Bitcoin shorts surge on BitMEX, implications for Metacade price?

  • Metacade price rose to an all-time high after its presale and listing on major cryptocurrency exchanges.
  • Today’s Bitcoin price prediction highlights the implications for Metacade price as BTC is heavily shorted.
  • The week is key to investor sentiment with markets awaiting US inflation data.

Bitcoin (BTC) traded around $27,575 on Wednesday morning even as equities and other risk assets traded lower ahead of key US inflation data. While US Futures and European stocks edged lower, Bitcoin lumbered within a range that sees it down nearly 4% this past week.

On-chain data shows BTC is being heavily shorted as investor caution adds to the negative sentiment that has prevailed since the dip from highs of $30,000. What does the outlook for Bitcoin price mean for Metacade (MCADE)?

Bitcoin price prediction: crowd sentiment is negative but what’s the outlook?

The price of Bitcoin rose to $30,000 last Friday, with bulls looking to retest recent year-to-date highs. However, with sentiment flipping negative amid broader market anxiety and new FUD saw the benchmark cryptocurrency’s value dump to a weekly low under $28,000.

At current prices, Bitcoin is under fresh pressure with on-chain data showing bets on further declines have surged on crypto exchange and derivatives trading platform BitMEX. 

For the BTC price outlook, analytics firm Santiment points to Bitcoin’s funding rate, which is at its most negative ratio in nearly two months. While prices are likely to fall to support in the $25,000 region should a meltdown follow the CPI data and investor reaction to potential Fed rate hike path, the current crowd perspective has historically given way to new upside momentum.

Santiment says of BTC price prediction:

“Bitcoin’s funding rate on BitMEX is seeing its most negative ratio since the heavy bets against prices in mid-March, just before prices soared. Generally, price rise probabilities increase when the crowd overwhelmingly assumes prices will be dropping.”

This short term outlook for Bitcoin price will likely align with the anticipated new bull cycle ahead of the next halving. Altcoins are likely to see some action before then, and projects with greater ecosystem pull like Metacade could be stand out performers.

Metacade’s big GameFi ecosystem bet

Metacade is a play-to-earn (P2E) project looking to offer the gaming ecosystem an all-in-one GameFi and Web3 hub. As highlighted in the project’s whitepaper, the goal is to offer an arcade-style gaming platform where gamers, developers, and crypto enthusiasts connect, play and earn.

One aspect of Metacade’s unique approach to the gaming ecosystem is its rewards system. Unlike other traditional P2E platforms, MCADE offers complete utility as it allows for multiple earn revenues for token holders and investors via a strategy that will bring new game titles.

The team is also focused on incorporating leading industry gaming studios and developers, opening up the platform to growth into the ultimate GameFi environment.

The platform is set to go live soon and has a native token that will power transactions and interactions for users. The token, MCADE, concluded its presale successfully in April before going live on major exchanges Uniswap, BitMart and MEXC Global.

Is MCADE worth investing in in 2023?

Metacade’s MCADE token sold out swiftly during its presale, with investors scooping the allocated supply portion amid greater interest in what the project offers. Investors also saw the token’s value explode after the crypto market showed confidence in Metacade’s potential with listings on the highlighted exchange platforms.

Accomplishing roadmap milestones such as introducing Metagrants to support ecosystem development, and improving governance via a DAO, could help catapult Metacade into position as one of the biggest crypto gaming platforms.

The upcoming launch of the mainnet coupled with the diverse opportunities MCADE offers could be the catalysts that elevate Metacade’s price in 2023 and beyond.

Metacade price prediction

Market experts are long-term bullish on Metacade price, particularly on being a potential game-changer in the GameFi sector.

Metacade has a fixed supply of 2 billion MCADE tokens, with 1.4 billion tokens (70% of supply) available to investors during the presale. Demand for the token and removal from circulation via a burning mechanism should see buy pressure push the price higher long term as more people enter the Metacade ecosystem.

If we look at Metacade price today, we see its trading largely in tandem with the major altcoins. The forecast for MCADE price in the short term looks at the broader implications of Bitcoin ripping higher again to uplift the entire sector.

MCADE price hit an all-time high of $0.045 on 3 May 2023. The token’s current price is $0.024, down nearly 9% in the past 24 hours. MCADE/USD is also in negative territory on the weekly timeframe, although it trades above its Uniswap listing price level of $0.022 per token in April.

