Altcoin Watch: Top 3 Tokens with Poor Performance over the Past Week

Many things reshaped the dynamics of the digital currency ecosystem over the past week, with the most significant being the resignation of Liz Truss, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

While the stock market in the UK showed positive growth over the news, the crypto market was left in a state of uncertainty, and this showed in the performance of some altcoins in the week-to-date period.

In this week’s Altcoin Watch edition, we present three of the worst-performing tokens, giving investors a compass to guide their observation of trends in the crypto ecosystem this week.

Axie Infinity (AXS)

Axie Infinity is a top digital token in the Play-2-Earn (P2E) ecosystem, and its partially owned and operated by its players. The coin has seen its worst days this year and is currently changing hands at $8.92, down from its 52-week high of $165.37 per data from CoinMarketCap.

Axie Infinity is among the worst-performing tokens of the top 100 coins, and while the industry considers gaming as the future of the ecosystem, the chances AXS will recoup and retest its best price remains bleak in short to mid-term.

Ethereum Name Service (ENS)

Ethereum Name Service is a distributed, open, and extensible naming system based on the Ethereum blockchain. The protocol has continued to carve a niche for itself in the broader ecosystem as one of the industry’s most popular name service providers.

However, investors have not favoured the digital currency over the past week, with its price of $16.70, trading down by 15.51% over the past week. With a mild rejuvenation sweeping through the market, ENS can pare off some of these losses, but traders will need to exercise caution per its freefall.

Waves (WAVES)

Waves is a multi-purpose blockchain platform that supports various use cases, including decentralized applications (DApps) and smart contracts. While Waves is known as one of the highest-performing coins over the past few months in relative terms, it was trading down 9.66% at $3.19 during the intrday.

The coin has high volatility and a good propensity to recover its gains, but like other profiled altcoins, caution should be exercised when dealing with the coin.

Three Metaverse Reference Rates From CME Group

Derivatives marketplace CME Group is planning to develop reference rates in addition to real-time indexes for a total of three distinct crypto assets that are part of the metaverse. This would make it possible for investors to monitor price data in a more precise manner by using a method that is often used in traditional finance.

The company made the news on January 5 that CME Group and CF Benchmarks will begin offering reference prices for Axie Infinity Shards (AXS), Chiliz (CHZ), and Decentraland’s MANA commencing on January 30.

The reference rates and indexes are not products that can be traded, but investors can use them to “price sector-specific portfolios, develop structured products, and manage price risk around various Metaverse-based projects,” as explained by Giovanni Vicioso, head of cryptocurrency products at CME Group. The CME Group was kind enough to provide us with this information.

Calculations for the real-time indexes and reference rates for AXS, CHZ, and MANA will make use of price data from a minimum of two different cryptocurrency exchanges. In addition to LMAX Digital and itBit, the following exchanges are included here: Bitstamp, Coinbase, Kraken, and itBit.

Every day at 16:00 local time, the reference rates for the assets will be published with prices in United States dollars. These prices will be published (00:00 GMT). Each and every real-time index will be made accessible for use by the general public each and every second of each and every day.

CoinMarketCap estimates that Chiliz, the most successful of the aforementioned metaverse enterprises, now has a market worth of 742.1 million dollars. This information was obtained from the Chiliz website.

AXS is now valued at roughly $686.5 million, whereas MANA is currently at approximately $597.2 million according to the market.

The CME Group has been fairly active in the cryptocurrency sector, offering micro-sized options for Bitcoin and Ether at the end of the previous year.

The popularity of metaverse tokens increased during the most recent bull market in cryptocurrencies as dozens of projects promised to build digital replicas of the real world.

SEC Lawsuits Target Multiple Tokens: DCG Founder Points Out Absence of PoW Cryptos

In an unfolding legal battle against two major cryptocurrency exchanges, Coinbase and Binance, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has declared various tokens as securities. These tokens include SOL, ADA, MATIC, FIL, SAND, AXS, CHZ, FLOW, ICP, NEAR, VGX, DASH, and NEXO in the case against Coinbase. For Binance, the list features SOL, ADA, MATIC, FIL, ATOM, SAND, MANA, ALGO, AXS, and COTI.

This declaration by the SEC highlights its ongoing effort to regulate the cryptocurrency market and could have substantial implications for these tokens and their holders. If the SEC succeeds in classifying these tokens as securities, it would subject them to more stringent regulatory rules and obligations.

