Closely followed crypto analyst Justin Bennett is unveiling what he thinks is in store for Ethereum this January as ETH continues its downtrend.
In a new strategy session, Bennett says that he’s looking to scoop up ETH around the $3,000 level, currently about 4% away from current prices.
According to the crypto strategist, Ethereum must reclaim a crucial level to have a shot at resuming its macro bull trend.
“As long as ETH is below $4,000 you have to be a little bit careful. If we do see Etheruem over the coming weeks and months reclaim this area up here at $4,000 on a weekly and monthly closing basis, then yes, I do think we’re going to a continuation of the trend that we saw in 2021.”
The analyst also takes a look at Ethereum in its Bitcoin pair (ETH/BTC). Bennett says that ETH/BTC may be breaking out of a bullish triangle, playing out a smaller version of what it did between 2017 and 2020.
Source: Justin Bennett/YouTube
The crypto analyst says that ETH/BTC could be ready to start a long-term rally to the 0.18 BTC ($7,388) if it manages to cleanly hold 0.075 BTC($3,077) as support.
“Over the longer term, I would expect this market to trend higher up here [0.18 BTC] to this area. Of course, it all comes down to 0.075 in the short term. So we want to see this market stay above that in order to see Ethereum continue to outperform Bitcoin over the short term.”
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Bitcoin and cryptocurrency prices have dropped sharply over the last week, with the combined crypto market now down around $1 trillion from its November peak (even as Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs issued a huge bitcoin price prediction).
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The bitcoin price has fallen around 10% since the beginning of 2022, crashing towards $40,000 from highs of almost $70,000 late last year. Meanwhile, other major cryptocurrencies ethereum, Binance’s BNB, solana, cardano and XRP have also crashed back, all losing double-digit percentages this past week.
Now, as traders desperately hunt for signs the sell-off has ended, bitcoin and crypto billionaire Mike Novogratz said he doesn’t expect bitcoin to fall any further—calling the price bottom just under bitcoin’s lows this week of $40,680.
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MORE FROM FORBESCrypto’s Nightmare $1 Trillion Price Crash: What Next For Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB, Solana, Cardano And XRP?By Billy Bambrough
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The bitcoin price has lost around 40% of its value over the last two months, wiping $1 trillion from … [+]the combined price of ethereum, Binance’s BNB, solana, cardano, XRP and other cryptocurrencies.
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“On the charts, $38,000, $40,000 feels like where we should bottom,” Novogratz, the chief executive of crypto investment management company Galaxy Digital, told CNBC, pointing to “tremendous amount of institutional demand on the sidelines.”
“I know big institutions who are going through their process to put positions on and so I think they’re gonna see those as attractive levels to buy,” said Novogratz, a Wall Street veteran that jumped headfirst into bitcoin and crypto in 2017 after stints at Fortress and Goldman Sachs.
Wall Street giants and institutional investors have flooded into cryptocurrency markets since 2020 as digital assets grab trader attention. The bitcoin price has risen around 400% over the last two years, with smaller cryptocurrencies such as ethereum and solana making even greater gains.
However, bitcoin and cryptocurrencies remain highly volatile, putting off many big investors despite some predicting bitcoin will win market share from gold as a store of value over the next few years.
The bitcoin price dropped sharply this week after the Federal Reserve released the minutes of its December meeting in which officials discussed the possibility of earlier and faster interest rate hikes and shrinking the Fed’s huge balance sheet in order to rein in soaring inflation.
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MORE FROM FORBESWhy A Billionaire Bitcoin And Ethereum Skeptic Suddenly Just Flipped And Made A Wild Crypto Price PredictionBy Billy Bambrough
The bitcoin price has climbed over the last 24 hours, giving hope to some who think bitcoin has … [+]bottomed after a huge $1 trillion sell-off hit the price of ethereum, Binance’s BNB, solana, cardano, and XRP.
Coinbase
The bitcoin price fell to lows of just over $40,000 per bitcoin this week before rebounding and has now climbed to over $42,000. The ethereum price has also bounced off its lows this week, helping the price of its smaller rivals Binance’s BNB, solana, and cardano to rally. Ripple’s XRP also moved higher.
