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DeFi hub Karura emerges as first Kusama parachain slot auction winner

Polkadot’s canary network, Kusama, is set to see decentralized finance hub Karura become the first parachain.

Karura network has emerged as the winner of the maiden Kusama parachain slot auction.

According to an announcement issued on Tuesday, Karura pulled support from over 15,000 entities who staked Kusama (KSM) tokens in favor of adding the decentralized finance hub as the first Kusama parachain.

In total, Karura locked up over 500,000 KSM currently valued at $90 million based on the Kusama market price as of the time of writing. Earlier in June, United States crypto trading platform Kraken launched a parachain auction platform for users to support bids for Karura.

As previously reported by Cointelegraph, the Kusama council approved the first parachain slot auction a week ago. The approval was based on a tentative schedule created by Polkadot and Kusama creator Gavin Wood published a fortnight ago.

Karura is the Polkadot implementation of the Acala protocol — a decentralized finance hub that aims to be the de facto DeFi ecosystem for the Polkadot chain.

Karura, along with other projects such as Moonriver, Shiden and Kilt, has been active on the Rococo testnet with significant community participation across these protocols.

With Karura winning the first parachain slot auction, the DeFi hub is now set for onboarding to the Kusama relay chain.

Related: Another first for Polkadot as Kusama council approves first parachain slot auction

Based on Wood’s schedule, four other parachain slot auctions will take place over the next four weeks. Each weekly auction will include a two-day initial bidding period and another five days to finalize the process, with a winner emerging at the end of the seven-day cycle.

After the first five slot auctions, an audit will take place to examine the performance of the network during the process before kickstarting another round spread across five more weeks.

These slot auctions will determine the first set of parachains to be added to the Kusama relay chain that serves as a sister network for Polkadot.

Bitcoin Technical Analysis: Oscillators Indicate Neutral Momentum

Another first for Polkadot as Kusama council approves first parachain slot auction

The first Kusama parachain slot auction will now commence and is set to run for the next week.

Polkadot's Kusama council passed Motion 310 on Tuesday, confirming the start of the first slot auction on the Kusama network.

According to details shared on the Polkadot governance platform Polkassembly, 13 out of the 19 “seats” on the Kusama council voted in favor of commencing the slot auction process.

First slot auction on Kusama network is approved. Source: Polkassembly

As previously reported by Cointelegraph, Polkadot and Kusama co-founder Gavin Wood had published a tentative schedule for the Kusama slot auctions back on June 8.

These slot auctions will decide the parachains that will be added to the Kusama relay chain. Kusama functions as a canary network for Polkadot, which according to Wood helps to secure Polkadot by “allowing functionality to exist in the wild for as long as possible.”

Following Wood’s initial schedule, the first slot auction will proceed over five days, with the first two days allowing for preliminary bidding.

Thus, a winner should emerge by 11:00 am UTC on June 22, with the second slot auction commencing an hour later. In all, Wood proposed the first set of five consecutive slot auctions over five weeks before a temporary pause to evaluate network performance and proceeding to another round of auctions carried out using the same schedule.

Earlier in June, crypto trading platform Kraken announced a parachain auction platform to enable clients to participate in the process from the exchange itself. According to Kraken’s announcement, clients will be able to support bids for Kusama decentralized finance (DeFi) hub Karura and smart contract protocol Shiden.

Related: Polkadot creator Gavin Wood proposes June 15 for first Kusama parachain auction

On the price side, the start of the slot auction has yet to spur any major price rally for Kusama's KSM token. KSM is only up about 2% in the last 24-hour trading period. Meanwhile, Polkadot has seen a much larger price rally within the same period, with DOT securing a 15% gain as of the time of writing.

On Monday, Coinbase Pro announced the addition of Polkadot's DOT coin to its altcoin listing catalog. According to the announcement, DOT trading will commence on Wednesday in all Coinbase supported jurisdictions except Singapore.

