While the SAGA smartphone and the Google cloud partnership are pleasing minds, the bear market, network failures and relations with FTX are dampening the track record. A status report on Solana's ups and downs.

In 2017, Anatoly Yakovenko addressed the question of how blockchains become faster. The future CEO wrote his answer to this question in the Solana whitepaper, in which transactions must be time-stamped in order to process them independently of blocks. Today, seven years later, an entire company, including a foundation, is behind the high-speed blockchain, which is said to process over 50,000 transactions per second (currently around 3,000 - 5,000 Tps) and charges gas fees of less than a thousandth of a US dollar per transaction.

This feature helped Solana with the SOL token into the top 10 projects on the crypto market in the last bull market. The entire ecosystem comprises hundreds of projects, including the well-known move-to-earn game StepN. Last but not least, the Meta group opened up access to Solana NFTs to its users on Instagram and Facebook, and Google Cloud unveiled a collaboration with Solana. Since 2023, the first version of the first Solana mobile phone SAGA has also been available, which includes some blockchain features.

What Solana is struggling with

But for all its successes, Solana has had to take some knocks in the past year. For one thing, Solana - like many other projects - is struggling with the current market situation, which is keeping buying interest in cryptocurrencies generally in check. In 2022, the network was also the victim of several hacks. In addition, a lawsuit was filed for securities violations and the close relationship with the crypto exchange FTX or Alameda Research still weighs on the ecosystem today.

In the case of the latter FTX bankruptcy, many critics found their opinion confirmed that the network was increasingly centralised by individual investors. Last but not least, Solana is burdened by its own "curse": it is the numerous network failures that run like a red thread through its history. Is this the cost Solana pays to offer low-cost transactions? What is clear is that explaining a problem is not enough. Accordingly, Solana plans to rehabilitate the mainnet in 2023 with further upgrades to the core and to set up a second validator network for emergencies. Perhaps this interim solution could prevent Solana from taking the network offline in the future. After all, this kind of security measure does not necessarily have to remain part of a cursed centralisation flaw.

Conclusion: The long-term bet

Solana is seen as a highly scalable and low-cost network backed by strong collaborations outside the industry. The strategy on fast network synchronisation worked in the last bull market, so that Solana has positioned itself among the top 10 projects close to Ethereum despite some dampers. But Solana cannot rest on its laurels. Just as Ethereum is working on further scaling solutions, Solana must get a grip on its failures. For in the next bull market at the latest, low gas fees could assure Solana renewed market share as users increasingly seek alternative trading venues in the DeFi and NFT markets. In the end, it remains a long-term bet.

The USDT stablecoin continues to expand its dominance of the crypto market. With a new all-time high, Tether stands out from the competition.

The market capitalisation of Tether (USDT) is at a new all-time high, according to data from Coingecko. At just over $83 billion, the stablecoin is conquering the entire crypto market, leaving the competition by the wayside. USDT thus developed against the trend. The market dominance of the stablecoin is currently at 66 percent, compared to 47 percent last year. The question: Is there still any competition at all?

Besides USDC and BUSD, most centrally managed stablecoins have lost relative relevance in recent months. Since last year, Circle's cryptocurrency has fallen from 35 to now 23 percent market dominance. The reason for this: the loss of the dollar price peg in March. The Binance stablecoin fared no differently. BUSD's market participation fell from 12 to just 4 percent in the last 12 months. Together, the two largest USDT competitors thus represent "only" 34 billion US dollars in market capitalisation. This is not really a threat to Tether.

A long way to the top

However, Tether's supposed success is controversial. In early 2021, the New York State Attorney General's Office confronted the company. The motivation: speculation about missing reserves. The initiated proceedings hung over the crypto space like a sword of Damocles. Then the decision, more than a year later: Tether must disclose its cash reserves for the stablecoin USDT. The result: an indictment of the crypto sector. The market capitalisation collapses - in the end, USDT and USDC are still separated by 10 billion US dollars.

But Tether is fighting its way through criticism and a difficult time after the terra crash. As early as October, the reserves backing the USDT stablecoin consist of 100 per cent US government bonds. Barely two quarters later, the company announces a new all-time high: according to an audit report, it holds 2.44 billion US dollars in excess reserves of its tokens in circulation. Tether thus becomes a model company, at least if the CTO has his way.

Circle leaves the USD field to Tether

Meanwhile, the competition is also working on its image. With the second-largest US dollar-backed stablecoin, Circle is still very popular. However, trust in the US government and thus the world's reserve currency is dwindling. All the more reason for the stablecoin issuer to focus on its new product: the EUROC. After launching on the Ethereum Blockchain last year, the Euro Stablecoin has recently also been running on Avalanche. Whether USDT, USDC or BUSD: it is impossible to imagine the crypto market without stablecoins. With the three largest, however, a central player must ensure that the value of the coin really remains stable. Things are different with decentralised stablecoins - or at least they should be. Find out what alternatives there are to Tether, Circle and Binance and how they work in BTC-ECHO magazine issue 70.