If the altcoin market dumps further, primary support for MCADE would be at around the mentioned buffer of $0.022. There’s a possibility of $0.020 and the all-time low of $0.014 could come into play incase of a deeper rot.

Should bulls regain control, a retest of the peak and targets of $0.1 in 2023 will likely be achievable. Meanwhile, the medium term price target could be $1 in 2024.

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NFT trading volume rose 230% in Q1, Nansen finds

  • NFT trading volume rose 230% in Q1, 2023 with over $4.54B in sales compared to $1.97 billion in Q4, 2022.
  • According to Nansen Data Journalist Martin Lee, the NFT marketplace Blur accounted for most of the volume in the quarter.
  • The number of NFT users also grew significantly during the quarter, although the past few weeks are seeing a decline in volume and user numbers.

An analysis of the NFT market by Nansen, a leading blockchain analytics firm, has hinted at a resurgence in the sector in the first three months of the year. Data comparing market performance in terms of trading volumes shows sales surged over 230% in Q1, 2023 vs. Q4 2022.

According to Martin Lee, a Data Journalist at Nansen, the significant increase is observable in both ETH and USD metrics. A new player in the NFT marketplace ecosystem accounted for a large share of the trading volume, the analysis reveals. 

“The increase has largely been driven by the rise of Blur,” Lee noted in an analysis shared with CoinJournal.

NFT trading volume rose 230% to over $4.54 billion in Q1

In Q4, 2022, over 1.5 million ETH, or more than $1.97 billion worth of NFTs was transacted. This amounted to NFT sales volume of 9,036,778 during the period. In comparison, the NFT market recorded a significant increase in transacted volume in Q1, 2023 with market volume hitting over 2.83 million ETH, or $4.54 billion.

The total transacted in the quarter was 11,498,022 NFTs, with the volume increasing 230% in Q1, 2023 compared to Q4, 2022.

Although Q1, 2023 showed significant increase in sales volume compared to Q4, 2022, Nansen data shows there was a lull in April. While $1.7 billion was transacted in March, the next 30 days saw a dip in volume with approximately $1.2 billion generated. The trend is also being observed in May as shown below.

Data shows a decline in NFT volumes in April and May. Source:Nansen

There’s also a slight decline in the number of users, with data for the past few weeks lower than what was recorded in the past year. Notably though, Q1 saw 13,999,528 in users, compared to 11,233,872 in Q4, 2022. 

A visualization of NFT sales and wallets between January,2022 and April, 2023. Source: NansenThe decline comes amid a surge in interest in meme coins, with the likes of Pepe (PEPE) and Floki Inu (FLOKI) top performers in the last month.

OpenSea saw $200 million worth of NFT sales volume in Q4, 2022

In the last quarter of 2022, the NFT market observed noteworthy sales figures, particularly for OpenSea. The platform accounted for 219,992.50 ETH in volume, equivalent to $272,415,866.4. The total NFT sales across the platform during the quarter was 1,413,780 NFTs.

During this period, other platforms that recorded significant volumes were LooksRare, Mint, CryptoPunks, and X2Y2.

Blur emerges as key NFT marketplace, Q1 volume surpassed OpenSea’s

During the first quarter of 2023, Blur emerged as a prominent player in the NFT market. While OpenSea sales volume was 661,547.79 ETH, or approximately $1.02 billion from 3,727,299 NFTs sold, Blur’s volume was nearly three times higher.

According to the Nansen analysis, Blur saw its remarkable growth translate to over 1.8 million ETH, or $2.93 billion worth of NFT sales. The platform accounted for 1,999,688 of the quarterly NFT sales.

Blur, launched in October 2022, is now one of the leading NFT marketplaces. The Ethereum-based platform looks to offer traders and collectors a top marketplace that highlights a community-driven ecosystem.  

Blur’s growth in terms of sales volume demonstrates the continued expansion of the NFT market, with traders and collectors keen to explore the best of both established and emerging platforms.

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In the year of the meme coins will DOGEs growth be eclipsed by TOADS?

  • DigiToads (TOADS) is a play to earn full utility meme coin.
  • DigiToads (TOADS) is currently ongoing.
  • 2023 has seen new meme coins like PEPE overtake former meme coin stars like DOGE.

Dogecoin (DOGE) became arguably the most famous meme coin buoyed by social media hype over the past few years. Millionaires were created out of nowhere, and thousands of other meme coins sprung up to try and capitalize on increased demand for the “next big thing” in the crypto world. 

However, only some of these meme coins have succeeded. This, combined with wider economic pressures and a general slowdown in the entire crypto market, has led some investors to look elsewhere. 

