Cosmos sees 1 million transfers in a month across the ecosystem

October 6, 2021 Coin Telegraph

ATOM

The Inter Blockchain Communication protocol that powers Cosmos has been growing steadily over the past 6 months.

The Cosmos cross-chain network has been growing steadily along with the projects that run on top of it and it’s just reached a milestone in terms of activity.

The Inter Blockchain Communication protocol (IBC), which is the backbone of the Cosmos ecosystem, has seen a surge in activity over the past month with more thanone million transfers logged.

Cosmos launched the IBC in March to enable cross-chain decentralized finance and interoperable nonfungible token transfers. Over the past six months, it has grown substantially, onboarding new projects and blockchains into the ecosystem.

Other notable projects operating on the protocol include Terra, Band, Kava, and THORchain’s Chaosnet.

One million IBC transfers in 30 days...

Probably nothing. #cosmos $atom pic.twitter.com/U4UVAsLRDd
— Documenting Cosmos ⚛ (@DocumentingATOM) October 3, 2021

The Mapofzones Cosmos ecosystem explorer shows that there have been 1,071,132 transfers over the past 30 days and 45,738 transfers on IBC over the past 24 hours.

The Osmosis automated market maker is responsible for the lion’s share of those IBC protocol transfers with 44% of the total, with the Cosmos chains recording 307,855 transfers, or 29% of the IBC total, over the past 30 days.

The IBC standard provides a secure method of exchanging data between independent blockchains while scaling through sharding and sidechains for various applications. Cosmos is just one network of many operating on the IBC protocol.

The digital asset payments and wallet provider Crypto.com also runs on the Cosmos network. In late September it launched its own NFT platform and marketplace which has driven further momentum.

In June, the Kava DeFi platform launched on Cosmos enabling Binance Coin deposits to collateralized loans in its USDX stablecoin.

Cosmos is also working on rollup scaling technology to allow developers to build Cosmos-based blockchains as rollups which can be deployed as clusters within the IBC zones. In a tweet on Oct. 6, it explained that the scaling tech called Optimint would be a “drop-in replacement” for the current Tendermint framework that it is built on.

Cosmos has its own native token called ATOM which has fallen 5.1% over the past 24 hours to trade at $35.39 according to CoinGecko. The token has made a solid 37% gain over the past month, however, and is just 19% down from its Sept. 20 all-time high of $44.42.

Top 5 cryptocurrencies to watch this week: BTC, LUNA, ATOM, XTZ, AXS

October 3, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Axie Infinity

Bitcoin’s strong recovery to $49,000 has boosted bullish sentiment and it may provide further incentive for LUNA, ATOM, XTZ and AXS to rally in the short term.

The sentiment in the crypto markets can change quickly as seen from the Crypto Fear and Greed Index, which has risen from levels of extreme fear on Sept. 30 to neutral today. The sentiment may improve further if Bitcoin (BTC) breaks out and sustains above the psychologically critical level at $50,000.

One important event that may boost short-term sentiment is the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) decision on Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications. Although the SEC extended the deadline of four Bitcoin ETF applications by 45 days on Oct. 1, Bloomberg’s senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas is hopeful that a futures-backed Bitcoin ETF may receive the green signal by the middle of October.

*Crypto market data daily view. Source:* *Coin360*

Balchunas said the Bitcoin futures-based ETF applications, which have found support from SEC chair Garry Gensler, “are very much alive and likely on schedule (we think 75% chance approved in Oct).”

If bulls build on the recent strength in Bitcoin and clear the hurdle at $50,000, several altcoins may pick up momentum. Let’s study the charts of the top-5 cryptocurrencies that may outperform in the short term.

BTC/USDT

Bitcoin broke above the 50-day simple moving average ($46,633) on Oct. 1 but the bears are attempting to stall the recovery near the resistance at $48,843.20. However, a positive sign is that bulls have not allowed the price to dip below the 50-day SMA.

The 20-day exponential moving average ($45,141) has turned up and the relative strength index (RSI) is in the positive territory, indicating advantage to the bulls. If buyers push the price above $48,843.20, the BTC/USDT pair could rally to $52,920.

This level may again act as stiff resistance but if bulls bulldoze their way through, the head and shoulders pattern will be invalidated. That could result in a pick-up in momentum and the pair could rise to $60,000.

Contrary to this assumption, if the price turns down from the current level and breaks below the moving averages, it will suggest that higher levels are attracting aggressive selling from the bears. The pair may then drop toward $40,000.

*BTC/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView*

Both moving averages on the 4-hour chart are sloping up and the RSI is near the overbought zone, indicating the path of least resistance is to the upside. The price has been consolidating in a tight range between $47,000 and $48,495 for some time.

