GameStop, AMC stocks remain ‘dangerously overvalued’: Analyst

  • AMC Entertainment Holdings and GameStop Corp. were among the most popular meme stocks last year, with prices driven up by retail buyers

  • GameStop is miles off its 2021 peak of $483, while shares of AMC Entertainment are similarly off the highs of $72.62.

Shares of “meme stocks” GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (NYSE: AMC) are down roughly 36% and 44% year to date after a brutal few weeks in the markets.

While the stocks saw a huge bounce on Friday, an analyst says the sell-off witnessed since the market frenzy of 2021 isn’t over for these stocks.

He predicts more pain amid investor pivot into profitable companies or other investment niches like metaverse and NFTs.

No profits and “untethered from reality”

Meme stocks exploded onto the scene in 2021, rallying to massive heights alongside Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. As crypto has tanked, the stocks have tumbled too- with more losses to come according to analysts.

David Trainer, the CEO of investment research firm New Constructs says GameStop and AMC are set for more selling, with the companies unlikely to be profitable over the next two years.

Trainer explains that investors might look elsewhere for profitable deals as they steer away from stocks that put portfolios at the unnecessary risk of devastating declines.

According to the analyst, while investors might want to look at the valuation of companies they invest in versus their profitability, the metric doesn’t really apply to most meme stocks.

He notes that investors are likely to see no problem in paying a premium to get an investment in a company with strong profits. Pointing out GameStop and AMC Entertainment as two of the most popular, he said the two have valuations that “remain untethered from reality.”

Meme stocks like GameStop and AMC Entertainment remain dangerously overvalued and don’t generate anywhere near the profits necessary to justify their current valuations,” he added.

Potential investment trends to see more inflows as investors continue to rotate out of meme stocks are metaverse and NFT linked companies.

Wall Street targets for GME and AMC stocks

The GameStop stock closed at $97.91, up 4.8% on Friday while AMC shares traded up 3.7% to $15.06. While positive on the day, a look at the monthly logs shows the extent of the stocks’ declines.

Data from MarketWatch shows GME is down 69% in the past twelve months, while AMC is sharply down year to date at -44% to cut yearly gains to just 13%. Over the past 30 days, GME prices are down nearly 37% as AMC’s have shed nearly 48%.

Wall Street has an average price target of $8.17 for AMC Entertainment, representing a 45.75% downside from current levels. 

TipRanks also shows that 4 analysts have an average price target of $34.00 for GME, suggesting an expected 65.27% drawdown from Friday’s close of $97.91.

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Visa says its crypto-linked card payments hit $2.5 billion in Q1

  • Visa processed $2.5 billion in crypto payments in the three months ended 31 December

  • 65 platforms and exchanges have teamed up with Visa, including Coinbase and BlockFi

  • CEO Al Kelly said the payments giant “will continue to lean into the crypto space.”

Visa customers used their crypto-linked card to make payments totaling $2.5 billion during the global payments firm’s fiscal first quarter of 2022 ended 31 December.

The company processed transactions worth $46.7 billion during the quarter, an increase of 21% on the volume reported in the same quarter a year ago.

The amounts pushed the electronic funds transfer behemoth’s crypto volume to 70% of what was recorded in the fiscal year 2021, CEO Al Kelly said in an earnings call.

According to the Visa chief, the massive jump in payments made via the company’s crypto-linked cards came as the number of platforms and exchanges signing up with them soared from 54 to 65.

Some of the big-name candidates on the network include crypto exchange Coinbase and BlockFi- a US-based crypto wealth management provider.

Merchants who accept Visa-linked crypto payments have also increased significantly, hitting 100 million during the quarter, the company said in its earnings statement.

Kelly noted that the credit card payments giant “will continue to lean into the crypto space,” as they look to help the sector grow. Part of Visa’s strategy for this, he explained, is to enhance partnerships that help ensure connectivity, reliability, and security, with an eye to scaling services and value proposition to customers.

Visa chief financial officer Vasant Prabhu said the growth in crypto-linked card payments is a signal that users see the utility in the offering, CNBC reported. 

He pointed out that customers are increasingly finding value through access to liquidity and instant, seamless purchases.

The Visa CFO also noted that volumes continued to rise despite the slump in crypto markets. He also added that the payments were spread across various merchant verticals, including at retailers, restaurants, and travel.

The company has no crypto holdings but has increasingly looked to support merchants and platforms. In December, it announced a crypto advisory service that targets helping institutions and merchants.