The price of the BRC-20 Memecoin project Pepe tops the list of daily losers with a 10 percent drop.

With a 9 percent price drop, the BRC-20 Memecoin Pepe (PEPE) is one of the biggest losers among the top 100 altcoins this week. Since the formation of its all-time high on 5 May 2023, the PEPE price has corrected by 72 percent.

In the previous month, the project with the cartoon frog emblem had risen rapidly in value and even reached a market capitalisation of around one billion US dollars for a short time. Then, as is often the case with hype-based memecoins without a real use case, the price plummeted.

If the PEPE price continues its downward trend, a directional decision will be made in the area of the low of 12 May at 0.00000115 US dollars. A sustained fall below this price level is likely to initiate a further sell-off of 25 per cent in the direction of 0.00000085 US dollars.

If the price of memecoin does not find a foothold here either, the support zone around 0.00000062 US dollars will come into focus. If the price correction continues in the coming period, a fall towards the old breakout level of 29 April at 0.00000039 US dollars cannot be ruled out. If, on the other hand, the buy side succeeds in stabilising the PEPE price in the area of the last low, a new price rise in the direction of the last interim highs around 0.0000020 US dollars would be conceivable.

If, contrary to expectations, the hype continues and a renewed price rise to the zone around 0.0000030 US dollars is possible. Since memecoins have their own logic and Pepe can be seen as the forerunner of 10 million ordinals on the Bitcoin blockchain by now, it cannot be completely ruled out that a new bullish price dynamic could start around the BRC-20 token. If the hype continues, even the area around the all-time high of 0.0000045 US dollars could come back into focus.

Price analysis based on the PEPE/USDT value pair

A multi-level pyramid scheme with up to 16 per cent interest per day: South Korea smashes a multi-million crypto fraud ring.

The larger fraud operation was carried out by two perpetrators between 2020 and 2021. They sold "digital fashion" on an online P2P marketplace. This included "virtual" clothes as well as traditional Korean and Japanese clothes, including hanbok and kimono pieces. The platform also included its own cryptocurrency.

In the process, the fraudsters collected 333 million US dollars from 435 victims. The operators created a multi-level "pyramid scheme" to attract new "members" to the "marketplace". They were promised high interest rates in return - up to 16 per cent per day.

Crypto fraud on the rise in South Korea

The South Korean government declared the fight against crypto-crime one of its top priorities for 2023, introducing the "Virtual Currency Tracking System" to crack down on money laundering with cryptocurrencies. In 2022, citizens in South Korea transacted around 5.6 trillion Korean won (US$4.3 billion) through "illegal" crypto exchanges, according to Cointelegraph.

South Korea is also home to the notorious crypto fraudster Do Kwon. He was arrested by Interpol in March 2023. The authorities are investigating the founder of Terra Luna. The crypto ecosystem collapsed last year. The damage: around 40 billion US dollars. The crash was one of the catalysts for the current bear market.

Bitcoin has a hard time in the Bundestag. Why the FDP's blockchain policy spokesman is nevertheless fighting for crypto. And he's also prepared to take flak for it.

FDP MP Frank Schäffler is enthusiastic about Bitcoin. No coincidence: The liberal is a follower of the Austrian school. Their credo: a separation between state and money is necessary. Bitcoin is a manifestation of this idea. In the Experts podcast, the politician talks about the topic in all its facets, from regulatory efforts and political sentiment to the danger posed by CBDCs.

Time is playing into the hands of supporters

The topic of cryptocurrencies is becoming more presentable in political circles, Schäffler says. And he also reveals: this is what citizens can do to drive political acceptance.

Crypto regulation: Where is Germany heading?

He sees the regulation of cryptocurrencies as positive, especially in the form of the recently passed European legislation MiCa and the Future Financing Act. Chaos like in the USA? Investors do not have to fear that here, according to Schäffler. Nonetheless, he continues to see sentiment from political groups that undermine the free-market motives of the crypto-economy. Vigilance is still called for.

The digital euro: "Caution at the edge of the platform".

Schäffler is sceptical about the European Central Bank's plans for a digital euro. There is a lack of concepts and arguments for it. And the risks are out of all proportion to the opportunities. If there is to be a digital euro, then please let it come from the private sector, says Schäffler.

While the heavyweights on the crypto market hardly move, one network clearly stands out: XDC. The EVM protocol is conquering the Japanese markets.

Within the last 24 hours, the price of XDC Network (XDC) has skyrocketed by almost 30 percent. At the time of writing, the cryptocurrency is trading at 0.039 US dollars. One potential reason for the explosive growth: expansion into the Japanese market.

