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3 reasons why Polygon (MATIC) is up 100%+ during a bear market

Coin Telegraph
3 reasons why Polygon (MATIC) is up 100%+ during a bear market
Altcoin Watch

Steady adoption and internal growth back MATIC’s 118% gain, even as most altcoins struggle to hold on to their short-term gains.

Unlike bull markets where traders can basically throw a dart at a list of coins to pick one that will go up, bear markets require much more effort to find projects that could perform well over the long-run.

One project that has continued to show signs of mainstream adoption despite the onset of a crypto winter is Polygon (MATIC), a layer-two scaling solution for the Ethereum (ETH) network that is looking to build a sustainable Web3 infrastructure on the top smart contract platform.

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that since hitting a low of $0.316 on June 18 during the worst of the crypto market sell-off, MATIC has climbed 118% to $0.70 where the price now sits at a major support and resistance level that first appeared in March 2021.

MATIC/USDT 1-day chart. Source: TradingView

Three reasons why the long-term outlook for Polygon remains positive include its continued adoption by mainstream entities, the migration of multiple projects to the Polygon network and an increase in the platforms offering liquid staking services for MATIC.

Major adoption announcements

Adoption by influential mainstream companies is one of the best forms of marketing that a blockchain platform can receive as it exposes them to a large pool of potential users.

In the past few months, Polygon has established partnerships with Coca-Cola, which released a pride series NFT collection on the network and Reddit, which announced that it was launching an NFT marketplace on the Polygon network on July 7.

Most recently, it was announced that Polygon has been selected by Disney to be the only blockchain included in the 2022 Disney Accelerator program, a “business development program designed to accelerate the growth of innovative companies from around the world.”

Protocols launch on Polygon

Further evidence of the rising popularity of Polygon as a go-to scaling solution for Ethereum has been the steady migration and integration of projects with the L2 network.

Aside from the recent NFT projects that have migrated to Polygon, other new additions include the permissionless, credit protocol RociFi, and WOO network’s multi-chain decentralized exchange.

MATIC has also seen a growing number of platforms that offer liquid staking for the token which enables holders to earn staking rewards.

Related: Terra projects band together in migration to Polygon ecosystem

Traders expect resistance at $0.75

As for what comes next for MATIC price, market analyst and pseudonymous Twitter user Crypto Tony posted the following chart suggesting that the token could head higher toward resistance at the $0.75 level.

MATIC/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: Twitter

Crypto Tony said,

“Looking for a flip of the EQ up to the range high. Would love to see us consolidate a bit longer underneath this area.”

This outlook was further reinforced by Trader McGavin, who posted the following chart noting that MATIC is “Filling out the ascending triangle and looks ready to breakout in the coming days.”

MATIC/USDT 1-day chart. Source: Twitter

Trader McGavin said,

“A breakout would open up a move to $0.80 and then $1. Ton of positive catalysts over the last few weeks driving this big move off the lows.”

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

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ezETH depeg puts ETH restaking volatility into the limelight

ezETH depeg puts ETH restaking volatility into the limelight

Nervous Network (CKB) price posts double-digit gain after Godwoken layer 2 launch

Coin Telegraph
Nervous Network (CKB) price posts double-digit gain after Godwoken layer 2 launch
Altcoin Watch

CKB booked a 35%+ gain after the release of its Godwoken L1 solution and the launch of a new NFT marketplace.

Positive price movement during bear markets are notoriously hard to come by due to the non-stop FUD of media and lackadaisical interest from crypto investors.

One crypto that managed to flash green on June 12 is the Nervos Network (CKB), an open blockchain protocol designed for universally accessible decentralized applications (DApps).

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that CKB put on a 50% gain in July after climbing from a low of $0.0033 on June 30 to a daily high of $0.005 on July 12.

CKB/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView

Three reasons for the positive gains for the Nervos Network include the launch of the network's layer-2 (L2) solution Godwoken, the integration of the Celer c-Bridge within the Godwoken protocol and the launch of a new nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace on the Nervos mainnet.

Nervos launches a layer-2 solution

The recent price rally for CKB was ignited on June 29 when the protocol announced that its L2 solution “Godwoken” had officially launched on the Nervos Network mainnet.

According to the announcement, Godwoken is an Ethereum (ETH) Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible Optimistic rollup that allows projects building across the various sectors of the market to easily create and port their DApps to the Nervos Network.

