Bitcoin slips below $19k ahead of another crucial FOMC meeting this week

The cryptocurrency market has continued its poor start to the week, with Bitcoin dropping below $19k ahead of another FOMC meeting.

The cryptocurrency market performed poorly last week, losing its $1 trillion market cap peg. The poor performance has now stretched into the new week, with the broader market losing more than 5% of its value in the last 24 hours.

As a result of the poor performance, the total cryptocurrency market cap could drop below the $900 billion mark for the first time this month.

Bitcoin, the world’s leading cryptocurrency, has underperformed in recent weeks. At press time, Bitcoin is trading at $18,954, down by more than 4% in the last 24 hours. 

The leading cryptocurrency is underperforming ahead of another crucial FOMC meeting on September 20th and 21st. 

The market is expecting another 75 basis points increase in interest rates, a move that could see Bitcoin, the crypto market, and the broader financial market perform poorly. 

So far this year, the FOMC raised federal fund rates by 25 bps in March, followed by a 50 bps in May and another 75 bps hike in the June and July meetings each. Thus, taking the present policy rate to 2.25-2.5%.

Key levels to watch

The BTC/USD 4-hour chart is negative as Bitcoin has been underperforming over the last few hours. The MACD line has stayed within the negative zone over the past week and remains there. Hence, indicating that the bears are in control. 

BTC/USD Chart By TradingView

BTC/USD Chart By TradingView

The 14-day relative strength index of 39 shows that Bitcoin could enter the oversold region if the bearish momentum continues.

If the negative sentiment doesn’t improve, BTC could dip below the $18,713 support level before the end of the day.

Bitcoin might experience further losses ahead of the FOMC meeting and could decline below $18k for the first time in two months.

The bulls might regain control of the market and push BTC past the $19,500 resistance level over the next few hours.

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Polychain leads $40M raise for African crypto exchange Yellow Card

African crypto exchange Yellow Card raised $40 million in its Series B round led by Polychain Capital.

Yellow Card Financial, a Nigeria-based cryptocurrency exchange seeking to drive the next wave of crypto adoption across Africa, has successfully closed its $40 million Series B funding round, according to news the platform shared on Monday.

US-based investment firm Polychain Capital led the funding round, Yellow Card announced, with the capital injection adding to the Pan-African crypto startup’s Series A funding round completed in August 2021. At the time, the platform secured $15 million from investors and has now raised over $57 million to top the fundraising board for crypto companies across the continent.

For its latest financing round, Yellow Card attracted participation from Castle Island Ventures, Valar Ventures, Third Prime Ventures, DG Daiwa Ventures, Sozo Ventures, Fabric Ventures, The Raba Partnership, and Jon Weiner among others.

Driving crypto adoption in Africa

The funding will enable the company to drive exponential business growth, continue its successful expansion across the continent, develop new product innovations, and advance strategic partnerships across Africa.

According to Chris Maurice, co-founder and CEO of Yellow Card, the funding is a vote of confidence in the team and the product. It also highlights the massive appetite for crypto across the continent. 

The fundraising succeeded despite a crypto winter that has seen many crypto companies struggle, with many resorting to downsizing their headcount to keep financial books balanced.

“This fundraise in this market not only showcases the resilience of our team but also reiterates the appetite and necessity for cryptocurrency in Africa,” Maurice noted in a statement.

Polychain Capital partner Will Wolf sees Yellow Card as “the best executing team on the continent,” and believes what they have done is just the beginning of what’s possible towards greater crypto adoption in Africa.

“We are impressed by the way they seamlessly adjust and adapt to the unique opportunities and demands of the various African markets. We’ve barely touched the surface of what is possible when it comes to crypto in Africa, and we’re excited for what’s to come,” Wolf added.

Yellow Card launched in 2019 in Nigeria and is currently available across 21 countries,including Senegal, Gabon, Zambia, Kenya and Rwanda. The platform’s growth has seen it surpass 1 million customers in just three years as more people tap into its technology to invest in Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies.

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Where is optimism OP after Ethereum Merge?

  • Optimism token has, alongside L2 Ethereum solutions been surging ahead of the Merge.

  • Optimism witnessed strong fundamentals in July and August.

  • OP could fall by a further 22%.

Optimism OP/USD is a Layer-2 scaling for the Ethereum network. Its role is to facilitate less costly and quick transactions on Ethereum. Following the Ethereum Merge, eyes were on alternatives and scaling layers for price reaction. Since the Merge has occurred, it is crucial to evaluate how Optimism has reacted. 

