BTC Wraps up 13 Consecutive Years of Recorded Market Value, With No Santa Rally in 2022

December 25, 2022 Bitcoin.com

Next Bitcoin rally to start in Q2 2023 — Mark Yusko explains why

October 26, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Assets

The anticipation of the next Bitcoin halving will spark a crypto rally in 2023 regardless of the grim macroeconomic picture, according to hedge fund manager Mark Yusko.

The anticipation of the next Bitcoin (BTC) halving will be the main catalyst that sparks a new crypto rally as soon as the second quarter of 2023, according to hedge fund manager Mark Yusko.

The halving mechanism, which reduces Bitcoin’s block rewards by half every four years, has historically been a major catalyst for crypto rallies. The next halving is expected to occur in early 2024.

“Usually the market will anticipate that by about nine months,” Yusko said in a recent interview with Cointelegraph.

According to the hedge fund manager, the halving will propel Bitcoin to $100,000, and potentially beyond, “by the laws of math.”

“If the block rewards get cut in half to 3.125 from 6.25, then the price has got to double-ish in order for the miners to continue to make money,” he stated.

Yusko thinks the rally is going to take place despite an unfavorable macroeconomic picture dominated by high interest rates and slow growth.

That is because, according to Yusko, digital assets will ultimately prove to be uncorrelated with equity markets.

“Traditional assets are driven by economic growth, Fed policies, inflation. Crypto is driven by the technology itself, millennial adoption,” explained Yusko.

Watch the full interview on our YouTube channel, and don’t forget to subscribe!

How long will the crypto bear market last? Raoul Pal’s macro analysis

May 12, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin Price

In an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph, macro investor Raoul Pal analyzes the macro factors that are keeping the crypto markets under pressure and the triggers that could spark the next Bitcoin rally.

Macro investor Raoul Pal is convinced that the current crypto bear market will end only once the Fed eases its hawkish monetary policy by halting interest rate hikes. That could happen in the next couple of months, according to Pal's predictions.

“The Fed are unlikely to raise rates as far and as fast as people expect. My guess is they probably stop raising rates sometime in the summer and that will be it,” he said in an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph.

Pal sees the combination of high interest rates and fear of an upcoming recession as the main macro factors that are causing the current crypto bear market.

“Retail investors’ income has not gone up as much as prices, so they've lost discretionary income. So, people can only dollar cost average less, can get less involved,” he said.

Pal thinks that the market's bottom has not yet been reached and that a mass liquidation phase involving crypto and legacy assets could be coming soon.

“[Crypto] could see liquidation spike at some point if we see one in equities and then eventually that will be the final capitulation of the market,” he said.

At that point, according to Pal, the Fed will ease its monetary policy, allowing some liquidity to flow into financial markets, thus sparking the next crypto rally.

"We'll see bonds rally, crypto rally, maybe some of the technology stocks rally," said Pal.

Besides the macro picture, other factors that could facilitate the next bull run are the approval of a Bitcoin spot ETF and Ethereum’s switching to a proof-of-stake system, which is expected for Q3.

Check out the full interview on our YouTube channel and don’t forget to subscribe!

Bitcoin correction weakest of 2021 so far, as hopes of Santa Claus rally rise

December 1, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin

Bitcoin has fallen just 17% from ATH which makes this correction the shallowest of the year so far.

In previous bull market cycles, there has been a measurable correction before a rally at the end of the year — and if history rhymes it could be on the cards again.

We’ve certainly experienced the correction: Bitcoin hit an all-time high of around $69K on Nov. 10 and has retreated around 17% to current levels.

Some mainstream media outlets such as Forbes have taken the view the current pullback has plunged markets back into bearish territory with the rather salacious headline: “Did Bitcoin Enter A Bear Market After Falling 20% From Its ATH?” on a Nov. 30 article.

But November's dip was actually the weakest correction of 2021, overshadowed by Bitcoin’s whopping 53.4% correction over three months between April and July. The most recent correction in September was the second deepest, reaching 37% from April's ATH.

In its Nov. 29 “Week Onchain” report, analytics provider Glassnode argued that the current correction is just “business as usual for Bitcoin hodlers” hinting that it may soon be over. It also confirmed that this current market correction is “actually the least severe in 2021.”

