Monat: Juli 2023

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Former SEC Chair says Bitcoin ETF approval ‘hard to resist’

  • Jay Clayton shared his opinion during an interview with CNBC on Monday.
  • The former SEC chair says if applicants demonstrate efficacy and have surveillance, it would be hard for the SEC to deny a spot Bitcoin ETF.
  • BlackRock, Fidelity and others have market surveillance agreements with Coinbase.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has so far denied all the applications for a spot Bitcoin ETF to come before it.

But now might be the time the regulator gives a seal of approval to the product, former SEC Chair Jay Clayton said on Monday. 

“If they’re right that the spot market has similar efficacy to the futures market, it would be hard to resist approving a bitcoin ETF,” Clayton told CNBC’s Squawk Box.

SEC’s approval of futures ETFs

This is the argument that applicants have put forth, particularly with BlackRock, Fidelity and others taking steps to comply with requirements previously cited as reasons for SEC’s disapproval. 

Notably, proposals by the Cboe and Nasdaq have included market surveillance agreements – the so-called surveillance sharing agreement (SSA) with major cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase.

Noting this, and the fact that the SEC has approved futures-based ETFs on this basis, Clayton added:

“When the SEC approved a futures-based ETF, they said ‘let’s look at the futures market, we see the surveillance, we see the protections in that market for the investor, that are sufficient. We don’t see them in the spot market, so we’re going to make that distinction’. I think what the institutions are arguing is that those distinctions have gone away and that the spot product is now less drag, more efficient for the investor.”

With no delta in regulation and efficacy, the SEC will have to approve a first spot Bitcoin ETF for the US market. As highlighted earlier, Clayton believes it would be “hard” for SEC to “resist” a spot ETF any further if applicants prove efficacy.

As CoinJournal reported last week, analysts at $650 billion asset manager Bernstein noted that chances of a spot Bitcoin ETF approval are “fairly high.”

The crypto market has been largely optimistic of an approval ever since BlackRock filed its proposal in mid-June. The optimism was reflected in the price of Bitcoin rallying after the news to reach a new year-to-date high above $31k last month.

The post Former SEC Chair says Bitcoin ETF approval ‘hard to resist’ appeared first on CoinJournal.

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Raoul Pal shares massive price prediction for Solana

  • Raoul Pal, CEO of Real Vision is super bullish on Solana (SOL).
  • According to Pal, SOL could rally 20x from current levels if it mirrors Ethereum’s 47x move from its 2018 low.
  • He also says Bitcoin price could triple from its all-time high level amid a supply crunch in 2023.

Raoul Pal, the founder & CEO of Real Vision suggests Solana (SOL) could embark on a massive price move. If the “dream scenario” for the world’s 10th largest cryptocurrency by market cap occurs, SOL could outperform both Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).

Pal shared his massively bullish outlook for Solana during a recent interview in which he shared  views on varied topics. These  include AI and its impact on jobs, BlackRock’s ETF filing and CEO Larry Fink’s remarks about BTC.

He also aired his thoughts on the Ethereum/Bitcoin flippening debate, central bank digital currencies (CBCDs), global economy and government money printing before briefly offering his price prediction Solana. The macro guru also shared predictions for Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Solana price prediction

On what he thought of the price performance of BTC, ETH and SOL in the next bull cycle, Pal shared a highly bullish projection for Ethereum’s “competitor.”

Currently, Solana trades around $21, about 1.4% down in the past 24 hours. 

However, the cryptocurrency is more than 10% in the green over the past seven days and 43% in the past 30 days. While it’s also down 43% from its value a year ago, Pal noted that the bottom might have come when prices fell to around $9 in December 2022.

With this outlook, Pal suggests SOL could do what ETH achieved after bottoming in 2018 – roaring to its all-time high above $4,800 during the last bull market. The macro guru says that if Solana takes on this projection, the potential gains could be staggering.

He compared the 47x that ETH saw after the 2018 low to what Solana could do. He opined:

“Look… there’s a possibility – a dream scenario – that Solana does what ETH did from the 2018 low which was a 47x. The Solana low was nine bucks, so you could do the maths [and] the numbers are potentially very interesting.”

