The price of ether (ETH), the world's second-largest cryptocurrency, has increased by over 2.3% in the past 24 hours. In contrast, the broader CoinDesk 20 Index saw a modest rise of 0.76%, while Bitcoin experienced a slight decline of approximately 0.3%.
This surge in ether's value coincides with reports concerning Bybit, a cryptocurrency exchange recently targeted by a North Korean hacking group known as Lazarus. The hackers reportedly stole $1.5 billion worth of ether and staked ether. In response, Bybit has moved 100 million USDT into new addresses, with half of that amount used to purchase 36,900 ETH over-the-counter.
The funds, estimated to be worth around $101 million, were subsequently transferred to addresses identified as belonging to the cryptocurrency exchange, as reported by crypto journalist Colin Wu, citing data from Arkham Intelligence. Bybit's CEO, Ben Zhou, addressed the situation in a public "ask me anything" session, asserting that the company's assets exceed $1.5 billion. He further revealed that Bybit maintains a cold wallet containing nearly $3 billion in USDT, ensuring the company's financial stability.
The CMC Altcoin Season Index currently stands at 34, reflecting a decline of 3 points compared to the previous day. The index measures market performance by analyzing the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, to determine whether the market is in an altcoin season or remains Bitcoin-dominated
Over the past 90 days, 34 of these altcoins have outperformed Bitcoin in price growth, signalling a weakening altcoin trend.
$LTC Foundation announced on Twitter that a first ETF has been listed and recognized in the Spanish Canary Islands!
Here is some information about the Canary Islands
Around 2.24 million people live in the Canary Islands and the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in 2021 was around 18,990 euros, with around 40% of GDP dependent on the tourism sector.
The informal economy in the Canary Islands comprises undeclared and illegal economic activities, which account for around 17.9% of GDP and amount to over 8 billion euros annually.
The informal economy means that business is carried out without paying taxes through loopholes and criminals also launder their money.
Google has introduced an AI tool designed to serve as a 'virtual collaborator' for biomedical scientists.
This innovative tool, tested by researchers from Stanford University and Imperial College London, leverages advanced reasoning capabilities to assist scientists in analyzing extensive literature and generating new hypotheses. DeepMind, Google's AI division, has prioritized scientific research, and its leader, Demis Hassabis, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry last year for his team's technological advancements.
Google reported that during an experiment on liver fibrosis, all methods proposed by the AI 'assistant' demonstrated potential in inhibiting the disease's causes, showing highly positive activity. The company also highlighted the AI's ability to optimize expert-generated solutions over time. While these results require further validation, they present a promising direction for enhancing and accelerating the work of expert scientists using efficient AI systems.
• If the economy remains strong and inflation doesn’t move toward the 2% target, we may maintain a tight policy stance for longer. • No rush to adjust policy. • Unemployment rate is low and stable. • The Fed will complete its framework review by the end of summer. • The framework review will not focus on the inflation target. • The inflation target will remain at 2%. • We are well-positioned to handle risks and uncertainties. • The U.S. economy is generally strong. • Policy is well-positioned to address risks and uncertainties.
According to Odaily, U.S. Democratic Representative Maxine Waters has introduced a proposal for stablecoin regulation. The proposal suggests that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Federal Reserve, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) oversee stablecoin issuers. It also mandates that registered issuers maintain a 1:1 reserve ratio. Last week, Republican Representatives French Hill and Bryan Steil put forward a similar bill, advocating for the OCC to regulate non-bank stablecoin issuers without requiring Federal Reserve approval.
Avalanche network has experienced a significant reduction in transaction fees and an increase in transaction volume following the implementation of the Avalanche9000 upgrade on December 16.
Reports from CoinDesk indicate that average transaction fees have decreased by 75%, while transaction volume has surged by over 35%.
Data from Flipside and Bitquery reveal that Avalanche's daily transactions have now reached approximately 354,000.
The upgrade introduced seven improvement proposals, including ACP-125, which reduced the base fee for C-Chain smart contracts from 25 nAVAX to 1 nAVAX. Additionally, validator fees were adjusted from 2,000 AVAX to a monthly subscription model ranging from 1 to 10 AVAX, lowering the entry barrier for validators.
Avalanche continues to enhance its DeFi ecosystem and attract more developers through its multi-chain architecture, which includes C-Chain, P-Chain, and X-Chain.
The Fear And Greed Index , which ranges from 0 to 100, is composed of various indicators including volatility (25%), market trading volume (25%), social media trends (15%), market surveys (15%), Bitcoin's market dominance (10%), and Google search trends (10%).
Currently it stand at 72 which means it’s volatile and on Greed side . It indicates caution ⚠️
The stock market just lost $1 Trillion in value today.
All because a company out of China dropped a new AI Model called DeepSeek R1, which is much better and only costs $6 million, versus American tech companies spending billions.
China's release of Deepseek a day after Trump announced the $500 Billion Stargate AI project is hilarious.
