DeFi value locked hits $18B amid Ether rally and SushiSwap gains

DeFi value locked hits $18B amid Ether rally and SushiSwap gains
DeFi value locked hits $18B amid Ether rally and SushiSwap gains

The total value locked in decentralized finance, a measure that tracks the amount of assets committed to the DeFi ecosystem, has soared to $18 billion according to DeFi Pulse.

TVL chart by DeFi Pulse

While the chart may suggest that DeFi adoption is growing, it requires some interpretation to be properly understood. Total value locked is often an imperfect metric in these scenarios. Differences in how it’s counted, protocols adopting measures to artificially boost it or just price rallies of the underlying assets can create the appearance of growth where there could be none.

The adjusted TVL metric by DappRadar, which computes total value locked by fixing asset prices to the beginning of the period under scrutiny, can help shed light on what is happening.

Adjusted and pure total value locked by DappRadar

The adjusted metric suggests that DeFi has in fact seen very little growth since October 2020. Measured at constant prices, total value locked has stayed at around $9 billion for the entirety of the Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) bull markets. This means that there was no net inflow of new assets, instead it’s the existing asset supply that dramatically increased in value.

Nonetheless, there is a sizable TVL jump between Jan. 4 and Jan. 5, which is largely attributable to SushiSwap. The decentralized exchange is continuing to attract staggering amounts of liquidity through its continuous SUSHI rewards. The recently launched Onsen menu aims to provide incentives to a rotating set of liquidity pools, primarily including smaller tokens. The exchange attracted about 2,000 BTC ($62 million), 40 million Dai and 60,000 ETH ($60 million) in one day.

Another major gainer in TVL is Synthetix (SNX), but the increase can be largely attributed to a 30% increase in the price of SNX. The token is used to collateralize synthetic assets minted on the platform, so increases in its price still have a direct effect on the platform’s adoption.

Though inflows into DeFi stagnated recently, the space is still showing healthy volume and adoption. High Ethereum fees are likely stifling further growth, but rollup-based scaling technologies may soon pick up the slack.

Title: DeFi value locked hits $18B amid Ether rally and SushiSwap gains
Sourced From: cointelegraph.com/news/defi-value-locked-hits-18b-amid-ether-rally-and-sushiswap-gains
Published Date: Tue, 05 Jan 2021 11:53:29 +0000

DeFi value locked hits $18B amid Ether rally and SushiSwap gains
DeFi value locked hits $18B amid Ether rally and SushiSwap gains was originally published here https://allthetopnews.blogspot.com/2021/01/defi-value-locked-hits-18b-amid-ether.html

Ether fees nearly double as 24-hour trading volume tops $50B

Ether fees nearly double as 24-hour trading volume tops $50B
Ether fees nearly double as 24-hour trading volume tops $50B

Ethereum network fees continue to climb with the average value topping out at $17.43 per transaction according to data from YCharts. As previously reported by Cointelegraph, average fees were at about $10.20 earlier on Monday.

The $17.43 per transaction constitutes an all-time high in average Ether fees beating the previous record of $12.54 back in September during the height of the DeFi mania. As of press time, ETH transaction fees have declined significantly, with a median fee of $1.63 based on data from Etherscan, ETH Gas Station and Gas Now.

Average ETH Transaction Fee. Source: YCharts

Yield chasing on multiple DeFi platforms added to the transaction load of stablecoin transfers, which made the Ethereum network even more actively used than in previous times. As a result, average fees skyrocketed, often to the detriment of some DeFi market participants.

Indeed, Monday’s ETH fee spike caused DeFi NFT project Aavegotchi to postpone its mainnet launch. The project also stated that it might consider an “L2 first” launch probably on the Matic Network.

The launch of Ethereum 2.0 — the network’s upgrade to a proof-of-stake consensus — is expected to improve the blockchain’s scalability and drive down average transaction costs. While the process has already begun, some expect the upgrade to take years to reach full actualization. Some commentators say layer-two scaling solutions are a better bet for combatting rising transaction costs.

Monday’s fee spike also coincided with Ether setting a new 24-hour trading volume high above $53 billion according to data from CoinMarketCap. 

The surge in Ether transaction fees and trading volumes comes ahead of the launch of CME ETH futures later this year. Back in 2017, when CME announced its Bitcoin (BTC) futures, BTC price and transaction fees spiked amid expanding interest from investors.

