Elon Musk’s X/Twitter acquires Payment Services License in 3 US states

On March 20, 2024, X Payments LLC, the arm of X responsible for driving the peer-to-peer payment business, secured three more licenses for money transmitter activities.

The three states providing approval were New Mexico, Oregon and Illinois, bringing the total number of approved states to 22. The licenses are required for sending and holding customer funds, similar to how PayPal, Venmo and Cash App work.

It is also important to note that Musk has previously served as the CEO of PayPal, so he is acquainted with the business and the bureaucratic processes involved.

Musk has been working on making X an “everything app” since he bought the company in 2022, with the addition of payments serving as a major contributor to that vision. However, strong regulatory scrutiny makes it difficult to offer money-transmitting services to users, which is delaying Musk’s plan to offer payment services.

Adding three new states to the list of approvals is positive for the company. With nearly half of the U.S. states willing to allow X to transmit money, there is somewhat of a precedent that could make it easier for others to provide licenses and bring X closer to Musk’s goal.

Dogecoin open interest increased by $800M in 3-days

Elon Musk’s affinity for the Dogecoin meme community was brought to fore again this week as crypto investors speculated on the potential upsides if Dogecoin is adopted as the native currency to power the X payments ecoystem.

D3, an official identity service provider for Web3 Communities and a Shiba Inu partner, shares pertinent information with the Shib community regarding SHIB names.

Shib Names, which debuted on March 6, has received tremendous attention and adoption from the Shib Army, indicating a strong interest in innovative Web3 solutions. 

This initiative, which stems from Shib’s partnership with D3, entails applying for and getting the “.shib” top-level domain (TLD). This strategic approach has the potential to improve the onboarding process for the Shib Army’s next billion members.

Important information by D3

In October 2023, Shiba Inu unveiled the Shib Name Service on Shibarium, marking the first step toward building Shibdentity, a decentralized identity platform that allows users to own and control their digital identities.

The Shib Name Service (SNS), which is a part of the Shibdentity ecosystem, has now become Shib Names, officially known as SHIB Name Tokens.

In this light, the existing .shib names from the Shib Name Service (SNS) have been transitioned to the new platform provided by D3, offering users their upgraded shib names from D3 directly in their wallets.

D3 issued a piece of important information to SHIB holders in this regard, indicating that users who had a ShibName stuck in the Mantra smart contract during the transition from SNS to D3 have now had their names unlocked and sent to their wallets.

Shib Name recently unveiled its first chapter through its early access launch. Looking ahead, public access to Shib Names is scheduled for March 26, followed by the introduction of the D3 Marketplace. This marketplace allows users to purchase, sell and make offers on Shib names, making it easier to get their desired “grail” names.

According to on-chain data analytics Spot On Chain, a group of Ethereum whales has collectively transferred a staggering 32,527 ETH to various exchanges.

Three long-term ETH traders (or maybe funds) have deposited 32,527 ETH worth $109 million to CEXes in the last 24 hours.

A trader named “0x213” deposited 12,500 ETH worth $41.7 million to Kraken at $3,339. The whale first received 120,900 ETH from white-hat hacker Baylina.eth in July 2017 and currently holds 12,200 ETH valued at nearly $40.9 million.

Another whale, “0x50b,” deposited their last 11,600 ETH worth $39.1 million to Binance at nearly $3,374. The said whale first received ETH in December 2017 and deposited all 32,600 ETH to Binance at nearly $3,312 worth $108 million. So far, they have withdrawn 80 million USDT in the past three days.

The third whale, “Metalpha,” deposited 8,427 ETH worth $28.2 million to Binance at $3,347. The whale first received ETH in Jul 2021 and currently holds 62,300 WSTETH worth $242 million.

The timing of this transfer is particularly intriguing, as it comes after Ethereum’s price topped the $4,000 mark and then dipped remarkably. The recent action of the whales has spurred speculation: “Did the whales think that the recent correction was still not enough?”

Ethereum whale activity hits 2024 highs

The price of ETH has retraced about 18% since hitting highs of $4,093 on March 12.

According to Santiment, Ethereum whale activity has hit its highest level in 2024 as the $3,300 price levels dip into the midterm buy zone. A combined 59,137 separate ETH whale transactions exceeding $100,000 in value were recorded between March 19 and 21.