The addition of EVM compatibility also makes it possible for any project launched on Godwoken to be instantly interoperable with other EVM chains, which can help increase their reach and grow their user-base.

Celer cBridge integrates with Godwoken

Prior to the spike in CKB price, the developers announced that Godwoken had been integrated with the Celer cBridge to enable the bridging of certain assets between Nervos and the Ethereum network.

According to the announcement from Celer, the first assets available to bridge between Godwoken and Ethereum are Tether (USDT), USD Coin (USDC), Ether, Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), and Dai (DAI).

Godwoken's main selling point is that its use “enables developers to employ Ethereum contracts while keeping transactions scalable, fast and low-cost.”

Related: US trademark and copyright offices to study IP impact of NFTs

Nervos launches a new NFT marketplace

Another development that has brought added attention to the Nervos Network was the launch of the Oblivion nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace on the protocol’s mainnet.

Despite a collapse in the prices of NFTs, nonfungible tokens remain a popular buzzword and there is still a lot interest in increasing the adoption of blockchain and NFT technology by traditional business and finance.

In addition to the launch of its first NFT marketplace, Nervos and its L2 solution Godwoken have also welcomed several new decentralized finance platforms including YokaiSwap, which deployed on Godwoken v1, and a cross-chain protocol called JioSwap.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

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ezETH depeg puts ETH restaking volatility into the limelight

ezETH depeg puts ETH restaking volatility into the limelight

Blockchain-based games see an uptick in users despite bear market conditions

Coin Telegraph
Blockchain-based games see an uptick in users despite bear market conditions
Altcoin Watch

Data shows blockchain-based gaming protocols registered a steady uptick in daily active users and transactions despite the current bear market conditions.

Bear markets are always tough, but one of the positives is they clear the clutter and this allows legitimate projects to stand out. 

While most investors are focused on the latest CeFi and DeFi scandal, the blockchain gaming sector has quietly weathered the storm better than other niches of the market.

Total number of unique active wallets interacting with smart contracts. Source: DappRadar

As shown on the chart above, all sectors of the market have experienced a noticeable decline in active users, but the gaming sector has proven to be the most resilient at retaining users as the bear market intensified.

Transactions continue to rise

Further proof of the continued engagement by gamers can be found by looking at the number of transactions occurring in the top sectors of the market.

Total number of transactions sent to smart contracts. Source: DappRadar

With a current count of 173.17 million, the number of gaming-related transactions is significantly higher than any other sector of the market with the second closest sector being decentralized finance with 8.86 million.

As for which protocols contribute the most to the transaction count, WAX, Hive, BNB Smart Chain (BSC), Solana and Ronin are the most active, led by WAX with a current transaction count of 158.23 million.

Total number of transactions per protocol. Source: DappRadar

While the total value transacted remains dominated by exchanges, a growing number of users currently active in the crypto ecosystem can be found in the gaming sector.

WAX and BSC attract new users

Data shows that users are specifically drawn to WAX and Binance Smart Chain which saw 2.94 million and 2.49 million users.

Total number of unique users per protocol. Source: DappRadar

Alien Worlds on WAX and BNB Chain currently holds the top spot with 196,700 users, followed by Splinterlands with 147,820 active users. It’s also worth noting that the top three games in terms of active users operate on WAX.

Top 6 games by the number of active users. Source: DappRadar

While it has fallen far down the list, Axie Infinity has consistently been one of the most active games for the past year and a leader in terms of the value transacted.

Related: Volumes surge 205% in Axie revival as co-founder claims project is ‘healing’

Despite the sharp correction in blockchain gaming-related altcoins, gaming has proven to be one of the more resilient sectors in terms of retaining active users.

This fact, combined with the rising popularity of the gaming industry, suggests that it's one sector that has the potential to lead the way into the next bull market.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

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ezETH depeg puts ETH restaking volatility into the limelight

ezETH depeg puts ETH restaking volatility into the limelight

Lido DAO price moves higher as the Ethereum Merge moves a step closer to completion

Coin Telegraph
Lido DAO price moves higher as the Ethereum Merge moves a step closer to completion
Altcoin Watch

LDO price books a 45%+ monthly gain as the Ethereum network moves closer to completing its proof-of-stake upgrade.