Through a partnership with crypto exchange SBI, the EVM protocol is looking to expand its presence. XDC supports protocols and atomic cross-chain transactions (atomic swaps) via EVM-compatible smart contracts. In addition, the network says it operates under an internationally recognised standard for electronic data exchange between financial institutions.

Japan is a crucial hub for international trade. The XDC blockchain aims to "streamline this sector through improved transparency, traceability and cost reduction", the press release says. "XDC Network offers a unique value proposition to the trade finance market and we believe its addition will enhance our clients' trading experience," the SBI CEO said in a press release.

With the price explosion, XDC's market capitalisation has risen tremendously in a few days. Currently, the Ethereum token even ranks ahead of the recently launched Sui network.

The ink is dry. Representatives of the EU Parliament and Council sign the final draft of the MiCA regulation. It is not far now until it comes into force.

The European Union is taking another milestone on the road to its own crypto regulation. Representatives of the EU Parliament and the EU Council signed the final draft of the "Markets in Crypto Assets" (MiCA for short) yesterday evening. With the signing of the paper, it is now not far until the regulations for the economic zone come into force.

With the regulation, the EU is the first large economic zone to create uniform rules for the crypto sector - from utility tokens to stablecoins to the custody of Bitcoin and Co. In the future, crypto service providers will require a licence, which in turn will allow them to operate in the entire EU area. The MiCA has been a done deal for some time. At the end of April, the Parliament approved the final version. In mid-May, the Council, consisting of the 27 Member States, also gave the green light.

Praise from politics and business

All in all, both politics and business are satisfied with the final result. Stefan Berger praised the regulation to BTC-ECHO as a "great model" that other nations such as the USA or the United Kingdom should follow. As a member of the ECON Committee, the MEP was significantly involved in shaping the MiCA.

Especially overseas, crypto remains a hotly debated topic. The US regulator SEC is engaged in legal disputes with several providers, but recently also awarded a custody licence to a New York company. The regulatory ambiguities in the US ultimately lead to "more and more projects moving out of the US, while the EU could become a magnet for them", says Berger. What is needed next is a "global MiCA", he continues.

Entry into force probably in July

However, it may take some time until then. Once signed, the MiCA must first appear in the EU's Official Journal. 20 days after that, the regulation will enter into force. From then on, stablecoin issuers and other crypto service providers have twelve and 18 months respectively to implement the regulations. However, MiCA does not yet cover all sub-sectors of the crypto ecosystem by a long shot. Staking, lending, NFTs and DeFi are still largely unregulated. It remains unclear when the EU will address these issues. The European elections next year are likely to be decisive for this.

A gunshot wound, bitcoin millions and a dubious crypto project. The police have found the body of the missing Onfocoin founder.

As reported by the Associated Press news agency, police found the body of Onfocoin founder Dr John Forsyth, 30 May, more than a week after he went missing. On 21 May, relatives reported the emergency doctor missing after he failed to show up for his shift at Mercy Hospital in Cassville, Missouri.

His family posted an appeal for information on social media shortly after. On 28 May, authorities discovered that the doctor's car was parked less than a mile from the hospital. Inside the unlocked vehicle, officers found a wallet, passport, laptop and a work briefcase.

Two days later, police came across Forsyth's body an hour south of where he was last seen. Despite a gunshot wound, officers do not suspect foul play, they say. Forsyth and his brother founded the crypto company Onfocoin. According to the website's information, users can earn money there by recruiting friends. "Invite lots of people and your balance will grow without spending a cent," promises the supposedly Stellar-based crypto project.

The latest Twitter post is dated 19 July 2019, after Onfocoin (ONFO) was reportedly tradable on crypto exchange Coinsbit. ONFO cannot be found on either CoinMarketCap or Coingecko. According to Forbes, Forsyth is a "bitcoin millionaire" who studied mathematics and had early exposure to BTC and the blockchain. The Onfocoin founder is not the first crypto investor to die in mysterious circumstances. In April, cash app inventor Bob Lee died after a knife attack - the identity of the perpetrator is still unclear.

The price of Litecoin (LTC) is one of the top performers on the crypto market 61 days before the much-anticipated halving date.

The cryptocurrency Litecoin (LTC), also known as digital silver, continues to trade within striking distance of its highs for the year. One reason is the approaching halving date of the proof-of-work (POW) altcoin. In just over two months, the block reward on the Litecoin blockchain will be halved to 6.25 LTC.

In addition, Litecoin is benefiting from the hype around ordinals and reached a new all-time high on the network in the previous month. The LTC price seems to be honouring this and continues to form higher lows. Starting from the last prominent high at 104 US dollars, the Litecoin price consolidated only a good 25 percentage points before the buy side took the helm again in the area of 78 US dollars and lifted the LTC price back to the current 92 US dollars.