If bulls thrust the price above $48,843, the pair could rise to the psychological mark at $50,000 and then challenge the stiff resistance at $52,920.

Conversely, if the price turns down and breaks below the 20-EMA, it will suggest that short-term traders are booking profits. The pair could then drop to $45,000 and later to the 50-SMA.

LUNA/USDT

Terra protocol’s LUNA token broke above the downtrend line on Oct. 2 and bulls followed it up with a break above the all-time high at $45.01 today. However, the long wick on today’s candlestick suggests that bears are attempting to defend the $45.01 level aggressively.

If the price turns down from the current level but rebounds off the downtrend line, it will suggest that the sentiment remains positive and traders are buying on dips.

The bulls will then make one more attempt to push the price above the $45.01 to $46.17 resistance zone and start the next leg of the uptrend. The psychological level at $50 may act as a resistance but if it is crossed, the LUNA/USDT pair may rally to $65.

On the contrary, if the price turns down and breaks below the 20-day EMA ($36.30), the next stop could be the 50-day SMA ($32.97). A break below this support will suggest that the bulls are losing their grip.

*LUNA/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView*

Although bulls pushed the price above $45.01, the long wick on the candlestick shows selling at higher levels. The bears are currently attempting to trap the aggressive bulls who may have gone long above $45.01.

The first support on the downside is the 20-EMA. A strong bounce off this support will suggest the sentiment remains positive. The bulls then try to propel the price above $46.17.

Alternatively, a break below the 20-EMA could pull the price down to the 50-SMA. If this support cracks, the pullback may deepen to $33.

ATOM/USDT

Cosmos (ATOM) successfully held the breakout level at $32.32 on Sep. 29, which suggests that sentiment remains positive and bulls are buying on dips.

The bulls pushed the price above the 20-day EMA ($35.88) on Sept. 30 but the momentum has failed to pick up. This suggests that bears have not thrown in the towel yet and are selling on rallies. The bulls will have to thrust and sustain the price above $44.80 to signal the resumption of the uptrend.

The long wick on today’s candlestick suggests selling at higher levels. If the price turns down from the current level and breaks below the 20-day EMA, the bears will make one more attempt to sink the price below $32.32. If they succeed, the ATOM/USDT pair could drop to the 50-day SMA ($28.54).

*ATOM/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView*

The pair turned down from the resistance line of the symmetrical triangle, indicating that bears are defending this level aggressively. If the price rebounds off the moving averages, the bulls will make one more attempt to push the price above the triangle.

If they succeed, the pair could rally to $44.80 and then to the psychological level at $50. A break and close above this level could open the doors for an up-move toward the pattern target at $57.61.

On the contrary, if the price slips below the moving averages, the next stop could be the support line. If this level cracks, the pair could drop to $28.83 and then to $24.50.

XTZ/USDT

Tezos (XTZ) rebounded off the 50-day SMA ($5.50) on Sept. 29 and the momentum picked up after the bulls pushed the price above the 20-day EMA ($6.40) on Sept. 30.

Sustained buying pushed the price above the overhead resistance zone at $8.03 to $8.42. Both moving averages are sloping up and the RSI is near the overbought territory, indicating that bulls are in control.

If bulls sustain the price above $8.42, it will suggest the start of a new uptrend. Contrary to this assumption, if bears pull and sustain the price below $8.03, it will suggest profit-booking at higher levels. The XTZ/USDT pair could then drop to the 20-day EMA.

*XTZ/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView*

The 4-hour chart shows the formation of a symmetrical triangle pattern, which usually acts as a continuation pattern. The bulls pushed the price above the triangle and successfully held the breakout level, indicating the start of an up-move.

This setup has a pattern target at $11.33. The rising 20-EMA and the RSI in the overbought zone suggest that bulls have an edge.

The first sign of weakness will be a close below $8.03. That could open the doors for a retest of the 20-EMA. A strong rebound off this level will suggest that the sentiment remains positive and traders are buying on dips. Conversely, a break below the 20-EMA could pull the price down to $7 and later to $6.50.

AXS/USDT

Axie Infinity (AXS) soared above the previous all-time high at $94.67 on Oct. 1, which suggests the resumption of the uptrend. A coin hitting a new all-time high is a positive sign as it shows strong demand from traders.

The AXS/USDT pair has been facing resistance near $120.57 but the positive sign is that bulls have not given up much ground. This shows that traders are not hurrying to book profits after the recent rally and are buying the dips.

