Latest news with #Nigeria-based
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Bitcoin traders pile $868m into bets that price will exceed $140,000 by September
Bitcoin traders are piling into outsized bets that its price will rise above $140,000 by the end of September. Data from crypto derivatives exchange Deribit shows more than $868 million worth of September call options at that strike price. Calls are bullish option bets that the price of the underlying asset will exceed the strike price upon the contract's expiry, which in this case is $140,000 by September 26. Such implicit bullish bias signals a strong belief in Bitcoin's upward momentum, just as Bitcoin broke past $112,000 on Wednesday, to log a new all-time high. Earlier this month, several market watchers predicted that Bitcoin was primed for a big price push in July. Markus Thielen, CEO of 10x Research, predicted that Bitcoin could reach $116,000 while Bitwise analysts forecasted an even bigger price push to $136,000 in July. Bitcoin traders share the same conviction, as even short-dated contracts show similar bullish bias. Traders are betting Bitcoin will exceed $120,000 by the end of July, based on data from Deribit. 'July will test markets, but Bitcoin looks built for it,' Roshan Roberts, CEO of OKX US, told DL News. Roberts said big-money players are increasingly adopting Bitcoin as a macro hedge and that altcoins failing to mount a significant recovery is also adding to Bitcoin's shine. Illia Otychenjo, lead analyst at a crypto exchange, previously predicted that $64 billion in capital could shift from altcoins to Bitcoin this quarter. For many market watchers, there are several reasons to be bullish about Bitcoin, even if crypto volumes will dwindle during the summer months. Corporate treasuries are growing fonder of Bitcoin, and that could add steady buying pressure. In the last 30 days alone, at least 21 companies have announced plans to deploy about $3.5 billion into their Bitcoin treasuries. This all-time high comes while there is still a lot of money sidelined and waiting to be deployed,' Mauricio Di Bartolomeo, co-founder of Ledn, a Bitcoin lending firm, told DL News. 'If this trend continues, we may see Bitcoin price move higher from here.' The expectation of an imminent Bitcoin surge may also be boosted by traders pricing in interest rate cuts by the end of the quarter. Data from the CME FedWatch tool shows a 63% chance the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates by September. Lower interest rates are usually a boon for investments in risk-on assets like Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Osato Avan-Nomayo is our Nigeria-based DeFi correspondent. He covers DeFi and tech. Got a tip? Please contact him at osato@
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Three reasons why Ethereum's rally is just getting started, says Bernstein
Slowly, then all at once. Ethereum, which has dragged during the latest crypto rally, is finally heating up as institutional investors take a second look at the number two cryptocurrency. The reasons are myriad, but landmark stablecoin legislation is chief among the key engines powering the cryptocurrency's recent price action, say analysts. The second-biggest cryptocurrency surged 26% last week as US President Donald Trump signed the Genius Act, which legalises stablecoins in the US, into law. With Ethereum making almost 50% of the $261 billion stablecoin market, analysts say the new law will kickstart a boom, with rising demand for Ethereum on Wall Street. 'Banks, payment players, and fintechs would continue buying operational [Ethereum] to pay transaction fees for deploying stablecoins and tokenised assets on the blockchain,' Bernstein analysts wrote in a Monday report. But that's just one piece of a much larger pie for Ethereum. The cryptocurrency has also been enjoying a wave of accumulation by public companies that are adding Ethereum to their corporate reserves. Firms like Sharplink Gaming and Bitmine are racing to become the biggest corporate Ethereum holders, in a move similar to Strategy's policy of buying millions of dollars of Bitcoin for its balance sheet. Institutional investors are also piling into Ethereum exchange-traded funds. Though Ethereum ETFs have trailed their Bitcoin counterparts in terms of volume, they attracted higher daily investment than Bitcoin ETFs for the first time on July 17. Analysts predict that more investment will flow into Ethereum ETFs once the Securities and Exchange Commission allows staked funds, which are yield-bearing ETFs that offer investors exposure to Ethereum's staking market. BlackRock, the $12 trillion asset manager, filed last week to add staking to its $8.9 billion iShares Ethereum Trust. 