Category: Klaas Theunynck

• Fantom, at press time, had a bearish structure, but the range is expected to hold
• Reset of the short-term MVRV is the first step toward recovery

Fantom [FTM] was on a strong uptrend towards the end of September. A market-wide price slump followed the volatility around Bitcoin [BTC], and FTM was no exception. It formed a range around a key Fibonacci retracement level.

Despite the selling pressure, however, the on-chain metrics and the price action showed that bulls were gearing up for the next move upwards.

Short-term consolidation for FTM

Source: FTM/USDT on TradingView

The intense bullishness in September gave way to milder, range-bound price action for the $1.8 billion market cap asset. This range (purple) extended from $0.608 to $0.724 and the token has traded within it for three weeks.

The daily RSI was above neutral 50 to show bullishness, but has trended downward recently. Its press time reading of 52.7 showed momentum was neutral. Similarly, the OBV also revealed that neither the buyers nor the sellers were dominant during the range formation.

This indicated that swing traders can use the range extremes to trade until the event of a breakout. As things stand, the lack of volume means Fantom may be in a consolidation phase.

Consolidation allowed profit-taking, but is it bullish?

Source: Santiment

The consolidation since late September saw the mean coin age drop swiftly on 6 October. At the same time, the 30-day MVRV, which had been 20%, fell towards zero. This signified FTM distribution and profit-taking activity from short-term holders.

Read Fantom’s [FTM] Price Prediction 2024-25

Despite this drop, however, the bulls defended the 50% retracement level as support. The age consumed metric was also relatively silent recently. This defense could set up Fantom for the next price expansion northward.

Disclaimer: The information presented does not constitute financial, investment, trading, or other types of advice and is solely the writer’s opinion

• Bitnomial sued SEC over regulatory control of XRP Futures classification
• XRP’s price remained steady amid the SEC’s intensified scrutiny of major crypto entities

Bitnomial, a cryptocurrency derivatives exchange, has taken legal action against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over its regulatory authority for Ripple’s [XRP] futures contracts.

The exchange challenged the SEC’s position that XRP Futures fall under ‘Security Futures,’ which places them under its regulatory scope. 

Ripple Labs vs. SEC: A brief history

Needless to say, the ongoing legal conflict between Ripple and the SEC over XRP’s status has been a long-running war that began in 2020.

Notably, Judge Analisa Torres recently ruled that XRP itself does not fulfill all criteria under the SEC’s Howey test. This meant that secondary sales of XRP are not considered unregistered securities.

However, on 2 October, the SEC escalated the case by filing an appeal, aiming to challenge Judge Torres’s decision and seeking a reversal of this critical ruling. 

The present-day

Bitnomial in its recent lawsuit alleges that the SEC contacted the exchange soon after its filing, asserting that XRP Futures contracts fall under ‘Security Futures’ and are thus, subject to joint oversight by the SEC and CFTC.

The SEC warned Bitnomial that proceeding with the listing of XRP Futures without adhering to additional regulatory obligations would violate federal securities laws.

Furthermore, the SEC advised that Bitnomial would need to register as a national securities exchange to meet compliance requirements, before listing XRP futures.

The lawsuit stated, 

Source: www.bitnomial.com

Execs weigh in…

Bitnomial’s legal action goes beyond seeking clarity on XRP Futures’ classification though. The exchange is also requesting a court order to prevent the SEC from asserting regulatory control over XRP Futures.

Hence, Bitnomial aims to secure a ruling that would not only confirm that XRP Futures are not ‘Security Futures,’ but would also block the SEC from initiating any enforcement actions against the exchange related to its planned XRP Futures offerings.

Remarking on the same, Bitnomial CEO Luke Hoersten told FOX Business, 

“Establishing this precedent is not just about XRP; it’s about all digital assets. Unlike other U.S. businesses in litigation with the SEC, Bitnomial has not been accused of wrongdoing.”

He added, 

“As such, we are in a unique position to push for a court decision on the securities or commodities classification of XRP futures following the landmark determination as a non-security in the Southern District of New York case.” 

Impact on XRP’s price

Despite ongoing regulatory scrutiny, XRP’s price remained resilient, posting gains of 1.55% in the last 24 hours. It was trading at $0.5357 at press time, as per CoinMarketCap.

Unfortunately, since Gary Gensler’s appointment in 2021, the SEC has intensified its focus on prominent crypto entities. In doing so, it has taken legal action against firms such as Coinbase, Ripple, Uniswap, and many more.

Recently, Crypto.com disclosed that it too had filed a lawsuit against the SEC after receiving a Wells Notice—An indication of potential regulatory charges.

