Kategorie: Crypto Markets

• Filecoin (FIL) risks deeper pullback as price retreats to key level.
• FIL traded near $4.6 on Friday afternoon, about 8% down in the past 24 hours.
• If prices fall further, bulls could rely on primary support near $3.1 to $2.7

Filecoin (FIL) price is likely to retreat below a critical support level after the altcoin’s performance mirrored the struggles seen in the Bitcoin (BTC) market in the past 24 hours. Filecoin price was changing hands around $4.6, down roughly 8%.

FIL price outlook – will bulls hold onto gains?

While bulls could rebound off the $4.2 price level, the technical outlook presents a potential dip to lower buffer areas.

The 8% decline in FIL value the past 24 hours adds to this observation, particularly if Bitcoin, Ethereum and other top alts fail to find a bounce to stem current bleeding.

In terms of a bearish outlook, Filecoin risks falling to the $3.9 support line, with extended downward pressure here likely to push FIL/USD to the critical demand reload zone between $3.1 and $2.7.

However, the 19% decrease in daily trading volume points to a potential flip in sell pressure.  As such, the opposite setup could see FIL rebound off the $4.2-$4.4 area to reclaim $5.0 as support.

If this happens, a move to the recent six-month peak above $5.6 could allow bulls to attack $6.5. The short term picture could pave way for more bullish movements should the broader market provide favourable conditions.

The post Filecoin (FIL) retreats to key level as Bitcoin struggles near $36k appeared first on CoinJournal.

• Lee Jeong-hoon, former Bithumb Chairman, faces an eight-year prison term.
• Prosecutors assert Lee misled Kim about joint Bithumb management, BXA Coin listing, and restructuring to evade financial regulations.
• The January 18, 2024, appeal verdict holds industry-wide implications in South Korea.

Lee Jeong-hoon, the former chairman of Bithumb, one of South Korea’s major cryptocurrency exchanges, is at the centre of a legal battle in an appeal whose verdict is scheduled for January 18.

The outcome of Lee’s appeal could establish a precedent for legal systems addressing cases involving cryptocurrency exchanges and governance. The development comes as Bithumb plans for an IPO on KOSDAQ by 2025.

The allegations against Lee Jeong-hoon

Lee Jeong-hoon’s legal troubles revolve around allegations of violating the Act on Aggravated Punishment for Specified Economic Crimes, with a focus on fraud. The prosecution claims he orchestrated a 110 billion won fraud involving BK Group Chairman, Kim Byung-geon. The charges stem from a deal where Lee allegedly offered Kim the opportunity to acquire and co-manage Bithumb, coupled with promises to list BXA (Bithumb Coin) on the exchange.

Prosecutors argue that Lee planned to restructure Bithumb’s governance to profit from exchange coins while sidestepping financial regulations. They assert that Lee was aware of the challenges in listing BXA Coin but failed to disclose this information to Kim. As listing difficulties arose, Lee allegedly continued to receive payments without informing Kim of the decision not to list BXA Coin.

According to a local South Korean media outlet, South Korean prosecutors requested an eight-year prison sentence for Lee Jung-hoon.

According to Korean media Decenter, South Korean prosecutors requested an eight-year prison sentence for Lee Jung-hoon, the former chairman of the board of directors of Bithumb, South Korea’s second largest exchange. Lee Jung-hoon is accused of committing fraud of approximately…

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) November 17, 2023

Lee’s defence team counters these claims, highlighting inconsistencies in Kim’s statements and questioning his credibility. Lee maintains his belief in Kim’s capability to lead Bithumb, asserting that Kim was aware of the progress regarding BXA Coin’s listing.

Implications for the cryptocurrency industry

The case underscores the intricate regulatory landscape of the cryptocurrency industry and its potential impact on investor confidence.

The fate of Bithumb and the future of BXA Coin are closely tied to the appeal’s outcome. A conviction may prompt a reevaluation of governance structures in crypto exchanges, potentially leading to more stringent regulatory measures.

As the cryptocurrency community and investors await the appeal verdict, the case serves as a stark reminder of the evolving nature of the industry. It emphasizes the need for clear regulatory guidelines to address governance issues and maintain trust among investors and stakeholders.

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• Aave Companies rebrands and diversifies its portfolio.
• The rebranding and acquisition underscore a pivotal moment for the company.
• This marks a strategic shift towards a more expansive and inclusive web3 future.

In a strategic move to solidify its position in the web3 landscape, Aave Companies has undergone a significant transformation, rebranding itself as Avara.

The founder, Stani Kulechov, indicated that this marks the final name change for the company, emphasizing a focused and definitive shift in its identity.

