SPX Tops the Charts This Week Jumping 193%, CVC and FTT Also See Gains

October 7, 2024 Bitcoin.com

FTX bankruptcy estate auctioning Worldcoin tokens this week

October 2, 2024 Coin Telegraph

Crypto Market Holds Strong Despite Monday Dip: MOODENG and ETHW Shine

September 30, 2024 Bitcoin.com

Despite FTX’s Collapse, FTT’s $535M Market Cap Highlights Crypto Absurdity

May 19, 2024 Bitcoin.com

Chainlink leads the market with 61% weekly gain — What’s driving LINK price?

October 27, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

LINK price pulled off a shocking double-digit rally over the past week, but exactly what is behind the move?

The Chainlink’s (LINK) token surged by a substantial 61.3% from Oct. 20 to Oct. 25, reaching a peak of $11.78 and marking its highest point since May 2022. LINK price then stabilized around $10.50, prompting investors to question the sustainability of this new price level.

*Chainlink (LINK) token price, 12-hour, USD. Source: TradingView*

It's worth noting that this surge coincided with Bitcoin's (BTC) 23% gain during the same period. However, LINK's performance stands out in comparison to Ether's (ETH) 14% increase and Solana's (SOL) 28% rally, suggesting increased bullish sentiment toward Chainlink's leading oracle and decentralized computing solutions.

Chainlink partnerships and integrations back the rally

Several recent developments have contributed to LINK's outperformance of its peers. Notably, the announcement of Chainlink's upcoming native staking upgrade set for release in the next couple of months garnered significant attention. The initial staking pool was a resounding success, filling up in less than three hours, and the planned expansion promises greater flexibility through staking withdrawals, improved security guarantees, and dynamic rewards.

Additionally, Chainlink's integration into various blockchain networks has fueled optimism among LINK investors. For instance, on Oct. 15, Chainlink revealed its provision of services to Advanced Crypto Strategies DAO, a multi-chain yield optimizer and automated liquidity manager, and Equilibria, a yield booster for Pendle Finance.

By Oct. 22, Chainlink services had been integrated into Cobo Global, an institutional-grade digital custody solution, StaFi Protocol's liquid staking solution for Proof-of-Stake chains, Ethereum's on-chain derivatives platform Thales Market, and Xena Finance, which offers 50x perpetual futures on Coinbase's Base chain.

On Oct. 24, telecom giant Vodafone made a significant announcement, revealing its digital asset arm's involvement in the Chainlink network as a node operator. This came after completing a proof-of-concept with the Japanese trading and investment company Sumitomo for the exchange of trade documents across platforms.

FTX and Alameda Research bankruptcy liquidation fear dissipates

The price of LINK came under pressure following the Delaware Bankruptcy Court's approval of the sale of FTX and Alameda Research cryptocurrencies on September 13. Initially, there were concerns about the potential liquidation of $3.4 billion worth of digital assets, including LINK, which raised fears of a market crash. However, recent transfers from wallets associated with the bankruptcy estate have been gradual and had little impact on prices.

As the concerns related to the FTX and Alameda Research bankruptcy subsided and renewed interest in mid-capitalization altcoins emerged with Bitcoin's rise above $32,000 on Oct. 23, investor interest in LINK grew. Consequently, the demand for leveraged long positions in LINK reached a three-month high, as indicated by the funding rate.

A positive funding rate indicates that longs (buyers) are seeking increased leverage, while the opposite scenario arises when shorts (sellers) require additional leverage, leading to a negative funding rate.

*LINK average perpetual contracts 8-hour funding rate. Source: Coinglass*

It's worth noting that the current 0.014% 8-hour rate translates to a 0.3% cost over a seven-day period, which is not significant for traders building futures positions. Typically, when there is an imbalance driven by excessive optimism, the rate can easily exceed 1.0% per week.

In addition, the number of active addresses in the Chainlink network has reached an 11-month high, as reported by Messari and Coinmetrics data.

*Chainlink 1-day unique active addresses. Source: Messari/Coinmetrics*

Interestingly, the previous peak occurred on Nov. 7, 2022, when FTX exchange issues led to a six-month high in LINK's price at $38.32. This coincides with concerns surrounding FTX exchange's withdrawals and apprehensions about the impact of its native token FTT following Changpeng "CZ" Zhao's decision to liquidate Binance's holdings of FTT the previous day.

The subsequent 30 days proved to be extremely negative for LINK's price, with the token plummeting by 51.7% to $18.50. Nevertheless, LINK enthusiasts need not be concerned this time, given the substantial developments in its ecosystem and the promising advancements in Chainlink's native staking solution.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Alameda Tapped Billions of Dollars in FTX User Funds As Early as 2019, Says Co-Founder Gary Wang: Report

October 8, 2023 The Daily Hodl

Alameda sent $4.1B of FTT tokens to FTX before crash: Nansen report

October 4, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Alameda

Nansen analysts observed “unusual transactions between FTX and Alameda” in the days leading up to FTX’s bankruptcy.

Blockchain data analysts from Nansen have revisited the days leading up to the collapse of FTX, including the transfer of $4.1 billion worth of FTT tokens between the exchange and Alameda Research.

A Nansen report shared with Cointelegraph reveals unique observations from the blockchain analytics firm, highlighting the close relationship between the two companies founded by Sam Bankman-Fried as the former FTX CEO appears in court to face a litany of charges relating to the collapse of the exchange.

The collapse of FTX is widely reported to have been sparked by initial reports that flagged the significant 40% share of Alameda’s $14.6 billion in assets held in FTT tokens in September 2022.

