Leveraged Bets On Ethereum Soar: What This Means For Traders and Investors

Dogecoin has displayed remarkable stability after its recent explosive rally, marking a 163% rise this month. Despite slight fluctuations, the meme coin’s bullish momentum remains intact.

Current market signals suggest the potential for further price gains, driven by increased network activity and strong investor sentiment.

Dogecoin Is Noting a Strong Growth

Dogecoin’s active addresses have hit an all-time high, surpassing 1.33 million daily participants. This surge reflects heightened network demand, a bullish indicator for the cryptocurrency. Increased participation often correlates with rising prices, as high activity showcases strong investor interest and broad adoption of DOGE.

The expanding transaction volume indicates widespread engagement, adding to Dogecoin’s credibility. Elevated network activity has historically supported price increases, and this trend suggests DOGE could capitalize on its current momentum. Investor enthusiasm, combined with broader market cues, is likely to sustain upward pressure on the meme coin’s price.

The Dogecoin Price Daily Active Addresses (DAA) Divergence metric is flashing a strong buy signal, further bolstering Dogecoin’s outlook. This indicator highlights the harmony between rising prices and increasing participation, both of which reflect healthy growth. As network activity aligns with price movements, DOGE appears positioned for continued gains.

Additionally, macroeconomic factors, including Bitcoin’s sustained rally, are creating a positive environment for altcoins. Dogecoin’s recent performance aligns with this broader trend, and with Elon Musk’s influence on the cryptocurrency, market hype continues to support DOGE’s growth trajectory.

DOGE Price Prediction: Securing Gains

Dogecoin is currently holding steady above the $0.36 support level. To sustain its rally, DOGE must breach and secure $0.45 as a support floor. Achieving this milestone could pave the way for further gains, potentially propelling the price higher.

The bullish momentum remains supported by rising market demand and strong investor sentiment. If these factors persist, Dogecoin could see continued accumulation, driving its price toward new highs. Broader market optimism and renewed excitement about DOGE’s utility also contribute to this positive outlook.

However, a loss of the $0.36 support level could lead to a correction. In such a scenario, DOGE may drop to $0.32 or lower to $0.28. Any decline beyond $0.28 would invalidate the bullish thesis, signaling the potential for further downside.

In a recent interview with FOX Business, Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple Labs, shared insights on the so-called “Trump trade” impacting crypto prices, as evidenced by Bitcoin’s recent streak of consecutive all-time highs over the past 48 hours.

Garlinghouse also discussed how Ripple, and the broader digital asset industry, fit into the upcoming regulatory landscape expected under President-elect Donald Trump in the coming year.

Ripple CEO Optimistic About Trump’s Pro-Crypto Stance

Garlinghouse emphasized that since its inception, Ripple has focused on addressing the inefficiencies of traditional cross-border payments, which he described as “slow and expensive.” By utilizing XRP, the company aims to streamline these transactions, making them faster and more cost-effective.

However, the CEO criticized the Biden administration’s stance on digital assets, referring to it as an “unlawful war” against the industry. He expressed optimism that with Trump’s pro-crypto approach, the landscape may be transforming.

When asked about the potential for increased revenue opportunities in the US under the upcoming regulatory changes, Garlinghouse explained that the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) lawsuit against XRP had effectively “frozen” Ripple’s market potential in the country.

Currently, 95% of Ripple’s customer base is located outside the US, with Garlinghouse pointing out that the company cannot fully realize growth in a market where regulatory clarity is lacking.

Garlinghouse observed that while the cryptocurrency industry is flourishing in countries like China, Japan, the UK, and Switzerland, the US has lagged behind in embracing digital assets.

Ripple’s CEO expressed hope that the anticipated deregulation under Trump would lead to clearer guidelines, allowing agencies like the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to play a constructive role in shaping the industry.

Garlinghosue criticized the existing regulatory framework, particularly the application of the Howey Test, which he believes fails to adequately address the unique characteristics of the crypto sector. He also underscored the need for updated regulations that reflect the realities of an industry that has developed significantly over the past decade.

US As Digital Asset Hub In Coming Years

During the interview, FOX Business highlighted comments from Coinbase’s Chief Policy Officer, Faryar Shirzad, regarding the private meeting between Trump and Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase.

Shirzad noted that Trump has expressed a willingness to engage with the crypto industry, fostering a vision for the US to become the global leader in digital assets. Garlinghouse echoed these sentiments, recognizing Coinbase’s influential role in advocating for the cryptocurrency agenda during the election campaign.

