Author: Stephanie Bedard-Chateauneuf

In the volatile world of cryptocurrency, investor confidence is often gauged by the willingness to hold assets through market fluctuations. Recently, Ethereum has seen a strong vote of confidence from its community, marked by a record number of long-term holders. These HODLers are crucial to Ethereum’s future.

Long-Term Holders on the Rise

According to Glassnode data, a significant portion of Ethereum is held for periods ranging from one to three years. This indicates that much of the Ethereum acquired during the 2021-2022 period is still being held. This trend is further supported by the decrease in the proportion of crypto held for less than six months, while the share held for more than seven years has increased. This reflects the stability and faith in Ethereum’s fundamental value and its potential for future growth.

The Ethereum HODL Waves chart illustrates the distribution of Ethereum held over various periods, revealing changing trends in investor behavior. The recent surge in long-term holders suggests strong conviction in Ethereum’s long-term value, with many investors choosing to hold their assets rather than sell during market fluctuations.

The Influence of Long-Term Holders

Long-term Ethereum holders play a crucial role in stabilizing and growing the cryptocurrency. By holding their assets, they reduce volatility and create a sense of confidence that attracts new investors. Their long-term vision also encourages the development of innovative projects on the Ethereum blockchain, fostering a richer and more diverse ecosystem.

This HODLing strategy can positively influence Ethereum’s future, positioning it as a leading digital currency with increased global adoption and usage. However, it is important to note that cryptocurrencies remain high-risk investments, and market conditions can change rapidly.

The behavior of long-term Ethereum holders indicates a strong belief in the crypto’s potential. Their strategy suggests Ethereum is maturing as an investment asset, with promising prospects for future growth.

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Cryptocurrency markets remained under pressure during U.S. trading hours on Thursday, extending a decline that began the previous day when the Federal Reserve indicated it expected to cut rates only once this year.

Ether (ETH) saw a mid-morning bounce after U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler, during a Senate hearing, stated he anticipated that spot ether ETFs would receive full approval from his agency by the end of the summer. This news briefly lifted ether by 1%, but the gain was short-lived. The price reversed more than 3% within an hour and was trading at $3,440 at press time, down 5% over the past 24 hours. The broader CoinDesk 20 Index was down 4.9% in the same period.

Bitcoin (BTC) also dropped nearly 5%, trading near a one-week low of $66,300.

Markets turned negative on Wednesday afternoon following the Federal Reserve’s hawkish policy meeting. The U.S. central bank kept its benchmark fed funds rate range steady at 5.25%-5.50% but updated its projections to suggest just one 25 basis point rate cut in 2024. In contrast, rate futures markets had been anticipating two to three 25 basis point cuts this year.

Thursday morning’s U.S. economic data, indicating continued softening in both inflation and the economy, failed to improve the macro mood in crypto. The May Producer Price Index (PPI) fell 0.2% against expectations for a 0.1% rise. On a year-over-year basis, PPI was up 2.2% compared to forecasts of 2.5%. Additionally, initial jobless claims rose to nearly a one-year high of 242,000, versus expectations of 225,000.

“$66K seems like equilibrium,” said well-followed analyst Skew in a post on X, who, along with others, is trying to decipher a market that hasn’t sustained higher levels despite recent bullish news. This includes improving inflation data, a Bitcoin-friendly presidential frontrunner in Donald Trump, spot ETH ETF approvals, and other risk asset markets, like U.S. stocks, reaching new all-time highs.

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Paradigm, known for its early investments in projects like crypto exchange Uniswap and Ethereum scaling solution Optimism, has raised $850 million for an early-stage crypto venture fund. Founded in 2018 by Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam and former Sequoia Capital partner Matt Huang, Paradigm is one of the largest venture capital investors in the cryptocurrency industry. This new fund marks Paradigm’s first since Ehrsam stepped down from a leadership role in October.

“This is the sort of early-stage work that we love contributing to, and it’s what we’ll be increasingly focused on going forward,” Huang wrote in a blog post on Thursday.

In 2021, Paradigm raised a $2.5 billion fund, which was the largest-ever crypto investment vehicle at the time.

The pace of launching new cryptocurrency-focused funds has accelerated this year, with many existing funds also raising capital. This fundraising surge coincided with Bitcoin’s rally to record highs, driven by the introduction of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) investing directly in Bitcoin and recent indications that similar funds focused on Ether are likely to gain approval soon.

