Uptober Arrival: Bitcoin's Surge, AVAX Spotlight, and Weekly Crypto Insights
In-Depth Talks with Charlie Shrem OG, CoinScan, and why Avalanche is surging.
“Uptober” is finally here! Another positive week in cryptocurrency led by Bitcoin breaking upwards, right on cue, on October 1st, to break through a downward resistance that's been holding Bitcoin down since mid-June.
Will Q4 be the best-returning quarter for Bitcoin in 2023? It's going to be hard to beat the epic rise of Q1, but I have a feeling Bitcoin will put up a great fight!
Meanwhile, projects like ETH, Chainlink, Avalanche, and Solana have also had great weeks, following in BTC’s footsteps. I provide a detailed analysis of the next steps for Bitcoin and Avalanche below in my market analysis. Don't miss it!
Besides that, on the Crypto Coin Show I was blessed to speak with the 2012 Bitcoin OG Charlie Shrem this week, a cryptocurrency payment processing company working across 6 continents, and CoinScan, a crypto pricing platform that just raised $6.5M, intending to be the next Coin Market Cap and the most trafficked crypto website in the entire industry.
Read on, as this is a jam-packed week. I am more than excited for what Q4 has in store for blockchain, so pay attention!
Ashton on the Charlie Shrem Podcast:
I sat down with Charlie Shrem on the Charlie Shrem Podcast to discuss my insights from the interviews I've conducted on the Crypto Coin Show so far in 2023 Q1-Q3, the narratives and advancements of the blockchain industry like AI, ZK, and modular blockchains, and the approach I take to conducting interviews and finding future unicorns. If the timestamp doesn't load, my discussion with Charlie starts at 22:35.
Charlie Shrem is a legendary actor in the Bitcoin space, first investing in Bitcoin in 2012 and starting one of the earliest Bitcoin payment processing companies, which in 2013 was processing up to 30% of all Bitcoin transactions globally after major investments from Roger Ver and the Winklevoss twins.
In 2014, Charlie was actually charged with operating an unlicensed money transmitting business in connection with BitInstant, aiding Bitcoin transactions in the now-defunct Silk Road. However, once everything was settled, he got back to being involved with Bitcoin and continues to be an important figure in the Bitcoin space.
Accepting Crypto in Your Business:
I spoke with Oliver La Rosa once more, this time on Globiance Pay, a global payment processor already helping businesses accept crypto on 6 continents.
We discuss how every business can easily start accepting crypto, whether it's a brick-and-mortar shop with POS terminals or an e-commerce store. Globiance Pay is in the process of democratizing access to their platform with a Security Token Offering (STO) where security token owners have revenue shares and future equity rights in their bank.
Check out our interview below for more information on how they're opening the doors for shareholders and how to open an account for conducting business with crypto
Crypto Price Checking:
Which website or app do you use to check crypto prices?
Initially, CoinMarketCap was the best (and only) website to check prices. However, some people grew tired of CoinMarketCap, especially after it was bought out for $400M, and they shifted to CoinGecko. Subsequently, some became disenchanted with CoinGecko and migrated to CoinScan. CoinScan recently secured $6.5M in funding and is on the path to becoming the next #1 crypto pricing website.
They prioritize not only Crypto prices but also safety and security against potential scams. Additionally, they offer blockchain tracking and unconfirmed transaction monitoring to facilitate quicker coin purchases and to stay ahead of large purchases that drive up prices. These are just a few of the many features that CoinScan offers.
I had the opportunity to speak with them this week to learn about their competitive advantages and future plans following their successful fundraising. Based on the feedback I've received across social media, it seems that CoinScan has quickly become many traders' new favorite platform.
Crypto News:
Grayscale submits SEC application to convert its #Ethereum trust to spot ETF
Binance faces class action lawsuit for alleged role in FTX collapse
Japanese carmaker Honda now accepts Bitcoin
Ripple is now fully licensed to provide digital payment token services in Singapore by the MAS. (SEC of Singapore).
The SEC has filed a new lawsuit against Coinbase
Schoenfield, the former director of BlackRock said that the SEC will approve spot Bitcoin ETFs within 3 to 6 months. He also said there could be capital inflows of up to $200 billion.
StarkWare delays first token unlocks to April 2024. Airdrop may still be available if you research how to qualify for it.
