Dogecoin (DOGE) Finds Its Footing: Bulls Regain Traction

XRP price started a fresh increase above the $2.50 level. The price is gaining pace and could rally further above the $2.880 resistance.

• XRP price gained over 5% and rallied above the $2.550 zone.
• The price is now trading above $2.550 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average.
• There is a connecting bullish trend line forming with support at $2.60 on the hourly chart of the XRP/USD pair (data source from Kraken).
• The pair might start a fresh increase if it stays above the $2.60 support.

XRP Price Turns Green Above $2.50

XRP price managed to start a fresh increase above the $2.42 and $2.45 resistance levels. The price gained over 5% and outperformed both Bitcoin and Ethereum. There was a move above the $2.50 and $2.50 levels.

The bulls even pumped the price above the $2.75 resistance to start another increase. It traded as high as $2.875 and is currently consolidating gains above the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $2.332 swing low to the $2.875 high.

The price is now trading above $2.550 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. There is also a connecting bullish trend line forming with support at $2.60 on the hourly chart of the XRP/USD pair.

On the upside, the price might face resistance near the $2.8750 level. The first major resistance is near the $2.92 level. The next resistance is $3.00. A clear move above the $3.00 resistance might send the price toward the $3.120 resistance. Any more gains might send the price toward the $3.200 resistance or even $3.25 in the near term. The next major hurdle for the bulls might be $3.320.

Downside Correction?

If XRP fails to clear the $2.8750 resistance zone, it could start another decline. Initial support on the downside is near the $2.750 level. The next major support is near the $2.600 level and the trend line. It is close to the 50% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $2.332 swing low to the $2.875 high.

If there is a downside break and a close below the $2.60 level, the price might continue to decline toward the $2.550 support. The next major support sits near the $2.50 zone.

Technical Indicators

Hourly MACD – The MACD for XRP/USD is now gaining pace in the bullish zone.

Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for XRP/USD is now above the 50 level.

Major Support Levels – $2.750 and $2.60.

Major Resistance Levels – $2.875 and $3.000.

Solana (SOL) finds itself at a crucial juncture following a volatile day of trading. The price plunged over 11%, briefly dipping below the $170 mark before staging an impressive recovery. In just a few hours, SOL managed to reclaim the $182 level, a critical demand zone that has proven to be a key area of interest for investors.

Top analyst Jelle shared a technical price chart highlighting Solana’s resilience during this turbulent period. According to Jelle, SOL took out its recent lows, successfully retested the 200-day exponential moving average (EMA), and ultimately closed the day above all significant key levels. This pattern indicates potential strength in the market and raises the question: what’s next for Solana?

Investors and traders are eyeing the next move as Solana consolidates above its critical demand zone. Will Solana leverage this recovery to push toward new highs, or will bearish pressure take over again? The coming days will be pivotal in determining the trajectory of this market leader.

Solana Shows Strength After Weeks of Selling Pressure

Solana (SOL) is displaying renewed strength after enduring a 36% decline from its all-time high of $264 in late November to yesterday’s low of $168. The sharp drop followed weeks of consistent selling pressure, leaving investors uncertain about the immediate future. However, optimism is beginning to return as SOL shows signs of resilience.

Top analyst Jelle shared a technical analysis on X, highlighting Solana’s impressive recovery in recent price action. According to Jelle, SOL took out its recent lows, retested the 200-day exponential moving average (EMA) successfully, and closed the day above all critical levels. This behavior suggests that buyers are stepping in at key support zones, providing a much-needed lifeline to the price.

Jelle also points out that reclaiming the $210 mark could set the stage for Solana to challenge its previous highs. While optimism builds following yesterday’s rebound, caution is warranted as further consolidation or retests of support levels remain possible. The market’s next phase will largely depend on whether Solana can maintain its newfound momentum.

As SOL continues to stabilize, investors are keeping a close eye on critical resistance levels, particularly the $210 mark, which could signal the start of a new bullish trend. However, with lingering risks, the coming days will be crucial in determining Solana’s ability to sustain its recovery and potentially move toward new highs.

Price Action: Testing Crucial Levels

Solana (SOL) is trading at $186, showing signs of stabilization after a sharp recovery from its recent lows. However, the price has yet to confirm a breakout above the $192 level, a critical resistance zone that bulls need to reclaim to shift market sentiment and potentially change the current trend.

A successful reclaim of the $192 mark would signal strength and open the door for further upside. The next significant target for SOL would be breaking above the local high near $223, which could pave the way for a broader bullish trend. Such a move would likely attract renewed investor interest and signal that the market is ready for a sustained rally.

