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DeFi tokens and NFTs rally higher as Bitcoin price drops below $19,000

Bitcoin price is correcting, and most of the crypto market is red, but strong fundamental factors are pushing select DeFi tokens and NFTs higher.
Bitcoin (BTC) and other major altcoins are either stuck in a range or are witnessing…

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Bitcoin price is correcting, and most of the crypto market is red, but strong fundamental factors are pushing select DeFi tokens and NFTs higher.

Bitcoin (BTC) and other major altcoins are either stuck in a range or are witnessing a correction. However, that is not the case with the entire crypto space because a few tokens have been outperforming major cryptocurrencies by a considerable margin.

In a world where yields have plunged to negligible levels, the DeFi ecosystem has attracted investors’ attention. Data from Dune Analytics shows that the number of unique Ethereum addresses participating in various DeFi protocols has surged from about 91,000 to over 1 million in a year.

A few analysts have warned that while these numbers look encouraging, the actual number of unique users may be much smaller, as many DeFi users could be using multiple addresses. Despite this possibility, there is no denying the fact that the growth in DeFi has been phenomenal.

Compound, the fourth-largest DeFi platform by total dollar value locked, has made a strong comeback since Nov. 26 when $89 million worth of collateral was liquidated when the price of Dai surged to $1.3 on Coinbase and Uniswap. These price feeds are used by Compound.

Although Compound's protocol worked the way it should, its reliance on just a few data points for oracles came under criticism. As this was a one-off event, the price has surged back on hopes that a solution to avoid such liquidations in the future has been reached.

Crypto market data daily view. Source: Coin360

Another token that has made a strong dash to the upside is Waves. The team behind the Waves protocol recently announced a partnership with OKExChain, a public blockchain developed by digital-asset exchange OKEx, to build decentralized applications and developer-friendly tools.

Waves' Gravity protocol will enable OKExChain to connect and transfer assets across multiple blockchains. Assets in the Waves ecosystem can be used on decentralized exchanges built using OKExChain. Developers and traders from both ecosystems can hold, exchange and use tokens issued on both the Waves protocol and OKExChain.

The gaming industry and crypto tokens related to it have also zoomed higher in 2020 as people have been forced to stay at home due to the coronavirus pandemic. Growth within this sector also catalyzed a strong move among the nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, used in many blockchain-based games.

One of the most popular blockchain-based and NFT games of 2020 is Axie Infinity. In the game, players are tasked with building a digital landscape and battling their pets against other players, similar to Pokemon and Tamagotchi. The increasing downloads and over 4,500 active participants have also increased the demand for its Axie Infinity Shards (AXS) token.

While the fundamentals of each company have been positive, do the technicals project further upside?

Let’s analyze the charts of these three tokens to find out.

COMP/USD

COMP has rallied from an intraday low at $100.32 on Dec. 1 to an intraday high at $179.48 at press time, a 78% rally in a week. The 20-day exponential moving average ($127) has turned up, and the relative strength index (RSI) has entered the overbought zone, which suggests that bulls are in control.

COMP/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView

Typically, overbought readings on the RSI is considered bullish, especially when coming out of a bottoming formation because it shows aggressive buying by traders.

The COMP/USD pair could face resistance in the zone between $187 and $200. However, if the price does not give up much ground, it will suggest that traders are not booking profits on their positions in a hurry, as they expect higher levels in the future.

If the bulls can propel the price above $200, the pair could rise to $260 where the bears are likely to mount a stiff resistance. This bullish view will be invalidated if the price turns down and plummets below $140.

WAVES/USD

WAVES has risen from an intraday low at $6.20 on Dec. 1 to an intraday high at $9.32 on Dec. 7. This is a rally of about 50% in the past seven days, and the altcoin has been in a strong uptrend since bottoming out on Oct. 7.

WAVES/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView

The WAVES/USD pair is currently facing resistance near the psychological level of $10. The first support on the downside is the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level at $7.8833, and the next is the 20-day EMA at $7.

If the price rebounds off either level, it will suggest that traders are accumulating on dips. The bulls will then try to push the price above the overhead resistance. If they succeed, the next leg of the uptrend could begin with the first target at $13.40 and then $15.

However, the negative divergence on the RSI suggests that the momentum is weakening. If the price dips below the 20-day EMA, it will suggest that the bulls are no longer buying on dips, indicating a shift in the sentiment. This could result in a fall to the next critical support at $5.559.