'A yield-bearing ETF of an appreciating asset might turn out to be the next big asset management success for the digital assets industry, attracting even more investment flows,' according to Bernstein analysts. Analysts are now forecasting even more optimistic price targets for the number two cryptocurrency. That leaves one question on traders' minds: how high can Ethereum go? Mateusz Kara, CEO of Ari, a crypto payment company, said Ethereum going to $7,000 'no longer seems unrealistic.' Others even have higher price targets, as Theodorum noted that some analysts expect Ethereum's price to reach as high as $15,000 this year. 'Ethereum is having its time in the sun,' Mena Theodorum, co-founder of Coinstash, a crypto exchange, shared with DL News. Osato Avan-Nomayo is our Nigeria-based DeFi correspondent. He covers DeFi and tech. Got a tip? Please contact him at osato@ Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Arthur Hayes: Credit expansion will drive Bitcoin to $250,000 and Ethereum to $10,000
Crypto trading is like dancing, and credit expansion is the rhythm that drives the beat. That's according to Arthur Hayes, chief investment officer at Maelstrom, who said geopolitical noise won't stop crypto's pump. Instead, monetary expansion — as in central banks printing more money — will continue to drive Bitcoin's price growth thanks to its capped total supply, he argued. 'Bitcoin is the best horse to ride if you believe there will be more units of fiat created in the future,' Hayes wrote in a blog post on Wednesday. And Hayes said his fund is all-in on the credit expansion-driven cycle and predicts that Bitcoin will reach $250,000 by the end of the year. That's more than a 100% increase based on the current Bitcoin price. 'Macro hedge' Other market analysts also have similar expectations for Bitcoin. Roshan Roberts, CEO of OKX US, a crypto exchange, previously told DL News that institutional investors are treating Bitcoin as a 'macro hedge.' And the likes of Bitwise, Bernstein, and Standard Chartered have predicted that Bitcoin could reach at least $200,000 before 2026. But Bitcoin won't be the only high performer, according to Hayes. He says the crypto market's plumbing has changed thanks to stablecoins. Hayes argument? That stablecoin issuers have become de facto funders of America's deficit budget by buying US Treasuries, which means the crypto market's liquidity is deeply tied to government debt markets. Tether, the biggest stablecoin issuer, holds $120 billion in US Treasury bills, per its most recent quarterly attestation. And Ethereum is the prime stablecoin blockchain. Hayes says he is betting big on Ethereum and expects the market's second-largest cryptocurrency to repeat Solana's 2023 price surge and go as high as $10,000 this year. Ethereum has been on a hot streak since the start of the second quarter and is up more than 40% in the last two months. Last week, Mateusz Kara, CEO of Ari10, a crypto payment company, said Ethereum's price rising to $7,000 is no longer an unrealistic target. Crypto market movers Bitcoin is down 0.6% in value over the past 24 hours and is trading at $118,339. Ethereum is also down 1.1% in the same period to $3,658. What we're reading Senate's new crypto bill would exempt some tokens from securities laws — DL News Jito Reveals Largest-Ever Upgrade to Solana Block Building — Unchained What everyone's missing w/ SOL — Milk Road Polymarket Could Return to U.S. Market After $112M Acquisition — Unchained Ethena launches $360m treasury play that buys locked tokens — DL News Osato Avan-Nomayo is our Nigeria-based DeFi correspondent. He covers DeFi and tech. Got a tip? Please contact him at osato@ Sign in to access your portfolio
MTV Lebanon
16-07-2025
- Politics
- MTV Lebanon
Cameroon's Biya, 92, reshuffles military top brass ahead of vote
