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The hottest currencies for the next few days
This week in the crypto market is marked by critical events and strategic developments that promise to significantly influence trends and investor sentiment. Here is an in-depth look at the most anticipated cryptocurrencies and their upcoming milestones.
No. 1 US Ethereum Spot ETF Deadline Approaches
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) faces essential deadlines on May 23 and 24 regarding the approval of spot Ethereum ETFs proposed by VanEck and ArkInvest/21Shares, respectively.
The probability of approval this month has decreased significantly. Eric Balchunas, ETF analyst at Bloomberg described the odds are “low to none,” pointing to the SEC’s silence as an important indicator. However, last week Coinbase released a new report stating that approval of a US spot Ethereum ETF is a matter of “when, not if.”
They argue that the justification used to approve spot Bitcoin ETFs – namely the high correlation between CME futures and spot exchange rates – should also apply to Ethereum. Therefore, they estimate that the chances are much higher, around 30-40%.
The SEC’s decisions on these applications will be crucial, potentially opening doors to broader institutional adoption and new investment products tied to Ethereum.
#2 AI Cryptocurrencies
This week, two significant events could influence the trajectory of AI-related crypto projects. First of all, NVIDIA’s Q1 2024 earnings report, scheduled for release on May 22, is highly anticipated. NVIDIA Performance and Outlook could significantly impact AI-related encryption projects. Strong earnings and positive guidance could boost investor confidence in AI-based crypto projects.
Secondly, on May 24th, the Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI) Alliance will be officially launched, marking the merger of Fetch.AI (FET), SingularityNET (AGIX), and Ocean Protocol (OCEAN). This merger aims to create the highest-value decentralized AI crypto project. Consolidation into a unified ASI token is designed to streamline operations, encourage collaboration, and foster a stronger, more cohesive community.
The ASI token will bring together the technological resources and capabilities of FET, AGIX and OCEAN, with the aim of establishing a dominant position in the decentralized AI market. The post-launch performance of the ASI token will be critical as it will reflect the market reception of this ambitious merger.
#3 Rebrand Fantom
Fantom (FTM) is undergoing a transformative rebranding initiative, with a proposal to launch a new token, S. This rebranding effort involves renaming the Fantom network to Sonic and migrating the FTM tokens to the new S tokens on a 1:1 basis.
The rebrand includes the launch of Sonic Network, a new layer-1 blockchain with a native layer-2 bridge to Ethereum. This new network aims to leverage advanced technology to significantly improve performance compared to the existing Opera network. The Fantom Foundation has set aside hundreds of millions of FTM from its treasury to support the development of the Sonic ecosystem, including marketing, business development, migration grants and other adoption initiatives.
Fantom Operations Ltd will continue to support the Opera network, while Sonic Operations Ltd will focus on the Sonic Network. This dual support system ensures continuity for current users while promoting migration to the new, more efficient Sonic Network.
Users will initially be able to exchange their FTM tokens for S tokens at a 1:1 ratio, with the migration process initially expected to be two-way, allowing for flexibility. Over time, this is expected to transition to a one-way migration.
#4 Solana V1.18
Solana is preparing for a significant upgrade. Scheduled for release on May 27, Solana mainnet update v1.18 aims to resolve the network congestion issueswhich were triggered by spam transactions and the increase in memecoin activities.
This update is crucial because it aims to increase the efficiency and scalability of the network. Congestion earlier this year, caused primarily by bots prioritizing their transactions and a dramatic increase in transactions associated with newly launched meme coins, created extraordinary demand for block space, locking out many users.
The Solana community is eagerly awaiting this update. A successful implementation could significantly improve the user experience, mitigate congestion issues, and restore confidence in Solana’s ability to handle large transaction volumes.
This could attract more users and developers to the platform, further strengthening the price of SOL, which has risen 22% in the last seven days.
#5 FLOKI Ad
FLOKI, a meme coin inspired by Elon Musk’s pet Shiba Inu, has generated considerable buzz with a cryptic announcement. On May 4, FLOKI’s official Twitter account provoked a big announcement for May 27th, stating: “[…] And with FLOKI set to make a big announcement later this month, the excitement is far from over!”
While details remain undisclosed, the anticipation is poised to trigger speculation and increase trading activity. Speculative announcements like this often lead to increased price volatility and trading volumes. Traders and investors will be eager to see if the announcement lives up to the hype and positively impacts the price of FLOKI.
Featured image created with DALL·E, chart from TradingView.com