Daily Archives: May 6, 2022

NFT trading volume has been on a robust momentum since April and the pace is just right for May with Solana and Moonbirds NFTs such as Okay Bears triggering the increase in NFT sales volume since April.

According to DappRadar, there is a monumental 45% climb in organic trading volume of NFTs in April in comparison to the previous months. Solana NFT trading has skyrocketed in April, as Moonbirds also proved to boost Ethereum trading.

Suggested Reading | Bitcoin Seen Dropping To $32K – But Not This Month – As Analyst Sees It Hitting $48K

NFT Trading Volume Climbing

There has been a marked sluggishness in February and March, but NFT trading volumes have bounced back in April with a remarkable increase of 45%.

There has been a halt for six weeks that transpired in mid-February with the NFT market. Thankfully, the trading volume improved in April. The main culprit for the recent increase in NFT trading volume points to Solana-based NFTs and Moonbirds.

The NFT market has recorded an increase in monthly NFT trading volume at $6.3 billion in April. That is a growth spurt or jump of over 23% from March.

Moobirds Now 11th Most-Traded NFT In History

Moonbirds, a private or members-only collection, has generated around $500 million in trades which has helped with the recovery of the NFT market.

To date, Moonbirds is now the 11th most traded NFT collection in history which has surpassed other NFT collections such as Cool Cats, Doodles, and Meebits.

Crypto total market cap at $1.62 trillion on the weekend chart | Source: TradingView.com

Despite the controversies, Moonbirds has remained strong with  the floor price consistently above 28 ETH or approximately $81,944.

Another important factor is the increase in demand for Solana NFTs at 91% every month which has generated over $300 million in total revenue. Solana-based NFTs have also increased in the sale price to $350.

Suggested Readin | NFT Market Records Decreasing Number Of Buyers – Is The NFT Hype Dying?

OpenSea Support On Solana Boosts NFTs

The popularity and massive success of Solana NFTs isn’t a surprise especially because OpenSea has expressed its support for the Solana blockchain. The backing of this major NFT marketplace has done wonders for Solana NFTs as a whole.

Okay Bears and DeGods are popular Solana NFT collections that have generated $23 million and $43 million in trading volume which paved the way for the collections to be included in the top 30 most traded NFT collections last month.

More so, Otherdeeds by Yuga Labs which had their first NFT drops on April 30 also contributed to the boost in NFT trading volumes.

Despite generating over $340 million in APE, Otherdeeds suffered from losses of over 4.5 million due to failed transactions.

Featured image ItsBlockchain, chart from TradingView.com

Terra’s commitment to filling up its coffers with Bitcoin has been solidified once more with another $1.5 billion purchase. This is the fruit of a pledge that the project had made to buy more than $10 billion worth of BTC to serve as a reserve for its stablecoin, UST. More importantly, though is how this boosts the foundation’s standing when it comes to corporations holding the digital asset. 

Terra Now Holds More BTC Than Tesla

Before Terra had begun its bitcoin buying spree, there have been other corporate bodies that had already made the plunge to do so. The likes of MicroStrategy, Galaxy Digital, and Tesla come to mind when thinking of this. While MicroStrategy had cemented its lead as the company with the largest BTC holdings, Tesla had retained its position in second place. That is, until now.

Related Reading | Bitcoin Institutional Outflows Near One-Year Highs, More Downside Coming?

With its most recent buy, Terra has now become the second-largest corporate bitcoin holder, beating out Tesla for the title. The deal was carried out as an over-the-counter (OTC) purchase in conjunction with cryptocurrency broker Genesis and Three Arrows Capital, a crypto trading and venture capital firm.

The Luna Foundation Guard (LFG) which had begun accumulating BTC earlier this year has ramped up its buying. It is one of the fastest accumulation trends of any corporate bitcoin holder. Its first purchase had taken place in February, and now, barely three months later, the non-profit foundation now holds 80,393 total BTC. All of which come out to a dollar value of $2.9 billion at the time of its last purchase. It now holds almost double what Tesla holds, which currently sits at 48,000 BTC.

Reiterating The Promise

When Do Kwon, founder of Terra, had announced that the foundation was planning to buy $10 billion worth of BTC for its treasury, the question had been when. While participants in the space had speculated it would take a while before they began buying the coins, Terra had quickly moved forward to start. It had gradually added BTC to its treasury and in three months has now purchased more than a quarter of the $10 billion BTC.

BTC falls below $36,000 | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

In an additional move, Terra had also moved to add another cryptocurrency to its treasury. This time around turning to Avalanche (AVAX) to do so. It had purchased a total of $200 million worth of AVAX, a trade that was carried out directly with the Avalanche Foundation.