The upcoming Ethereum (ETH) Merge is one of the most talked about developments in the cryptocurrency ecosystem as the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap undergoes the difficult transition from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS). 

One protocol whose fate is largely tied to the successful completion of the Merge is Lido DAO (LDO), a liquid staking platform that allows users to tap into the value of their assets for use in decentralized finance and earn yield from staking.

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that since LDO hit a low of $0.42 on June 30, its price has climbed 107.6% to hit a daily high of $0.874 on July 9, but at the time of writing the altcoin has pulled back to $0.65.

LDO/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView

Three reasons for the sharp turnaround for LDO include the successful Merge on the Sepolia testnet, the continued increase in Ether deposits on the platform and the slow recovery of staked Ether (stETH) price in comparison to Ether's spot price.

Sepolia testnet merge

Migrating to proof-of-stake has been a challenging process, but it came one step closer to completion on July 6 with the successful Merge of the PoW and PoS chains on Ethereum’s Sepolia testnet.

Following this development, there is only one more Merge trial to conduct on the Goerli testnet, and if that goes down without any major issues the Ethereum mainnet will be next.

Since Lido specializes in providing liquid staking services for Ethereum, each step closer to the full transition to PoS benefits the liquid staking platform because Ether holders who want a less complicated way to stake their tokens can utilize Lido’s services and not have to worry about token lock-ups.

Ether deposits continue to rise

Proof that interest in staking on Lido has continued to climb can be found in data provided by Dune Analytics which shows an increasing amount of Ether deposited on the protocol.

Ether staked on Lido. Source: Dune Analytics

As shown on the chart above, as of July 7 there were 4.128 million Ether staked through Lido.

Ether staking statistics. Source: Lido DAO

Related: Ethereum testnet Merge mostly successful — ‘Hiccups will not delay the Merge.’

stETH begins to recover

Another factor helping to boost the value of LDO has been the recovery of stETH price, which lost its peg to Ether over the past few months as distressed funds sold their stETH in an attempt to stave of insolvency.

According to data from Dune Analytics, the price of stETH is now trading at about 97.2% of the price of Ether, up from a low of 93.6% which occurred on June 18.

ETH:stETH price 1-hour chart. Source: Dune Analytics

While stETH has not fully recovered its price parity with Ether, its move in the right direction combined with less selling pressure from forced liquidations appears to have helped restore some investor faith in the token.

This, in turn, has benefited LDO since the protocol is the largest liquid Ether staking provider and issuer of stETH.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

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ezETH depeg puts ETH restaking volatility into the limelight

ezETH depeg puts ETH restaking volatility into the limelight

P2E gaming is in a rut, but Axie Infinity (AXS) could rebound for 3 key reasons

Coin Telegraph
P2E gaming is in a rut, but Axie Infinity (AXS) could rebound for 3 key reasons
Altcoin Watch

AXS could recapture its former glory if market participants view the launch of land staking, increasing activity on the Ronin bridge and upcoming roadmap targets as bullish catalysts.

Play-to-earn gaming was one of the breakout sectors of the cryptocurrency market in 2021 and the trend was led by Axie Infinity (AXS), a mobile, blockchain-based game where users collect, breed, raise and battle nonfungible tokens (NFTs) called Axies for monetary rewards. 

As the market topped and then entered what has become a deep bear market, AXS price retraced from an all-time high near $170 to its current price at $15.20 following several setbacks, including a $600 million hack of the Ronin sidechain that hosts the game. 

AXS/USDT 1-day chart. Source: TradingView

Currently, the future of P2E gaming remains in question and advocates are watching closely to see if this former unicorn had turned the ship around. Let's take a look at some of the developments taking place within Axie Infinity and determine whether any of them are bullish for the short and long term.  

The launch of land staking

The most recent development to arise out of the Axie Infinity ecosystem is land stake parcels as a method for earning AXS tokens.

Based on the stats provided by the Ronin Chain explorer, land staking has been popular among holders and at least 87% of each of the different levels of plots have already been staked.

Axie Infinity land statistics. Source: Axie Infinity

In addition to the success of land staking, several land plots recently sold for over 130 Ether (ETH) each, which suggests that the level of interest in the game is still high.

While land owners have been excited about the new income opportunity, some community members have concerns about what effect the daily rewards of 11,194.62 AXS will have on the price of the token as the supply inflates.

