Ethereum Lost 1.34% to $1605.47 at 5 p.m. ET -- Data Talk

Mar 1, 202305:29

Ethereum is down $21.81 today or 1.34% to $1605.47

--Down four of the past five days

--Down two consecutive days, down 2.26% over this period

--Up 1.82% month-to-date

--Up 33.84% year-to-date

--Down 66.55% from its all-time high of $4800.00 on Nov. 9, 2021 (based on 5 p.m. levels)

--Down 45.67% from 52 weeks ago (March 1, 2022), when it traded at $2954.79

--Down 54.26% from its 52-week high of $3510.17 on April 4, 2022 (based on 5 p.m. levels)

--Up 77.94% from its 52-week low of $902.25 on June 18, 2022 (based on 5 p.m. levels)

--Traded as low as 1598.28

--Down 1.78% at today's intraday low

Source: Kraken, Dow Jones Market Data

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 28, 2023 17:29 ET (22:29 GMT)

© 2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All rights reserved.

 

Crypto Funds Hit by Third Week of Outflows as Macro Backdrop Worries Investors

Feb 28, 202320:58

Crypto-backed investment funds saw capital outflows last week, while bearish sentiment also drove speculators into short bitcoin (BTC) funds as worries spread about potentially higher interest rates in the US.

The outflows from crypto investment funds last week marked the third consecutive week of outflows from the sector, which acts as a proxy for traditional investor’s appetite for digital assets. Many of these either can’t or won’t hold crypto directly, and therefore prefers to trade listed funds that are backed by digital assets.

The total outflows for the week came in at $1.9m, crypto research and investment firm CoinShares wrote in its latest report on crypto fund flows.

The latest figure compared to outflows of $32m the week before, which marked the biggest weekly outflows so far in 2023. The large outflows that week was attributed partly to an aggressive ongoing regulatory crackdown on crypto in the US.“Low volume week”

In its weekly report, CoinShares described last week as a “low volume week for investment products.”

However, it also said that the minor outflows seen masked a broader bearish sentiment, given that it was the short-bitcoin fund category that saw the largest inflows, with $9.9m being added to these types of funds.

The report added that opinions on the next near-term move for crypto remain polarized, with US investors pulling more funds out than the global average.

The fears among US investors are believed to be related to the Federal Reserve’s rate hikes, and the potential for the Fed to raise rates higher than previously believed. Inflation in the US has proved to be difficult for the Fed to get under control, and many observers now believe rates will need to stay high for longer in order to get back to the Fed’s 2% inflation target.Bitcoin outflows

As usual, the largest flows were seen in bitcoin-backed funds, which recorded outflows of $11.7m for the week.

Ethereum (ETH) fund flows, on the other hand, saw no significant net changes, while so-called multi-asset crypto funds – funds backed by a basket of digital assets – saw outflows of $1.1m.

 

Bitcoin Price Reaches Inflection Zone and 100 SMA Is The Key

Feb 23, 202310:15

Bitcoin price tested the $23,600 zone and started a decent increase. BTC must clear the $24,500 resistance and the 100 hourly SMA to move into a positive zone.

• Bitcoin is slowly moving higher above the $24,000 resistance zone.
• The price is trading below $24,500 and the 100 hourly simple moving average.
• There was a break above a key bearish trend line with resistance near $24,000 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).
• The pair could gain bullish momentum if it clears the 100 hourly SMA and $24,500.

Bitcoin Price Holds Ground

Bitcoin price started a downside correction from the $25,200 resistance zone. There was a steady decline below the $24,500 support zone and the 100 hourly simple moving average.

The price even spiked below the $24,000 support zone. A low was formed near $23,600 and the price recently started a fresh increase. There was a move above the $23,800 and $24,000 levels. The price climbed above the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $25,250 swing high to $23,600 low.

Besides, there was a break above a key bearish trend line with resistance near $24,000 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair. However, bitcoin price is trading below $24,500 and the 100 hourly simple moving average.

On the upside, an immediate resistance is near the $24,500 level. The next major resistance is near the $24,600 zone or 61.8% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $25,250 swing high to $23,600 low. A clear move above the $24,600 resistance might send the price towards the key $25,000 resistance zone.

NewsBTC

Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

A close above the $25,000 resistance could set the stage for a fresh rally. In the stated case, the price may perhaps rise towards the $26,200 level.

Another Decline in BTC?

If bitcoin price fails to clear the $24,600 resistance, it could start another decline. An immediate support on the downside is near the $24,000 zone.

The next major support is near the $23,600 zone. If there is a downside break, the price might decline towards $22,200. The next major support is near the $22,000 level.

Technical indicators:

Hourly MACD – The MACD is now gaining pace in the bullish zone.

Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for BTC/USD is now above the 50 level.

