Category: Trade

Ethereum shows strength as MATIC rises 7%

 Global market jitters spread to crypto at the weekend, with Bitcoin falling to $42K before bouncing to almost $50K.

Markets are digesting multiple uncertainties, including the many unknowns of the Omicron variant, and the possibility of an end to pandemic-era central bank stimulus. Combined with thin weekend trading volume and the build up of leverage, this led to cascading sell orders and liquidations across the crypto market on Saturday. Nevertheless, El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele was not deterred and joined MicroStrategy in buying the dip.

In a show of strength, Ethereum outperformed Bitcoin during the downturn. The leading smart contract platform stayed above $4K, showing only 6% weekly losses compared to Bitcoin’s 15%. Even stronger, Layer 2 solution Polygon (MATIC) emerged from the downturn with 6% weekly gains.

This Week’s Highlights

• Ethereum outperforms Bitcoin
• Polygon’s MATIC rises against the market
• eToro lists Celo
• On the Digest & Invest podcast this week…

Ethereum outperforms Bitcoin

Ethereum showed relative strength during the weekend drop; losing less value and recovering faster, in line with the trend of recent months.

Both cryptoassets have fallen significantly from the record highs set in November, yet since December 2020 Bitcoin has doubled in value, while Ethereum has gained about 530%. In response, some traders are calling for a “flippening” where Ethereum overtakes Bitcoin as the biggest cryptoasset.

The outperformance could be down to Bitcoin’s more established role as a macro asset that trades on economic data and global trends, compared to Ethereum which is more associated with the hottest crypto growth sectors such as decentralized finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and the metaverse.

Polygon’s MATIC rises against the market

A flash of green in a sea of red, Polygon’s MATIC token pushed against the falling market to finish the week with 6% gains.

The buoyancy of the Layer 2 network could be attributed to the announcement of a new partnership with GameOn Entertainment to build NFT games on the network, and the recent release of a new JavaScript library.

Elsewhere, few other smart contract platforms matched MATIC’s resilience. Algorand managed to stay flat and hold against the downturn, while Polkadot and Cardano suffered double-digit losses.

eToro lists Celo

eToro’s expansion of supported cryptoassets continues with the listing of Celo.

Celo is the native token of the Celo platform, which aims to use blockchain to bank the unbanked, making it possible for anyone to settle payments in crypto between mobile devices without the need for financial institutions.

The launch brings the total number of cryptoassets available on eToro to 41.

On the Digest & Invest podcast this week…

Tune in to Digest & Invest to hear eToro’s Sam North interview the CEO of Chiliz and Socios.com Alexandre Dreyfus.

Week ahead

The swing lower has shifted market sentiment to Extreme Fear, as traders worry that more downside could be in store.

On the upside, others argue that the wipeout has washed out excess leverage in the market, potentially setting up healthier conditions for a more sustainable price rise in the near future.

In the week ahead, regulatory developments could set the tone for trading as a handful of crypto industry executives are set to testify before US lawmakers on Wednesday.

Image: Pixabay

Bitcoin and ether suffered a major flash crash over the weekend, sending cryptoasset values down by some 20% at points. Prices have now recovered somewhat but both cryptos remain trading well below pre-weekend levels.

Bitcoin began last week trading in the $57,000 range, with some movement during the week, but nothing remarkable. This changed on Friday however as the cryptoasset began to fall precipitously. BTC declined to a low of $45,412 in a matter of hours – a near 20% collapse.

Ether likewise fell victim to the flash crash. Having traded up toward $4,700 midweek ETH began to fall in trading on Friday from around $4,600 to a low of $3,652 – a fall of over 20%.

Both cryptoassets have regained a measure of stability since, with prices rebounding modestly. BTC is now trading around $47,900 while ETH is trading around $4,000.

Speculation has been rife over what caused the flash crash, with some analysts citing the expiry of leveraged positions. Other evidence meanwhile points to significant increased activity with investors moving cryptoassets from wallets to exchanges – making reaction to price movement more precipitous when it comes.

The wider backdrop of investment market fears over Omicron seems to be in play too however.

Bitcoin spot ETF launches in Canada

Major asset manager Fidelity Investments has a bitcoin spot ETF in Canada.

The ETF – named the Fidelity Advantage Bitcoin ETF invests directly in bitcoin or through derivative instruments. At least 98% of the ETF’s holdings will be stored in cold wallets.

The fund is listed on the Toronto stock exchange with the ticker FBTC. The fund will have a 0.4% management fee for investors with customers given the option of investing via Canadian or US dollars.

Canada is a popular destination for crypto ETFs with more than 20 available to Canadian investors. Fidelity’s offering however is unique among crypto ETFs in offering physical holdings of bitcoin rather than trading on futures.

MercadoLibre to accept cryptoassets

Major Latin American online marketplace MercadoLibre now allows customers in Brazil to exchange and pay for products in cryptoassets.

The firm has announced users in Brazil will be able to buy, hold and sell bitcoin, ether and a U.S Dollar based stablecoin, Pax Dollar.

The combination of two major cryptoassets and a stablecoin on MercadoPago, the payments platform of MercadoLibre, will enable customers to conduct transactions for products priced in fiat currency using their cryptoassets.

MercadoPago is authorised by Brazil’s central bank, making it easier for the firm to begin its crypto operations there. But MercadoLibre more generally operates in many Central and South American countries, suggesting a potential customer base for new crypto payments of millions as it expands its offering.

Square rebrands in wake of Dorsey Twitter departure

Payments firm Square has announced it is rebranding to ‘Block’, days after its chief executive Jack Dorsey stepped down as head of Twitter.

