Binance Hits $8.3B Open Interest High—Here’s What It Signals For the Crypto Market

The US Federal Reserve announced a 25 basis points (bps) interest rate cut, a bullish signal, while Bitcoin crossed a new all-time high. Fed Chair Jerome Powell directly stated that election results will not impact future planned rate cuts.

These cuts are lower than the previous September round. However, they are still considered bullish for Bitcoin and the broader crypto market.

Bitcoin and Powell’s Rate Cut Regime

On Thursday, the US Federal Reserve announced new interest rate cuts of 25 basis points (bps). This translates to a target range between 4.5% and 4.75% and is consistent with Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s stated plans to gradually cut rates in the coming months. Previous rate cuts in September proved a highly bullish signal for the crypto industry.

Bitcoin’s price already reached a new all-time high since Donald Trump’s election victory, but this new rate cut may turbocharge bullish sentiment. Indeed, on Thursday, Bitcoin made yet another new all-time high at $76,800. However, as of writing, Bitcoin has slightly retraced, currently trading at $75,800.

When the news first broke onto the crypto scene, general commentators reacted with absolute jubilation. Crypto Rover, founder of CryptoSea analysis platform, claimed that previous rate cut trends alone could take Bitcoin to $100,000.

Even bearish predictions have hinged on the notion that rate cuts would be too conservative. In September, analysts warned that perceived market instability could harm risk-on assets like Bitcoin.

Darkex Global, liquidity provider and asset exchange, theorized that Trump’s victory might dampen future rate cuts or create such instability. Fed Chair Jerome Powell addressed this.

In other words, nothing in the current political climate has yet convinced the Fed that rate cuts should slow or cease. Powell emphasized his long-term goal of steadily reducing US inflation and keeping employment high. If this current trajectory of gradual slow rate cuts is working to the Fed’s satisfaction, Trump’s election will not hinder it.

Ethereum price started a fresh increase above the $2,720 resistance. ETH is up over 10% and now approaches the key barrier at $3,000.

• Ethereum started a fresh surge above the $2,720 resistance zone.
• The price is trading above $2,750 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average.
• There is a new connecting bullish trend line forming with support at $2,820 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken).
• The pair could continue to rise if it clears the $2,950 resistance.

Ethereum Price Extends Its Increase

Ethereum price started a fresh increase above the $2,650 resistance like Bitcoin. ETH was able to climb above the $2,720 and $2,750 resistance levels to move further into a positive zone.

It even surged above the $2,850 level in the past few sessions, beating BTC. It is up over 10% and there was a move above $2,920. A high is formed at $2,955 and the price is showing signs of more upsides. It is well above the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $2,355 swing low to the $2,955 high.

Ethereum price is now trading above $2,800 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. There is also a connecting bullish trend line forming with support at $2,820 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD.

On the upside, the price seems to be facing hurdles near the $2,920 level. The first major resistance is near the $2,950 level. The main resistance is now forming near $3,000. A clear move above the $3,000 resistance might send the price toward the $3,120 resistance.

An upside break above the $3,120 resistance might call for more gains in the coming sessions. In the stated case, Ether could rise toward the $3,250 resistance zone.

Are Dips Limited In ETH?

If Ethereum fails to clear the $2,950 resistance, it could start a downside correction. Initial support on the downside is near the $2,850 level. The first major support sits near the $2,820 zone and the trend line.

A clear move below the $2,820 support might push the price toward $2,720. Any more losses might send the price toward the $2,650 support level in the near term. The next key support sits at $2,550.

Technical Indicators

Hourly MACD – The MACD for ETH/USD is gaining momentum in the bullish zone.

Hourly RSI – The RSI for ETH/USD is now above the 50 zone.

Major Support Level – $2,820

Major Resistance Level – $2,950

Bitcoin price is gaining pace above $75,000. BTC is rising and might aim for a move above the $77,000 resistance zone in the near term.

• Bitcoin started a fresh surge above the $74,500 zone.
• The price is trading above $74,000 and the 100 hourly Simple moving average.
• There is a connecting bullish trend line forming with support at $75,450 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).
• The pair could continue to rise above the $76,200 resistance zone.

Bitcoin Price Sets Another ATH

Bitcoin price started a fresh increase above the $74,500 level. BTC cleared the $75,000 resistance and traded to a new all-time high. It posted a high at $76,937 and is currently consolidating gains.

There was a minor decline below the $76,200 level. The price dipped below the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $72,745 swing low to the $76,937 high. However, the price is still in a positive zone above the $75,000 level.

Bitcoin price is now trading above $75,200 and the 100 hourly Simple moving average. There is also a connecting bullish trend line forming with support at $75,450 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair.

On the upside, the price could face resistance near the $76,000 level. The first key resistance is near the $76,200 level. A clear move above the $76,200 resistance might send the price higher. The next key resistance could be $78,000.

A close above the $78,000 resistance might initiate more gains. In the stated case, the price could rise and test the $78,800 resistance level. Any more gains might send the price toward the $79,450 resistance level.

Are Dips Limited In BTC?

If Bitcoin fails to rise above the $76,200 resistance zone, it could continue to move down. Immediate support on the downside is near the $75,450 level and the trend line.

The first major support is near the $74,350 level or the 61.8% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $72,745 swing low to the $76,937 high. The next support is now near the $73,750 zone. Any more losses might send the price toward the $72,200 support in the near term.

Technical indicators:

Hourly MACD – The MACD is now losing pace in the bullish zone.

Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for BTC/USD is now above the 50 level.

Major Support Levels – $75,450, followed by $74,350.

Major Resistance Levels – $76,000, and $76,200.

Solana climbed above the $200 mark, while bitcoin reached a new all-time high of $76,873 earlier today amid a market rally driven by former U.S. President Donald Trump’s election victory.