Litecoin: Bullish price targets for the coming months

Bullish price targets: 93.64 USD, 98.28 USD, 102.52/107.18 USD, 115.05 USD, 133.67/140.48 USD, 153.93 USD, 167.17 USD

After stabilising above the moving average of the last 200 days (EMA200) (blue), the price of Litecoin has been gradually moving north again in recent days. Currently, the buy side is trying to overcome the resistance level at 93.64 US dollars, which has been relevant several times this year. A recapture of this price level should lead the LTC price towards 98.28 US dollars again. This would put Litecoins only a few percent away from the orange resistance area between 102.52 US dollars and 107.18 US dollars. So far, the LTC price has failed more in the previous months at the old breakout edge from May 2022. If the bulls manage a sustainable breakout above this resistance zone 61 days before the halving date, the chart picture will brighten further and the way would be clear to the horizontal resistance level at 115.05 US dollars. Here, however, the LTC price should merely take a breather. Instead, the buy side is likely to do everything it can to approach the next target area between 133.67 USD and 140.48 USD. This range is derived from several interim highs of the previous year as well as the overriding 38 Fibonacci retracement. If the bitcoin price does not throw a spanner in the little brother's works, this resist zone seems a realistic target area until the block halving on 2 August.

After a price gain of around 50 per cent, investors are likely to collect more profits here. Only if the entire crypto market can also sustainably shake off its consolidation movement of the last six trading weeks should Litecoin set its sights on the previous year's high of USD 153.93. After that, a rise to the long-term price target of USD 167.14 can no longer be ruled out.

Litecoin: Bearish price targets for the coming months

Bearish price targets: 88.29 USD, 85.00 USD, 80.31/77.97 USD, 68.89 USD, 66.10/63.19 USD, 61.04 USD, 57.73/55.50 USD, 50.72 USD, 47.21 USD

The sell side failed in the previous month in its attempt to sustainably sell off the LTC price towards the south. The blue support area between USD 80.31 and USD 77.97 represented an insurmountable hurdle for the bears. In order to preserve the chance of a price correction, the LTC price must now remain capped below the orange resistance area. Only a drop below yesterday's daily low at 88.29 US dollars would be an indication of renewed price consolidation.

The bearish tendency would then strengthen with a dynamic break of the EMA200 at 85.00 US dollars. However, the blue support area between 80.31 US dollars and 77.97 US dollars will only come into view again if the cross support of the super trend and the superordinate green upward trend line around 82.42 US dollars is sustainably broken. This make-or-break level will determine whether Litecoin corrects back towards its low for the year.

If, contrary to expectations, Litecoin falls below this strong support zone in the area of the last lows, a sell-off towards the horizontal support at 68.89 US dollars is to be expected. The bears were unable to undercut this price level on a daily closing basis in March. Once again, the buy side is likely to resist. However, if this support is undercut dynamically, the light blue zone between 66.10 US dollars and 63.19 US dollars will come into focus for investors. This area has acted as an important pivot point several times in the last 12 months and should therefore offer an interesting entry level.

However, if this zone is breached to the south, the chart picture will become even gloomier. The probability of a correction above 61.04 US dollars towards the green support zone between 57.73 US dollars and 55.50 US dollars would increase noticeably. In perspective, the LTC price should then decline towards its price lows from autumn 2022 between 50.72 US dollars and 47.21 US dollars.

A look at the indicators

The RSI has formed a fresh buy signal due to the price strength in the last seven trading days. The MACD indicator also shows a long signal and was able to recover above the significant 0-line. In the weekly chart, the RSI is currently also generating a fresh buy signal, which still needs to be confirmed by the end of the week. The MACD is currently still showing a slight short signal, but this could be negated in the near future if the price remains strong.

Thousands of blockchains, thousands of dApps - the crypto sector is becoming increasingly fragmented. How Chain Abstraction provides a remedy for the usability that suffers from this.

The quest for scalability is breaking the crypto sector into smaller and smaller pieces. In addition to new sidechains and layer 2 networks, some projects are now developing blockchains that are designed solely for one application. Because of this fragmentation, there could be millions of blockchains in the future - all with their own token, their own dApps and their own liquidity.

For users, interaction therefore turns out to be particularly cumbersome. They want access to various applications that are located on various blockchains. But they usually only hold coins and tokens on one network. To get onto the desired chain, they have to access risky and costly bridges and acquire the respective gas token to pay transaction fees. The new technological approach of "chain abstraction" could remedy this.

Crypto's usability problem

One of the first concepts for chain abstraction comes from Connext, an interoperability protocol. The idea behind the technology is simple: the front-end application should move to the foreground, the blockchain-technical processes to the background. They are "abstracted", so to speak. Instead, special smart contract modules in the back-end take over the bridging and exchange of tokens between networks, the payment of gas fees and the signing of transactions. Users no longer have to do these processes manually. For them, it becomes irrelevant on which blockchain the desired liquidity pool or trading pair is. The entire process takes place on a front-end platform. This removes one of the biggest barriers to entry in crypto adoption - the complex "user experience". For developers of the crypto-dApps, the integration of the smart contract modules is to be facilitated by means of special tool kits. They can use them to develop crosschain apps, so-called xApps, in no time at all.

