Decentral Block Post

From a historical perspective, the loss in value realized across the cryptocurrency market over the past several months has been one for the record books and the total cryptocurrency market cap has declined from $3 trillion to $991 million. 

June was especially painful for investors after the price of Bitcoin (BTC) fell nearly 40% to mark one of its worst calendar months on record according to a recent report from cryptocurrency research firm Delphi Digital.

In light of the strong market correction, a number of BTC price and on-chain metrics have begun to reach levels similar to those seen during previous market bottoms, but this doesn’t mean traders should expect a turnaround anytime soon because history shows that periods of weakness can drag on for months on end.

Macro headwinds weigh on BTC price

One of the most significant factors weighing on cryptocurrencies and other risk assets has been the strength of the United States dollar.

Combined with rising inflation and falling economic indicators, DXY strength is a signal that an economic slowdown is all but inevitable, with forecasts now predicting a recession in early to mid-2023.

The upcoming Ethereum (ETH) Merge is one of the most talked about developments in the cryptocurrency ecosystem as the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap undergoes the difficult transition from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS). 

One protocol whose fate is largely tied to the successful completion of the Merge is Lido DAO (LDO), a liquid staking platform that allows users to tap into the value of their assets for use in decentralized finance and earn yield from staking.

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that since LDO hit a low of $0.42 on June 30, its price has climbed 107.6% to hit a daily high of $0.874 on July 9, but at the time of writing the altcoin has pulled back to $0.65.

Three reasons for the sharp turnaround for LDO include the successful Merge on the Sepolia testnet, the continued increase in Ether deposits on the platform and the slow recovery of staked Ether (stETH) price in comparison to Ether's spot price.

Sepolia testnet merge

Migrating to proof-of-stake has been a challenging process, but it came one step closer to completion on July 6 with the successful Merge of the PoW and PoS chains on Ethereum’s Sepolia testnet.

The upcoming Ethereum (ETH) Merge is one of the most talked about developments in the cryptocurrency ecosystem as the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap undergoes the difficult transition from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS). 

One protocol whose fate is largely tied to the successful completion of the Merge is Lido DAO (LDO), a liquid staking platform that allows users to tap into the value of their assets for use in decentralized finance and earn yield from staking.

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that since LDO hit a low of $0.42 on June 30, its price has climbed 107.6% to hit a daily high of $0.874 on July 9, but at the time of writing the altcoin has pulled back to $0.65.

Three reasons for the sharp turnaround for LDO include the successful Merge on the Sepolia testnet, the continued increase in Ether deposits on the platform and the slow recovery of staked Ether (stETH) price in comparison to Ether's spot price.

Sepolia testnet merge

Migrating to proof-of-stake has been a challenging process, but it came one step closer to completion on July 6 with the successful Merge of the PoW and PoS chains on Ethereum’s Sepolia testnet.

In the most recent episode, Comic-Con legend, Gareb Shamus discusses how he has used storytelling to build engagement and a “maker world” that grows and strengthens communities.

What started off as a newsletter about comics, founder Gareb Shamus’ passion project, ultimately became known to the world as a magazine titled Wizard. According to Shamus, Wizard  was the outlet in which he could “create a voice” and share with his friends the things he had discovered that excited him.

Shamus touched on the importance of building elements of engagement and not limiting creativity within communities to further “unite them around what they love.” More importantly, he explains how building engagement allowed him to reach billions of people around the world in a way that made it “fun to be a fan of culture.”

There’s a natural synergy between comics and nonfungible tokens (NFTs), a topic discussed in great depth in this week’s episode of NFT Steez, a bi-weekly Twitter Space that explores the intersection of NFTs, culture and all things Web3-related.

“We need to promote storytelling”

When asked about the role storytelling will play in the Kumite NFT project, Shamus explained that Web3 allows for greater participation and engagement whereby multiple stories, from multiple points of view can be told and expressed. In launching Kumite NFT, Shamus describes that it brings the hero's journey to holders and in this way, “everyone can be a hero in their journey.” 

Bitcoin (BTC) headed for $20,000 after the July 11 Wall Street open amid fresh warnings to “prepare for new lows.”

$20,300 eyed as next support zone to hold

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD failing to recover losses that had immediately followed the weekly close at $20,850.

The pair had nonetheless locked in its best week’s gains since March, these nonetheless apt to unravel as market uncertainty lingered.

For on-chain analytics resource Material Indicators, the level to watch was a trendline acting as support since June.

“BTC fell back below the 21-ay Moving Average after the Sunday close,” it wrote in a summation-like Twitter post alongside a heatmap of buy and sell interest on major exchange Binance.

The Financial Stability Board (FSB), a global financial regulator including all G20 countries, is preparing to propose international regulations for cryptocurrencies and stablecoins in October.

The FSB on Monday issued a statement on the international regulation and supervision of crypto asset activities, announcing a major crypto regulation effort.

The watchdog is planning to report to the G20 finance minister and central bank governors in October 2022 on regulatory and supervisory approaches to stablecoins and other crypto assets. By that time, the FSB targets a public consultation report on the review of recommendations, including “how existing frameworks may be extended to close gaps and implement the high-level recommendations.”

The G20 authority also plans to submit another public consultation report that proposes recommendations for promoting global consistency of regulatory and supervisory approaches to other crypto-assets.

“These combined efforts of the FSB and the international standard setting bodies are aimed at minimizing the risk of fragmentation and regulatory arbitrage,” the FSB noted.

Solana (SOL) still has room to fall in the near term, but SOL/USD can rally 5,000% if it follows in the footsteps of its top rival Ethereum. 

That Ethereum 2018 fractal

SOL's risks dropping to $15 on anticipations it would behave like Ethereum during the market crash in 2018.

Notably, Ethereum's native token Ether (ETH) price fell to nearly $79 in December 2018 after undergoing a 95% correction earlier that year from its peak of $1,529. Afterward, it underwent a long recovery, rising nearly 6,000% over the next four years and thus hitting a record high of around $4,950 in November 2022.

Solana, which rivals Ethereum for its top spot in the smart contracts sector, has fallen by over 85% after peaking out in November 2021 at nearly $267. That leaves the token with the room to fall by another 10% when measured from its said record high.

Popular analyst PostyXBT says SOL could decline to $15, thus mirroring Ethereum's bear cycle in 2018. What's more, the Solana token could see an Ethereum-like recovery in the coming years that could take SOL price to over $750, he adds.