Barring a stock market plunge due to the Omicron variant situation becoming worse, some believe we may be on track for a Santa Claus rally. It's a term from the stock market when prices rise during the last 5 trading days in December and the first 2 trading days in January, however, it has also been noted in crypto markets in previous years and is often shorthand for price rises throughout December.

Last December, saw a 47% surge in BTC prices throughout the month and December in 2017 witnessed an 80% pump to a new all-time high at the time. Both were in bull markets like today.

At the time of writing, BTC was trading at just over $57K so a Santa Claus rally similar to last year could see prices surge to top $80K before the year is out.

8848 Invest co-founder Nikita Rudenia is also confident about a Santa Claus rally commenting:

“Despite the obvious setbacks thus far, Bitcoin is still on track to close the year at $70,000 per coin and, should this feat be achieved, we may see the coin touch $75,000 in early 2022 before we get a major correction.”

Interestingly Ether is currently outperforming. The ETH/BTC ratio is the highest it has been since mid-May at 0.082 BTC per ETH or around 12 ETH per BTC according to CoinGecko. This could see ETH lead further price gains in December.

After taking a deep dive into the on-chain patterns, Glassnode concluded that Bitcoin investors are in more profitable positions than during September’s correction.

“Both Long and Short-term Holders are holding more profitable supply than September's correction, which can generally be viewed as constructive for price.”

Glassnode reported that the total proportion of profitable supply held by short-term holders has increased by 60% since September. It summarized "in bull market conditions, this combination usually sets out a fairly constructive short-term outlook."

Hopes of a Santa Clause rally, therefore, are starting to grow. Such a spurt at the end of the year can be attributed to a number of factors such as holiday cheer and increased liquidity due to Christmas bonuses.

However, the new Omicron variant could put a dampener on the party if there is a major impact on global financial markets and more lockdowns are enforced or seem likely. According to Nasdaq, investors may be on the sidelines for the time being until more is known about the new viral strain.

On the upside, Bitcoin was trading at just $18,857 this time last year.

Macro Guru Raoul Pal Names Four ‘Most Undervalued’ Altcoin Projects, Says Ethereum Position Now Larger Than Bitcoin

October 30, 2021 The Daily Hodl

Colin McRae’s long-lost rally car reportedly sold for Bitcoin at auction

October 4, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Adoption

Three months after embracing crypto, Lloyds Auctions house reportedly sold a legendary rally car for $360,000 in Bitcoin.

Bitcoin (BTC) adoption is growing in the auction world, where privacy is a key concern. An anonymous buyer purchased a legendary rally car driven by iconic rally figures Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz, which was thought to be long-lost in an auction for half a million Australian dollars ($360,000) and reportedly used Bitcoin as a payment method.

Australian auction house Lloyds Auctions announced that the 1994 Subaru Prodrive 555 Group A World Rally Championship Car had been found in a barn, covered in dust, in the Victoria state of Australia.

The car was originally thought to be valued at 15,000–20,000 Australian dollars ($10,900–$14,500). But a six-month investigation from the International Classic Automobile Authentication and Rating System (ICAARS) revealed that “it may well be worth more than $1 million [$725,000].”

Lloyds said that the rally car, one of only 63 commissioned by Prodrive, had been sitting in the barn for 10 years, and the owner was unaware of the vehicle’s actual value. It only had three owners since its racing days, and its condition was untouched.

Touted as a “golden treasure” by an ICAARS inspector, the car went under the hammer on Sept. 26 and was auctioned for half a million Australian dollars. The winner was said to have paid the bid in Bitcoin.

Lloyds announced in June that the Aussie auction house would start accepting crypto payments, enabling bidders to buy items auctioned on the platform with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

“As a longtime patron of Lloyds I had no hesitation and couldn’t believe how simple it was for me to pay with cryptocurrency,” a bidder then said, adding that the seller receives the payment in cash and “never know the difference.”

Beyond cryptocurrencies, nonfungible tokens (NFT) are also taking over the auction world by storm. Art galleries are adopting the new form of digital art as auctionable items. Sotheby’s auctioned Yuga Labs’ 101 Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection in September with a winning bid of $24.39 million.

Exchange listings and NFT boom lift IoTeX, Rally and Axie Infinity price

August 10, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin and altcoins are cooling off but data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro shows IOTX, RLY and AXS as the top 24-hour performers.