Related Reading | Bitcoin ETP Outflows Spell Bearish Sentiment Among Institutional Investors

The Luna Foundation Guard reserves have now grown to $3.23 billion. Bitcoin makes up 90.7% of the reserves with a total of 80,393 BTC valued at $2.93 billion. LUNA makes up the second-largest portion with $126.63 million making up 4.2%, AVAX at 3.5%, USDT AT 0.8%, and USDC at 0.7%.

Featured image from Portal do Bitcoin, chart from TradingView.com

Square Enix, the influential Japanese gaming and publishing company, has sold its Western studios and some of its Western intellectual properties (IPs) to Embracer Group. The deal, which values these properties at $300 million, will allow the company to focus on the development of new businesses more aligned with the refined direction of the company, which includes blockchain, the cloud, and AI as core elements.

Square Enix Sells Assets to Refocus Its Business

Square Enix, one of the most recognized Japan-based game publishing and development companies, announced the sale of part of its assets earlier this week to finance new operations that include blockchain-based endeavors. The creator of franchises like Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, and Dragon Quest, is shedding its Western studios and IPs to the Embracer Group.

The deal, which includes the sale of studios like Crystal Dynamics and Eidos, makers of Tomb Raider, is valued at $300 million, and also includes more than 50 game IPs. On the objective of this sale, the company stated in a press release that:

The transaction will assist the company in adapting to the changes underway in the global business environment by establishing a more efficient allocation of resources, which will enhance corporate value by accelerating growth in the Company’s core businesses in the digital entertainment domain.

Furthermore, the company explains that this transaction “enables the launch of new businesses by moving forward with investments in fields including blockchain, AI, and the cloud.” The deal aims to aid in the management of the company, which will now be comprised almost entirely of Japan-based development studios, retaining some minimal businesses abroad.

Blockchain Pivot

This move is being directed to put ideas into play that Square Enix president Yosuke Matsuda has been announcing since last year, when the company included blockchain as an important part of its midterm business plan. The executive has declared the company is very interested in the application of blockchain technologies to gaming and the benefits this might have for players who contribute actively to these experiences.

On the relevance of such new technologies, Matsuda has declared that by applying blockchain tech to incentivize modders of games, the creation of more original content can be brought about, hinting at the application of token economies in these games. Square Enix has been one of the most optimistic companies about blockchain and the play-to-earn model, alongside Ubisoft, which has also started to include NFT elements in some of its games.

What do you think about the new direction that Square Enix is taking? Tell us in the comments section below.

Sergio Goschenko

Sergio is a cryptocurrency journalist based in Venezuela. He describes himself as late to the game, entering the cryptosphere when the price rise happened during December 2017. Having a computer engineering background, living in Venezuela, and being impacted by the cryptocurrency boom at a social level, he offers a different point of view about crypto success and how it helps the unbanked and underserved.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons

The Spanish securities regulator, the CNMV, has ordered Binance to stop offering cryptocurrency derivative products to customers in the country. According to local media, the crypto exchange giant has followed the orders of the regulator, withdrawing these products from its customers in Spain.

Spanish Securities Regulator Sets Eyes on Binance

The CNMV, which is the Spanish securities regulator, is putting more pressure on exchanges offering cryptocurrency-linked derivatives in the country. Binance, one of the biggest exchanges in the world by volume traded, has been required to drop the offer of cryptocurrency-related derivatives, like futures contracts, for customers in the country, according to local media.

The purpose of the measure is ostensibly to protect investors using such products as investment tools. The regulator warned last year about the danger of derivatives, stating they increase the complexity of trading operations, and also can cause investors to lose even more than the initial investment capital.

Binance has reportedly withdrawn all of its derivatives offerings from its investments page for Spanish users, preventing them from opening new operations. However, the operations that were already open are being maintained in the same state, as the exchange awaits more feedback from the regulator.

Gray List

Binance is following the orders of the Spanish regulator as a way of getting the needed permits to establish its operations in the country. Currently, the exchange is in regulatory limbo, being mentioned in a gray list that was published last year with several cryptocurrency exchanges that also operate in Spain. However, Binance has been in talks with the CNMV to get out of this current state and get approval from the Bank of Spain.

The exchange has been in talks to get licenses from the Bank of Spain and the securities regulator since January, but there has not been a positive answer from either as of writing. At the time, Alberto Ortiz, country manager of Binance in Spain, declared:

By joining the Bank of Spain registry we hope to encourage other firms to do the same.

However, other exchanges have already been greenlighted by the Bank of Spain. Bit2me, a local exchange, was the first one to receive this license, and others have followed since.

