Decentral Block Post

The FIFA World Cup in Qatar is boosting the value of national soccer team fan tokens despite the cryptocurrency bear market.

World Cup Qatar hype boosts fan token prices

These digital fan tokens are currently rallying despite the cryptocurrency market downturn, securing up to 170% gains from the Nov. 10 lows. At the core of the massive uptrend is the World Cup, which will be held from Nov. 20 to Dec. 18 in Qatar.

Fan tokens are cryptocurrencies that enable fans to engage with and participate in their favorite team's decisions. Moreover, they create new sponsorship opportunities for sports clubs and national squads outside of traditional revenue sources.

Here's a brief overview of the top gainers in the fan token sector, alongside their technical outlook during the course of the World Cup.

Spain National Football Team Fan Token (SNFT)

The Spain National Football Team Fan Token (SNFT) emerged as the top gainer in the sports token section, rising 170% to a high of $0.54 on Nov. 19, nine days after bottoming out at $0.20.

2022 was a tough year for crypto, and November was especially hard on investors and traders alike. 

While it was incredibly painful for many, FTX’s blowup and the ensuing contagion that threatens to pull other centralized crypto exchanges down with it could be positive over the long run.

Allow me to explain.

What people learned, albeit in the hardest way possible, is that exchanges were running fractional reserve-like banks to fund their own speculative, leveraged investments in exchange for providing users with a “guaranteed” yield.

Somewhere, across the crypto Twitterverse, the phrase “If you don’t know where the yield comes from, you are the yield!” is floating around.

2022 was a tough year for crypto, and November was especially hard on investors and traders alike. 

While it was incredibly painful for many, FTX’s blowup and the ensuing contagion that threatens to pull other centralized crypto exchanges down with it could be positive over the long run.

Allow me to explain.

What people learned, albeit in the hardest way possible, is that exchanges were running fractional reserve-like banks to fund their own speculative, leveraged investments in exchange for providing users with a “guaranteed” yield.

Somewhere, across the crypto Twitterverse, the phrase “If you don’t know where the yield comes from, you are the yield!” is floating around.

Bitcoin (BTC) price has tested the $16,000 resistance multiple times since the 25% crash that occurred between Nov. 7 and Nov. 9, and some critics will justify their bearish bias by incorrectly assuming that the failure of FTX exchange should trigger a much broader correction.

For example, Daniel Knowles, a correspondent at The Economist, says the 26th largest tradable asset in the world with a $322 billion market capitalization is "astonishingly useless and wasteful." Knowles also said that, "there is still no logical case for specifically Bitcoin. It's pure ponzi."

If you think it through, for outsiders, Bitcoin's price is the single most important indicator of success, regardless of its valuation surpassing secular companies such as Nestle (NESN.SW), Bank of America (BAC) and Coca-Cola (KO).

Most people's need for centralized authority of their money is so entrenched that cryptocurrency exchanges’ success and failure rate becomes the gatekeeper and success benchmark, when in fact, quite the opposite is true. Bitcoin was created as a peer-to-peer monetary transmission network, so exchanges are not synonyms for adoption.

It is worth highlighting that Bitcoin has been trying to break above $17,000 for the past seven days, so there is certainly a lack of appetite from buyers above that level. The most likely reason is that investors fear contagion risks, similar to what was seen with Genesis Block, the last FTX-related victim to halt service due to liquidity concerns. According to recent reports, the company announced plans to cease trading and shutter operations.

The sentiment across the cryptocurrency ecosystem remains fragile as market participants assess the impact of the FTX crisis on various businesses within and outside of the crypto sector. Trading firm QCP Capital said in its latest circular on Telegram that crypto assets may continue their underperformance till the new year. QCP projects Bitcoin (BTC) to plunge to $12,000 and Ether (ETH) to $800.

Looking at the brighter side, FTX could be the last major player to bite the dust during the current bear market cycle, according to CK Zheng, co-founder of crypto hedge fund ZX Squared Capital.

Zheng also added that institutional investors who have a long-term horizon may continue to invest in blockchain technology and select cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.

When the sentiment is bearish, rumors create panic among traders who dump their holdings out of fear. Usually, these occasions form a bottom. Traders may remain cautious and avoid placing large bets until the dust settles and the markets confirm a bottom.

What are the important levels to keep an eye on and which could suggest that the correction may be over? Let’s study the charts of the top-10 cryptocurrencies to find out.

Bitcoin (BTC) saw a fresh rejection at $17,000 on Nov. 18 as nervous markets weathered more FTX fallout.

BTC gets $12,000 price target

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD failing to flip $17,000 to support — a trend in place for almost a week.

The pair, like major altcoins, remained firmly tied down by cold feet over the FTX debacle and its knock-on effects for various crypto businesses.

For analysts, the outlook remained just as grim, with already dismal forecasts worsening in light of recent events.

“This underperformance of all crypto assets is here to stay until the bulk of uncertainly has cleared up - likely only near the turn of the new year,” trading firm QCP Capital wrote in its latest circular to Telegram channel subscribers on the day.

Bitcoin (BTC) saw a fresh rejection at $17,000 on Nov. 18 as nervous markets weathered more FTX fallout.

BTC gets a $12,000 price target

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD failing to flip $17,000 to support — a trend in place for almost a week.

The pair, like major altcoins, remained firmly tied down by cold feet over the FTX debacle and its knock-on effects for various crypto businesses.

For analysts, the outlook remained just as grim, with already dismal forecasts worsening in light of recent events.

“This underperformance of all crypto assets is here to stay until the bulk of uncertainly has cleared up — likely only near the turn of the new year,” trading firm QCP Capital wrote in its latest circular to Telegram channel subscribers on the day.