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Bitcoin is currently trading down more than 3% over the past 24 hours, sitting at $67,171.52, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

Robinhood Markets, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOOD) recently announced the acquisition of Bitstamp Ltd., a well-established global cryptocurrency exchange. Robinhood’s expansion into the cryptocurrency space is adding pressure on existing crypto exchanges like Binance and Coinbase, as a new competitor enters the market.

In response, Coinbase has introduced a new smart wallet aimed at simplifying the previously cumbersome onboarding process associated with crypto wallets. “These next-generation wallets address the biggest pain points of the crypto experience today,” the company stated in a blog post. “Smart wallets make the transition to on-chain smoother than ever.”

Is COIN A Good Stock To Buy?

When deciding if a stock is a good buy, investors consider several factors. Besides valuation metrics and price action, which you can find on Benzinga’s quote pages (like Coinbase’s page), there are other considerations like dividend payments and stock buyback programs.

Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN) does pay a dividend, yielding 0.43% per year as of the closing price on June 11, 2024. You can check Benzinga’s dividend calendar to find out when the next dividend is due and what kind of yield you can expect for holding the company’s shares.

For instance, if you’re aiming for an annualized return of 13.81%, you might consider buying a share of Ellington Residential by June 28, 2024. This would entitle you to a nominal payout of $0.08 on July 25, 2024.

Stock buyback programs are another factor to consider, as they can vary significantly. A company can approve a buyback program and purchase shares as it sees fit over the authorized period. Checking the latest news on Coinbase can reveal if the company has recently approved a buyback program. Buyback programs typically support share prices by providing a backstop for demand.

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Cryptocurrencies plunged deeper into correction territory on Tuesday, with bitcoin (BTC) dropping to nearly $66,000. This comes as traders brace for Wednesday’s key U.S. inflation report and Federal Reserve meeting.

Bitcoin (BTC) started the day trading around $70,000 but fell to a three-week low of $66,170 during the U.S. session. It slightly rebounded to approximately $66,500 but remained down nearly 5% over the past 24 hours.

Altcoins experienced even steeper declines, with the CoinDesk 20 Index dropping over 6%, and all twenty constituents in the red. Ethereum’s ether (ETH) fell below $3,500, down 6.5%, while solana (SOL), dogecoin (DOGE), Cardano’s ADA, and Chainlink’s LINK suffered losses between 6%-9%.

The sudden pullback led to over $250 million in liquidations of leveraged derivatives trading positions across all crypto assets, according to CoinGlass data. This marked the second significant leverage flush in a week, following Friday’s $400 million liquidations. Liquidations occur when an exchange closes a leveraged position due to a partial or total loss of the trader’s initial margin because the user fails to meet the margin requirements or lacks sufficient funds to keep the position open.

One reason behind the pullback is investors “de-risking” from crypto assets ahead of Wednesday’s May Consumer Price Index (CPI) report and Federal Reserve meeting, hedge fund QCP noted in an update. Bitcoin could see a volatile session on Wednesday as it has been “highly responsive” to economic data recently, with its 30-day correlation with U.S. equities climbing to the highest level since 2022, K33 Research mentioned in a Tuesday market update.

“The stage is set for a frantic macro-Wednesday, with both May CPI data and the Fed’s interest rate decision poised to move the market,” K33 analysts said. Investors will closely monitor the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) members’ interest rate outlook – the so-called “dot plot” – to see how many rate cuts policymakers are projecting for this year, considering recent persistent inflation readings and softer economic data. “The FOMC dot plot, alongside forward guidance during Jerome Powell’s press conference, is likely to be the most material price movers, as BTC has resumed its attentiveness to the market’s interest rate expectations.”

Market observers noted some positive signs during the sell-off that could indicate a quick recovery. Bitcoin has seen multiple pullbacks this year before FOMC meetings, only to reverse the move soon after, pseudonymous crypto analyst Gumshoe pointed out in an X post.

Bitcoin futures open interest on crypto exchanges BitMEX and Binance diverged earlier today, according to crypto analytics platform CryptoQuant, citing pseudonymous trader BQYoutube. “Often this kind of phenomenon is seen when whales on BitMEX start to accumulate positions while Binance retail gets washed out,” the post added. “Despite short-term headwinds, we think this might be a good opportunity to accumulate coin,” QCP said.

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