While Solana’s price might not do the 47x or so that Ethereum price managed since its bottom in 2018, Pal predicts a “20 something x” move. According to him, this is a reasonable outlook for a protocol that’s battle-tested and is seeing a huge spike in network and ecosystem activity.

Should Pal’s bullish outlook for SOL price hold, it would mean an eventual burst to prices above $400 for the cryptocurrency. In the last bull market, Solana rose to the all-time high at $260.

Bitcoin and Ethereum price predictions

For BTC and ETH, Pal agreed with projections of a 3x and 5x respectively – suggesting Bitcoin could more than triple its value during the next bull cycle. However, that is from the all-time highs that was $69,000 in November 2021. 

Trippling from that ATH would mean a 6x from current prices, he opined. But that would depend on severa factors that could dictate market direction.

“It’s very difficult to predict where it actually goes, but what we can say is [that] it’s reasonable that Bitcoin from all-time highs doubles or triples. That’s not asking a lot. That will be the worst bull market in Bitcoin’s history.”

According to him, a potential supply crunch in 2023 is what could squeeze Bitcoin to a new all-time high.

The post Raoul Pal shares massive price prediction for Solana appeared first on CoinJournal.

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Presale of the new AI-powered Shiba Menu project attracting huge investor attention

  • Shiba Menu is a new Shiba-themed AI-powered cryptocurrency project.
  • It is currently conducting a presale for its native token Shiba Menu (SHMU).
  • One SHMU is currently going for $0.012250, however, it is only a matter of hours before that price increases to $0.012475.

Shiba Menu, a new cryptocurrency project taking advantage of the meme coin and artificial intelligence hype has launched its token presale, which has attracted quite a huge number of investors within the first few days.

The Shiba Menu presale has already raised in excess of $294,961 and the price of SHMU tokens is expected to rise in the next 2 hours.

What is Shiba Menu?

Shiba Memu is a ground-breaking cryptocurrency token that combines blockchain and AI to produce an unstoppable, fully independent marketing powerhouse. It is a brand-new and ground-breaking meme token.

Shiba Menu will develop its own marketing strategies, write its own PR, and advertise itself in pertinent forums and social networks, in contrast to other meme tokens that depend heavily on human teams’ marketing efforts to gain traction.

Shiba Menu’s native token SHMU is a distinctive and alluring investment because of its self-sufficient marketing abilities, which are supported by AI technology.

How Shiba Menu works

The Shiba Menu platform uses blockchain and AI technologies to generate content including press releases, social content, and marketing materials. The platform’s AI continually analyzes data and then self-publishes the generated content across relevant forums and social platforms.

The Shiba Menu interactive AI dashboard responds to user inquiries and channels data from every newly developed insight into conversations it holds with real people across forums and social channels.

Besides blockchain technology, Shiba Menu uses AI-powered Natural Language Processing (NLP), Sentiment Analysis, Image and Video Recognition, Predictive Analytics, and Personalization.

Shiba Menu pegs its success on its self-sufficient marketing and promotion solutions that make it a low-maintenance crypto project. It is powered by a cross-chain token called SHMU token, which operates on both Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain (BSC).

85% (850 million) of the total SHMU tokens in circulation supply are currently up for grabs in the ongoing token presale that will see 350 million tokens sold on BSC and 500 million tokens sold on Ethereum.

Why invest in Shiba Menu?

The meme token has witnessed parabolic growth in recent years just like the artificial intelligence (AI) market that has seen a lot of hype since the launch of ChatGPT. According to Coinmarketcap, the meme token market grew by over $20 billion in two years between 2020 and 2022.

The success of meme tokens like Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Dogecoin (DOGE) has prompted the development of an array of meme tokens most of which hit the ground running. For instance, the PEPE and KEKE mem coins which were recently launched are now among the most trending cryptocurrencies after witnessing a huge surge in trading volumes.

Going by the recent trends, the demand for meme tokens is only expected to grow even further in the years ahead, offering a great market opportunity for Shiba Menu (SHMU) meme token. The self-sufficient, AI-powered marketing capabilities make SHMU a compelling, highly attractive opportunity for investors.