AXS/USD

Axie Infinity’s AXS has rallied from an intraday low at $0.40 on Dec. 1 to an intraday high at $0.63889 at press time today. The 59% rally in the past week shows that the trend favors the bulls.

AXS/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView

The bears are likely to defend the overhead resistance at $0.686, but if the bulls can keep the price above the $0.55 support, it will indicate strength. Such a move will increase the possibility of a break above the overhead resistance.

The first target on the upside is $0.90, then the AXS/USD pair could rally to the psychological figure at $1.

Contrary to this assumption, if the bears sink the price below $0.55, a drop to the 20-day EMA ($0.46) is possible. A break below this level will suggest that the bulls have lost their grip. The trend will favor the bears if the price slips below $0.31.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

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US Spent More Than Double What It Collected In February, As 2024 Deficit Is Second Highest Ever… And Debt Explodes

US Spent More Than Double What It Collected In February, As 2024 Deficit Is Second Highest Ever… And Debt Explodes

Earlier today, CNBC’s…

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US Spent More Than Double What It Collected In February, As 2024 Deficit Is Second Highest Ever... And Debt Explodes

Earlier today, CNBC's Brian Sullivan took a horse dose of Red Pills when, about six months after our readers, he learned that the US is issuing $1 trillion in debt every 100 days, which prompted him to rage tweet, (or rageX, not sure what the proper term is here) the following:

We’ve added 60% to national debt since 2018. Germany - a country with major economic woes - added ‘just’ 32%.   

Maybe it will never matter.   Maybe MMT is real.   Maybe we just cancel or inflate it out. Maybe career real estate borrowers or career politicians aren’t the answer.

I have no idea.  Only time will tell.   But it’s going to be fascinating to watch it play out.

He is right: it will be fascinating, and the latest budget deficit data simply confirmed that the day of reckoning will come very soon, certainly sooner than the two years that One River's Eric Peters predicted this weekend for the coming "US debt sustainability crisis."

According to the US Treasury, in February, the US collected $271 billion in various tax receipts, and spent $567 billion, more than double what it collected.

The two charts below show the divergence in US tax receipts which have flatlined (on a trailing 6M basis) since the covid pandemic in 2020 (with occasional stimmy-driven surges)...

... and spending which is about 50% higher compared to where it was in 2020.

The end result is that in February, the budget deficit rose to $296.3 billion, up 12.9% from a year prior, and the second highest February deficit on record.

And the punchline: on a cumulative basis, the budget deficit in fiscal 2024 which began on October 1, 2023 is now $828 billion, the second largest cumulative deficit through February on record, surpassed only by the peak covid year of 2021.

But wait there's more: because in a world where the US is spending more than twice what it is collecting, the endgame is clear: debt collapse, and while it won't be tomorrow, or the week after, it is coming... and it's also why the US is now selling $1 trillion in debt every 100 days just to keep operating (and absorbing all those millions of illegal immigrants who will keep voting democrat to preserve the socialist system of the US, so beloved by the Soros clan).

And it gets even worse, because we are now in the ponzi finance stage of the Minsky cycle, with total interest on the debt annualizing well above $1 trillion, and rising every day

... having already surpassed total US defense spending and soon to surpass total health spending and, finally all social security spending, the largest spending category of all, which means that US debt will now rise exponentially higher until the inevitable moment when the US dollar loses its reserve status and it all comes crashing down.

We conclude with another observation by CNBC's Brian Sullivan, who quotes an email by a DC strategist...

.. which lays out the proposed Biden budget as follows:

The budget deficit will growth another $16 TRILLION over next 10 years. Thats *with* the proposed massive tax hikes.

Without them the deficit will grow $19 trillion.

That's why you will hear the "deficit is being reduced by $3 trillion" over the decade.

No family budget or business could exist with this kind of math.

Of course, in the long run, neither can the US... and since neither party will ever cut the spending which everyone by now is so addicted to, the best anyone can do is start planning for the endgame.