The platform also offers AXS staking with a current yield of 72%, but only 38.47% of the current circulating supply is being staked, which indicates that a majority of the supply is available in the open market and could potentially be sold off.

The Ronin bridge reopens

The recent reopening of the Ronin bridge could also be another positive sign for Axie, especially considering that it had been disabled following a $600 million hack in March of this year.

According to Axie Infinity, the assets on the bridge are "fully backed 1:1," and the project added 11 new validators, circuit breakers and the two external audits were completed. All user funds that were lost have been reimbursed, making members of the community whole.

The reopening of the Ronin bridge and the launch of land staking has had a noticeable effect on the volume transacted, according to data from DappRadar.

Axie Infinity statistics. Source: DappRadar

These developments have also prompted a slight uptick in the number of daily users and transactions on the network, but these figures remain well below the 2021 highs of 744,000 users and 6.7 million transactions.

Related: Battle-hardened Ronin bridge reopens following $600M hack: Finance Redefined

The community responds positively to the current changes

Community reactions to the recent developments have been mostly positive, with many eager to re-engage with the game now that it has finally moved past a few major bumps.

According to early Axie Infinity investor and Cointelegraph contributor Alyssa Exposito, “land staking has brought about a surge of energy that the community needed after we lost a huge amount in the treasury fund.”

Exposito also mentioned the Axie creator program that enables community members to build out games on the software development kit (SDK) as something that is exciting users of the platform, “Especially with the integration of RON as a means to engage and transact on the network."

Exposito highlighted the ecosystem's effort to get community members more involved with governance and building on the protocol as the developments that the community is most excited about.

Exposito said,

“I think once people begin to see and take notice of how the project enables and helps fund other creators to build on top of it, it’ll gain more traction on the possibilities of blockchain gaming.”

The main concerns discussed by members of the Axie community revolve around the circulating supply of AXS, how staking rewards affect the circulating supply and price, and the various token lockups and vesting schedules that could lead to large sales and price dumps in the future.

Generally, the protocol has taken the necessary steps to recover from the Ronin hack and it seems to be keeping up to date with the major milestones outlined on its roadmap. Aside from what the project can do internally, its fate is largely tied to the fate of the P2E sector as a whole.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

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ezETH depeg puts ETH restaking volatility into the limelight

ezETH depeg puts ETH restaking volatility into the limelight

Traders debate whether Solana (SOL) is a buy now that it’s down 87% from its all-time high

Coin Telegraph
Traders debate whether Solana (SOL) is a buy now that it’s down 87% from its all-time high
Altcoin Watch

SOL price is 87% down from its all-time high, but do improving fundamentals strengthen its investment thesis?

The crypto sector is caught in a deep correction and recent reporting shows that a majority of altcoins are more than 70% down from their 2021 highs. Solana is among that list and investors are on the fence about whether the token has strong enough fundamentals to warrant buying SOL at its current value. 

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows SOL is down 87.5% from its all-time high and given the current state of the market, most price breakouts fail to notch a daily higher high.

SOL/USDT 1-day chart. Source: TradingView

Despite, the dismal outlook, there are a few potential positives that could make Solana a project to watch once the wider market enters a consolidation phase.

Solana Mobile

SOL price received a quick boost late last week after a June 23 announcement that the project would release a Solana mobile stack which enables native Android Web3 apps on Solana.

To go along with the new operating interface for smartphones, Solana also revealed that it will be releasing its own “Saga” Android phone through Solana Mobile in an effort to lead the way on Web3-enabled devices.

Web3 and the Metaverse are two of the topics that arose out of the 2021 bull market and point to the future of where blockchain technology is headed. This move by Solana shows that despite the short-term struggles, it continues to develop for the future and looks to play a part in the wider adoption of blockchain and cryptocurrency.

The low fee nature of the Solana blockchain makes it an ideal candidate for nonfungible token (NFT) projects and gaming dApps, and the release of a tech stack for mobile phones is the next step in creating wider access to these technologies.

If the developers can manage to solve the issues that continue to cause Solana network outages, the token has a chance of being a top contender once the wider market turns bullish again.

Short-term pain is expected, but fundamentals improve

While it's nice to look ahead at what the distant future may hold, the reality is that the short-term outlook for Solana and the wider crypto ecosystem is rather unappealing.

Insight into the lower price points to keep an eye on was offered by crypto trader and pseudonymous Twitter user Crypto Tony, who posted the following chart warning traders to not fall for the first retest of a major support level.