Former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky’s Criminal trial is set for next year.
US National Debt jumps $275 Billion in a single day it has increased by 448B in the last two weeks.
Judge rejects SEC motion to appeal Ripple XRP ruling.
Minterest releases new report on their Health Gauge and Portfolio risk in DeFi.
Market Analysis:
$BTC Breaking Up to $30,000?
Since last week's episode, Bitcoin has made a significant move upwards, breaking above the top resistance lines of the downward bull flag that has been affecting BTC since mid-June. September, although notoriously known as a challenging month for BTC, witnessed a positive Bitcoin return (though less than 5%) for the first time in many years.
October, known by some as "Uptober," had BTC off to a racing start, with Bitcoin surging by 7% on October 1st. Although half of these gains retraced in the days following, Bitcoin still maintains its position above the previous resistance level and is looking to establish support around $27,700 in hopes of advancing towards $30,000 and beyond.
I speculate that October 31st will conclude with Bitcoin at a higher price than observed on October 1st. However, I anticipate a bumpy ride and various market dynamics throughout the month designed to shake out leverage traders and those who lack confidence in their investment strategies.
Most experts did not expect Bitcoin to rise so rapidly, leading to the liquidation of almost $700 million in short positions when Bitcoin surged on October 1st.
While Bitcoin presents a Buy signal on the 1D and 12H charts according to EngineeringRobo, the lower time frames currently indicate a sell signal. This suggests that some traders may consider reloading positions, but with a stop-loss set below $27,000.
Decisions regarding Bitcoin spot ETF approvals are expected in mid-October, and it is likely that they will be rejected, potentially triggering a "buy the rumor, sell the news" event. I do not anticipate these approvals until 2024, providing more time to accumulate Bitcoin at these prices for long-term investment strategies.
$AVAX and “Stars Arena” Friend Tech Competitor:
While there are numerous altcoins with strong fundamentals worth accumulating, this week's focus is on Avalanche (AVAX), which has been making headlines. Avalanche is a layer 1 protocol known for its low cost and high scalability, and it's fostering a growing network of applications built on top of it.
Avalanche is a protocol worth holding onto for the long term, as it boasts a wide network effect, involves multiple chains, offers Ethereum compatibility, and is actively "future-proofing" itself, as they claim.
Lately, the viral social app "Friend Tech" has been captivating the crypto world. It's somewhat similar to Twitter, but with a unique twist—your account has keys that other followers can invest in or purchase to gain access to your private chat. As more users acquire these keys, their prices rise, and as they are sold off, their prices drop.
While these platforms are experimenting with paid social clubs, there are concerns that these mechanisms exhibit elements of a Ponzi scheme. Many prominent influencers have joined early or acquired their own keys to artificially boost prices, only to later sell them off at higher prices, leaving their followers at a disadvantage. While no legal issues have arisen as of yet, there have been instances of sudden price drops in these keys, known as "rug pulls," from influential accounts.
In response to this trend, Friend Tech platforms are being replicated and are exploring other blockchain ecosystems. They are also experimenting with various economic models in pursuit of creating similar platforms with greater sustainability. This is where the new Friend Tech competitor, "Stars Arena," built on the Avalanche chain, comes into play. It's gaining traction, in part due to speculation, and is driving increased transaction activity on the Avalanche chain.
Avalanche and AVALabs are in full support of Stars Arena, retweeting more info about it and showing how it’s helping grow the Avalanche chain and the amount of transactions happening. You can see the growth in Stars Arena compared to other “Friend Tech” platform shown in the orange bars below.
I'm not personally a fan of these other social platforms and am sticking to X and a few other more decentralized Web3 platforms. However, I am a big fan of the networks they run on top of, which also host hundreds of other applications, and Avalanche is one I've been watching for a long time.
The resurgence in AVAX in the market is a good sign that people are still paying attention to the underlying blockchain. I also know AVALabs, with whom I've had multiple discussions on the show, is a very active foundation working diligently to promote activity on the Avalanche Chain, demonstrating its commitment even during bear market times.
That's all for this episode. What part of the newsletter would you like to see more of? Interviews with Unicorns? A Weekly Crypto News Recap? Or more information on market prices themselves? Please let me know by commenting below or replying via email
Thanks for reading!
-Ashton Addison, CEO of Crypto Coin Show