Every asset, every chain, in one place

Anyone who wants to surf the internet does not have to be an expert in back-end software. The jump from website to website is usually just a click away. This simplicity has been lacking in the blockchain sector until now. Abstracting the technical processes should now enable new projects to unify the crypto sector. One of them is Catalyst. Catalyst is one of the first omni-chain DEXes, which should allow tokens to be exchanged blockchain-independently. It thus follows the idea of Thorchain, but builds on the growing trend of modularity in the blockchain sector. Modular blockchains are easier to adapt and launch and also integrate more easily into existing networks. Existing barriers between the chains are thus broken down. If the project is successful, it could form a universal "liquidity layer" of the crypto sector. So while crypto-users may prefer some Chains for their current scalability, their future compatibility and modularity could be even more significant. Chain abstraction, along with cross-chain messaging protocols such as LayerZero, is seen as a beacon of hope for the industry's development in this regard.

Overpriced transactions, overcrowded blocks, congestion in the mempool: Bitcoin Ordinals are the subject of heated debate. Rightly so?

Ordinals - no topic is more controversial in the Bitcoin bubble. The hype around NFTs and BRC-20 tokens took the network by surprise: transactions reached records, blocks were crowded, fees rose. A chain reaction, as already seen on Ethereum during the NFT boom in 2021. But the trend around the "blockchain inscriptions" also shows its bright side: Miners are making returns, the variety of applications on the blockchain has expanded, a growth spurt for the Bitcoin ecosystem. The community is divided, but ordinals seem to be less of a problem for the network than initially feared.

Bitcoin ordinals break record high

For some months now, data such as texts, images, audio files or videos have also been entering the Bitcoin blockchain via the ordinals protocol. Adding such data to a Satoshi, the smallest Bitcoin computing unit, is called an inscription. While ordinals are not tokens like NFTs or Ethereum ERC-20 tokens, they can be used for similar things. And they have quickly become a hit in their own right. Around ten million ordinals are now immortalised on the Bitcoin blockchain, according to Dune.

A lucrative business, especially for miners. 44 million US dollars have been paid in fees for ordinals alone. After the wave of bankruptcies in the mining sector, "Bitcoin NFTs" have picked up the profit margin again. However, the hype was bought dearly with horrendous fees. At the beginning of May, the average cost of a bitcoin transfer rose to 30 US dollars. The losers of this trend seemed quite clear: the users. The network and block size reached their limits, unconfirmed transactions piled up in the mempool. And a dispute quickly flared up about the sense and nonsense of NFTs on the Bitcoin blockchain.

Much excitement for nothing?

In retrospect, the Bitcoin culture war seems overdone. The number of ordinals written daily to the blockchain is decreasing, transactions from the mempool are being processed, and fees have now dropped to three dollars.

After the initial FOMO flurry, the ordinals market is moving into day-to-day business. The fact that the Bitcoin network will continue to serve as a focal point for NFTs, i.e. fees can run riot every now and then, is something that Ordinals critics will probably have to get used to.

In the meantime, Bitcoin is the second largest network for NFTs after Ethereum, ahead of Solana or Polygon. Blockchain bridges like Bitcoin Miladys are supposed to create NFT synergies between the blockchains; after the dry spell of the last few months, the market could be in for a second spring. However, the example of Ethereum also shows that the problems exacerbated by ordinals can produce solutions. Fees on Ethereum also rose drastically during the NFT hype wave - and fell again. The scaling problems were largely tackled by second-layer solutions. The Lightning network has therefore recently collected many arguments that scaling solutions could ultimately benefit from the ordinals trend and contribute to an overall better user experience - necessity is the mother of invention.

The price of Ripple (XRP) has shown its bullish side again in recent days and is rising in value by double digits.

After a price consolidation in the first half of May, the price of Ripple (XRP) is currently making a run towards its high for the year. In addition to a positive news situation, due among other things to the publication of the Hinman protocols and a mysterious footnote in a legal document, the chart is also looking increasingly bullish. The latest attempt to break out above the red downtrend line that delimits the price caused the XRP price to rise to a new monthly high this week.

In a weekly comparison, Ripple is one of the top performers among the 100 largest altcoins with a price gain of 12 per cent. If the buy side now manages to stabilise above 0.48 US dollars after a failed breakout at the end of March, the probability of a bullish trend movement in the coming period will increase further. The fact that Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse expects a timely decision in the smouldering SEC proceedings seems to further fuel the price fantasy.

