Decentral Block Post

While 2022 ended on a grim note with macro headwinds providing little hope of a revival in 2023, the start of a new year has surprised bears with a surge in Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and altcoin prices. The period of sparse volatility in the crypto market appears to be ending with a breakout on the upside.

The increase has been particularly striking in some altcoins such as Lido (LIDO), Solana (SOL), and Cardano (ADA). The primary factors promoting the spike in these coins are the upcoming Ethereum Shanghai update (for LIDO) and the negative funding rate in the futures market, especially for SOL. The negative rates implies that most traders are holding short positions, giving an opportunity for whale buyers to run their stop losses. Funding rates for some other tokens remain exposed to a short squeeze.

Moreover, the new year has also seen the re-emergence of the degen gambling that had taken a back seat after the FTX collapse in November 2022. A meme coin price surge is evidence of the residual degen spirit. Technically, the total market capitalization of altcoins has surpassed a key technical resistance level as bullish momentum builds.

While the sustainability of the bull run is questionable due to the broader trend remaining bearish, the fledgling uptrend could still bring some pain for late sellers. The five primary factors influencing altcoin prices are:

Job market data revives the hope of a soft landing

Defying the Dow’s estimate for 200,000 nonfarm payrolls and market expectations of a slowdown, labor market data from December 2022 showed a 230,000 or 0.2% increase in employment.

While 2022 ended on a grim note with macro headwinds providing little hope of a revival in 2023, the start of a new year has surprised bears with a surge in Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and altcoin prices. The period of sparse volatility in the crypto market appears to be ending with a breakout on the upside.

The increase has been particularly striking in some altcoins such as Lido (LIDO), Solana (SOL), and Cardano (ADA). The primary factors promoting the spike in these coins are the upcoming Ethereum Shanghai update (for LIDO) and the negative funding rate in the futures market, especially for SOL. The negative rates implies that most traders are holding short positions, giving an opportunity for whale buyers to run their stop losses. Funding rates for some other tokens remain exposed to a short squeeze.

Moreover, the new year has also seen the re-emergence of the degen gambling that had taken a back seat after the FTX collapse in November 2022. A meme coin price surge is evidence of the residual degen spirit. Technically, the total market capitalization of altcoins has surpassed a key technical resistance level as bullish momentum builds.

While the sustainability of the bull run is questionable due to the broader trend remaining bearish, the fledgling uptrend could still bring some pain for late sellers. The five primary factors influencing altcoin prices are:

Job market data revives the hope of a soft landing

Defying the Dow’s estimate for 200,000 nonfarm payrolls and market expectations of a slowdown, labor market data from December 2022 showed a 230,000 or 0.2% increase in employment.

Manta Network has recently completed the largest trusted setup ceremony ever, with over 4,000 people participating, according to a press release provided to Cointelegraph. The setup was done in order to help create MantaPay, an app that intends to allow for private payments between individuals.

According to the company, MantaPay will run on the PolkaDot parachain Manta Network, and on the Kusama parachain Calamari. It will use zero-knowledge-proofs (ZKPs) to ensure that only the sender and recipient of each payment will be able to view the payment.

Setting up a zero-knowledge-proofs system requires multiple parties to participate in a ceremony called a “trusted setup.” This process ensures that the shared secret upon which the system relies is eventually thrown away, removing the ability of an attacker to create fake proofs at any point in the future. The more people who participate in a trusted setup, the more secure the resulting system is.

MantaPay’s trusted setup was the largest ever recorded, with over 10,000 registrations and 4,328 contributions. The contributors came from a total of 177 countries, according to the team’s press release. The registration process first began on October 10, 2022, and the first contributions were made on November 28, 2022.

Polkadot Founder Gavin Wood expressed excitement at Manta Network's accomplishment. He argued that similar processes may pave the way towards decentralized web identity systems in the future, stating:

This week on The Market Report, the resident experts at Cointelegraph discuss what artificial intelligence (AI) altcoins are, what their potential benefits are, how they work, and whether they can be a catalyst for a 2023 bull market.

We start off this week’s show with the latest news in the markets:

BTC price 3-week highs greet US CPI — 5 things to know in Bitcoin this week

Bitcoin (BTC) starts a new week on a promising footing, with BTC price action near one-month highs — but can it last? The move precedes a conspicuous macroeconomic week for crypto markets, with the December 2022 Consumer Price Index (CPI) print due from the United States. Jerome Powell, chair of the Federal Reserve, will also deliver a speech on the economy, with inflation on everyone’s radar. Inside the crypto sphere, FTX contagion continues, with Digital Currency Group (DCG) at odds with institutional clients over its handling of solvency problems at subsidiary Genesis Trading. Our resident experts take a look at these factors and more as the second trading week of January gets underway.

Digital Currency Group under investigation by US authorities: Report

Bitcoin (BTC) traders faced disappointment at the Jan. 10 Wall Street open after the United States Federal Reserve declined to comment on future policy.

Powell keeps quiet on Fed policy

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView followed BTC/USD as it stayed flat at around $17,250 on Bitstamp.

Hopes had focused on a fresh BTC price catalyst courtesy of the Fed in the form of a speech by Chair Jerome Powell.

Speaking at the International Symposium on Central Bank Independence at Sweden’s Central Bank headquarters in Stockholm, however, Powell avoided the topic of U.S. monetary policy altogether.

“I will address three main points. First, the Federal Reserve's monetary policy independence is an important and broadly supported institutional arrangement that has served the American public well,” he began.