Bank of Korea Acknowledges Stablecoin Merits: APAC Brief

Pi Network’s community sentiment poll on CoinMarketCap fell dramatically today, leading to allegations of bot activity. Negative votes swarmed the site’s poll, while other community ratings stayed positive.

However, there is no clear proof either for or against these claims. Pi Network has suffered criticism and price setbacks recently, and its supporters have swayed polls, votes, and ratings on multiple occasions.

Did Bots Sabotage Pi Network’s Community Sentiment?

Since its launch on February 20, Pi Network has seen more than its share of controversies. Critics have attacked its accessibility, governance, transparency, and more, and multiple governments have called it a scam.

Today, however, Pi supporters raised concerns about bot activity on CoinMarketCap after the token’s community sentiment plummeted:

“It looks like somebody is using bots to vote against PI. I am 99% sure this is not an organic poll. Over 1.94 Million votes is even bigger than the BTC vote. 77% of the PI community is bullish on CoinGecko. Why is it so different on CoinMarketCap?” a Pioneer asked on social media.

Specifically, this user noted that Pi’s community sentiment plunged 90% in less than a day and that this poll had more participants than Bitcoin’s.

Other platforms with a similar voting mechanism kept Pi’s rating steady, leading him to conclude that bot activity was involved.

It’s very difficult to assess the veracity of these Pi Network bot allegations for several reasons. First of all, the token’s price has suffered dramatically this week.

Many users lost huge sums of Pi tokens after the KYC migration deadline, and massive investor sell-offs have triggered a price rout. Some of this negative sentiment may be genuine.

Additionally, it’s interesting that CoinMarketCap is the only platform involved in the Pi Network bot voting allegations. The firm refused to acknowledge Pi as one of the largest tokens by market cap, but it eventually relented.

Either the platform or its community could bear resentment towards Pi after these setbacks.

Furthermore, the community does have a reputation for vote brigading. Bybit’s CEO has repeatedly criticized Pi, and the token’s supporters review-bombed the Bybit app in response. They did a similar practice with Binance after the exchange delayed a Pi listing.

Ultimately, it seems very unlikely that disgruntled Pi supporters or committed haters spiked this poll without any bot activity. The negative votes came in absurdly fast, were isolated to one platform, and exceeded the votes for even the largest cryptoassets.

As of now, it remains challenging to find definitive proof either way.

The post Pi Network Users Allege Bot Activity on CoinMarketCap Affecting Community Sentiment appeared first on BeInCrypto.

DWF Labs announced today that it invested $25 million into Trump Family-backed World Liberty Financial and is planning to open an office in New York City. It hopes to use this office to drive new relationships with regulators, financial institutions, and more.

Although this partnership would potentially create more liquidity opportunities for the US crypto market, previous allegations against DWF have raised some concerns about political misconduct.

Understanding DWF Labs’ Investment in WLFI

World Liberty Financial (WLFI), one of the Trump family’s major crypto ventures, has been making some big moves since the President’s inauguration in January.

The DeFi project allegedly entered talks with Binance to launch a new stablecoin, and it officially announced USD1 shortly after. Today, WLFI has entered a new partnership with Dubai-based Web3 investment firm DWF Labs.

“The US is the world’s largest single market for digital asset innovation. Our physical presence reflects our confidence in America’s role as the next growth region for institutional crypto adoption. Moreover,  the USD1 stablecoin and forthcoming global DeFi solutions align with our broader mission to improve financial services,” claimed Managing Partner Andrei Grachev.

DWF’s statement includes a few key details about its new relationship with WLFI. It essentially boils down to two key points: the firm has already purchased $25 million in WLFI tokens, and it plans to open a physical office in New York City.

On a positive note, this partnership could be significant for the overall US crypto market. DWF Labs has a portfolio of over 700 crypto projects.

So, physically setting up a hub in New York will give me regulatory freedom and the opportunity to invest directly in the local crypto market. This would potentially open up more liquidity for upcoming Web3 projects and startups in the US

Concerns of Financial Misconduct

Although DWF Labs is a popular market maker, it has been at the center of major controversies. Last year, it was accused of wash trading and market manipulation, and Binance allegedly shut down its internal investigation due to financial incentives.

Also, one of its partners was dismissed back in October over allegations of drugging a job applicant. So, the firm’s credibility and reputation have been shaky in recent times.

This is to say that the crypto community has reasons to worry about a deal between DWF and World Liberty Financial. A report from late March determined that most WLFI revenues go directly to Trump’s family.

WLFI owners are unable to actually trade their tokens, and the stated governance use of the assets seems unclear. In other words, there isn’t a clear reason why anyone would invest.

The growing concern is that firms like DWF would invest in WLFI as an easy tool for political corruption. Shortly after the election, Tron founder Justin Sun invested $30 million into World Liberty. Trump’s family apparently got most of this money, and the SEC settled a fraud case against Tron in February.

If DWF Labs invested a similar amount in WLFI, could this give it some legal protection? The Department of Justice already gutted its Crypto Enforcement Team, and New York’s US Attorney also signaled its intent to stop crypto prosecutions.

As this deal goes forward, it will be important to look for signs of any possible financial misconduct.

BeInCrypto has contacted DWF Labs about the 2024 market manipulation claims but has yet to receive a reply.

The post DWF Labs Invests $25 Million in Trump’s WLFI Amid Growing Political Controversy appeared first on BeInCrypto.

HBAR has experienced considerable volatility over the past month, struggling to recover recent losses and break the month-and-a-half-long downtrend.

Despite these challenges, the altcoin remains in a critical position as traders remain optimistic about its potential breakout. However, a failure to break key resistance levels could lead to further price declines.

HBAR Traders Are Bullish

Throughout this month, traders have shown strong bullish sentiment toward HBAR. The funding rate has remained positive consistently, indicating a dominance of long contracts in the market.

This suggests that traders are confident about a potential price recovery and are positioning themselves to capitalize on a rise in value. The consistent optimism reflects a belief that HBAR can rebound from its current downtrend.

Also, the positive funding rate shows that more investors are willing to place bets on the future of altcoin despite the ongoing challenges.

The macro momentum for HBAR reveals that short traders could face substantial losses if the price rises. The liquidation map indicates that approximately $38 million worth of short contracts could be liquidated if HBAR breaks its current downtrend and rises to $0.163.

This would have a significant impact on the market, potentially fueling further buying momentum.

Short traders have been betting on continued price declines, but a breakout above key resistance levels could force them to exit their positions. This would create additional buying pressure, supporting the potential for a larger upward move.

HBAR Price Is Awaiting A Boost

At the time of writing, HBAR is trading at $0.148, just under the critical resistance level of $0.154. The altcoin is looking to breach this resistance and break the downtrend line that has been holding it back.

A successful push past this level would be a key milestone in HBAR’s recovery.

The factors supporting a potential breakout indicate that HBAR could rise to $0.163 if it manages to flip $0.154 into support. Reaching this level could trigger the liquidation of short positions, further driving the price up.

This could help HBAR gain momentum and recover from its recent downtrend.

However, if the broader market turns bearish, HBAR’s price could fall to $0.139. Losing this support would be a bearish signal, potentially driving the price further down to $0.133.

Such a decline would invalidate the bullish thesis and shift the market outlook back toward the bears.

The post Hedera (HBAR) Price Action Could Lead to $38 Million in Losses appeared first on BeInCrypto.