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AI-Focused Cryptogpt Raises $10 Million in Series A Funding to Expand Into Asian Markets

AI-Focused Cryptogpt Raises  Million in Series A Funding to Expand Into Asian MarketsA Layer two (L2) project, called Cryptogpt, which leverages ZK-rollup technology and artificial intelligence (AI), has announced that its team has raised $10 million in capital from a Series A funding round. The crypto and AI firm disclosed that the new funds would be used to expand into the largest Asian markets, and the company […]

Farcaster raises $150M led by Paradigm to expand decentralized social network

ARB price to $2? Ethereum L2 rival Arbitrum will double in April, fractal suggests

ARB's price trajectory looks similar to MATIC after its market debut when MATIC rose 1,350% after facing a brutal selloff in its early days of trading.

The price of Arbitrum (ARB) has dropped by nearly 20% a week after establishing its record high at $1.60 on March 23. However, the Ethereum layer-2 token looks set to resume its uptrend in the coming weeks.

Polygon price fractal

The cues for a bullish Arbitrum token could be traced back to its Ethereum L2 rival Polygon's market debut.

MATIC started trading on Binance on April 26, 2019, at $0.0026 per token. MATIC/USD rallied nearly 300% to reach $0.0105 on the same day before wiping out 70% of those gains in a market correction by May 9, 2019.

It regained its upside momentum afterward, rallying by nearly 1,350% to $0.045 on May 21, 2019.  

MATIC/USDT four-hour price chart. Source: TradingView/Mac

The price trajectory reflects a recurring phenomenon involving the launch of digital tokens with seemingly strong fundamental backing, according to independent market analyst Mac.

For instance, Solana (SOL), a layer-1 blockchain, rallied 50,000% before undergoing a similar pump, correction, and sideways consolidation phase after its exchange debut in April 2020. 

SOL/USD daily price chart. Source: TradingView/Mac

Arbitrum price could hit $2 by April

From a fundamental perspective, Arbitrum has emerged as a strong contender in the Ethereum L2 space in recent months, with several leading DeFi protocols, including GMX, Uniswap, Sushi, and Aave, among its users.

"GMX and Radiant on Arbitrum are two of the fastest-growing protocols in terms of both fundamentals and price appreciation this year," noted Dustin Teander, a researcher at analytics firm Messari, adding:"

"Looking at user retention metrics, it’s apparent these protocols have gained above-market traction compared to imported protocols like Uniswap or Aave."
Optimism vs. Arbitrum monthly user retention rates. Source: Messari

As of March 29, the total value locked (TVL) across Arbitrum pools rose to $2.2 billion versus around $981 million three months ago, according to data resource Defi Llama.

Related: Arbitrum airdrop sells off at listing, but traders remain bullish on ARB

Mac noted that Arbitrum's strong fundamentals could limit ARB's downside prospects and prompt traders to re-accumulate the token in the coming weeks.

ARB/USDT hourly price chart. Source: TradingView/Mac

That may lead to another price run-up, eyeing $2 by April 2023. as illustrated below.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Farcaster raises $150M led by Paradigm to expand decentralized social network

SHIB price preps for 75% boom as Shiba Inu teases L2 blockchain launch

Shiba Inu traders are in FOMO with the Shibarium launch but it might not be the best time to buy SHIB yet.

Shiba Inu is hoping to become more than just a Dogecoin-inspired meme cryptocurrency as it comes closer to launching its layer-2 network called Shibarium. Meanwhile, the SHIB token has emerged as one of the best-performers so far in 2023.

SHIB price jumps 60% in 2023

SHIB's price has rallied nearly 60% year-to-date (YTD) to $0.00001294, its highest since early November 2022.

SHIB/USDT daily price chart. Source: TradingView

The gains started appearing mainly due to favorable macro conditions that prompted similar rallies elsewhere in the crypto market. Nonetheless, the Shiba Inu price rally picked up momentum as investors assessed its announcement of the upcoming beta release of Shibarium.

Shibarium is reportedly a layer-2 network that would run atop the Ethereum blockchain mainnet. In other words, it would enable developers to build and launch decentralized applications (dapps) while aiming for lower transactional costs and improved network scalability.

Shiba Inu price is now up 25% since Jan. 16 when the Shiba Inu team teased its audience with the Shibarium launch announcement.

Shiba Inu price: Another 75% boom ahead?

Shiba Inu's rally has made it an excessively bought asset on a daily timeframe, according to its relative strength index (RSI) reading at almost 86 on Jan. 18 — sixteen points above the overbought threshold of 70.

