Whale accumulation is a popular leading indicator that traders use to predict the future price of cryptocurrencies. These investors, who are often known as smart money buyers, often buy before a rally starts and sell when it is about to end. This article focuses on the top altcoins to buy amid whale accumulation. 

Ethereum

Ethereum is one of the top altcoins to buy as data shows that whales are actively buying. Santiment data shows that whale accounts holding between 10 million and 100 million coins hold over 61.59 million coins, up from 53.6 million in November last year. 

Similarly, whales holding between 1 million and 10 million Ethereum coins hold over 10 million coins, up from April lows of 8.8 million coins. Those holding between 10k and 100k coins have over 28 million coins.

The ongoing whale accumulation is a sign that these investors hope that Ethereum price will keep going up this year. The chart below shows that the Ethereum price bottomed at $1,400 in April and has bounced back to $2,550. It has jumped above the 50-day moving average and a bullish flag pattern.

Therefore, the coin will likely have a bullish breakout as bulls target the next psychological hurdle at $3,000. A move above that level will raise the odds of ETH price moving to the psychological point at $4,000.

Pepe

Pepe is another top altcoin to buy as whales continue accumulating. As the chart below shows, all cohorts of Pepe Coin holders have continued buying the third-biggest meme coin in the crypto market. 

Pepe holders with between 10 million and 100 million coins have boosted their holdings to over 4 trillion tokens, up from 3.9 trillion in February, a 100 billion increase. Similarly, those holding between 1 million and 10 million Pepe coins have 516 billion coins, up from 373 billion in November.

These whales are likely buying Pepe because of its strong technicals. It initially formed a giant falling wedge pattern in the first quarter. This pattern happens when there are two descending and converging trendlines.

Pepe has now formed a bullish flag pattern, comprising of a vertical line and some consolidation. It has also jumped above the 50-day moving average. The odds are that the pepe price will explode higher in the coming months, and the resistance level will be retested at $0.000025.

Cardano 

Cardano is another top altcoin that whales and smart money investors are buying as they expect an eventual rebound. 

Data shows that the most active Cardano whales are those with between 10 million and 100 million coins. These investors hold 12.98 billion ADA coins today, up from 11.95 billion in January, a 1.03 billion increase. 

Cardano whales with between 1 million and 10 million tokens hold 5.74 billion coins, up from 5.65 billion earlier this year.

These whales are likely buying because of the upcoming midnight launch and the NIGHT airdrop. Midnight is a layer-2 scaling network based on zero-knowledge cryptography that will accelerate Cardano’s ecosystem. Most importantly, it will help during the integration with Bitcoin.

Cardano price has strong technicals, especially on the four-hour chart. It has formed a falling wedge pattern and a bullish flag. With the two lines almost at their confluence, there is a likelihood that the ADA price will bounce back in the coming weeks.

Summary on the top altcoins to buy

While whale and smart money accumulation is are good things, it is not the only catalyst you should watch. You should closely examine its technicals by looking at chart patterns and identifying indicators. Also, the broader market news, such as the recent US credit rating downgrade, will often determine the phase of the rally.

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Warby Parker stock price surged by over 15% on Tuesday after unveiling a major $150 million partnership with Google. It jumped to a high of $22, its highest swing since March 6, up by 61% from the lowest point this year. So, will this partnership fuel WRBY’s stock surge in the coming months?

Warby Parker partnership with Google

The main catalyst for the WRBY stock price was a partnership with Google, one of the top technology companies. This partnership will see Google invest $150 million to develop AI-powered smart glasses.

Google has already invested $75 million in this project, and is expected to release the rest soon. Most notably, Google will become a minority shareholder in Warby Parker, a company valued at over $2.47 billion. 

The two companies hope to become major players in the wearable industry, which has struggled to gain traction over the years. The most notable failures was Google Glass, a product that was launched in 2012. After years of development, the product failed to gain traction and was canceled in 2015.

