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Lido DAO (LDO) Token Outperforms Market With 62% Weekly Gains

The crypto market is still highly unpredictable and volatile in January 2023. The market generally recorded a 0.3% decrease in the last 24 hours. But as most of the assets falter, some tokens record exponential gains. LDO, the governance token of the Lido DAO network, has increased in value in the past week. The token is up by 62.83% in weekly gains and currently trading at $1.99, a 1.31% increase in 24 hours.  

The Lido DAO project is a staking platform where users can stake their ETH tokens. The platform also offers DeFi lending services and requires no minimum deposits. With different financial services and the flexibility of its platform, this upsurge shows increased adoption by users for a variety of purposes. 

Despite the uncertain times in the crypto space Lido DAO (LDO) has continued to perform well since the turn of the year. Some factors are behind this recent resurgence and will influence how long the bullish momentum will last.

LDOUSD_2023

Why Is Lido DAO (LIDO) On The Rise?

Some parameters are responsible for the price surge in Lido DAO. A Twitter user states that the Lido finance native token has soared nearly 60% in the last week. The user attributed this to Ethereum’s upcoming Shanghai fork. This update will enable users to withdraw their staked ETH tokens.

Secondly, BitForex announced the listing of LDO on the exchange. This listing has increased the project’s scope and is partly responsible for the price increase noted in the token. 

However, Twitter user John Cook has expressed pessimism about Lido DAO’s newfound price momentum. In his tweet on January 8, he referred to the seven-day rise of the token as a pump-and-dump. He also alleged that the project was ripping off retail investors and spending more on marketing costs than engineering. 

Despite his protests, the LDO token remains among the top gainers this week. The price surge has seen Lido DAO become the largest Decentralized Finance protocol in the world. The project has a total locked value above $6.9 billion.

Can The Bulls Sustain The Rally?

LDO token is currently in an uptrend on the chart, with the formation of simultaneous green candles. The support levels are $1.6647, $1.7561, and $1.8495. Its resistance levels are $2.03, $2.13, and $2.22. 

LDO is currently trading above its 50-day and 200-day Simple Moving Averages. These two indicators are showing a buy signal at the moment. Therefore, it implies that the token’s short-term and long-term price movement is bullish.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) indicator indicates a buy signal. With the oversold region below 30 and the overbought region above 70, the current RSI value of the token is 82.22. Traders will likely take long positions in the market.

The MACD (Moving Average Convergence/Divergence) is well above its signal line and shows divergence. The signal is also a buy but might be for the short term. LDO is still off its ATH (all-time high) value of $11.00. The token will likely continue on its ascent as more investors buy into the project.

If a digital asset’s price decreases by 50%, it will need to rally to 100% to return to its former value. This feat might be tasking for memes and altcoins to accomplish. Investors must realize that altcoins are more volatile than large-cap cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.

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Why Are Liquid Staking Cryptocurrencies Seeing Double-Digit Gains?

Over the last week, liquid staking cryptocurrencies have been seeing a significant upside. All of these tokens have successfully moved into the green territory, recording double-digit gains for their holders. Although these digital assets seem to be following the general crypto market uptrend, there is another factor pushing up their prices.

Why Are Liquid Staking Crypto On The Rise?

Liquid staking cryptocurrencies have been receiving more attention ever since the announcement that the Ethereum “Shanghai” upgrade is likely to take place in March 2023. This upgrade is important for the network because it will mean that staked ETH will finally be withdrawable.

Anticipation around this upgrade is already on the rise and liquid staking tokens are enjoying a good portion of this attention. Their popularity comes from the fact that they allow stakers to earn a yield on staked ETH even though they can’t withdraw their ETH. It also makes it possible for stakers to have tokens on hand which they can deploy on other protocols to further participate in the ecosystem.

Liquid staking protocols reward stakers with ETH-pegged tokens such as stETH and ankrETH and make it possible for ETH users to stake without having to become validators themselves. But instead of having to rely on centralized exchanges to do this, as was previously the case, these DeFi protocols are decentralized.

Ethereum price chart from TradingView.com

The higher earning potential of staking with liquid staking protocols has led to more demand for them. With the Shanghai upgrade coming, it is expected that more ETH will be moved to these protocols, leading to more demand for their native cryptocurrencies.