Bitcoin Technical Analysis: Oscillators Indicate Neutral Momentum

Polkadot price soars 37% after Coinbase Pro DOT listing, first parachain auction

Polkadot emerged as one of the best-performing tokens week-to-date as traders' focus shifted on DOT's listing at Coinbase Pro and Kusama's first-ever parachain auction, set to go live on Tuesday.

Polkadot (DOT) witnessed massive upside moves in the previous daily sessions as traders assessed the cryptocurrency's entry into the United States-based digital assets trading platform, Coinbase Pro, and the upcoming auctioning of parachain slots atop Polkadot network's testbed version, Kusama, this Tuesday.

The DOT/USD exchange rate reached $26.44 during the Monday session, following a roughly 37% upside move that started in the previous daily session. Nevertheless, entering the Asia-Pacific and Europea trading hours on Tuesday, the pair corrected lower by more than 4.5%, hitting an intraday low of $24.25.

Polkadot pulls back after testing technical resistance near $26.668. Source: TradingView

Initial upside moves in the Polkadot market surfaced in the wake of the Bitcoin (BTC) price rally on Sunday. Billionaire investor Elon Musk on Sunday commented that he would reinstate accepting Bitcoin payments for Tesla’s electric vehicles if the cryptocurrency's fresh supply comes from power supplied by renewables.

The BTC/USD exchange rate jumped from as low as $34,780 to above $40,000 after Musk's comments. Meanwhile, top altcoins, which heavily tail Bitcoin trends, followed suit, taking DOT prices higher alongside.

Nevertheless, the scale at which the Polkadot token rose dwarfed the retracement rallies of most of its top crypto rivals. DOT's heightened move uphill coincided with Coinbase Pro's announcement of adding DOT-enabled trading instruments to its platform.

Kusama parachain auction

More bullish cues for traders came from Parallel Finance. The startup raised $2 million to onramp its lending and staking features on the Polkadot and Kusama blockchains.

In retrospect, Kusama works as a sandbox for projects with aspirations to launch a parachain on Polkadot. Therefore, the testbed blockchain comes with real economic benefits and consequences, enabling other blockchains and apps to launch with forkless upgrades, governance structure, and scalability.

That said, projects harness Kusama's inter-parachain network to communicate with other apps having their separate parachains.

But to win a parachain slot projects like Parallel Finance must participate in a parachain auction. In doing so, they would need to submit the bid amount (in DOT or Kusama's native token KSM) alongside the slot duration (6 to 24 months). That expects to effectively lock away DOT and KSM tokens for the duration of the slot, thereby reducing the tokens' circulating supply.

Meanwhile, observers believe that DOT and KSM's demand would keep on rising based on their competitive auctioning process.

Projects who win a parachain auction will do a lot to provide value to their community and backers, according to Alex Siman, the founder of Subsocial, a Polkadot-based decentralized social network.

"On the Polkadot parachain, the slots for projects to build on the chain is limited to 100, making the auction process notably competitive," he explained. "A non-innovative project may not be able to win such auctions, and those who do will not want to waste the opportunity to go down in history.

Related: Kraken launches Kusama Parachain Auction platform as KSM defies downtrend

The first parachain auction went live on the Kusama network around 1100 GMT on Tuesday. KSM fell by 2.77% in the early European trading session.

On the other hand, Polkadot has still to announce the auctioning of its parachain slots. Mira Christanto, a researcher at crypto data analytics firm Messari, noted that 65% of DOT's active supply has already been staked since May. Only 30% of DOT now remain in circulation—and the upcoming parachain auction would take more of those tokens out of supply.

"After the parachain launch, 40% of DOT could be bonded in parachains, hence reducing effective circulating supply to only 15%," she added.

Bitcoin Technical Analysis: Oscillators Indicate Neutral Momentum

Nifty News: Porsche enters NFT sector, Mark Cuban keeps investing, and Chainlink-powered NFTs

Porsche announces NFT subsidiary, Chainlink oracles unlock special NFT content, and Mark Cuban continues to invest millions into companies targeting nonfungibles.