According to the company, this is due to the growing adoption of crypto across payments. The service also aims at helping customers seeking to explore the non-fungible tokens (NFTs) space and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).

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Analysts point to concerns in DeFi as Bitcoin stalls below $40,000

  • S&P 500 has remained relatively unchanged.
  • Popsicle Finance’s ICE has plummeted 22% in the last 24 hours.

On Friday, Bitcoin (BTC) was trading at over $37,000, up around 3% in the previous 24 hours. In the meantime, after a tumultuous week, several alternative cryptocurrencies have begun to settle.

Analysts were also looking for signals of a probable stock market rebound, stimulating crypto purchases. Over the last week, the S&P 500 has remained relatively unchanged, contrasted to a 1% increase in BTC and a 3% loss in ETH.

Investors continue to retreat from US equities despite the predicted adjustment of the US Federal Reserve’s fiscal and monetary policy. More investors may begin to cut their risky asset holdings if the selling proceeds, with cryptocurrencies being the first to be impacted. As a result, a price comeback might be restricted in the near term.

Furthermore, given macroeconomic challenges, several experts are apprehensive about a repeat of 2017-2018.  However, it looks that winter has arrived, as seen by the over 40% dip in BTC from its all-time high of about $69,000 in November.

Is there a systemic danger in the crypto markets?

The current underperformance of various cryptocurrencies and decentralized finance (DeFi) tokens suggests that crypto markets are riskier. When there is a lot of volatility, some traders may switch to bitcoin, which is less dangerous in the crypto market.

Source – TradingView

The value of tokens linked to the Wonderland developer has plummeted

Popsicle Finance’s ICE has plummeted 22% in the last 24 hours, Wonderland’s TIME has down 15%, and Abracadabra’s SPELL has dropped 15%. Daniele Sestagalli’s coins have garnered a loyal following in previous months due to his community-focused orientation to crypto projects. At one point, his procedures were valued billions of dollars, but those riches have since evaporated.

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Social Tokens: What are they & how to invest in them?

While social media allows creators, brands, and communities to set up space on various platforms, they are subjected to some form of control. However, this control can be eliminated using social tokens. Social tokens are cryptocurrencies created by individuals, brands, or communities to serve a relative purpose. Its issuer defines the uses and benefits of a social token.

 Although NFTs are non-fungible, they are in some ways social tokens. Personal token, social money, community coin, and creator coin are some of the names social token can be called. Unlike mainstream media, social tokens are built on the blockchain and are secure and decentralized.

 Most social tokens are launched on the Ethereum blockchain. The Solana blockchain is also witnessing some action however minute. Social tokens help creators develop symbiotic relationships with their fans. The fans contribute to their growth by investing in their works and supporting them while the creators know what their fans want and create it.

 The more popular an issuer is, the more valuable their token becomes. With social tokens, brands, communities, and individuals can monetize themselves without neglecting existing platforms. This would enable them to put their loyal fans in exclusive membership levels. While some social tokens come at a price, some issuers give them out for free.

 The number of community coins you hold will determine the kind of benefits you will enjoy. The contract that creates the social token allocates special access or royalties to holders depending on some conditions. As only a limited amount would be minted, the value of a social token will probably rise over time.

 There was a record of a kind of social tokens in 1997 when David Bowie created the Bowie Bonds. This served as securities for revenue from his earlier works. Today’s social tokens lack third-party involvement and exist on platforms where they can generate value. It is believed that social tokens have a place in the web 3.0 future, likewise in branding and marketing.

 Right now, there are three distinct types of social tokens, and they include:

1. Personal Tokens

 These are tokens that individuals like artists, athletes, content creators, and personalities issue to monetize themselves. If an artist like Beyonce created a personal token, it would be valuable instantly as her fans would drive the price up in an instant.

 Buying personal tokens allow fans to be eligible for unique benefits from creators. Examples of personal tokens are KSK, PLAY, TILT, CHOU, ALEX, ALLIE, and RAC. RAC is the personal token of André Allen Anjos, a Grammy-award-winning artiste launched on Zora. RAC can only be earned, and it is not for sale.

 KSK is Keisuke Honda’s personal token that gives fans access to his life on and off the pitch. Fans also enjoy private chats and social recognitions. Kevin Chou owns CHOU, ALLIE by Alliestrasza, TILT by Joe Pulizzi, and ALEX by Alex Masmej.

2. Community Token

 This is created by an organization or a group of people for their community of followers. This token grants holders access to the community, which may be on Slack, Telegram, or Discord. It is often governed by a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). These communities are made private using tools like Mintgate, Unlock, or CollabLand.

