Is the Crypto Bottom In? Analytics Firm Santiment Says One Metric Is Flashing a Historically Bullish Signal

December 17, 2022 The Daily Hodl

Alameda tried to redeem 3,000 wBTC days before bankruptcy: BitGo CEO

December 15, 2022 Coin Telegraph

The CEO of Bitgo stated that the Alameda representative failed the security verification process required to convert Wrapped BTC into BTC.

Mike Belshe, the CEO of digital asset custodian BitGo has confirmed that Alameda Research attempted to redeem 3,000 Wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC) in the days before FTX’s bankruptcy filing on Nov. 11.

During a Dec. 14 Twitter Spaces hosted by decentralized finance (DeFi) researcher Chris Blec, Belshe confirmed the firm knocked back the redemption request because the unknown Alameda representative involved didn’t pass Bitgo’s security verification process and seemed unfamiliar with how the wrapped Bitcoin burning process worked.

Full convo here. This part starts at 1:09:30. https://t.co/0KQg6bzd8k
— Chris Blec (@ChrisBlec) December 14, 2022

“[The security details] didn't match the process. So we held it up and we said no, no, no, no. This is not what the burn looks like. And we need to know who this person was.”

“So we held it and while we were holding it, waiting for a response on those issues [Alameda] went bankrupt and of course, once they went bankrupt, everything halted,” Belshe added.

The Bitgo CEO also said that Alameda’s 3,000 BTC mint request remains “stuck” on the platform’s dashboard, adding that the firm would most likely leave the tokens where they are until they’re dealt with by the trustees taking on Alameda's bankruptcy case.

*Alameda’s failed mint transaction request of 3,000 wBTC in exchange for 3000 BTC. Source: wBTC Network Dashboard.*

Alameda’s attempt to unwrap the 3,000 wBTC was also confirmed on the Ethereum transaction aggregator Etherscan.

While this would have ordinarily triggered the redemption of BTC, Bitgo has a security mechanism set in place before the conversion takes place, which is what Alameda failed.

It is not understood what the motive was for attempting to redeem the $50 million worth of wBTC, but it is understood that FTX executives were attempting to raise funds from a variety of sources to stave off bankruptcy up until the last minute.

Analysis from Arkham Intelligence on Nov. 25 found that Alameda pulled $204 million from eight different addresses from FTX.US five days before its parent firm eventually filed for Chapter 11.

wBTC is a tokenized version of BTC, which can be redeemed for BTC when it is sent to a burn address, triggeringthe release of BTC. The conversion is made at a 1:1 ratio.

The tokenization of wrapped Bitcoin enables Bitcoin holders to interact with Ethereum-based smart contracts and decentralized applications.

Bitgo co-developed wBTC in 2019 alongside blockchain interoperability protocol Ren and multi-chain liquidity platform Kyber. wBTC is also managed by the decentralized autonomous organization wBTC DAO, which comprises over 30 members.

The wBTC dashboard currently shows that BitGo now holds 202,255 BTC in custody against 199,238 wBTC in circulation, amounting to an overcollateralization rate of 101.51%.

‘FTX Accounts Drainer’ Offloads 50,000 ETH, Entity Uses Ren’s Bitcoin Gateway to Acquire BTC

November 20, 2022 Bitcoin.com

Analytics Firm Says Bitcoin and XRP Flashing Bullish Signals, Predicts Further Downside for One Top-25 Altcoin

September 23, 2022 The Daily Hodl

Trading for AKT, BADGER, BAND, CTSI and More Starts Now For USA and CA!

April 19, 2022 Kraken

REN price gains 65% after Catalog launch brings a cross-chain DEX to its blockchain

March 4, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Altcoin Watch

REN stands out among a sea of red altcoins after the launch of Catalog and a pivot toward Polygon blockchain result in a 65% rally.

Decentralized finance projects like Ren pumped in 2021, only to finish the year right back where they started as high fees on Ethereum (ETH) led to decreased activity for many protocols and DeFi took a backseat to more popular sectors like nonfungible tokens (NFTs).

Now, it appears as though that downtrend is in the process of reversing course after recent global events highlighted the benefits of DeFi and holding assets outside the traditional financial system. This week REN price climbed 69% from a low of $0.247 on Feb. 24 to a daily high of $0.418 on March 3.

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

Three reasons for the potential price reversal in REN are the launch of its first layer-one application Catalog, the launch of VarenX on Polygon and several new partnerships and integrations for REN and the Ren Virtual Machine (RenVM).

Catalog launches

The biggest development to come out of the REN project lately was the release of Catalog, the first application built on the Ren blockchain.

Say goodbye to multi-chain acrobatics with Catalog‍♂️

Learn more about what @catalogfi and partners are bringing to the multi-chain ecosystem herehttps://t.co/bRqCyyCsis

Join the waitlist for early access and morehttps://t.co/hb4KyRhA8r
— Ren (@renprotocol) February 26, 2022

Catalog is a “Metaversal” exchange according to Ren and is designed to be a secure cross-chain decentralized exchange (DEX) with built-in liquidity mechanisms that allow users to swap assets across popular networks at a minimal cost.

The liquidity mechanism for Catalog will tap into native asset pools as well as liquidity across third-party DEXes, meaning that Ren will be able to support a wide array of projects without worrying about liquidity constraints.

Other features of Catalog include zero gas fees and low, flat-rate trading fees, the ability to earn passive income on crypto held in a Catalog account without needing to stake or participate in liquidity pools and future plans to add the ability to link a bank account for easy deposits and withdrawals.