Solana gained 6.2% over the past 24 hours to currently change hands at $200 at the time of writing, according to The Block’s price page. Bitcoin added 0.6% to trade at $75,984 after it reached a new high on the same day, while ether rose 3.4% to $2,911.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 closed up 0.7% on Thursday, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.5%, both reaching record closing highs as the U.S. stock markets extended their post-election rally.

“The recent [crypto] market rally is driven by Trump’s election victory, signaling a potentially more crypto-friendly administration, along with expected FOMC results, which have pushed stocks to all-time highs,” Min Jung, research analyst of Presto Research, told The Block.

Jung said that Solana has been a standout, “fueled by strong memecoin activity that has sometimes led it to surpass Ethereum in transaction fees” and that this has “supported the wider Solana ecosystem, including decentralized exchanges like Raydium.”

In October, Solana had its highest-ever monthly number of active addresses, over 123 million, according to The Block’s data dashboard. The number of unique addresses that signed transactions across Solana increased by over 42% from September’s figure. On Solana, the rise of pump.fun tokens have been a major driver of DEX volume, with Raydium recording over $30 billion in trading volume last month, according to DefiLlama data.

While Trump’s upcoming return to the White House might have boosted optimism about the potential approval of spot solana exchange-traded funds, the recent price movements were likely “driven by strong fundamentals and continued high on-chain activity,” Jung said. 

“There is certainly an element of hope that is pushing up Solana price which includes a possible ETF approval, however, the timeline is still too far away to have a meaningful impact on the current price,” Jung added. “It's more likely that expectation of favorable policy towards digital assets is pushing up the asset prices, especially in names such as Solana where there is a strong community of holders.”

Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.

© 2024 The Block. 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.

Spark, a decentralized trading protocol, announced the first fully on-chain order book for the Ethereum ecosystem. Launching on Fuel Network, the project aims to provide solutions for some of the limitations in the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) landscape and offer traders fast, secure, and transparent trading with minimized state and reduced storage.

Spark Brings First On-Chain Oder Books To The Ethereum Ecosystem

Decentralized trading protocol Spark is launching the Ethereum ecosystem’s first fully on-chain order book, seeking to offer traders a “secure, efficient, and decentralized” experience.

Per the announcement, the state-minimized order book will move execution fully on-chain to enhance transparency. Moreover, it’s set to reduce data storage and processing needs to ensure faster transactions without compromising security.

The Ethereum L2 project aims to address the limitations of Automated Market Makers (AMMS) and Centralized Exchanges (CEXs). Despite being instrumental in DeFi’s growth, AMMs struggle to meet the “advanced demands of institutional traders in high-frequency and algorithmic trading.”

Meanwhile, CEXs have been criticized for the lack of transparency and control expected in decentralized systems. The project argues that DeFi needs to use traditional trading mechanisms to attract institutional traders.

As a result, Spark will introduce Central Limit Order Books (CLOBs) to tackle these limitations. CLOBs are trading mechanisms used in traditional stock markets to match all bids and offers according to time priority and price.

With this implementation, Spark is set to provide better price discovery, faster execution, and deeper liquidity while maintaining security and transparency. Additionally, it seeks to offer “the precision and capabilities necessary for professional and institutional traders.”

Vitali Dervoed, Spark’s CEO and co-founder, highlighted the importance of order books for institutional and retail traders who seek accuracy and transparency while controlling their assets:

A ‘New Era’ For Decentralized Trading?

Launched in October, Fuel is a modular rollup operating system designed for Ethereum. After three weeks, it achieved a Total Value Locked (TVL) of $33.5 million. According to data from DeFiLlama, Fuel saw a 700% TVL increase in one day, followed by a 1200% weekly increase.

Spark is one of the first dApps in the Fuel Network. The Ethereum Layer 2 project is powered by Fuel’s modular architecture, aiming to “push DeFi closer to mainstream adoption” with speed, scalability, and interoperability.

The projects look to build a “new era for decentralized trading” that unlocks “new possibilities for institutional-grade DeFi” and evolves the Ethereum landscape. Ultimately, Fuel Network’s CEO, Nick Sway, noted Spark’s launch as a vehicle to “push” DeFi boundaries:

A massive Ethereum whale with over $1.14 billion worth of the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization on their wallet has recently started selling TH after being dormant for the past eight years.

According to data shared by on-chain analysis firm Lookonchain, the cryptocurrency whale has a total of 398,891 ETH in their wallet, and has started moving some of these funds to cryptocurrency exchanges in a bid to sell. So far, 13,400 ETH worth $37.38 million have been sold.

The whale, according to the firm, started accumulating ETH through decentralized exchange ShapeShift back in early 2016, when the cryptocurrency was trading at just $3.5 per token, through at least 28 different wallets the firm identified.

These 28 wallets then all moved their funds to new wallets in August 2016, before becoming dormant over the next eight years. With a recent 6.8% surgei n ETH’s price, the whale started selling.

The whale’s $1.14 billion Ethereum war stash suggests the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization could face increased selling pressure in the near future, which could lead to lower price performance.

The cryptocurrency has underperformed when compared to the flagship cryptocurrency Bitcoin. According to CryptoCompare data, while BTC is up more than 111% over the last 12 months, ETH moved up around 49% over the same period.

Bitcoin’s performance can be partly explained by the success of the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) launched earlier this year, which have been seeing record volume, compared to the lackluster performance of the spot Ethereum ETFs.

Moreover, the recent Trump victory on the US elections was widely expected to help boost crytpocurrency prices, as the former U.S. President has expressed strong support for the cryptocurrency sector, meaning the regulatory outlook could improve through the reduction of regulatory ambiguity and the appointment of more crypto-friendly officials to key positions, for example.

Featured image via Unsplash.