Porsche unveils NFT subsidiary

German sports car giant Porsche has drifted into the nonfungible token (NFT) market, with a June 14 announcement revealing the launch of an NFT collectible startup dubbed Fanzone.

However, the car manufacturer will not be looking to tokenize its luxury vehicles at this stage, instead opting to focus on soccer-themed NFT collectibles.

Fanzone, which was built from Porsche’s digital subsidiary Forward 31, has already inked partnerships with the German national men’s, women’s, and under 21 football teams. Fanzone also has a deal with the third tier of Germany's local professional league and intends to expand support to additional soccer leagues and other sporting codes in the future.

German national team NFTs: Fanzone

The NFTs will be ERC-20 tokens issued via the Lukso blockchain — which was founded by former Ethereum developer and creator of the ERC-20 and ERC-725 token standards, Fabian Vogelsteller.

“NFTs guarantee the rarity and identity of collectibles. Thanks to verifiable ownership, fans can benefit from value increases, for example, for limited editions,” the announcement stated.

The firm also emphasized its concerns regarding the ecological footprint of the NFT sector, stating it will donate part of Fanzone’s transaction costs to “sustainable sports and environmental projects.” Fanzone added that all of its employees currently travel to work using “emission-free” methods.

Genshiro launches Chainlink-powered nonfungibles

Genshiro, the Kusama-based parachain of major Polkadot project, Equilibrium, is launching a limited-edition collection of Chainlink-integrated NFTs celebrating five popular crypto assets.

The Ethereum-based NFTs depict cartoon kitties inspired by Bitcoin, Ether, Polkadot, Kusama, and Genshiro, with the Chainlink price oracle integration serving to unlock special functionality when significant price milestones are reached.

For example, golden versions of the BTC-themed kitties will be unlocked for NFT holders should the price of Bitcoin cross above $100,000.

Mark Cuban and Ashton Kutcher back genius NFTs

Nonfungible-focused startup, NFT, Genius has closed a seed funding round backed by a star-studded line-up of investors, including billionaire Mark Cuban, Dapper Labs CEO, Roham Gharegozlou, Bitcoin proponent and Morgan Creek Digital co-founder, Anthony Pompliano, and actor Ashton Kutcher.

Details are sparse on what the funding will go towards, however, the firm currently has three NFT projects in the works, including “Gaia” — a music-focused marketplace slated for launch on Dapper’s Flow blockchain, cannabis-themed collectibles dubbed “Cryptobuds,” and “Sidekick” — comic-inspired NFTs designed by award-winning comic book writer, Paul Jenkins.

The company also plans to expand the Gaia marketplace to host NFTs from the sports, gaming, and comedy niches in the future.

Despite officially still under development, NFT Genius launched the collectible series “Bitcoin Origins” in October 2020 — featuring tokenized collectibles celebrating major moments in Bitcoin’s history.

According to data from Crypto Slam, Bitcoin Origins’ tokens have generated more than $440,000 in sales on secondary markets over the past 30 days.

This is your life, tokenized

The composer behind Mad Max: Fury Road and Zach Snyder’s Justice League, Tom Holkenborg, is auctioning off an NFT offering the highest bidder a custom 20-minute musical score inspired by their life story.

The auction, titled “Soundtrack of Your Life,” is set to go live on Tezos backed NFT marketplace AmplifyX on June 17 and will have a starting price of $1,000.

The listing states that the original score will be informed by “a series of interviews that encapsulates the unique victories, heartbreaks, memories and emotions that make up their lives.”

Related: Nifty News: Doge NFTs much wow, Paris Hilton is an NFT advisor, NFT game raises $3M

AmplifyX will also host Holkenborg’s NFT drop “Despite All That Was,” which offers three open-edition digital artworks depicting UFO-like spacecraft designed by pseudonymous visual artist, “Space Renders,” accompanied by original music from Holkenborg.

