Crypto price predictions: Tron (TRX), Huobi Token (HT), VIDT

  • Cryptocurrencies remained on edge in the first week of 2023.

  • The hawkish Fed minutes led to more concerns about the industry. 

  • Tron, VIDT, and Huobi Token will likely dive during the weekend.

Cryptocurrency prices remained on edge in the first week of the year. Bitcoin remained in a consolidation phase below $17,000. Ethereum remained stuck at $1,200 while the total market cap of all cryptocurrencies remained below $900 billion. Here is the crypto price predictions for some of the top trending coins like Tron, Huobi Token, and VIDT.

Tron 

Tron is a second-generation blockchain project that was started by Justin Sun. It is a blockchain operating system that handles billions of transactions on a daily basis. The network is also associated with other blockchain projects like Sun, JustLend, and JustStables. Also, it has an association with Huobi, BitTorrent Chain, and USDD.

TRX price crashed hard as concerns of its exposure to Huobi continued. There are concerns that Huobi could go out of business. As a result, Tron dropped to the lowest level since November 23. It has moved below all moving averages while oscillators like the MACD and the Relative Strength Index (RSI) drifted downwards. Therefore, the outlook of TRX during the weekend is bearish, with the next key support level to watch being at  $0.04.

TRX chart by TradingView

How to buy Tron

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.

Buy TRX with eToro today

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 TRX with OKX today

Huobi Token

Huobi Token (HT) came under pressure after the company announced a new round of layoffs. As we wrote in this article, there are concerns about the company’s liquidity. After the collapse of FTX, there are questions about crypto exchanges and their respective tokens. Huobi has not published its reserve data and its results. 

As a result, it has seen outflows in the past few days. Data compiled by DeFi Llama showed that users have withdrawn over $114 million in the past month and $90 million in the past 24 hours. Therefore, the Hubi Token price will likely continue falling during the weekend. 

HT chart by TradingView

How to buy Huobi Token

Skilling

Skilling is a Scandinavian based cryptocurrency broker which has a desktop website as well as apps for iOS and Android devices. It supports over 50 cryptocurrencies and it has a demo account to allow users to gain familiarity with the platform. Skilling has no hidden fees, it is an officially regulated broker and it supports a wide range of payment methods.

Buy HT with Skilling today

KuCoin

Kucoin is a cryptocurrency exchange which offers over 200 cryptocurrencies. Kucoin has a wide range of services, such as; a built-in peer-to-peer exchange, spot and margin trading, bank level security and a wide range of accepted payment methods. Users can benefit from a beginner-friendly interface and relatively low fees.

Buy HT with KuCoin today

VIDT Datalink

VIDT Datalink is a blockchain project in the data storage industry. It was started by a group of artists in 2019 and then it transitioned into a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). It is mostly used in data storage of NFTs and other valuable items.

VIDT price crashed to an all-time low in 2022 as concerns about its role in the blockchain industry emerged. It also dropped as demand for NFTs declined. This week, however, VIDT price rose to a high of $0.030, the highest point since December 19. 

On the hourly chart, it has moved above its moving averages while the MACD moved above the neutral point. With volume being low, I suspect that the VIDT price will plunge during the weekend.

VIDT chart by TradingView

How to buy VIDT Token

Binance

Binance is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. It is better suited to more experienced investors and it offers a large number of cryptocurrencies to choose from, at over 600. Binance is also known for having low trading fees and a multiple of trading options that its users can benefit from, such as; peer-to-peer trading, margin trading and spot trading.

Buy VIDT with Binance today

KuCoin

Kucoin is a cryptocurrency exchange which offers over 200 cryptocurrencies. Kucoin has a wide range of services, such as; a built-in peer-to-peer exchange, spot and margin trading, bank level security and a wide range of accepted payment methods. Users can benefit from a beginner-friendly interface and relatively low fees.

Buy VIDT with KuCoin today

The post Crypto price predictions: Tron (TRX), Huobi Token (HT), VIDT appeared first on CoinJournal.

NFP payrolls news and its impact on Bitcoin price

  • Bitcoin price has been in a consolidation phase in the past few weeks.

  • The US will publish the latest non-farm payrolls (NFP) data.

  • Strong jobs numbers will be bearish for BTC.

Bitcoin price has been in a tight range in the past few months. BTC/USD has remained between last month’s low of about 16,285 and a high of 18,455. Bitcoin has dropped by more than 22% from the highest level in November. 

US non-farm payrolls data

Bitcoin price has been in a consolidation phase in the past few weeks. The next key catalyst for the BTC price will be the upcoming American jobs data. Economists surveyed by Reuters believe that the economy added more than 200k jobs while the unemployment rate remained at 3.7%. If analysts are accurate, it means that the economy added millions of jobs in 2022.