Santiment urges traders to keep an eye on the 30-day average returns of ETH wallets, which might indicate if a buy is justified. Average 30-day ETH traders are now down 7%, increasing the likelihood of a rebound. Also, its RSI has dropped to 28.5, the lowest seen for ETH since the price bottomed in late January.

According to IntoTheBlock, fees on Ethereum declined by 41% this week, with meme coin speculation slowing down significantly. The amount of ETH transferred on the mainnet has also reached its highest since May 2022 this week.

ETH also recorded its largest weekly net inflows into exchanges — $720 million since September 2022 — as regulatory FUD spread.

Ripple’s chief technology officer and one of the XRP Ledger creators David Schwartz has taken to the X social media network (formerly Twitter) to publish a cryptic tweet. It was a math problem that ultimately equaled 5.

Does Ripple CTO’s tweet hint at future XRP price?

This tweet by Schwartz triggered an enthusiastic response from multiple X/Twitter accounts. The response given to a lot of commentators by the top Ripple executive was “5,” and many XRP enthusiasts preferred to interpret this as Schwartz making a prediction about the XRP price reaching $5 in the future. Perhaps it will once Ripple manages to ultimately win the case against the SEC.

When, last year, a major victory in this legal case was obtained and Federal Jjudge Analisa Torres made a ruling that XRP sales on secondary markets do not qualify as sales of securities, XRP soared to the $0.71 level briefly.

In the same year, the SEC lost another major case; that one had been initiated by Grayscale to compel the regulator to give serious attention to its filing about converting its Bitcoin Trust into a spot Bitcoin ETF. This wish was granted on Jan. 11 this year, when Grayscale’s spot ETF was approved along with 10 others, including those issued by BlackRock, Ark Invest and Fidelity.

As of this writing, XRP proudly holds the position of the sixth largest cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalization value and is exchanging hands at $0.63214. Over the last 24 hours, the price demonstrated 6.05% growth; however, it was quickly reduced to 4.91% by the decline that followed.

David Schwartz develops trading bot

In a tweet issued on March 21, the Ripple CTO informed the cryptocurrency community that he had successfully completed the development of a new bot for trading on centralized crypto exchanges.

David Schwartz revealed that the bot operates using an algorithm that is similar to the one on which the XRP Ledger’s AMM runs.

For now, according to Schwartz, the bot is “really rough,” but he is considering adding a GitLab link. The software engineer pointed out that it is too early to tell whether this bot is going to bring high profits. For the time being, he expects he would be able to make approximately 11% per year.

On March 21, Grayscale’s Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) recorded another $359 million worth of outflows. GBTC’s massive outflows have been the main bearish narrative as of recently.  

Who’s behind the massive outflows?

ETF analyst Eric Balchunas believes that the massive uptick in outflows could be related to bankruptcies due to their sheer “size and consistency.”

Even though there is some speculation about retail investors potentially jumping ship due to declining Bitcoin prices, Balchunas has noted that outflows would have been smaller and more random in such a case. 

Retail-driven outflows, for instance, were observed in February, according to the analyst.

Balchunas has added that the worst might be already over, and retail is extremely unlikely to match these outflows alone. 

“Takeaway: the worst is prob close to being over. Once it is, only retail will be left and flows should look more like the Feb trickle,” he added. 

A bearish signal? 

Speaking of the waning inflows recorded by the likes of BlackRock and Fidelity, the expert has acknowledged that they are “low” for their standards. However, it is also important to put things into perspective: last week, for instance, their ETFs experienced “outrageously” high inflows.         

Earlier this week, Singapore-based cryptocurrency trading firm QCP Capital opined that a net negative for Bitcoin ETF would be a significant bearish signal. Yet, it is worth mentioning that other ETFs are still seeing minor inflows.   

The largest cryptocurrency is currently struggling to gain a footing above the $66,000 level.            

Physical vs. Futures Market Behavior

A notable difference was observed between the physical gold market and the futures market. While the futures market exhibited a bullish sentiment, the physical market presented a more tempered response. This divergence indicates a broader spectrum of factors influencing different segments of the gold market.

Short-Term Weakness Amid Market Adjustment

Post the record highs, the gold market has shown signs of short-term weakness, attributed to an oversold condition and profit-taking. Bullish traders are reassessing the market’s value in light of the Federal Reserve’s neutral stance. This recalibration suggests that the initial strong reaction to the Fed’s statements could have been an overextension, considering that bullish news might have been already factored in by the market.