Tuesday started with a bang after Poly Network was hacked for $610 million in funds in what appears to be the worst hack in the history of decentralized finance and the price of Bitcoin (BTC) dropped by by 2% to trade near $45,000.

Despite the severity of the hack, most altcoins are holding on to their recent gains and those that are registered small losses line up with the pullback in Bitcoin price.

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that the biggest gainers over the past 24-hours were IoTeX (IOTX), Rally (RLY) and Axie Infinity (AXS).

*Top 7 coins with the highest 24-hour price change. Source:* *Cointelegraph Markets Pro*

Coinbase listing boosts IOTX for a second day

The decentralized internet of things platform IoTeX (IOTX) was the top performer on the 24-hour chart for the second day in a row thanks to a rally sparked by an announcement from Coinbase that it will be listing the token on Coinbase Pro beginning August 11.

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that the price of IOTX has now rallied 150% from a low of $0.0213 in the early trading hours on Aug. 9 to an intraday high at $0.0529 on Tuesday.

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

The listing announcement comes on the heels of a blockbuster month that saw the IoTeX's wallet and network activity increase by 600% and a new cross-chain bridge with the Polygon, an Ethereum-based layer-two solution that enables two-way token swaps between the two protocols.

RLY/USD

Rally (RLY), a decentralized network for creators, was the second-best performing altcoin over the past 24-hours as the ecosystem continues to expand and welcome new creators to the platform.

VORTECS™ data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro began to detect a bullish outlook for RLY on Aug. 8, prior to the recent price rise.

The VORTECS™ Score, exclusive to Cointelegraph, is an algorithmic comparison of historic and current market conditions derived from a combination of data points including market sentiment, trading volume, recent price movements and Twitter activity.

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

As seen in the chart above, the VORTECS™ Score for RLY spiked into the green on Aug. 8 and reached a high score of 70 around five hours before its price increased 81% over the next two days.

Momentum for RLY has been on the rise after the protocol focused its attention on developing its nonfungible token capabilities to allow creators to mint their own NFTs which can be used to engage with their respective communities.

AXS/USD

Axie Infinity has been one of the hottest protocols over the past couple of months as the play-to-earn blockchain gaming movement gains steam.

VORTECS™ data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro began to detect a bullish outlook for AXS on Aug. 7, prior to the recent price rise.

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

As seen in the chart above, the VORTECS™ Score for AXS was registering in the green for much of the first half of the past week and reached a high of 81 on Aug. 6, around 73 hours before its price increased 53% over the next day.

Excitement for AXS has been building for some time and recently ratcheted up a notch after the Axie ecosystem became the first nonfungible token game to surpass $1 billion in total sales on Aug. 9.

Axie Infinity has crossed $1 billion in sales, data from CryptoSlam! Shows.
As of this writing, $1,055,735 worth of tokens has traded hands through 2.4 million transactions. There are 324,850 buyers, 936,065 owners, and more than a million daily active users.@AxieInfinity #Axs pic.twitter.com/izgdMXyjt7
— Avstar Capital (@Avstar_Capital) August 9, 2021

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.

Why Bitcoin’s next breakout may not be an altcoin season signal

June 6, 2021 Coin Telegraph

alt season

Many investors rely on bullish breakouts from Bitcoin as a sign of the next altcoin season but data suggests this strategy is flawed.

On April 14, Bitcoin (BTC) reached a $64,900 all-time high after accumulating 124.5% gains in 2021. However, a 27.5% correction followed over the next eleven days, marking a $47,000 local bottom.

The popular Crypto Fear and Greed Index reached its lowest level in 12 months on April 25, signaling that investors were closer to "extreme fear," which was a complete reversal from the "extreme greed" level seen during the Bitcoin rally above $60,000.

This downward move from April 14 to 25 wiped out $200 billion from the altcoin market capitalization. Still, the recovery that followed could serve as a guide on what to expect when Bitcoin finally manages to exit the sub-$40,000 level.

*Bitcoin price in USD, Coinbase. Source: TradingView*

Altcoins posted a similar trend, bottoming at $850 billion on April 22 but fully recovering to a record $1.34 trillion high on May 10. There is no guarantee that this pattern will repeat, but there is no better source of information than the recent market itself.

*Altcoin market capitalization, USD billion. Source: TradingView*

Cheaper is not always better

Many investors believe that altcoins consistently outperform when Bitcoin price takes off, but is that an absolute truth?