 Community tokens can be used as incentives for members for activities. It can also be used to aid identity and cohesion. WHALE, FWB, CHERRY, and DONUT are popular examples of this token.

 WHALE is one of the biggest community tokens right now. WhaleShark created it on TryRoll. It is backed by a vault of unique NFT collections owned by WhaleShark. The WHALE community, which is on Discord, is the most active.

 Members have access to renting and purchasing selected NFTs from The Vault. They also participate in the governance of the community and DAO’s projects. FWB was one of the first community tokens. The community consists of people who are enthusiastic about the web 3.0 future.

 To join the FWB community on Discord, you need 400 FWB. DONUT is the token of an Ethereum-based subreddit.

3. Social Platform Tokens

 The token is issued by social platforms that support the creation and trading of social tokens. They allow holders to buy the social tokens created on their platforms. Examples include Rally, BitClout, Coinvise, and TryRoll.

 Rally tops the list of social tokens, having raised over $22 million in April 2021. It allows members to have their social tokens. It has low transaction fees and is easy to use. However, tokens created on it can only exist on it because it is a sidechain of the Ethereum network.

 TryRoll allows users social tokens on the ERC-20 standard. Although it is one of the most popular, it is not easy to use and has high transaction fees. BitClout resembles Twitter and the likes where users can react on tokens linked to celebrities. Users can also create their tokens.

 Socios.com is a platform that has enabled the creation of fan tokens by football clubs. This has been embraced by football clubs across Europe, including FC Barcelona, PSG, Juventus, SS Lazio, Manchester City, AS Roma, and many more.

 Of the three types, social platform tokens have great potential for long-term growth. However, community tokens will go a long way with a loyal community and a great model. Most issuers use social platforms to create their tokens. This helps them streamline their fanbase and create in a way that promotes connection and community development.

 Social tokens can be used to monetize a brand, individual, or community as they can be requested in exchange for merch, accessories, and so on. It can be used to grant fans access to exclusive benefits, including events, sales, content, and the likes. It can give fans governance rights and as a symbol of membership. Fans can even hold it as a form of investment.

 In creating a social token, some vest a part of the supply, peg it to an asset or create a liquidity mining program. As a fan who is looking to get your favorites token, there are some steps to take, including:

1. Do research on where the token is listed by checking it in Coingecko or CoinMarketCap.

2. Register on an exchange like Binance, KuCoin, and the likes.

3. Buy a relative cryptocurrency that you may need in performing the exchange using your fiat.

4. Transfer it to the exchange where the token is listed and perform the trade. Most social tokens are listed on the Uniswap exchange.

5. You can either store it on a software or hardware wallet after buying.

 You can get some social tokens using your card; it depends on where it is listed.

Ending Note

 As it is pegged to an individual, brand, or community, it poses a very high financial risk. There is also this risk of regulations being a new venture. However, this shouldn’t stop you from investing in your favorite artiste, brand, or community. You have to do proper research and deal wisely.

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Basic Attention Token (BAT) appears to be in the prime buying zone

As sentiment in crypto remains fearful, many investors are holding back from making any new acquisitions. But there are some assets in the market that are offering the incentive to buy. Basic Attention Token (BAT) is one of them. Based on recent price action, the token appears to be in the prime buying zone right now. But should you swoop in? Well, analysis to follow below but first, some notable highlights:

  • BAT has been rising over the last three or four days with most investors buying the dip in huge numbers.

  • At press time, BAT was trading at $0.855, up about 2% in 24-hour intraday trading.

  • The token has also surged at least 30% higher compared to its lowest point this month.

Data Source: Tradingview.com 

Basic Attention Token (BAT) – Price action and analysis

After tanking by nearly 60% from its all-time highs in 2021, it looks like there is some semblance of recovery by BAT. The token has seen some consistent rise in the last four days albeit they have been modest. 

However, BAT is still trading below the 25- and 50-day moving averages, suggesting that the downward trend is probably not reversing. 

If indeed bulls are not able to push the price action further, selling pressure could push it down towards the next support of $0.645. But if BAT is strong enough to cross the $1 mark, then we may see increased bullish momentum in the coming days.

Why you should buy Basic Attention Token (BAT)

Basic Attention Token (BAT) is the native token for Brave, the largest decentralised browser on the planet. Now, demand for decentralised browsers has not picked up yet. 

But as more users continue to raise privacy concerns with traditional browsers, then it is likely that Brave will be a big asset. In that case, if you want to invest in BAT long-term, this is the right time to do it.

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