The 20-day EMA ($77) has started to turn up and the RSI is in the overbought zone, indicating that bulls have the upper hand. If buyers drive the price above $120.57, the pair could start its northward march toward $150 and then $165.58.

Contrary to this assumption, if bears pull the price below the breakout level at $94.67, it may result in aggressive profit-booking by traders and the pair may then drop to the 20-day EMA.

*AXS/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView*

The pair has rebounded off $103.22 and the bulls are currently attempting to push the price above the overhead resistance at $110.50. The upsloping moving averages and the RSI in the overbought zone indicate the path of least resistance is to the upside.

If buyers push the price above $110.50, the pair could retest the critical resistance at $120.57. A break and close above this level could signal the resumption of the uptrend.

On the other hand, if the price turns down from the overhead resistance, the pair may consolidate for some time before starting the next directional move. The first sign of weakness will be a break and close below the 20-EMA. Such a move will suggest that the bullish momentum has weakened and supply exceeds demand.

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

Michaël van de Poppe Predicts Big Q4 for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Three Altcoins, Tracks Cardano and Solana Trajectories

October 1, 2021 The Daily Hodl

Cosmos Bridge to Ethereum Is Slated to Launch in 2021

October 1, 2021 The Crypto Briefing

Terra to Apply Columbus 5 Mainnet Migration

September 30, 2021 Bitcoin.com

Derivatives data suggests Solana has reached a short-term top

September 25, 2021 Coin Telegraph

ATOM

SOL's futures open interest recently hit $1 billion and while the recent price swing liquidated leveraged longs, data suggests the short-term top is not a bearish trend reversal.

Solana (SOL) reached a $216 all-time high on Sept. 9 after rallying 508% since Aug. The bull run caused some analysts to project a $500 target which would translate to a $150 billion market capitalization.

It is worth noting that during SOL's rally, the Ethereum network's average transaction fee had surpassed $40. Surging interest in the NFT market accelerated investors' transition to Solana, which was boosted by FTX's NFT marketplace launch on Sept. 6.

*Solana, Avalanche, and Cosmos price at Binance. Source: TradingView*

The above chart shows SOL's two-month performance compared to Avalanche (AVAX) and Cosmos (ATOM). Both are fighting for the same decentralized application user-base and offer faster and cheaper transactions compared to Ethereum (ETH).

Major players in the industry also invested in Solana's ecosystem due to its potential against Ethereum. In June, Andreessen Horowitz and Polychain Capital led a $314-million funding round in Solana Labs, which was also funded by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, Polychain Capital and Alameda Research.

Is Solana's outage weighing on SOL price?

At SALT Conference 2021, Solana founder and CEO Anatoly Yakovenko told Cointelegraph that the network "is optimized for a specific use case: online central limit order book, a trading method used by exchanges that matches bids with offers. It was designed for market makers who need to submit millions of transactions per day."

Yakovenko then added: "There are Pareto efficiency tradeoffs. If I optimize for hash power security, that means I can't have a lot of TPS. You have to pick one or the other."

Curiously, on Sept. 14, the Solana network experienced an outage that lasted over 12 hours. The team explained that a large increase in transaction load to 400,000 per second had overwhelmed the network, creating a denial-of-service that caused validators to start forking.

*Solana futures aggregate open interest. Source: Bybt.com*

Despite the recent setback, Solana futures markets aggregate open interest sits at $1 billion, a 640% increase in two months. This figure makes Solana's derivatives market the third largest, behind Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether. This data confirms investors' interest, but it can't be deemed bullish because futures buyers (longs) and sellers (shorts) are matched at all times.

Derivatives markets point toward a balanced situation

To answer this question, one must analyze the funding rate. Perpetual contracts, also known as inverse swaps, have an embedded rate usually charged every eight hours. This fee ensures there are no exchange risk imbalances. A positive funding rate indicates that longs (buyers) are the ones demanding more leverage.

However, the opposite situation occurs when shorts (sellers) require additional leverage, and this causes the funding rate to turn negative.

*Solana perpetual futures 8-hour funding rate. Source: Bybt.com*

As depicted above, the eight-hour fee reached a 0.12% peak on Sept. 5, which is equivalent to 2.5% per week. This momentary spike seized rapidly as SOL faced extreme volatility on Sept. 7. After peaking at $195, the SOL price crashed by 35% within 9 hours and liquidated leveraged positions, leading to the current balance between the longs and shorts.

Data shows no evidence of investors rushing to add leveraged long positions despite the current $1 billion open interest. Moreover, considering the 410% gain in the last two months, traders have reason to fear further downside because Bitcoin has also failed to break the $50,000 psychological barrier and it is yet to confirm if the recent sub-$40,000 dip was the short-term bottom.

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