Skip to main content

MLB Team Washington Nationals Partners With Terra Blockchain Community, Ballpark Plans to Accept UST

On February 9, the American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C., the Washington Nationals, announced the team has partnered with Terra, the open-source blockchain platform and decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). The Washington Nationals detail that the team is a “leading innovator” and is “consistently introducing new technologies to enhance the fan experience.” Washington Nationals Ink Long-Term Deal With Terra Major League Baseball (MLB) team the Washington Nationals has partnered with the blockchain platform and DAO Terra, according to an announcement published by the team on Wednesday. The deal with Terra follows a slew of sports-related deals with crypto firms, but the MLB team will be the first to partner with an open-source blockchain project. In addition to the partnership, the algorithmic stablecoin UST that’s issued on the Terra blockchain will be “accepted as a payment method at Nationals Park as early as next season.” “The Nationals continue t...

Is a new rally brewing as Bitcoin reclaims $38K and stablecoins 'flooding' exchanges?

Stablecoin inflows into exchanges spiked right as the price of Bitcoin recovered above $38,000, on-chain data shows.

The price of Bitcoin (BTC) has extended its recovery on Jan. 14, reclaiming the $38,000 level. What's more, the weekly candle has now turned green for the fifth consecutive week despite the 28% crash earlier this week. 

BTC/USD Weekly candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: Tradingview

Meanwhile, stablecoin deposits are flooding into cryptocurrency exchanges, according to data from CryptoQuant. This inflow may act as a short-term catalyst for Bitcoin as it suggests that sidelined capital is moving back into BTC.

Stablecoins inflow on exchanges. Source: CryptoQuant

Why are stablecoins indicative of strong buyer demand for Bitcoin?

In the cryptocurrency market, many traders sell crypto assets, like Bitcoin, to stablecoins rather than cash.

Stablecoins, such as Tether (USDT), is pegged to the value of the U.S. dollar and are tradable across exchanges.

Most exchanges require a complicated Know Your Customer (KYC) verification process for bank transfers, and cash deposits into exchanges could take a long time.

As such, if a whale or a high-net-worth investor wants to buy and sell millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin, stablecoins can be far more convenient than cash.

The high demand for stablecoins from traders has led the valuation of Tether to increase in recent months. Last month, the market cap of Tether surpassed $20 billion. A month later, this number is already above $24 billion, indicating a rise in sidelined capital within the cryptocurrency market.

Dry powder moving to exchanges

Meanwhile, stablecoin deposits into exchanges have increased substantially over the past 24 hours. CryptoQuant tracks the wallets of exchanges and observes stablecoin deposits and outflows.

Exchanges' stablecoin reserve. Source: CryptoQuant

Across major exchanges, stablecoin deposits spiked noticeably on Jan. 13, right as the price of Bitcoin began to recover.

On Jan. 13, the price of Bitcoin dropped to as low as $32,500 after nearly $1 billion worth of futures contracts were liquidated.

Investors were actively buying the dip, as shown by the increase in stablecoin deposits and the increasing open interest of the Bitcoin futures market. As a result, Bitcoin saw a quick turnaround, rallying by more than 10% overnight.

Bitcoin futures open interest. Source: Bybt.com

So what comes next?

Alex Saunders, a cryptocurrency analyst, said that stablecoins are “flooding exchanges,” which is often indicative of a bullish trend.

Prior to the recovery, Michael van de Poppe, a full-time trader at the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, said an all-time high is likely for Bitcoin if it surpasses $38,000 again.

Overnight, the price of Bitcoin pierced through the $38,000 resistance area, which Van de Poppe pinpointed. Hence, in the short term, BTC is on track to retest its record-high. He said:

“Bitcoin didn't change much. It flipped the $33,000 level for support and therefore is eager to test the $37,000-38,000 level. That one needs to flip. If it does, we'll be eager for new all-time highs. If not, more consolidation likely.”

Bitcoin’s rally also coincides with the opening of Grayscale’s products on Jan. 13. If the value of Bitcoin continues to rise, it could propel more institutional and accredited investors to obtain exposure to BTC through the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC).

There is also a strong argument to be made that the reopening of GBTC kickstarted the rally, to begin with, signifying that the uptrend is led by institutions, not by retail investors.

https://ift.tt/3snerR6

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

MLB Team Washington Nationals Partners With Terra Blockchain Community, Ballpark Plans to Accept UST

On February 9, the American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C., the Washington Nationals, announced the team has partnered with Terra, the open-source blockchain platform and decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). The Washington Nationals detail that the team is a “leading innovator” and is “consistently introducing new technologies to enhance the fan experience.” Washington Nationals Ink Long-Term Deal With Terra Major League Baseball (MLB) team the Washington Nationals has partnered with the blockchain platform and DAO Terra, according to an announcement published by the team on Wednesday. The deal with Terra follows a slew of sports-related deals with crypto firms, but the MLB team will be the first to partner with an open-source blockchain project. In addition to the partnership, the algorithmic stablecoin UST that’s issued on the Terra blockchain will be “accepted as a payment method at Nationals Park as early as next season.” “The Nationals continue t...

Year of sponsorships: Celebrities who embraced crypto in 2021

From Matt Damon appearing in a TV spot for Crypto.com to Kim Kardashian shilling EthereumMax, 2021 saw celebrities with higher profiles getting into crypto. Though the crypto space has seemingly moved beyond the endorsements many minor celebrities bestowed on token projects during the 2018 initial coin offering boom, its growing popularity and acceptance now has professional sports players, Hollywood elites and politicians backing major companies dealing with digital assets. In June 2021, Kim Kardashian promoted EthereumMax (EMAX) via an Instagram story shared with  her more than 200 million followers . The token, which was used as payment for online ticket purchases for some pay-per-view events, gained 116,000% in just one week following the celebrity’s activity before falling more than 99% and leaving many investors in the red. Kim Kardashian promoting EthereumMax on Instagram Stories, June 2021. Source: Instagram Though EthereumMax is somewhat of a cautionary tale for cry...

Top 3 Rebase Token Markets Shudder — Stats Show TIME, OHM, BTRFLY Lost Billions Since All-Time Highs

While the crypto economy has shed more than 3% in fiat value during the last 24 hours dropping to $2.09 trillion, the top rebase tokens by market capitalization have seen significant losses this week. At the time of writing, the rebase token economy is valued at over $3.2 billion but has lost more than 10% in value during the last 24 hours. The largest rebase token economies such as Wonderland, Olympus, and Redacted Cartel have shed between 36% to 55% over the last week. Top 3 Rebase Token Protocols Shed Billions in Value Over the Last Week, Wonderland Down 87% Since High On the first day of November 2021, Bitcoin.com News took a deep dive into the Olympus DAO and the reserve-backed asset called OHM . Olympus is a decentralized finance (defi) project that is described as a rebase token and since Olympus started, a myriad of Olympus forks have been born. Essentially, rebase token protocols adjust the token supply in a periodic fashion or when the price fluctuates. Olympus was once ...