What do you think about the restriction imposed by the CNMV on Binance in Spain? Tell us in the comments section below.

Sergio Goschenko

Sergio is a cryptocurrency journalist based in Venezuela. He describes himself as late to the game, entering the cryptosphere when the price rise happened during December 2017. Having a computer engineering background, living in Venezuela, and being impacted by the cryptocurrency boom at a social level, he offers a different point of view about crypto success and how it helps the unbanked and underserved.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons

Today the cryptocurrency market experienced a sudden crash, with Bitcoin and Ethereum prices falling. Other major coins also saw a significant fall. Around $100 billion was wiped from the combined value of all cryptocurrencies in just minutes.

In the last 24 hours, Bitcoin experienced a 5% decrease. At the same time, the price of the second-largest cryptocurrency Ethereum has decreased by a similar amount. In addition, Ethereum’s rivals Solana, Cardano, and Avalanche, have reduced by around 3%, while Ripple’s XRP and Terra’s luna lead the significant crypto markets lower.

Related Reading | Bitcoin Collapses By Most In Nearly A Month – Its Golden Days Are Over?

The markets were thrown into chaos on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve announced that they would be hiking their interest rates. The sudden crash came amidst a tech company-led sell-off of stocks in response to this news, which has since spilled over onto other sectors as investors escape towards safer assets.

The U.S. economy could go into recession because of the interest rate hikes and the tightening of monetary policy. Yesterday, Wall Street had a bad day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost over 1,000 points, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 5%. Yesterday’s losses preceded big rallies in the previous session.

Bitcoin, which usually moves along with the stock market, has been stuck in a narrow range all year. It has struggled to get back to its high prices from late 2021 amid a broader market sell-off.

Bitcoin Following U.S. Stocks

Bitcoin is not the only thing that is struggling–the S&P 500 has also fallen to a new record low for the year. Sam Kopelman, the U.K. manager for bitcoin and crypto exchange Luno, warned that bitcoin could “slip back into the previously found $36,000-$37,000 support range.”

Kopelman’s outlook on the major coins like Ethereum, Solana, Cardano, XRP, Avalanche, and Luna is less than optimistic, but he does have some hope for bitcoin.

Kopelman said;

Overall, 2022 has generally seen crypto market participants climbing down the risk ladder. Selling their smaller coins for blue-chip coins like bitcoin.

The market has had a delayed response to the Federal Reserve’s biggest rate hike since 2000, first spiking on Wednesday’s news and leading market watchers to believe the potentially “bearish event” to have been “priced in.”

Related Reading | Over 110,000 Traders Rekt As Crypto Market Sees $120B Shaved Off

On May 3, veteran trader Peter Brandt warned the bitcoin price could fall as low as $28,000.

The completion of a bear channel typically results in a decline equal to the width of the channel, or in this case a hard test of 32,000 or so — my guess is 28,000

This does NOT make me a hater $BTC.

                  Featured image from Pixabay and the chart from Tradingview.com

On-chain data shows Bitcoin short-term holders seem to have been behind the latest selloff that has taken the price of the crypto below $36k.

Bitcoin Investors Holding Coins Aged Between 1 Day And 6 Months Sold Big Yesterday

As pointed out by an analyst in a CryptoQuant post, short-term holders seem to have sold the heaviest during the recent selloff.

The relevant indicator here is the “exchange inflow,” which measures the total amount of coins moving into exchange wallets.

A modification of this metric is the “exchange inflow spent output age bands.” it tells us how much the different Bitcoin holder groups are contributing to the inflow.

The various groups are divided based on how many days the investors held their coins before transferring them to the exchange.

The 1-day to 6-month coin age group is generally considered the “short-term holders” (STH). This cohort is usually the likeliest to sell their coins.

All investors holding their Bitcoin for longer periods of time are the “long-term holders” (LTH). Now, here is a chart that shows the trend in the below 6-month and between 6 to 18-month age group inflows over the last few months:

Looks like STH inflows spiked up recently | Source: CryptoQuant

As you can see in the above graph, the 1-day to 6-month coin age group sent a large amount of coins just yesterday.

The inflow spike amounted to more than 60k coins being transferred by this group. Investors usually send their Bitcoin to exchanges for selling purposes, hence these coins took part in the selloff that has now taken the price below $36k.

Related Reading | One Coin, Two Trades: Why Bitcoin Futures And Spot Signals Don’t Match Up

The 6-month to 18-month group, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to have moved too many coins over the past day.

The older Bitcoin LTH groups have also not shown much activity recently. The below chart shows the trend in their inflows.