Ether is still about $300 shy of its $1,430 ATH achieved back on Jan. 8, 2018. The second-ranked crypto by market capitalization is up over 660% in the last year.

Title: Ether fees nearly double as 24-hour trading volume tops $50B
Sourced From: cointelegraph.com/news/ether-fees-nearly-double-as-24-hour-trading-volume-tops-50b
Published Date: Tue, 05 Jan 2021 11:14:36 +0000

Ether fees nearly double as 24-hour trading volume tops $50B
Ether fees nearly double as 24-hour trading volume tops $50B was originally published here https://allthetopnews.blogspot.com/2021/01/ether-fees-nearly-double-as-24-hour.html

Layer-2 scaling project Loopring (LRC) shoots over 50% higher amid Ethereum network congestion

Layer-2 scaling project Loopring (LRC) shoots over 50% higher amid Ethereum network congestion
Layer-2 scaling project Loopring (LRC) shoots over 50% higher amid Ethereum network congestion

As the entire crypto market has slingshotted higher over the past day, the Ethereum network has become congested.

The average gas fee that users were paying yesterday evening was close to 500 Gwei, meaning that just to send ETH from address to address cost $10. To put 500 Gwei into context, here are a few more statistics:

$30 to second an ERC-20 token from address to address$60 to trade on Uniswap, assuming only one trading pair is used$100 to make a deposit in a Yearn vaultAnd much more to do more complicated tasks within DeFi

While many users could handle these fees as they were making money on their trades, users with only a few hundred dollars had to sit on their coins.

This trend resulted in a narrative developing regarding the need for Ethereum scaling solutions, especially as the next bull run seems to have arrived in full force, with retail investors getting involved.

One project appears to be benefiting from this narrative, Loopring.

Loopring is an Ethereum scaling protocol that has launched a second-layer decentralized exchange seemingly inspired by Uniswap. The protocol is based on zkRollups, a technology that attempts to migrate a majority of the transaction demand to a second layer

Loopring sees traction on day of Ethereum congestion

Loopring is seeing strong traction as Ethereum has become congested.

Investors began to take notice of Loopring when Matthew Finestone noted that it costs $0.0125 to swap LRC to ETH via the Loopring exchange, which has no gas fees.

The tweet announcing this went crypto-viral as many users expressed their concerns about spending so much on transacting on Ethereum.

Gas cost for a swap right now on Uniswap: ~$47. (500 gwei, 100k gas, ETH $955). + 0.3% LP fee. Other L1 AMMs are even more gas-intensive and expensive.

Loopring L2 AMM: 0.25% fee. No gas.

Here I swap $5 of LRC into ETH. I pay $0.0125 fee.

Nobody is priced out on L2 ✊ pic.twitter.com/dZtHVYUgA7

— Matthew Finestone | 3body.eth (@finestonematt) January 3, 2021

Loopring also announced later that evening that the volatility had given the platform its “highest volume day ever,” with just under $2m traded.

Turns out wild volatility + super high gas prices are a recipe for L2 success.

Our highest volume day ever today on Loopring Exchange (even v1). We feel ecstatic & appreciative ?

We know this is still just small time, but imagine when Ethereum zkRollups seep into everything ? pic.twitter.com/zIfXD1eO4F

— Loopring (@loopringorg) January 4, 2021

While this is far from Uniswap, which transacts over $300m each day, the market is responding by buying up Loopring’s native coin LRC.

Per CryptoSlate market data, the Ethereum-based coin is up 50 percent in the past 24 hours as it pushes to $0.33.

The cryptocurrency is now up by 70 percent in the past month and over 1,300 in the past 12 months.

The market is likely to bid the coin higher if the narrative around layer-two scaling solutions continues.

Hype around other scaling solutions grows

Hype is also growing around other scaling projects.

Optimism, an Ethereum development team, is expected to release a beta or soft version of its scaling solution called Optimistic Ethereum on January 15th.

Optimism is expected to roll out Optimistic Ethereum with support for Synthetix, the decentralized exchange and derivatives platform.

There are also rumors that Uniswap will launch some sort of layer-two test or version on Optimistic Ethereum, though this has not yet been confirmed.

The full version of the solution is expected to be released on March 15th.