Cameroon's 92-year-old President Paul Biya, the world's oldest head of state, has overhauled the military's top ranks in what analysts say is an effort to ensure the armed forces back his bid for an eighth term after a public outcry. The personnel moves, announced late on Tuesday in a series of presidential decrees, affect nearly all branches of the armed forces. They include the appointment of new chiefs of staff for the infantry, air force and navy as well as the promotion of eight brigadier generals to the rank of major general. One of the promoted generals is the coordinator of the elite Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR), a special forces unit often deployed in counter-terrorism operations and seen as central to Biya's security apparatus. The decrees also named a new special presidential military adviser. The decrees were published two days after Biya, in power since 1982, announced he would run for his eighth term in office in Cameroon's presidential election scheduled for October 12. The seven-year term could keep him in office until he is nearly 100. The announcement prompted an unprecedented public outcry in the press and on social media in Cameroon, where Biya's age and long absences have raised questions about his fitness to rule. The government has said Biya is in good health and dismissed any suggestions otherwise. The decrees concerning the armed forces reflect "a strategy by President Biya and his collaborators to consolidate power by building a fortress of loyal army generals around him" that can suppress any protest to his continued rule, said Anthony Antem, peace and security analyst at the Nkafu Policy Institute in Yaounde. Celestin Delanga, researcher at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), said the decrees "come in a unique political and security context." Biya wants to ensure stability during and after the election and "additional trusted personnel are needed" for that, he said. The cocoa- and oil-producing Central African nation also faces a host of serious security challenges, notably a conflict with Anglophone separatists and threats from Nigeria-based Islamist fighters in the north. The government gave no explanation for the overhaul. The last significant military shake-up in Cameroon came just last year, shortly after Biya returned in October from his latest extended stay abroad which revived speculation about his health.
The Star
16-07-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Cameroon's Biya, 92, reshuffles military top brass ahead of vote
FILE PHOTO: Cameroon President Paul Biya attends the Paris Peace Forum, France, November 12, 2019. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo/File Photo YAOUNDE (Reuters) -Cameroon's 92-year-old President Paul Biya, the world's oldest head of state, has overhauled the military's top ranks in what analysts say is an effort to ensure the armed forces back his bid for an eighth term after a public outcry. The personnel moves, announced late on Tuesday in a series of presidential decrees, affect nearly all branches of the armed forces. They include the appointment of new chiefs of staff for the infantry, air force and navy as well as the promotion of eight brigadier generals to the rank of major general. One of the promoted generals is the coordinator of the elite Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR), a special forces unit often deployed in counter-terrorism operations and seen as central to Biya's security apparatus. The decrees also named a new special presidential military adviser. The decrees were published two days after Biya, in power since 1982, announced he would run for his eighth term in office in Cameroon's presidential election scheduled for October 12. The seven-year term could keep him in office until he is nearly 100. The announcement prompted an unprecedented public outcry in the press and on social media in Cameroon, where Biya's age and long absences have raised questions about his fitness to rule. The government has said Biya is in good health and dismissed any suggestions otherwise. The decrees concerning the armed forces reflect "a strategy by President Biya and his collaborators to consolidate power by building a fortress of loyal army generals around him" that can suppress any protest to his continued rule, said Anthony Antem, peace and security analyst at the Nkafu Policy Institute in Yaounde. Celestin Delanga, researcher at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), said the decrees "come in a unique political and security context." Biya wants to ensure stability during and after the election and "additional trusted personnel are needed" for that, he said. The cocoa- and oil-producing Central African nation also faces a host of serious security challenges, notably a conflict with Anglophone separatists and threats from Nigeria-based Islamist fighters in the north. The government gave no explanation for the overhaul. The last significant military shake-up in Cameroon came just last year, shortly after Biya returned in October from his latest extended stay abroad which revived speculation about his health. (Reporting and writing by Amindeh Blaise Atabong; Editing by Robbie Corey-Boulet and Aidan Lewis)
