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Upbit Dominates South Korea’s Crypto Market, Ranking Top 5 Globally: Report

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Upbit, a cryptocurrency platform based in South Korea, is responsible for over 80% of the country’s trading activity and has become among the world’s leading five exchanges in terms of trading volume.

According to a Bloomberg report, Upbit’s customers were responsible for nearly a fifth of the total deposits from its major banking partners last year.

Upbit’s Dominance Sparks Concerns

Upbit’s dominance has drawn criticism and concerns, particularly as South Korea moves to enact new legislation aimed at protecting investors following the TerraUSD stablecoin collapse in 2022.

The upcoming regulations, set to be enforced in July under the Virtual Asset User Protection Act, will impose strict requirements on crypto exchanges, including measures to increase reserves, enhance investor protection, and monitor suspicious transactions.

The concerns stem from the fear that these regulations could cement Upbit’s position as the undisputed leader in the Korean market.

Nam HyeonJoon, a spokesperson for Bithumb, Korea’s second-largest trading platform, highlighted the challenges posed by the new regulatory framework, citing the substantial capital and manpower required for compliance.

Simon Seojoon Kim, CEO of Hashed, a Korea-based venture capital firm, echoed these sentiments, noting that well-resourced exchanges like Upbit may find it easier to meet the new standards, potentially widening the gap between market leaders and smaller competitors.

The regulatory challenges have already affected international exchanges eyeing entry into the Korean market. Singapore-based Crypto.com recently announced a delay in its planned launch in South Korea, citing the need for further communication with regulators.

The decision came after reports of regulatory scrutiny, with concerns raised about anti-money laundering practices.

Since the crypto law passed last June, smaller exchanges like Huobi Korea, Cashierest, and Coinbit have closed. Analyst Min Seung Kim from Korbit Research expects Upbit to easily meet new regulations, noting that competition is increasingly focused on the top exchange.

South Korea’s Crypto Craze

Despite the regulatory landscape, South Korea’s appetite for crypto shows no signs of decreasing. More than six million Koreans, representing over 10% of the population, actively trade cryptocurrencies, and the won is emerging as the most traded currency against crypto-assets globally.

The country remains a hotbed of activity for crypto enthusiasts. “I invested more in stocks before, but now I’m all in crypto,” remarked Ho Chan Chung, head of marketing at Korean analytics firm CryptoQuant.

Launched in 2017 by Dunamu Inc., Upbit has quickly become a key player in the crypto market. According to CCData, its trading volume globally has surged to nearly 5%, up from 1.4% in January 2021. Backed by Kakao Corp. and Woori Technology Investment, Upbit reached a peak valuation of $15.7 billion during the pandemic.

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Cryptocurrency

5 Bullish and 2 Bearish Indicators for Bitcoin as BTC Price Approaches ATH Levels

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Just a month and a half ago, this article would have made no sense when BTC’s price tumbled below $75,000 and the main speculations within the community turned on whether the bull run had abruptly ended.

Yesterday, bitcoin’s price stood at $30,000 higher, and it came just 2% away from breaking its all-time high from January. It sits slightly lower now, but there’s something in the air that suggests a new peak is coming. Let’s see what on-chain data and some technical indicators will say about that.

The Bull Case

We begin with large accumulations. After all, prices tend to rise if there’s more buying momentum, right? Lookonchain listed a number of whales that have gone on an accumulation spree in the past few days, purchasing in total over $250 million worth of BTC.

The accumulation group is typically led by Michael Saylor’s Strategy, and the world’s largest corporate holder of bitcoin didn’t disappoint this week. On Monday, the NASDAQ-listed company announced the latest purchase of BTC, worth three-quarters of a billion. Metaplanet also joined the pack by acquiring over 1,000 BTC for $104 million.

In the same context, it’s also worth exploring the ETF inflows, which have been in the green for most of the past month. In fact, there have been only four red examples since April 14 out of 25 trading days. According to data from Farside, the value of net inflows has surged past $3.3 billion since May 1.

Finishing off the accumulations with data from Glassnode, which reads that (almost) all sorts of BTC wallets have been buying recently – it’s not just whales and corporations.

The fifth bullish signal for bitcoin comes from a slightly different perspective, as the overall market sentiment has switched to more positive ground. This is evident from the growing number of BTC leaving exchanges and the MVRV ratio, which is far from the peak levels.

The Bearish Side

When there are bulls, there have to be some bears, right? Well, their narrative receives support from the daily RSI, which has gone into an overbought territory, according to data shared by Ali Martinez.

