Dallas Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban is betting big on Ethereum’s future. The billionaire investor is joining Ethereum-based data project dClimate, a decentralized network for climate data, forecasts, and models based on the Ethereum blockchain and powered by the oracle network Chainlink

We are proud to welcome @mcuban to @dClimateNet as an investor and advisor. We believe his invaluable expertise will help build #dClimate into the premier platform for every business and entity that uses or builds with climate data. #Blockchain #DeFihttps://t.co/JFw9biv488

— dClimate (@dClimateNet) June 16, 2021

Mark Cuban to Join Ethereum and Chainlink Data Project dClimate 

Cuban has been advocating for crypto investments and adoption in the last few years. The tech entrepreneur has shown a great deal of interest in Ethereum in particular. During an interview, Cuban discussed the blockchain’s potential to disrupt banking, healthcare, and software companies. He also claimed that Etherem has a “greater long term” value as compared to Bitcoin. Following that, he invested in an Ethereum scalability startup Polygon.

With his latest investment, Cuban is set to unleash Ethereum’s disruptive capabilities in a sector that ripe for a change: data.

dClimate connects businesses and entities in need of climate data with publishers who can fulfill their needs. The company uses blockchain to eliminate middlemen and ensures transparency with an in-built mechanism to score the data quality. It also employs Chainlink — an Ethereum-based project that delivers information in and out of a blockchain network — to fetch the climate data. Chainlink is designed to connect blockchains with data in the real world in a secure manner. Over the last year, Chainlink has benefitted immensely from hundreds of partnerships with crypto-related projects, resulting in a 1000% surge in the value of LINK, its native token.

Cuban’s Expertise is Invaluable to dClimate

According to dClimate co-founder Sid Jha, Cuban’s understanding of blockchain and smart contracts could evolve and add transparency to the climate data industry. Furthermore, he stated, “His insights and expertise will be an invaluable asset to the dClimate team as we build a platform that can be leveraged by the many stakeholders who need reliable and secure weather data to build climate resilience.”

Apart from Ethereum, Cuban has also expressed an interest in Dogecoin, a meme-currency that has a market cap of over $40.7 billion. His professional basketball team, Dallas Mavericks is also supportive of the crypto revolution and started accepting Bitcoin for payments two years ago.

Bitcoin struggled to soar above $40,000 as investors unpacked the latest Fed announcement. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve announced that it planned to increase interest rates twice in 2023, much sooner than the markets expected. The announcement incited fears that the banking system could also curtail its bond-buying program.

Bitcoin Tumbles Amid Fed Announcement on Interest Rate Hikes in 2023

Bitcoin (BTC) prices are tumbling again after briefly showing signs of recovery. The currency was changing hands at an intraday low of $38,300, following its decline from the $40,000 mark. Meanwhile, in the stock markets, DOW and S&P 500 also recorded a drop of 0.77% and 0.54% respectively.

The latest decision on interest rates comes in light of rising inflation in the United States. The country — currently experiencing a 13 year high in consumer prices — is projected to see its inflation rates spike from 2.4% to 3.4%. While Fed chair Jerome Powell has termed the projected rates to be “transitory”, investors are worried about the implications of ongoing inflation for a post-pandemic economy.

In the meantime, investors tied to risky assets such as stocks and cryptocurrencies are also anticipating the Fed to roll back its $120 billion monthly bond purchase program, which could be winded down before the planned interest rate hikes.

Current Bitcoin Price Activity is Normal Range-Bound Trading

BTC prices briefly breached $40,000 but fell short of $45,000, as the currency traded at nearly $41, 350 on 15 June. But the digital asset couldn’t maintain this level longer and plummeted further.

Even as BTC fell from $40,000 to $38,300, investors are confident about the primary cryptocurrency’s resilience. Some believe that Bitcoin’s price activity matches its range-bound trading. At this point, investors are hoping for BTC to hold at $37,000, which could represent its support level.

Interestingly, major exchanges have recorded a continuous inflow of BTC over the last few days. Miner outflows have also been increasing according to the findings of CryptoQuant, which suggest that BTC inflows produce bearish results for the market. 

Additionally, the currency’s 50 and 200-day moving averages are also on their way to convergence, leading to the formation of a bearish death cross. While they are not the strongest indicators of the current spot price action, they help understand the existing resistance for bulls.