Crypto

3 Reasons Axie Infinity Price is Doomed

Published

2 years ago

October 25, 2022

The Axie Infinity price has increased by 4% in the past 24 hours, rising up $8.99. However, with its active users remaining comparatively low and the wider cryptocurrency market still stagnant, its price has also fallen by 20% in a week and by 30% in a month.

This time last year AXS was riding high, with the altcoin reaching an all-time record of $164.90 on November 6. Since then, it has suffered a steady long-term decline, with its daily active users dropping from 2.7 million in mid-November to 250,000 by early August of this year.

Fortunately, traders looking for new play-to-earn gaming platforms to invest in do not have to look too far, with Calvaria: Duels of Eternity recently launching its presale. This title aims to succeed where Axie Infinity has failed, with the game also supporting a free-to-play version that requires no crypto for users to participate.

3 Reasons Axie Infinity Price is Doomed

AXS’s chart doesn’t paint a pretty picture. Its relative strength index (purple) has been under 50 since the middle of August and has been above 50 for only a few weeks (between mid-July and mid-August) since the start of April.

This suggests a serious downturn, as does the coin’s 30-day moving average (red). The latter has languished below AXS’s 200-day average (blue) since January, defying purely chartist expectations that it should be due a rebound anytime soon.

It’s not only AXS’ indicators that look grim. As mentioned above, Axie Infinity has struggled to regain the daily active users it has lost since last November.

Throughout the past year, its developer Sky Mavis has rolled out a number of upgrades in the hope of resuscitating its user base. However, from core system updates to new features, these haven’t been met with an uptick in the game’s user numbers, or in the price of AXS.

As such, it’s hard to see what else Sky Mavis can do to restore Axie Infinity to its previous heights. It seems players have lost interest in the game, something which has been exacerbated by the bear market reducing the value of the rewards they receive for playing it.

Thirdly, it’s worth pointing out that Axie Infinity also hasn’t recovered from the major hack suffered by its Ronin bridge in March. This exploit resulted in the theft of Ethereum and USDC worth around $540 million at the time, and its major effect was to undermine trust in Axie Infinity.

While the Axie Infinity team updated Ronin following the hack, it’s likely that the breach has undermined trust in Axie for the long term, something which would also help explain its continuing decline in user numbers.

Why Calvaria Is Pumping During Presale

Turning to Calvaria, it’s arguable that Axie Infinity’s decline also explains the surge in interest in newer play-to-earn titles, with investors looking elsewhere in the sub-sector for growth.

Calvaria launched its presale on October 10, making its RIA native token available at a price of 0.01 USDT. So far, it has sold 7,558,482 RIA out of a total of 30 million, although this total applies only to the current first stage of the sale, with subsequent stages (during which RIA’s price will rise) set to follow.

Available on PC and mobile app stores, Calvaria differs a little from other blockchain-based play-to-earn games in that gamers don’t need cryptocurrency to play it. This makes it an ideal entry point for newcomers to crypto and P2E, especially for those who would otherwise be turned off by the need to have a wallet and connect it to the game’s platform.

Calvaria comes in Free-to-Play and Play-to-Earn versions. Either way, it’s set in the afterlife, where players can earn and upgrade collectible cards used to battle with different factions in the game’s universe.

These cards are represented as non-fungible tokens (as are other in-game items and assets), while players can also stake the native RIA token to earn rewards. Other features include mini-games and a scholarship system.

According to the Calvaria roadmap, the alpha version of the game is set to launch in the first quarter of next year, with a full launch due the following quarter. Its RIA token has a total maximum supply of one billion, with 38% of this devoted to the ongoing presale (this is the largest share).

It, therefore, looks like it’s shaping up to be an exciting addition to the blockchain gaming ecosystem, which is arguably in need of a new champion now that Axie Infinity continues to wane. Whether Calvaria ends up becoming this champion is open to debate, yet it certainly has the fundamentals to succeed regardless.

Reports /TrainViral/

Crypto

Bitcoin’s Recovery – the Downturn Is Over

Published

5 months ago

July 16, 2024

The market is currently in a news-driven environment where the prices of cryptocurrencies have been determined by news agenda rather than fundamentals.