The artworks are priced between $100 and $300 each. Collectors who obtain all three NFTs will unlock additional music composed by Holkenborg.

Bitcoin Technical Analysis: Oscillators Indicate Neutral Momentum

Top 5 cryptocurrencies to watch this week: BTC, AAVE, KSM, ALGO, TFUEL

AAVE, KSM, ALGO and TFUEL are showing signs of strength while Bitcoin bulls attempt to push BTC price over $38,000.

Bitcoin’s (BTC) price continues to be range-bound between $30,000 and $40,000 level for the past few days, which is not necessarily a bearish sign.

Generally, after a sharp fall, the price tends to consolidate as the asset transfers from weaker hands to stronger hands. After the transition is complete, the asset breaks out and starts a new uptrend. Usually, the longer the price consolidates in a range, the stronger the next trending move will be.

Bloomberg Intelligence senior commodity strategist Mike McGlone said on Saturday that Bitcoin’s declining supply was a positive sign, which could act as a “bullish ace” for its move higher “if past patterns hold.”

Crypto market data daily view. Source: Coin360

Yoni Assia, CEO of eToro, also told Cointelegraph that Bitcoin could see a sharp rise “over the next three to five years, as there are still 5 billion people in the world that basically don't have good local currency.”

Related: Bitcoin price could hit $85K in months as indicators flip bullish — report.

Therefore, investors should not be discouraged by the muted price action in the short term. Bitcoin’s fundamentals remain strong and are likely to result in a new uptrend in the future.

As crypto markets consolidate, let’s analyze the charts of the top-5 cryptocurrencies that may outperform in the next few days.

BTC/USDT

Bitcoin turned down from the resistance line of the descending triangle on Jan. 12 and broke below the 20-day exponential moving average ($36,586). This suggests that the bears are aggressively defending the resistance line.

BTC/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView

The longer the price stays below the 20-day EMA, the greater the chances of a drop to the lower levels. If bears sink the price below $34,600, the BTC/USDT pair could drop to $33,400 and then to $31,000.

A break and close below $31,000 will complete a descending triangle pattern, which has a target objective at $19,549. However, it is unlikely to be a straight drop to the lower levels because the bulls will attempt to stall the decline in the $31,000 to $28,000 support zone.

This negative view will invalidate if the price continues to move up and rises above the resistance line of the triangle. Such a move could open the gates for a rise to the 50-day simple moving average ($44,709), which is again likely to act as a stiff resistance.

A break above the 50-day SMA will suggest that the correction could be over and the bulls will gradually try to start a new up-move.

BTC/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView

The moving averages on the 4-hour chart have been crossi each other and the relative strength index (RSI) is just above the midpoint, indicating that bulls are trying to make a comeback.

A breakout and close above the resistance line of the triangle will signal that demand exceeds supply. If the bulls sustain the price above the triangle, a new up-move could begin.

Alternatively, if the price turns down from the resistance line and breaks below $34,000, it could signal a minor advantage to the bears. That could pull the price down to the critical support at $31,000. A bounce off this support will suggest accumulation at lower levels and that could keep the pair inside the triangle for some more time.

AAVE/USDT

Aave is trading inside a large range between $280 and $581.67 for the past few months. The bulls have successfully defended the support of the range on five previous occasions, hence the buyers are likely to buy the dip once again.

AAVE/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView

If the price rebounds off the current level with strength, it will suggest that the bulls continue to accumulate on dips. The buyers will then try to push the price above the 20-day EMA ($344). If they succeed, the AAVE/USDT pair could rise to the 50-day SMA ($414), which may act as a stiff hurdle.

If the price turns down from the 50-day SMA, the pair could consolidate between $280 and $414 for a few days. On the contrary, a break above the 50-day SMA will clear the path for a northward march toward $581.67.

This positive view will invalidate if the price turns down from the 20-day EMA and breaks below the $280 support. That will embolden the bears who will then try to pull the price down to $208.09 and then to $160.

AAVE/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView

The 4-hour chart shows the bears had pulled the price below $280 but they are struggling to sustain the lower levels. However, the moving averages are sloping down and the RSI is in the negative zone, indicating advantage to the bears.

If the price turns down from the current level and breaks below $266.68, the pair could start its downward journey. This negative view will invalidate if the bulls push the price above the downtrend line. Such a move will suggest the correction is over and the pair could then rise to $500.

KSM/USDT

Kusama (KSM) has been witnessing volatile moves in the past few days. Although the bulls pushed the price above the $480 overhead resistance on June 9, they could not sustain the higher levels and the price dipped back below the level on June 10. This shows that bears are selling on rallies.

KSM/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView

However, the buyers have not allowed the price to break below the 20-day EMA ($388). This suggests that the sentiment is turning positive as the bulls are buying the dips to the 20-day EMA.

The rising 20-day EMA and the RSI near the midpoint indicate a minor advantage to the bulls. The buyers will now make one more attempt to push the price above $480. If they succeed, the KSM/USD pair could rally to $537 and then retest the all-time high at 625.

This positive view will invalidate if the price turns down from the current level or the overhead resistance and breaks below $360. That could pull the price down to $280.

KSM/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView

The 4-hour chart shows the bulls are trying to defend the trendline support. However, the 20-EMA has turned down and the RSI is in the negative zone, indicating the bears have the upper hand.

If the sellers sink the price below $380, the pair could drop to $342. A break below this support could result in a decline to $280.

This negative view will invalidate if the bulls can push the price above $429. That could attract buying, pushing the pair to $480.

ALGO/USDT

Algorand (ALGO) bounced off the trendline on June 12 and rose above the 20-day EMA ($0.97), which suggests the bulls are buying on dips. The flattish 20-day EMA and the RSI near the midpoint suggest the selling pressure has reduced.

ALGO/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView

The price action of the past few days has formed an ascending triangle pattern, which will complete on a breakout and close above $1.15. If the bulls manage to sustain the price above $1.15, the ALGO/USDT pair could rally to the target objective at $1.63.

Contrary to this assumption, if the price turns down from $1.15, the pair may extend its stay inside the triangle for a few more days. A breakdown and close below the trendline will nullify the bullish view and open the gates for a drop to $0.80 and then $0.67.

ALGO/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView

The 4-hour chart shows the bulls are attempting to push the price above the downtrend line. If they can sustain the breakout, the pair could rise to $1.15. A breakout and close above this resistance could start a new uptrend.

Conversely, if the price turns down from the current level and breaks below the moving averages, the bears will make one more attempt to sink the price below the trendline. If they succeed, it will signal the start of a deeper correction.

TFUEL/USDT

Theta Fuel (TFUEL) soared to a new all-time high at $0.679 on June 9 but the bulls could not sustain the higher levels as seen from the long wick on the day’s candlestick. That was followed by a sharp pullback to the 20-day EMA ($0.41) on June 12.

TFUEL/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView

The strong rebound off the 20-day EMA shows the sentiment is positive and traders are aggressively buying on dips. The bulls will now try to push the price to the all-time high where they are likely to encounter stiff resistance from the bears.

If the price turns down from the all-time high, the bears will make one more attempt to pull the price below the 20-day EMA. If they succeed, it will suggest the start of a deeper correction.

Alternatively, if buyers propel the price above the all-time high, the TFUEL/USDT pair could resume the uptrend, with the next target objective at $0.85 and then $1.

TFUEL/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView

The 4-hour chart shows the pair rebounded strongly off the $0.40 support, which suggests accumulation at lower levels. However, the relief rally is facing resistance just below the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level at $0.57.

This suggests that the bears have not given up yet and are selling on rallies. If the price dips below the 20-EMA, the bears will try to pull the price down to $0.40. If that happens, the pair may consolidate between these two levels for a few days.