The popular analyst shared another worrying sign for BTC’s future price movements as miners, the backbone of the world’s largest blockchain network, have gone on a selling spree in the past day or so, disposing of over $250 million worth of the asset.

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Bitcoin’s Latest Rebound Signals a Healthier, More Sustainable Bull Market

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Bitcoin is currently seeing an interesting trend being played out. In fact, new data suggest that buying sentiment remains favorable for further upside, implying it may be premature to consider exiting.

Though it’s hard to pinpoint when Bitcoin might top its previous high, the current on-chain and market data signals remain very “constructive.”

Bitcoin Rally Looks Different This Time

According to a new report from CryptoQuant, Bitcoin’s recent price rebound shows signs of strength without the usual indicators of market overheating. In previous cycles, every time Bitcoin hit a new all-time high, Binance recorded a sharp spike in both market buy volume and funding rates. These surges were typically followed by significant corrections as the market cooled off, as seen clearly in the first two major rallies of this cycle.

However, the latest rebound appears different. As Bitcoin approaches previous highs once again, funding rates remain stable, and market buy volume on Binance is actually declining. While some may view this as a lack of momentum, CryptoQuant suggests it reflects a more sustainable, healthy rally.

Unlike the earlier overheated rallies that triggered sharp corrections and mass investor exits, the current trend shows that the market remains relatively light and cautious. Despite improved sentiment, on-chain data indicates that buying pressure is increasing gradually rather than surging all at once. In fact, market buy volume has shown a steady upward trajectory since 2023, which is indicative of continued bullish interest.

As such, the underlying data – from funding rates to buy volumes – supports a constructive market outlook while the absence of overheating further suggests this rally may be more durable than previous ones.

Bitcoin Primed for June Rally?

As reported by CryptoPotato earlier, Bitcoin’s Realized Capitalization has reached a record $906 billion, which reflects rising investor confidence and strong on-chain fundamentals. The metric has increased for four consecutive weeks.

Since May 8, Bitcoin has attracted $14.4 billion in new capital, with large holders (100-1,000 BTC) increasing their combined balance by 122,540 BTC – a 2.2% rise. While most institutional ETFs remained cautious, BlackRock expanded its holdings by 10,302 BTC. This sustained capital inflow may set the stage for a breakout, especially if Bitcoin manages to retain the $104,731 resistance. The next target could be $107,757.

Meanwhile, improving tech earnings, reduced AI capex fears, political optimism under Trump, and upcoming FTX payouts are some of the factors that could help Bitcoin into a strong June rally.

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Interesting Dogecoin (DOGE) Predictions as of Late

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TL;DR

  • Analysts see signs of a major Dogecoin breakout, with one eyeing $0.30 after a successful trendline retest and another forecasting a surge to $1.

  • Whales have scooped up over one billion DOGE in 30 days, while outflows from exchanges signal growing investor confidence and reduced immediate selling pressure.

DOGE Price Explosion Incoming?

The biggest meme coin has been among the best-performing leading cryptocurrencies in the past month. It currently trades at around $0.22 (per CoinGecko’s data), which is a retreat from its local top but still represents a 42% increase for the period. 

DOGE Price
DOGE Price, Source: CoinGecko

Some industry participants believe the rally has yet to reach new dimensions. The X user Maximalist observed Dogecoin’s chart to suggest that the price is “about to absolutely explode to the upside.” The analyst envisioned a pump toward a new all-time high of $1. 

For their part, Crypto General claimed the meme coin “has given a big breakout.” They suggested that the next uptrend might start once the price retests the trendline of $0.23.

Ali Martinez also chipped in. He presented a somewhat bearish forecast for the short term, assuming that DOGE might head south to $0.213.

Just a few days ago, though, he pointed out three important factors that indicate the price might jump soon. Those include the rise in active addresses, transaction volume, and whale activity. “All bullish signals that could support further upside,” he said. 

Large investors have been particularly active, accumulating more than one billion DOGE in the span of 30 days. According to Martinez’s chart, those holding between 100 million and one billion coins possess almost 26 billion tokens, constituting 17.5% of the asset’s circulating supply. 

When whales buy large amounts of DOGE, it signals strong confidence, which can attract attention from smaller investors. This increased demand might push the price up, creating positive momentum in the market.

Abandoning Exchanges

Over the past several weeks, daily exchange netflows have been mostly negative, suggesting a potential shift by investors from centralized platforms toward self-custody solutions.

DOGE Exchange Netflow
DOGE Exchange Netflow, Source: CoinGlass

Although this development can’t be labeled as entirely bullish, it reduces immediate selling pressure, which could contribute to a potential rally in the near future.

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