Other wearable products have also failed to gain traction. The most recent “failure” was Apple Vision Pro, a product costing $3,500 that failed to gain traction among users. Apple has not released its sales numbers, but its financial results have not shown any meaningful improvement since its launch.

This partnership will also be challenging because Warby Parker is a glass maker and has no experience building these smart glasses. Therefore, there is a risk that the company’s AI products will not be all that successful.

Read more: Warby Parker: Is it a better stock than EssilorLuxottica?

WRBY business is doing well

Warby Parker’s business is doing well even without the Google partnership. Its success is mostly because of the affordability of its glasses, many of which sell for $95. It has not increased the price since its founding in 2010, meaning that, it is selling its products at a discount. Accounting for inflation, Warby Parker should be selling its glasses for about $140 today.

The company has solved this problem by introducing glasses that sell for $195, and its financial results show that these ones are highly popular. Comparable glasses by other companies would cost over $500.

WRBY revenues jumped from $393 million in 2020 to $771 million. It has also continued to narrow its losses and is now on a path towards profitability. Its annual loss moved from 4144 million in 2021 to $14 million in the trailing twelve months (TTM).

The most recent results showed that Warby Parker’s revenue rose by 11.9% to $224 million as the average revenue per customer jumped to $310. Its free cash flow rose to $13.2 million.

The management expects that the company’s revenue rose by between 13% and 15% to between $869 million and $886 million. Also, its adjusted EBITDA will be between $91 million and $97 million. 

Warby Parker stock price analysis

The daily chart shows that the WRBY share price bottomed at $13.6 in April after Trump launched his tariffs on Liberation Day. It then rebounded and moved to a high of $22, its highest level since March 6. 

The stock formed a God candle on Tuesday after the Google partnership deal. This is a common occurrence whenever a big company like Google partners with a smaller one. 

Historically, these gains are usually short-lived as the momentum eases over time and the hard work of implementing the strategy rises. Therefore, the Warby Parker stock price will likely lose momentum in the coming days, and then bounce back later this year. 

The recovery will be because of its organic growth and the profitability instead of the Google partnership.

Read more: Warby Parker stock price crashes to key support: buy the dip?

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The South African rand gains momentum this week as investors focus on the upcoming meeting between Donald Trump and Cyril Ramaphosa in Washington. The USD/ZAR exchange rate crashed to a low of 17.90 on Wednesday, its lowest level since December 17 last year. 

Will the US and South Africa reset relationship?

The USD/ZAR exchange rate will be in the spotlight on Wednesday as Ramaphosa goes on a charm offensive in Washington. He will meet with Trump, a president who has continued to criticize the country for what he believes to be discrimination against white people. 

Trump has gone as far as offering asylum to Afrikaners. He also stopped USAID funding to the country and promised sanctions if the law was not repealed. 

The law under question aims at settling some historical land-ownership issues. Like in other countries, it makes it possible for the government to take underutilized land and give it to other South Africans. 

To do that, the government must compensate the landowner at the market rate. This law is different from that that opposition leaders have proposed, whereby the government takes the land without paying the owners.

South Africa is using several approaches to change Trump’s views. For example, Ramaphosa has traveled with Ernie Els, a popular golfer who Trump knows well. Also, the country is willing to let Elon Musk’s SpaceX provide internet solutions by waiving some of the local ownership laws.

Therefore, the ongoing USD/ZAR crash is a sign that investors hope that the visit will lead to better relations between the two countries. They also hope that the US will lower the reciprocal tariffs it implemented in April.

Other factors affecting the USD to ZAR exchange rate

Other factors are moving the USD/ZAR exchange rate today. First, the pair has dropped because of the ongoing US dollar crash. The US Dollar Index has crashed as investors fleed from the greenback following the recent Moody’s credit rating downgrade.