As speculation mounts regarding potential candidates for the SEC chair position under Trump—names like Dan Gallagher, Teresa Goody, and Commissioner Mark Uyeda have surfaced—Garlinghouse emphasized the importance of the new chair working collaboratively with Congress to address regulatory gaps that contribute to confusion in the market.

Garlinghouse concluded with an optimistic outlook, stating that he believes a new era for cryptocurrency is on the horizon in the US. He envisions the country becoming a central hub for digital assets and blockchain technology over the next five to ten years.

At the time of writing, XRP is trading at $1.10, marking a massive 104% surge in just two weeks since Trump’s election victory. However, the token is still trading 67% below its all-time high of $3,040, which it reached nearly seven years ago.

Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com

Tron founder Justin Sun paid $6.2 million at a New York auction for an art piece consisting of a banana taped to a wall. Now, he plans to eat it.

“I’ve bought the banana,” Sun wrote in a Nov. 21 X post. “This is not just an artwork; it represents a cultural phenomenon that bridges the worlds of art, memes, and the cryptocurrency community.”

“In the coming days, I will personally eat the banana as part of this unique artistic experience,” he added.

The artwork is Maurizio Cattelan’s “Comedian” and is literally a fresh banana stuck to a wall with duct tape. However, the artwork’s owner can replace the banana as it rots and also the tape as needed, so Sun has practically paid for instructions on how to tape a banana to a wall and a certificate of authenticity to call it Comedian.

Sotheby’s, who hosted the auction, said on X that there were “over six minutes of heated bidding” for the work, which was its first time ever going under the hammer.

Bidding started at $800,000 and quickly rocketed to millions of dollars as the auctioneer quipped that “it’s slipping through the auction room” and urged bidders not to “let it slip away” to groans from the audience.

Sun managed to outbid six others with the hammer falling on his $5.2 million bid, plus $1 million in Sotheby’s fees — over four times its presale estimate of between $1 million and $1.5 million.

Sun probably needs all the nutrients he can get.

The Tron founder’s blockchain processes the bulk of volume for the world’s largest stablecoin, Tether , which was reportedly under criminal investigation by the United States Justice Department.

Sun has also reportedly been under criminal investigation by the FBI and New York prosecutors.

He was also sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission alongside Tron in March 2023 for allegedly selling the Tron (TRX) token as an unregistered security and wash-trading it to raise its price, which he denies.

If Sun does eat the banana, he’ll be the third documented case of someone chowing down on the artwork.

In April last year, a student ate the banana when the work was on display in a Seoul art museum and taped the peel back on the wall. He later said he ate it because he skipped breakfast and was hungry.

The first drama with the banana came when the artist David Datuna ate the work after it sold for $120,000 at its 2019 Miami Art Basel debut. The banana was later replaced, and he faced no legal consequences.

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The ether-to-bitcoin price ratio on major centralized exchanges has declined to its lowest level since March 2021, as bitcoin continues to reach new all-time highs.

ETH-to-BTC ratio on Binance dropped 1.54% in the 24 hours leading up to Asia afternoon on Thursday, currently standing at 0.032, or 3.2%, according to data from TradingView. Since the start of 2024, the metric has fallen by over 40%.

The decline, which has accelerated since July, may be attributed to bitcoin’s meteoric rise leading up to and following the re-election of pro-crypto Republican candidate Donald Trump. The world’s largest cryptocurrency has been setting new all-time high records in the past few weeks.

Today, bitcoin climbed above $97,700 for the first time, amid growing market anticipation for the price of the world's largest crypto to surpass $100,000 by year-end.

Prior to the election, the approval of U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds has also contributed to bitcoin's rally throughout 2024, BTCMarkets' Rachael Lucas told The Block. “This has attracted significant institutional and retail attention, reinforcing bitcoin's position as 'digital gold,'” Lucas said.

On the other hand, ether has been comparatively underperforming despite the market-wide rally brought on by Trump’s victory. While bitcoin rose over 7% in the past week, ether lost 3.2%.

“Ethereum is currently in an awkward area where it’s competing on two major fronts: as a store of value against Bitcoin and as a smart contract platform for developers against Solana,” said Steven Zheng, research analyst of The Block. “This has led to investors being unsure about its value proposition at least in the short term.”

Solana has risen prominently this year as the network behind the prolonged memecoin fever. On Monday, over 94% of new tokens that appeared on decentralized exchanges were launched on Solana, according to The Block’s data dashboard. Solana has also surpassed Ethereum in key metrics such as protocol fees and DEX volumes.

Lucas added that Ethereum has struggled to maintain momentum since its Merge update in 2022 as it faced regulatory uncertainty surrounding its potential classification as a financial security in the U.S.