Bitfinex analysts have warned crypto investors to be cautious as bitcoin’s (BTC) recovery over the weekend is not a sign that its correction is over; the asset could witness more bloodshed in the near term.

In the latest Bitfinex Alpha report, experts deemed the market’s reaction this week critical, especially as supply alleviated over the weekend could return when traditional markets open.

“No Man’s Land”

Since Saturday, bitcoin has risen almost 10% from $57,600 to $63,000, closing last week in the green. The asset has surged above the 125-day range low of $60,200, which it broke through earlier this month after news of the German government’s massive BTC selling hit the market.

Market sentiment began to improve after reports that wallets linked to the German government were almost empty. However, the positive sentiment may not be sustained for long as the BTC the German authorities moved to trading desks and exchanges are yet to be sold.

While the supply from Germany appears to have been factored into bitcoin’s market price, Bitfinex analysts believe the end of selling pressure depends on how the involved trading desks execute their trades in the coming days.

Although the shift in sentiment underscores the market’s capacity to integrate new information and adjust expectations quickly, analysts think the market’s reaction over the first two trading days of the week cannot be overlooked for two reasons.

First, the low support level in the $60,200 range has now become a potential resistance line. Second, trading patterns over the past three months suggest that weekends are usually favorable for markets, especially on Saturdays when supply pressure seems to subside.

“We are now in no man’s land until we get clear resolution above or below this level,” the analysts said.

A News-Driven Environment

Besides the potential resistance level and three-month weekend trading pattern, the market is currently in a news-driven environment, where the prices of cryptocurrencies have been determined by news agendas rather than fundamentals.

Since selling pressure concerns are not yet completely obsolete due to upcoming Mt Gox creditor distributions, Bitfinex analysts expect such headlines to continue to have some impact on price movements. As such, the analysts urged investors to exercise caution in their trading strategies.

Reports /Trainviral/

Crypto

Bitcoin ETFs Saw $300M in Daily Net Inflows

Published

5 months ago

July 16, 2024

BlackRock’s IBIT led with $117.25 million in inflows on July 15, also being the most traded Bitcoin ETF.

The US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a daily net inflow of $301 million on July 15th. This extended their winning streak to seven consecutive days amidst a broader market recovery.

None of the ETFs recorded outflows for the day.

Bitcoin ETFs Rake in $16.11B in Net Inflows Since Jan

According to the data compiled by SoSoValue, BlackRock’s IBIT, the top spot Bitcoin ETF by net asset value, recorded the largest net inflows of the day at $117.25 million. IBIT was also the most actively traded Bitcoin ETF on Monday, with a volume of $1.24 billion. Ark Invest and 21Shares’ ARKB came in close behind with net inflows of $117.19 million.

Fidelity’s FBTC experienced net inflows of $36.15 million on Monday, while Bitwise’s BITB saw $15.24 million in inflows. VanEck’s HODL, Invesco and Galaxy Digital’s BTCO, and Franklin Templeton’s EZBC funds also recorded net inflows. Meanwhile, Grayscale’s GBTC and other ETFs, such as Valkyrie’s BRRR, WisdomTree’s BTCW, and Hashdex’s DEFI, registered no flows for the day.

A total of $2.26 billion was traded on Monday. The trading volume for these ETFs was less than in March when it exceeded $8 billion on some days. Meanwhile, these funds have collectively attracted $16.11 billion in net inflow since their January launch.

What’s Next For Bitcoin?

Earlier this month, bitcoin’s price decline was mainly due to fears of massive selling pressure from Mt. Gox and the German government’s BTC sales.

But the assassination attempt on pro-crypto former US President and presumptive Republican candidate Donald Trump at Saturday’s rally seemed to spark a recovery in the world’s largest digital asset, and experts are bullish on the asset’s price trajectory going forward. Bitcoin surged more than 9% over the past week and was currently trading slightly below $64,000.

