In the increasingly competitive landscape of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies, protocol innovation and the ability to solve the biggest problems facing the crypto community are necessary for any project that looks to have long-term success in the ecosystem. Recently, the emergence of layer-two technology such as Arbitrum, Optimism and a bridge to the Avalanche ecosystem is revolutionizing the way investors, builders and developers interact with various protocols because each facilitates fast, low-cost transactions that improve the fundamentals of the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem while also making it easier for retail-sized investors to capitalize on opportunities. According to data from Token …

A recent price boom in the Tezos (XTZ) market risks exhaustion as it triggers a classic bearish pattern. Dubbed as the "ascending broadening wedge," the pattern develops when the price oscillates between two upward but diverging trendlines. According to its creator Thomas Bulkowski, these wedges tell less about buying exhaustion and more about sellers' ambition to take control, i.e., buyers tend to lose dominance every time the price touches the upper trendline. XTZ's 250%-plus price rally from its July 2021 low of $2.08 has led to the ascending broadening wedge's formation. On Monday, the cryptocurrency tested the structure's upper trendline …

Avalanche’s AVAX token looks poised to hit $80, as per a classic technical pattern, after hitting a new high of over $65 on Sept. 12. Dubbed as a “bull flag,” the structure emerges as a brief sideways/downward trend following a strong price move higher. As a result, bull flags tend to look like downward sloping channels, represented by two parallel trendlines that trap the price action. Additionally, a market’s underlying trade volume dries up as prices move lower, indicating weakness in the downtrend. Therefore, bull flags typically resolve following a break above their upper trendlines, with prices pushing as high …

Cardano (ADA) appears to be heading toward a new record high as its downside move takes the shape of a bull flag. In detail, the ADA/USD exchange rate plunged 16.91% to $2.47, but the pair’s decline came after a strong move higher, wherein it surged over 120% month-to-date to reach an all-time high of $2.97 on Monday. Therefore, the latest declines have given the impression that Cardano is undergoing a brief pause before it resumes its uptrend. Part of the upside analogy stems from the downward sloping channel itself — two parallel trendlines enveloping the price moves. In addition, the …

Altcoins and decentralized finance (DeFi) tokens have been on a tear for the last two weeks and, as the end of August approaches, many projects are seeing their tokens reach all-time highs. Data shows that a majority of the top-10 DeFi tokens gained more than 20% in the past 30-days, with projects like Bancor (BNT) and THORChain (RUNE) seeing gains in excess of 115%. Here’s a look at some of the factors behind the current boost to DeFi tokens and the projects that are leading the way in terms of protocol upgrades and cross-chain interoperability. Total value locked reaches a …

In a recent blog post, popular cryptocurrency hardware wallet Ledger announced a new partnership with Ethereum 2.0 (Eth2) staking solution Lido Finance in a move that claims greater accessibility and liquidity for independent stakers in the market. Staking is a niche method of investing within the cryptocurrency ecosystem that allows users to independently or collectively stake their crypto assets while collecting passive income in return, as well as actively contributing to the sustainability of the blockchain network. Users attempting to stake their Ether (ETH) in the past have been met with daunting economic hurdles. The current cost to become an …

Ether’s (ETH) 81% rally over the last three weeks has caught professional traders off-guard, and this week’s upcoming options expiry reveals that of the $430 million in contracts set to expire, only 7% of the neutral-to-bearish put options will be available if Ether holds above $3,200 on Friday. Curiously, the crypto market is holding its recent strength despite the United States Senate’s “crypto-critical” infrastructure deal that recently passed. Although the $1-trillion infrastructure bill may encounter some lengthy hangups in the House of Representatives, the approved version did not clarify what constitutes a cryptocurrency broker, which is expected to harm the …

Teller Finance, a non-collateral lending protocol for the decentralized finance (DeFi) market, has officially deployed its mainnet on Polygon, marking a significant milestone in its quest to offer scalable user-friendly solutions. With the launch of Teller’s Polygon mainnet, users can begin making deposits and funding liquidity pools immediately, the company disclosed Tuesday. The Teller protocol continues to be available for use on the Ethereum (ETH) mainnet. Teller’s Polygon deployment is part of a broader strategy to widen the mainstream appeal of digital assets without the bottlenecks of slow transaction speeds and higher fees. Teller’s CEO, Ryan Berkun, credited the success …

After a 13% rise in two days, Bitcoin’s (BTC) market capitalization surpassed $800 billion to reach its highest value in 79 days. During the same timeframe, Ether (ETH) accumulated a 45% gain in two weeks, placing the network’s market cap at $340 billion. Positive expectations for the London hard fork and its potential deflationary effect undoubtedly played a role, but some investors continue to question how Ether’s valuation stacks against Bitcoin’s. Some, including Pantera Capital CEO Dan Morehead, expect Ether to outpace Bitcoin as the largest cryptocurrency. Market participants may have also been excited after Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis …

Ethereum’s native asset, Ether (ETH), crossed above $3,000 in an extended upside rally on Saturday, hitting a three-month high. Nevertheless, the cryptocurrency’s incredible move upward also boosted its possibilities of facing a bearish backlash. An on-chain indicator that tracks the total percentage of Ethereum addresses in profits predicted the said downside outlook. In detail, the so-called “Ethereum: Percent of Addresses in Profits” indicator by Glassnode reached 96.4% amid the ETH/USD price rally. Lex Moskovski, chief investment officer of Moskovski Capital, highlighted the metric’s capability of predicting Ether’s top. In hindsight, whenever the Glassnode indicator crossed the 90%-threshold, it resulted in …

Ether’s (ETH) price rallied 50% leading in the London hard fork because many investors expect the upgrade to solve the issue of high transaction fees and make the altcoin a deflationary asset. Pantera Capital CEO Dan Morehead has predicted that the upcoming upgrade would likely cause Ether to “flip” Bitcoin (BTC) as the leading cryptocurrency, but this is a topic under heavy contention. To understand the impact of the recent price movement, traders should analyze the weekly options expiry. Deribit derivatives currently hold an 86% market share in this segment, and the aggregate open interest for Friday currently stands at …

The price of Ether (ETH) has been in a downward spiral ever since Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin presented at StartmeupHK Festival 2021. In a fireside chat session on May 27, Vitalik stated that several internal team conflicts caused the proof-of-stake migration to delay its launch. As reported by Cointelegraph, "Phase One," which introduces scalability through sharding, has been postponed to 2022. Furthermore, DeFi’s inherently decentralized nature might not be entirely beneficial because the sharding-style processing would need to run transactions through a relay chain. It’s impossible to pinpoint the reason behind Ether’s sharp fall from its all-time high, but the …