Ripple: Bullish price targets for the next weeks Bullish price targets: 0.51 USD, 0.55 USD, 0.59 USD, 0.65 USD, 0.69 USD, 0.75/0.78 USD, 0.86/0.89 USD, 0.94/1.00 USD

Since the price breakout above the horizontal resistance level at USD 0.48 at the beginning of the week, the XRP price has spiralled northwards by 10 percent at the peak. If Ripple does not slip below the broken downward trend line again and confirms its breakout movement of the previous days, a march through in the direction of the make-or-break level at 0.55 US dollars can be planned.

If the bulls do not fail again here and overcome this price level at the end of the day, the focus will shift to the high for the year around the overriding 38 Fibonacci retracement at 0.59 US dollars. If the buy side can make a breakout here, the trend movement should gain further momentum. Ripple could then take off with an intermediate stop at the high from May 2022 at 0.65 US dollars to at least 0.70 US dollars. Even a direct price rise to the medium-term rise target between 0.75 US dollars and 0.78 US dollars would be conceivable. Initial profit-taking should be planned in this area.

If the resist zone is also overcome, the chart picture will brighten further. As a result, the XRP price should pick up speed in the direction of its previous year's highs around 0.89 US dollars. If Ripple also breaks through this overarching price target in the long term, a further price jump to the maximum derivable target zone between US$0.94 and US$1.00 can be expected from a chart perspective.

Ripple: Bearish price targets for the coming weeks Bearish price targets: 0.48 USD, 0.44 USD, 0.42/0.40 USD, 0.38 USD, 0.35 USD, 0.33 USD, 0.31/0.29 USD

The bears only reached their minimum target this month with a sell-off to the USD 0.42 level. The bulls were recently able to successfully parry a sustained sell-off below the EMA200 (blue). The trend movement from higher lows remains intact for the time being. However, as long as Ripple does not form a higher high, there are still chances for the sellers' camp to send the XRP price south in the traditionally weak stock market month of June. For this to happen, Ripple must first break back below the support area at 0.48 US dollars.

Only when the XRP price gives up the support bundle of the EMA200 and the super trend at 0.44 US dollars, however, will the chances of a renewed corrective movement increase. Then a medium-term directional decision would be made in the zone around the monthly low at 0.42 US dollars. As a result, Ripple is likely to weaken through the yellow support zone between US$0.40 and US$0.38 towards the March price lows at US$0.36.

The important bearish target area would thus have been worked through. If, in the course of an overall market weakness in the second half of the year, the bears also succeed in penetrating this area, the XRP price will extend its downward movement directly to the purple support zone. In order to avert a sell-off back towards the year's lows, the bulls will have to counter this at 0.35 US dollars. However, if a break of US$0.33 occurs, Ripple is likely to fall to the area around its key supports of the past 12 months between US$0.31 and US$0.29.

A look at the indicators Both RSI and MACD indicators are showing solid buy signals in the daily chart. However, the RSI looks overbought in the short term, which is why another breath of air may be necessary to rise towards the high for the year. Both indicators also show stable long signals in the weekly chart, which further increases the chance for a rising Ripple price in the coming weeks.

The first half of the year is almost over and gold and silver are doing increasingly well. But one asset is outperforming the growth in the commodity market: Bitcoin.

As data from the Week On-chain Report shows, global market liquidity has been experiencing an upswing since October 2022. Digital asset prices and precious metals prices have become increasingly positively correlated since then. After a strong first quarter, both asset classes are currently experiencing their second upward correction this year. Over the past 90 days, gold (XAU) and silver (XAG) have risen by 7.5 per cent and 12.7 per cent respectively.

Bitcoin, on the other hand, continues to outperform and is 14.5 per cent above its February close. BTC's performance is thus weaker than the peak performance of 72 percent in the first quarter, but it remains the strongest value among the most important commodities.

The market for digital assets is thus outperforming the commodities sector so far in 2023 as well. In recent weeks, however, all asset classes are experiencing a significant correction. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at 27,152 US dollars - in April, the reserve currency was still at 30,000 US dollars.

Bitcoin: The digital gold

Due to high inflation and the collapse of several banks, bitcoin and gold are growing equally. The correlation of both assets is at a two-year high. The current price trend of Bitcoin (BTC) is also reminiscent of the rise in gold prices in the 1970s. Then, as now, US inflation was at a comparatively high level.

Should BTC actually experience a price development similar to that of the precious metal, the 100,000 US dollar mark could be broken within the next few years. The prerequisite for this is that the price continues to develop sustainably and that global crypto adoption progresses.

Something is happening with Ripple. Not only has the price increased in the past few days, but network activity has also reached top levels recently.

Address activity on the Ripple network has peaked for two consecutive days. This is shown by data from the blockchain analysis platform Santiment.

According to Santiment, the blockchain has only managed a higher value once before, on 18 March 2023.

According to the data, the network recorded 490,000 active addresses on 28 May. One day later, the value was 280,000. Sentiment calls this historic double peak a "milestone".

The native token of the Ripple Blockchain (XRP) was able to record price gains in the past few days. At the time of writing, the cryptocurrency is trading at 0.514 US dollars.