DeepSeek is like buying a $2,000 first-class plane ticket only to find out the guy sitting next to you paid $200 for the same seat.
2. Price going up volume increases comparatively; Price will increase more.
3. Price going down, volume increasing comparatively; Price will drop more.
4. Price going down, volume decreasing comparatively; Soon price will go up.
I used a word comparatively, which means current 3-5 candles volume as compared to the previous 10 candles. Also words used combinedly for price and candle size as compared to volume fluctuation.
📍 Market Anxiety: What Japan's Interest Rate Decision Means for Investors Tomorrow ? 📍
The market is leaving people emotionally drained. Remember, today is another significant event. Thursday and Friday are likely to be tough days
Think back to August 5, 2024.
Look at the prices of all cryptocurrencies. The global stock market experienced a major shakeup, with NASDAQ dropping 16%.
What caused this?
Japan raised its interest rates.
For those unfamiliar, borrowing from Japanese banks has been almost free, allowing investors to borrow money from Japan and invest in the U.S. stock market without interest costs.
However, on July 31, 2024, Japan unexpectedly raised its interest rate to 0.25%. As one of the world's strongest economies, Japan's low interest rates encourage large institutions and companies to take loans and invest in stock markets.
Now, today marks the day when Japan's Federal Reserve will meet to decide on the next interest rate change. It's anticipated that the rate will rise to 0.5%, an increase of another 0.25%.
What will the market's reaction be?
Many are anxious, fearing a repeat of the August 2024 response.
However, let me clarify what might happen. Back in August, the sudden 0.25% rate hike caught everyone off guard.
This time, there's a 95% likelihood of a 0.25% increase, meaning the market has likely already factored this news in. Therefore, when the announcement is made, we could see a surprising market rally.
On the other hand, if Japan raises rates by less than 0.25%, we could see a significant market surge. It's highly unlikely they will increase it by more than 0.25%.
Still, it's essential to remember that sometimes the market's reaction is more critical than the news itself.
The external factors that drive the markets and likely to be the leading indicators when it comes to predicting the market behavior, its overall trend, strength and weakness to be considered, analysed and understood are the following.
1) DXY - Dollar index (the dollar index has an inverse correlation with the entire crypto-currency market, strength in dollar means weakness in crypto overall and weakness in dollar index equals strength in crypto markets in general).
2) USDT.D (USDT dominance has exactly the same function as the dollar index, an inverse correlation with crypto market. Weakness in USDT dominance means liquidity rotation in BTC+ALTS. However, strength in USDT dominance means liquidity shifting out of crypto in general)
3) BTC.D (similar to that of #DXY and #USDT dominance, #bitcoin dominance also has an inverse correlation with altcoins and altcoins only. Should #BTC dominance drop, it would lead to a spike in altcoin prices across the board. And if BTC dominance were to appreciate in numbers, it causes the altcoins to drop. Your alt-season indicator is #BTC dominance)
4) ETH/BTC- Often neglected, refuted and misunderstood indicator for altcoins and alt-season in general. Until and unless it does not appreciate in value and shows sign of strength against #BTC, nothing matters. As of now, #ethereum is doing the worst ever you can imagine against BTC.
5) ETH.D - Nobody speaks of it, most haven't heard about it. Your job is to track #ethereum dominance similar to that of #BTC dominance to evalute the overall price strength in Ethereum's price which in itself is a good leading indicator for what's to come for altcoins.
#WorldLibertyFinancial (WILFI ) a trump owned platform purchased cryptocurrencies for over $50M.
This acquisition includes $4.7M of #ChainLink $LINK , $4.7M of #Aave $AAVE, $4.7M of #Tron $TRX , $4.7M of #Ethena $ENA, $47M of #WrappedBitcoin $WBTC and $47M of #Ethereum $ETH each in honor of Trump's inauguration as the 47th President of the United States.
World Liberty Financial is a decentralized finance platform launched by #DonaldTrump. It aims to provide services like borrowing, lending and earning interest on cryptocurrencies, with a strong emphasis on supporting unbanked and underserved communities.
Bitcoin ($BTC ) has experienced significant price movements, surpassing the $100,000 mark in December 2024 and reaching an all-time high of approximately $108,309.
Analysts have varying predictions for Bitcoin's trajectory in 2025. Some forecasts suggest that if Bitcoin falls below the key support level of around $90,680, it could decline by 20% to approximately $73,000. Conversely, bullish projections estimate that Bitcoin could reach between $150,000 and $300,000 by the end of 2025, driven by factors such as increased institutional adoption, favorable regulatory developments, and the effects of the 2024 Bitcoin halving.
It's important to note that Bitcoin's price is highly volatile and influenced by various factors, including market sentiment, macroeconomic trends, and regulatory news. Therefore, while these predictions provide insights into potential trends, they are speculative and should be considered with caution.
Investors should conduct thorough research and consider their risk tolerance before making investment decisions related to Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies.