What is a market maker, and how do they differ in the crypto and traditional finance markets? At the European Blockchain Conference in Barcelona, Cointelegraph discussed the topic with key market makers in the crypto industry on one of the conference’s first panels. Cointelegraph reporter Joseph Hall drew up the analogy that crypto market makers are much like cool bartenders at a very high-tech and unashamedly nerdy cocktail party. Their job is to keep the drinks flowing, i.e., provide liquidity and ensure everyone's having a good time while maintaining order in the market. Cointelegraph's @JoeNakamoto hosting the "Why Market Making …

If 2022 was any kind of template for gauging what the crypto market might offer for investors going forward, it proved to be terribly difficult to predict. The space saw a brutal shock to the global crypto market capitalization, which fell just over 60% from $2.2 trillion to about $797 billion year to date. It also saw the two largest cryptocurrencies by market cap, BTC and ETH, fall by 64% and 67%, respectively, during the same time frame, with the concurrent slide in the alt market too. These price drops, combined with the demise of the FTX exchange, were not …

These forecasts are driven by deteriorating structural fundamentals. For example, credit card debt has surged past even 2020 levels, with interest rates charged by banks that are just slightly higher than those observed leading up to the post-2000 dot-com crash. And yet, labor force participation rates — or the proportion of the population that is able to work and is working — have still not recovered to pre-pandemic levels. Furthermore, inflation — as measured by the consumer price index — has surged over the past few years. Economic forecasts suggest that we are in for greater economic turbulence. The United …

Crypto exchange Binance announced it will launch its first index product, the Top 10 Equal-Weighted Index, to kick off its Binance CoinMarketCap (CMC) Index Series. The Top 10 Equal-Weighted Index will monitor the performance of the industry’s top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). Binance indices will utilize pricing information from crypto price tracker CMC, of which the crypto exchange is the owner. According to the announcement, the Equal-Weighted Index will be rebalanced monthly and is designed to help investors evaluate price and performance. The index products, beginning with the Top 10 Equal-Weighted Index, …

It’s been a tough year for risk assets across the board, and it’s fair to blame the macroeconomic situation. A combination of factors has ignited a surge of inflation in developed economies and forced central bankers to react. As a consequence, several events — including inflation, payrolls, interest rate announcements, and speeches from monetary authorities (especially in the United States) — have had a relevant impact over the risk asset prices globally. As bad news prevailed, the turmoil spread across different asset classes and regions. By mid-September, all the main stock indexes from developed countries recorded double-digit negative returns (year …

In July 2021, TikTok hit three billion downloads. The social network boasts more than one billion active monthly users. And, in the United States, TikTok is now more popular with Generation Z than Instagram. Over the last six months, Bitcoin (BTC) has seen a drop of more than 70% from its all-time high north of $69,000 in 2021. Market volatility is to be expected. But, if decentralized finance (DeFi) is looking to have a future, it needs to be embraced by more people. The aforementioned volatility (as well as the cynicism of cryptocurrency in general) puts many investors off. Fortunately, …

The stock market’s movements in the next few weeks will be critical for determining whether we are heading towards a short-term recession or a long term-one, according to forex trader and crypto analyst Alessio Rastani. During the October-December 2022 period, the analyst expects to see the S&P rallying. "If that bounces or rally fails and drops back down again, then very likely, we're entering a long-term recession and something very close to similar to 2008", said Rastani in the latest Cointelegraph interview. According to the analyst, such a recession could last until 2024 and would inevitably negatively impact the price …

The Federal Reserve's efforts to battle inflation by rising interest rates and killing demand may have limited results as long as the supply side of the inflation problem won’t be fixed, according to macro analyst Lyn Alden. “Until they actually fix the supply side of certain things, like energy especially, but commodities broadly and logistics infrastructure, until that is improved, it's hard to have a more persistent fix to the inflationary problem”, Alden told Cointelegraph in an exclusive interview. Jerome Powell’s speech at Jackson Hole sent a clear signal that the Federal Reserve is determined to continue its efforts to …

There is no denying that nonfungible tokens (NFTs) have taken a hit in recent months. Market conditions have plunged, scams and hacks are frequent, and there is an increasing number of low-quality projects, pushing many to question the value of NFTs and their place in Web3 altogether. Over the last crypto cycle, NFT market conditions have been largely correlated to and reliant upon the general crypto market. As technology and digital assets soared in valuation, it became easier for individuals and investors to justify speculating on the nascent NFT asset class — often paying exorbitant premiums with the conviction that …

While mainstream coverage of cryptocurrency has been overwhelmingly negative in the wake of the collapse of the Terra ecosystem, the bankruptcy of Celsius and the fall of Three Arrows Capital, these events ultimately show why more of the financial system should operate on-chain, bringing more transparency and information to market participants. In all three cases, the damage was caused and exacerbated by opaque, off-chain entities. And while the reason for the trio of events is important, it has also caused considerable damage to the overall reputation of the industry. These events have made it clear that the industry is in …

A new bankruptcy coin report filed on Aug. 14 shows that troubled crypto lender Celsius’ actual debt stands at $2.85 billion against their bankruptcy filing claims of a $1.2 billion deficit. The latest report shows that the company has net liabilities worth $6.6 billion and total assets under management at $3.8 billion. While in their bankruptcy filing, the firm has shown around $4.3 billion in assets against $5.5 billion in liabilities, representing a $1.2 billion deficit. The coin report also noted that of the total 100,669 Bitcoin (BTC) deposited by investors, the company has lost 62,853 BTC and currently holds …

How to identify a bull trap Here’s how to spot a bull trap with some tell-tale indicators that one is on the way: RSI divergence A high RSI might be an indication of a potential bull or bear trap. A relative strength index (RSI) calculation may be used to identify a possible bull or bear trap. The RSI is a technical indicator, which can help determine whether a stock or cryptocurrency asset is overbought, underbought or neither. The RSI follows this formula: The calculation generally covers 14-days, although it may also be applied to other timeframes. The period has no …