On the flip side, failing to reclaim the $192 level could expose Solana to downside risks. In such a scenario, the price may revisit lower demand zones, potentially testing support levels around $170. This would extend the consolidation phase and delay any significant upward momentum.

The next few days will be crucial for SOL, as bulls and bears battle for control at these pivotal levels. Traders and investors should watch closely to determine whether Solana can overcome resistance or faces further consolidation.

Featured image from Dall-E, chart from TradingView

World Liberty Financial, the crypto project backed by President-elect Donald Trump, has transferred $61.4 million worth of ether in the last 24 hours, according to Arkham Intelligence data.

The project's wallet, as tracked by Arkham, transferred the funds into multiple wallets, including Coinbase Prime.

World Liberty Financial took to X to explain the transfers. "We’re making routine movements of our crypto holdings as part of regular treasury management, and payment of fees and expenses and to address working capital requirements. To be clear, we are not selling tokens — we are simply reallocating assets for ordinary business purposes," the project said. "These actions are intended to be part of maintaining a strong, secure and efficient treasury. No need to speculate — this is all standard practice for managing operations at WLFI."

At its high point in mid-December, it appears World Liberty Financial's wallet had approximately $83 million in the wallet, according to Arkham. The wallet had roughly $16.7 million in it at the time of publishing.

World Liberty Financial did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment.

In November, World Liberty Financial, an Aave fork backed by Trump’s friends and family, announced it was appointing Tron Founder Justin Sun as an advisor. The news followed the announcement that HTX, the crypto exchange formerly known as Huobi and closely associated with Sun, had invested $30 million in World Liberty Financial, according to onchain data.

Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.

© 2024 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Sky (formerly MakerDAO) subsidiary Spark Protocol is integrating Ethena’s USDe synthetic dollar into its “liquidity layer,” the protocols’ teams announced on Tuesday. As part of the partnership, Spark plans to allocate up to $1.1 billion of its balance sheet to Ethena’s yield-bearing tokens to enhance “capital efficiency.”

USDe, launched in early 2024, is a unique product in the stablecoin space, given that it maintains its peg to the greenback through an algorithmic basis trade. It has rocketed up to become the fourth-largest stablecoin in part because, like other onchain stablecoin products and unlike corporate-backed assets like tether, it pays users returns on their holdings.

Prior to this latest move, the Spark Liquidity Layer balance sheet was limited to Circle’s USDC stablecoin and Sky’s USDS and sUSDS tokens. Spark estimates it could earn approximately 27% APY “during favorable market conditions” by directly onboarding Ethena’s USDe and sUSDe tokens into its portfolio.

“The addition of Ethena showcases Spark’s commitment to innovation and scalability,” the Spark team wrote in a blog post. “By enhancing liquidity management and revenue generation, Spark solidifies its vision of becoming the yield engine for DeFi.”

This is Spark’s first step toward additional proposed protocol allocations through its Spark Liquidity Layer, the multi-chain system launched late last year to make it easier to access Sky’s yield-bearing savings USDS stablecoin through other DeFi protocols, the team said.

“With the integration of Ethena’s USDe and sUSDe into its balance sheet, Spark adds a major yield opportunity to its infrastructure — ready to maximize returns for Savings USDS depositors and the Spark ecosystem,” the Spark team said.

The Spark Liquidity Layer, which manages $6.2 billion in stablecoin liquidity, enables users to convert Circle’s USDC stablecoin into Sky’s USDS or the yield-bearing “Savings USDS” (sUSDS) stablecoin on supported networks of their choice. Savings USDS pays a stable rate determined by Sky’s governance DA. The current rate of around 12.5% is supported by Sky’s revenue streams, including over-collateralized DeFi loans and real-world investments.

USDS, currently the third-largest stablecoin by market cap, is fully convertible to MakerDAO’s original dollar-pegged token dai, which has dropped down as the fifth-largest stablecoin.

Spark has had exposure to Ethena’s USDe and sUSDe tokens since March through its overcollateralized Morpho vaults. In December, the protocol’s DAO mulled adjusting its risk exposure to the network.

“Given the significant growth of Ethena in the past months, with current USDe supply now higher than USDS, we recommend adopting a tighter total exposure threshold of 20% of USDe supply,” the team wrote, noting that equated to around $1.05 billion worth of USDS.

