Bitcoin remains close to $17k after FOMC minutes release: Will BTC rally soon?

  • Bitcoin price steadied above $16,800 as US Federal Reserve officials agreed to slow its pace of interest rate hikes.

  • The latest FOMC minutes indicate that US policymakers are focused on controlling the pace of price hikes.

  • Bitcoin could surge past the $17k resistance level soon.

BTC eyes the $17k resistance level

The United States Federal Reserve recently released minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee for December. Fed members agreed that a restrictive policy stance would need to be maintained for now until the incoming data provided confidence that core inflation was on a sustained downward path back down to 2%.

This latest cryptocurrency news saw Bitcoin, the world’s leading cryptocurrency by market cap, maintain its price above the $16,800 level over the last 24 hours. It has lost less than 1% of its value, and the price of Bitcoin now stands at $16,834. 

The broader crypto market is also recovering from its recent slump. At press time, the total cryptocurrency market cap stands at $819 billion, up by less than 1% in the last 24 hours.

Key levels to watch

The BTC/USD 4-hour chart is bullish as Bitcoin has held its ground above the 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at $16,714 over the last few days. 

The MACD line is above the neutral zone, indicating that the leading cryptocurrency has preserved its downward trend from the standpoint of realised price. The 14-day RSI of 61 also shows that more bulls controlling the market could see BTC enter the overbought region. 

If the bullish momentum increases, BTC could surge past the first major resistance level at $17,145 over the next few hours. However, Bitcoin could struggle to surpass the second major resistance level at $17,485 in the short term, unless it gains support from the broader crypto market. 

Where to buy Bitcoin now

eToro

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OKX

OKX is a top cryptocurrency exchange which offers over 140 cryptocurrencies to invest in. OKX takes customer security very seriously, they store almost all of their clients‘ funds in cold storage, and the exchange is yet to be hacked. On top of this, the exchange offers very low fees and customers can even use their crypto as collateral for loans on the platform.

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Ethereum Classic eyes the $20 resistance level after its latest rally

  • Ethereum Classic is the best performer amongst the top 50 cryptocurrencies by market cap today.

  • ETC is up by more than 4% today and has added 21% to its value in the last seven days.

  • The broader crypto market is underperforming after a positive start to the week.

ETC is outperforming the other major cryptocurrencies today

ETC, the native coin of the Ethereum Classic blockchain, is the best performer amongst the top 50 cryptocurrencies by market cap today. It is up by more than 4% in the last 24 hours, and the price of Ethereum Classic now stands at $18.73.

According to the crypto analytics platform Santiment, Ethereum Classic is enjoying a pretty nice rally of its own. Not only is volume high, but ETC is also being shorted big time by traders on exchanges.

This latest cryptocurrency news could be the major catalyst driving ETC higher. The broader crypto market had a positive start to the week but is now retreating. The total crypto market cap stands at $817 billion, down by less than 1% in the last 24 hours. 

Bitcoin and Ether continue to maintain their prices above the $16,800 and $1,250 levels, respectively.

Key levels to watch

The ETC/USD 4-hour chart is bullish as Ethereum Classic has been performing well over the last few days. The technical indicators show that ETC is outperforming the broader crypto market.

The MACD line is deep within the positive territory, indicating that the bulls are in charge of the market. The 14-day relative strength index of 78 shows that ETC could enter the overbought region if the rally continues.

With the bulls in charge, ETC could surge past the first major resistance level at $20.12 before the end of the day. In the event of an extended rally, ETC could trade above the $23 psychological level for the first time since November 2022.

Where to buy Ethereum Classic now

eToro

eToro is a global social investment brokerage company which offers over 75 cryptocurrencies to invest in. It offers crypto trading commission-free and users on the platform have the option to manually invest or socially invest. eToro even has a unique CopyTrader system which allows users to automatically copy the trades of popular investors.

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OKX

OKX is a top cryptocurrency exchange which offers over 140 cryptocurrencies to invest in. OKX takes customer security very seriously, they store almost all of their clients‘ funds in cold storage, and the exchange is yet to be hacked. On top of this, the exchange offers very low fees and customers can even use their crypto as collateral for loans on the platform.