“We’ve had this philosophy that the Fed’s gonna keep rates low forever and even now, they’re going to raise rates to 2% over two years gradually and continue to buy Treasuries for a while,” Novogratz said. “So we’re in this liquidity bubble.”
Novogratz also warned that if the Fed fails to get a handle on inflation, the situation could spiral out of control.
“If inflation doesn’t come down like the Fed thinks, all bets are off,” he said.
The United Kingdom government backed Hedera and Neuron Innovation as the duo conducted a trial on the drone data collation and storage using a public ledger consensus.
Hedera Network Used to Track Drones
Neuron Innovation, a London-based aviation company, has conducted a drone data collection trial sponsored by the government of the United Kingdom. The test was made possible using a public ledger consensus protocol developed by Hedera.
The collaboration between Hedera and Neuron enabled the collation, storage, and ordering of millions of data points connected to drone flights. The essence of aviation as a service protocol is to allow drones to join existing air traffic seamlessly.
Speaking on the effects and prospects of the trial, the CEO of Neuron Innovation, Niall Greenwood, said:
“We have made unmanned, long-distance drone travel possible using safety-critical aviation infrastructure. Each flight creates millions of data points, which no other public ledger has been fast enough to log and correctly order.”
The trial, which was first conducted at Port Montrose, Scotland, in April 2021, covered drones owned by commercial, military, and government entities used for long-distance drone flights. The second trial was held at Cranfield University in Bedfordshire in October 2021.
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Tracking and Recording Unmanned Flight Data on Blockchain
The collaboration between the two parties had Neuron’s sensors record flight paths of the drone and their location data. At the same time, the Hedera consensus played a critical role in creating time-stamps of the data collected from each drone and having them recorded on a decentralized public ledger.
This is one of several drone-related programs backed by the UK Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy. The idea is to develop a fool-proof process of tracking and following drones as well as other unmanned aircraft after their flights have taken them off view.
Hedera Hashgraph is a blockchain network that works on the proof of stake consensus. Its Hedera Consensus Service uses proof of concept to determine the feasibility of the occurrence of a concept.
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OpenSea has been the dominant decentralized platform for users looking to mint, buy, sell and trade nonfungible tokens (NFTs). Serving more as an NFT aggregator than a gallery, OpenSea locked in $3.25 billion in volume for December 2021 alone, according to data from Dune Analytics and from December 2020 to December 2021, the total volume increased by a whopping 90,968%.
No stranger to contention and criticism, OpenSea has had its fair share of perils and pitfalls. Most notably, its former head of product, Nate Chastain, found using insider information to front-run and profit from selling the platform’s front page NFTs.
Adding to the overall feeling of distrust, the community felt devalued after newly appointed chief financial officer (CFO) Brian Roberts hinted at going public. However, he quickly reaffirmed that OpenSea has no intention to go public anytime soon.
OpenSea might be the top NFT marketplace by transaction volumes at the moment, but in 2022, there are bound to be a handful of competitors aiming to unseat the giant.
Here are five NFT marketplaces that could potentially shake the top contender from its spot in the coming months ahead.
Coinbase NFT
Coinbase seems to be leaning on elements of centralization as the primary driver for mass adoption. Tapping into the growing popularity of NFTs, Coinbase rivals OpenSea in launching its NFT marketplace, Coinbase NFT. According to reports, the waitlist has exceeded 1.1 million, which is more than OpenSea’s total active user-base alone.
Monthly active traders at OpenSea. Source: Dune Analytics
Announcing its launch of Coinbase NFT was a signal that captured the increasing value NFTs could capture as digital collectibles continue to go mainstream. Understanding how NFTs bridge culture and commerce, Coinbase NFT is likely to shake up the order of things. Meanwhile, the project has established partnerships with collections like World of Women, DeadFellaz and Lazy Lions.
While the marketplace has not yet launched, its waitlist alone suggests that many investors are either eager to gain exposure to the technology for the first time or want alternatives to what they already use.
It gives us great pride to announce our partnership with the Kings and Queens of the Lions Den. We love us some @LazyLionsNFT. #ROAR pic.twitter.com/5Od1d77dPm
— Coinbase NFT (@Coinbase_NFT) December 7, 2021
Based on a statement made by Coinbase, Coinbase NFT will be peer-to-peer (P2P) “…with an intuitive design built on top of a decentralized marketplace.” Initially following the ERC-21 and ERC-1155 standards, the product also has plans to support multi-chains in the future.