Although that has been the case in 2021, Bitcoin was the clear winner in the last quarter of 2020 as it surpassed the broader market by 110%. However, analyzing the winners from the late-April bull run could provide interesting insights on what to expect for the next rally.

*Top altcoin performances from April 22 to May 9. Source: CoinCodex*

Among the top-100 tokens, Ether Classic (ETC), Polygon (MATIC), Waves, and Fantom (FTM) were the clear winners. The winners were either scaling solutions or smart contract platforms, and the sector leader Ether (ETH) also outperformed the market.

80% of the worst performers were sub-$1 coins which is precisely the opposite of investors' usual expectations. There's a persistent myth that cheap, nominally-priced altcoins will excel during altcoin rallies, but that clearly was not the case.

*Worst performance from the top-100 altcoins between April 22 to May 9. Source: CoinCodex*

Timing the market is impossible

Unfortunately, there is no way to predict when the current correction will be over, and altcoins historically do not usually excel during bear trends. This means calling 'alt season' at the first sign of Bitcoin's price recovery is an inaccurate strategy that can lead to financial ruin.

A general rule of thumb for an 'alt season' kick-off is two or three consecutive days of 30% or higher accumulated gains on cryptocurrencies with little-to-no development, including Dogecoin (DOGE), Litecoin (LTC), and Ether Classic (ETC).

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.

Move over DOGE as Tiger King star launches CAT

May 5, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Carole Baskin

Carole Baskin has launched CAT via Ethereum-based open network Rally, and has offered exclusive rewards for holders of the coin.

Dogecoin’s status as the top memecoin may be (but almost certainly isn’t) under threat following the news that controversial Tiger King star Carole Baskin has launched her CAT coin.

Carole Baskin launches $CAT coin and donors of more than $500 between 4/19 and 5/7/2021 get on $CAT coin free. https://t.co/rDLoJZIfwR pic.twitter.com/vGdCRJ0iZm
— Big Cat Rescue (@BigCatRescue) May 4, 2021

In a blog post via Baskin’s non-profit Big Cat Rescue on May 4, she revealed her social token had been launched on Rally, an open network that enables creators to launch their own coins on the Ethereum blockchain. However, she emphasized her coin is not an investment tool, it's actually a terrible pun:

"Our new $CAT coin is not a currency for investment, but rather is a purr-ency of our fans to show their love for the cats and to reap the benefits of being our most forward-thinking partners in creating a world where all wild cats live free."

However Baskin’s interest in cryptocurrency seems to have some basis to it, with the reality TV star explaining she had concerns surrounding money printing fueled inflation and that: “I like the idea of putting the power of money in the hands of the people, rather than banks and governments.”

Despite her newfound bullishness, Baskin appears to have misunderstood the different attributes of Bitcoin versus many altcoins as she said: “At this point, both the USD and Bitcoin are fiat currencies, but at least Bitcoin and other altcoins have scarcity built in and now there is much more broad adoption of them in our everyday lives.”

Baskin’s CAT currently has 123,600 coins in circulation and is sitting at a price of $8.20 per coin. Since launch, $CAT has seen 492 transactions, with a total USD support volume of $206,000.

Holders of CAT will be eligible for rewards such as “elite access to LIVE walkabouts and conversations with Carole Baskin and her crew of big cat lovers and keepers, discounts and first access to new merchandise and activities.”

Baskin has teased future plans for the CAT community, which include shared access to big cat metaverse world called ARzoo, a virtual reality collectible game called Big Cat Rescue VR and a new set of unspecified, but presumably cat-centric NFTs set to drop in two weeks.

This is not Carole Baskin’s first move in crypto. In April last year, she began accepting donations in Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Ethereum via Bitpay.

It is yet to be seen if her arch-nemesis Joe Exotic or better known as the Tiger King has woken up to the significance of blockchain technology behind bars.

VORTECS Report: Altseason indicator flips to Bitcoin even as Rally and Polygon surge

May 1, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Altcoins

Timely NewsQuakes deliver market-moving events directly to Markets Pro subscribers, while a record-breaking VORTECS Score coincides with Polygon's remarkable price action.

Crypto investors are scratching their heads this week, as a key indicator suggests that Bitcoin is about to take center-stage once more — even as Cointelegraph Markets Pro subscribers had the opportunity to take major profits on altcoins such as Rally (RLY), Polygon (MATIC) and Ampleforth (AMPL).