The company said in its announcement the new name had many associations, but among them was the use of Blockchain technology in some of its projects.

Square Crypto, a separate initiative of the firm which aims to promote the use of bitcoin is also changing its name to Spiral.

The Square brand won’t be disappearing though – Square remains the name of the firm’s seller business, which is among a stable of brands that now also includes Cash App, TIDAL and TBD54566975.

Jack Dorsey announced his sudden departure from Twitter last week, with many speculating he would move to focus more of his time on crypto and blockchain projects, with his now rebranded firm Block at the forefront of this.

Meta crypto head departs firm

The head of Meta’s (formerly Facebook) crypto arm is departing the firm as the launch of stablecoin Diem remains in doubt.

David Marcus announced he would be departing the firm after seven years, having worked on Meta’s financial offering since May 2018, when the company’s Libra crypto project was first announced.

The project later morphed into a payments wallet called Novi with the cryptoasset to go with it called Diem. The crypto wallet has since launched, but the launch of Diem remains elusive.

Meta has faced significant hurdles in the launch of its crypto products. Commenting on the departure, Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg commented on Marcus’s post: “We wouldn’t have taken such a big swing at Diem without your leadership, and I’m grateful you’ve made Meta a place where we make those big bets.”

This is a marketing communication and should not be taken as investment advice, personal recommendation, or an offer of, or solicitation to buy or sell, any financial instruments. This material has been prepared without having regard to any particular investment objectives or financial situation, and has not been prepared in accordance with the legal and regulatory requirements to promote independent research. Any references to past performance of a financial instrument, index or a packaged investment product are not, and should not be taken as a reliable indicator of future results.

All contents within this report are for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. eToro makes no representation and assumes no liability as to the accuracy or completeness of the content of this publication, which has been prepared utilizing publicly-available information.

Cryptoassets are volatile instruments which can fluctuate widely in a very short timeframe and therefore are not appropriate for all investors. Other than via CFDs, trading cryptoassets is unregulated and therefore is not supervised by any EU regulatory framework. Your capital is at risk.

Image: Pixabay

First major upgrade in four years set to accelerate Bitcoin innovation

 After briefly eclipsing all-time highs on shocking inflation figures, Bitcoin settled down to finish the week with 2% losses as the long-awaited Taproot upgrade was activated

At its peak on Wednesday, Bitcoin flirted with the $69K level. Within a few hours however, fresh fears of an Evergrande-induced financial collapse swept over the market, dragging cryptoassets down alongside the S&P 500. Adding to the blow, the Securities and Exchange Commission then denied another spot Bitcoin ETF application on Friday.

This volatility capped gains in the altcoin market, with most smaller cryptoassets finishing the week in the same place they started. However, Zcash, and Litecoin, which both share DNA with Bitcoin, enjoyed double-digit gains as their big brother got an upgrade.

This Week’s Highlights

• Taproot upgrade set to accelerate Bitcoin innovation
• Bitcoin hits record high on inflation fears
• eToro lists SushiSwap, Axie Infinity, Quant, and Chiliz

Taproot upgrade set to accelerate Bitcoin innovation

Bitcoin’s first major upgrade in four years rolled out on Sunday, introducing Schnorr signatures and scripting capabilities to the flagship cryptoasset.

Known as Taproot, the upgrade will allow for greater levels of privacy, cheaper transaction costs (particularly for more complex transactions), and improved programmability for simple applications such as multisignature schemes.

The additional functionality is expected to accelerate Bitcoin innovation over the coming years, and could boost valuations too. SegWit, Bitcoin’s last major upgrade, took place in August 2017 and was followed by a monster rally that saw prices quadruple.

Bitcoin hits record high on inflation fears

Ever since legendary investor Paul Tudor Jones said Bitcoin was the “fastest horse in the race”, the cryptoasset been more widely considered an inflation hedge and a viable alternative to gold.

This safe haven appeal was showcased on Wednesday, when Bitcoin bolted out the stable on hot inflation data, leaving gold behind as it surged beyond record highs near $69K.

Although the price fell shortly afterwards on fears of an Evergrande default, Bitcoin’s reaction to the news cemented its newfound role as an inflation hedge. This reflects the view of Bloomberg analysts, who found in a recent study that “the importance of inflation and hedging against uncertainty” have become more important drivers for Bitcoin, “accounting for 50% of price moves in the latest cycle relative to 20% in 2017.”

eToro lists SushiSwap, Axie Infinity, Quant, and Chiliz

eToro has listed SushiSwap (SUSHI), Axie Infinity (AXS), Quant (QNT), and Chiliz (CHZ), taking the total number of cryptoassets available on the investment platform to 40.

SushiSwap is a decentralized exchange based on the automated maret market model (AMM), Axie Infinity is a Pokémon-inspired blockchain-based game, and Quant is an enterprise-grade interoperability solution for connecting public blockchains.

Last but not least, Chiliz is the leading blockchain for sports and entertainment — an industry close to eToro’s heart as one of Europe’s biggest football club sponsors.

Note: These new cryptoassets are not yet available in the US.

Week ahead

As Bitcoin consolidates around all-time highs, traders are keenly awaiting a catalyst to tip prices towards $70K, or the much-anticipated meme level of $69,420.

In the week ahead, prices could be buoyed by talk of inflation, which is likely to remain a hot topic amid earnings reports in traditional markets.

Elsewhere, Stellar could be in the spotlight as the altcoin hosts its annual community conference on Wednesday and Thursday.