Meanwhile, Ethena claims to have contributed approximately $120 million in annual revenue to the Sky ecosystem. In December, Ethena submitted a bid to enter its new USDtb stablecoin into Spark’s $1 billion Tokenization Grand Prix, the competition aiming to onboard real-world assets into DeFi by offering capital to selected participants. The USDtb token is ultimately backed by U.S. government bonds via BlackRock’s BUIDL fund.

Spark was spun out of MakerDAO as part of the protocol’s founder Rune Christense’s “endgame” plan. This plan aimed to boost ecosystem returns by launching semi-independent “subDAOs” that would function like startups. Since its launch, the Spark money market has contributed approximately $232 million in annual revenue to the Sky ecosystem.

Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.

© 2024 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Bitcoin (BTC) witnessed a sharp decline below $90,000 yesterday, sparking concerns about its near-term stability. However, the cryptocurrency has since rebounded, trading back above $96,000 at the time of writing.

This rapid recovery has drawn the attention of market analysts who are examining the underlying trends driving Bitcoin’s price movements.

Is Bitcoin’s Surge Above $96k A Stop Hunt?

A CryptoQuant contributor, Mignolet, shared an analysis highlighting the recent price dynamics. According to the analyst, the recent drop in BTC to $89,000 and the current recovery was triggered by the breaking of a key short-term support level.

Mignolet revealed that this pattern, referred to as “stop hunting,” occurs when price movements break support levels temporarily before recovering. Despite the recovery, Mignolet emphasizes that a true trend reversal would require stronger involvement from key market participants.

Mignolet’s analysis points to significant selling activity among whale entities, as observed in Coinbase Premium Gap (CPG) data. Typically, buying whales step in to absorb such dips, creating notable market volatility.

However, this time, such activity was absent, raising questions about the sustainability of the ongoing rebound. Additionally, Binance’s market-buy ratio data suggests that large-scale buyers on the exchange have not capitalized on the recent price movement, indicating cautious sentiment among key players.

Further evidence disclosed by Mignolet comes from the exchange-traded fund (ETF) daily inflow and outflow data, which is yet to confirm any major shifts in market dynamics.

While the daily candle pattern suggests a meaningful move, the lack of participation from whales could limit Bitcoin’s ability to sustain a long-term reversal. Mignolet also warned that market sentiment might shift too quickly to optimism without clear supporting data. The analyst noted:

Bitcoin Market Performance

After seeing a notable plunge in price yesterday dropping below $90,000 and triggering a total liquidation of over $300 million in the crypto market, Bitcoin is finally seeing a noticeable reversal in its bearish trend.

Particularly, over the past day, Bitcoin has increased by 5.6% bringing its price to trade at $96,351, at the time of writing. However, despite this increase, the asset is still roughly a 10.8% decrease away from its peak above $108,000 recorded last month.

While Mignolet’s analysis suggested that Bitcoin bearishness might not be over yet, it is worth noting that the asset’s current recovery coincides with reduced selling activity from long-term holders.

In a separate analysis, CryptoQuant contributor Darkfost revealed that the net position change of long-term holders (LTHs) over the past 30 days remains negative but shows signs of improvement. From a low of -827,000 BTC on December 5, the figure has improved to -246,000 BTC.

This reduction in selling pressure suggests that LTHs are less inclined to sell at current price levels as Bitcoin’s price declines. However, Darkfost noted that for bullish momentum to regain strength, LTHs would need to shift toward accumulation rather than reducing sales.

Featured image created with DALL-E, Chart from TradingView

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has sued Elon Musk, claiming he failed to timely file that he “had acquired beneficial ownership” through Twitter stock purchases in 2022.

The SEC said in a Jan. 14 filing in a Washington, DC federal court that Musk started purchasing Twitter stock in early 2022 and, by March 14, 2022, owned over 5% of Twitter’s outstanding common stock.

“Musk was able to continue purchasing shares at artificially low prices, allowing him to underpay by at least $150 million for shares he purchased after his beneficial ownership report was due,” the regulator claimed.

The SEC alleged Musk failed to file a beneficial ownership report disclosing his Twitter holdings within 10 days after he owned more than 5% of Twitter’s stock, doing so 11 days after the report was due on April 4, 2022.

“That day, Twitter’s stock price increased more than 27% over its previous day’s closing price,” the SEC said.

“Because Musk failed to timely disclose his beneficial ownership, he was able to make these purchases from the unsuspecting public at artificially low prices, which did not yet reflect the undisclosed material information of Musk’s beneficial ownership,” it added.

This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.