Latest news with #Glassnode
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
XRP Establishes Higher Range as in Positive Sign of Bullish Breakout
XRP is stabilizing near the top of its recent range and showing signs of bullish pressure as volatility narrows. With strong volume-backed support at $2.14–$2.15 and multiple resistance tests at $2.18, the asset appears to be coiling within an ascending channel, setting the stage for a possible breakout. Middle East conflicts triggered renewed risk-off sentiment across markets, sparking liquidations across crypto. While top assets like Cardano and Solana posted over 1% declines, XRP has managed to hold ground — forming higher lows and carving out a new trading band in the $2.14–$2.18 zone. This resilience comes as the Federal Reserve prepares to announce its next interest rate decision. With global economic policy increasingly fragmented, crypto traders are bracing for sharp moves across digital assets. Despite broader caution, XRP's recent behavior suggests underlying strength, with technical compression pointing to a potential breakout setup. XRP's long-term structure remains in focus. After nearly 200 days of ranging between $1.90 and $2.90, the token is testing the upper end of a descending channel on the USDT pair, with macro resistance near $2.60. Analysts continue to debate whether this structure mirrors XRP's 2017 price setup — a consolidation that preceded a 1,300% breakout. Meanwhile, investor behavior is shifting. Glassnode data shows rising profit-taking activity averaging $68.8 million daily, even as Bollinger Bands narrow — a classic sign of pending volatility. XRP traded within a 3.81% range from $2.143 to $2.182 over 24 hours, with strong buying pressure defending support at $2.143 during the 07:00 hour, where volume spiked to nearly 50 million units. Resistance was tested repeatedly at $2.179–$2.182 throughout the day but held firm. In the final trading hour, XRP fell from a local high of $2.181 to $2.167, a 0.7% drop that formed a new short-term descending channel. Volume surged to 1.7 million as support at $2.170 was breached, but price stabilized quickly and formed a higher low, preserving the broader uptrend structure. XRP posted a 3.81% 24-hour range, from $2.143 to $2.182. Support held at $2.143–$2.147 with heavy volume during early session lows. Resistance tested at $2.179–$2.182 multiple times, forming a clear upper boundary. Price action appears to form an ascending channel with higher lows intact. Late-session sell-off triggered by 1.7M volume spike at $2.170, but price recovered to $2.167. Descending micro-channel formed in the final hour; broader trend remains bullish if $2.14 support holds. Bollinger Bands tightening; RSI neutral at 52 suggests pending volatility. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Bloomberg
12 hours ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Bitcoin Network Activity Slows While Price Lingers Near Highs
Once institutional investors are finally onboard has long been a rallying cry for Bitcoin enthusiasts projecting sky-high price forecasts. A recent analysis of network activity on the original blockchain suggests they've already arrived. Even with prices just below record highs, there has been a decline in transactions and a rise in settlement value, indicating that institutional or high-net-worth participants are becoming more dominant, analysts at Glassnode wrote in a report Friday.
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
XRP Early Buyers Accelerate Profit-Taking as Regulatory Wins Bolster XRP Ecosystem
XRP XRP has staged one of the strongest rallies among crypto majors this cycle, but early retail holders are heading for the exit under the surface. Now trading above $2 — more than thrice its pre-rally base from October 2024 — XRP has become one of the best-performing large-cap tokens over the past 8 months. Investors who bought below 60 cents are sitting on gains upward of 300%, prompting a sharp pickup in profit-taking. According to on-chain data from Glassnode, the 7-day simple moving average (SMA) of realized profits from XRP wallets hit $68.8 million earlier this month, the highest in over a year. That's a clear sign of distribution pressure, with early accumulators cashing out into strength as the token tests key resistance levels just below its 2021 peak. That profit-taking pressure may help explain XRP's failure to break above $2.20 in recent sessions, despite multiple bullish headlines and technical the broader setup remains positive, supported by regulatory clarity in the U.S. and Ripple's growing push into tokenized asset infrastructure, the near-term price action reflects a supply overhang from long-term holders. A recent CryptoQuant analysis showed that the 1-year cumulative buy/sell quote volume difference for altcoins (excluding BTC and ETH) — a proxy for net investor flows — currently stands at negative $36 billion. That's a sharp reversal from December 2024, when the metric briefly flipped positive, marking a local top for altcoins. Since then, it's been a one-way bleed, with 'altcoin investors MIA,' CryptoQuant independent analyst Burak Kesmeci said in a Thursday post. Despite pockets of strength in XRP, SOL, and a few narrative tokens tied to real-world assets (RWAs), the broader altcoin ecosystem remains stuck in a bear market, he noted. Unless risk appetite returns or capital flows back into Layer 1s, DeFi, and gaming, hopes of an 'altseason' may continue to fade into the in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Asia Morning Briefing: CryptoQuant Warns of $92K BTC Drop as Analyst Views Diverge
