Over 90K traders liquidated amid massive crypto price surge

  • Over $9o,000 traders were liquidated in 24 hours as Ethereum, Bitcoin prices surged to $3,800 and $71k respectively.
  • Total liquidations reached $383 million, with $297 million in shorts and $86 million on longs.
  • Market is upbeat about SEC approving spot Ether ETF after latest developments the regulator initiated late Monday.

Coinglass data shows that more than 90,000 traders were liquidated in the past 24-hours, with total liquidations reaching $383 million.

The spike in prices for Ethereum, Bitcoin, Dogecoin and other tokens saw over $297 million in short positions liquidated. Longs accounted for about $86 million in liquidated positions as crypto prices skyrocketed late Monday and on Tuesday.

According to Coinglass, the total number of liquidated traders reached 93,833 at 11:40 am ET on Tuesday. The largest liquidation happened on BitMEX, with an XBTUSD trade worth $4.26 million liquidated.

Ethereum traders see over $100 million in short liquidations

Ethereum (ETH) led the 24-hour liquidation as the top altcoin’s spike to above $3,813 on May 21 saw over $131 million rekt. This included a total of $104.5 million in shorts and $26.5 million in longs.

As well as Ethereum, Bitcoin (BTC) also recorded a significant spike in its price. 

The benchmark crypto jumped from lows of $67k on Monday to hit highs of $71,650 on Tuesday. The gains led to the liquidation of positions worth over $106 million, including $88 million in shorts and $18 million in longs.

Solana (SOL) saw a total of nearly $24 million, with shorts accounting for over $17.9 million and longs $5.9 million.

Other tokens to see notable liquidations in the past 24 hours are Dogecoin (DOGE) with $10.2 million, Pepe (PEPE) with $7 million and Gala (GALA), which suffered a major security breach on Monday.

Over $2.69 million short positions and $2.1 million worth of longs have been liquidated in the past 24 hours, although Gala has received a bullish forecast from market maker DWF Labs, which announced the purchase of 25 million GALA tokens.

SEC’s potential approval of spot Ether ETF boosts bulls

The huge liquidations come as fresh sentiment around spot Ethereum ETFs approval lifted the crypto market. 

This followed SEC’s request for Ether ETF issuers to file their 19b-4s by 10 am on May 21, a development that has seen Bloomberg ETF analysts increase their odds for a SEC approval from 25% to 75%.

Standard Chartered Bank’s Geoff Kendrick said in a note on Tuesday that there’s a possibility of the SEC greenlighting the first spot Ethereum ETF for the US market this week.

Standard Chartered also predicts that ETH price could spike to $8,000 by the end of the year.

In March, analysts at the bank projected Bitcoin could surge to $15ok in 2024 and $250k by end of 2025 on the back of ETF traction.

The post Over 90K traders liquidated amid massive crypto price surge appeared first on CoinJournal.

Hex Trust Group launches, USDX, the first native stablecoin on Flare Network

  • Hex Trust launches USDX, the first native stablecoin on Flare, backed 1:1 by USD.
  • USDX can be staked in Clearpool’s T-Pool for real-world yield without lock-ups.
  • USDX aims to enhance Flare’s DeFi ecosystem, supporting lending and borrowing.

Hong Kong-based digital asset custodian, Hex Trust Group, has launched USDX, the first native stablecoin on the Flare network.

The move by Hex Trust Group will bolster the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem on Flare, a layer-1 blockchain tailored for data-intensive applications.

USDX stablecoin by HT Digital Assets

USDX, developed by HT Digital Assets, Hex Trust’s tokenization ecosystem, is a stablecoin backed 1:1 against the U.S. dollar or equivalently valued assets.

The stablecoin’s reserves primarily consist of 1-3 month Treasury Bills, held securely by regulated tier-1 financial institutions, ensuring stability and trust in the stablecoin’s value.

The stablecoin is designed to serve as a fundamental building block for DeFi on the Flare blockchain. It will be available for various applications, such as lending and borrowing protocols, as well as perpetual futures exchanges.

USDX’s integration with Clearpool

While launching the USDX stablecoin, Hex Trust Group also announced a strategic partnership with Clearpool, a decentralized credit marketplace.

Through this collaboration, USDX holders can stake their tokens in a dedicated T-Pool created by Clearpool.

This innovative staking mechanism allows users to earn real-world yields without the constraints of lock-up periods.

In return for staking USDX, users receive cUSDX tokens, which can be utilized as collateral across DeFi protocols on the Flare network, including Flare Labs’ FAsset system. This system supports the use of non-smart contract assets like Bitcoin (BTC) and Dogecoin (DOGE) in DeFi applications.

