Decentral Block Post

The Binance-operated BNB Beacon Chain mainnet is set to add a new feature in its upcoming hard fork, which will give the blockchain the ability to “halt” the production of new blocks if certain conditions are met.

In a July 12 statement from BNB Chain, the “ZhangHeng” upgrade is expected to take place at block height 328,088,888, which it expects will occur on July 19.

The hard fork will introduce Binance Evolution Proposal BEP-255, which seeks to implement "on-chain asset reconciliation" — which Binance believes could mitigate damage from potential cross-chain bridge exploits such as the Binance Smart Chain exploit on Oct. 7, 2022. 

"Although some enhancements have been made to improve cross-chain security, such as BEP171, the security of assets on the BNB Beacon Chain itself should also be guaranteed, especially after the bridge exploitation," according to the Github post concerning BEP-255. 

Binance explained that under the BEP, user balance changes will be tracked in each block and will be reconciled to identify any issues.

The price of BNB token has experienced a 24.5% decline over the past 90 days, despite a 7% gain between July 10 and July 11. BNB has performed worse than the overall altcoin market, indicating that the underlying cause for the bearish momentum persists.

It is highly likely that the correction in BNB's price can be attributed to the lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against Binance exchange and its CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao on June 5, as the decoupling coincides with that event.

To gain a more comprehensive understanding of the situation, analyzing derivatives contracts provides valuable insights into the positions of whales and market makers.

Is the recent BNB price rally sustainable?

This analysis should highlight whether the surge above $245 on July 11 is supported by an improvement in sentiment or a balanced demand for leverage through BNB derivatives.

Price is undoubtedly the most important metric for understanding traders' sentiment, but it does not encompass all possibilities. For instance, between August 2022 and September 2022, BNB outperformed the altcoin market by 19%.

The price of BNB has experienced a 24.5% decline over the past 90 days, despite a 7% gain between July 10 and July 11. BNB (BNB) has performed worse than the overall altcoin market, indicating that the underlying cause for the bearish momentum persists.

It is highly likely that the correction in BNB’s price can be attributed to the lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission against Binance and its CEO, Changpeng “CZ”s Zhao, on June 5, as the decoupling coincides with that event.

To gain a more comprehensive understanding of the situation, analyzing derivatives contracts provides valuable insights into the positions of whales and market makers.

Is the recent BNB price rally sustainable?

This analysis should highlight whether the surge above $245 on July 11 is supported by an improvement in sentiment or a balanced demand for leverage through BNB derivatives.

Price is undoubtedly the most important metric for understanding traders’ sentiment, but it does not encompass all possibilities. For instance, between August 2022 and September 2022, BNB outperformed the altcoin market by 19%.

Bitcoin (BTC) bulls are again having a go at the overhead resistance of $31,000. The bullish sentiment may get a boost from the United States inflation report, which showed signs of slowing down. Economists were expecting the year-on-year consumer price index to rise 3.1% but the June print came in at 3%.

The month-on-month increase of 0.2% was also less than forecast. This suggests that the Federal Reserve’s rate hikes are having the desired effect. That may limit future rate hikes by the Fed.

Supported by macroeconomic conditions, institutional investors seem to be turning positive on cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin. CoinShares report published on July 10 showed inflows of $136 million into digital investment products in the past week. That brings the total inflows of three consecutive weeks to $470 million, indicating a positive outlook.

Large investors could be turning positive on Bitcoin because they anticipate a huge inflow of traditional finance money if the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approves a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said in an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph that an ETF approval would unlock $30 trillion worth of capital for Bitcoin.

Could the tailwind of the positive triggers prove bullish for Bitcoin and the major altcoins? Let’s study the charts of the top-10 cryptocurrencies to find out.