Shiba Inu hasn&#8217;t been in the best shape lately. Over the past year, the meme coin has dropped by around 40%. While things seemed to improve a bit for SHIB in April 2025, what’s next? Is Shiba Inu a good…

Shiba Inu May 2025 price prediction: Will token burns spark a comeback?

Alexander Gurevich, a dual Russian-Israeli citizen, was arrested at Israel’s 
Ben-Gurion Airport on May 1 while attempting to flee to Russia under a new 
name. The 47-year-old is accused of participating in the 2022 hack of US-based 
Nomad, a crypto…

Israeli-Russian man faces extradition to US over $190m Nomad crypto hack

The Chainlink team has announced the genesis season of its new community 
rewards program will go live on May 8, with an initial 100 million Space and 
Time tokens up for grabs. Chainlink (LINK) revealed the new development on 
May…

Chainlink launches new rewards program with Space and Time

Avalanche (AVAX) is now testing a critical support zone at the $20 level after 
a strong 55% surge from local lows registered in early April. This level could 
determine the next phase of price action, as bulls aim to reclaim control and 
push prices into higher territory. Holding this support is essential to 
maintain the bullish momentum built over the past few weeks. Related Reading: 
Ethereum Tests Critical Range: Breakout Or Breakdown? However, macroeconomic 
tensions and persistent global market volatility continue to weigh heavily on 
investor sentiment. With financial markets responding to rising geopolitical 
uncertainty and interest rate concerns, altcoins like Avalanche face mounting 
pressure. Despite the headwinds, some analysts remain optimistic. Top crypto 
analyst Ali Martinez recently shared a technical setup highlighting that AVAX 
is bouncing off the 200-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) on the 4-hour chart — 
a level often watched closely by traders. According to Martinez, this bounce 
could act as a pivot point for bulls, especially if volume increases and price 
action confirms strength above short-term resistance. A clean move higher from 
here could reignite AVAX’s uptrend and bring it back into focus as one of the 
leading altcoins in the Layer-1 ecosystem. The coming days will be crucial to 
confirm the direction. Avalanche Bounces From Key Level As Bulls Regain 
Momentum After months of volatility and sustained selling pressure, Avalanche 
is trading at a pivotal juncture that took the asset down from its earlier 
highs. Despite the difficult environment, sentiment appears to be shifting. 
Over the past few weeks, AVAX has drawn renewed attention from traders and 
analysts who believe the current structure could lead to a meaningful 
recovery. Market participants are closely watching for a confirmed reversal 
from the local lows to signal the beginning of a broader move into higher 
supply zones. According to Martinez&#8217;s insights, Avalanche is currently 
bouncing off its 200-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) on the 4-hour chart — a 
level often seen as a key dynamic support in trending markets. This bounce is 
further supported by the TD Sequential indicator, which has flashed a buy 
signal, indicating that bullish momentum could be building at this critical 
price level. For this reversal to gain real traction, AVAX must not only 
defend current support but also break through short-term resistance zones to 
establish a bullish continuation pattern. This week&#8217;s price action will be 
crucial, as the broader crypto market also seeks direction amid macroeconomic 
uncertainty. If bulls step in with conviction and volume confirms strength, 
Avalanche could position itself for a significant push toward the $25–$30 
range. However, a failure to hold above the $20 level could result in further 
downside and a retest of previous lows. With technical indicators aligning and 
market sentiment improving, the next few sessions could define AVAX’s 
trajectory for the coming weeks. Related Reading: Cardano Consolidates In 
Symmetrical Triangle – Analyst Sets Bull/Bear Price Targets AVAX Price 
Details: Technical Levels To Watch Avalanche is currently trading at $19.98, 
testing a key psychological support level after a significant recovery from 
its local bottom in early April. Despite a modest bounce, AVAX remains well 
below both the 200-day simple moving average (SMA) at $29.80 and the 200-day 
exponential moving average (EMA) at $26.30. This confirms that the broader 
trend is still bearish, and bulls have yet to reclaim any major technical 
ground. The recent price rejection near the $22–$23 zone suggests that sellers 
are still in control. Volume appears to be tapering off, signaling weakening 
momentum. The declining slope of both the SMA and EMA reinforces the 
structural weakness in the medium term. Unless AVAX can break above the 
$26–$30 resistance cluster, the path of least resistance remains to the 
downside. Related Reading: $380M In Ethereum Leaves Exchanges In 7 Days – 
Accumulation Trend Accelerates For now, the market appears to be consolidating 
in a lower range between $18 and $23. If this support at $20 fails, AVAX could 
revisit March lows near $16. On the flip side, a decisive breakout above the 
EMA could spark renewed interest from bulls and signal a potential trend 
reversal. Traders should watch for increased volume and a close above $26 to 
confirm a shift in sentiment. Featured image from Dall-E, chart from 
TradingView

Avalanche Bounces Off Key Price Level: Top Indicator Flashes A Buy Signal

President Donald Trump’s cryptocurrency ventures have added an estimated $2.9 
billion to his wealth in six months, according to an April 23 report by the 
left-leaning State Democracy Defenders Fund. Soros-Backed Lobbyists Claim 
Trump’s Policy Shift Is a &#8216;Conflict of Interest&#8217; The new report estimates 
Trump’s crypto assets, including the meme coin official TRUMP and […]

Left-Leaning Lobby Group Claims Trump’s Executive Order Paved Way for His Own $2.9B Crypto Boom