New eToro additions Polkadot and Solana lead altcoin rally with double-digit gains

 Bitcoin has soared above $60K, getting tantalizingly close to all-time highs on reports that the first Bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund (ETF) has been approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

This bombshell blasted Bitcoin 8% higher over the last week, boosted further by Russian President Vladimir Putin who told CNBC on Wednesday that he believes crypto has value. Meanwhile, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon took the opportunity to assert his own view that “Bitcoin is worthless”, two weeks after his bank released a note that said institutions are replacing gold with Bitcoin.

Elsewhere, recent eToro additions Polkadot, Polygon, and Solana pushed ahead of the market with double-digit gains all round. Shiba fell down in exhaustion with 11% weekly losses after a mega rally, and Dogecoin made a half-hearted attempt to catch up with 4% gains.

This Week’s Highlights

• Bitcoin celebrates ETF approval
• Polkadot pushes towards $50 on parachain milestone
• eToro adds Solana to investment platform

Bitcoin celebrates ETF approval

In a monumental victory for crypto, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is set to let the first U.S. Bitcoin futures ETF launch on Monday after years of rejected applications.

Sources said to be familiar with the matter told CNBC that the SEC isn’t likely to block the ETFs proposed by ProShares and Invesco, triggering a rally that saw Bitcoin break through $60K, for the first time since April of this year.

Although these ETFs have attracted criticism for being backed by futures contracts and not the underlying asset, they could still have big implications for Bitcoin — allowing tax-sheltered and retirement accounts to easily get exposure, and potentially opening the cryptoasset to a much broader audience.

Polkadot pushes towards $50 on parachain milestone

While all eyes were on Bitcoin, Polkadot quietly surged more than 20% as the blockchain platform announced it was ready to roll out the final piece of its roadmap.

On Wednesday, the team announced a date for the launch of parachains. These are independent chains that can issue their own tokens and be tailored to a specific use case, while still connecting back to the main Polkadot chain.

Slots for parachain development will be sold via auctions starting on November 11th, and are expected to reduce the circulating supply of Polkadot by requiring participants to lock up the asset for the duration of the parachain lease.

eToro adds Solana to investment platform

eToro has added Solana (SOL) to its selection of cryptoassets. The SOL token powers a blockchain platform that claims to be able to support 50,000 transactions per second without sacrificing decentralization.

Solana joins the recent additions of Filecoin (FIL) and Polkadot (DOT), bringing the total number of cryptoassets available on eToro to 32.

Week ahead

The last time Bitcoin approached all-time highs at $20K, it was beaten back fiercely for weeks before it finally broke though.

This time however, the amount of Bitcoin held on exchanges is approaching all-time lows — suggesting traders have no intention of selling and could be moving funds to wallets for long-term storage.

On the bearish side, Pantera Capital CEO Dan Morehead anticipates that the ETF launch could be a classic “sell the news” moment, and trigger a similar dump to that seen after the CME’s listing of Bitcoin futures in December 2017.

Image by Niek Verlaan from Pixabay

Bitcoin soared last week, closing back in on its all-time high (ATH) as investors bought the news of a new bitcoin ETF.

After the confirmation of a bitcoin ETF (more below) by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the price began to pop. Having traded as low as $54,611 on Wednesday, BTC soared 14% to reach a high of $62,516.  At the time of writing the cryptoasset is trading around $61,700.

The turnaround for BTC has seen it close in on its previous ATH – $63,569 – set on 14 April this year. Investors will now be watching closely to see if momentum is sustained early this week to tip over that threshold.

Ether meanwhile has experienced similar gains, although it is still a little further off from its previous ATH.  ETH traded as low as $3,419 on Monday before rising across the week to a high of $3,957. ETh previous ATH came on 12 May when it reached $4,177. It is currently trading around $3,820.

Grayscale drops bitcoin ETF hint

Cryptoasset management firm Grayscale has given its biggest indication yet it plans to convert its bitcoin trust into a physically settled exchange-traded fund (ETF).

While not confirmed at the time of writing, chief executive Barry Silbert hinted in a two-word tweet that the firm may soon switch up its trust to an ETF structure. The thread came as the CEO criticised futures-backed bitcoin ETFs saying: “Friends don’t let friends buy and hold futures-based ETFs.”

The pointed remark comes after the approval of the ProShares ETF – which is a futures-based bitcoin fund. The announcement boosted bitcoin’s price as investors see support from regulators for crypto-based funds as a seal of approval for their activities.

Putin gives crypto seal of approval

Russian President Vladimir Putin has come out with a relatively dovish stance on cryptoassets.

While not outing himself as an enthusiast, speaking to CNBC last Thursday the Russian leader expressed his relative amenability to crypto.

Putin said in the interview cryptocurrency: “has the right to exist and can be used as a means of payment.” He also added it was too soon to discuss the idea of trading oil and other commodities via crypto, which forms a large part of Russia’s export base.

Putin’s relative amenability to crypto likely comes as Russia struggles with difficulties in accessing international capital in the form of US dollars. The Eurasian nation has been hit by sanctions since its 2014 invasion of Crimea.

ARK Invest backs bitcoin ETF

Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest has backed a bitcoin futures ETF by putting the firm’s name to the fund.

The bitcoin futures ETF, which was filed for approval to the US SEC last Wednesday, will be called ARK 21Shares Bitcoin Futures Strategy ETF, carrying the ARKA ticker.

The ETF was filed by Alpha Architect and notes 21Shares as an investment adviser. ARK’s role in the ETF will be to provide marketing support alone, according to the filing.

Wood’s ARK firm is best known for its disruptive innovation-focused ETFs. The firm has struggled in 2021 with assets under management (AUM) plunging by some $8 billion.

ARK joins a growing list of asset managers looking to offer a bitcoin-related ETF, with more than 12 Wall Street firms now looking to offer such a product to its clients.