The Largest Liquid Staking Protocols

The largest liquid staking protocol in the space now is currently Lido Finance. It accounts for around 30% of the total 15 million staked ETH, making it an important contender in the space. Its native LDO token has a market cap of $1.6 billion and its price is up 57% in the last 7 days.

Liquid staking crypto

Next in line is Frax Share whose price is up 21% in the last week. The digital asset’s market cap is almost $403 million, rewarding users with frxETH for their staked ETH at an 8% APR. This is the highest APR of any liquid staking protocol. 

Rocket Pool takes third place with a market cap above $260 million and is up 18% in the 7-day period. But in terms of ETH deposited, it is one of the highest, accounting for around 6.5% of the total market share.

Others include Ankr Protocol which is up 26% in 7 days, as well as Stafi, pStake Finance, and StakeWise, all of which are up 32%, 20%, and 10%, respectively, in the same time period. 

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Lido DAO Surges By More Than 57% in Just A Week – More Gains Up Ahead?

Lido DAO (LDO), the native cryptocurrency of Lido Finance, significantly increased its total market capitalization which now stands at $1.25 billion.

This no longer comes as a surprise as the crypto asset is in the midst of an incredible run that enabled it to post double-digit gains on its intraday, weekly, bi-weekly and monthly charts.

At press time, according to data from Coingecko, LDO is changing hands at $1.51, increasing its value by 13% during the last 24 hours.

Over the previous seven days, the digital token went up by 56.5% while also posting a bi-weekly gain of 60% and monthly increase of 50%.

Already in the middle of an impressive showing, some analysts believe that Lido DAO still has room for improvement, thanks to a new upcoming ETH upgrade.

Lido Expected To Benefit From ETH Shanghai Upgrade

According to a recently released analysis, Lido Finance, at the time of this writing, is responsible for nearly 30% of all staked ETH tokens, making it the largest liquid staking platform for Ethereum right now.

It has been noted that the demand for the platform increased dramatically after Ethereum switched from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake mechanism back in 2022.

Moreover, the analysis stated that the blockchain’s upcoming Shanghai fork will enable users to withdraw their staked ETH tokens which, in turn, is expected to encourage more people to stake through Lido Finance. This will then increase the demand for the project’s native token.

Some experts believe that these are just some of the triggers that helped the crypto asset go up by more than 55% in just seven days and will also play a vital role in the altcoin’s attempt to sustain its bullish run.

… But LDO Could Lose Its Momentum

Although things are looking good right now, there’s still a chance that LDO could enter a price correction phase that will not only halt its upward movement but will also make it lose most, if not all of its current gains.

LDO is currently in an overbought territory and has reached a point for psychological take-profit zone which are indications of an impending intense selling pressure.

There is also a noticeable drop in the number of LDO tokens being held by its top addresses, indicative of whales selling their holdings. This is expected, given the massive surge that Lido DAO has made over the last few days which presents an opportunity for investors to take profit.

If these conditions don’t change, there’s a high possibility that the crypto asset’s incredible run will come to an abrupt end and it will return into its previous bearish track.

-Featured image: Coinpedia

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Lido Token Spikes, Are Whales Actively Accumulating LDO?

Following Ethereum whale interest in the Lido Finance token, LDO has gained massive momentum over the past week, up by 20%. Whalestats recently reported LDO was one of the most used smart contract tokens among the top 5,000 ETH investors.  

While the reason for the token adoption may be quite glaring, its recent spike has begged questions from individuals wondering if whales are actively accumulating the Lido Finance token.

Whales Accumulating LDO?

According to on-chain data, whales are interested in LDO. LookOnChain reported earlier today some investors received a massive amount of LDO tokens. As on-chain data reveals, 3.5 million tokens were received by an investor, and almost half a million were sold on the market at an average selling price of $1.37.

Though the sum was large enough to move the LDO market, given the token is not the most liquid asset, LDO survived the massive sell-off, remaining at a solid price.  

Related Reading: Lido DAO Shows Strength To Breakout; Will The Downtrend Line Be Invalidated?

Aside from that, the rapid increase in trading volume is also a point worth noting on the accumulation of the liquid staking token. LDO trading volume has gone from $9.3 million at the beginning of this year to $85 million at present. 

LDO Gaining Momentum

Just a few days ago, Lido Finance TVL (total value locked) overtook Maker DAO emerging as the largest DeFi protocol in terms of total value locked. The Liquid staking protocol’s TVL went from a ranging $5 billion to $5.99 billion. Alongside the protocol TVL increase, Lido’s LDO token also surged amid its TVL rise up by almost 20% in the past week.

