Economists at the European Central Bank (ECB) have raised alarms about the potential societal impact of Bitcoin’s rising price. They argue that the cryptocurrency has shifted from Satoshi Nakamoto’s vision of a global payment system to an investment asset.

In a recent paper, ECB economists Ulrich Bindseil and Jürgen Schaaf express concerns that Bitcoin’s increasing value primarily benefits early adopters. This trend could leave later investors and those who do not hold Bitcoin facing significant economic challenges.

ECB Calls For Action Against Bitcoin’s Investment Perception

The authors highlight how thought leaders and celebrities have contributed to Bitcoin’s image as an investment with limitless growth potential. Figures like Larry Fink regard Bitcoin primarily as a financial asset, disconnecting it from Nakamoto’s original narrative of a currency for transactions.

However, instead of positioning BTC as a means of payment, these advocates liken it to gold—a finite resource viewed as a long-term investment. This perspective raises questions about society’s motivation to choose Bitcoin as an investment vehicle. Despite its volatility, proponents expect Bitcoin’s value to trend upward over time, while offering little societal utility.

“In absolute terms, early adopters exactly increase their real wealth and consumption at the expense of the real wealth and consumption of those who do not hold Bitcoin or who invest in it only at a later stage,” they wrote.

Read more: Bitcoin (BTC) Price Prediction 2024/2025/2030

Moreover, the paper warns that early adopters might liquidate their Bitcoin holdings to purchase luxury items, leaving latecomers at a disadvantage. This dynamic could lead to wealth redistribution from newer investors to those who entered the market first, exacerbating poverty among non-holders.

“The consequences of the Bitcoin-as-an-investment vision with perpetually increasing Bitcoin prices imply a corresponding impoverishment of the rest of society, endangering cohesion, stability and ultimately democracy,” the economists argued.

To counteract these risks, Bindseil and Schaaf advocated for strict price controls on BTC. They argued that this would prevent exploitation and potential civil unrest resulting from such inequitable wealth distribution.

They also urged current non-holders to recognize the need to oppose Bitcoin. Additionally, non-holders were advised to support legislation aimed at curbing its price increase or eliminating it altogether.

“Latecomers and non-holders and their political representatives should emphasize that the idea of Bitcoin as an investment relies on redistribution at their expense. Failing to do so could skew election results in favour of politicians who advocate pro-Bitcoin policies, implying wealth redistribution and fuelling the division of society,” they concluded.

Meanwhile, the ECB’s paper has drawn sharp criticism from industry experts. Market analyst Tuur Demeester warns that the document may empower governments to impose stringent taxes and restrictions on cryptocurrency. He noted that the central bank economists view Bitcoin as an existential threat that must be countered.

“Many of us have warned that this was coming: bitcoin as a major political fault line both in national and international elections. Well here it is. It means that us HODLers must take action to insure that governments respect our basic right to hold property,” Demeester warned.

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Similarly, Marc van der Chijs, co-founder of the publicly traded BTC mining firm Hut 8, expressed concerns about the ECB’s stance. He argues that early adopters should not be vilified for their foresight and willingness to take risks.

“If Bitcoin should double or triple in 2025 I would not be surprised to see more politicians turning against BTC and trying to tax it excessively,” Van der Chijs claimed.

On October 19 DYDX price was $0.96. However, in the last 24 hours, the native token of the decentralized protocol has jumped by 30%.

As a result, DYDX is one of the best-performing altcoins today, only behind ApeCoin (APE) out of the top 100. Why is this happening, and what is next for the token?

dYdX Volume Rises Ahead of Major Event

As of this writing, DYDX’s price is $1.22. This is coming ahead of the project’s conference, which is scheduled to start tomorrow, October 21, in Dubai, suggesting that the broader market is enthusiastic about the upcoming event.

Besides this, the altcoin’s volume has surged to $210.53 million. Volume is a key indicator as it measures the relative importance of a market move. A price move with a high volume is considered more significant, while a move with a lower volume is generally viewed as less impactful.

For DYDX, the surge in volume could be linked to the conference and the project’s launch of the Trump Election Perpetual Trading Market. For context, the decentralized platform allows users to leverage positions in a perpetual trading market linked to election outcomes.

Read more: Understanding dYdX: A Guide to the Decentralized Perpetual Exchange

If the volume continues to increase with the price, then DYDX’s value might continue its upward trend. If not, the price increase will slow down.

Furthermore, this development has also affected social dominance, which tracks the level of discussion surrounding the token. When social dominance rises along with the price, it can signal growing demand for the token.

Conversely, a drop in social dominance indicates that discussions around DYDX have surpassed those of other top 100 cryptocurrencies. Given the current trend, the altcoin could climb above $1.22 in the coming days.

DYDX Price Prediction: Higher Highs Next

A look at the 4-hour DYDX/USD chart reveals that the Awesome Oscillator (AO), which was previously in the negative, has now shifted to the positive zone, signaling bullish momentum for the token.

This momentum enabled DYDX’s price to bounce off its $0.94 support level. The Chaikin Money Flow (CMF) has also shown an upward trend, indicating that accumulation around the altcoin is increasing. If buying pressure continues to rise, DYDX could potentially climb to the peak of the wick at $1.35.

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However, the token’s value might drop if distribution outpaces accumulation. In the short term, this could cause the cryptocurrency’s value to hit $0.94.

In 10 days, modular blockchain project Celestia (TIA) will release 80.77% of its circulating supply, valued at $1.05 billion. This impending token release has sparked concerns about potential selling pressure, which could affect TIA’s price.

BeInCrypto explores how the altcoin, which has experienced volatile price swings in recent days, might perform before the event.

Celestia Faces Selling Pressure as Huge Token Unlock Approaches

For Celestia, this upcoming token release represents one of the largest since the project’s inception. As a result, TIA’s price is expected to face significant volatility in the lead-up to the event.

Currently, Celestia’s price is $5.95 and has been hovering around that same region for some time. However, based on the signal from the Chaikin Money Flow (CMF), the altcoin might drop below $5.

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The CMF is a volume-weighted oscillator that tracks the flow of money into or out of a cryptocurrency over a set period. It’s commonly used to identify trends, spot potential reversals, and gauge overbought or oversold conditions.

Furthermore, the indicator oscillates above and below zero, with positive readings indicating an uptrend and negative readings indicating a downtrend. As seen below, the CMF reading is in thhe negative region, suggesting that TIA’s price might soon experience a significant downturn.

TIA Price Prediction: Bears to Put It Below $4

From a technical perspective, the TIA/USD chart shows the formation of a head and shoulders pattern. This pattern is a chart formation that signals a potential bullish-to-bearish trend reversal in a cryptocurrency’s price.

Typically, when an asset’s price drops below the neckline of the pattern, a significant correction appears. On the other hand, a rise above the neckline invalidates this prediction. Based on the chart below, Celestai’s price looks likely to drop below the neckline at $4.73.

If that happens, the token’s value could sink to $3.87. However, if bulls defend the token from declining below $4.73, the drawdown might not happen. 

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In that case, TIA could surge to $7.30, and after the supply shock, the altcoin might rise to $10.40 if buying pressure increases.