Welcome to Asia Morning Briefing, a daily summary of top stories during U.S. hours and an overview of market moves and analysis. For a detailed overview of U.S. markets, see CoinDesk's Crypto Daybook Americas. As Asia begins its trading day, bitcoin BTC is trading above $104,500 and, despite a possible looming war in the Middle East, has been relatively flat on the day with negligible market movement. Indeed, for the last full week, BTC is only down 2%, according to CoinDesk market data. Analysts are debating whether the crypto market's current stillness is a sign of strength or if something more precarious is afoot. Three new reports this week from CryptoQuant, Glassnode, and trading firm Flowdesk all point to the same surface conditions: low volatility, tight price action, and subdued on-chain activity. Additionally, retail participation has waned, and institutional players, from ETFs to whales, are now shaping the structure of flows. But it's CryptoQuant that's flashing the most urgent warning. In its June 19 report, CryptoQuant argued that BTC could soon revisit $92,000 support or even fall as low as $81,000 if demand continues to deteriorate. Spot demand is still increasing, but well below trend. ETF flows have dropped by more than 60% since April, while whale accumulation has halved. Short-term holders, who are usually newer market participants, have shed approximately 800,000 BTC since late May. Their demand momentum indicator, which tracks directional buying strength across key cohorts, is now reading negative 2 million BTC, the lowest in CryptoQuant's dataset. Glassnode, however, sees the same signals and arrives at a far less dire conclusion. In its weekly on-chain update, the firm acknowledges that the Bitcoin blockchain is 'quiet," meaning transaction counts are down, fees are minimal, and miner revenue is subdued. However, this suggests that it may not be a weakness, but rather a reflection of the network's evolution. On-chain settlement volume remains high, but it's concentrated in large-value transfers, suggesting the chain is increasingly being used by institutions and whales. The derivatives market, Glassnode notes, now dwarfs on-chain activity, with futures and options volumes regularly exceeding spot by 7x–16x. That shift has brought more sophisticated hedging, better collateral practices, and a more mature, if less frenetic, market structure. France-based Flowdesk, a market maker and trading firm, has views that fall somewhere in between. While noting thinning altcoin flows and flat market-making volumes, its June 19 update describes the market as 'coiled,' not cracking. Flowdesk highlights a surge in tokenized assets, such as Gold-backed XAUT (up 56% in volume), stablecoin growth, and increasing RWA activity. To them, low volatility may simply be the calm before a directional breakout, which is not necessarily downwards. But in the end, no one seems to hold a reliable map for what's ahead. Even Polymarket bettors aren't sure as there is a near equal chance of BTC dropping to $90K in June or moving up to $115K-120K. One thing is for sure: the tug-of-war between bullish institutional activities and waning retail demand potentially opens bitcoin up to dramatic moves on either side of the trade, which will likely dictate the market's next chapter. A new report from Presto Research argues that Crypto Treasury Companies (CTCs), such as Strategy and Metaplanet, are not just leveraged bitcoin ETFs, but a new form of financial engineering with less risk than many investors assume. Strategy's latest raise, which raised nearly $1 billion via perpetual preferred shares, shows how BTC's volatility can be used to an issuer's advantage. These securities, along with convertible bonds and at-the-market equity sales, allow CTCs to fund aggressive crypto accumulation without triggering margin risk. Presto points out that Strategy's BTC is unpledged and Metaplanet's bonds are unsecured, meaning collateral liquidation, the primary trigger in past crypto blowups like Celsius and Three Arrows, is largely absent here. That does not eliminate risk, but it changes the nature of it. The real challenge, Presto argues, is not crypto exposure itself but the discipline to manage dilution, cash flow, and capital timing. Metaplanet's 'bitcoin yield' metric, which measures BTC per fully diluted share, reflects that focus on shareholder value. As long as CTCs can manage the financial mechanics behind their accumulation strategies, they will earn NAV premiums just like high-growth companies in traditional markets. But if they miscalculate, the same tools that fuel their rise could accelerate their fall. Semler Scientific (Nasdaq: SMLR) has unveiled one of the most aggressive bitcoin accumulation roadmaps in corporate history, announcing plans to hold 10,000 BTC by the end of 2025, 42,000 by 2026, and a staggering 105,000 by the close of 2027. The California-based medical device maker, which pivoted to a bitcoin treasury strategy last year, is effectively trying to increase its current bitcoin stash of 4,449 coins by more than two fold over the next 30 months. It plans to do so using a mix of equity raises, debt financing, and operational cash flow. There aren't specific details of how the company plans to fund the buy. Hwever, historically Semler's primary mechanism for acquiring bitcoin was selling new shares under its at-the-market (ATM) program, which relies on the company trading at a premium to its net asset value (NAV). According to data from Strategy-Tracker, Semler's mNAV currently sits at 0.859x, meaning the market values the firm's equity lower than its BTC holdings, which could be cutting off its ability to raise accretive capital. How this dynamic plays out, would be worth watching as the firm initiates more bitcoin buying. Even as bitcoin has surged to all-time highs above $100,000, Semler shares are down nearly 40% on the year. BTC: Bitcoin remains stuck below $105K despite strong ETF inflows, with repeated resistance at $105,150 and signs of institutional accumulation offset by short-term bearish momentum and macro volatility. ETH: Ethereum found support at $2,490 after a high-volume selloff broke key levels, with the price consolidating in a tight range amid geopolitical tensions and macro uncertainty, signaling potential for a breakout if resistance at $2,510 is cleared. Gold: Gold hovered near $3,366 on Thursday, little changed as escalating geopolitical tensions offset pressure from the Fed's hawkish stance, while platinum retreated after hitting a near 10-year high; U.S. markets remained closed for Juneteenth. Nikkei 225: Japan's Nikkei 225 opened 0.24% higher Friday as Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose ahead of China's loan prime rate decision and amid ongoing Israel-Iran tensions. Visa Expands Stablecoin Reach in Europe, Middle East and Africa (CoinDesk) Why Pro-Israel Group's $90M Crypto Hack Could Be a Hammer Blow for Iran's Regime (CoinDesk) Solana Will Flip Ethereum, Anthony Scaramucci Predicts (Decrypt) Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Who's Selling Bitcoin Above $100K and Holding Back the Price Rally?
