It was an emotional roller coaster at the start of the week for crypto traders and hodlers as market conditions worsened following the prolonged bearish storm sweeping through the market. However, as the week rounds off, the heat of bullish momentum is gradually melting the icy coverings of the current crypto winter, and cryptocurrencies are finding their way out of the cold bearish waters. You should, however, know that overall market sentiments and structure remain bearish; thus, whatever bullish run there is, it might be a short gasp for breath before the bearish suffocating grip continues.
Chinese media predicted the fall of BTC to zero
In what seems like a renewed effort to keep Chinese citizens off the crypto roller coaster, Beijing warns Chinese citizens to play with the bitcoin bubble cautiously. In a news release, the Chinese state media remarked that "the world's largest crypto is heading to Zero." The Chinese media argued that Bitcoin is a digital ruse created by the West, whose value is created by the activities of buyers and sellers.
China had outlawed all crypto-related activities such as trading, mining, fundraising, among others. China's detraction comes after Bitcoin touched the $18,000 level amid what China believes to be "strong miner manipulation." China had not been a supporter of the digital currency, and the recent bearish descent might just have created the perfect platform to reiterate its stand on cryptocurrency and warn its citizens.
Cardano postpones Vasil fork for further testing
In a statement by the Input-Output Global (IOG) team, the anticipated Vasil fork on the Cardano platform has been postponed. The decision was reached after the team's end-of-the-week evaluation to allow for thorough testing and fixing residual bugs which the group considers non-severe. While this might be disappointing to Cardano users and more, the team stated that it had completed 95% of the Plutus V2 test scripts.
The decision invalidates the earlier proposed mainnet hard fork scheduled for June 29. The team further revealed that upon completion of its testing, a new date for the mainnet hard fork would be communicated after consultation with "members of the SPO and DApp development community."
SpaceX will accept Dogecoin to pay for certain goods
Elon Musk’s SpaceX has joined the list of companies owned by the billionaire that accepts Dogecoin for payments. In a tweet and interview on Bloomberg, the Tesla boss remarked, "Tesla accepts Dogecoin for some merchandise, and SpaceX will do the same."
Tesla already charted the way at the beginning of the year when the company stated that it would accept Dogecoin. The news carried a significant positive effect, such that the price of Dogecoin increased by 13 percent after the announcement.
Ethereum difficulty bomb to be melted by grey glacier upgrades on June 29
In a statement by the Ethereum Foundation, the Gray Glacier upgrade will come alive on June 29 under IEP – 5133. The upgrade aims to delay Ethereum's next difficulty bomb (the algorithm that increases the difficulty of solving mining mathematical challenges) by about 700,000 blocks.
Increased difficulty means fewer blocks would be solved in more extended periods with lesser rewards received. The upgrade would take place at 15,050,000 and be deployed directly on the mainnet.
Litecoin continues to struggle with MimbleWimble update
After Litecoin's MimbleWimble upgrade, which introduced controversial privacy features onto the network, Litecoin has faced several delisting on some of the biggest crypto exchanges around the work. In addition, the price of Litecoin has experienced a steady downward spiral beginning on May 20; a day after the upgrade went live. While Litecoin seems to have broken out of its daily bullish falling wedge structure, the breakout candles create a perfect bearish flag, suggesting that Litecoin may just be headed for further downward movement.
Shiba Inu again reacted with a price increase after Elon Musk's statement
Shiba experienced another upward push after the SpaceX and Tesla billionaire declared his unwavering support for Shiba-Inu. In a statement credited to the Tesla boss at the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha, Elon explained why he would continue to support the Shiba-Inu-themed meme coin. Musk's statement bolstered the confidence of both Dogecoin and Shiba holders and encouraged massive purchases, which created a short positive surge in the price of the Memecoins.
South Korean regulators and SEC continue to investigate
To ensure that employees of Terraform Labs (TFL) remain available for investigations into the crash of Terra's Luna and UST tokens, the South Korean government have barred Terraform Labs’ employees from leaving South Korea. The injunction marked and prevented the exit of top Terra staff and was imposed by the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' office coordinating the investigation, JTBC stated.
The prosecutor's office stated that its investigations might warrant search and seizure of properties and employee summons for questioning. A former employee of the embattled company, Hong Daniel, confirmed the directive and shared a screenshot on Twitter, which prevented him from leaving the country.
Tron goes out of its way to protect USDD
The present bearish storm shaking up the crypto market has made its way to Tron's gate. However, efforts are underway to prevent another stablecoin disaster.
In a statement by Sun and Tron DAO Reserve, 10 million USDD have been purchased on Tron to protect the USDD. The Tron Dao withdrew 5.5 billion Tron (TRX) from several exchanges to increase the collateral for USDD and prevent further price decline of the stablecoin. Presently, the price of USDD remains at $0.975 as Justin Sun and his team continue to monitor and work closely to restore the 1:1 peg with the US dollar.
Top Gainers and Losers this week
Cardano topped the losers' chart this week with a 1.93% decline, trailed closely by Bitcoin at 1.40% and Binance USD at 0.03%. On the flip side, Polygon tops the gainer's chart this week with a whopping 48.63% gain, followed by Shiba with a 23.59% gain, and Solana bagged a 21.13% gain.