Analysts are worried that the US dollar will lose its appeal as a safe-haven currency as the debt load jumps. This also explains why US equities have pliunged this week, with the Dow Jones futures falling by 175 points and the S&P 500 Index ones falling by 30 points. 

The USD/ZAR pair will also react to the upcoming South African inflation data. Recent data showed that the headline consumer inflation dropped to 2.7% in March from the previous 3.2%. Economists expect the upcoming data to show that inflation dropped to 2.5%, inside the target range of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB).

SARB has delivered several interest rate cuts since last year, moving it from a high of 8.0% to the current 7.50%. Analysts at Bank of America expect two more cuts this year, while others see three as the tariff impact bites.

USD/ZAR technical analysis

USDZAR price chart | Source: TradingView

The daily chart shows that the USD to ZAR exchange rate has been in a strong bearish trend in the past few weeks. It has moved from a high of 19.93 on April 9 to the current 17.96.

The pair moved below the key support at 18, the lowest swing on March 18. It is also about to form a death cross pattern as the 50-day and 200-day Exponential Moving Averages (EMA). This cross is one of the most bearish signals in technical analysis.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) and the Stochastic Oscillator have continue falling. Therefore, the USD/ZAR pair will likely continue falling as sellers target the key support at 17.62, the lowest point on December 12. 

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Lucid Group stock price has bounced back and surged to its highest point since February 25. LCID soared by almost 50% from its lowest level this year, mirroring the performance of other companies like Tesla and Rivian Automotive. This article explores the recent earnings and whether this is a good time to buy the stock.

Why Lucid Group stock price has jumped

Lucid Group share price has rallied in the past few weeks as investors reacted to the recent earnings, which showed that the company’s business was doing well in a difficult environment. 

The numbers revealed that Lucid delivered 3,109 vehicles in the first quarter, up by 58% from the same period last year. This happened as the company produced 2,212 vehicles in the quarter, including 600 that were in transit to Saudi Arabia. 

Most importantly, the company grew its gross margin during the quarter to minus 97% from minus 134% in the same quarter a year earlier. This margin, however, was worse than minus 89%, which it had in the fourth quarter of last year.

Lucid Group EBITDA, a closely-watched figure, also improved to minus $563 million during the quarter. 

Therefore, analysts anticipate that LCID’s business will continue improving in the next few years as it works towards profitability. 

For example, the average revenue estimate from Wall Street investors is that its second-quarter revenue will be $288 million. They also expect that the earnings per share (EPS) will be a 22-cent loss, an improvement from the 31-cent loss in Q2’24.

Analysts are also optmistic that the annual revenue this year will also be strong. The average estimate is that the annual revenue will grow by 72% to $1.4 billion, followed by 95% growth in 2026. This growth will be because the management expects to ramp up production from 9,000 in 2024 to 20,000.

Lucid Group’s annual loss per share is expected to improve from $1.25 last year to 83 cents this year and 64 cents next year. As such, while Lucid Group’s cash incineration will continue, analysts expect the business to move in the right direction in the coming years.

Lucid Gravity sales 

The other reason why the Lucid stock price surged is the ongoing Gravity vehicle sales. Recent data shows that the SUV is starting to gain traction as the delivery started in December last year.

Gravity is a sports utility vehicle starting at $79,900, with the Touring version costing over $100,000. The company hopes that it will be the best electric SUV in the US as it competes with products made by companies like Rivian, Hyundai, Tesla, and General Motors. 

Lucid’s Gravity vehicle is a more premium vehicle than its competitors, meaning that it will mostly attract wealthy shoppers and executives. 

Lucid Group share price technical analysis

The daily chart shows that the LCID share price bottomed at $2, a level it has failed to move below since November last year. 

It is now attempting to move above the descending trendline that connects the highest swing since September 2023. Top oscillators like the Relative Strength Index (RSI) and the MACD have risen and are pointing upwards. 