Bitcoin's BTC bull market has stalled, and how. Despite a surge in spot ETF inflows, stablecoin market caps, and positive regulatory developments in the U.S., the leading cryptocurrency by market value continues to trade directionless, fluctuating between $100,000 and $110,000. It's been a record 42 straight days of back-and-forth trading above the $100K mark, and the question is: Who has been selling BTC and quietly counteracting the ETF inflows amid mounting concerns about the U.S. fiscal situation? According to Alexander Blume, managing partner at the SEC-registered investment adviser Two Prime, BTC is facing a unique crosswind of participant composition as it transitions from speculative buyers to long-term investors. "Amidst the recent geopolitical turmoil, it makes sense that speculators and leverage traders are taking risk off the table. At the same time, new long-term investors are buying the dip," Blume told CoinDesk. "It seems about right that we are currently at an equilibrium of these groups." Blockchain data tracked by Glassnode shows that wallets with a history of holding coins for less than a year have recently increased their profit-taking. On Monday, these wallets accounted for 83% of the total realized profit. Furthermore, wallets holding coins for six to 12 months alone contributed $904 million to the selling pressure in the market, the second-highest year-to-date total. The selling by short-term holders follows an even more aggressive profit-taking operation by long-term holders in May and early this month. According to Glassnode, the realized profit of wallets holding coins for over 12 months reached a peak of $1.2 billion last week. Last week, this cohort realized just $324 million in profits. "Long-term OG investors continue to sell into the steady ETF-driven demand, effectively absorbing inflows and keeping price action in check. This dynamic has led to a compression in volatility, but a breakout is inevitable," Markus Thielen, founder of 10x Research, said in a note to clients Thursday. Miners, or those producing bitcoin, have also been contributing to the selling pressure, according to data source IntoTheBlock. The balance held in miner wallets has declined to roughly 1.91 million BTC from 1.94 million at the end of May, indicating that these entities offloaded approximately 30,000 BTC in 20 days. "Miners have to continually sell, and believe it or not, some long-term holders continue to sell gradually as they manage their USD liabilities. The key thing is volume - is it sold or bought on high volume? It is noise and speculative flows that can revert very quickly," Philippe Bekhazi, CEO of crypto platform XBTO, told CoinDesk. Note that miners' share in total spot market volume is minuscule and has hit the lowest since 2022. Overall, the substantial accumulation by both whales and small addresses observed during bitcoin's initial run higher from the early April lows near $75,000 has stalled since prices broke into six figures. "Those same accumulation patterns began to weaken once BTC breached $100k. The reason the price slowed down is likely due to the availability of next-best alternatives. Funding rates were rallying hard, and having delta-neutral positions earning 15-30% APY likely seemed attractive enough to de-risk on a directional basis," Benjamin Lilly, founder of Jarvis Labs, noted. The delta-neutral trades involve shorting perpetual futures and simultaneously purchasing the asset in the spot market when futures trade at a premium to the spot price. The non-directional arbitrage strategy enables traders to capitalize on price differentials while mitigating risks associated with price volatility. Jimmy Yang, co-founder of Orbit Markets, said that bitcoin maturing into a more stable asset class means it may not necessarily generate outsized returns. That has likely prompted some holders to divest into other assets. "While the directional upside remains, investors can no longer expect 10x or 100x returns in a short period. As a result, we've seen some long-term holders begin to divest a portion of their BTC holdings to diversify into other asset classes such as equities, gold, and private placements — a move that makes sense from a portfolio allocation perspective," Yang told CoinDesk. According to Yang, the market may not offer much excitement in the near-term, as the cryptocurrency continues to trade in tandem with equities and broader risk sentiment. "Both asset classes are hovering near all-time highs, and if equities break higher, BTC is likely to follow. With the summer lull setting in, market activity is expected to remain subdued in the near term," Yang noted. Blume said that the BTC market may cool off a little, having seen prices surge from $75K to over $100K in the early weeks of this quarter. "It's also to keep in mind that Bitcoin rallied from 78k less than two months ago, so I'd expect a cool off anyway. It's telling that the dips in price are quite shallow and are a sign of strength for the next leg up," Blume said. According to Thielen, the key levels to watch are $102,000 on the downside and $106,000 on the upside. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