This is a marketing communication and should not be taken as investment advice, personal recommendation, or an offer of, or solicitation to buy or sell, any financial instruments. This material has been prepared without having regard to any particular investment objectives or financial situation, and has not been prepared in accordance with the legal and regulatory requirements to promote independent research. Any references to past performance of a financial instrument, index or a packaged investment product are not, and should not be taken as a reliable indicator of future results.

All contents within this report are for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. eToro makes no representation and assumes no liability as to the accuracy or completeness of the content of this publication, which has been prepared utilizing publicly-available information.

Cryptoassets are volatile instruments which can fluctuate widely in a very short timeframe and therefore are not appropriate for all investors. Other than via CFDs, trading cryptoassets is unregulated and therefore is not supervised by any EU regulatory framework. Your capital is at risk.

Image by Vined from Pixabay

Shiba Inu Token runs ahead with 100% gains

Bitcoin has surpassed $56K, reclaiming its trillion dollar market cap as the U.S. treasury
rules out minting a platinum coin of the same value.

The move higher comes on a raft of positive news: the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved an exchange-traded fund (ETF) giving exposure to companies holding crypto, the investment firm founded by billionaire George Soros has revealed a Bitcoin allocation, and Brazil is following El Salvador by preparing a bill that will make the cryptoasset a recognized currency.

All this action has put Bitcoin center stage with over 15% weekly gains, but several altcoins have also put on a wild performance. Shiba Inu doubled in price and Stellar added 8% on a new partnership with MoneyGram. Meanwhile, Tezos gave back recent gains by sinking 14%.

This Week’s Highlights

• Shiba shakes off the leash with 100% weekly gains
• Regulatory fears fade as White House weighs executive order
• eToro launches Filecoin and Polkadot on its investment platform

Shiba shakes off the leash with 100% weekly gains

Shiba Inu Token has doubled in value over the last week, running ahead of the pack to reach twelfth place in the market cap rankings.

At its highest point, Shiba was up over 300%. This followed a tweet from Elon Musk about his dog Floki of the same breed, and the launch of 10,000 Shiboshi NFTs on the recently launched decentralized exchange ShibaSwap.

Meanwhile, Musk’s pet project Dogecoin is laying low. The rival canine-themed crypto finished the week with 4% losses.

Regulatory fears fade as White House weighs executive order

The rising prices come as the Biden administration considers an executive order to regulate the crypto industry.

This is widely expected to be bullish as it follows positive comments from the heads of U.S. government agencies. SEC Chair Gary Gensler told Congress on Tuesday that the agency has no plans to follow China into a crypto ban, joining Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who expressed the same sentiment at the end of September.

Instead of a ban, more nurturing regulation might come in the form of the “Clarity for Digital Tokens Act of 2021.” This bill was proposed last Tuesday and would create a “safe harbor” for projects that raise funds to build decentralized networks.

eToro launches Filecoin and Polkadot on its investment platform

eToro has added two more assets to its crypto offering, bringing the total number of cryptoassets available to 31.

The new cryptos are Filecoin (FIL), which powers a decentralized storage network, and  Polkadot (DOT), a platform for cross-chain transfers.

Week ahead

As Bitcoin continues to close in on all-time highs, chatter about the approval of a Bitcoin ETF in the U.S. is reaching fever pitch.

The first ETF to be approved could be the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF, backed by Bitcoin futures, which is due to be decided on October 18th.

Meanwhile, traders will be keeping their eyes peeled for broader regulatory developments from the highest branches of the U.S. government.

Image by Petra Göschel from Pixabay

Cryptoassets staged a significant rebound last week with Bitcoin closing back in on its all-time highs.

The world’s largest cryptoasset, bitcoin rose across the week. Having started trading below $48,000 it surged on Thursday to over $54,000 and has staged further gains in early trading today.

The cryptoasset is currently trading around $56,500 its highest level since May this year, and crucially is back within the range that saw it reach an all-time high of $63,569 on 14 April.

Ether meanwhile has had a more mixed week with significant volatility, but is still well above its end-of-September levels.

ETH started last week trading around $3,350 and saw its price hit $3,665 on Friday.

Amid an overall trend of gains last week the cryptoasset has been dogged by volatility – plunging on 6 October after starting the day above $3,500, collapsing to $3,362, then surging back to above $3,600.

ETH saw wild swings late on Sunday too but the cryptoasset is currently trading around $3,500.

White House mulls crypto order

US President Joe Biden and his team are considering the publication of an executive order on crypto that could have far-ranging consequences for the asset class.

Per Bloomberg, the order is designed to coordinate responsibilities of different federal agencies on the treatment of crypto, and also mandate those agencies to study and offer recommendations for its regulation.

With Biden’s financial regulators increasingly aggressive stance on cryptoassets, any executive order would look to shed more light on the industry and attempt to place controls upon it.

According to Bloomberg, no decision has been made on releasing the order yet, but the framework would bring together the work of agencies such as the Treasury Department, Commerce Department, National Science Foundation, financial regulators and security agencies.

The administration is also looking to appoint a crypto ‘czar’ to oversee action within the President’s remit.

Bitcoin miner looks to list in London

Bitcoin mining firm Bitfury is considering a $1 billion float on the London Stock Exchange.

The firm is looking to list in the next 12 months, in what would be the largest ever European cryptoasset float, according to The Telegraph.

Bitfury is headquartered in the Netherlands but its legal base is in the UK. Filings show the firm is currently valued around $1 billion per its last funding round.

The firm, which was founded in 2011 by a Latvian entrepreneur called Valery Vavilov, mines bitcoin with operations in Canada, Norway, Iceland and Central Asia.

The company also supplies miniature data centres encased in shipping containers to customers looking to deploy their own mining operations.

