Blockchain Briefing: Unraveling the Bitcoin Dip, ETF Impact, and Airdrop Insights!
Coverage from XRP ecosystem, Render Network, and when to Buy Bitcoin in this weeks letter!
A bit of turbulence in the crypto markets this week, with BTC undergoing a necessary retracement post-ETF hype. Despite the breach of the 40k support, there remains substantial demand for Bitcoin at these price levels, and institutions persist in buying through the newly introduced spot Bitcoin ETFs.
The Bitcoin fear/greed index has now declined to 43, down from 76 before the ETF launch. With the index now in the "fear" side of the spectrum, it might be a good time to pay attention, as any further dips moving into extreme fear could present buying opportunities. Currently, Bitcoin is in a consolidation phase, and this could potentially mark the bottom of the two-week decline, especially with the Bitcoin halving less than three months away.
Simultaneously, I continue deep research into impactful AI and rendering projects such as Render Network, rapidly growing blockchain ecosystems like XRP, and various ways institutions are engaging with blockchain technology beyond Bitcoin acquisitions. Buckle up, as this week's newsletter encompasses it all, including insights on how to participate in two of the most promising airdrops in Web3 this year. Read on!
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Render Network: The ultimate power of GPU Processing:
Do you love processing power? What if you had the power of thousands of GPUs spread around the world at your fingertips?
This week, I spoke with the Head of Communications at the Render Network Foundation about high-powered rendering, insane graphics, and future AI technology. We discussed how Render Network is one of the only companies in the world to actually have excess rendering and GPU power, thanks to their decentralized nature.
We also delved into the growing use cases for high-demand rendering, such as the Sphere in Las Vegas, which boasts a 16k by 16k resolution. How can we provide enough processing power to render graphics for the Sphere in real-time, and how can you use your graphics card at home to help render it, while also earning crypto? Finally, we explored how the Apple Vision Pro and AI could revolutionize the spatial web and what graphic rendering will be needed when we finally see Augmented Reality become a reality for the majority of the world to adopt. Don’t miss this interview below!
XRP Ecosystem Growing:
Are you a Ripple or XRP fan? Have you heard the memes about how XRP will be adopted by all banks and skyrocket to an amazing price of $589? Well, that's unlikely to happen without the XRP ecosystem growing and catching up to other layer 1 blockchains in terms of the development environment, dApps, DeFi, NFTs, and community.
However, XRPL Commons is a group focused on driving the adoption of the XRP ecosystem, including educating developers and connecting them to projects built on XRP. With the help of XRPL Commons, they are attracting more developers to choose the XRP blockchain for their projects, and more capital and venture capitalists are considering XRP as a strong potential for ecosystem growth in the near future. I spoke with David Bchiri, the President of XRPL Commons, to understand exactly how they are helping XRP grow as an ecosystem, how they attract developers and funding to XRP, and about the in-house residency and cohort program they already offer, providing the tools needed to succeed in building a project on top of the XRP blockchain. $589, here we come!
How are institutions and governments using Blockchain?
Also, this week I spoke with Francois Schonken, Tokenization lead at Fireblocks (@FireblocksHQ on Twitter). Fireblocks is a very large company that collaborates with enterprises, governments, and financial institutions on various projects, including digital currencies, CBDCs, and digital identity (DID).
While some decentralization maximalists may not favor these kinds of products, they are being developed by large institutions that utilize blockchain technology, albeit sometimes on permissioned, non-decentralized blockchains. I discuss with their team which blockchains these enterprises and governments prefer to build on and what hurdles exist for further blockchain adoption by big companies and the general public.
There are even more videos to see if you subscribe to the Crypto Coin Show YouTube channel below!
Other Crypto News:
The US files notice to sell 2,933 Bitcoin ($132.5 million) seized from Silk Road from March 10 onwards, unless a petition for remission or mitigation is granted.
SEC delays Grayscale's Spot Ethereum ETF.
BlackRock now holds 45,688 BTC worth over $1.8 billion for their spot Bitcoin ETF.
US national debt reaches new all-time high of $34.1 trillion.
Trezor’s email was attacked. If you received any recent emails from Trezor, they could be phishing attacks, so beware.