Buy ETC with OKX today

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Bonk price has soared: prepare for a major dive

  • Bonk has captured the attention of most traders and investors.

  • History suggests that Bonk price will implode soon.

  • Tokens like Tamadoge, Saudi Shiba Inu, and Dogelon have been forgotten.

Bonk price has made headlines in 2023 as it became one of the best-performing tokens in the world. The token’s price surged to a high of $0.0000036, which was dramatically higher than its all-time low. According to CoinMarketCap, the meme coin’s market cap surged to more than $200 million.

Beware of an upcoming crash

Meme coins have become popular in the financial industry in the past few months. Besides, creating these tokens has become easy because of smart contract platforms like Ethereum and Solana. Also, some developers have made a fortune launching meme coins like Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, Tamadoge, Dogelon Mars, and Floki Inu. 

Bonk is a new meme coin that was launched on Christmas day. It is a meme coin whose developers aim will become the Shiba Inu equivalent of Solana. They hope that it will be used to power the Solana ecosystem, which is going through turmoil because of its exposure to FTX and Alameda. We have covered the link between the entities here.

Bonk has become highly popular in the past few days. Indeed, the total volume of the token traded in the past 24 hours in centralised exchanges rose to $152 million. It has also become popular in Solana Dex platforms like Orca and Saber.

Bonk price prediction

However, there are reasons to be cautious about Bonk price. First, its price action resembles what we saw with other meme coins like Tamadoge and even Saudi Shiba Inu. In this, the token tends to rise sharply and then decline as it moves into the distribution phase.

Second, it appears like Bonk is a way for Solana insiders to make a killing. A quick look at its whitepaper shows that most of the Bonk tokens are allocated to insiders, including the makers of OpenBook. OpenBook is a new iteration of Serum, which collapsed in November.

Third, Bonk price will likely resume the bearish trend as the momentum surrounding it wanes. We saw this with other popular meme tokens before. While Dogelon Mars and its peers were highly popular at their prime, they have since then been forgotten.

Finally, it is hard to imagine a meme coin with no utility do well in a period of high-interest rates. Fed minutes published on Wednesday showed that the committee expects that rates will remain high for a while. Therefore, I expect that BONK will crash to $0.00000011 in the next few days.

How to buy Bonk

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Markets where crypto usage is highly likely to explode in 2023

  • Despite the current crypto winter more and more people would want to link their businesses to cryptocurrencies.
  • Online casinos are now accepting crypto deposits and withdrawals.
  • There are also various companies that have ventured into creating infrastructure for the crypto industry.

In 2021, the cryptocurrency market experienced significant growth, which led to many global companies showing interest in digital assets. If earlier investments in cryptocurrency were made only by companies that firmly believed in this industry’s development, now more and more people would want to transfer their business to tokens.

You should not think that the transition to cryptocurrency is connected only with trends and that now everyone uses such coins. Today we will discuss why traditional companies use digital currency. We will also tell you about the markets that will switch to cryptocurrency in 2023.

Crypto in Gambling

The most popular area of application of cryptocurrency is the sphere of gambling on the Internet. Both online casinos and bookmakers can make payments in bitcoins and other tokens. The transition of many sites to cryptocurrencies is due to the advantages that these coins provide:

  • Fast speed of payments. Casino customers can replenish their accounts and withdraw winnings almost instantly.

  • No need for verification.

  • Minimal commissions or their complete absence.

With cryptocurrency, you will have access to the whole range of gambling entertainment – games with live dealers (here’s a trusted site to try it out; https://www.ignitioncasino.eu/live-dealer), classic video slots, sports betting, lotteries, and much more.

Technology Sector 

Already, cryptocurrencies are actively used by companies from the technology sector. Schematically, such companies can be divided into three groups. Below, we describe each group in more detail.

Investor Companies

This category includes firms that convert their regular fiat money into cryptocurrencies. The brightest representatives are Tesla and Microstrategy. They are interested in Bitcoin, despite its recent instability.

It is now known that about 7.5% of Tesla’s free money is in cryptocurrency. Not all the company’s investors appreciate this approach. Many people are sure that buying cryptocurrency is a dangerous and thoughtless act that can lead to losing a significant amount of funds.