Brazil to adopt bitcoin as legal tender

Brazil could soon be adopting Bitcoin as legal tender, following in the footsteps of El Salvador.

South America’s most populous nation currently has a bill passing through its chamber of deputies (equivalent of the House of Commons in the UK) which would create a legal regulatory environment for cryptoassets.

The Federal Deputy sponsoring the bill, Aureo Ribeiro says he wants to create regulatory certainty for consumers with this bill, which would allow for the transparent transaction of a basket of cryptoassets.

“We want to separate the wheat from the chaff, create regulations so that you can trade, know where you’re buying and know who you’re dealing with.

“With this asset you will be able to buy a house, a car, go to McDonald’s to buy a hamburger – it will be a currency in the country as it happened in other countries. This will allow transactions of this asset in our country, which will be regulated by a government agency.

“We already made an agreement with both, Central Bank and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Brazil (CVM), over opportunities of this asset and its recognition within, for example, real estate value or currency of daily use.”

This is a marketing communication and should not be taken as investment advice, personal recommendation, or an offer of, or solicitation to buy or sell, any financial instruments. This material has been prepared without having regard to any particular investment objectives or financial situation, and has not been prepared in accordance with the legal and regulatory requirements to promote independent research. Any references to past performance of a financial instrument, index or a packaged investment product are not, and should not be taken as a reliable indicator of future results.

All contents within this report are for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. eToro makes no representation and assumes no liability as to the accuracy or completeness of the content of this publication, which has been prepared utilizing publicly-available information.

Cryptoassets are volatile instruments which can fluctuate widely in a very short timeframe and therefore are not appropriate for all investors. Other than via CFDs, trading cryptoassets is unregulated and therefore is not supervised by any EU regulatory framework. Your capital is at risk.

Image by YOONHEECHO from Pixabay

Bitcoin has started October with a bang, exploding towards $50K in hope of a long-awaited ETF approval.

The leading crypto added 10% in just a few hours on Friday, as traders cheered for “Uptober” and celebrated the support of some of the loudest regulatory voices. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman Gary Gensler renewed his backing for a Bitcoin Futures ETF on Wednesday, and Fed chair Jerome Powell said on Thursday that the central bank has no plans to ban cryptoassets.

Meanwhile, Tezos hit all-time highs above $9 on NFT mania, and Algorand, Chainlink, and Enjin made double-digit gains. Compound, however, bucked the trend by dropping 7% after the protocol mistakenly gave out more than $90 million to users.

This Week’s Highlights

• Bitcoin swings higher as Gensler affirms ETF support
• Visa positions for a multi-chain future

Bitcoin swings higher as Gensler affirms ETF support

Across the crypto market, prices have been rising in anticipation that a Bitcoin ETF could finally be given the regulatory green light.

In remarks for the Financial Times on Thursday, SEC chairman Gary Gensler renewed his support for a Bitcoin ETF backed by future contracts, suggesting that some of the ETF applications set to be considered in the coming month could be approved.

The long-awaited ETF will allow investors to get exposure to Bitcoin using a standard brokerage account without having to buy the underlying asset. Analysts have argued that this will lead to a major price upswing, perhaps reflecting the astronomical gains in gold seen since the approval of the first gold-backed ETF.

Visa positions for a multi-chain future

 As funds flow into different blockchains across the digital asset ecosystem, Visa is looking to get ahead of the curve.

The payments giant has outlined its vision for a “Universal Payment Channel” (UPC), that will

serve as a “network of blockchain networks” — connecting different digital assets such as stablecoins with future central bank digital currencies.

If previous efforts are anything to go by, Visa’s efforts to incorporate crypto could meet with success. In March, the company started allowing users to settle USDC payments directly on Ethereum, and more recently showed its commitment to the ecosystem by purchasing a CryptoPunk NFT.

Week ahead

The bullish price action over the last few days has pushed the crypto sentiment index right back to neutral after the fear of September.

This reflects growing optimism about the macroeconomic storm brewing for Bitcoin, driven by persistent inflation concerns and calls for a trillion dollar coin to be minted as debate over the debt ceiling drags on.

In fact, many traders are now anticipating that the possibility of the dysfunctional US government defaulting on their debt could cause a repeat of 2011, with Bitcoin replacing gold as a hedge against the uncertainty.

Image by Estelle_ from Pixabay

Cryptoasset prices struggled to the end of September, failing to make gains for the majority of the month, or even hold ground in some cases.

However, major cryptoassets rebounded over the weekend on the back of positive comments from the SEC’s Gary Gensler.

Bitcoin had a strong week, despite falling to below $42,000 at the end of September. October’s arrival saw the cryptoasset jump in price over the weekend. It is now trading just below $48,000.

Ether likewise saw a start of October rally, having traded down to $2,800 at the end of last month. ETH jumped over the weekend, trading upwards and now around $3,350.

SEC head calls for cryptoasset consumer protection…but then reiterates support for ETFs linked to crypto

Gary Gensler has said that investors in crypto products deserve the same protections and safeguards against fraud and manipulation as bank depositors or purchasers of insurance policies.

The SEC boss acknowledged that the size of the crypto space now meant that it was time for investors to be covered in the same way as if they were investing in a more traditional asset such as a mutual fund. His comments were specifically regarding investors wanting returns from their assets on an annual basis.

However, despite heeding warnings, he did once again reiterate his support for exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on futures linked to the top cryptocurrency by market value, leading to speculation that the US might approve the vehicle.

Gensler singled out bitcoin ETFs in particular, which invest in futures contracts that trade on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, having made similar comments in August also. Whatever the outcome, bitcoin bounced on the news of his comments, leading to renewed optimism.