SOL/USDT 1-week chart. Source: Twitter

Crypto Tony said,

“First demand zone tested hence this reaction, but you really want to call a bottom already after the first test…”

Based on the chart provided, the notable lower levels of support for Solana are located at $13.50 and $3.50.

Market analyst and pseudonymous Twitter user Crypto Patel also predicts further downside in the near term for SOL due to a strong amount of resistance found at the 200-day exponential moving average.

SOL/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: Twtter

Crypto Patel said,

“After breakout and retest of $40 zone, Supports converts into Resistance [...] Facing resistance at 200EMA. Anytime can give downside movement. Sell: $38.5, SL: $43.2, TP: $27.”

Related: SOL price eyes 75% rally as Solana paints a bullish reversal pattern

Is SOL in the early stages of a recovery?

A more optimistic outlook for Solana was offered by pseudonymous Twitter user Trader McGavin, who posted the following chart highlighting the important levels of resistance at $60, $74 and $95.

SOL/USDT 1-day chart. Source: Twitter

The analyst said,

“Double bottomed after breaking down from the wedge and rebounding higher. One of the first to bounce off the bottom and may be headed to $48.”

The importance of maintaining the current price levels was also touched on by crypto trader and pseudonymous Twitter user Altcoin Sherpa, who posted the following chart noting the bullish signal provided by the medium-term EMAs.

SOL/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: Twitter

Altcoin Sherpa said,

“$SOL: Still a do or die area in low time frames; this is the first time we've seen some of the medium EMAs flip bullish since March. Longing mid $30s is my current plan as a scalp since I missed the short higher.”

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

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ezETH depeg puts ETH restaking volatility into the limelight

ezETH depeg puts ETH restaking volatility into the limelight

Stratis (STRAX) gains 200%+ after Sky Dream Mall metaverse and stablecoin announcement

Coin Telegraph
Stratis (STRAX) gains 200%+ after Sky Dream Mall metaverse and stablecoin announcement
Altcoin Watch

STRAX price bucked the market-wide bearish downtrend by rallying 200% after the team unveiled plans for a British pound stablecoin and a new metaverse.

Bear markets can be incredibly harsh for projects that have little adoption or lack an applicable use case, but projects that dedicate to building regardless of market sentiment tend to succeed in the next market cycle.

One project that has seen a noticeable boost in volume, despite the wider-market downtrend is Stratis (STRAX), a blockchain development platform designed to help enterprise businesses establish their own blockchain in a simplified manner.

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that after hitting a low of $0.365 on June 15, the price of STRAX has rallied 220% to hit a daily high of $1.20 on June 29 amid a surging 24-hour trading volume.

STRAX/USDT 1-day chart. Source: TradingView

Here are three reasons why the price of STRAX is rallying this week as the wider crypto market continues to struggle.

Metaverse launch entices volume

The Metaverse was one of the hottest topics during the bull market of 2021 and the concept continues to be a driving force behind mass adoption in the crypto space.

Prior to the recent STRAX price rally, the team behind the protocol teased the upcoming launch of Sky Dream Mall, a metaverse project that is powered by the Stratis blockchain.

The protocol has been experiencing growth within its nonfungible token (NFT) and GameFi communities, thanks to projects like he Astroverse Club and Trivia Legends.

Stablecoins and NFTs

Along with the growth on the Metaverse front, Stratis could also be getting a boost from its plan to launch a Great British ound Token (GBPT) stablecoin.

The GBPT stablecoin is being developed in conjunction with Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC), which is helping Stratis complete the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) registration process. PwC will also provide future auditing services when the GBPT stablecoin is eventually released.

The team is also working on a ticketing management system that will allow NFTs to be used to validate entry, and store benefits and perks for designated events and venues.

Related: Governments, enterprise, gaming: Who will drive the next crypto bull run?

Outreach in Uganda

A third factor helping to bolster the price of STRAX is the ongoing development of a blockchain innovation center in Uganda, which aims to increase blockchain knowledge and awareness.

The project began after Stratis entered a long-term partnership with the Foundation of King Oyo, the current monarch of the Tooro Kingdom in Uganda.