Coinbase NFT will primarily function as a marketplace, but the company has hinted that it will also serve as a place to “foster connections.” To date, Coinbase operates in over 100 countries and reports over 73 million active users while Coinbase’s clients quarterly trade $327 billion in volume, proving that there is a decent amount of liquidity in circulation.
More than the amount of volume trading, Coinbase touts its robust user experience (UX) and seamless user interface (UI) design that is streamlined and user-friendly. Even though many take to Twitter and complain about OpenSea’s UX/UI design, many other platforms come with barriers to entry, whereas OpenSea doesn’t.
FTX NFTs
Contrary to Coinbase NFT, FTX marketplace launched in October with a small collection of Solana-based NFTs, and it expanded its collection toward those on the Ethereum blockchain. Unlike OpenSea and Coinbase NFT, FTX NFTs is not a P2P platform, meaning it is centralized and custodial, whereby users’ data is recorded and stored on its particular network. This means users and collectors forgo ownership in some sense.
The implications of it being a centralized platform are that the platform tends to enforce less autonomous perks to its owners and more restrictions and limitations due to securities laws concerns. Unlike OpenSea where users have full autonomy over their digital assets up until the sale, FTX NFTs implements bidding mechanisms. As Brett Harrison, President FTX.US explained in a statement: “By not requiring gas for doing things like bids, we’re going to see a lot more price action and price discovery on the platform, and we hope that in general attracts liquidity,”
Its law-abiding ways caused such a strong influence across the Solana NFT collections that many had to revoke their formerly promised royalties since FTX NFTs announced it no longer would support projects granting its owners such a perk.
The consequence came as a result of United States regulatory concerns. Projects on the Ethereum network are also vetted to make sure they are abiding by securities laws and to ensure they are not counterfeit knockoffs.
As such, OpenSea retains its value as it maintains quite the breadth of NFT collections.
Solana nft devs
Last week: “We need to add royalties to our project”
This week: “No royalties. We need to be on FTX”.
— Ayofinance (@Ayofinance1) October 11, 2021
Regardless of its minor hiccups, the marketplace has received attention and undercuts its rival in fee structure. FTX NFTs has a fee structure of 2%, while Coinbase’s is 2.5%.
The platform also doesn’t seem to be dismissive to users eventually using non-custodial wallets, but its primary focus is value in accessibility.
Rarible
Long before OpenSea pumped its way to the top, Rarible was putting up monthly trading volumes higher than its counterpart. Despite opening its platform to the community with its governance token RARI — something OpenSea users have persistently been anticipating — Rarible has not been able to sustain the lead it once had over OpenSea.
In November, the platform’s total value in volume was 4% higher than in October, averaging an estimated $18.2 million. However, its monthly total volume pales in comparison to OpenSea’s, given its daily volume averages at least five times higher.
To Rarible’s benefit, much like FTX NFTs marketplace, it understands the benefit of multi-chain strategic partnering. Rarible has already launched its support of NFTs on the Flow and Tezos blockchain, and there are plans to support Solana and Polygon in the near future.
Monthly volume (primary vs secondary) sales. Source: Dune Analytics
With its decentralized ethos and its multi-chain support of NFTs, Rarible could become a serious contender in 2022.
Zora
Zora presents itself as a champion for Web 3.0 and decentralization as it touts its completely “on-chain” permissionless platform. Since decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) tend to gravitate toward these principles, the platform holds its value in historical purchases like PleasrDAOs $4 million purchase of the original doge-meme NFT.
web3 means satisfying ≥1 of these criteria:
– majority owned/controlled by users
– permissionlessly accessible/forkable
– censorship resistant@rainbowdotme is open source -> web3
Coinbase wallet is closed -> not web3@ourZORA open NFT auction standards -> web3
OpenSea? nope
— . ∴ (@nir_III) December 15, 2021
Zora has a zero-fee structure and centers most of its efforts on being the cornerstone permissionless protocol. Many crypto pundits are attracted to the idea of artists and creators having more autonomy and ownership over their creations. If these remain pertinent concerns in 2022, it’s possible that Zora could see an influx of new users.