Crypto is not “the second coming of the messiah” – Musk

Elon Musk has again put forward his views on crypto, telling US regulators to “do nothing”. His comments referred to his belief that possible government action could “slow down [crypto and bitcoin’s] advancement”.

An advocate of “letting it fly”, he hopes cryptoassets will eventually help reduce the errors and latency in legacy monetary systems.

Unlike previous comments, his views did not seem to impact price action dramatically, but considering regulation is such a hot topic at the moment, don’t be surprised if we see more and more comments weighing in on the space as it continues to capture public interest.

First crypto investment fund approved in Switzerland

Switzerland has broken new ground following the Swiss financial regulator issuing approvals for a domestic cryptoasset investment fund and a domestic digital asset custody service last week.

Just days after China’s central bank commented that bitcoin and other financial blockchains were a threat to economic stability, FINMA formally approved the first investment fund of its kind in Switzerland, in order to “facilitate serious innovation…in a consistently technology-neutral way”.

The new Crypto Market Index Fund will be open to “qualified investors”, enabling investment into cryptoassets with a “sufficiently large trading volume”.

Considering Switzerland has one of the largest banking sectors in the world and accounts for an estimated 25% of global cross border asset management, the chance for investors to gain additional exposure to cryptoassets could be exciting for the space.

This is a marketing communication and should not be taken as investment advice, personal recommendation, or an offer of, or solicitation to buy or sell, any financial instruments. This material has been prepared without having regard to any particular investment objectives or financial situation, and has not been prepared in accordance with the legal and regulatory requirements to promote independent research. Any references to past performance of a financial instrument, index or a packaged investment product are not, and should not be taken as a reliable indicator of future results.

All contents within this report are for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. eToro makes no representation and assumes no liability as to the accuracy or completeness of the content of this publication, which has been prepared utilizing publicly-available information.

Cryptoassets are volatile instruments which can fluctuate widely in a very short timeframe and therefore are not appropriate for all investors. Other than via CFDs, trading cryptoassets is unregulated and therefore is not supervised by any EU regulatory framework. Your capital is at risk.

Image by Sergei Tokmakov Terms.Law from Pixabay

Another week of wild volatility has hit the cryptoasset market, as China’s latest ban collides with accelerating adoption to catalyze big market swings.

First, fears of the financial collapse of Chinese developer Evergrande sent crypto sliding last Monday, before the market turned around as Twitter added Bitcoin tipping. El Salvador’s President Bukele then bought the dip, only for the gains to be erased on Friday as Chinese authorities announced yet another crypto crackdown.

When the dust settled, Bitcoin and Ethereum were both sitting slightly higher with 2% and 5% weekly gains respectively. DeFi tokens however, enjoyed even bigger wins in anticipation of more Chinese users being forced into the DeFi wilderness. Exchange protocol Uniswap has risen 23%, while up-and-coming platforms Tezos and Cardano are celebrating 25% and 8% gains.

This Week’s Highlights

• China ban fails to sink Bitcoin
• Twitter accelerates crypto adoption
• eToro launches DeFi Portfolio

China ban fails to sink Bitcoin

Digital asset traders were left with déjà vu on Friday as Chinese authorities announced yet another crypto crackdown.

The Chinese central bank said in an announcement that all crypto-related activities are now illegal, including exchange services between cryptoassets, and between fiat currencies and cryptoassets.

Bitcoin tumbled on the news, but soon recovered on a wave of optimism about the opportunity for adoption elsewhere. Weighing in on Twitter, U.S. Senator Pat Toomey said that “China’s authoritarian crackdown on crypto” represents “a big opportunity for the U.S.” to take part in what is “arguably the most exciting innovation in finance in decades.”

Twitter accelerates crypto adoption

Twitter has taken crypto another step closer to full-blown mainstream adoption by enabling Bitcoin tipping, and revealed plans to roll out an NFT authentication feature.

Tipping, which is currently only available on iOS, uses Bitcoin Lightning Network to allow anyone to receive direct donations from profile visitors. NFT authentication on the other hand, is expected to allow users to connect their wallets to showcase their NFT collections.

Alongside Reddit’s Moon Tokens on Ethereum, and Facebook’s ongoing Diem project, crypto now looks set to be a permanent feature of social media. This could lead more otherwise uninterested social media denizens to develop cravings for cryptoassets over the next few years.

eToro launches DeFiPortfolio

The DeFi revolution has begun, and the dizzying pace of innovation is making it difficult for even the most informed investors to keep up.

eToro is now offering an easy way to stay ahead of the growing decentralized finance movement. The DeFiPortfolio bundles together the top decentralized finance projects, giving you exposure to every corner of the ecosystem — from Uniswap to Yearn.Finance and more — without having to spend hours on research.

Learn more about eToro’s newly launched DeFiPortfolio.

Week ahead

As September draws to a close, analysts including Galaxy Digital’s Mike Novogratz are anticipating a bullish fourth quarter.

In October, the biggest upcoming price catalyst could be the approval of a Bitcoin ETF. Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas gives this a 75% chance.

On the bearish side, Washington now has crypto firmly in its regulatory crosshairs. Jake Chervinsky, crypto lawyer at Compound, expects enforcement activity from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in the next two weeks as the agencies seek to boost performance before the end of the fiscal year.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Crypto markets were rocked on Friday as it emerged that China was implementing a full ban on cryptoasset trading inside the country. Despite it having announced the ban previously, markets reacted badly with big falls in BTC and other altcoins.

BTC entered last week on a downward trend and had already hit a low of $40,500 by Wednesday morning, but it was recovering steadily until the news from China knocked it down more than 8% on Friday. The price then stabilised before a jump on Sunday and returned to over £44,100 this morning.