Therefore, the Lucid stock price will likely have a bullish breakout, with the next level to watch being at $4.38, the highest swing on August 27, which is about 49% above the current level. A drop below the support at $2 will invalidate the bullish Lucid Group stock forecast, 

Read more: Lucid Group stock forecast ahead of earnings: buy, sell, or hold?

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The Pi Coin price has remained under pressure in the past week after the much-anticipated ecosystem news event was disappointing. Pi Network coin was trading at $0.80 on Wednesday, down by 52% from the highest point this month. This article explores whether Pi is a ghost chain and the impact on price.

Pi Network aimed to change the crypto industry

Pi Network is a crypto project started seven years ago to solve a key problem that Bitcoin has: its cost of mining. Bitcoin mining has continued rising over the years and is now dominated by large publicly-traded companies like Mara and Riot Platforms that run huge mining farms.

Pi Network became popular by creating a platform that enables anyone with a smartphone to mine the coin. Users just need to download an app and then start mining coins by just tapping a button.

Pi also hoped to solve the challenge where Bitcoin lacked smart contract features, making it almost impossible for developers to build dApps on top of it. It provided developers tools to build applications in industries like e-commerce, gaming, and decentralized finance (DeFi).

Pi’s goal was that its coin would be used in the physical and digital worlds, giving it utility. Also, as with other chains, Pi Network hoped that these transaction costs would be used to burn the token, reducing those in circulation and boosting its price.

The presence of an ecosystem was so important that it was a precondition for the mainnet launch to happen. It had to have at least 100 mainnet-ready applications.

Is Pi a ghost chain?

Therefore, the question is whether Pi Network is a ghost chain or not. A ghost chain is a blockchain project that has no developers and apps in its ecosystem. It also refers to those chains with ecosystems that people don’t use.

A closer look at the Pi Network ecosystem shows that there are applications in its marketplace. Maps of Pi is a search engine that shows the locations of businesses accepting the Pi Coin. 

Fruity Pi is a game that has become fairly popular in the ecosystem. Other apps in the network are WorkforcePool (an Upwork of Pi), MyFestMap, Pet for Pi, and ChatGPT for Pi. 

The challenge for Pi Network is that there are signs that developers are not building in its technology stack. Also, no mainnet-ready application has gone mainstream in the past few months. 

This explains why the developers launched Pi Network Ventures last week. This initiative will see the company deploying $100 million to fund startups leveraging the Pi Network ecosystem.

An ecosystem fund is a good initiative that other blockchains have launched similar initiatives. Solana has a $300 million ecosystem fund, while Ethereum launched a $1.03 billion fund. Kava, Skale, Harmony, Kadena, and Velas are other chains with similar funds.

The challenge for Pi Network is that the process of identifying projects to fund will take time. After that, the process of building applications will be a lengthy one.

As other chains like Harmony, Kadena, and Velas have showed, it is not guaranteed that projects that receive funding will succeed. Kadena’s KDA token is now valued at $183 million, while Velas, which launched a $100 million fund is worth $11 million.

Centralization problem

In addition to being a ghost chain, Pi Network also faces the accusation that it is a highly centralized network. 

This accusation stems from the fact that it is overseen by two entities: Pi Core Team and Pi Foundation. 

For a project with a fully diluted valuation of over $70 billion, token holders should know more about these entities. Also, there should be a clear audit by a top auditor.

Nothing is known about the Pi Core Team and the foundation, if it exists. Besides, Pi Foundation today controls over 90 billion. As such, holding Pi is giving this foundation the benefit of the doubt that it will do the right thing and not dump the tokens. 

There is also a risk that these addresses may be hacked, leading to substantial losses to token holders. 

The fact that it is a ghost chain and that it is highly centralized explains why many mainstream exchanges like Binance and Coinbase are yet to list it. It also explains why Pi Coin price has crashed.

Read more: Pi Network price prediction: Will Pi Coin recover from this plunge?

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