The reason behind the rapid increase in the momentum of Lido is the Ethereum Merge, which triggered the popularity of liquid staking protocols such as Lido Finance. Following the merge, the total ETH stake in Lido increased 10% from 4.43 million ETH on September 15, 2022, the date of the merge, to 4.9 million ETH today.

LDO and Crypto Market Overview

As of now, the momentum on LDO still seems to be solid, sitting at a trading price of $1.39 with a trading volume of $83 million. Regardless, LDO is still down from its historical all-time high of $11. 

LDO Price Chart From TradingView.com

Overall, LDO is not the only token in the market gaining upward momentum. Major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum have also gained a few percent to the upside. 

As of the time of writing, Bitcoin is currently trading at $16,819, with a 24-hour trading volume of $15 billion. In contrast, Ethereum currently trades for $1,251, up by 0.25%, with a trading volume of $4.9 billion in the past 24 hours. 

Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView

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Prediction: New Narrative Could See These Altcoins Skyrocket In 2023

A look at the top performers over the past 24 hours reveals a trend that could trigger a boom among certain altcoins in 2023. We’re talking about Lido Finance (LDO), which has risen 7% in the past 24 hours and 17% over the past seven days, making it the 37th largest cryptocurrency by market cap.

Lido Finance is a decentralized liquid staking application that allows users to generate additional yield for staking their assets. The application currently offers support for five cryptocurrencies: Ethereum (ETH), Polygon (MATIC), Solana (SOL), Kusama (KSM), and Polkadot (DOT).

Of particular interest, however, is the first-mentioned altcoin, Ethereum. As Thor Hartvigsen, blockchain and defi researcher, explained, Liquid Staking Derivatives (LSD) altcoins could see a boom in 2023 as the second largest cryptocurrency by market cap implements the Shanghai upgrade.

Of all major layer-1 blockchains, Ethereum has the lowest staking ratio of only 14%. In contrast, 90% of all BNB, 72% of all ADA, 68% of all SOL, and 62% of all AVAX are staked. The huge gap is likely related to the fact that ETH cannot yet be de-staked. However, the Shanghai hard fork planned for March will change that.

While the analyst expects a major unstaking initially, the upgrade could trigger massive growth for liquid staking solutions in the long run. And Lido Finance (LDO) is currently the undisputed leader in the liquid staking of ETH, providing further rocket fuel for the LDO token.

liquid staking

Altcoins Poised To Skyrocket Based On The Narrative

However, not only the LDO but rather small LSD altcoins could benefit from the new narrative. As anonymous analyst “Karl” says, numerous LSD solutions are poised to wobble at the throne of Lido Finance. Currently, LDO’s market share is about 65.62%, followed by Rocket Pool (3.10%), StakeWise (0.9%), Ankr (0.81%), Frax Finance (0.67%), and Stafi (0.25%).

liquid staking altcoins

As the analyst assesses, the market caps of the altcoins Stakewise (SWISE) and Stafi (FIS) are still below $20 million, despite the fact that they control significant market share. “[T]heir tokenomics aren’t the best though, as there is still a considerable portion of the supply to be unlocked as team/investors’ allocation and liquidity mining rewards,” the analyst added.

A look at the market share/market cap ratio also shows that both SWISE and FIS tokens are close behind the market leader, poised for future gains.

liquid staking altcoins MC FDV

Also remarkable is Frax Finance, which recently entered the LSD landscape of altcoins and has already managed to capture a significant market share. Hartvigsen stated that in less than 2 months, Frax has managed to attract more than 45,000 ETH (about $55 million TVL).

According to the analyst, there are “no signs of slowing down” as APRs are consistently at 9-10%, far outperforming any competitor. Frax Finance accomplishes this by giving users frxETH when they are either liquidity pooled on Curve (frxETH/ETH) or staked on Frax Finance (sfrxETH).

“Only sfrxETH receives the ETH staking yield. This results in a higher APR as not all of the staked ETH is receiving the rewards as they are in the curve pool instead,” the analyst explained.

But Rocket Pool is also a prime candidate to grow from the new narrative due to its relative size, recent popularity growth, and several differentiators, Hartvigsen added.