Veteran trader Peter Brandt discussed bitcoin’s price outlook, suggesting a potential major rally. He referred to a pattern he terms “Hump->Slump->Bump->Dump->Pump” and highlighted that the July 5 double top attempt was a bear trap, confirmed by the July 13 close. He sees a likely continued upward trend but warned that a close below $56,000 would negate this bullish view.

“Bitcoin $BTC could be unfolding its often-repeated Hump…Slump…Bump…Dump…Pump chart construction. Jul 5 attempt at the double top was a bear trap, confirmed by Jul 13 close. Most likely scenario now is that bears are trapped. Close below $56k negates this interpretation”

Reports /Trainviral/

Crypto

LI.FI DeFi Platform Exploited, Over $8M Lost

Published

5 months ago

July 16, 2024

PeckShield alert reveals LI.FI’s protocol vulnerability is similar to a March 2022 attack, with the same bug recurring.

The decentralized finance (DeFi) platform LI.FI protocol has suffered an exploit amounting to over $8 million.

Cyvers Alerts reported detecting suspicious transactions within the LI.FI cross-chain transaction aggregator.

LI.FI Issues Warning After $8 Million Exploit

LI.FI confirmed the breach in a statement on July 16 via X: “Please do not interact with any http://LI.FI powered applications for now! We’re investigating a potential exploit.” The team clarified that users who did not set infinite approval are not at risk, emphasizing that only those who manually set infinite approvals seem to be affected.

According to Cyvers Alerts, more than $8 million in user funds have been stolen, with the majority being stablecoins. According to on-chain data, the hacker’s wallet holds 1,715 Ether (ETH) valued at $5.8 million and USDC, USDT, and DAI stablecoins.

Cyvers Alerts advised users to revoke relevant authorizations immediately, noting that the attacker is actively converting USDC and USDT into ETH.

Crypto security firm Decurity provided insights into the exploit, stating that it involves the LI.FI bridge. “The root cause is a possibility of an arbitrary call with user-controlled data via depositToGasZipERC20() in GasZipFacet, which was deployed 5 days ago,” Decurity explained on X.

“In general, the risks behind routers, cross-chain swaps, etc. are about token approvals. Raw native assets like (unwrapped) ETH are safe from these kinds of hacks b/c they don’t have approvals as an option. Most users & wallets also no longer do “infinite approvals” which gives a smart contract total control on removing any amount of their tokens. It’s important to understand which tokens you’re approving to which contracts.

This dashboard looks for all transactions of a user that intersects Lifi. Not all of these transactions indicate risk- but you can see how, broadly, integrations & layers of tech (like how Metamask bridge uses Lifi on BSC) can complicate how users do or don’t put their assets at risk. Revoke Cash is the most well known approval manager app.

But it’s also good security practice to simply rotate your address. New addresses start with 0 approvals, so starting fresh by moving your tokens to a fresh address is another good security practice.” – commented Carlos Mercado, Data Scientist at Flipside Crypto.

Recent Exploit Mirrors March 2022 Attack

Further analysis by PeckShield alert revealed that the vulnerability is similar to a previous attack on LI.FI’s protocol that occurred on March 20, 2022. That incident saw a bad actor exploit LI.FI’s smart contract, specifically the swapping feature, before bridging.

The attacker manipulated the system to call token contracts directly within their contract’s context, making users who had given infinite approval vulnerable. This exploit resulted in the theft of approximately 205 ETH from 29 wallets, affecting tokens such as USDC, MATIC, RPL, GNO, USDT, MVI, AUDIO, AAVE, JRT, and DAI.

“The bug is basically the same. Are we learning anything from the past lesson(s)?” PeckShield Alert said in a July 16 X post.

Following the 2022 incident, LI.FI disabled all swap methods in its smart contract and worked on developing a fix to prevent future vulnerabilities. However, the recurrence of a similar exploit raises concerns about the platform’s security measures and whether adequate steps were taken to address the vulnerabilities identified in the previous breach.

LI.FI is a liquidity aggregation protocol that allows users to trade across various blockchains, venues, and bridges.

Reports /Trainviral/