• dtcpay has announced that it will be shifting its payment services to stablecoins only effective 2025
• The Singapore-based platform will phase out Bitcoin and Ethereum by the end of the year

Singapore-based payment institution dtcpay will no longer be supporting Bitcoin and Ethereum as payment modes.

The licensed payment platform said the move will be effective in 2025, according to a report from Fintech News. It only intends to support stablecoins and fiat currency payment modes.

The move focuses more on the stability of stablecoins and fiat currency rather than the volatile nature of crypto. Business operators and consumers are also assured of a more secure payment mode and in line with the country’s regulations.

dtcpay eyes stablecoins in services pivot

In its announcement, dtcpay mentioned that there will be a paradigm shift come January 2025. Announcing its cancellation for accepting Bitcoin and Ethereum, it intends to accept stablecoins USDT, USDC, Worldwide USD (WUSD), and First Digital USD (FDUSD) among others.

dtcpay’s decision comes amid an increased trajectory that has seen the regulated digital payments provider’s users lean towards stablecoins. The growth is what the company is looking to tap into, with digital payments seen as the new frontier in revolution that’s crypto.

Stablecoins make a huge chunk of this, with a Chainalysis report for Q2, 2024 indicating that the asset-backed tokens accounted for an estimated $1 billion in payments.

dtcpay’s strategic move is a strong indicator of the need for a stable and most reliable way of digital payment.

The platform’s good record in innovation, progressive growth in the digital world and different accolades has seen it become a darling to businesses.

In October 2024, the payment platform, and the only Asia-based company, was picked for the Mastercard Starter Path programme. It also became the first to launch a regulated POS in Singapore enabling business owners to accept crypto payments.

Ethereum (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has experienced another downturn in its price. Following an earlier attempt at bullish momentum last week, Ethereum has dropped by 2.4% in the past 24 hours, trading at $3,577 at the time of writing.

This decline puts Ethereum at a 26.8% decrease from its all-time high of $4,878, recorded in November 2021. Despite this, the network’s daily trading volume remains quite strong, registering $42.4 billion—a significant increase from late last month when volumes dipped below $35 billion.

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Chart Patterns Indicate Potential Rally

While Ethereum’s current price trajectory may appear discouraging, analysts within the cryptocurrency community have expressed optimism regarding its long-term potential.

Several technical indicators and chart patterns have emerged, leading some analysts to predict a significant rally for the asset in the coming months.

One notable voice among the bullish analysts is CryptoBullet, a widely followed figure in the cryptocurrency space. In a recent post on X, the analyst highlighted a “cup and handle” formation on Ethereum’s monthly price chart.

According to CryptoBullet, this pattern suggests that Ethereum could surge to new highs, potentially reaching $6,675. The analyst commented, “Did you guys see the $ETH monthly chart? Bullish AF. This month, we’re going to SMASH through the resistance. Cup&Handle Target – $6675.”

Adding to the optimism, Venture Founder, another prominent analyst, projected an even more ambitious target for Ethereum.

In a detailed analysis, the venture founder noted that Ethereum has been in a “triangular consolidation phase” for the past three years, a pattern reminiscent of its behavior from 2016 to 2017.

The analyst predicted that Ethereum could break out of this consolidation and enter a new price paradigm, estimating a target of $15,937 by May 2025. Venture Founder stated, “Base Case: Ethereum likely to repeat this impulsive breakout it did between 2016-2017 to shoot to new ATH.”

3 years of triangle consolidation for #Ethereum and $ETH could enter a new paradigm which it consolidated for the past 7 years.

Base Case: Ethereum likely to repeat this impulsive breakout it did after between 2016-2017 to shoot to new ATH.

Price Target: $15,937 by May 2025 pic.twitter.com/3iYZTjG6Lv

— venturefounder (@venturefounder) December 2, 2024

Symmetrical Triangle Pattern Sparks Interest

Clifton Fx, another respected analyst, offered a similar outlook, focusing on Ethereum’s symmetrical triangle formation observed in the weekly timeframe.

According to Clifton Fx, an upside breakout from this formation could propel Ethereum’s price to as high as $13,000.

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This aligns with the broader sentiment shared by analysts, who believe that Ethereum’s technical indicators are setting the stage for a significant price rally.

$ETH (Update)

Symmetrical triangle formation in weekly timeframe….

In case of Upside breakout the next stop will be 13k📈#ETH #Ethereum #Crypto pic.twitter.com/DTNlCiNnZx

— Clifton Fx (@clifton_ideas) November 29, 2024

Featured image created with DALL-E, Chart from TradingView

The price of Ethereum has been on a remarkable run in the past week, returning above the $3,500 level for the first time since July 2024. This single-week performance represents a change in the fortunes of the “king of altcoins,” which somewhat slowed down after a great start to the month of November.

While the current price layout for Ethereum suggests that there is still room for upward movement, certain on-chain signals indicate that the market might be on the cusp of a pullback. One of these signals is the ETH open interest, which recently hit a new all-time high.

Is ETH Price At Risk With Surging Open Interest?

In a Quicktake post on the CryptoQuant platform, an analyst with the pseudonym ShayanBTC has revealed that while the Ethereum price trajectory looks bullish at the moment, investors need to tread with caution. This projection is based on the “alarming divergence” in the ETH futures market metrics.

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Specifically, the relevant futures market metric here is the open interest, which tracks the total amount of open futures or derivatives contracts of a particular cryptocurrency (ETH, in this case) in the market at a given time. It basically evaluates the amount of money being poured into Ethereum futures at every moment.

According to data from CryptoQuant, the Ethereum open interest has reached a new all-time high value of $17 billion. Typically, surging open interest signals a shift in investor sentiment, with traders increasingly speculating and gearing for a potential market movement.

ShayanBTC, however, noted that the notable spike in open interest was not accompanied by a new all-time high for the price of Ethereum. According to the Quicktake pundit, this divergence between the price and the open interest points to a potential increase in volatility and significant liquidation cascades.

ShayanBTC added:

If Ethereum’s price faces a sudden downturn or consolidation, the overleveraged positions from futures traders could trigger a wave of forced liquidations, leading to rapid price declines.

As of this writing, the price of Ethereum sits just beneath $3,700, reflecting an over 3% increase in the last 24 hours. According to data from CoinGecko, the altcoin’s value is up by nearly 8% in the past seven days.

Ethereum Whales Load Their Bags

Fortuitously, another on-chain data has emerged to counter the bearish prognosis for the second-largest cryptocurrency. In a November 30 post on the X platform, prominent crypto analyst Ali Martinez revealed that a particular class of Ethereum large investors has been active in the market. 

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Data from CryptoQuant shows that Ethereum whales holding between 100,000 and 1,000,000 coins have purchased over 280,000 ETH in the past four days. This level of buying activity from such an influential class of investor could be considered bullish for the altcoin.

Featured image created by DALL-E, chart from TradingView