They also expect the data to show that the country’s wages held steady in December. The average hourly earnings are expected to have risen by 5.0% while the participation rate remained at 62.1%. These numbers will come a day after ADP published strong jobs numbers. They showed that the economy added 235k jobs.

US jobs numbers have an impact on Bitcoin prices because they tend to influence the Federal Reserve. The Fed has a dual mandate to ensure that inflation and unemployment rate are steady. It tends to hike rates when inflation is rising. In 2022, the bank hiked rates by 450 basis points. 

The NFP payrolls data will come two days after the Federal Reserve published minutes of the past meeting. These minutes revealed that the Fed was considering hiking interest rates in 2023 in a bid to bring inflation lower.

All signs are that inflation is easing. In December, inflation data showed that consumer prices dropped to 7.3% in November. With gasoline prices and natural gas prices falling, there is a likelihood that inflation eased.

Bitcoin price will likely drop if the US publishes strong jobs data because it will mean that the Fed will continue hiking rates.

Bitcoin price prediction

BTC chart by TradingView

The four-hour chart showed that Bitcoin has been in a consolidation phase in the past few weeks. As a result, it has remained at 25-day and 50-day moving averages. It is also moved slightly above the Woodie pivot point while the Average True Range (ATR) has pointed downwards.

Therefore, Bitcoin will likely remain in this range in the coming days as investors wait for the upcoming US inflation data. The key level to watch will be at $15,800.

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.

Buy BTC with eToro today

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 BTC with OKX today

The post NFP payrolls news and its impact on Bitcoin price appeared first on CoinJournal.

Is Huobi safe? Why customers should be withdrawing funds


Key Takeaways

  • Crypto exchange Huobi is reportedly laying off 20% of its workforce and has requested employees take their salaries in stablecoins
  • Internal communication has reportedly been suspended in order to quell discontent
  • Customers are pulling their funds from the exchange, while volume is down 23%
  • Its native token has fallen 10%. Reports had previously singled out Huobi as the exchange which relies the most on its native token to denominate its reserves
  • While there is no concrete evidence of anything untoward happening with customer reserves, investors would be wise to withdraw the funds until the dust settles, given what else has transpired in the crypto industry over the last year

 

It’s groundhog day in crypto. Yet another centralised crypto exchange is coming another fire, this time Huobi. 

What is happening Huobi?

Chinese crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun, who is the founder of cryptocurrency Tron and also sits on Huobi’s board, announced that the exchange was to lay off about 20% of its workforce. 

Further reports claimed that in addition to a dramatic reduction of the workforce, employees were required to take their salaries in stablecoins, while internal communication channels were shut in order to quell discontent. 

While the story is still emerging, this is obviously…not good. Many ominous screenshots of employees trying to get into systems and communicate with one another were being shared all over Twitter. Reports emerged, understandably, that employees were enraged that should they refuse to accept their salaries in stablecoins, they would be dismissed. 

Funds leave Huobi swiftly

The market waited no time in reacting. While there is no confirmed evidence of anything wrong with Huobi’s reserves or solvency, it has been a rough year for crypto investors and the demise of FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried is all-too-raw for so many. 

As a result, funds were pulled swiftly from Huobi. The below chart from DefiLlama shows the USD outflows picking up. Since December 15th, when it received $87.9 million in USD inflows, there has been over $200 million of outflows. $75.1 million of these outflows has been I the last 24 hours. 

 During the last 24 hours, volume on the exchange is also down 23% to $295 million from $510 million. 

Huobi’s exchange token is also feeling the pain. Crypto investors will be particularly sensitive to these native tokens, given FTT’s role in the FTX collapse and the fact that it has become increasingly obvious that so many simply serve minimal purpose. 

The Huobi token has halved since late October. It is down over 10% in the last 24 hours or so since the story of Huobi layoffs emerged. 

Is Huobi safe to hold assets on?

While drama about layoffs, employee discontent and falls in volume is concerning, this should not have any effect on the safety of Huobi. At least, in theory it shouldn’t. But this is crypto, and if this year has taught us anything, it is that things are often not as they appear.

As I have written about repeatedly, transparency is abhorrent when it comes to these centralised crypto players. There is simply no way to know for sure what is going on behind the scenes at any of them.

The presence of an exchange token also muddies the water. Is this token being accepted as collateral for liabilities? Again, there is no evidence to suggest it is, but there is also no evidence to suggest it isn’t.

Looking at data from blockchain analytics platform Nansen, Huobi’s native token makes up 32% of its total allocation, while Justin Sun’s TRX token comprises an additional 17%. A report from CryptoQuant also shows that of all the exchanges, Huobi relies the most on its own token to denominate its reserves.

Again, while there is no evidence to suggest anything untoward is happening here, the influence of a native token definitely muddies the water.