But the meme coin boom isn’t over. It’s just getting started following the launch of new trending meme crypto projects like DigiToads (TOADS).

What is DigiToads (TOADS)?

Savvy investors think that DigiToads (TOADS) is a win-win proposition. Unlike many other meme coin success stories, it’s actually got a ton of solid fundamentals built-in to an incredibly innovative ecosystem that’s rewarding, fun, and primed for growth. Memecoin hype can only get you so far, but TOADs has both the fun marketing appeal and the long-term profit potential investors have been crying out for.

DigiToads leads the charge as one of the hottest P2E cryptos in the crypto space, thanks to its extremely enjoyable swamp battle arena that lets users train and battle with a range of TOAD companions. The best-placed competitors will receive regular rewards in the form of TOADS tokens, which can then be used to buy food, train, and customize your companions to take them to the next level.

The TOADS ecosystem has been built from the ground up with a community-focused ethos at the core of everything it does.  It is currently conducting its presale which provides early investors with long-term gains thanks to heavily discounted prices and sustainable passive income potential thanks to top NFT staking capabilities. You can participate in the DigiToads presale here.

With prices already soaring during TOADS’ presale phase, the token price is locked in to go even higher before its official launch thanks to staggered increases. With the increased popularity and number of investors flocking to purchase the new TOADS token, DigiToads could surpass well-known meme coins like Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB).

Dogecoin (DOGE) market performance

Dogecoin hype and price performance over the years have certainly shown what sort of gains are possible in the meme coin world. It also showed other crypto projects how much marketing power a few tweets from famous followers can get you. 

However, DOGE could not solidify those huge gains, and its long-term journey has been slightly less appealing to investors. Analysts have suggested that this comes down to fundamentals: social media hype can only get you so far, and credible investors need credible crypto options. 

Conclusion

While DOGE remains a viable option for your crypto portfolio since it could still surge back to its former highs, experts think that TOADS also has everything needed to become the next meme coin.

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Paxful P2P exchange reopens after closure

  • Paxful remained closed for the last month.
  • A legal dispute between Paxful’s co-founders had disrupted the exchange’s operations.
  • The Paxful wallet however remained open throughout the shutdown.

Paxful on May 8, announced that it will be reopening its services after a month-long shutdown. The P2P crypto exchange, however, said that it will gradually restore its services in the coming days.

When Paxful announced its shutdown on April 4, 2023, it gave users alternatives to where they could transfer their assets although the Paxful wallet remained open throughout. The P2P exchange closure sent shockwaves across the crypto market seeing that it followed the closure of LocalBitcoins.

Paxful is currently owned by a custodian

Paxful closure was a result of tensions between Paxful co-founders Ray Youssef and Artur Schaback. While Schaback hoped for the P2P exchange to resume operations, Youssef apparently recommended new providers to Paxful users.

According to sources, Paxful is currently under the management of a custodian who acts as a company director and “tie-breaker” alongside the two cofounders Ray Youssef and Artur Schabeck.

Ray Youssef resigned from his position in Paxful and contributed his personal company shares to a fund intended to compensate Paxful shares. However, by April 17, Paxful had restored access to 88% of funds although $4.4 million remained frozen due to the legal conflict between the co-founders.

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Bittrex US files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

  • Bittrex has filed for bankruptcy just over a month after the SEC filed a lawsuit against it.
  • The exchange has listed liabilities and assets totalling $1 billion apiece.
  • The development comes days after Bittrex US informed its users to withdraw funds.

Bittrex cryptocurrency exchange has officially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US. The bankruptcy filing comes barely a month after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Bittrex for repeatedly breaking the security regulations in the country.

In the Bankruptcy filing submitted on May 8 to the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, Bittrex reported that it has $500 million to $1 billion in assets, $500 to $1 billion in liabilities and more than 100,000 creditors.

The bankruptcy protection filing does not involve the Liechtenstein-based global trading exchange firm Bittrex Global GmbH. It only applies to Bittrex US and its affiliates.

SEC’s lawsuit against Bittrex

The US SEC last month filed a lawsuit against Bittrex in the Federal court alleging that the exchange violates violated the securities regulations from 2017 through to 2022 generating at least $1.3 billion in revenue.

The SEC alleges that Bittrex occasionally operated as an exchange, brokerage, and clearing agency without having filed the necessary paperwork. The lawsuit also classifies three tokens (ALGO, OMG, and DASH) in specific as unregistered securities.

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