Ripple is currently in litigation with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse predicted an early end to the proceedings just a few days ago. The SEC accuses the network of trading with unregistered securities.

A 23-year-old persuades residents in the Kazakh city of Almaty to deposit money into his "crypto exchange". But when they want to make a withdrawal, there is no trace of the money.

Police in Kazakhstan have reportedly shut down a suspected fraudulent crypto trading platform and arrested a man in connection with it.

The suspected mastermind is a man from Almaty born in 1999, according to police.

Police said the arrested man is “suspected” of deceiving residents in the city by running a fake crypto platform.

Officials have recently received an increasing number of reports from aggrieved people. According to them, the 23-year-old offered them to earn money by investing in his “online crypto platform”. However, when they tried to withdraw their funds from the “platform”, this was reportedly not possible.

The platform is believed to have received investments worth at least US$7,000 from at least eleven people. However, local authorities suspect that this is only the tip of the iceberg. They announced additional investigations into the case to “identify further episodes”.

In this regard, the local news portal nur.kz stated that people convicted in such cases can be banned from “holding certain positions” or “engaging in certain activities for up to six years”.

Back in March, Kazakh officials warned against potential crypto scammers, warning InAlmaty not to send money to “dubious projects that promise big dividends by investing money in cryptocurrencies, stocks, precious metals, etc.”

After months of strong performance, Bitcoin made its first crash landing of the year in May. For the first time, the cryptocurrency closed with a negative monthly performance.

So far, Bitcoin investors have seen a satisfactory 2023. Since the beginning of the year, the price of the No. 1 cryptocurrency grew from 16,540 US dollars (USD) to as high as 30,486 USD. BTC printed this annual high on the price chart on 14 April.

Bitcoin price since the beginning of the year

Most recently, however, Bitcoin switched into correction mode. At the time of writing, one unit of digital gold still costs USD 27,109. In May, in particular, it was constantly on a downward trend. This makes the past month the first this year with a negative performance, as BTC analyst PlanB notes on Twitter.

What happens now?

But the signs are still positive, says BTC-ECHO market expert Stefan Lübeck: “Overarchingly, the upward movement that has been going on since the beginning of the year remains intact.” Whether Bitcoin will continue to follow the long-term trend in June depends, in his opinion, on two factors.

On the one hand, it remains to be seen whether the positive development around the new crypto hub Hong Kong will actually have a positive effect on trading volumes in the coming months. The injection of fresh capital into the crypto market from the Far East could give the cryptocurrency new momentum.

BTC-ECHO market expert Stefan Lübeck The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) had paved the way for the licensing of crypto exchanges in the special economic zone at the end of May. As of May, exchanges can apply for the trading licence.

According to Lübeck, the other price-determining factor is the global M2 money supply. This is the cash circulating worldwide as well as short-term demand deposits, i.e., Giro money.

If the money supply, i.e. the liquidity in the system, increases, investors are more willing to invest in risk assets such as Bitcoin. According to Lübeck, the decisive factor for this turnaround in monetary policy is above all the economic development.

Consolidation in the summer?

Grigori Akimov, analyst at crypto fund provider F5 Crypto, rather expects a consolidation phase in early summer given the strong performance this year.

Currently, Bitcoin is struggling with a significant macro resistance zone between EUR 27,000 and EUR 30,000. A plausible forecast for June 2023 would be consolidation in a sideways trend between EUR 23,000 and EUR 27,000.

Grigori Akimov, Crypto Analyst at F5 Crypto

In addition, Akimov says, it is also summer – which usually means that the (crypto) markets are rather moderate. “Summer is typically a quieter time for the markets”. Therefore, the analyst does not expect a sustained upward breakout for the time being.

Inflation in the Eurozone is declining: Good for the Bitcoin price?

Meanwhile, a slight recovery can be reported in inflation. According to the latest figures from Eurostat, the inflation rate within the euro area was only 6.1 per cent in May. This is 0.9 percentage points less than in the previous month.

The restrictive measures of the European Central Bank (ECB) are thus bearing fruit; whether the unexpectedly strong decline in the inflation rate will trigger a turnaround in interest rates, however, is considered unlikely. Market observers rather expect further moderate interest rate hikes in the coming months. After all, the central bank is still miles away from its target inflation of two percent.

On balance, however, falling inflation rates are positive in the context of risk investments.

Mining Difficulty and Hashrate

Fundamentally, however, everything is fine with Bitcoin. If we look at the hashrate, for example, we can see positive market sentiment on the part of miners. After all, the hashrate has been showing enormous growth for months. The cumulative computing power in the BTC network is currently 366 exahashes per second (EH/S). By comparison, the value was 241 EH/s as recently as January.

On the one hand, a rising hashrate leads to a more secure Bitcoin network, as attacks such as 51 per cent attacks become less likely. On the other hand, miners’ investments also point to positive price forecasts for companies competing for market share in anticipation of the upcoming bitcoin halving.