The 1.5-year to 3-year cohort only looks to have sold around 500 BTC yesterday | Source: CryptoQuant

From these trends, it seems like the only investors that took part in the selling yesterday were the short-term holders, who are generally the more fickle ones. The long-term holders still look to be holding strong.

Related Reading | Bitcoin Long Squeeze Incoming? Funding Rates Surge Up

BTC Price

At the time of writing, Bitcoin’s price floats around $35.8k, down 8% in the last seven days. Over the past month, the crypto has lost 21% in value.

The below chart shows the trend in the price of the coin over the last five days.

The price of Bitcoin seems to have plummeted down over the past day | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView

Featured image from Unsplash.com, charts from TradingView.com, CryptoQuant.com

Following the Federal Reserve’s rate hike on Wednesday, economist Peter Schiff has had a lot to say since the U.S. central bank raised the benchmark rate by half a percentage point. Schiff further believes we are in a recession and says “it will be much worse than the Great Recession that followed the 2008 Financial Crisis.”

Peter Schiff Says ‘Fed Cant Win a Fight Against Inflation Without Causing a Recession’

While many analysts were shocked by the U.S. Federal Reserve’s move, since it was the largest rate hike since 2000, a report by schiffgold.com says the increase was hardly “aggressive,” and akin to a “weak swing that looks more like shadow boxing.” Moreover, the report explains Powell’s commentary this week contained some “subtle changes,” which suggest there might be “some economic turbulence on the horizon.”

Peter Schiff doesn’t think the Fed can beat the current inflationary pressure America is dealing with today. “Not only can’t the Fed win a fight against inflation without causing a recession, it can’t do so without causing a far worse financial crisis than the one we had in 2008,” Schiff explained on Thursday. “Worse still, a war against inflation can’t be won if there are any bailouts or stimulus to ease the pain,” the economist added.

I remember how strong #StockMarket pundits and economists thought the U.S. economy was right before the 2008 Financial Crisis, even though we were already in The Great Recession at the time. It wasn’t strong, it was a bubble about to pop. Today’s economy is an even bigger bubble!

— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) May 5, 2022

Schiff’s comments come the day after the Fed increased the federal funds rate to 3/4 to 1 percent. Following the rate increase, the stock market jumped a great deal, fully recovering from the prior day’s losses. Then on Thursday, equity markets shuddered, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average had its worst day since 2000. All the major stock indexes suffered on Thursday and cryptocurrency markets saw similar declines.

“If you think the stock market is weak now imagine what will happen when investors finally realize what lies ahead,” Schiff tweeted on Thursday afternoon. “There are only two possibilities. The Fed does what it takes to fight inflation, causing a far worse financial crisis than 2008 or the Fed lets inflation run away.” Schiff continued:

The Fed created the 2008 financial crisis by keeping interest rates too low. Then it swept its mess under a rug of inflation. Now that the inflation chickens it released are coming home to roost, it must create an even greater financial crisis to clean up an even bigger mess.

Schiff Criticizes Paul Krugman, Fed Tapering Includes Monthly Caps

Schiff is not the only one that believes inflation can’t be tamed, as many economists and analysts share the same view. The author of the best-selling book Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki, recently said hyperinflation and depression are here. The well-known hedge fund manager Michael Burry tweeted in April that the “Fed has no intention of fighting inflation.” While criticizing the U.S. central bank, Schiff also railed against the American economist and public intellectual, Paul Krugman.

“Back in 2009, [Paul Krugman] foolishly claimed that QE wouldn’t create inflation,” Schiff said. “Setting aside that QE is inflation, Krugman prematurely took credit for being right as he didn’t understand the lag between inflation and rising consumer prices. The CPI is about to explode higher.” Moreover, schiffgold.com author Michael Maharrey scoffed at the Fed’s recent tapering announcement as well. Maharrey further detailed how the Fed plans to reduce the Federal Reserve’s securities holdings over time.

“As far as the nuts and bolts of balance sheet reduction go,” Maharrey said, “the central bank will allow up to $30 billion in U.S. Treasuries and $17.5 billion in mortgage-backed securities to roll off the balance sheet in June, July, and August. That totals $45 billion per month. In September, the Fed plans to increase the pace to $95 billion per month, with the balance sheet shedding $60 billion in Treasuries and $35 billion in mortgage-backed securities.”

What do you think about the recent commentary from Peter Schiff concerning the Fed fighting inflation and the rate hike? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Jamie Redman

Jamie Redman is the News Lead at Bitcoin.com News and a financial tech journalist living in Florida. Redman has been an active member of the cryptocurrency community since 2011. He has a passion for Bitcoin, open-source code, and decentralized applications. Since September 2015, Redman has written more than 5,000 articles for Bitcoin.com News about the disruptive protocols emerging today.