Alternatively, if the price rebounds off the 20-EMA, it will indicate the sentiment is positive and the bulls are not waiting for a deeper fall to buy. That will increase the possibility of a break above $0.57. The pair could then rise to retest the all-time high.

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.

Bitcoin Technical Analysis: Oscillators Indicate Neutral Momentum

These Low Cap Altcoin Gems Are Set To Explode 100X, Says Crypto Analyst Lark Davis

Top crypto trader and analyst Lark Davis is discussing low-cap crypto gems within the Polkadot (DOT) and Kusama (KSM) ecosystems that he says have the potential to print 100x gains. In a new video, Davis highlights that Polkadot and Kusama (KSM), the testnet for Polkadot, are launching their parachains. Parachains on both platforms are a […]

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Bitcoin Technical Analysis: Oscillators Indicate Neutral Momentum

Crypto Asset Kusama Dramatically Outperforms Market, Gets Big Boost From Kraken

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken says it will support the competitive process of awarding slots to projects on the Kusama (KSM) network. Kraken says the parachain auctions, which could begin as soon as next week, will open a whole new vista for global cryptocurrency holders over the next couple of days, except to residents of Australia, Canada, […]

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Bitcoin Technical Analysis: Oscillators Indicate Neutral Momentum

This ‘Superstar’ Crypto Set To Explode Soon, According to Trader Lark Davis

Cryptocurrency analyst and trader Lark Davis is unveiling what he believes will be the superstar of the crypto markets in the coming weeks. In a new video, Davis tells his 388,000 YouTube subscribers that upcoming developments on the Polkadot (DOT) blockchain will result in a big awakening for DOT, its sandbox Kusama (KSM) and other […]

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Bitcoin Technical Analysis: Oscillators Indicate Neutral Momentum

Kraken launches Kusama Parachain Auction platform as KSM defies downtrend

KSM token prices surge as Parachain auctions launch nears.

U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has announced a “first-of-its-kind” Parachain Auction Platform enabling clients to participate directly from the exchange.

In a blog post on June 8, Kraken revealed the new platform will enable users that qualify to pledge support for Kusama projects vying for a Parachain slot by staking Kusama’s KSM tokens.

The rewards for contributors who support a winning bid vary and can include referral bonuses, early participation bonuses, and airdrops.

Polkadot’s multi-chain ecosystem will use sharded sidechains to process transactions in parallel. These Parachains are acquired in the auction process whereby projects try to outbid each other for the right to use the slot for 48 weeks with KSM tokens. Kusama is the testing and development network often dubbed Polkadot’s “Canary network.”

Only 100 Parachain slots are expected to be available, but this may change through protocol governance votes over time.The post stated:

“For Kusama auctions, the project with the most KSM bonded to support its bid, at the time the auction snapshot is taken, will generally be able to claim the auctioned parachain slot.”

The platform is not available to residents of the US, Canada, Japan, and Australia.

In its first Parachain auction, Kraken will allow clients to support the bids of at least two projects, starting with Karura and Shiden.

Karura is a DeFi hub and stablecoin platform for the Kusama network offering a crypto-collateralized stablecoin, a decentralized exchange, access to liquid staking, and an EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) compatible blockchain.

Shiden is a smart contract layer for the Kusama network upon which developers can design and build new DApps. It will be a cross-chain platform that also supports Ethereum and layer two protocols.

As reported by Cointelegraph, Polkadot creator Gavin Wood has proposed June 15 for first the Kusama Parachain auction. Following the first five weekly auctions, Wood recommended a pause to evaluate the performance of the network before commencing another batch of auctions.

In late March Acala Network was the first project to secure a Parachain slot on Polkadot's Rococo testnet. On May 17, Polkadot announced that Kusama was finally ready to host Parachains.

The impending auction launches have given a boost to Kusama’s KSM token which has defied the market slump and surged 28% over the past fortnight. According to CoinGecko, KSM is up 12% over the past 24 hours, trading at $410 at the time of writing.

Bitcoin Technical Analysis: Oscillators Indicate Neutral Momentum