtrend. Last week’s inflows brought bitcoin’s year-to-date inflows to $369 million, the opposite of Ethereum, which has been dominated by outflows.

One thing to note though is that BTC’s AuM has declined to the lowest point since July 2021. This is not a direct result of institutional investors not putting money in bitcoin. Rather, it is due to the decline in the value of the digital asset over the last couple of weeks.

Related Reading | Bitcoin Dominates Derivatives Market To End May On A High Note

Other vehicles also enjoyed inflows into them. Multi-asset has been a long-time favorite of institutional investors and this shines through even in a bear market as inflows totaled $4.8 million last week. Short bitcoin inflows also reached $1.8 million. 

Across the pond, the European market is starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel. After more than a month of consistent outflows, Europe’s inflows reached $15.5 million. However, North America continues to dominate with total inflows coming out to $72 million.

Featured image from CryptoSlate, chart from TradingView.com

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Why LimeWire Chose Algorand For Its Comeback

Popular peer-to-peer file sharing service LimeWire will make a comeback on the blockchain. Per a press release, the platform will relaunch as a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace running on Algorand.

Related Reading | Algorand Blockchain Has Grown 35% In Q1 2022

LimeWire has selected this network, the release claims, due to Algorand’s alleged energy consumption levels which make them the blockchain “of choice for energy efficient NFT marketplaces”. The network will provide with a scalable platform with low-cost transactions, and an Ethereum-Polygon bridge.

As LimeWire previously reported, the platform will support its marketplace with its own native token called LMWR. In addition to the capacity to transact with LimeWire NFTs, user will allegedly have access to “exclusive community”, voting rights, and access to a reward system.

The platform will let content creators, initially musicians, to launch digital assets so fans can buy, sell, and trade them without the “technical hurdles” of alternatives. In that way, LimeWire attempts to onboard users by offering them a unique experience, and access to unique items, from their favorite artists.

The press release claims:

Music fans and collectors will be able to buy and trade a variety of music-related assets, such as limited editions, pre-release music, unreleased demos, graphical artwork, exclusive live versions, as well as digital merchandise and backstage content.

The platform will place a special focus on users without technical expertise or those people unfamiliar with cryptocurrencies and digital assets. Thus, the “newbies” or “noobs” will be the main target audience for this re-brand.

The new LimeWire platform will let users trade by completing an “easy” registration process with “seamless KYC”. As a bonus, items will be priced in U.S. dollars, and users won’t be obligated to set up a crypto wallet from the get-go.

In order to complete that objective, users will be able to purchase the digital assets with their credit cards, via bank transfer, and with other traditional payment methods. LimeWire claims to have consolidate a partnership with Wyre to provide this services.

LimeWire Calls On “Noobs” To Leverage Crypto

The new LimeWire, according to the release, will be a hybrid platform. Created to combine the best aspect of Web2 platforms with the potential and benefits from Web3. Paul Zehetmayr, LimeWire Co-CEO, said the following on the recent announcement:

The biggest challenge with digital collectibles and the broader crypto market in general is that it’s really limited to a small group of savvy users. There are big players on the market already, but the entry barrier is still too big to allow for mainstream adoption.

In addition to the traditional payment methods, users will be able to use different cryptocurrencies to purchase digital assets. Algorand CEO, Steven Kokinos said:

We are excited to see LimeWire launching on the Algorand blockchain and see massive potential for them to take the music collectibles market by storm. The interest for digital collectibles will only be growing and we are eager to support a global brand like LimeWire entering into the space to help open up the market to the mainstream.

The new LimeWire marketplace will be launch in May 2022, according to the press release. The platform promises a “lineup of big names” for its market debut.

Related Reading | Algorand Foundation Names Former JP Morgan Executive as CEO, ALGO Soars 10%

At the time of writing, ALGO’s price trades at $0.68 with a 2% loss in the past 24-hours.

ALGO trends to the downside on the 4-hour chart. Source: ALGOUSDT Tradingview

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Algorand Blockchain Has Grown 35% In Q1 2022

The Algorand (ALGO) blockchain has added over 6 million new accounts to its network since the beginning of 2022.

According to AlgoExplorer data, the total number of accounts on Algorand at the turn of the year was 17,373,299, while at press time (by March 10, 2022), this number was 23,548,065. This represents a 35% gain from the start of the year.

Algorand Gains 6 Million Users

One reason for the enormous increase in interest in ALGO could be the network’s major technical improvement, which would allow Algorand-based products to run on other blockchains and in low-power contexts like mobile phones and smartwatches.

Algorand total accounts. Source: AlgoExplorer

Algorand also anticipates the development of London Bridge, a trustless bridge that will connect the platform to Ethereum (ETH).

