Ether (ETH) is down 25% in just a month and even the recent upgrade to a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus on the Ropsten testnet failed to move the altcoin’s price. The merge is meant to address energy-use issues and open a path for higher transaction output, but the actual full transition for the Ethereum network is not expected until later in the year. Ethereum developer Parithosh Jayanthi also noted that some bugs on the PoS implementation emerged, but those should be fixed over the coming weeks. Luckily for Ethereum, two of its top competitors recently faced challenges of their own. The …

Since May 10, the Bitcoin (BTC) chart shows a relatively tight range of price movement and the cryptocurrency has failed to break the $32,000 resistance on multiple occasions. The choppy trading partially reflects the uncertainty of the stock market as the S&P 500 Index ranged from 3,900 to 4,180 in the same period. On one side, there has been economic growth in the Eurozone where the gross domestic product grew 5.1% year over year. On the other, inflation continues to soar, reaching 9% in the United Kingdom. Further adding to Bitcoin's volatility was the digital assets regulatory framework proposal introduced …

The total crypto market capitalization has ranged from $1.19 trillion to $1.36 trillion for the past 23 days, which is a relatively tight 13% range. During the same time, Bitcoin’s (BTC) 3.5% and Ether’s (ETH) 1.6% gains for the week are far from encouraging. To date, the total crypto market is down 43% in just two months, so investors are unlikely to celebrate even if the descending triangle formation breaks to the upside. Regulation worries continue to weigh investor sentiment, a prime example being Japan’s swift decision to enforce new laws after the Terra USD (UST) — now known as …

Ether’s (ETH) market structure continues to be bearish despite the failed attempt to break the descending channel resistance at $2,000 on May 31. This three-week-long price formation could mean that an eventual retest of the $1,700 support is underway. On the non-crypto side, a number of equities-related factors are translating to negative sentiment in the crypto market. This week Microsoft (MSFT) lowered its profit and revenue outlook, citing challenging macroeconomic conditions. The U.S. Federal Reserve signalled in its periodic "Beige Book" that economic activity may have cooled in some parts of the country and the Fed is about to reduce …

The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed suit against Gemini Trust Co. in the U.S. Southern District Court of New York on Thursday. The CFTC claimed in the civil suit that Gemini made false or misleading statements to the CFTC in 2017 during in-person meetings and in documents, violating the Commodity Exchange Act and other regulations. The agency was making an evaluation of the potential self-certification of a Bitcoin (BTC) futures contract to be based on the spot Bitcoin price determined by an auction held on Gemini’s digital asset trading platform. The CFTC was considering whether the proposed …

This week's Bitcoin (BTC) chart leaves little doubt that the symmetrical triangle pattern is breaking to the upside after constricting the price for nearly 20 days. However, derivatives metrics tell a completely different story because professional traders are unwilling to add leveraged positions and are overcharging for downside protection. Will BTC reverse course even as macroeconomic conditions crumble? Whether BTC turns the $30,000 to $31,000 level into support depends to some degree on how global markets perform. The last time U.S. stock markets faced a seven-week consecutive downtrend was over a decade ago. New home sales in the U.S. declined …

On May 30, the total crypto market capitalization gained 4% and currently is within reach of a $1.3 trillion market capitalization. The move was enough to erase the losses from the previous seven days and was driven mainly by Bitcoin's (BTC) 4.9% gain during that time frame. Apart from Bitcoin, Cardano (ADA) was the only large-cap cryptocurrency that managed to close the week with a positive 4.5% performance. Meanwhile, Ether (ETH), BNB, Ripple (XRP) and Solana (SOL) failed to present weekly gains. Bitcoin’s turn-around happened after the United States stock market presented gains for the first time after seven consecutive …

Ether's (ETH) performance over the past three months has been less than satisfying for holders and the 50% correction since April 3 caused the altcoin to test the $1,800 support for the first time since July 2021. Due to the volatility in stocks, investors had been seeking shelter in the United States dollar and on May 13, the DXY index reached its highest level in 20 years. DXY measures the USD against a basket of major foreign currencies, including the British pound (GBP), the euro (EUR) and the Japanese yen (JPY). Moreover, the five-year U.S. Treasury yield reached its highest …

FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried did a lot of talking at the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) staff roundtable on non-intermediation Wednesday. He fielded questions and issues from 31 industry professionals about the FTX.US application to offer clearing of margined products, including crypto-based products, without a futures commission merchant (FCM) intermediary. Many participants felt the need to mention their devotion to innovation and declared that they do not see the proposed new technology as an “us versus them” situation. Joe Cisewski of Pantera Capital said that just six or eight clearing firms dominate the U.S. market at present, so …

Ether’s (ETH) 12-hour closing price has been respecting a tight $1,910 to $2,150 range for twelve days, but oddly enough, these 13% oscillations have been enough to liquidate an aggregate of $495 million in futures contracts since May 13, according to data from Coinglass. The worsening market conditions were also reflected in digital asset investment products. According to the latest edition of CoinShare's weekly Digital Asset Fund Flows report, crypto funds and investment products saw a $141 million outflow during the week ending on May 20. In this instance, Bitcoin (BTC) was the investors' focus after experiencing a $154 weekly …

The Bitcoin (BTC) chart has formed a symmetrical triangle, which currently holds a tight range from $28,900 to $30,900. This pattern has been holding for nearly two weeks and could potentially extend for another two weeks before price makes a more decisive movement. For those unfamiliar with technical analysis, a symmetrical triangle can be either bullish or bearish. In that sense, the price converges in a series of lower peaks and higher lows. The decisive moment is the support or resistance breakthrough when the market finally decides on a new trend. Thus, the price could break out in either direction. …

Derivatives markets have gained popularity for offering traders increased options to diversify their investment portfolios. With derivatives come more exposure to crypto assets, more sophisticated trading strategies and increased market liquidity to the underlying asset. However, at present, most perpetual or derivatives exchanges are deployed by professional traders, making these offerings near impossible to access as an ordinary trader. For this reason, derivatives are often considered a “black box” within the financial world since few understand them. Fortunately, cryptocurrencies have become popular for their ability to level the playing field regarding access to financial tools. Therefore, with the right tools, …