_**Opinion by: Tracy Jin, Chief Operating Officer, MEXC**_
Market manipulation is everywhere and yet nowhere to be seen. It is an 
invisible threat affecting crypto and traditional markets, leaving ordinary 
traders counting the costs. Sometimes, manipulation is obvious &#8212; illiquid 
tokens being pumped high before being dumped just as fast &#8212; but often, it&#8217;s 
subtler and more challenging to detect.
What&#8217;s more concerning is that these schemes are no longer the domain of rogue 
whales or amateur pump groups. Signs increasingly point to highly organized, 
well-funded networks coordinating activities across centralized exchanges, 
derivatives platforms, and onchain ecosystems. As these actors grow in 
sophistication, their threat to market integrity expands exponentially.
## A tale as old as time
Market manipulation is as old as markets themselves. In ancient Greece, a 
philosopher named Thales of Miletus used his knowledge of weather patterns to 
predict a bumper olive harvest, quietly leasing all the olive presses in the 
region at a low rate before the season started. Then, when the harvest came 
in, and demand for presses spiked, he rented them out at inflated prices, 
pocketing the difference.
For a more recent historical example, albeit still 300 years in the past, see 
the South Sea Company bubble in which company directors dumped shares at peak 
prices, leaving regular investors rekt. Or the Dutch tulip bubble of a century 
earlier.
Market manipulation has existed in crypto since the first exchanges came 
onstream around 2011. Those who were around back then may recall the pump-and- 
dump schemes on the BTC-E exchange orchestrated by a notorious trader called 
Fontas. Or they might remember Bear Whale, whose 30,000 BTC sell wall crashed 
the market at a time when total daily trading volume was less than $30 million 
&#8212; for all of crypto combined. While not technically market manipulation, it 
showed how easily one individual could move the crypto market.
Fast forward to today, and crypto is a multi-trillion dollar asset class, 
rendering manipulation of large-cap assets virtually impossible for solitary 
whales. But when a group of nefarious traders team up, it&#8217;s still possible to 
move markets &#8212; and well-organized insiders are doing just that.
## Manipulators make their move
The days when a single whale could set a BTC sell wall that took weeks to 
topple are long gone. While crypto is magnitudes more liquid these days, it&#8217;s 
also much more fragmented. This presents opportunities to enterprising traders 
who hunt in packs to move markets to their advantage. Often working through 
private Telegram groups, people coordinate activities targeting markets where 
they can have the most effect. The trend highlights the growing participation 
of major players in market manipulation schemes, presenting a new level of 
risk for the crypto industry.
_**Recent:**__**What are exit liquidity traps &#8212; and how to detect them before 
it is too late**_
In February, analyst James CryptoGuru warned of large-scale manipulation risks 
involving spot Bitcoin ETFs. He explained that these instruments could put 
downward pressure on Bitcoin&#8217;s price &#8212; particularly when traditional 
financial markets are closed. Such a strategy could trigger liquidations among 
leveraged traders and create temporary imbalances, allowing large players to 
accumulate BTC and ETH at discounted prices.
Because crypto &#8212; both onchain and on-exchange &#8212; is highly interconnected, 
the ripple effects of a successful manipulation attempt extend far and wide. 
If a trading pair queried by APIs for feeding other markets is knocked out of 
sync on one centralized exchange, it can generate arbitrage opportunities 
elsewhere, including on perps markets. As a result, an attack can be initiated 
on one exchange, and the profits claimed on another, making it extremely hard 
to catch the culprits.
The integrity of the cryptocurrency market faces increased risk. Coordinated 
groups have deep pockets, technical tools, and cross-platform access to 
execute and mask complex operations. The troubling part is that most exchanges 
remain reactive by design since it&#8217;s virtually impossible to prevent market 
manipulation. As a result, attackers have a high chance of retaining the 
advantage, even if the window in which they&#8217;re free to run amok is becoming 
increasingly smaller.
## Not all manipulators break the rules
Just as Thales of Miletus wasn&#8217;t breaking the rules when he profited off olive 
season, much of what constitutes crypto manipulation isn&#8217;t illegal. When a 
large fund starts buying a particular token through one of their public 
wallets to attract attention &#8212; is that manipulation? Or when market makers go 
beyond simply matching bid-ask spreads to actively propping up a token&#8217;s price 
at the request of a project? Many things move markets, but mostly things that 
aren&#8217;t illegal &#8212; at least not now.
While the moral code governing influencers, market makers, trading firms, and 
other players of serious size can be debated at length, other cases require 
less nuance. The last time anyone checked, using thousands of exchange 
accounts staffed by dozens of users to inflate a particular asset is blatant 
manipulation. Exchanges, aided by increasingly sophisticated AI-powered 
tooling, are fighting back.
The days when one user would cause mayhem on the markets may be over. The 
threat hasn&#8217;t, however, dissipated in the multichain, multi-exchange era &#8212; 
it&#8217;s multiplied. As a result, exchanges are now locked into a game of whack-a- 
mole, trying to detect suspicious behavior initiated by hundreds or thousands 
of accounts simultaneously.
Thankfully, exchanges don&#8217;t have to do it alone, as successful collaboration 
cases show. When Bybit was hacked in early 2025, other platforms stepped in to 
lend ETH and help it meet its withdrawal obligations &#8212; a rare but powerful 
sign of solidarity in the face of crisis.
As well-funded, highly organized groups continue to test the system, one thing 
becomes clear: manipulating the market may be relatively easy &#8212; but doing so 
without being detected is increasingly difficult. Collective vigilance, data 
sharing, and early detection are becoming the most effective tools in 
safeguarding the integrity of the crypto trading ecosystem.
_**Opinion by: Tracy Jin, Chief Operating Officer, MEXC.**_
This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and 
should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and 
opinions expressed here are the author&#8217;s alone and do not necessarily reflect 
or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.