The cryptocurrency market began Tuesday on a bullish note, with Bitcoin and Ether all racing to new monthly highs. AVAX, the native coin of the Avalanche blockchain, is up 4% in the last 24 hours. However, the coin has been consolidating below the $10 level over the past few days. The consolidation could be building up orders ahead of a big rally, with derivatives data indicating further upward movement in the near term. NHN KCP and Ava Labs enter a strategic partnership The primary catalysts behind AVAX’s positive performance are the rally by the broader crypto market and the partnership between Ava Labs and South Korea’s NHN KCP. NHN KCP, a leading South Korean payment service provider, entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Ava Labs to develop a Layer 1 blockchain network tailored for payments. The collaboration aims to launch a mainnet for real-world payment applications, utilizing Ava Cloud, a service provided by Ava Labs that allows companies to create and manage their own Layer 1 blockchains. The partnership will focus on three main pillars: ultra-fast payment authorization with sub-one-second processing, on-chain encryption of transaction data, and a customizable payment ecosystem for merchants. According to Ava Labs' Head of Asia, Justin Kim, the launch of the Layer 1 network will depend largely on the passage of South Korea's pending cryptocurrency regulations. In addition to the development of the L1 network, NHN KCP and Ava Labs will explore new opportunities in digital commerce, including tokenized deposit models, multi-stablecoin settlement systems, and cross-border payments. In addition to this, derivative data also suggest that AVAX is currently bullish. The CoinGlass futures Open Interest (OI) for AVAX reads $383.03 million on Tuesday, up from the $313 million recorded the previous day. The long-to-short ratio also reads 1.14, indicating that the longs are currently paying the shorts in the market. The ratio staying above one suggests that buyers are in firm control. The OI-Weighted funding rate also flipped positive since Sunday and now reads 0.0079%. The funding rate flipping positive indicates that new capital is entering the market, with long positions currently higher. AVAX eyes a breakout above the $10.55 swing high The AVAX/USD 4-hour chart is bullish and efficient as Avalanche has been consolidating over the past few days. AVAX tapped the 4-hour Transactional Liquidity (TLQ) at $8.47 since April 7, allowing it to rally to the $9.5 level a few hours ago. The bulls will likely grab the Inducement Liquidity (ILQ) at $8.93 before rallying higher. If the recovery persists, AVAX could surge towards the 4-hour swing high of $10.56 over the next few hours or days. An extended rally would allow AVAX to January 28 high of $12.27 in the near term. The RSI of 55 is above the neutral 50, suggesting a growing bullish bias. The MACD lines are also slightly above the neutral level, adding further confluence to the bullish narrative. However, if the breakout fails to materialize, AVAX could drop to the April 7 low of $8.47. A daily candle close below this level could see AVAX retest the February swing low of $7.52. The post AVAX consolidates below $10: is a breakout rally around corner? appeared first on Invezz