These actions highlight the ongoing conflict between the SEC and the cryptocurrency industry, which is fighting to maintain its market presence, despite rising regulatory challenges.

• SEC charged Cumberland for operating as an unregistered dealer in the crypto market
• Action part of broader SEC efforts, following similar charges against firms like Coinbase

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged crypto market maker Cumberland with operating as an unregistered dealer.

SEC alleged that the company has been buying and selling crypto assets without proper registration since March 2018. According to the SEC, Cumberland has ignored regulatory requirements despite calls from SEC Chairman Gary Gensler urging cryptocurrency firms to “come in and register.”

The regulatory body claims that Cumberland was explicitly prohibited from using its registered broker-dealer status for crypto activities, which has now been dormant, but continued to operate in the crypto space nonetheless.

The SEC’s action against Cumberland is part of its broader efforts to tighten regulatory control over the U.S. crypto market. It has been scrutinizing crypto firms for compliance with securities laws, with a particular focus on companies that operate without the necessary registrations.

Cumberland’s case emphasizes the SEC’s stance on crypto market makers who operate outside regulatory frameworks, underscoring the agency’s commitment to bringing these entities under its jurisdiction.

Growing SEC scrutiny of the crypto industry

The SEC’s charges against Cumberland come amid a wave of regulatory actions targeting the crypto industry. In recent months, the SEC has taken significant steps to clamp down on unregistered activities within the sector.

Earlier this year, the agency charged crypto exchange Bittrex for allegedly failing to register as a broker, clearing agency, and exchange.

In a similar move, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Coinbase, claiming that it was operating as an unregistered broker and exchange, with Gensler emphasizing the need for all cryptocurrency entities engaging in securities-related activities to adhere to registration requirements.

These actions are part of a wider strategy by the SEC to assert regulatory control over the cryptocurrency market in the U.S. The agency’s approach has raised concerns within the crypto community, with many industry leaders arguing that the SEC’s enforcement-heavy stance stifles innovation and drives crypto businesses overseas.

Read Bitcoin’s [BTC] Price Prediction 2024–2025

However, the SEC maintains that its actions are necessary to protect investors and ensure that crypto assets are subject to the same rules as traditional financial products.

• Despite an uptick in revenue, the protocol’s network activity dropped
• Selling pressure on the token has been rising, hinting at a price correction

Since the beginning of the year, AAVE has demonstrated promising performances in terms of capitalized value. To be precise, the protocol’s revenue skyrocketed.

In fact, the protocol’s token, AAVE, also recorded a similar performance last year. 

A dive into AAVE’s network activity

Milk Road, a popular crypto analyst, recently shared a tweet revealing an interesting development. According to the same, AAVE, since the beginning of this year, has amassed a revenue of $500 million.

Thanks to the same, AAVE’s generated revenue is the highest among other top protocols right now. AAVE’s revenue is followed by Venus Protocol and Compound.

However, despite the massive hike in revenue, its network activity dropped, as per AMBCrypto’s analysis of IntoTheBlock’s data. For instance, AAVE’s daily active addresses, after spiking in September, started to decline slightly. A similar decline was also noted in terms of transactions, which can be attributed to the drop in active addresses.

Source: IntoTheBlock

Similarly, the protocol’s addresses birth-to-death ratio also declined. Here, this alludes to the ratio of new addresses being created to addresses with a balance that have not made a transaction in over one year. 

What about the token’s price action?

After checking the protocol’s network activity, AMBCrypto planned to assess the token’s performance on the price front. We found that the token’s price had risen by more than 100% in the last year. However, the last few months or weeks were less volatile and didn’t allow investors to earn much profit.

Therefore, we analyzed AAVE’s on-chain data to better understand whether things could change in Q4. As per our analysis, market sentiment around the token has been turning bearish, as evidenced by the decline in AAVE’s weighted sentiment.

The drop in positive sentiment was also proven by the hike in selling pressure.

As per Santiment’s data, AAVE’s supply on exchanges increased sharply. Meanwhile, its supply outside of exchanges dropped, indicating that investors have been actively selling the token. Generally, an uptick in sell pressure causes price corrections. 

Source: Santiment

Read Aave’s [AAVE] Price Prediction 2024–2025 

However, the good news was that a look at AAVE’s daily chart revealed that it successfully tested a crucial support near $135. This indicated that there were chances of a bullish trend reversal.

If that happens, then bulls might push the token to $170 again. However, in case the bears dominate in the coming days, then it won’t be surprising to see AAVE plummeting to $118. 

Source: TradingView