SOL Breaks Through $200 Amid Surge in Retail Interest
  The latest moves in crypto markets, in context By the CoinDesk Markets Team Edited by Lawrence Lewitinn, Managing Editor, Global Capital Markets September 9, 2021 Sponsored by  (Price data as of September 9 @ 11:00 UTC) If you were forwarded this newsletter and would like to receive it, sign up here.
Good morning, and welcome to First Mover. Here's what's happening this morning:
And check out the CoinDesk TV show "First Mover," hosted by Christine Lee and me at 9:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern time. Today's show will feature guests:
– Lawrence Lewitinn
Biggest Movers These are the biggest movers in the CoinDesk 20 over the past 24 hours:
Gainers: Losers:
The CoinDesk 20 are 20 digital assets filtered from the larger universe of thousands of cryptocurrencies and constitute roughly 99% of the market by volume at eight of the largest and most trustworthy exchanges.
A message from AAX  Powered by London Stock Exchange Group Technology, AAX offers a wide range of crypto products and services, including spot and futures for over 90 trading pairs, P2P fiat trading, high yield savings, research, education, OTC and more institutional offerings.
Make the most out of your crypto holdings. Grow with AAX.
Market Moves by Omkar Godbole SOL Tops $200 as Google Search Data Shows Peak Retail Interest Solana's SOL went above $200 on Thursday, the fourth straight day the smart contract blockchain's token reached a record high. The cryptocurrency has chalked up a five-fold rally in the past 30 days, courtesy of renewed interest in Ethereum alternatives amid the explosive growth of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Money has been flowing into Solana and other Ethereum alternatives capable of handling a much larger volume of transactions for lower fees compared to Ethereum, the world's largest smart contract blockchain.  Solana prices on FTX. (Source: TradingView) SOL's rally, however, may cool as web search figures show the peak popularity of the token in the general populace. That's often observed at major price tops.
Google Trends, a widely used tool to gauge general or retail interest in trending topics, is currently returning a value of 100 for the worldwide search query "how to buy solana" over the past 12 months. The worldwide search query for the term "Solana" is also returning a value of 100 at press time.
A score of 100 represents peak popularity - the maximum number of searches observed for a term during a given time frame. It means more and more people are scanning the web for information on how to buy SOL, which has outperformed market leaders bitcoin and ether by leaps and bounds in recent weeks.
Google Trends provides access to a mostly unfiltered sample of actual search requests made to Google and scales their searches on a range of 0 to 100, according to the company. The search value represents the search interest relative to the highest point on the chart for the selected region and time.  Google search query for "how to buy solana." (Source: Google) General interest began rising with Solana's launch of the NFT project Degenerate Apes on Aug. 15. The token also began its near-vertical rise around the same time.
Peak popular interest does not necessarily imply an increase in actual buying pressure from retailers. Often, investors search for information but don't act. That said, a value of 100 for the search query "how to buy solana" does show retailers are eager to step in (or some may have already bought).
Retail investors have a reputation for being the last entrants in a bull run, and their entry often coincides with the exit of large investors and major market tops. Bitcoin's 2017 bull run peaked with google search value for the term bitcoin rising to 100 in December. Similar web search values were observed in January and April this year, signaling a retail frenzy. Bitcoin peaked above $64,000 in April.
Peak general interest in SOL is accompanied by an above-70 or overbought reading on the relative strength index, a widely tracked technical analysis. The above-70 reading indicates the rally is overdone, and the asset could see some consolidation or correction.
SOL's social volume, or the number of mentions of the coin on crypto social media channels, including Telegram groups, and crypto subreddits tracked by analytics firm Santiment, reached a record high of 8,802 this week before decoupling from the rising price on Wednesday. High levels of crowd chatter often work as a contrary indicator.
Investment banking giant JPMorgan has warned of froth and retail investor mania in SOL, cardano and crypto exchange's Binance BNB token, according to Forbes.
"The August rally in non-fungible tokens and the pickup in decentralized finance activity have helped not only ethereum but also alternative cryptocurrencies that facilitate or plan to facilitate smart contracts, such as Solana, Binance Coin and Cardano," JPMorgan said. "The previous phase of retail investors' mania into cryptocurrency markets was between the beginning of January and mid-May… and retail investors are making cryptocurrency markets look frothy again."  Sol's social volume. (Source: Santiment) Most NFTs on Solana, including the Degenerate Ape Academy, have seen a drop in volumes in the past 24 hours, according to Solanalysis.com. While collectibles on Solana have generated $95 million worth of trading volume over the past seven days, the week-on-week growth rate is pretty flat.
The broader NFT boom is also showing signs of cooling. OpenSea, the world's largest NFT marketplace, registered a trading volume of less than $100 million on Wednesday, the lowest since Aug. 21, per Dune Analytics. Other popular NFTs like Loot and CryptoPunk have also seen a sharp drop in trading volumes in the past 24 hours.
All things considered, SOL's bullish momentum may slow and the cryptocurrency could see a price pullback. Read the original story here: SOL Tops $200 as Google Search Data Shows Peak Retail Interest
Technician's Take by Damanick Dantes, CMT  Bitcoin Rangebound Ahead of $48K-$50K Resistance Bitcoin (BTC) is stuck in a tight range as sellers take a breather from this week's sell-off. The cryptocurrency is oversold on intraday charts, which could encourage buyers to step in, albeit limited towards the $50,000 resistance level.
BTC was trading around $46,200 at press time and is down 6% over the past week.  Bitcoin four-hour chart. (TradingView, CoinDesk)
A Message from ErisX  ErisX has one of the lowest fee structures in the industry. We offer low transaction fees, low Blockchain fees, and do not charge for storage. We also provide instant credits for passive order flow. Watch this video for more information about our Get Paid to Rest program.
Open an account, refer a friend, and you are both rewarded $50 after they make their first trade.
BOLO ICYMI In case you missed it, here are the most recent episodes of "First Mover" on CoinDesk TV:
"First Mover" talks to Managing Editor for Global Policy & Regulation Nikhilesh De as Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong says the SEC threatened to sue the firm over lending product. Coinbase VP for Products Sanchan Saxena and OneOf CEO and Co-founder Lin Dai join the program as Coinbase is also partnering with OneOf in offering NFT products. FINXFLO Head of Institutional Sales Jeff Reed shares his markets analysis as the bitcoin price stabilizes around $46K. Lex Sokolin from ConsenSys shares the latest growth of crypto wallet MetaMask.
Latest Headlines
Disclaimer: The information presented in this message is intended as a news item that provides a brief summary of various events and developments that affect, or that might in the future affect, the value of one or more of the cryptocurrencies described above. The information contained in this message, and any information liked through the items contained herein, is not intended to provide sufficient information to form the basis for an investment decision. The information presented herein is accurate only as of its date, and it was not prepared by a research analyst or other investment professional. You should seek additional information regarding the merits and risks of investing in any cryptocurrency before deciding to purchase or sell any such instruments.
First Mover A newsletter from CoinDesk Copyright © 2021 CoinDesk, All rights reserved. 250 Park Avenue South New York, NY 10003, USA You can manage your preferences here or unsubscribe from all CoinDesk email. |