ETH likewise hit a weekly low on Wednesday, touching £2,700 before a climb back up to over $3,100. Following its own fall of over 9% on Friday, ETH then stabilised along with BTC over the weekend and was trading again at over $3,100 this morning after strong gains on Sunday.

Twitter launches crypto features

Social media platform Twitter has launched a series of crypto-related features on its platform.

Users will now be able to tip popular tweeters in bitcoin through Strike, a third-party payments app built on the Bitcoin Lightning Network. iOS-based Twitter users will now be able to access the Tips feature while the platform says it will roll out Android functionality soon.

The company is also looking to make non-fungible tokens (NFTs) more prominent on the platform, giving creators more tools and moderation functions. Twitter says it is exploring NFT authentication which would let users connect their crypto wallets directly to their social media accounts in order to display their owned artwork on their profiles.

Sorare secures bumper $680 million SoftBank funding

NFT marketplace Sorare announced on Wednesday that it has secured a mega $680 million funding round led by high-profile Japanese tech investment house SoftBank.

Sorare is a marketplace for non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The platform is now valued around $4.3 billion after the Series B funding round. SoftBank led a previous round of investment in July, injecting $532 million. The firm plans to use the fresh cash injection to expand its sports NFT offering.

The firm will expand its football portfolio of NFTs by seeking partnerships with football leagues and associations. It has already secured deals with French heavyweight team Paris Saint-Germain, English Premier League champions Liverpool and the Spanish-based La Liga league.

Sorare is also looking at diversifying its NFT offering, exploring sports beyond football. Issues have arisen among other sports, however, as major leagues such as the NFL in the US specifically proscribe players and clubs from creating or selling NFTs.

Evergrande causes rollercoaster week for crypto markets

The news has been heavily focused on events in China in the past week, with crypto not immune from the permutations.

Early in the week, news began to emerge of the Evergrande crisis which sent contagion spiralling through all markets. Cryptoassets felt the effects as the broad-base selloff took hold on Monday.

Evergrande has massive debt exposure – over $300 billion – and has failed to make payments on time to its creditors. The implications for wider crypto markets are not direct, but with debt fears looming, cryptoassets such as Tether could be affected.

Stablecoins like Tether are pegged to fiat currencies such as the US Dollar. But to maintain the peg they require holdings to match the value of the cryptoasset. Many can’t hold large amounts of cash and instead use commercial paper – a form of short-term debt – to account for the value.

The issue here is that, with Evergrande creating 2008-style contagion risk for debt markets, stablecoins could run into trouble were the commercial paper they hold to lose value. Unfortunately, as such a crisis is unprecedented, it remains to be seen what will happen next.

This is a marketing communication and should not be taken as investment advice, personal recommendation, or an offer of, or solicitation to buy or sell, any financial instruments. This material has been prepared without having regard to any particular investment objectives or financial situation, and has not been prepared in accordance with the legal and regulatory requirements to promote independent research. Any references to past performance of a financial instrument, index or a packaged investment product are not, and should not be taken as a reliable indicator of future results.

All contents within this report are for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. eToro makes no representation and assumes no liability as to the accuracy or completeness of the content of this publication, which has been prepared utilizing publicly available information.

Cryptoassets are volatile instruments which can fluctuate widely in a very short timeframe and therefore are not appropriate for all investors. Other than via CFDs, trading cryptoassets is unregulated and therefore is not supervised by any EU regulatory framework. Your capital is at risk.

Image by Roy Buri from Pixabay

After a flash crash, last Tuesday as El Salvador officially made Bitcoin legal tender, the leading cryptoasset has steadied around $45K.

What was expected to be a historic day of celebration became one of the most volatile days of the year. The party was cut short by technical problems, and Bitcoin dropped by $10K in a matter of hours. It then clawed back losses over the next few days as Panama revealed its own Bitcoin legislation and Ukraine moved ahead with legalization.

Only a few altcoins had the strength to swim against the bearish tide: Tezos pushed 30% higher on the launch of an NFT collection from American rapper Doja Cat, and Algorand added an astonishing 60% on the back of a new DeFi fund.

This Week’s Highlights

• Algorand adds 60% in defiance of market downturn
• Cardano falls on smart contract debut

Algorand adds 60% in defiance of market downturn

As the crypto market turned red, Algorand came up green. The token topped $2.50 on Sunday, marking year-to-date gains of more than 630%.

The rally was driven by a flurry of positive news, including the announcement of a DeFi fund that aims to put $300 million towards helping Algorand contend with Ethereum and other smart contract platforms.

Only two weeks ago, Algorand was hitting headlines for another big announcement, as it was selected by El Salvador for the development of its government blockchain infrastructure.

Cardano falls on smart contract debut

Weeks of consecutive wins have made Cardano the third-largest cryptoasset by market cap, but it fell 12% this week on the long-awaited launch of smart contracts. The Alonzo hard fork went off without a hitch on Sunday. This marks Cardano’s most significant technical upgrade yet and lays the foundations for a new era of DeFi smart contracts and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the blockchain.

According to eToro Crypto Market Analyst Simon Peters, “this critical upgrade could lead Cardano to take some market share away from ‘competing’ networks such as Ethereum, and potentially lead to “appreciation of the price of ADA.”

Week Ahead

Although Bitcoin has fallen over 10% since last week, El Salvador’s adoption is likely to have a bullish effect in the long term. This is the view of Bloomberg’s September Crypto Outlook, which suggests that $100K price levels for BTC represent “the path of least resistance.”