The post Layer-2 scaling project Loopring (LRC) shoots over 50% higher amid Ethereum network congestion appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Title: Layer-2 scaling project Loopring (LRC) shoots over 50% higher amid Ethereum network congestion
Sourced From: cryptoslate.com/level-2-scaling-project-loopring-lrc-shoots-over-50-higher-amid-ethereum-network-congestion/
Published Date: Mon, 04 Jan 2021 17:44:47 +0000

Layer-2 scaling project Loopring (LRC) shoots over 50% higher amid Ethereum network congestion
Layer-2 scaling project Loopring (LRC) shoots over 50% higher amid Ethereum network congestion was originally published here https://allthetopnews.blogspot.com/2021/01/layer-2-scaling-project-loopring-lrc.html

Crypto Exchange Uphold Is Standing By Ripple’s XRP. Here’s Why

Crypto Exchange Uphold Is Standing By Ripple’s XRP. Here’s Why
Crypto Exchange Uphold Is Standing By Ripple’s XRP. Here’s Why

Title: Crypto Exchange Uphold Is Standing By Ripple’s XRP. Here’s Why
Sourced From: cryptopanic.com/news/11019528/Crypto-Exchange-Uphold-Is-Standing-By-Ripples-XRP-Heres-Why
Published Date: Mon, 04 Jan 2021 17:44:30 +0000

Crypto Exchange Uphold Is Standing By Ripple’s XRP. Here’s Why
Crypto Exchange Uphold Is Standing By Ripple’s XRP. Here’s Why was originally published here https://allthetopnews.blogspot.com/2021/01/crypto-exchange-uphold-is-standing-by.html

How institutional investment brought bitcoin to where it is today according to Novogratz

How institutional investment brought bitcoin to where it is today according to Novogratz
How institutional investment brought bitcoin to where it is today according to Novogratz

Quick take

1 minute read

Michael Novogratz is of the belief that the massive influx of institutional investment over the past year has helped drive bitcoin to where it currently stands at more than $30,000 at the time of writing.Recently, the CEO took part in an interview with BBC world news and said that governments all over the world are printing money and “debasing Fiat currency“. 

Michael Novogratz, the chief executive officer and founder of galaxy digital is of the belief that the massive influx of institutional investment over the past year has helped drive bitcoin to where it currently stands at more than $30,000 at the time of writing.

Recently, the CEO took part in an interview with BBC world news and said that governments all over the world are printing money and “debasing Fiat currency“. As a result, this was triggering the consistent bullish activity that bitcoin is experiencing however, institutional investors could be having a big impact on the leading coin. He went on to say that massive companies have warmed up to the idea of bitcoin over the past few years and as a result, this has potentially impacted the supply of available tokens.

“Now we’re seeing places like PayPal — at 340 million customers — servicing Bitcoin and selling Bitcoin [along with] big insurance companies in the United States. As the institutions move in, there just is not a lot of supply… There are a lot more than 21 million millionaires out there.”

Sharing the same viewpoint, Raoul Pal said that he believes it could be possible for bitcoin to reach between $400,000 and even up to $1 million. If the trends are to continue, this could happen by the end of 2021.

Interestingly, the Galaxy digital founder changed his opinion on what percentage of portfolio investors should be allocating to the leading cryptocurrency. Before November last year, the CEO said that enthusiasts should invest up to 3% in bitcoin and hold it for five years. But just last month, the CEO said that new investors should put 5% into bitcoin because the asset is, in his opinion, not going back to 0.

Fun on the BBC. pic.twitter.com/mTSNXMVceZ

— Mike Novogratz (@novogratz) January 3, 2021

Some massive institutions have got involved heavily with the crypto space over the course of 2020. MicroStrategy is one such company that announced it hadn’t bought $425 million worth of the digital asset and later added $650 million worth of bitcoin to its holdings. It is safe to say that 2020 was the year of institutional investment when it came to the bitcoin industry.

For more news on this and other crypto updates, keep it with CryptoDaily

© 2020 CryptoDaily All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Title: How institutional investment brought bitcoin to where it is today according to Novogratz
Sourced From: cryptodaily.co.uk/2021/01/how-institutional-investment-brought-bitcoin-to-where-it
Published Date: Mon, 04 Jan 2021 09:31:48 +0000

How institutional investment brought bitcoin to where it is today according to Novogratz
How institutional investment brought bitcoin to where it is today according to Novogratz was originally published here https://allthetopnews.blogspot.com/2021/01/how-institutional-investment-brought.html

Ethereum price spikes to $1,161 for the first time in three years: What’s next?