Two Potential Spoilers For LDO

However, in the near term, there could be two spoilers in particular for the price of the Lido Finance token, LDO. Both Nansen and Chain EDGE on-chain data shows that “smart money” has been selling LDO rather than buying it, Twitter user @AvaxGems pointed out.

A second factor for LDO could be Alameda. The ex-company of Sam Bankman-Fried sold 719,498 LDO on December 28, worth about $717,451, for 601 ETH, and currently still has 1.86 million LDO left, the equivalent of about $1.81 million.

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Lido DAO Shows Strength To Breakout; Will The Downtrend Line Be Invalidated?

  • LDO price shows strength for the first time after post-merge.
  • LDO bounces from the downtrend, hoping to end its bearish run as the price eyes a possible breakout from the downtrend line. 
  • The price of LDO shows bullish signs as price trades below 50 and 200 Exponential Moving Averages (EMA) with good volume. 

The price of Lido DAO (LDO) has been one of the best performances before the “Ethereum Merge,” outperforming the market as the price rallied to an all-time high of $3 against tether (USDT). Although the crypto market faced a new drawback as Bitcoin (BTC) price dropped from a region of $19,000 to $18,100 as the Consumer Price Index (CPI) suggests an increase in inflation affecting the price of BTC negatively with altcoins affected, with recovery from BTC altcoins like Lido DAO showed some strength as the aim to begin a rally. (Data from Binance)

Lido DAO (LDO) Price Analysis On The Weekly Chart

Although the crypto market experienced a sharp decline due to the CPI news, the market appeared to be manipulated as Bitcoin’s (BTC) price dropped from $19,200 to $18,200 in hours. The market quickly recovered as most altcoins began to show strength, with LDO looking to breakout of its downtrend that has made the price become crippled to rally.

With the current rise in the value of Bitcoin Dominance (BTC.D) after a long while, it is still unclear how the current price bounce after the price decline will be sustained. With BTC.D rising, most altcoins will suffer an increased price decline when BTC retraces.

Uptober has been a good month for some altcoins, with many expecting such good moments for LDO after the token returned to the ashes after “Ethereum Merge” was successful.

The price of LDO, after the rejection at $3, has seen for of a downtrend than an uptrend as the price has retained its bearish structure despite showing a little glimpse of price bounce to $2.2 but the price face more sell-off as the price declined to a region of $1 before bouncing off. 

Weekly resistance for the price of LDO – $2.2.

Weekly support for the price of LDO – $1.

Price Analysis Of LDO On The Daily (1D) Chart
Daily LDO Price Chart | Source: LDOUSDT On Tradingview.com

The daily timeframe for the price of LDO looks good, showing incredible strength as the price trades below the 50 Exponential Moving Average (EMA), acting as resistance for the price of LDO.

LDO’s price currently trades at $1.3 as the price prepares to breakout the descending triangle it has formed. A breakout to the upside could signal a huge rally to the high of $2.2.

Daily resistance for the price of LDO – $2.2.

Daily support for the price of LDO – $1.

Featured Image From zipmex, Charts From Tradingview 

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Lido (LDO) Price Spikes Over 10% In 24 H, Making It Most Profitable Alt

The broader crypto market showed an impressive price rally mid-day, August 31. Cryptos such as Bitcoin and Ethereum have increased by 0.87% and 2.58%. BTC’s price is $20,319.03, while ETH has regained a hold on $1589.74. The top coins are now trading in the greens. 

But the morning hours of August 31 didn’t sit well with the assets. Many cryptos lost their 24-hour price gain, including BTC and ETH. Bitcoin lost its hold on the $20K mark, while Ethereum followed with a 0.4% loss.

Related Reading: Bitcoin Trades Above $20,000, Has The Fed Failed Again?

Others, such as DOT, DOGE, SOL, and SHIB, lost 2.05%, 2.08%, 1.47%, and 2.21%. But the higher losers were AVAX and SNX, which dropped by 3.34% and 7.5%.  

The Tides Have Turned For DAO 

Lido DAO coins have spiked by over 11% in the past 24 hours. According to analysts, this price gain has made it the top profitable crypto asset. LDO gained support and climbed above its critical resistance level. Also, the Relative Strength Index for LDO on the chart shows that it entered the neutral zone.