Market impact and future prospects

Hex Trust’s CEO, Alessio Quaglini, emphasized that the launch of USDX will reduce cryptocurrency market volatility and streamline transactions. He highlighted that USDX bridges the gap between traditional financial security and blockchain innovation, enhancing trust and security within the digital asset ecosystem.

In addition, Hugo Philion, the Co-Founder of Flare, remarked on the essential role of stablecoins in developing a vibrant DeFi ecosystem and noted that the collaboration between USDX and Clearpool on Flare delivers a stable, yield-generating asset that will greatly benefit the network’s users.

Jakob Kronbichler, the CEO & Co-founder of Clearpool, also weighed in on the launch stating that the launch of a custom T-Pool for USDX on Flare provides everyday users with opportunities to earn real-world yield from their stable holdings.

The post Hex Trust Group launches, USDX, the first native stablecoin on Flare Network appeared first on CoinJournal.

Bitcoin surges above $70k again as Bitbot’s presale officially hits $3.5m

Key takeaways

  • BTC is now trading around $71k per coin after adding 6% to its value.
  • Bitbot’s presale has officially crossed the $3.5 million mark as it draws closer to its end.

Bitcoin hits $71k as it eyes new all-time high

Bitcoin, the world’s leading cryptocurrency by market cap, has been performing well over the past few days. It is up by more than 14% in the last seven days, allowing it to break past the $70k psychological level once again.

At press time, the price of Bitcoin stands at $71,388, up by more than 6% today. The rally comes as the broader crypto market embarks on a recovery. If BTC continues with its recent momentum, it could set a new all-time high in the near term. 

What is Bitbot?

With the crypto market in a bull run, several projects are emerging that seek to make it easier for users to interact with the ecosystem. Bitbot is one of the projects that could change how cryptocurrency traders approach the market.

Bitbot is a Web3 project designed solely for crypto traders. It is a telegram trading bot that allows users to access high-end trading features.

With Bitbot, retail crypto traders can have access to a wide range of cryptocurrency pairs via their cold wallets on Telegram. The trading bot will leverage Telegram thanks to its position as the leading messaging platform for crypto users. 

The team revealed that the tool will provide retail traders with world-class features to help them manage and grow their trading portfolios. 

With the total cryptocurrency market cap now at $2.6 trillion, Bitbot intends to leverage the exceptional growth in trading volume to gain massive adoption in the coming months and years.

Bitbot to offer high-end features to retail traders

While there are several trading tools available to retail traders, Bitbot intends to provide them with high-end features that would allow them to improve how they view the market and trade crypto pairs. 

Bitbot will integrate Knightsafe into its system, allowing it to offer a self-custody solution, eliminating the typical risks associated with Telegram trading. The anti-MEV and anti-rug solutions currently in development will ensure user assets are safe at all times. 

This Telegram trading bot will also come with ultra-flexible wallet management powered by non-custodial API technology to provide an added layer of security to the users.

In addition to that, the Copy Trading feature will be easily available to novice traders. This would allow them to copy the trades of the strongest-performing wallets based on on-chain activities.

Bitbot’s presale surpasses $3.5m

The Bitbot presale is in the 14th stage and has already raised over $3.5 million. The 14th stage will end once the amount raised reaches $3.924 million. 

The presale continues to attract more investors as the crypto market embarks on a recent rally. Currently, the $BITBOT token is going for $0.0189 but is set to increase to $0.02 once the next round commences.

Per the project tokenomics, the development team will hold 20% of the total token supply and will use it to fund ongoing development. 14% of the total token supply has already been allocated to marketing & CEX listings while 3% goes to exchange liquidity provision.

Click here to read more about Bitbot’s upcoming presale.

Could $BITBOT rally after listing on exchanges?

The Bitbot presale is only one stage away from completion, after which the team will look to list the token on centralised and decentralised exchanges. The listing could see the token surge higher in the short to long term,

The crypto market has been bullish over the last couple of months and market analysts are expecting a bigger pump in the coming months. If this happens, altcoins could rally higher in the medium to long term. 

Bitbot could be a big winner in the market if it rolls out its products and lists on exchanges. The project is set to take advantage of the growing trading volume in the market to obtain a sizable market share.

The post Bitcoin surges above $70k again as Bitbot’s presale officially hits $3.5m appeared first on CoinJournal.

Yuga Labs discontinues CryptoPunks amid backlash over ‘woke’ collection

  • Yuga Labs faces backlash over its new Super Punk World collection.
  • The Super Punk World collection pays homage to the irreverent, early-internet roots of CryptoPunks.
  • Yuga Labs’ decision focuses on preservation and education rather than active development.