Magic Eden
Magic Eden is currently the top NFT marketplace on the Solana network and according to DappRadar it is ranked among the top ten NFT marketplaces with $267.14 million since its launch in mid-September 2021.
The number of unique wallets has rebounded and has been steadily increasing in the last two months making it a strong contender to OpenSea. Although it’s important to note that users are known to hold more than one wallet address, perhaps suggesting that there could be fewer unique active users.
OpenSea on-chain data. Source: DappRadar
Low transaction fees at 2% give the platform a competitive edge when compared to other marketplaces and, like FTX NFTs, listing is free for users. As shown below, the number of transactions on Magic Eden often doubles or even triples the amount of transactions occurring on OpenSea.
Magic Eden on-chain data. Source: DappRadar
Although Magic Eden had a higher amount of transactions, the amount per transaction is less than on OpenSea. According to DappRadar, Magic Eden has amassed over 4.5 million transactions within the last 30 days while OpenSea has processed less than half that figure at 1.7 million, yet it has a little over five times the total volume of Magic Eden.
As the pace of NFTs has been set and digital collectibles continue to go mainstream, 2022 could see a larger demographic whose preferences may not align with OpenSea. By valuing accessibility, regulation and a better user experiences, these five NFT marketplaces are strong contenders to take their spot on top.
The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.
Macro guru and Real Vision chief executive Raoul Pal is looking at the historical price action of e-commerce titan Amazon and comparing it to the performance of Bitcoin (BTC) since 2013.
The former Goldman Sachs executive tells his 863,300 Twitter followers that Amazon (AMZN) adhered to Metcalfe’s Law, which states that a network grows in value as the number of users on the network gets bigger.
Pal highlights that back in the early 2000s, Amazon was a highly volatile stock with drawdowns as deep as 50%.
“Back in 2003 to 2011, it looked like this.”
Source: Raoul Pal/Twitter
According to Pal, Amazon’s price action back then rhymes with Bitcoin’s price action now.
Source: Raoul Pal/Twitter
Pal also looks at the market structure of Amazon in 2010, which he says closely resembles the price action of Bitcoin in the last 12 months or so.
“In the short term, 2010 Amazon looked like this…”
Source: Raoul Pal/Twitter
“And BTC like this…”
Source: Raoul Pal/Twitter
According to the macro guru, if Bitcoin is to follow Amazon’s price action in 2010, it is possible for the leading cryptocurrency to revisit crucial support at $30,000.
“It suggests BTC might even possibly test $30,000 but I doubt it (I think the sell-off is near done). but who the hell knows! It’s similar enough for context but never rely on fractals. They are for context only. The BTC fractal is longer in time than AMZN and more volatile. In the end, it’s all noise. The log chart is the truth and that is in itself an approximation of Metcalfe’s Law. If it isn’t noise to you, your position is too big for your time horizon.”
Pal also adds that based on Metcalfe’s Law, Bitcoin’s value should be hovering around $100,000, suggesting that BTC is tremendously undervalued at its current price of $42,144.
“BTC is cheap vs Metcalfe’s Law….(and has been for a long time – my guess is because there is less network applications on BTC currently than ML [Metcalfe’s Law] would prefer).”
Source: Raoul Pal/Twitter
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Bitcoin (BTC) and most major altcoins remain under pressure as supports give way and bears sell at each rally attempt. This negative sentiment pulled the Crypto Fear & Greed Index to 10/100 on Jan. 8, one of its lowest readings ever. In comparison, 2021 had started on a bullish note with the reading hitting levels of 93/100, indicating “extreme greed.”
This weak opening in the new year has not unnerved Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Mike McGlone who remains bullish. He said in a recent analysis that Bitcoin may rally to $100,000 and Ether (ETH) to $5,000 this year.
Crypto market data daily view. Source:Coin360
However, some analysts argue that Bitcoin may struggle to maintain its bullish trend in an environment where interest rates are rising. Holger Zschaepitz questioned whether Bitcoin could hold up without “rock-bottom rates and trillions of dollars in central bank money and government stimmy.”