Construction of the center began on May 24 and the most recent update on the project was posted on June 27 showing that the foundation for the center is nearing completion.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

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ezETH depeg puts ETH restaking volatility into the limelight

ezETH depeg puts ETH restaking volatility into the limelight

Celsius (CEL) price gains 600%+, but analysts cite exchange error and a massive short squeeze

Coin Telegraph
Celsius (CEL) price gains 600%+, but analysts cite exchange error and a massive short squeeze
Altcoin Watch

CEL price abruptly rallied 600%+ on June 14, but analysts say it’s likely due to an exchange glitch or a liquidation of short traders.

On June 14, discussions of Celsius continued to populate media headlines and June 14's news involved the platform's CEL token accruing massive gains after what appears to have been either an exchange glitch or a short-squeeze. CEL price spiked from $0.18  to $1.55 in one abrupt candle before sinking back to $0.60 within the same one-hour candle.

CEL/USDT 1-day chart. Source: TradingView

Currently, analysts are on the fence about the reason for the explosive price breakout. Some cite Celsius repaying a portion of its debts as a reason, while others pinpoint a possible error on the FTX exchange as the reason for what appears to be a short squeeze.

Are debt repayments boosting investor confidence?

Celsius has been scrambling to cover a number of its debts and it is possible that some investors view this as a sign that the platform will be able to survive the current mayhem. 

Twitter analyst Hsaka said that on-chain data shows that the $28 million in Dai (DAI) that was recently deposited into a wallet controlled by Celsius and has since been sent to a separate address, which he identified as a debt repayment address.

Celsius wallet transactions. Source: Twitter

Analysts believe that the Celsius's strategy is to lower its liquidation price in the MakerDAO vaults  where it holds funds and ultimately avoid insolvency.

User interface problems on FTX

While the beginning of debt repayment might have helped inspire more confidence in Celsius, several crypto traders reported issues when trying to buy and sell the token on FTX exchange.

Several replies to the tweet above confirmed user difficulties when trying to sell CEL on FTX, and Twitter user Karl Larsen said that they “could only fill my shorts at 0.87–0.95.”

The possibility that the difficulties with the user interface on FTX played a part in CEL's rapid spike was also noted by analytics provider TheKingFisher, who posted the following chart highlighting when the user interface went down in relation to when CEL price pumped.

CEL/USD price. Source: Twitter

According to TheKingfisher, when the UX went down, “most traders [were] unable to hedge, close [or] reduce their positions.”

The firm said,

“Spot market went above $2 to break index and trigger liquidations on purpose. That's a spot manipulation to liquidate traders. Index being calculated on FTX itself. This is not outside of their boundary against fraud [to] keep the market organized.”

Related: Nexo offers to buy out Celsius’ loans amid withdrawal suspension

It's just another short squeeze

Some analysts say the price breakout was nothing more than an old-fashioned short squeeze, as noted by Saleem Lala.

It remains to be seen what happens with the price of CEL moving forward, and it seems the most likely culprit was a cascading liquidation because these types of events are relatively frequent during strong market volatility. For example, Chain (XCN) token underwent a similar event on June 14 as its price dropped 95% due to cascading liquidations.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

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ezETH depeg puts ETH restaking volatility into the limelight

ezETH depeg puts ETH restaking volatility into the limelight

Ocean Protocol, Helium and Chainlink post monthly gains while Bitcoin price consolidates

Coin Telegraph
Ocean Protocol, Helium and Chainlink post monthly gains while Bitcoin price consolidates
Altcoin Watch

Roadmap and protocol upgrades are a few of the factors behind the month-long rally in LINK, OCEAN and HNT.

Positive price movements during bear markets are noteworthy primarily because they can help identify projects that have a good chance of surviving until the next bull cycle . 

Generally, price action in June has been stagnant for a majority of the crypto market because traders are nervous about Bitcoin's (BTC) oscillation around the $30,000 support level, but there have been a few strong performers.

LINK/USDT vs. HNT/USDT vs. OCEAN/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that three of the biggest gainers in the month of June have been Chainlink (LINK), Ocean Protocol (OCEAN) and Helium (HNT).

Chainlink introduces staking

The Chainlink protocol is the most widely adopted oracle network in the cryptocurrency ecosystem which allows blockchains to securely interact with external data feeds for the proper functioning of smart contracts.

Earlier this week, the project revealed a roadmap for the first time and indicated that LINK staking would launch soon. The NewsQuakes™ alert system from Cointelegraph Markets Pro managed to capture the staking announcement for LINK on June 7, prior to the recent price rise.