These indicators show an imminent acceleration and price increase. Right now, LDO is fluctuating between $1.98 and $2. Also, its trading volume has spiked considerably. By that, there’s a high possibility of a continuing price rally. 

One of the possible reasons for the push on LIDO price is the upcoming Merge. While many analysts already hint that the upgrade has been Priced In for Ethereum, the case might be different for Lido DAO. 

The decentralized organization is among the top holders of Ethereum 2.0 staking contracts. So, as the network upgrades and becomes more scalable, the effect will resound on Lido. 

The organization will become a top shareholder of Ethereum after the upgrade. This means it will have adequate voting power to participate in network activities. That’s why more people are buying into this opportunity by purchasing LDO tokens ahead of time. 

LDO price is currently trading at $1.97. | Source: LDOUSD price chart from TradingView.com
LDO Journey in August 2022

One reason to celebrate the upward momentum in LDO is the poor performance that characterized its August price journey. After shocking its community with a 340% rally in mid-August, the token started a downward trend. 

Related Reading: TA- Near Protocol Struggles With Resistance, Can Bulls Push Price To $6?

The LDO price jump was linked to the Ethereum Merge event. As a major shareholder in Ethereum 2.0, the upgrade favored the decentralized organization. But the token couldn’t sustain the spike and continued losing until it fell below its 50-day moving average on August 26.

At that point, investors lost hope of a reversal until this latest price gain. Currently, the 24-hour gain has attracted more attention toward LDO. The community expects to see more spike in value as the Merge date approach. 

Featured image from Pixabay and chart from TradingView.com

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Lido (LDO) Sheds 58% Of Its All-Time High TVL At $11 Billion

Lido TVL or total value locked, toppled over to new high lows seen in the third week of this month following the bearish movement of the DeFi market.

LDO has shaved off over 58% of its TVL, which registered an all-time high of $20.4 billion on April 6 but dropped down to roughly $8.6 billion on May 22.

Suggested Reading | Ripple (XRP) Plunges To $0.43 With Bears In Full Swing

Lido, a liquidity staking solution, targets orienting people towards staking. It has zero minimum staking requirements which is a great feature, to begin with. The users can freely stake assets in exchange for daily rewards.

A couple of applications and services connected with Lido comprise Anchor Protocol, Curve, MakerDao, 1inch, StakeEther, Ledger, and SushiSwap Onsen.

Lido TVL Down 17%

LDO’s TVL has been dramatically slipping due to the overall crypto market crisis going on for several months now. Its TVL on Ethereum was at $10.32 billion on April 6. After reducing investor interest, its TVL decreased 17% or equivalent to $8.47 billion on May 22.

Meanwhile, its TVL on its all-time high on Terra was at roughly $9.66 billion. However, the figures dropped 99% on May 22, or approximately $14,870 in six weeks.   

LDO TVL on Solana used to be hovering at $417.17 million, but it went down by nearly 70% or roughly $126.24 million on May 22.

LDO total market cap at $395 million on the daily chart | Source: TradingView.com

Lido TVL on Moonriver was at $2.57 million during the height of dApps popularity. However, when investor interest waned, the values also crashed by 27%, equivalent to $1.86 million seen in that same period.

After crashing by more than $11 billion, LDO has been demoted from the ranks close to MakerDAO and Curve.

LDO Still Superior In TVL

On the flip side, despite Lido’s drop in terms of TVL, it still is superior in TVL compared to Convex Finance, JustLend, Aave, SushiSwap, Uniswap, Instadapp, PancakeSwap, Compound, and Just Lend.

It opened on April 6, trading at $4.27. However, the coin dropped on May 12 at $1.23 and seems to be not going over the $1.33 mark today. Looking at those figures, this would give you as much as a 68% loss in LDO price in just six weeks.

Suggested Reading | Bitcoin Reclaims $30K Territory After Recent Weeks’ Struggle – Analysts Weigh In

Polygon Launch This Month

Lido is currently the leading Ethereum liquid staking solution that comprises a large share of over 80% in that space. Moreover, assets staked on Lido are divided into 76,000 crypto wallets and worth $10 billion based on prevailing prices.

Lido also promotes liquid staking on Terra, Kusama, and Solana blockchains. Lido’s launch this month on Polygon is in the works.

Lido is governed by a DAO or equivalent to all the holders of Lido’s token, which collectively makes decisions in the blockchain.

Featured image from BitRss.com, chart from TradingView.com