Major Support Levels – $24,000, followed by $23,600.

Major Resistance Levels – $24,500, $24,600 and $25,000.

 

Hut 8 merger would've happened even without FTX or crypto turmoil, says CEO

Feb 9, 202312:00

Crypto exchange FTX’s collapse and overall crypto market turmoil were not key factors in the decision to merge crypto mining firm Hut 8 with US Bitcoin Corp., according to Hut 8 CEO Jamie Leverton. 

On Feb. 8, Leverton said that the merger was mainly about providing diversified revenue and helping scale the combined businesses, stating:

“I think this deal would have happened regardless. The ability for us to bring these businesses together we think is so incredibly complementary.”

The all-stock merger was announced on Feb. 7 with the combined company, now called Hut 8 Corp or “New Hut,” to be based primarily in the United States rather than Canada.

Regarding the FTX collapse in November, Leverton said that fears were “starting to subside a little bit,” and interest was returning to the crypto industry.

She added, “I think we're seeing a lot of interest come back into this space, we've seen significant appreciation across the space so far in 2023.”

Merging the two mining firms is “going to provide an incredible amount of scale,” she continued, adding that there will be “diversified revenue programs,” which is a good strategy for both companies independently.

New Hut will reportedly have access to around 825 megawatts across six facilities in New York, Texas, and Alberta province in Canada. Its total combined mining capacity will be 5.6 exahashes per second (EH/s).

Commenting on the choice of location, Leverton said that it was in the best interest of the business to have “diversified geographies,” adding:

“One of the advantages here is [that the merger is] giving us that geographic diversification. There's uncertainty in regulatory environments on both sides of the border,”

Hut 8 has a mining facility in North Bay, Ontario, however, operations have been suspended due to an ongoing court battle with its energy supplier.

US Bitcoin’s Niagara facility has issues of its own with an ongoing dispute with the City of Niagara Falls over complaints by residents regarding noise levels.

The firm provided more details on the merger in a presentation on Feb. 8. The transaction is expected to close in Q2, 2023, and is subject to shareholder, regulatory, and stock exchange approvals.

Earlier this week, Leverton said that during the interim period, the firm plans to cover its operating costs through a combination of selling the Bitcoin it mines, and exploring various debt options.

Hut 8 stock slumped 8% on the day the merger was announced. Furthermore, according to MarketWatch, Hut shares had fallen 1.2% on the day to $2.12 in after-hours trading. The stock is currently trading 86% down from its November 2021 all-time high of $15.28.

 

Crypto Pundit Labels Shiba Inu, DOGE as ‘Garbage’ — Can Shibarium Prove to be Game Changer for SHIB?

Feb 9, 202301:45

ZyCrypto

Alex McCurry, the CEO of Solidity.io — a blockchain-based platform for smart contract audit and token development — has taken a potshot at Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, and other meme-inspired cryptocurrencies. 

According to McCurry, these canine-themed cryptos are all “garbage”. His comment was in response to a tweet that observed that Dogecoin (DOGE), Shiba Inu (SHIB), Baby Doge, Floki Inu, and others had outperformed crypto market leaders bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH).

These so-called dog cryptos have captured the hearts and minds of crypto enthusiasts in recent years owing to their meteoric rise that turned many retail speculators into overnight millionaires.

Nonetheless, there are lingering concerns about whether these joke tokens will have any lasting value despite ones like Dogecoin already proving skilful at pushing powerful narratives that have grabbed the attention of American rapper Snoop Dogg, Kiss co-lead singer Gene Simmons, and even Tesla/Twitter CEO Elon Musk.

This is not the first time a knowledgeable crypto insider is slamming doggy-themed cryptocurrencies. Last month, Steven Cooper, Bigger Entertainment’s CEO, accused SHIB of being a pyramid scheme. He argued that the lack of burnt tokens or any real achievements shows that the blockchain project is just used as a cheap token to lure people to invest their money into dubious spinoffs such as BONE, a governance token and the main token emitted as yield rewards within the Shiba Inu ecosystem.

Cooper, who had worked tirelessly to burn Shiba Inu coins via his music playlists and merch between 2021 and 2022, deleted every single mention of SHIB on his social media platforms. Cooper also had a falling out with SHIB developers and has no desire to be involved again with the “Dogecoin Killer”.

Notably, the team behind SHIB has been trying to help the token shed its meme coin status and develop into a fully-fledged crypto ecosystem. Developers are building Shiba Inu’s layer-2 network, dubbed Shibarium, to operate atop Ethereum. If everything goes as planned, the launch could contribute to strong fundamentals for the second most popular dog-themed cryptocurrency after Dogecoin.

With a market cap of over $8.2 billion, Shiba Inu is currently the world’s 13th biggest cryptocurrency.