Avara’s robust portfolio

Under the Avara umbrella, the company oversees a diverse portfolio of entities, including the renowned Aave Protocol, Aave Labs, stablecoin GHO, and the decentralized social network protocol Lens. With approximately $8.66 billion in liquidity locked across various networks and markets, Aave’s impact in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space remains substantial.

Aave Protocol, which will continue under the Aave Labs brand within Avara, maintains an estimated total value locked (TVL) of $9.2 billion on Ethereum. The protocol spans Aave V2 and the newer Aave V3, showcasing Aave’s evolution and adaptability in the rapidly evolving blockchain space.

The strategic Family Wallet acquisition

As part of its commitment to broadening its reach, Avara has strategically acquired Los Feliz Engineering (LFE), the development team behind the Ethereum-based crypto wallet, Family. This move serves a dual purpose: expanding Avara’s influence in the web3 space and providing users with a user-friendly gateway to interact with decentralized applications.

The Family crypto wallet, currently in beta, will play a pivotal role in Avara’s mission to enable users to seamlessly enter the web3 ecosystem. Benji Taylor, the founder of LFE, will assume the role of senior vice president of product and design within Avara, ensuring the continuity and enhancement of the Family wallet’s unique features.

This acquisition follows Avara’s previous move in December 2022, where it acquired Sonar, a metaverse mobile application, signalling the company’s commitment to a broader vision beyond the realm of DeFi.

The post Aave rebrands into Avara and acquires Family Wallet appeared first on CoinJournal.

• Celestia (TIA) price was down 10% in the past 24 hours on Thursday afternoon.
• While it traded near $5.68, the decline from the all-time high of $6.40 reached on November 15 threatens a dip to $5.00 or lower.

The price of Celestia (TIA) was down 10% on Thursday afternoon, trading near $5.68 as it retreated from the all-time high of $6.40 reached on November 15. Despite the declines seen over the past 24 hours, $TIA was still more than 130% up on the weekly chart.

But after its stellar performance that drew firepower from its listing on the global crypto exchange Binance, is Celestia due for a breather? Or are bulls not done yet?

What is Celestia?

Celestia is a modular blockchain network whose technology has catalysed most of the optimism currently engulfing its native token. The network decouples the consensus and application execution layers, thereby modularizing the blockchain technology stack to open up the developer possibilities available to decentralized application builders.

Having launched its mainnet just recently, Celestia is thus not as established in terms of users and other network metrics as the industry heavyweight Arbitrum, or would-be competitor NEAR. 

According to Mintscan, Celestia has processed just under 520,000 transactions and has 166 validators, with 100 active.

Celestia price outlook – what next for $TIA?

Speculation pushed the price of $TIA higher after the Binance listing. TIA is also on OKX, while Bitget was among the first to list this token.

If this happens amid a broader market upside, it’s possible the $TIA price could target the $10 level by the end of the year.

A bull market scenario and greater network growth for the cryptocurrency could see price discovery catapult the token’s price higher. On the flipside, breakdown below $5.00 could welcome a bearish retest of the area around $4.00 and likely $3.25.

The post Celestia pauses upside after stellar week – $TIA price outlook appeared first on CoinJournal.

• Layer 1 blockchain Sei welcomes USDC as Circle makes strategic investment
• USDC will provide Sei developers and entrepreneurs access to fast and instantaneous transaction settlements

Circle Ventures, the investment arm of USDC stablecoin issuer Circle, has made a strategic investment in Layer 1 blockchain Sei, the firms announced on Wednesday.

The strategic investment includes “go-to-market advice around Circle’s stablecoin infrastructure,” the Sei team noted. The stablecoin‘s integration will also see developers and entrepreneurs benefit from USDC’s global, cheap and instantaneous transaction settlements when building and deploying products.

It also means improved cross-border transactions and liquidity for users and developers on the Sei network.

“The entire Sei team is thrilled to work strategically with Circle Ventures, to create brand new use cases for USDC that leverage Sei’s infrastructure,” said Samy Karim, director at the Sei Foundation.

Karim noted that stablecoins are increasingly crucial for the overall growth of the crypto industry. Sei provides the scalable infrastructure needed to accommodate this demand, he added.

USDC expansion continues

Circle’s USDC is the second largest stablecoin in the market behind USDT, and has seen significant expansion across the ecosystem. The stablecoin recently expanded to Ethereum layer 2 network Optimism.

As CoinJournal reported in August, the partnership between Circle and Optimism brought native USDC to the OP Mainnet, allowing for institutional on and off-ramps to and from the platform.

Sei, which officially launched its mainnet in August, raised $30 million in a round backed by Jump Crypto and Multicoin Capital in April. It also secured $50 million from crypto exchange Bitget and venture firm Foresight.

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