If the Fed, ECB and co. return to a policy of monetary easing in the wake of ongoing economic problems and increase the amount of fiat money in circulation again, institutional investors will once again put more of their money into risky investment sectors such as cryptospace.

Blocktrace is developing an AI chatbot to track bitcoin transactions. The artificial intelligence supports natural language queries.

Blocktrace is developing an AI chatbot for on-chain analysis of the Bitcoin blockchain.

The U.S. startup hopes that artificial intelligence will simplify and speed up the process of blockchain analysis.

The company christened the AI “Robby the Robot.” A reference to the science fiction classic “Forbidden Planet.” The chatbot is able to process questions in natural language.

To obtain information about transactions or holdings on the Bitcoin blockchain, users have so far had to resort to blockchain explorers. Most of these explorers have some catching up to do in terms of user-friendliness.

“Rather than requiring a data engineer or data scientist to translate natural language questions into SQL queries, Robby has already been trained on the data model and can quickly retrieve results for the user,” Blocktrace founder Shaun MaGruder told Decrypt.

Robby is still in beta, but is expected to be made available to the public later this year.

The Safemoon liquidity pool was robbed of tokens worth nearly US$9 million after attackers manipulated a faulty feature in the smart contracts.

March 28, an exploit occurred in Safemoon’s liquidity pool (LP). The hack resulted in a total loss of about $8.9 million.

Blockchain data shows that the attackers exchanged multiple tokens in a single transaction, eventually capturing billions of Safemoon’s SFM tokens.

“We would like to inform you that our liquidity pool has been compromised. We are taking swift action to fix the issue as soon as possible,” the developers shared on Twitter.

However, a few hours after the exploit, the attackers posted a message saying they were ready to return the money.

“Hey, relax, we accidentally launched an attack against you. We would like to return the funds. Establish a secure communication channel, let’s talk”. The hackers left these messages as a note in a transaction, according to blockchain security firm PeckShield.

Assets worth $1.2 million have already been returned, according to PeckShield.

On March 29 and 30, the Crypto Asset Conference (CAC) made its way to Frankfurt am Main. With over 80 speakers and thousands of attendees, it is considered one of the leading digital asset conferences in Europe. BTC-ECHO was on site.

The crypto sector is characterized by constant change. Because: The development of Bitcoin, Ethereum and Co. rarely stands still. New trends are constantly emerging as part of this technological revolution. In parallel, the areas of application of the blockchain are also growing and it is now being used in many areas of life.

These very trends and technological developments were the topic at this year’s Crypto Asset Conference (CAC) 2023A from March 29 to 30. More than 80 speakers thus explained Web3, Bitcoin and the future of digital securities on the campus of the Frankfurt School of Finance. Another broad block of topics focused on CO₂-tokenization and ESG developments.

CAC: Banks are interested in crypto

Numerous representatives from the traditional financial world were also found at the CAC. During a discussion, Deka Bank and BNY Mellon shared their views on digital funds and securities. The following day, Gunnar Regier of U.S. big bank J.P. Morgan explained how institutional adoption of digital assets could work. The head of the CAC, blockchain professor Philipp Sandner, emphasized to BTC-ECHO:

‘Banks are starting to get interested in digital securities. That’s why this topic was also the focus of the Crypto Asset Conference. We are very pleased that we were able to map the hypes that are developing within the crypto space. The next conference, in the fall, should be about Bitcoin, when the crypto winter is presumably over.

Away from the Crypto Asset Conference, an action by “Bitman” attracted attention. The Bitcoiner collective beamed the cryptocurrency logo onto Deutsche Bank, the Eurotower and the new headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB). The message is precise: the ECB and other public institutions need to get to grips with Bitcoin.

The price of the new layer-1 blockchain Kaspa (KAS) is currently showing its bullish side, rising 17 percent in value.

Community-focused decentralized layer-1 blockchain Kaspa (KAS) has successfully bucked the consolidation in the crypto market in recent weeks.

In the last seven trading days, the KAS share price increased in value by 30 percent. In the last 24 hours, Kaspa also rose by 17 percent towards the north despite the price setback of Bitcoin (BTC).

As a result, the fully scalable ecosystem built on a proof-of-work consensus mechanism successfully eluded overall market weakness, rising to a new all-time high today, Tuesday, March 28.

At $0.022, the KAS share price is currently trading not far from its next relevant resistance area at $0.024.

If Kaspa manages to break out above this resist in the coming trading days, a subsequent rise towards the next resistance area around 0.030 US dollar is to be planned.

Should this resistance area around the 461 Fibonacci extension also be overcome in perspective, the maximum price target at 0.035 US dollars will come into the focus of investors.

If, on the other hand, there is increased profit-taking, a retest of the last breakout zone around 0.018 US dollars is conceivable.