Could Bitcoin bounce off the strong support, attracting buying in select altcoins? Let’s study the charts of the top-5 cryptocurrencies that may remain positive in the short term.
BTC/USDT
Bitcoin’s downtrend has reached the strong support at $39,600. The price formed a Doji candlestick pattern on Jan. 8, indicating indecision among the bulls and the bears.
BTC/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView
Both moving averages are sloping down and the relative strength index (RSI) is near the oversold zone, indicating that the path of least resistance is to the downside. If bears pull the price below $39,600, the selling could intensify and the BTC/USDT pair could start its journey to the next strong support at $28,805.
On the other hand, if the price rises from the current level, the pair could rise to the 20-day exponential moving average ($45,876). If the price turns down from this level, it will suggest that the sentiment remains negative and traders are selling on rallies. That will increase the likelihood of a break below $39,600 I .
The bulls will have to push and sustain the price above the moving averages to indicate a possible change in trend.
BTC/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView
The 4-hour chart shows that the selling momentum picked up on a break and close below $45,456. The bulls are attempting to arrest the decline at $40,501 but the recovery attempt is likely to face strong selling near the 20-EMA.
If the price turns down from the 20-EMA, the bears will attempt to sink the pair below $39,600 and extend the downtrend.
Alternatively, a break and close above the 20-EMA could push the pair to the 50-simple moving average. If bulls push the price above this resistance, it will suggest that bears may be losing their grip.
LINK/USDT
Chainlink (LINK) has been trading in a large range between $15 and $35.33 for the past few months. The bulls have pushed the price above the moving averages and the RSI has risen close to the overbought zone, indicating that buyers have the upper hand in the short term.
LINK/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView
The bears posed a strong challenge near $27.61 for the past few days but the bulls did not allow the price to dip below the 20-day EMA ($23.23). This indicates that the sentiment has changed from sell on rallies to buy on dips.
If bulls maintain the price above $27.61, the LINK/USDT pair could rise to 30 and thereafter to the overhead resistance at $35.33. This bullish view will invalidate if the price turns down from the current level and breaks below the moving averages. The pair could then drop to $18.
LINK/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView
The 4-hour chart shows that the price has broken above the overhead resistance at $27.61. The bears will now attempt to stall the up-move at $30. If the subsequent correction does not break below $27.61, it will increase the possibility of a rally to $35.33.
On the contrary, if the price turns down from the current level, it will suggest that the break above $27.61 may have been a bull trap. The bears will then try to pull the price below the 50-SMA. If they do that, the next stop could be $22.
ICP/USDT
Internet Computer (ICP) broke and closed above the downtrend line on Jan. 4 which was the first indication that the downtrend could be ending. The bears tried to trap the aggressive bulls and pull the price back below the 20-day EMA ($29) but failed.
ICP/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView
The bulls again pushed and closed the price above the downtrend line on Jan. 8. The moving averages are on the verge of a bullish crossover and the RSI has jumped into the positive zone, indicating that bulls are attempting a comeback.
If buyers push and sustain the price above $38.02, the ICP/USDT pair could rally to $45.79. This level may again act as a stiff hurdle but if crossed, the up-move may reach $58.30.
Contrary to this assumption, if the price turns down from the current level and breaks below the 20-day EMA, it will indicate that the breakout above the downtrend line may have been a bull trap.
ICP/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView
The 4-hour chart shows that bulls have pushed the price above $33.29 but are struggling to clear the hurdle at $38.02. This suggests that bears continue to sell near the overhead resistance. This has kept the pair sandwiched between the two levels.
If bulls push and sustain the price above $38.02, the pair could extend its up-move. On the contrary, if the price turns down from the overhead resistance, the bears will attempt to pull the pair below $33.29. If they manage to do that, the pair could drop to the 50-SMA.
Related:Even after the pullback, this crypto trading algo’s $100 bag is now worth $20,673
LEO/USD
UNUS SED LEO (LEO) has been trading in a gradual uptrend for the past several weeks where the 50-day SMA ($3.55) has been acting as a strong support.
LEO/USD daily chart. Source: TradingView
The bears attempted to pull the price below the 50-day SMA on Jan. 7 but the bulls did not relent. This resulted in a strong rebound on Jan. 8 which pushed the LEO/USD pair back above the 20-day EMA ($3.69).