Since Markets Pro was launched in January, the Altseason Analysis indicator has leaned heavily toward altcoins — and indeed, the performance of an evenly-weighted basket of the Top 100 altcoins has strongly outperformed holding Bitcoin since Markets Pro began tracking these metrics on January 3.

Holding Bitcoin: 74% return

Holding Top 100 altcoins: 432% return

Best-performing time-based VORTECS™ strategy: 1,843% return

Best-performing score-based VORTECS™ strategy: 1,367% return

The Altseason Analysis, developed for Markets Pro by data analytics firm The TIE, works similarly to the VORTECS™ Score, but adds two additional variables including press release data from tokens and exchange listing data.

It compares current market conditions to those in the past, to assess whether the market currently looks more bullish for altcoins or bitcoin for the next 14 days.

The VORTECS™ Score includes sentiment analysis, tweet and trading volume, and price action as components of the algorithm — which are then weighted according to a proprietary formula based on how similar these are to historical conditions. If there is a similarity in these factors, the score will be higher when historical precedents have most consistently led to higher prices.

Although the Altseason Analysis indicator has since swung back towards altcoins and Bitcoin’s market dominance has dipped below 50%, the market may be preparing for a surge in the largest cryptocurrency as investors rotate out of large cap alts and back into BTC.

However, the swing towards Bitcoin certainly hasn’t deterred crypto investors from seeking out altcoins for rapid profits.

Polygon (MATIC) Analysis

As seen in the chart below, on April 22, Polygon’s price was still searching for the floor between $0.30 and $0.40 when the VORTECS™ algorithm briefly detected a favorable historical pattern and assigned a V-score of 81 to the asset (first red circle).

Nothing would happen for the following three days as the overall market conditions remained neutral. Finally, early on April 26, MATIC’s favorable individual disposition fused with the reversal of the wider market, producing a run from $0.35 to $0.83 (first and second red boxes).

As the rally began, the VORTECS™ algorithm recorded a long stretch of ultra-high scores (up to 97), suggesting that, judging from historical precedent, the momentum was not going to expire anytime soon.

Ampleforth (AMPL) Analysis

This week’s top NewsQuake™ is an unusual case: The announcement of one token’s listing triggered a 33%+ increase in another token’s valuation.

The announcement in question was the news of Binance listing FORTH, the governance token of the Ampleforth ecosystem, which is not yet tracked on Markets Pro. The main asset of the two-token system, AMPL, is tracked; this is the one that saw its price appreciate by one-third in the aftermath of the news.

As seen in the chart below, Markets Pro subscribers received the news of the FORTH listing via a dedicated Discord channel and in-browser notifications, just before a steep price ascent.

NewsQuakes™ are sourced from a real-time aggregation engine, collated from over a thousand primary sources every minute and analyzed by an AI algorithm to determine the historical significance of the news. NewsQuakes™ are trained on staking announcements, exchange listings and key partnerships, and because they are delivered without human intervention, they can often be the fastest way for market participants to learn about major events in the cryptocurrency space.

Rally (RLY) Analysis

Another conspicuous example of a well-timed NewsQuake™ was the price action of Rally (RLY). On April 29, its price soared on the news of the token’s listing on Bithumb — news that was delivered in a timely fashion to Markets Pro subscribers (first red circle in the chart below).

It is worth noting that the same announcement also featured the Bithumb listings of OCEAN and CHZ, yet it didn’t have nearly as much impact on these assets’ prices.

Listing announcements can have different effects on coins’ valuations depending on the size of the exchange and the asset’s market capitalization – another variable to be factored into NewsQuake™-driven trading strategies.

Cointelegraph Markets Pro is available exclusively to subscribers on a monthly basis at $99 per month, or annually with two free months included. It carries a 14-day money-back policy, to ensure that it fits the crypto trading and investing research needs of subscribers, and members can cancel anytime.

Important Disclaimer

Cointelegraph is a publisher of financial information, not an investment adviser. We do not provide personalized or individualized investment advice. Cryptocurrencies are volatile investments and carry significant risk including the risk of permanent and total loss. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Figures and charts are correct at the time of writing or as otherwise specified. Live-tested strategies are not recommendations. Consult your financial advisor before making financial decisions. Full terms and conditions.

Rally