Related: What is ShibaSwap and how does it work?

Ideally, an overbought RSI prompt investors to unload their positions, leading to a price correction. In other words, SHIB risks dropping toward its 200-day exponential moving average (200-week EMA; the blue wave) near $0.00001120.

SHIB/USDT daily price chart. Source: TradingView

However, on a long-term basis, SHIB's price rally is likely to continue, if the bullish reversal pattern on the weekly chart is to be believed.

Dubbed the "falling wedge," the pattern develops when the price trends lower inside a range defined by two descending, converging trendlines.

It resolves after the price breaks above the upper trendline toward the level at a length equal to the wedge's maximum height.

SHIB has entered the breakout stage of its falling wedge pattern, as shown below. It now sees an extended upside toward $0.00002063 by March 2023, up 35% from current price levels.

SHIB/USDT weekly price chart featuring falling wedge. Source: TradingView

Alternatively, a potentia bearish scenario scenario would see SHIB falling short of the wedge breakout target if price reverses from its interim resistance level at the 50-week EMA (the red wave) near $0.00001309.

Such a downturn would risk sending the Shiba Inu price toward the wedge's upper trendline near $0.00000800, or down 40% from current price levels.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Farcaster raises $150M led by Paradigm to expand decentralized social network

Ascending channel pattern sets Polygon (MATIC) up for a potential 30% rally

A bullish technical analysis pattern and the potential approval of the EIP-1559 proposal could back MATIC’s attempt to rally to a new all-time high.

Polygon prices look poised to rise by at least 30% in the wake of a key Jan. 18 upgrade that would push a considerable portion of its native MATIC token out of circulation.

Dubbed EIP-1559, the improvement proposal originally came to light as part of Ethereum's so-called London Hard Fork upgrade on Aug. 5. The proposal effectively started destroying, or "burning," a part of the fees paid to miners via Ether (ETH).

Traders and investors raised their bids for Ether before and after the EIP-1559 upgrade, noting that it made Ether a deflationary asset for the first time in history. For example, a model created by Ethereum co-founder Justin Drake claimed that EIP-1559 would reduce Ether's annual supply by 1.6 million ETH.

MATIC looks for new record highs

Polygon, which acts as a layer-2 protocol built to scale Ethereum's prevailing scalability issues, rolled out a testing implementation of EIP-1559 on Dec. 14, 2021. After the test net launch, MATIC price rallied by almost 30% to $2.35, which includes a brief run-up to its record high near $3.

MATIC/USD daily price chart. Source: TradingView

In theory, a lower supply against a rising demand would make the asset more valuable in the eyes of its bidder.

This classic economic reference has assisted in boosting demand for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) before. Issuance would be halved every four years against a limited supply cap of 21 million units. This begs the question, could the MATIC price rally in the same way? Mineplex co-founder Alexander Mamasidikov thinks yes.

Mamasidikov told Cointelegraph that EIP-1559 would impact MATIC price positively, adding that it could easily rally toward its current record high following the technical upgrade.

"In periods of price recovery, investors are often on the lookout for both technical and fundamental features to hang onto in order to back a coin, and Polygon brandishes both," he said, adding:

"While Polygon remains a better version of Ethereum in terms of lower transaction costs, it is also the delight of retail investors with respect to its low price at this time when compared with Ethereum or other smart contract networks."

What do Polygon's technicals say?

MATIC has been trending higher inside an ascending channel pattern since July 2021, confirmed by at least two reactive highs and two reactive lows.

The token recently retested the channel's lower trendline around $1.89 as support, a move that was followed up with a bullish retracement toward $2.50. It now acting as resistance and the $2.50 level also turned out to be near the 1.00 Fib line near $2.44.

MATIC/USD daily price chart featuring ascending channel pattern. Source: TradingView

That being said, MATIC may attempt a break above the $2.44-resistance around the EIP-1559 upgrade on Jan. 18. The move would set itself on a course to test its interim upside target near $3, which is approximately a 30% jump.

Related: Polygon network activity spikes as NFT sales reach new height

Meanwhile, if the EIP-1559 factor plays out any longer than anticipated, MATIC price may even attempt an extended run-up toward the 1.618 Fib line around $3.52. Conversely, a rejection at $2.44 could have Polygon retest the ascending channel support for a negative breakout.

Such a move would risk invalidating the bullish setup, as discussed above. All of this is in conjunction with exposing MATIC to a correction toward $1.77 or lower.

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.

Farcaster raises $150M led by Paradigm to expand decentralized social network