Barry Silbert, the founder of Digital Currency Group (DCG), commented on the situation via Twitter, noting, “No Proof of Work tokens in any of the lawsuits, I believe (BTC, LTC, XMR, ETC, ZEC, etc.).” Silbert’s tweet refers to the SEC’s decision to not include tokens that use Proof of Work (PoW) consensus mechanism in their lawsuits. This includes Bitcoin (BTC), Litecoin (LTC), Monero (XMR), Ethereum Classic (ETC), and Zcash (ZEC), among others.

The implication of Silbert’s statement suggests that the SEC might be differentiating between PoW tokens and other tokens. This differentiation could lead to different regulatory standards and implications for tokens depending on their underlying consensus mechanism.

This ongoing case and the SEC’s decisions could set a precedent for future regulations and classifications in the crypto market. As such, all eyes within the crypto community are keenly focused on the developments. It is yet to be seen how these decisions will shape the regulatory landscape of digital assets.

Crypto Exchange Bitstamp to Suspend Trading AXS, CHZ, MANA, MATIC, NEAR, SAND, and SOL

Bitstamp, one of the world’s oldest cryptocurrency exchanges, has announced a suspension of trading for seven cryptocurrencies in the United States, effective from August 29, 2023. The affected cryptocurrencies include AXS, CHZ, MANA, MATIC, NEAR, SAND, and SOL.

In an official statement released on Bitstamp’s blog, the company explained that the decision was made “considering recent developments” and in alignment with their “comprehensive framework” to evaluate cryptocurrencies in light of the dynamic regulatory environment. The statement further clarified that as of the mentioned date, new orders involving these assets would be disabled, and all existing orders across the affected trading pairs would be canceled.

Customers in the U.S. will still be able to hold these assets within their Bitstamp accounts and withdraw them at any time. The company has urged users to execute any desired buy or sell orders involving the affected assets before the deadline.

The New York State agency of Financial Services has issued Bitstamp USA, Inc. a license allowing it to participate in Virtual Currency Business Activity. This same agency has also issued Bitstamp USA, Inc. a license allowing it to act as a Money Transmitter.

This move comes at a time when Bitstamp is actively seeking to raise funds for expansion. The delisting coincides with the company’s efforts to comply with the dynamic regulatory environment, as stated in their official announcement, though no direct connection to investor pressure has been publicly disclosed

According to a Bloomberg report, Bitstamp initiated the fundraising process in late June 2023, with Galaxy Digital Holdings acting as an adviser. The funds are planned to be used for launching derivatives trading in Europe next year, expanding into Asian markets, and enhancing operations in the U.K.

Bitstamp’s global chief executive officer, Jean-Baptiste Graftieaux, emphasized that the company is not for sale and that the priority is to “accelerate Bitstamp’s growth by providing new products and services to retail and institutional crypto customers.”

Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Luxembourg, Bitstamp was once a primary venue for Bitcoin trading. It is now the world’s seventh-largest exchange, with about $126 million in trading volume in a recent 24-hour period. In 2018, Bitstamp was acquired by NXMH, a European investment firm owned by South Korean conglomerate NXC.

The suspension of trading for the seven cryptocurrencies is a significant indicator in Bitstamp’s operations, reflecting the ongoing challenges and complexities of regulations.

Binance Loans Adds AXS, PENDLE, PAXG, RNDR, and USDC to Flexible Rate Options

Binance, one of the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges, has broadened its financial service offerings by adding several new assets to its Binance Loans (Flexible Rate) product, as announced on March 13, 2024. The new digital assets available for loaning include Axie Infinity (AXS), PAX Gold (PAXG), Pendle (PENDLE), Render (RNDR), and USD Coin (USDC).

The addition of these assets provides Binance users with more versatile options for leveraging their cryptocurrency holdings. Binance Loans (Flexible Rate) allows users to take out loans by collateralizing their cryptocurrency, providing flexibility without committing to a fixed loan term. This service stands out because it offers users the opportunity to earn Real-Time Annual Percentage Rate (APR) rewards via Simple Earn Flexible Products while their cryptocurrencies are being used as collateral.

Please Note:

Users are encouraged to check the Loan Data section on the Binance platform for the latest interest rates and a comprehensive list of loanable and collateral assets.

To utilize the new Binance Loans (Flexible Rate) service, users should ensure they have updated their Binance App to iOS v2.78.0 or Android v2.78.0 or later, as older versions do not support this feature.

Binance’s continuous expansion of services demonstrates its commitment to providing comprehensive financial tools to its global user base. However, it’s important to note that the availability of these products and services may vary by region.

As digital asset prices are volatile, and the value of investments can fluctuate. Users are advised to make investment decisions with caution, as Binance is not responsible for potential losses. The APR is an estimate and may differ from actual rewards. This announcement is not financial advice.

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