The bulls will now attempt to drive the price above the all-time high at $3.92. If they succeed, the pair may resume its uptrend and reach $4.25. This positive view will invalidate if the price turns down and plummets below the 50-day SMA. That could start a correction to $3.40.
LEO/USD 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView
The pair has been trading inside an ascending channel pattern. The bears mounted a strong resistance near $3.85, which may have attracted profit-booking from short-term traders. That pulled the pair down to the support line of the channel where buyers stepped in and arrested the decline.
The bulls are again attempting to push and sustain the price above $3.85. If they manage to do that, the pair could start its journey toward the resistance line of the channel. The bears will have to sink and sustain the price below the channel to invalidate the bullish view.
ONE/USDT
Harmony (ONE) has been trading between the 20-day EMA ($0.27) and $0.33 for the past few days. This suggests that bulls are buying on dips and bears are selling on rallies.
ONE/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView
The rising 20-day EMA and the RSI in the positive territory suggest advantage to buyers. If bulls drive the price above $0.33, the up-move could resume. The ONE/USDT pair could then attempt to rise to $0.38.
Contrary to the assumption, if the price breaks below the 20-day EMA, it will suggest that bears have overpowered the bulls. That could pull the pair down to the 50-day SMA ($0.24) and later to $0.21.
ONE/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView
The 4-hour chart has been rising inside an ascending channel pattern. Although bulls pushed the price above the channel, they could not sustain the higher levels. This suggests that bears tried to trap the aggressive bulls.
The price dipped back into the channel but a minor positive is that it bounced off the 50-SMA. This indicates that sentiment remains positive and bulls are buying on dips.
If the price rises above the 20-EMA, the pair could again rally to the resistance line of the channel. A break and close above this level could signal a pick up in momentum. Conversely, a break and close below the 50-SMA could pull the pair down to the support line of the channel.
The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.
The crypto markets have had anextremely lacklusterstart to the new year. And yet, NFT sales are booming, and Crypto Twitter is as juicy as ever.
Phunks vs Apes
The week got off to a combative start when Ryder Ripps, creative director of the NFT project CryptoPhunks (aCryptoPunks parody), leveled a broadside against the mega-popularBored Ape Yacht Clubfor allegedly being racist. He tweeted out a Bored Ape with a spiked Prussian style helmet and wrote, “Imagine defending this passionately.”
Ripps continued to attack BAYC all week from multiple angles, including accusing the BAYC skull logo of being modeled after a Nazi SS logo, even down to the number of teeth.
oh yeah and that last little tooth at the end, that was put there intentionally, the design would have looked better and made more sense without it. pic.twitter.com/jpdvEt3YPu
— RYDER RIPPS (@ryder_ripps) January 7, 2022
Ripps’ criticisms were dismissed by many—and not just BAYC holders. Critics viewed it as an opportunistic attempt to drum up PR for his laggingPhunks NFTproject.
Phunks are dying it seems like. They need drama to keep going.
— BrotherAli.eth (@BrotherAli10) January 3, 2022
Crypto trader @MoonOverlord concurred, and concluded, “I’m dumping all my Phunks, it’s cringe.”
going to be honest this BAYC drama just feels like a cheap marketing tactic from Phunks.
It was cool when Phunks were anti establishment, anti centralization but at this point they are just openly attacking the top NFT projects 1 by 1.
I’m dumping all my Phunks, it’s cringe.
— moon (@MoonOverlord) January 3, 2022
But the most damning and pithy critique of Ripps’ broadside came from NFT investor @Loopifyyy, who tweeted Ripps with the words, “this you?” along with four screenshots including a message from pop star Azealia Banks accusing Ripps of attempting to blackmail her with a sex tape. Other images show Ripps casually using racist language.
Yuga Labs, creator of BAYC, didn’t officially respond to Ripps’ attacks. But coincidentally (or not?), just 20 minutes before Ripps launched his first attack on Monday, Yuga Labs tweeted aseven-point primerexplaining the project’s background and why the creators made certain aesthetic choices. The thread touches on the logo, and introduces the four pseudonymous founders as having Jewish, Cuban, Turkish and Pakistani origins.