Market Analysis:
$BTC and Altcoins:
The two weeks post-ETF launch, we've witnessed Bitcoin experiencing a significant drop in the markets, approximately -20% in total. Currently, there is a consolidation and sideways movement, indicating preparation for the next price action to be determined.
Although BTC is still below 40k, on the short-term time frame (3H), Bitcoin has generated a Buy signal and retraced some losses from the 38k range to 39k.
For Bitcoin to regain momentum, it needs to move upward and maintain support at the psychologically significant level of 40k before aiming for the 44-45k range.
However, on the medium to long-term time frame (12H, 1D, and 2D), red signals persist. Attempting to catch a falling knife can be daunting, and despite a 20% drop being substantial, there's a possibility that BTC could further decline into the mid 33-37k range. ETF issuers and institutions are playing the long game, showing no urgency for Bitcoin to quickly surpass 45k, as they continue accumulating at lower prices.
Additionally, the BTC halving, less than 100 days away, will create a significant supply crunch for Bitcoin. Coupled with the growing ETF volume, it's anticipated that Bitcoin will surpass 45k before the halving.
Until Bitcoin builds a solid support system either above 40k or in a trading range for a solid week or two, it is risky to make new positions or buy’s in altcoins. Once Bitcoin is back on track, altcoins will be evaluated. There are always anomalies and coins that bounce back quickly after BTC dips, like MANTA and TIA for example, however the majority of the altcoin market continues to suffer slightly deeper than BTC has.
Airdrops:
🚀 LayerZero airdrop update:
Stargate Finance is the main bridge of the LayerZero. On top of building volume, you should be staking Stargate STG tokens on their platforms (The main bridge of LayerZero), and voting on governance proposals.
Buy some STG on the crypto markets, and then stake 100 $STG to get $veSTG. This gives you voting power on Stargate’s staking tab: https://stargate.finance/stake. The staking period can range from 1 to 36 months.
You can also browse the pools and farms on the staking page to earn more $STG yields and add liquidity to Pools. Go to https://stargate.finance/pool, choose your preferred Pool and add liquidity. You can remove liquidity at any time on the “Remove” tab. You earn LP tokens as a reward, which then be farmed to get $STG. The minimum for the Guild reward is $1000 in the LP pool.
New proposals for voting governance on Stargate are always opening. If you weren't staking Stargate tokens when a proposal opened, you'll have to wait for the next proposals. Stake today to be prepared! The future proposals are here: https://snapshot.org/#/stgdao.eth. Almost always, participating in governance/voting gives you a bonus in an airdrop for the blockchain.
Staking STG is almost a guaranteed criteria for part of the LayerZero airdrop. DO IT!
To ensure you've done everything, Join the Stargate on Guild.xyz and complete ALL SECTIONS here: https://guild.xyz/stargate
zkSync:
Do swaps on Syncswap using the "Paymaster" feature. Paymaster is a feature on Zksync network that allows you to pay gas in USDT, USDC, WETH, etc. No longer will Blockchains have to pay gas fees only in ETH. Using the paymaster feature could be a criteria for a better zkSync airdrop in the future.
Syncswap also has an airdrop to look forward to, so this is a 2-in-1
Test it here: https://syncswap.xyz/swap
Also, ensure you join the Guild.xyz of Syncswap and fill as much criteria as possible:
NFT’s:
Mint this Ecosapien Level 7 NFT for free (Requires Gas fees of CELO on Celo blockchain)
https://ecosapiens.xyz/open-editions/celosapien
Wallets:
Rabby wallet just released "Rabby Points"
Rabby is the chrome extension wallet I much prefer over MetaMask now. I highly recommend trying it and making the switch fro metamask for security and feature increases.
They also just did a points claim which could lead to a future airdrop. Even if you have never used Rabby before, you can claim points here, and use this code CARROTS for extra bonus points as well: https://rabby.io/rabby-points?code=CARROTS
If you’re looking for even more Airdrop alpha not in my newsletter, please join my Telegram for daily updates on how to capture the most value out of the Web3 ecosystem.
Thanks for reading!
-Ashton Addison, CEO of Crypto Coin Show