Well, Optimism was the talk of the streets in July and early August as prices pumped. Whereas the gains were driven largely by speculations, a couple of fundamentals helped. One includes the liquidity mining program which Optimism launched on Aave in early August. The development pushed the deposits on Aave to Optimism up by a significant 493%. 

The Ethereum Merge was also adding momentum to Optimism. The Merge is expected to increase the role of scaling solutions through a “Rollup-Centric Roadmap.” The roadmap allows Ethereum to become the data availability and settlement layer. It will leave the scaling role to Layer-2 Protocols.

OP risks another 22% drop as price falls post-Merge

Technicals are not convincing for the Optimism token. On the daily chart, the price drop coincides with a MACD crossover to the bear zone. That allowed the price to fall below the moving averages. 

Source – TradingView

Assuming an extended correction, OP will fall back to the late August lows of $0.98. That represents a drop of around 22%. The bearish prediction will be invalidated if the price recovers above the 20-MA. It should be confirmed with a clear reversal and improved sentiment.

Concluding thoughts

Optimism could continue to fall despite the expected benefit from the Merge. It suggests that the token already benefited from the post-Merge expectations. $0.98 is the next bottom for OP.

The post Where is optimism OP after Ethereum Merge? appeared first on CoinJournal.

PancakeSwap prediction as price rejects decline below $4.12 support

  • PancakeSwap is a decentralized exchange with a role to play in DeFi.

  • CAKE has made solid recoveries and risen on the CoinMarketCap ranking.

  • CAKE is pushing above key support of $4.12.

PancakeSwap CAKE/USD is among the few cryptocurrencies that have remained steady. As of press time, the cryptocurrency had gained 2.30% in the last 24 hours. Losses in the week are now 3.23%, quite negligible considering that many tokens had lost by double digits.

On the CoinMarketCap ranking, CAKE has climbed to position 66. That is a significant jump from position 78th on July 20. CAKE shows that it can still go higher as bulls reject a decline below $4.12 following a retracement. 

In the crypto ecosystem, PancakeSwap is classified as a decentralized exchange or DEX. It is a non-custodial peer-to-peer marketplace for buyers and sellers of cryptocurrencies. On PancakeSwap, users can swap tokens and participate in yield farming. With these notable features, PancakeSwap plays a role in the growth of the DeFi sector. The protocol runs on the BNB Chain, and Binance Labs already holds an investment. 

PancakeSwap movement and prediction as recovery continues

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Source – TradingView

A technical outlook shows that CAKE is bullish. Since the recovery started in June, the cryptocurrency has maintained a system of higher highs and higher lows. CAKE recently touched a high of $4.5 before correcting to $4.12. The token has maintained above the 20-day and 50-day moving averages for some time now. The MACD indicator remains in the bull zone despite momentum weakening.

Concluding thoughts

To a short-term trader, any dip is an opportunity to buy CAKE. The current level presents a buying opportunity. Our prediction puts $4.5 as the immediate resistance level. If the price overcomes $4.5, it could head to $5.0 next.

The post PancakeSwap prediction as price rejects decline below $4.12 support appeared first on CoinJournal.

Fantom recovery looks in tatters as bulls fail to inspire a comeback

  • Fantom blockchain was touted as a leader in smart contracts

  • Fantom has been losing TVL since the developers exited

  • FTM is under pressure at $0.24

Fantom FTM/USD – a cryptocurrency that once traded at $3.6 exchanges hands at just $0.25. FTM has lost by double digits in the past week. It looks bearish despite recovering 2% in the last 24 hours. Are we set for a further slide or recovery?

In 2021, Fantom blockchain was touted as among the best smart contract protocol for dApps and digital assets. That was due to the blockchain’s high throughput and fast transactions. The expectations that Fantom will drive DeFi growth helped its native token to surge last year. Alongside the utility aspects, such as staking, FTM gained prominence as prices touched new highs.

A totality of uncertainty could be behind the recent drop and weak recovery in FTM. Since the news of the exit of key developer Andre Cronje, Fantom has never been the same. The news was later followed by geopolitical jitters and macro issues, which gave FTM the final blow. These macro events are far from over, while the return of the exited developers remains speculation. The total value locked on Fantom has fallen to just $498.7 million from $8.03 billion in March.

FTM remains vulnerable as the price weakens at the support

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Source – TradingView

A technical outlook shows that FTM has remained on a downtrend since the mid-August high of $0.4. Both the 20-day and 50-day moving averages offer resistance above. An RSI reading of $38 shows investors have been aggressively selling the token. 

Concluding thoughts

FTM remains vulnerable at the $0.24 support zone. There is no bull trigger for the token, and the price lacks momentum. The next potential level is $0.21 if FTM buyers fail to inspire a comeback at the current zone.

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