Zheng, however, said that the Ethereum blockchain remains the most economically-active smart contract platform by far, which still attracts developers who may build new apps to help the network regain momentum.

“Overall, Ethereum's underperformance signals a broader trend of centralization in bitcoin,” Lucas said. “If bitcoin's rally loses steam or Ethereum's market sentiment improves, perhaps due to technical upgrades or renewed interest in its use cases, there is potential for a rebound in the [ratio].”

Peter Chung, head of research at Presto Research, said that the ETH's underperformance thus far doesn't necessarily mean it will continue to do so in the coming years. “As a more crypto-friendly environment takes hold under the Trump administration, more Web3 projects will likely be launched on various chains,” Chung said.

“It's still very early days in the blockchain industry, so it would be premature to rule out one chain over another, especially given the track record the Ethereum community has demonstrated over the years and the intellectual capital residing within the community,” Chung added.

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.

Blockchain gaming, along with decentralized finance, will likely benefit most from Trump’s presidency, says Jeffrey Zirlin, the co-founder of crypto gaming platform Sky Mavis.

Speaking to Cointelegraph at the YGG Play Summit in the Philippines on Nov. 21, Zirlin said the “token design” space would be set to yield the most benefit from the new crypto-friendly administration in the United States.

Zirlin said the outgoing administration in the US — watched over by a Gensler-led SEC and other top Democrats — made it “very difficult” to do anything truly novel in the token design space without running into serious regulatory headwinds.

Mike Novogratz, the founder and CEO of Galaxy Digital Holdings—a leading crypto investment firm listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange—has signaled a significant shift in the global adoption of Bitcoin. In a post on Tuesday via X, Novogratz declared that countries are already purchasing Bitcoin.

Nation-State Bitcoin FOMO Is Real

“Countries are already buying BTC in huge volumes—these are massive pools of capital entering the market. We’re witnessing global adoption at scale and the next rally could be massive. Buckle up. Caught up last week with Bloomberg TV, he stated via X.

In the Bloomberg interview, Novogratz elaborated on the unprecedented interest from sovereign entities. He mentioned a close associate—the person who introduced him to BTC in 2013—who is currently in the Middle East. “He’s never seen anything like it,” Novogratz said. “He’s convincing more people to buy Bitcoin in the three days he’s been there than any time in his whole career, and they’re huge pools of capital. And so we’re seeing something globally.”

Novogratz noted that when former President Donald Trump advocated in Nashville that he intended to be a “crypto president” and a “Bitcoin president,” it caught the attention of international leaders. “Other leaders heard that,” he remarked, suggesting that geopolitical factors could contribute to an “amazing rally” in the Bitcoin market.

When questioned about the likelihood of the United States establishing a Strategic BTC Reserve under a Trump presidency, Novogratz remained cautious. “I still think it’s a low probability,” he stated. He cited the complexities of US legislative processes, emphasizing that while the executive branch or the House might show enthusiasm, the Senate often urges restraint. “That’s the role of the Senate,” he said, pointing out that Republicans do not hold a 60-seat majority necessary to push through such initiatives unilaterally.

Nonetheless, Novogratz acknowledged the potential benefits of the US embracing Bitcoin at a strategic level. “It would be very smart for the United States to take the Bitcoin they have and maybe add some to it,” he suggested, adding that it would signal a commitment to being a “technology-first country, a crypto and digital asset-first country.” While he doesn’t believe the US dollar requires backing by Bitcoin, he admitted that if a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve were established, “Bitcoin heads to $500,000.”

He added: “If it happens in the short term without a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, it’s going to mean six, seven, eight years,” Novogratz cautioned. “Then it’s just a scramble to get the hot commodity.” He expressed concerns that such a scenario could be indicative of hyperinflation, which historically leads to societal instability. “In every country that experiences hyperinflation, the results are really crappy,” he noted.

Discussing Bitcoin’s potential to rival gold as a store of value, Novogratz highlighted a generational shift in investment preferences. “The total market cap of gold is like $16 trillion,” he explained, which translates to approximately $800,000 per BTC if it were to reach parity. “When does Bitcoin become gold?” he asked rhetorically. Novogratz, who is turning 60 next week, admitted he still owns gold, calling himself “an old guy.”

However, he pointed out that younger generations are less inclined to invest in gold. “Forty-year-olds own no gold. Thirty-year-olds own none,” he observed. “As we see this generational shift, Bitcoin should match gold within five or ten years, and that gets you to $800,000.”

At press time, BTC traded at $93,000.