Microstrategy is even more interested in Bitcoin. Currently, the company has more digital coins on its balance sheet than regular money. At the same time, the management is not even afraid of the situation with bitcoin – after the fall in the rate, the most famous cryptocurrency was not only not sold but also bought more.

Now, cryptocurrency is one of the safest ways to store money if you do not consider fluctuations in the exchange rate. Modern cryptocurrency wallets provide secure storage of coins. No outsider will be able to access your account.

Companies That Create Infrastructure for Crypto

We are talking about companies that develop and produce equipment for the extraction of cryptocurrency – for mining. The following manufacturers fall into this category:

  • Nvidia;

  • AMD;

  • TSM;

  • Bitfury;

  • Bitmain;

  • Canaan;

  • Ebang.

The development of the crypto industry has led to the fact that over the past few years, the cost of video cards suitable for coin mining has increased several times. The market is constantly replenished with new manufacturers who strive to offer customers productive and energy-efficient mining equipment.

Companies Building an Ecosystem for Cryptocurrencies

This category includes firms that accept cryptocurrency as a payment method. This includes PayPal, Visa, Mastercard, JP Morgan, and many of the world’s central banks. Moreover, these firms use tokens in internal processes.

Every year, the list of such companies continues to expand. This is mainly because cryptocurrency is legalized and beginning to be accepted at the state level.

Benefits of Cryptocurrency

The ubiquity of digital tokens is due to several advantages they have:

  • Inflation protection. Inflation causes the value of any currency to decrease over time. Cryptocurrency is issued with a fixed amount.

  • Security and privacy. The blockchain is based on complex mathematical operations, so it takes time to decode it.

  • Decentralization. Many cryptocurrencies are controlled not only by the developers but also by the people who use them.

  • Convenient transactions. Cryptocurrencies allow you to make payments instantly with a minimum commission. It is also one of the most convenient ways to send money to other countries.

Remember some disadvantages of cryptocurrency. The biggest drawback is the exchange rate instability. Tokens change their value several times a day.

At the same time, exchange rate fluctuations can be severe. If you decide to invest in crypto tokens, it is worth remembering all the possible risks you may face. It is possible that the coins can completely depreciate.

It is worth remembering the situation with bitcoin. At the end of 2021, the coin’s price reached an all-time high, exceeding $60,000 per token. And 2022 was not the most successful year for bitcoin – this year, the price dropped to $16,000 and below.

Conclusion

Every year, more and more companies are starting to use cryptocurrency as their primary payment method. It is too early to say that tokens will completely replace fiat money. But in the future, people will have even more opportunities to use digital coins.

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MEXC unveils $20M ecosystem fund to support Sei Network

  • MEXC Venture’s $20 million ecosystem fund targets support for key projects on Layer 1 blockchain Sei Network.
  • Sei Network secured $5 million in August from investors such as Coinbase Ventures and Multicoin Capital.
  • The platform plans to support 20 dApps as its mainnet launch approaches.

MEXC, a leading Singapore-based cryptocurrency trading platform, has unveiled a $20 million fund aimed at supporting projects on Layer 1 blockchain Sei Network.

In a blog post published on 4 January, MEXC said the fund will be geared towards boosting adoption across the Sei Network ecosystem. 

The platform, which is designed with the need to maximise trading advantages for decentralised exchanges (DEXs) users, is developed by Sei Labs – a team that counts former Robinhood developers, Cosmos OGs and ex-Goldman Sachs finance and strategy members.

Sei Network to support 20 dApps ahead of mainnet launch

Sei Network raised $5 million in August, backed by industry players and other investors including Coinbase Ventures, Multicoin Capital, Delphi Digital and Hudson River Trading. The platform plans to use the new capital injection to support network development as it moves closer to its mainnet launch.

The team will also back 20 decentralised applications (dApps) that are already building on the network.

MEXC is launching the ecosystem fund through its MEXC Ventures, a comprehensive fund that looks to empower innovations within the crypto space via strategic investments. The firm also focuses on M&As project incubation and multi-manager investments.

MEXC Ventures currently holds over $100 million in assets under management and more than 300 portfolio investments.

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