Celsius, Unbank Yourself - Issue #24
In this newsletter, we are profiling Celsius Token [CEL]. In previous newsletters, we have profiled Bitcoin, Theta, Solana, Uniswap and many others. Access all our newsletters in our archives at madcapx.substack.com.
The Short of It
Traditional banks offer very low interest on your savings; Celsius is not your traditional bank. They give as much as 10-13% interest on USD stablecoins and 4-6% on Bitcoin. They have grown to over 500,000 members in the last 3 years with over $14 billion in community assets. But does that make the CEL token a worthwhile investment?
Profiling
Celsius (CEL) is a financial and banking platform for cryptocurrency users and institutions. Created in 2017 by Alex Mashinsky and Daniel Leon, their network was launched in the summer of 2018. Alex worked on the VOIP protocol in the 90s and has since been involved with seven startups and holds numerous patents. Celsius has experienced tremendous growth in the last few months in both users and company staff. CEL, an ERC20 token, has a maximum supply of 695,658,161, of which 76% are in circulation, and 24% are locked according to a schedule laid out in the project’s technical literature.
You can store over 30 different cryptocurrencies on their platform and get yearly compounded interest (APY). By holding certain amounts of CEL, you gain a loyalty tier of Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum. You need to have at least 5%, 10%, 15%, or 25% respectively of your total portfolio in CEL token to gain the same percentage higher in rewards. Every Friday, a snapshot of your holding in the Celsius network is taken, and rewards (interest) are paid out every Monday. Each coin you hold pays rewards at a different rate, and you can choose to either receive them in-kind or in CEL. If you choose CEL, you will get a slightly better percentage, which in turn is boosted if you are at a loyalty tier. Holding stable coins (such as USDT, TUSD, GUSD, USDC, BUSD, PAX, or DAI) gain the highest rewards, currently at over 10%. The complete coin and earnings list can be seen at https://celsius.network/earn-rewards-on-your-crypto/.
The platform also allows users to take out loans and to get them at a lower percentage if paid in CEL. Again, you get a 5%, 10%, 15%, or $25% discount on your loan, depending on your tier level.
They offer a referral program where you and the person you referred get $40 USD worth of DAI if you both deposit over $400 worth of cryptocurrency into your account. They regularly announce other challenges and contests to allow you to gain even more.
Celsius offers rates and services which are no longer available at regular banks. Some have been skeptical as to how they can possibly offer these rates, but as they explain over and over, they lend out your coins to institutional entities at very high interest rates. All loans have high Collateralization, so the risk is minimal, and the gains are maximized. Instead of keeping the profits as normal banks do, they spread them out to the users.
The saying “not your keys, not your coins” needs to be remembered here. There is no guarantee that Celsius won’t be hacked or something else terrible happens, and their clients lose everything. While this is highly unlikely, you can never rule it out completely.
Trend Lines
All the crypto assets we have profiled up to now have been listed on Binance until today. The CEL token is getting listed on more and more exchanges but lacks some of the bigger listings. Also, a few of the exchanges have a small amount of volume so check coinmarketcap for the ideal exchange to trade CEL on.
CEL has had a great bullish trend of 2000% that took about 7 months then corrected hard in the last year. Many major altcoins were in an upswing as CEL started its downtrend of 65%.
A little over a week ago, the downtrend broke on the weekly chart against BTC and now has potential for more upside.
On the CEL/USD pairing and using the daily candlestick chart, you can see it ranges between $4.50 to $6.00. This is off the FTX exchange with one of the best volumes for this token.
The Other Trend Lines
This week we adjusted the trend line for BTC to bring the dip we had within the support line. This adjustment works just fine and still is showing the bull trend we are in. In the short term, it is wise to watch that support and see if it will hold.
Simultaneously, we seem to be forming an ascending triangle that tends to break to the upside. Just under $60,000 is the top of the triangle. If it breaks the top of the triangle and the all-time high of $61,800, most will take a long position trade. There is always a chance that it breaks the support, and we break below for a short position, though less likely.
From a trading view user on a 4-hour chart: Possible playout for BTC. Forming giant inverse H&S pattern.
BTC still bullish and at 56-55k level multiple supports :
1- Channel trend support
2- ichimoku cloud
3 - ema and moving averages
Note : not necessary to go to these levels but if we dropped there will be a good chance to buy BTC and alts with suitable SL
Summary :
Good as long as hold above 55K
Bullish after closing above 59k
Bearish if closed by 2 (4h candles) below 55k
Trading Tips
Are you looking to start trading some crypto assets and need some good advice. Watch this video below and take some notes.
In the video, one tip was to do Dollar-Cost Averaging (DCA). It is an investment strategy whereby investors allocate the same amount of capital on a regular basis to build up a position over time. This is often the better way to invest in cryptocurrency for those that receive a salary each month.
Many don’t have a large sum to invest, so investing every few days, weeks, once a month, or quarterly is attainable. For example, you could allocate a certain percentage from each time you get paid.
Portfolios
This portfolio section gives you an idea of what sort of return you can get when investing in crypto assets.
BTC/USD FUND is up 437% since October 1st, 2020. Since this is a long-term holding, it is best kept in cold wallet storage or a safe custody solution. We continue to see a long-term hold position as our best stable alternative. This past week bitcoin has been ranging between $56,380 and $60,200 USD in value.
FUND 3 started on November 16, 2020, with $1000 USD in value and invested into BTC, LTC, ETH, and ADA. The total amount of BTC value from the four coins has a gain of 41% since the start. The USD fund value is up 391% since the start. We will hold these positions to see how well it does against our BTC-only portfolio. LTC is in the minus by 17% against BTC. ETH is up 30% against BTC since the start. ADA has a gain of 228% against BTC and 1032% to USD.
BLWX Fund started on February 22, 2021. They all are assets we have profiled in the last few months, and we are interested in how they will perform in 2021 against BTC. BAT is up 108% against BTC since the start; LINK is down at -5%, WAVES is up 2%, XMR is up 11%. Overall, against BTC, the fund is up 28% and 35% against USD.
Overall, Bitcoin should be your first choice as an investment in crypto, though many altcoins can give you amazing gains if you manage your risk. As a long-term investor, we see it as our largest portfolio investment. If you are a day trader, there are many great assets to put on your watch list. Look through our previous newsletters to find some.
Madbyte does have a couple of tokens, MADX on the Ethereum network and on the Waves Exchange, you can find Madbyte paired to USDT.
About
MadCapX research newsletter is written by the Madbyte Team. You can learn more about Madbyte and MadCapX on our websites. This weekly newsletter is a paid subscription and supports the team and the Madbyte projects. The regular cost is $5/month or $50/year. Cancel anytime.
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Disclaimer: Nothing in this newsletter is intended to serve as financial advice. Therefore, do your own research and due diligence before applying any of the techniques highlighted in this post. Any risks or trades based on this newsletter are committed at your own risk.