Commenting on the upgrade, Paul Riegle, the Chief Product Officer at Algorand stated:

The power and composability of Algorand’s smart contract platform has transformed in recent months. Developers are building versatile decentralized applications that have and will continue to disrupt a wide variety of industries. With this latest upgrade, Algorand continues its leadership position when it comes to ongoing delivery of highly sophisticated blockchain technology.

It’s also worth noting that the Algorand Foundation hired a new CEO, none other than former JPMorgan executive Staci Warden, only a few days before the award announcement. She brings a wealth of experience from her previous positions at Nasdaq, the US Treasury Department, and the Milken Institute.

Grayscale Investments added Algorand to its list of assets under consideration as one of the 25 new token entries in January 2022. ALGO was one of numerous Layer 1 blockchain coins that were added to the list.

Notably, Algorand had already begun the year on a high note, even before the Grayscale announcement. Anthony Scaramucci, the founder of alternative investment firm SkyBridge Capital, lauded Algorand, projecting its future as “the Google” of blockchain technology.

Related Reading | Bitcoin Steadies Above $45k, US Inflation Comes In At 7.5% Year Over Year

ALGO Price

The Algorand price analysis is negative for the day, as the bears have created a means to retaliate after a brief bullish price action. The bearish momentum has been strong enough to reduce the price levels to $0.730.

The bears have been quite successful in the last several hours, since the decline is massive and has had a negative impact on the entire value of cryptocurrencies. However, as seen in the price charts, the most recent advance is in favor of the bears. The next support for the ALGO/USD price function is at $0.703, where traders can expect the price to rise if the support holds.

ALGO/USD trades at $0.7. Source: TradingView

The 1-day and 4-hours Algorand price analysis reveal that the current trend has been bearish, resulting in a price reduction. The price has dropped to $0.730, which is a very low value when compared to the previous trading session. However, the support level around $0.703 appears to be firm, and there is little chance that the price will fall below it.

Related Reading | Algorand, Solana, And More Lead List Of Biggest Losing Altcoins

Featured image from iStockPhoto, Charts from TradingView.com

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Algorand Foundation Names Former JP Morgan Executive as CEO, ALGO Soars 10%

Today, the Algorand Foundation announced the appointment of Staci Warden as their CEO. On the board of the foundation since September 2021, according to a press release, Warden will take on the responsibilities as its leader.

Related Reading | Bitcoin Steadies Above $45k, US Inflation Comes In At 7.5% Year Over Year

The Algorand Foundation will nurture from Warden vast experience. Before joining the organization, she ran the Global Market Development practice at the Milken Institute, a nonprofit think tank created with the objective of aiding people at “building meaningful lives”.

At the Milken Institute, Warden led the nonprofit’s work on capital market development, innovative finance with sustainable development goals, and crypto and blockchain solutions, according to the release. Its subsequent participation in the Algorand ecosystem seems like a logical step.

This network aims at becoming the hub for the “future of finance” running on its Proof-of-Stake (PoS) blockchain by merging decentralize and traditional finances. Designed with a non-carbon emission approach, with low-cost and a scalable network, Warden has acknowledged its potential.

According to Kieron Guilfoyle, the Foundation’s Board Chairman:

Staci understands the potential for Algorand to become a dominant Layer One blockchain, and she has the experience and expertise to drive our global efforts to scale and to deliver outstanding value to our community. I know she will waste no time in shifting the Algorand Foundation into its expansion phase.

In addition to her experience at the Milken Institute, Warden ran JP Morgan’s Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) practices. She also led the Nasdaq’s two market for microcap companies and held senior positions in the public and nonprofit sector at the U.S. Treasury Department, according to the release.

Furthermore, Warden worked for the Center for Global Development, and the Harvard Institute for International Development. The new member at the Foundation has experienced doing business in over 50 countries with a vast knowledge of the use cases and potential for crypto to aid people and mitigate real world issues.

The Algorand Foundation, And How Crypto Can Help The World

The Foundation believes the current year will be “key” in the development of ALGO network. In 2022, they expect the DeFi sector, Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), to continue to gain relevance and increase their adoption rates.

In that sense, the Foundation has set out to make the network a core “building block” for the digital economy of the future. Warded stated the following on her new role:

1.7 billion people in the world do not have access to finance, and the Algorand protocol has the speed, the security, and the decentralization to address the problem of global financial inclusion at scale. By both ratcheting up our global ambitions as well as doubling down on our commitment to the DeFi ecosystem, I know that we will deliver tremendous value for both the Algorand ecosystem as a whole and the end-users it supports.

Related Reading | Algorand, Solana, And More Lead List Of Biggest Losing Altcoins

As of press time, ALGO trades at $1,01 and has seen an almost 10% profit in the last week as the crypto market continues to trend to the upside. As the year enter the end of its first quarter, it’ll be interested to see if ALGO and the market in general will be able to sustain their bullish momentum.

ALGOUSDT moving sideways on the daily chart. Source: ALGOUSDT Tradingview