VORTECS™ Score (green) vs. LINK price. Source: Cointelegraph Markets Pro

As seen in the chart above, following the NewsQuakes™ alert for LINK which was registered at noon on June 7, the price of LINK proceeded to increase by 29.55% over the next two days.

Ocean Protocol introduces data NFTs

Ocean Protocol's native OCEAN token also was a strong performer this week and data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that since hitting a low of $0.1965 on June 3, the price of OCEAN has rallied 64.53% to hit a daily high at $0.3233 on June 9.

OCEAN/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView

The climbing price of OCEAN comes after the release of the Ocean ONDA v4 data marketplace which debuted the release of data NFTs that can be used to model the copyright or exclusive license for a data asset.

Along with the introduction of data NFTS, the protocol has also introduced Ocean data framing which enables token holders to stake their OCEAN tokens and earn up to 125% APY.

Related: Chainlink brings Keepers and VRF to the Avalanche blockchain

Helium holders vote to support new networks

Helium protocol is a 5G Internet-of-Things-focused project supporting low-powered wireless devices to communicate with each other and send data across its network of nodes.

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that since hitting a low of $6.35 on May 29, the price of HNT has surged 79.14% to hit a daily high of $12.28 on June 9 as its 24-hour trading volume spiked 249% to $126.7 million.

HNT/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView

HNT's breakout occurred as the Helium community voted on HIP-51, a proposal that covered the economic and technical constructions needed to scale the Helium Network to support new users, devices and different types of networks including cellular, VPN, WiFi and LPWAN.

Voters ultimately approved the proposal on June 8, with 96.94% of voters approving the transition to making Helium a “network of networks.”

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

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ezETH depeg puts ETH restaking volatility into the limelight

ezETH depeg puts ETH restaking volatility into the limelight

Traders target $1,400 Ethereum price after ETH drops closer to a critical support level

Coin Telegraph
Traders target ,400 Ethereum price after ETH drops closer to a critical support level
Altcoin Watch

Ethereum’s Ropsten testnet successfully integrated the merge to become proof-of-stake, but this hasn’t stopped traders from adjusting their downside price targets.

On June 8 the Ethereum network successfully underwent the merge to become proof-of-stake on its Ropsten testnet, but the news had little impact on ETH price. 

With the Ropsten upgrade now looking more like a buy the rumor, sell the news type of event, most analysts have kept a short-term bearish outlook for Ether price. Let's take a look.

ETH/USDT 1-day chart. Source: TradingView

Can Ether escape the head and shoulders pattern?

Twitter analyst, "Cactus"pointed out a bearish head and shoulders pattern and questioned whether Ether price would be able to follow the sharp downside that typically follows the completion of the pattern.

ETH/USD 1-week chart. Source: Twitter

Cactus said,

“This is what we are getting excited about? Hard to be bullish any timeframe until we S/R [support/resistance] flip 2K.”

The areas of support to keep an eye on below $1,800 were highlighted in the following chart posted by crypto analyst and pseudonymous Twitter user il Capo of Crypto, who ominously noted that “Lower highs all the time and that support has been touched a lot of times already.”

ETH/USD 1-day chart. Source: Twitter

The analyst said,

“Clean break of $1,700 and last leg down would be confirmed, with main target = $1,000.”

The descending triangle pattern also forecasts further downside

A separate, but equally bearish descending triangle chart pattern was highlighted by Crypto Tony, who pondered if this is “something too obvious” to ignore.

ETH/USD 1-day chart. Source: Twitter

Based on the lower area of support highlighted on the chart provided by Crypto Tony, a breakdown below the current price could see Ether pullback to the $1,450 to $1,600 range.

Related: Ethereum ‘double Doji’ pattern hints at a 50% ETH price rally by September

Price momentum turns negative

A more macro view of the general weakness being displayed by Ether was offered by cryptocurrency trader Cantering Clark, who said “If I didn't think that this time was slightly different, I would look at this $ETH chart and think ‘Big ships turn slowly, and they don't stop easily.’”

ETH/USD 1-week chart. Source: Twitter

Cantering Clark said,

“By high timeframe measures, this could be the beginning of actual momentum down.”

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

Read more
ezETH depeg puts ETH restaking volatility into the limelight

ezETH depeg puts ETH restaking volatility into the limelight

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