Tyler Durden Tue, 03/12/2024 - 18:40

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Buried Project Veritas Recording Shows Top Pfizer Scientists Suppressed Concerns Over COVID-19 Boosters, MRNA Tech

Buried Project Veritas Recording Shows Top Pfizer Scientists Suppressed Concerns Over COVID-19 Boosters, MRNA Tech

Submitted by Liam Cosgrove

Former…

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Buried Project Veritas Recording Shows Top Pfizer Scientists Suppressed Concerns Over COVID-19 Boosters, MRNA Tech

Submitted by Liam Cosgrove

Former Project Veritas & O’Keefe Media Group operative and Pfizer formulation analyst scientist Justin Leslie revealed previously unpublished recordings showing Pfizer’s top vaccine researchers discussing major concerns surrounding COVID-19 vaccines. Leslie delivered these recordings to Veritas in late 2021, but they were never published:

Featured in Leslie’s footage is Kanwal Gill, a principal scientist at Pfizer. Gill was weary of MRNA technology given its long research history yet lack of approved commercial products. She called the vaccines “sneaky,” suggesting latent side effects could emerge in time.

Gill goes on to illustrate how the vaccine formulation process was dramatically rushed under the FDA’s Emergency Use Authorization and adds that profit incentives likely played a role:

"It’s going to affect my heart, and I’m going to die. And nobody’s talking about that."

Leslie recorded another colleague, Pfizer’s pharmaceutical formulation scientist Ramin Darvari, who raised the since-validated concern that repeat booster intake could damage the cardiovascular system:

None of these claims will be shocking to hear in 2024, but it is telling that high-level Pfizer researchers were discussing these topics in private while the company assured the public of “no serious safety concerns” upon the jab’s release:

Vaccine for Children is a Different Formulation

Leslie sent me a little-known FDA-Pfizer conference — a 7-hour Zoom meeting published in tandem with the approval of the vaccine for 5 – 11 year-olds — during which Pfizer’s vice presidents of vaccine research and development, Nicholas Warne and William Gruber, discussed a last-minute change to the vaccine’s “buffer” — from “PBS” to “Tris” — to improve its shelf life. For about 30 seconds of these 7 hours, Gruber acknowledged that the new formula was NOT the one used in clinical trials (emphasis mine):


“The studies were done using the same volume… but contained the PBS buffer. We obviously had extensive consultations with the FDA and it was determined that the clinical studies were not required because, again, the LNP and the MRNA are the same and the behavior — in terms of reactogenicity and efficacy — are expected to be the same.

According to Leslie, the tweaked “buffer” dramatically changed the temperature needed for storage: “Before they changed this last step of the formulation, the formula was to be kept at -80 degrees Celsius. After they changed the last step, we kept them at 2 to 8 degrees celsius,” Leslie told me.

The claims are backed up in the referenced video presentation:

I’m no vaccinologist but an 80-degree temperature delta — and a 5x shelf-life in a warmer climate — seems like a significant change that might warrant clinical trials before commercial release.

Despite this information technically being public, there has been virtually no media scrutiny or even coverage — and in fact, most were told the vaccine for children was the same formula but just a smaller dose — which is perhaps due to a combination of the information being buried within a 7-hour jargon-filled presentation and our media being totally dysfunctional.

Bohemian Grove?

Leslie’s 2-hour long documentary on his experience at both Pfizer and O’Keefe’s companies concludes on an interesting note: James O’Keefe attended an outing at the Bohemian Grove.

Leslie offers this photo of James’ Bohemian Grove “GATE” slip as evidence, left on his work desk atop a copy of his book, “American Muckraker”:

My thoughts on the Bohemian Grove: my good friend’s dad was its general manager for several decades. From what I have gathered through that connection, the Bohemian Grove is not some version of the Illuminati, at least not in the institutional sense.

Do powerful elites hangout there? Absolutely. Do they discuss their plans for the world while hanging out there? I’m sure it has happened. Do they have a weird ritual with a giant owl? Yep, Alex Jones showed that to the world.

My perspective is based on conversations with my friend and my belief that his father is not lying to him. I could be wrong and am open to evidence — like if boxer Ryan Garcia decides to produce evidence regarding his rape claims — and I do find it a bit strange the club would invite O’Keefe who is notorious for covertly filming, but Occam’s razor would lead me to believe the club is — as it was under my friend’s dad — run by boomer conservatives the extent of whose politics include disliking wokeness, immigration, and Biden (common subjects of O’Keefe’s work).