Nansen analysts revealed that they had observed dubious on-chain interactions between FTX and Alameda before these reports came to light. Between Sept. 28 and Nov. 1, Alameda sent $4.1 billion FTT tokens to FTX and several continuous transfers of United States dollar-pegged stablecoins amounting to $388 million.

*Net FTT flow from Alameda to FTX. Source: Nansen*

On-chain data also indicated that FTX held around 280 million FTT tokens (80%) of the total 350 million FTT supply. Blockchain data reflects “considerable” proportions of FTT trading volume amounting to billions of dollars flowing between various FTX and Alameda wallets.

Nansen also highlights that most of the FTT token supply, consisting of company tokens and unsold non-company tokens, was locked in a three-year vesting contract. The lone beneficiary of the contract is an Alameda-controlled wallet, according to the analysts.

Given that the two companies controlled around 90% of the FTT token supply, Nansen suggests that the entities were able to prop up each other’s balance sheets.

The report also suggests that Alameda most likely sold FTT tokens over-the-counter, as well as for collateral for loans from cryptocurrency lending firms.

“This theory is backed by historical on-chain data where we observed regular large inflows and outflows between FTX, Alameda and Genesis Trading wallets with transfer volumes up to $1.7 billion as seen in Dec 2021.”

The collapse of the Terra ecosystem and subsequent bankruptcy of Three Arrows Capital (3AC) likely led to liquidity issues for Alameda due to the drop in value of FTT, which led to a covert, $4 billion FTT-backed loan from FTX.

“Our on-chain data indicates that this may have happened. Amidst the collapse of 3AC in mid-June 2022, Alameda sent ~163m of FTT to FTX wallets, worth ~$4b at that time.”

The researchers claim that the $4 billion transaction volume coincided with a $4 billion loan figure that close associates of Bankman-Fried had divulged in an interview with Reuters.

*Alameda wallet balances. Source: Nansen*

Blockchain data also reflects how Alameda would not have been able to make good on an offer to buy FTT tokens from Binance at $22 on Nov. 6. This was after Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao announced that the exchange would offload its tokens following disparaging reports about Alameda’s balance sheet.

Magazine: Blockchain detectives: Mt. Gox collapse saw birth of Chainalysis

Bitcoin price drops its early week gains — Here is why

October 3, 2023 Coin Telegraph

CME

Bitcoin price gave up its recent gains as concerning signals from the US economy continue to weigh on investor sentiment.

Bitcoin (BTC) price gained 6% from Oct. 1 to Oct. 2 but after failing to break the $28,500 resistance, the price dropped by 4.5% on the same day. This decline happened because of the disappointing performance of Ether (ETH) futures exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that were launched on Oct. 2 and concerns about an upcoming economic downturn.

*Bitcoin price index, USD. Source: TradingView*

This correction in Bitcoin's price on Oct. 3 marks 47 days since Bitcoin last closed above $28,000 and has led to the liquidation of $22 million worth of long leverage futures contracts. But before discussing the events affecting Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency market, let's attempt to understand how the traditional finance industry has affected investor confidence.

The overheated US economy could lead to more Fed action

Investors have heightened their expectations of further contractionary measures by the U.S. Federal Reserve following the release of the latest U.S. labor market data on Oct. 3, revealing that there were 9.6 million job openings at the end of August, up from 8.9 million in July.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell had indicated during a speech at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium in August that "evidence suggesting that tightness in the labor market is no longer easing could necessitate a monetary policy response."

Consequently, traders are now pricing in a 30% chance that the Fed will raise rates at their November meeting, compared to 16% in the previous week, according to the CME's FedWatch tool.

The Ether futures ETFs launch falls short

On Oct. 2, the market welcomed nine new ETF products expressly designed to mirror the performance of futures contracts linked to Ether. However, these products saw trading volumes of under $2 million during the first trading day, as of midday Eastern Time. Senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, Eric Balchunas, noted that the trading volumes fell short of expectations.

*Ethereum futures-based ETF volumes on Oct. 2, USD. Source: K33 Research / @VetleLunde*

On the debut day, the trading volume for Ether ETFs significantly lagged behind the remarkable $1 billion launch of the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF. It's worth noting that the Bitcoin futures-linked ETF was introduced in October 2021 during a flourishing cryptocurrency market.

This occurrence may have dampened investors' outlook on the potential inflow after an eventual Bitcoin spot ETF. Still, there remains uncertainty surrounding the probability and timing of these approvals by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Regulatory pressure mounts as Binance faces a class-action lawsuit

On Oct. 2, a class-action lawsuit was filed against Binance.US and its CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao in the District Court of Northern California. The lawsuit alleges unfair competition aimed at monopolizing the cryptocurrency market by harming its competitor, the now-defunct exchange FTX.

The plaintiffs claim that CZ's statements on social media were false and misleading, particularly since Binance had previously sold its FTT token holdings before the announcement on Nov. 6, 2022. The lawsuit asserts that CZ's intention was to drive down the price of the FTT token.

The criminal case against Sam Bankman-Fried will begin on Oct. 4 in New York. Despite CZ's denial of unfair competition allegations, speculation within the crypto community continues to circulate regarding this matter.

BTC’s correlation to traditional markets seems higher than anticipated

Bitcoin's price decline on Oct. 3 appears to reflect concerns about an impending economic downturn and the potential Federal Reserve's monetary policy response. Furthermore, it demonstrated how closely cryptocurrency markets are tied to macroeconomic factors.

Exaggerated expectations for the cryptocurrency ETFs also signal that the $28,000 level might not be the consensus for investors given the regulatory pressures and legal challenges, such as the class-action lawsuit against Binance, which underscore the ongoing risks in the space.