The post Presale of the new AI-powered Shiba Menu project attracting huge investor attention appeared first on CoinJournal.

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Is the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) stock a good buy now?

  • The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust has jumped by over 168% from December lows.

  • The trust is hoping for Bitcoin to have a bullish breakout above the YTD high.

The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) stock price has moved sideways in the past few days as Bitcoin remained stuck at $30,000. GBTC was trading at $20, the highest level since June last year. It has jumped by more than 168% from the lowest level in December.

Bitcoin consolidation continues

The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust is the biggest fund in the cryptocurrency industry. It has over $18.9 billion of assets under management (AUM). Over the years, the fund has jumped by more than 19,200% since its inception.

Grayscale Bitcoin Trust stores its assets in an offline cold wallet with Coinbase Custody Trust. Most companies that have filed for Bitcoin ETFs have also selected Coinbase as the custodian of the funds.

GBTC creators have filed to convert the GBTC fund into an exchange-traded fund (ETF). Indeed, the company has sued the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in a case that could change the industry. 

A ruling in favor of the company will open the possibility for other companies like Blackrock and Invesco to launch their spot ETFs. 

GBTC is widely known for its massive discount to its assets, The market price per share stands at $19.81 compared to its holdings per share of $22. This discount has been narrowing in the past few weeks.

The next key important catalyst for the GBTC stock price will be Bitcoin’s price action. Bitcoin has remained stuck slightly above the key support level at $30,000. Therefore, if Bitcoin rebounds, there is a likelihood that the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust will continue rising as well.

GBTC stock price forecast

The daily chart shows that the GBTC share price has been in a strong bullish trend in the past few days. It has managed to move above the important resistance point at $18.53, the highest level on April 10th. 

The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust stock price has moved above the 50-day and 100-day exponential moving averages (EMA). Further, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) has moved slightly below the overbought level to 69. GBTC’s volume has moved downwards.

Therefore, there is a likelihood that the GBTC price will continue rising as buyers target the next key resistance level at $25. A drop below the support at $18.53 will invalidate the bullish view.

The post Is the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) stock a good buy now? appeared first on CoinJournal.

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Crypto investment products hit 3-week streak of inflows

  • Bitcoin inflows over last week was $133 million, compared to Ethereum’s $2.9 million.
  • Total inflows into crypto asset products was $136 million, with this the third consecutive week of inflows.
  • Altcoins such as XRP, Solana, Polygon, Litecoin and Aave saw minor inflows.

Inflows into crypto investment products was $136 million this past week as the confidence in the digital assets investment space continued to build momentum.

According to data from crypto asset management firm CoinShares, last week marks the third consecutive week of inflows. With investors putting over $470 million into various crypto products, the 3-week period has resulted in a full correction of the outflows recorded over the previous nine weeks.

CoinShares’ report highlighting the digital asset investment market puts the year-to-date flows at a net positive of $231 million.

Bitcoin saw $133 in inflows

With Bitcoin mostly bullish in the past few weeks, institutional investors’ focus has largely been predominantly on Bitcoin products. That is explained by the inflows of $133 million for Bitcoin over the week, masively dwarfing Ethereum’s $2.9 million. Short-bitcoin products indeed saw outflows of $1.8 million to reinforce this perspective.

Leading altcoins such as XRP, Solana, Polygon, Litecoin and Aave recorded minor inflows. Even then, the signal is investors have a mostly positive outlook for the flagship crypto asset compared to altcoins.

Bullish crypto market after BlackRock ETF filing

This has come at a time when sentiment across the broader crypto market has largely flipped bullish and spot prices ticked up for most cryptocurrencies.

Numerous spot Bitcoin ETF proposals, led by top asset manager BlackRock, helped bulls push to new YTD levels. [Read more]

However, the uptick in inflows has come amid reduced trading turnover. The past week had a total investment products volume of $ 1 billion, compared to an average of $2.5 billion over the two weeks prior. Per CoinShares, low volumes seen over the week are likely due to seasonal effects – a scenario typically observed between July and August.

The post Crypto investment products hit 3-week streak of inflows appeared first on CoinJournal.