In the short-term, markets are braced for the release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Tuesday. This could give a clearer indication of U.S. inflation levels, potentially revealing the macroeconomic landscape that Bitcoin will need to navigate over the next few months.

Image by Wolfgang Borchers from Pixabay

Both bitcoin and ether are trading at lower levels after the flash crash of 7 September.

Bitcoin saw the biggest fall in value following the collapse of Tuesday. Having traded close to $53,000 the cryptoasset plummeted to as low as $43,000 within 12 hours. The price of BTC has been trading in this range since and this morning sits around $44,700.

Ether meanwhile saw a similar selloff, erasing the cryptoasset’s entire/total gains for September. ETH began a run around 1 September that saw it rise from trading levels of around $3,200 to just below $4,000. It is now however back trading around $3,300.

Cardano Twitter phishing scam warning

Scam detectors are warning of a new phishing scam affecting Twitter users.

The scam generates from Russia according to Cardano Phishing Bot on Twitter and appears to be targeting prospective Cardano investors.

The elaborate scam seems to be using old recordings of Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson to dupe would-be investors into sending amounts of ADA to the scammers.

The scam purports to be an ADA ‘lottery’. Victims are encouraged to enter the jackpot with at least 1,000 ADA to be in with a chance to win 1,000,000 ADA. There is however no jackpot, and anyone participating will lose all their tokens.

With scams becoming increasingly sophisticated in nature, crypto investors have to be ever-more vigilant to the risks of spurious offers.

Bitcoin flash crash mars El Salvador launch

On the day bitcoin became legal tender in the Central American nation of El Salvador, the price of bitcoin plummeted by over $7,000 in seconds.

The day saw a spike of liquidations as the token was adopted as an official currency of the country, with Salvadorans now allowed to transact for everyday items in the cryptoasset.

The single largest liquidation saw around $43 million of value cashed in, per Cryptopotato. Some $3.5 billion of bitcoin was liquidated in 24 hours.

Adoption in the country has allegedly not been plain sailing, with Salvadorans queuing at cash machines to withdraw US dollars, according to Financial Times.

Ukraine legislates for crypto

Ukraine’s parliament has legislated to adopt formal regulations for crypto exchanges in the Eastern European country.

Cryptoassets were legally recognised for the first time with the legislation with Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation overseeing the implementation of new regulations.

Digital assets will now be allowed to launch within Ukraine, plus allowing banking institutions to create current accounts to hold crypto for firms, according to Anastasia Bratko of the Ministry of Digital Transformation.

The ministry also announced it was looking to draw new tax revenues from the crypto industry as it burgeons in the country.

This is a marketing communication and should not be taken as investment advice, personal recommendation, or an offer of, or solicitation to buy or sell, any financial instruments. This material has been prepared without having regard to any particular investment objectives or financial situation, and has not been prepared in accordance with the legal and regulatory requirements to promote independent research. Any references to past performance of a financial instrument, index or a packaged investment product are not, and should not be taken as a reliable indicator of future results.

All contents within this report are for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. eToro makes no representation and assumes no liability as to the accuracy or completeness of the content of this publication, which has been prepared utilizing publicly-available information.

Cryptoassets are volatile instruments which can fluctuate widely in a very short timeframe and therefore are not appropriate for all investors. Other than via CFDs, trading cryptoassets is unregulated and therefore is not supervised by any EU regulatory framework. Your capital is at risk.

Image by jorono from Pixabay

The crypto market is gaining momentum, with Bitcoin once again smashing past the milestone of $50K as Ethereum rapidly approaches all-time highs above $4K.

Gains in both cryptoassets are being driven by ongoing adoption. This includes leaked images showing that Twitter is testing a crypto tipping service, and hints from Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair Gary Gensler that a long-awaited Bitcoin ETF could finally be on the cards.

Meanwhile, in the altcoin universe, Chainlink and Litecoin are both celebrating 30% wins, and Uniswap has added 10% despite news that the SEC is investigating the startup behind the decentralized exchange.

This Week’s Highlights

• DeFi tokens surge on record value locked
• Deflationary trend drives Ethereum towards all-time highs

DeFi tokens surge on record value locked

While NFTs have captured the crypto market’s attention with the trading of avatars and artwork, the nascent DeFi sector has been quietly breaking records.

Total locked value in the ecosystem reached an all-time high of almost $100 billion last week, which is reflected in the stellar performance of DeFi tokens: Chainlink is up over 30%, and Yearn.finance, Aave, and Compound are all enjoying double-digit weekly gains. The rally comes in defiance of stirrings from the SEC, as a new investigation into Uniswap Labs suggests that discussions on DeFi regulation could be starting to translate into enforcement action.

Deflationary trend drives Ethereum towards all-time highs

After surpassing $3,500 for the first time since May on Thursday, the price of Ethereum is now only around $400 away from all-time highs.

Along with a growing interest in DeFi and NFTs, the upswing could be driven by a change in monetary policy. The recent implementation of EIP-1559 means that network transaction fees are now being burnt, which means removed from circulation. For the first time ever last week, there was more ETH being burnt than being created.

Looking forward, this deflationary trend is widely expected to continue, bringing increased scarcity which could give ETH more appeal as an asset for long-term investing.

Week ahead

Although Ethereum has been pulling ahead, adding 20% this week compared to Bitcoin’s 10%, this could be about to change.

On Tuesday, Bitcoin is set to officially become legal tender in El Salvador, and enthusiasts all over the world are planning to celebrate by swapping $30 of their local currency for BTC. If enough investors participate, the coordinated buying could help send Bitcoin back towards all-time highs.

Elsewhere, more fireworks could be expected for Cardano this week before the Alonzo mainnet upgrade is deployed on September 12th.

Image by Paul Barlow from Pixabay