Customers making right call in withdrawing funds

With the doubt on the platform and the recent chaos in the crypto industry last year, it makes perfect sense that customers are pulling their funds. Similar to how such a large chunk of funds were pulled from exchanges in the wake of the FTX collapse, this is simply sound risk management.

If Huobi is perfectly safe and all returns to normal – and again, there is nothing concrete to suggest it won’t – then customers can simply deposit their funds back onto the platform. But this is an unregulated, opaque entity that is impossible to make any sort of financial assessment on. That means it is a risk, and with all the madness of the last 24 hours, it would be a questionable move from a risk management perspective to not at least temporarily pull funds and wait until the dust settles.

The post Is Huobi safe? Why customers should be withdrawing funds appeared first on CoinJournal.

Huobi Token soars by more than 3% today: Here is why

  • Huobi Token is the best performer amongst the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market cap so far today.

  • The Huobi crypto exchange is set to lay off 20% of its workers amidst the crypto winter.

  • The broader crypto market could end the week in the red zone as prices tumble.

Huobi to cut 20% of staff

Tron founder Justin Sun told Reuters earlier today that the Huobi crypto exchange is set to lay off about 20% of its staff. Sun is a member of Huobi’s global advisory board, and he revealed that the move is part of the company’s structural adjustment to the current market conditions.

This latest cryptocurrency news saw Huobi Token, the native token of the Huobi exchange, rally by more than 3% in the last 24 hours. HT is the best performer amongst the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market cap today. At press time, the price of Huobi Token stands at $4.85. 

The broader cryptocurrency market has been underperforming over the last few hours. The total crypto market cap currently stands at $814 billion, down by less than 1% in the last 24 hours.

Key levels to watch

The HT/USDT 4-hour chart is bearish despite its positive performance over the last few hours. However, the technical indicators show that HT is outperforming the broader market.

The MACD line is below the neutral zone, indicating that the bears are in control. However, with the line moving upward, the bulls are aiming to regain control of the HT market.

The 14-day relative strength index of 38 shows that HT is currently out of the oversold region. 

If the bullish trend continues, HT could surge past the $5.08 resistance level in the near term. However, it would need the support of the broader crypto market before it can breach the $5.4 resistance level over the next few days. 

Where to buy Huobi Token now

Skilling

Skilling is a Scandinavian based cryptocurrency broker which has a desktop website as well as apps for iOS and Android devices. It supports over 50 cryptocurrencies and it has a demo account to allow users to gain familiarity with the platform. Skilling has no hidden fees, it is an officially regulated broker and it supports a wide range of payment methods.

Buy HT with Skilling today

KuCoin

Kucoin is a cryptocurrency exchange which offers over 200 cryptocurrencies. Kucoin has a wide range of services, such as; a built-in peer-to-peer exchange, spot and margin trading, bank level security and a wide range of accepted payment methods. Users can benefit from a beginner-friendly interface and relatively low fees.

Buy HT with KuCoin today

The post Huobi Token soars by more than 3% today: Here is why appeared first on CoinJournal.

Cowen downgrades Coinbase to market perform

  • Cowen cited the absence of clarity on a possible trading volume recovery after FTX collapsed 
  • Cowen also reduced its price target on the shares
  • Coinbase has features that make it one of the safest platforms to trade

Financial services and investment firm Cowen, which has locations throughout the US, Europe, and several in Asia, downgraded cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase shares from outperform to market perform. 

They cited the absence of clarity on a possible trading volume recovery after competing crypto exchange FTX collapsed, CNBC reported. 

Shares dropped to $37 in premarket session

Cowen also reduced its price target on the shares from $75 to $36, almost 50%. In the premarket session, the stock lost 1.5%, falling to $37.14. Coinbase shares lost 84% last year. 

Positive predictions despite current developments 

How Coinbase will perform in 2023 remains to be seen. According to experts, however, the regulated company has an excellent security record and disposes of a number of features that make it one of the safest platforms to trade, buy, and sell crypto. 

Sterner scrutiny from regulators 

The collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s exchange sent shock waves throughout the industry. One effect is likely to involve sterner scrutiny from watchdogs like the US Securities and Exchange Commission according to insiders. 

Reduced crypto valuations will lead to lower retail trade volumes 

Lowered crypto valuations will result in depressed retail trading activity. There is still some interest from institutional investors, but they are becoming far more cautious, conducting careful due diligence in each sector. Analysts George Kuhle and Stephen Glagola wrote in a note: 

COIN’s business is significantly correlated to crypto asset prices, trading volumes and volatility.

Visibility remains low 

The leading US exchange’s monthly trading volumes have been declining fairly consistently each month since the universal all-time high in November 2021. 

Visibility remains low into a rebound and a stabilization in retail trading volumes in the current year considering the FTX contagion risks, the macroeconomic backdrop, and their compounded effects on crypto prices.  

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