Therefore, I don’t find O’Keefe’s visit to the club indicative that he is some sort of Operation Mockingbird asset as Leslie tries to depict (however Mockingbird is a 100% legitimate conspiracy). I have also met James several times and even came close to joining OMG. While I disagreed with James on the significance of many of his stories — finding some to be overhyped and showy — I never doubted his conviction in them.

As for why Leslie’s story was squashed… all my sources told me it was to avoid jail time for Veritas executives.

Feel free to watch Leslie’s full documentary here and decide for yourself.

Fun fact — Justin Leslie was also the operative behind this mega-viral Project Veritas story where Pfizer’s director of R&D claimed the company was privately mutating COVID-19 behind closed doors:

Tyler Durden Tue, 03/12/2024 - 13:40

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Association of prenatal vitamins and metals with epigenetic aging at birth and in childhood

“[…] our findings support the hypothesis that the intrauterine environment, particularly essential and non-essential metals, affect epigenetic aging…

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“[…] our findings support the hypothesis that the intrauterine environment, particularly essential and non-essential metals, affect epigenetic aging biomarkers across the life course.”

Credit: 2024 Bozack et al.

“[…] our findings support the hypothesis that the intrauterine environment, particularly essential and non-essential metals, affect epigenetic aging biomarkers across the life course.”

BUFFALO, NY- March 12, 2024 – A new research paper was published in Aging (listed by MEDLINE/PubMed as “Aging (Albany NY)” and “Aging-US” by Web of Science) Volume 16, Issue 4, entitled, “Associations of prenatal one-carbon metabolism nutrients and metals with epigenetic aging biomarkers at birth and in childhood in a US cohort.”

Epigenetic gestational age acceleration (EGAA) at birth and epigenetic age acceleration (EAA) in childhood may be biomarkers of the intrauterine environment. In this new study, researchers Anne K. Bozack, Sheryl L. Rifas-Shiman, Andrea A. Baccarelli, Robert O. Wright, Diane R. Gold, Emily Oken, Marie-France Hivert, and Andres Cardenas from Stanford University School of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Columbia University, and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai investigated the extent to which first-trimester folate, B12, 5 essential and 7 non-essential metals in maternal circulation are associated with EGAA and EAA in early life. 

“[…] we hypothesized that OCM [one-carbon metabolism] nutrients and essential metals would be positively associated with EGAA and non-essential metals would be negatively associated with EGAA. We also investigated nonlinear associations and associations with mixtures of micronutrients and metals.”

Bohlin EGAA and Horvath pan-tissue and skin and blood EAA were calculated using DNA methylation measured in cord blood (N=351) and mid-childhood blood (N=326; median age = 7.7 years) in the Project Viva pre-birth cohort. A one standard deviation increase in individual essential metals (copper, manganese, and zinc) was associated with 0.94-1.2 weeks lower Horvath EAA at birth, and patterns of exposures identified by exploratory factor analysis suggested that a common source of essential metals was associated with Horvath EAA. The researchers also observed evidence of nonlinear associations of zinc with Bohlin EGAA, magnesium and lead with Horvath EAA, and cesium with skin and blood EAA at birth. Overall, associations at birth did not persist in mid-childhood; however, arsenic was associated with greater EAA at birth and in childhood. 

“Prenatal metals, including essential metals and arsenic, are associated with epigenetic aging in early life, which might be associated with future health.”

 

Read the full paper: DOI: https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.205602 

Corresponding Author: Andres Cardenas

Corresponding Email: andres.cardenas@stanford.edu 

Keywords: epigenetic age acceleration, metals, folate, B12, prenatal exposures

Click here to sign up for free Altmetric alerts about this article.

 

About Aging:

Launched in 2009, Aging publishes papers of general interest and biological significance in all fields of aging research and age-related diseases, including cancer—and now, with a special focus on COVID-19 vulnerability as an age-dependent syndrome. Topics in Aging go beyond traditional gerontology, including, but not limited to, cellular and molecular biology, human age-related diseases, pathology in model organisms, signal transduction pathways (e.g., p53, sirtuins, and PI-3K/AKT/mTOR, among others), and approaches to modulating these signaling pathways.

Please visit our website at www.Aging-US.com​​ and connect with us:

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Click here to subscribe to Aging publication updates.

For media inquiries, please contact media@impactjournals.com.

 

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