Yuga Labs, the NFT giant behind the iconic CryptoPunks, has announced it will cease any further development on the project following intense community backlash over its new Super Punk World collection.

The decision came after fervent criticism from the crypto community, accusing Yuga Labs of compromising the original essence of CryptoPunks with what some described as a “woke” initiative.

The Super Punk World collection

On May 20, the official CryptoPunks account launched the Super Punk World collection, featuring 500 pieces of hybridized 3D sculptures.

These pieces, created by New York-based painter Nina Abney, were designed to pay homage to the irreverent, early-internet roots of CryptoPunks while addressing themes of race and gender.

 The backlash against Super Punk World collection

However, despite the artistic intentions, the collection quickly faced a storm of criticism.

One community member bluntly declared, “Yuga killed Punks today,” echoing the sentiment that the project had strayed too far from its original ethos.

The backlash included threats from NFT holders to sell their CryptoPunk assets, and sarcastic comments questioning if the official account had been hacked. A prominent NFT trader even urged the community to boycott Yuga Labs and move forward without them.

Yuga Labs’ response

In response to the uproar, Yuga Labs CEO Greg Solano issued a statement on X clarifying that the team’s vision was to bridge Web3 with the traditional art world by collaborating with esteemed artists like Abney.

Solano noted that despite the backlash, the goal was to connect with those already supporting Abney’s work, possibly by airdropping the new collection to holders of her previous works, such as SuperCoolWorld.

Addressing the future of CryptoPunks, Solano announced that Yuga Labs would no longer be involved in the project’s development.

“What about punks? Yuga will no longer touch punks. They will just be decentralized and preserved on the blockchain,” he stated.

The CEO went further and emphasized that Yuga’s focus would shift to supporting museums and institutions in acquiring CryptoPunk NFTs and educating the public about their significance.

However, despite the controversy, the CryptoPunks collection has demonstrated resilience.

In March, two record-breaking sales highlighted the enduring value of these digital assets. On March 4, a rare alien CryptoPunk sold for 4,500 Ether (approximately $16 million), followed by another sale on March 20 for 4,850 Ether (around $16.4 million).

The post Yuga Labs discontinues CryptoPunks amid backlash over ‘woke’ collection appeared first on CoinJournal.

Injective, Fantom soar as Bitcoin price surges past $68k

  • Injective price rose 10% to above $27.26, while Fantom hit $0.96 after surging 12%.
  • Gains for the altcoins came as Bitcoin price crossed the $68,000 mark to hit its highest level since April 12.

Bitcoin (BTC) price rose more than 2% in afternoon trading on Monday as bulls broke above $68,000.

This is the first time that the flagship crypto asset has reached these levels since April 12 – when BTC fell from highs of $69,100.

Injective, Fantom prices surge

As the benchmark cryptocurrency looked towards the $69k mark, a host of altcoins mirrored the upside. Ethereum broke above $3,150, BNB hit $580 and Solana price rose to above $181, notching a 24-hour uptick of nearly 6%.

However, some of the biggest gainers on the day were Injective (INJ) and Fantom (FTM).

According to data from CoinGecko, Injective price was up 10% to $27.26 at the time of writing. Meanwhile, Fantom continued its recent upward momentum with a 12% spike that saw FTM price hit highs of $0.96.

Injective’s 24-hour trading volume rose more than 113% to $121 million, while Fantom’s was up 11% to over $385 million.

Bitcoin price hits highest level in over a month

BTC’s jump to $68,679 on Coinbase saw the leading cryptocurrency reach its highest price level in more than a month.

The sudden spike in the price of Bitcoin comes after the benchmark cryptocurrency bounced sharply following last week’s release of the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) data.

On May 15, BTC price rose more than 8% from lows of $61,539 to highs of $66,480 as stocks rallied amid the softer-than-expected CPI data for April.

Today’s gains come as the spot Bitcoin ETFs resume sharp inflows after the past few weeks recorded unimpressive numbers.

Analysts at QCP noted last week that the slowing inflation, institutional adoption of Bitcoin and the upcoming US election could provide catalysts for new momentum that takes BTC to above $74k.

As Bitcoin extends gains above the $66k support level, it’s likely a breakout above the $70k area will open a path for bulls to target a new all-time high.

Before then, crypto analyst Rekt Capital expects a run to the $71,500 area.

The post Injective, Fantom soar as Bitcoin price surges past $68k appeared first on CoinJournal.