• Hedera reached a milestone of 6 billion transactions on its mainnet recently.
• The network faced an issue that impacted mirrornode operators but was eventually resolved.
• HBAR, the native token of Hedera, was showing bearish indicators and was trading 4% lower than last week.
Hedera Reaches a Milestone in Network Growth

Hedera [HBAR] has achieved a remarkable milestone by processing 6 billion transactions on its mainnet since its launch. The team revealed this in a tweet dated 26 March 2021 and also stated that it had processed 1 billion transactions in 17 days.

Network Issue Impacts Mirrornode Operators

On 24 March, the team investigated an issue with the GCS recordstream being halted, which might have impacted mirrornode operators. However, they were able to fix the issue soon after investigation.

HBAR’s Market Indicators Favor Bears

At press time, HBAR was trading nearly 4% lower than last week at $0.06013 with a market capitalization of more than $1.8 billion. Santiment’s chart showed that HBAR’s Binance funding rate dropped sharply, indicating less demand from the derivatives market. Additionally, the token lost popularity as evident from its declining social volume and development activity.

Will Hedera’s Success Benefit HBAR?

It remains uncertain if HBAR will gain from Hedera’s success in the near future due to its current bearish state and market indicators predicting further downtrends. Investors will have to wait longer for an uptick in price and market activity before making any decisions regarding their investments in Hedera networks or tokens.

• Bitcoin [BTC] recently made a new high, retesting the $26K price level twice within a week.
• Investors sought out BTC as an alternative following the U.S. bank run and declining faith in traditional banking system.
• BTC’s value was hovering around its June 2022 level, with sentiment being positive despite increased sell pressure.

Bitcoin Reaches New Highs

Bitcoin [BTC] recently made a new high, retesting the $26K price level twice within a week due to investors seeking out BTC as an alternative following the U.S. bank run and declining faith in traditional banking system. At press time, BTC’s value was hovering around its June 2022 level, with sentiment being positive despite increased sell pressure.

Potential Rally

Investors partly fueled the retest of $26K, seeking alternatives following the U.S. bank run and declining faith in the traditional banking system. If bulls defend the new support at $27,208, BTC could potentially retest $27,757 or increase to $28.17K with other key resistance levels at $28.65K and $29.51K respectively . Alternatively, short-sellers could gain leverage if BTC closes below the hurdle of $27.21K by clearing further hurdles at $26.37K and $25.07 to dent bullish sentiment . A break below 26-period EMA ($2529 K) could attract more aggressive selling but could slow down to 200 EMA ($2306 K). The Relative Strength Index (RSI) retreated to overbought zone while On Balance Volume (OBV) made new highs , showing genuine demand for BTC .

Spike in Supply on Exchanges

The exchange flow balance on 17 March showed more Bitcoin flowing into exchanges than out which indicated increased selling pressure as it tested previous resistance of 2637 K . Similarly , supply on exchanges spiked further , reinforcing lingering sell pressure on 17 March .

Risk Factor

However , investors must be aware that any significant drop below 2721 K could lead to bearish momentum with hefty losses . Furthermore , any break below 26 period EMA 2529 K might attract more aggressive selling activity resulting in a drop towards 200 EMA 2306 K .

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• President Joe Biden has proposed an excise tax on cryptocurrency mining companies that is 30% of the cost of the power they use.
• His Fiscal Year 2024 budget included a proposal to implement wash sale rules for crypto assets in order to close tax loopholes.
• The United States expects to impose the restrictions on cryptocurrency beginning 31 December 2023, with the country potentially earning around $24 billion from closing the lacunae.

Biden Proposes Excise Tax for Crypto Mining Companies

President Joe Biden has proposed an excise tax on cryptocurrency mining companies that is 30% of the cost of the power they use in order to address tax loopholes and reduce energy consumption.

Wash Sale Rules Proposed

The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has proposed implementing wash sale rules for crypto assets in order to close tax loopholes, as part of his Fiscal Year 2024 budget proposal. Wash trading is the practice of selling a financial instrument for a loss in order to claim it as deductible and then immediately buying it back. Crypto traders can claim tax-deductible losses on losses and immediately repurchase tokens while stock and bond traders are prohibited from repurchasing the same securities for 30 days.

Impact on Environment & Local Utilities

The increase in energy consumption caused by digital asset mining has negative environmental consequences and may have implications for environmental justice, as well as raising energy prices for those that share an electricity grid. According to estimates, worldwide power usage for crypto assets is 120-240 billion kilowatt-hours per year— a fact that exceeds the annual electricity usage of Australia.

Restrictions Implemented Starting Dec 2023

The United States expects to impose restrictions on cryptocurrency beginning 31 December 2023, with the country potentially earning around $24 billion from closing such lacunae according to White House estimates.

Conclusion

In conclusion, President Joe Biden’s budget proposals aim at taxing crypto mining operations which are seen as having adverse environmental impacts and increasing prices for those sharing a grid with these operations while creating uncertainty and risks to local utilities and communities.

• Ethereum [ETH] validators were doing well in terms of generating revenue from staking.
• Real staking returns improved to 6% in Q4 of 2022.
• A bearish order block around $1700 could offer an ideal selling opportunity.

Ethereum Validators Generate Revenue from Staking

A recent report highlighted that Ethereum [ETH] validators were doing well in terms of generating revenue from staking, despite the volatility in the price. Moreover, on 1 March, Messari revealed that real staking returns improved to 6% in Q4 of 2022. The Merge vastly improved the economics for stakers. Real staking returns improved from 1% in Q3 to 6% in Q4 of last year. The majority of the increase came from a fall in net inflation from 4% to 0%.

Price Performance and Possibility for Short Selling

Is your portfolio green? Check the Ethereum Profit Calculator This was good for long-term holders. Indeed, the price has performed well, considering its rally from early January. Although the market structure was bullish on the higher timeframes, a revisit to $1685 could initiate strong bearish pressure. The bearish order block around $1700 could pose stern resistance to the price Source: ETH/USDT on TradingView The six-hour price chart showed that ETH broke its bullish structure on 22 February, highlighted in orange. It fell to the $1590-$1605 area on 24 February, an area that continued to serve as a significant area of demand. At the time of writing, Ethereum appeared to be headed upward after bouncing from $1600 within the past 36 hours. The RSI climbed above neutral 50 to highlight some bullish momentum that had taken hold. The OBV was in an uptrend as well, showing steady buying pressure .Over the past six weeks, the price has oscillated between $1504 and $1707 as support and resistance respectively .Highlighted in red was a bearish order block on daily timeframe from 10 September .The recent break meant short positions were favored with a potential target at mid range mark at 1600 and range lows at 1504 .

Fair Value Gap Serving As Potential Target

Highlighted in white was another bearish order block , this time on H6 timeframe .Moreover there is fair value gap extending form 1687-1695 which could offer shorting opportunity for ethereum traders , a session close above 1720 would invalidate this idea .

Disclaimer

The information presented does not constitute financial , investment , trading or other types of advice and is solely writer’s opinion .

Conclusion
In conclusion , it appears that Ethereum is currently showing signs of positive momentum which may be indicative of more gains ahead however there is also potential for shorting should prices dip below 1700 due to an imbalance and fair value gap offering profit targets at 1600and 1504 respectively