Altcoin Surge: Riding the Wave as Bitcoin Holds above $43,000, + SocialFi & DePIN
Altcoin's are on fire! Which projects are the best right now? We analyse the top Layer 1's
After Bitcoin's magnificent run to $44,000, we are witnessing some sideways consolidation. This market structure is great news for altcoins, as it provides room for their ascent. I will discuss platforms and protocols with high potential in the Market Analysis section, as well as those that continue to show strong performance.
On the fundamental side, this week, I delve into more Web3 social platforms. How can we stay connected with friends while also interacting with companies on social media in a more direct way? The new platform, DSCVR, facilitates transactions right in the social feed.
Secondly, I focus on DePIN in my discussion with IoTeX, exploring how AI and Web3 are merging into physical devices to offer more utility and automation than ever before. Let's go!
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SocialFi on Solana: DSCVR.one
The Solana ecosystem has been exceptionally active, with SOL experiencing a significant surge over the past few months, climbing from the low $20 range to almost $70 per coin.
Amidst this fervor, I stumbled upon a noteworthy social media project that intersects finance, falling under a new category known as SocialFi. This project, named DSCVR.one, recently launched on Solana and boasts hundreds of thousands of active users.
DSCVR, or Discover, was originally constructed on the Internet Computer ($ICP) chain and remains connected to it. However, it has recently expanded onto Solana, a platform with considerably more activity than ICP.
Free to sign up, DSCVR operates as a social media platform centered around both new and ongoing crypto projects. It offers numerous opportunities for engagement directly through the feed, including airdrops, DeFi, and NFTs. The platform provides a glimpse into the future of social media with integrated transactions.
In a conversation with Co-Founder Juan Bruce, we discussed the platform's positioning and explored why it has achieved such rapid success. I highly recommend watching the interview and registering a free account on DSCVR to potentially reap rewards in the future.
DePIN: $2.2 TRILLION Dollar Market in the Making
This week, my focus turned to a significant and emerging subsector of blockchain known as DePIN, or Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks.
DePIN is a rapidly growing sector within Web3, evolving as AI and IoT (Internet of Things) gradually advance and integrate further into hardware devices.
Envision a future world where your self-driving car is entirely operated by AI, possessing its own bank account (or crypto wallet in this case), and functioning as its own manager for driving people around via Uber. It interacts with smart contracts and manages payments independently.
This future is approaching, where numerous devices will be connected to the blockchain with their own wallets and AI capabilities to make business decisions. It's an exciting yet somewhat daunting era.
To delve deeper into this, I had a conversation with Jing Sun, the Co-Founder of IoTeX, a blockchain and middleware connecting IoT and DePIN platforms and devices to the blockchain world. She provides insights into the use cases for DePIN, the growth of the IoTeX platform over the past years, and the anticipated launch of the IoTeX 2.0 platform early next year.
For those intrigued by physical devices or interested in exploring how hardware will integrate into AI and Web3, I highly recommend listening to this insightful discussion.
Other Crypto News:
El Salvador starts Immigration program geared towards Bitcoiners that costs $1 Million.
FTX says IRS demand for $24 billion in unpaid taxes is delaying recovery of user funds
Crypto assets to be measured at Fair Value based on the FASB rules. This is big as it encourages more companies to hold Bitcoin on their balance sheet.
A new bill proposed from Senator Elizabeth Warren massively expands the bank secrecy act, imposing bank-like KYC rules on non-custodial software products, wallets, validators, and miners, including Free Open Source Software. Senators Warrens bills are so drastic that most of the time they are not passed.
SEC Meets With BlackRock To Discuss Spot Bitcoin ETF
Terra Luna Founder Do Kwon to be extradited to the US
Wenser updates their airdrop criteria app. To find out which airdrops you may be eligible for, check their new application here.
Interested in more news like this? Stay subscribed to stay updated!
Market Analysis:
Bitcoin experienced a slight dip over the past week, dropping to the $40,000 support level and liquidating approximately $300 million in high-leverage traders. Savvy traders anticipated that Bitcoin was overdue for a dip. However, it appears that BTC has mostly recovered since then, and altcoins continue to show upward momentum.
While a Sell signal is observed on the 12-hour chart for BTC, the 1-day chart still indicates a Buy signal. Additionally, the Buy signal has returned on the lower time frames (3-hour, 6-hour) as Bitcoin regained support at $43,000.
If Bitcoin remains within the 42-44k range, it will provide more time for altcoins and other blockchain projects to rise as capital flows deeper into the blockchain ecosystem.
In the event that Bitcoin drops below $40,000, we can expect a corresponding decline in altcoins. Exercise caution if you're considering acquiring more speculative lower market cap assets, as they may become more volatile in tandem with Bitcoin's volatility.
There is a possibility of an end-of-year sell-off, although the dip in Bitcoin was not a significant event. Sometimes, selling occurs for end-of-year tax harvesting. However, the third round of decisions for Bitcoin ETF approval is scheduled between January 10th-15th, which is less than a month away.
Ethereum $ETH :
Unlike the other Layer 1 platforms, the ETH price is very closely tied to Bitcoin. If Bitcoin continues to range, it is likely that Ethereum will do the same. Once Bitcoin decides to move up above $44,000, ETH could quickly see a $2,500 and above price tag.
Solana $SOL:
Solana has been one of the hottest alternative blockchains, price-wise, over the last two months. So why should it stop now? While major gains have been made, SOL is currently sitting around $72 per coin. With all-time highs at $240, there is more room to move up; however, there has been more consolidation recently and a few dips in the $64-$70 range. Once SOL builds support at this level, it could move up to $100+, barring any Bitcoin crashes.
Avalanche $AVAX:
Avalanche has performed extremely well this month, moving up from sub $10 to $40 USD. There’s a good chance it will continue into the $60+ range. I would be looking at $35-$38 to build support and pick up more before it continues to take off, with the next targets around $55 and $68.
If you're familiar with the Avalanche ecosystem, I would also recommend looking into some of the core projects built on Avalanche, including Web3 gaming projects, TradeJOE (the DEX), and CLY Colony (the Seedify of Avalanche).
Fantom $FTM:
Fantom is another Layer 1 project that holds substantial fundamental value but has not experienced the same level of growth as some of the projects mentioned earlier.
My near-term targets would be $0.52 and $0.65, aiming to return to the January 2023 All-Time High, with a longer-term target of $3 or more based on the previous bull cycle.
NEAR Protocol:
NEAR has shown strong performance since hitting lows of $0.99 two months ago, doubling in value during this period. Despite notable improvements in the fundamentals of the blockchain network, it has not yet reached the all-time highs of the previous cycle.
As of now, NEAR is hovering around $2.28, and I anticipate the next significant milestones to be approximately $4 and $7.45. Although the previous all-time high (ATH) reached close to $19, there's optimism that in this cycle, NEAR could surpass that ATH and explore uncharted price territories.
Thanks for reading!
-Ashton Addison, CEO of Crypto Coin Show