5. How did the founders meet?
We’re all real-life friends with diverse backgrounds – Jewish, Cuban, Turkish, Pakistani. We started work on what would become the BAYC in February of 2021, and worked with a team of artists on the apes, the look of the club, logos, etc.
— Yuga Labs (@yugalabs) January 3, 2022
Hanke vs Bukele
BAYC wasn’t the only heated conversation on Crypto Twitter this week. El Salvador’s Bitcoin-maxi presidentNayib Bukele, who appears in this roundup frequently, reminded everyone that he does not take criticism kindly, not even from one of the world’s most respected economists.
On Friday, Johns Hopkins University economics professor Steve Hanke tweeted that Bukele’sproposed volcano-powered Bitcoin Cityis “as prepared as Florida is for snow. The advertised power source for the City is an inactive volcano. This is just more attention-grabbing antics from a narcissistic president who is full of hot air.”
.@nayibbukele’s proposed Bitcoin City is as prepared as Florida is for snow. The advertised power source for the City is an inactive volcano. This is just more attention-grabbing antics from a narcissistic president who is full of hot air. https://t.co/J53p6NJgHN
— Steve Hanke (@steve_hanke) January 7, 2022
Less than ten minutes later, Bukele parried by calling Hanke an “idi0t” and asking him “Why would you build a city below an ACTIVE VOLCANO?”
This guy 😂
Of course is an inactive volcano you id10t!
Most geothermal power is extracted from wells near INACTIVE VOLCANOES!
Why would you build a city below an ACTIVE VOLCANO? 🤦🏻 https://t.co/HGh6UGZ0u0
— Nayib Bukele 🇸🇻 (@nayibbukele) January 7, 2022
The debate then turned technical, with Hanke replying that El Salvador already has “an enormous energy deficit.” The economist asked Bukele just how much energy he expects to get from an inactive volcano. Bukele kicked off his retort with two ad hominems at Hanke (“ID-10t” and “fraud”) before addressing the technicals.
Ok, ID-10t, I’m going to school you again, not because it’s going to be of use for you, since you’re just getting paid to attack #Bitcoin and defend fiat, but because the people deserve to know you are a fraud. https://t.co/BbDGGnyjuu
— Nayib Bukele 🇸🇻 (@nayibbukele) January 8, 2022
Bukele finished his thread by telling Hanke: “We’ve a 90% chance of finding at least a +42 MW well. Enough to power all of#BitcoinCity.”
We’ve a 90% chance of finding at least a +42 MW well. Enough to power all of #Bitcoin City.
And if the city grows far more than expected (good problem), then we can still use the 95 MW plant we are building for the initial powering. pic.twitter.com/7gk1fu8sWg
— Nayib Bukele 🇸🇻 (@nayibbukele) January 9, 2022
This isn’t the first time Hanke and Bukele have scrapped on Twitter. Last October, Hanke tweeted that with Bitcoin-obsessed Bukele at the helm, El Salvador faces financial ruin. After a major Bitcoin price spike, Bukele responded, “You were saying?”
Shill Eva Longoria your NFTs
On Saturday, “Desperate Housewives” star Eva Longoria tweeted that she’s “jumping into the NFT space” and asked for guidance from Twitter. She got almost 14,000 replies. Surprise: a large volume of them were people trying to hawk their own NFT projects to her.
Okay everyone! I’m jumping into the #NFT space…help! What do I do? Where do I start? Would love some tips!
— Eva Longoria Baston (@EvaLongoria) January 8, 2022
Longoria is far from the first A-list Hollywood actress to ask Twitter to help her get into crypto.
In December,Legally Blondestar Reese Witherspoon bought her first NFT, and has since beenquite active on Crypto Twitter.
Later that month, Gwyneth Paltrow told her Twitter and Instagram followers that she had partnered with Cash App, the peer-to-peer payments app of Block (formerly Square), to give awaya total of $500,000worth of crypto in payouts of up to $100.
Between Longoria, Witherspoon, Paltrow, Matt Damon (currentlygetting roastedfor his Crypto.com ad), Tom Brady, Kim Kardashian, and more, which celebrity will go crypto next?
