Hedera on the go

Look out, here comes Hedera. The 30th-largest coin finds itself flirting with fifteen cents for the first time since April. HBAR's 24-hour pump (+30%) follows a buying spree set off in part by supposed scuttlebutt about the next potential SEC chief having ties to Hedera, which is a decentralized public network run by a consortium of big tech companies.

CoinGape's technical analysis hints of a short-term breakout from the dreaded symmetrical triangle, a kind of plot-point road to nowhere. And there's recent talk (on Swiss television) of a crypto-in-space-enabling satellite set for launch in a couple of months, and it's one in which Hedera reportedly has a role. HBAR's spot price has rocketed 170% since last Tuesday. It's market cap has landed on $5.5 billion, according to CoinGecko. HBAR's all-time high of $0.57 came in September of 2021.

Also outpacing the pack this week is Tezos (XTZ). At one stage yesterday, XTZ, 92nd-largest token, had spiked 64% to as high as $1.29. We recall it toured the $1.50 region in mid-March but then eventually settled into a months-long residency at a venue in the basement below seventy cents. The XTZ surge of late would seem to follow an announcement at noon on Monday that Everstake, a staking platform, will support XTZ staking, an income-oriented feature introduced on Tezos this past June. XTZ has a market cap of $1.1 billion. Its ATH of about $9 came in October of 2021, per CoinGecko.

Total crypto assets are nearing $3.25 trillion. As of 7:57 a.m. (EST), the total was $3.24 trillion, reflecting a gain of 0.8% in 24 hours. Bitcoin was $92,432 at that moment, having gained 2% since yesterday morning. BTC is now six days removed from its all-time high of $93,477. As of last week, BTC ETF assets had reached $95B after six weeks of positive inflows.

Ethereum shedding 3% over the past week caught our glance as we scoured charts for big-cap duds. Are ETH's best days behind it? "Something's off with Ethereum and nobody wants to talk about it," CoinMarketCap said.

That the second-largest crypto - in this torrid environment - could dissipate into sub-$3,200 terrain, or 35% lower than its 2021 peak, would suggest that maybe the big money has relegated ETH to their pay-no-mind list. "In a market where even meme coins are breaking records that's concerning," CoinMarketCap said.

But it's not like spot ETH ETFs haven't garnered any attention at all. Last week, inflows totaled $646 million. Total assets in ETH ETFs have now crossed the $9B mark.

Bitcoin has surged 32% since the election as traders place bets that President-elect Donald Trump's pledge to support digital assets will indeed pan out. Volumes on Coinbase have tripled.

Soberingly though, Reuters reports on how some market players are sounding a note of caution about profit-taking and pullbacks in the coming weeks. Skeptics and greed index watchers warn of $60K coming back into view. Bulls are having absolutely none of it.

“I’m planning the $100,000 party,” said Michael Saylor, founder of MicroStrategy. “I’m thinking it’s probably going to be New Year’s Eve."

MicroStrategy has snapped up 142,050 BTC, worth about $13 billion, so far this year. The business intelligence firm turned international crypto storehouse currently holds 331,200 BTC worth $30 billion. On Monday, MicroStrategy announced it purchased a bulk amount of coin ($4.6B worth) and also that the firm intends to privately borrow $1.75B so it can buy some more.

Greed, to nail with precision an exactly appropriate word, is rampant. Investors of all stripes are quick to gather, whether through reading posts on social media or just by sticking out their tongue, that a Trump win spells some seismic shift.

We, however, insist on checking the Bitcoin Puell Multiple, an indicator invented by a guy named David Puell who wanted to better understand miner profitability over extended periods of time not just day to day.

Puell's method shows the relationship between the daily value of BTC mined per day, versus BTC's 365-day simple moving average. "When the value crosses the moving average trend line, it tends to coincide with rapid BTC price gains," Cointelegraph said, citing CryptoQuant, analyzing five years of Puell tool activity.

Apparently, the metric just crossed its yearly moving average. That's only happened two other times. On each occasion, BTC “experienced significant price surges,” CryptoQuant said.