VarenX launches on Polygon

A second development boosting the momentum for REN was the integration of its VarenX DeFi hub on the Polygon network.

VarenX is live on @0xPolygon with free GAS thanks to @varenfinance!

Gasless cross-chain swaps are here and it's a big milestone for improving the native multi-chain user experience.

Learn more below https://t.co/XMyTh0bB5Y
— Ren (@renprotocol) February 25, 2022

Up to this point, VarenX has only operated on the Ethereum network, making it difficult for VarenX to gain traction.

The low fee nature of Polygon has enabled VarenX to offer gasless transactions through its "FreeWei" feature which fronts the gas costs for users, allowing them to conduct cross-chain for free.

Partnerships and integrations

A third factor helping to boost the outlook for Ren has been a series of partnerships and integrations that have helped to strengthen its cross-chain ties.

Most recently, Ren partnered with Kava to join the Kava Pioneer program, which will see the RenVM deployed on the Kava Network Ethereum co-chain on March 8.

Announcing a new Kava Pioneer!

Welcome @Renprotocol!

Excited to have RenVM deploying on the Kava Network Ethereum Co-Chain on March 8th!

The Pioneer Program is still open for submissions with a 100K $KAVA pool up for grabs! https://t.co/h3v6URIPmF pic.twitter.com/syTE6bHAHW
— Kava Network (@kava_platform) March 3, 2022

Other notable developments include a partnership with DappBack, a renBTC integration with Vesta Finance and the listing of REN on the Voyager app and exchange.

VORTECS™ data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro began to detect a bullish outlook for REN on Feb. 25, prior to the recent price rise.

The VORTECS™ Score, exclusive to Cointelegraph, is an algorithmic comparison of historical 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. REN price. Source:* *Cointelegraph Markets Pro*

As seen in the chart above, the VORTECS™ Score for REN climbed into the green zone on Feb. 25 and reached a high of 81 around 56 hours before the price increased 35.8% over the next three days.

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.

Several Altcoins Have Slipped Into Their ‘Buy Zones’ During the Latest Crypto Market Dip, According to Santiment

February 21, 2022 The Daily Hodl

REN price at risk of 50% drop after a bearish trading pattern shows up

January 5, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Altcoin Watch

Nonetheless, the long-term technical setup and strengthening protocol metrics indicate bullish continuation.

The prospects of Ren (REN) continuing its ongoing rebound to fresh highs appear slim as a classic bearish reversal pattern begins to emerge.

Dubbed head and shoulders, the setup appears when the price forms three peaks, with the middle peak (called the head) longer than the other two peaks described as the left and right shoulders. The bottoms of these peaks are supported by a neckline.

*An illustration of the head and shoulders pattern. Source: Corporate Finance Institute*

The pattern comes into play primarily when the price breaks below the neckline in a correction that follows the formation of the right shoulder. That prompts traders to open short entries below the neckline, with their ideal target at a length equal to the distance between the head's high point and the neckline.

What's behind REN's current setup?

REN has been forming what appears to be an upward sloping head and shoulder pattern, supported by a rising neckline.

In detail, REN price rose and declined into a trough around mid-December 2021, forming the left shoulder. Later, it rebounded sharply to create a higher peak — above the highest level of the first shoulder — and then fell all over again.

REN has since rebounded again and is now in the process of forming its right shoulder, as shown in the chart below.

*REN/USD daily price chart featuring H&S setup. Source: TradingView*

As a result, the price of REN may continue its rebound until it completes its right shoulder formation, which could be near the 50-day exponential moving average; the velvet wave, near $0.67. That is because of the wave's recent history of limiting REN's price rebounds.

Additional sell pressure could also come from the 0.618 Fib line near $0.633 due to its historical relevance as both support and resistance. Overall, a pullback looks likely to happen that would have REN make the right shoulder. Meanwhile, a correction towards the neckline, followed by a break below it, would confirm the head and shoulder setup.

In doing so, the move may shift REN's downside target to $0.30, measured after adding the distance between the head's high and the neckline to the breakout point. That is around 50% below the current trading price at $0.59.

The long-term outlook is still bullish

REN's head and shoulder setup comes as a part of a wider price correction that has seen the token shed nearly 70% of its value from a record high near $1.92 in Feb. 2021.

On a longer-timeframe chart, REN appears to have been only consolidating inside a giant symmetrical triangle, suggesting that its correction toward $0.30 may end up causing a rebound toward $1.20.

*REN/USD weekly price chart featuring a symmetrical triangle. Source: TradingView*

Bullish cues for REN may also come from the growth of its backer of the same name. Ren's core product, RenVM, brings interoperability to the decentralized finance ecosystem (DeFi). It holds users' digital assets as they move between blockchains using zero-knowledge proofs over an sMPC based protocol.

REN acts as a bond to run the so-called Darknodes that power RenVM's sMPC network. Those who deposit 100,000 REN are able to run these Darknodes and as a result, are able to earn rewards in Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Zcash (ZEC), and other tokens.

The total value locked (TVL) of the digital assets minted on all chains — which includes Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, Solana, Polygon, Fantom, Avalanche, and Arbitrum — by RenVM came out to be $1.05 billion at press time compared to $6.6 million in June 2021.

*Multi-year history of volume and total value locked in RenVM. Source: Highcharts.com*

Meanwhile, the total amount of volume transacting through RenVM on all chains reached an all-time high of $8.89 billion on January 4th, 2022. That shows a steady increase in the Ren network's adoption, thus boosting the upside prospects of REN token.