Long-Term Bullish Outlook and Market Stabilization

Despite these short-term fluctuations, the long-term outlook for gold remains bullish. However, a phase of consolidation or stabilization is likely as the market adapts to recent highs and investor expectations adjust. Gold’s key technical support level around $2,103 will be critical in this phase. Investors and traders are expected to shift their focus from buying on strength to seeking value-oriented opportunities, particularly at current price levels.

Investment Flows and Central Bank Influence

Investment in gold witnessed a significant uptick, reaching nearly a year’s high, with a notable $1.1 billion inflow into gold funds, the highest since May 2023. The central bank’s influence, particularly the Federal Reserve’s indication of a 71% chance of a June rate cut as per the CME FedWatch Tool, continues to play a crucial role in gold’s valuation.

Weekly Forecast: Prudent Strategy and Value Seeking

In the upcoming week, the gold market is expected to experience a more cautious approach, balancing the long-term bullish sentiment with short-term market conditions. The focus will likely be on finding value rather than pursuing momentum, a strategy that aligns with the current market recalibration. As investors and traders navigate these market conditions, a more sustainable and stable rise in gold prices is anticipated, establishing a robust foundation for future growth.

Whale Alert, a crypto transaction monitoring platform, has detected a substantial movement in the XRP market. Approximately 30 million XRP tokens, valued at around $19 million, were withdrawn from Upbit, South Korea’s leading cryptocurrency exchange, which boasts a turnover of $5.5 billion, as reported by CoinMarketCap.

The withdrawal was directed to an undisclosed address labeled “r3ow”, known for its history of handling large XRP transactions. Presently, only 978,122 XRP tokens remain at this address, indicating a rapid dispersal to various destinations.

Such significant withdrawals from exchanges often suggest strategic asset management, potentially reflecting a bullish sentiment among investors. Conversely, movements towards exchanges typically signify a propensity to sell.

XRP has climbed to become the fourth-largest trading pair on Upbit, accounting for $415.56 million in turnover when paired with the Korean Won, representing 7.57% of the exchange’s total turnover.

XRP price outlook

Despite recent days witnessing a notable uptick in XRP price, with gains exceeding 10%, the token’s current trajectory suggests a minor setback. The influx of withdrawals has not significantly altered the situation, though it remains stable, especially considering XRP’s recent performance amidst market volatility.

The surge in trading volume, coupled with the withdrawal from Upbit, underscores a growing interest and activity surrounding XRP, amidst broader market fluctuations. Investors and observers await further developments as XRP navigates through the complexities of current market dynamics.

India’s forex reserves increased by USD 6.396 billion to USD 642.492 billion for the week ended March 15, the Reserve Bank said on Friday.

In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves had risen by USD 10.47 billion to USD 636.095 billion.

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In October 2021, the country’s forex kitty had reached an all-time high of USD 645 billion.

The reserves took a hit as the central bank deployed the kitty to defend the rupee amid pressures caused majorly by global developments since last year.

For the week ended March 15, the foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, increased by USD 6.034 billion to USD 568.386 billion, the data showed.

Expressed in dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves.

Gold reserves increased by USD 425 million to USD 51.14 billion during the week, the RBI said.

The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were up by USD 65 million to USD 18.276 billion, the apex bank said.

India’s reserve position with the IMF was down by USD 129 million to USD 4.689 billion in the reporting week, the apex bank data showed.

ALSO READ: RBI offices dealing with govt business to remain open on March 30, 31

Significantly, the BTC-spot ETF market saw net outflows for five consecutive sessions, the longest streak since launching on Jan 11. In the previous week, the BTC-spot ETF market had seen record net inflows of $2,565.7 million.

Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) saw net outflows of $169.9 million on Mar 22, down from $358.8 million (Mar 21). However, iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) saw net inflows tumble from $233.4 million (Mar 21) to $18.9 million (Mar 22), the lowest since launch.

Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) saw net inflows increase from $2.9 million (Mar 21) to $18.1 million (Mar 22).

Nonetheless, IBIT and FBTC saw net inflows for 50 consecutive sessions despite the BTC reversal.

However, the Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index signaled the BTC pullback in advance. On Mar 14, the Fear & Greed Index peaked at 88 (Extreme Greed Zone) before sliding into the Greed Zone.

On Saturday, the Bitcoin Fear & Greed Index fell from 75 to 74, remaining within the Greed Zone. Investors must consider the near-term trends, which continue to send bearish signals.