Ethereum price spikes to $1,161 for the first time in three years: What’s next?
Ethereum price spikes to $1,161 for the first time in three years: What’s next?

The price of Ether (ETH), the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain, achieved $1,161 for the first time since January 2018. Immediately after it hit a new three-year high, ETH corrected to below $900.

Ether rallied due to the momentum of Bitcoin. Historically, following a strong BTC rally, altcoins saw a swift uptrend. Traders usually call this “altseason” because many altcoins tend to increase in tandem.

Why did Ether correct and what happens next?

Ether rose following Bitcoin’s rally, but on-chain data also showed that there was a sell-side liquidity crisis.

Throughout 2020, the reserves of ETH on exchanges declined to historic lows. This means that there has been a lower number of ETH that could be sold on exchanges. Ki Young Ju, the CEO of CryptoQuant, explained:

“It seems the sell-side liquidity crunch started to hit $ETH just like the $BTC market. For $BTC, all exchanges’ reserves decreased by 31% compared to Feb 2020. For $ETH, all exchanges’ reserves decreased by 20% compared to May 2020.”

However, despite the strong rally to levels unseen since January 2018, Ether swiftly pulled back. There are two main reasons behind its correction: high funding and heavy sell orders at a key resistance level.

According to data from Glassnode, the futures funding rate of Ethereum is averaging 0.2% across major exchanges.

Normally, the funding rate stays at around 0.01% when the futures market is not overheated. Analysts at Glassnode said:

“Ethereum funding rates are at a record high, breaking an average of 0.2% across major exchanges. #BitMEX is leading the pack with a funding rate above 0.4%.”

Ethereum futures funding rate. Source: Glassnode

When the market is overwhelmingly swayed to buyers or long contract holders, the probability of a long squeeze rise.

The term long squeeze refers to a scenario during which long contract holders are forced to liquidate their positions when the price of Bitcoin drops. This leads the selling pressure on BTC to intensify in a short period.

Where traders see Ethereum going next

A pseudonymous trader known as “Mayne” said Ethereum rejected from the weekly supply level, which is where the price of ETH was at when the weekly candle opened on Monday. The trader said:

“Rejected from weekly supply EQ for now. Predicted funding going ham, seems like apes are mashing the leverage long green button. I’m out of leveraged longs for now.”

Market and on-chain data generally suggest that late buyers are being squeezed out by aggressive sellers. As soon as ETH surpassed $1,100, the spot market saw an increase in sell orders.

Alex Wice, one of the top-performing traders on the FTX leaderboard, shared a short position on both Ethereum and Bitcoin on social media.

The trader also similarly expressed concerns regarding the high funding rate of Ethereum and suggested that they would have to reset.

Title: Ethereum price spikes to $1,161 for the first time in three years: What’s next?
Sourced From: cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-price-spike-to-1-161-for-the-first-time-in-three-years-what-s-next
Published Date: Mon, 04 Jan 2021 11:11:22 +0000

Ethereum price spikes to $1,161 for the first time in three years: What’s next?
Ethereum price spikes to $1,161 for the first time in three years: What’s next? was originally published here https://allthetopnews.blogspot.com/2021/01/ethereum-price-spikes-to-1161-for-first.html

DOGE’s Gone Wild! Meme Coin Soars After Adult Star Says She’s a HODLer

DOGE’s Gone Wild! Meme Coin Soars After Adult Star Says She’s a HODLer
DOGE’s Gone Wild! Meme Coin Soars After Adult Star Says She’s a HODLer

The price of dogecoin has soared 150% since the start of the new year since an adult star tweeted that she’s been an investor since 2014.Title: DOGE’s Gone Wild! Meme Coin Soars After Adult Star Says She’s a HODLer
Sourced From: www.coindesk.com/doges-gone-wild-meme-coin-soars-after-adult-star-says-shes-a-hodler
Published Date: Sun, 03 Jan 2021 18:12:13 +0000

DOGE’s Gone Wild! Meme Coin Soars After Adult Star Says She’s a HODLer
DOGE’s Gone Wild! Meme Coin Soars After Adult Star Says She’s a HODLer was originally published here https://allthetopnews.blogspot.com/2021/01/doges-gone-wild-meme-coin-soars-after.html