Cryptocurrencies Price Prediction: Aster, Bitcoin & Ethereum – European Wrap 4 February

Aster Price Forecast: ASTER extends recovery on Stage 6 buyback program

Aster (ASTER) trades in the green so far this week after bouncing off the $0.50 psychological level on Saturday. The decentralized exchange (DEX) specializing in perpetual and spot trading, backed by strategic investors like YZi Labs and connected to the BNB Chain ecosystem, launched its Stage 6 buyback program on Wednesday to reduce supply pressure. However, retail interest in Aster continues to decline, as evidenced by a reduction in Open Interest and a lower funding rate. Technically, ASTER’s outlook remains mixed as the short-term recovery builds on thin ice.

Aster struggles to sustain retail interest amid growing competition from Hyperliquid, which recently expanded into the commodities market with HIP-3 and plans to enter the prediction market under the HIP-4 proposal. As a short-term measure to ease selling pressure, Aster launched the Stage 6 buyback program on Wednesday, the final trading airdrop, which allocates up to 80% of daily fees to the buyback, including the automatic daily buyback of 40% from daily fees.

Bitcoin Price Forecast: BTC steadies as bears shift focus toward $70,000

Bitcoin (BTC) price recovers slightly, trading above $76,000 at the time of writing on Wednesday, after reaching levels not seen since early November 2024 the previous day. The broader crypto market sentiment remains fragile, with derivatives traders staying defensive, signaling a hands-off approach amid a challenging environment of relative weakness. Traders should be cautious, despite a short-term recovery, as BTC’s long-term trend remains bearish, with bears targeting $70,000.

Bitcoin price remains under pressure so far this week, with the Crypto King slipping below $73,000 on Tuesday for the first time since November 2024. The price dip in BTC was fueled as the news came in late Tuesday that the US military shot down an Iranian drone that “aggressively” approached the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea. 

Ethereum Price Forecast: Buterin says rollup-centric roadmap 'no longer makes sense'

Ethereum (ETH) co-founder Vitalik Buterin declared the original rollup-centric roadmap obsolete in a Tuesday X post, marking a significant reversal of the scaling strategy he championed since 2021.

"The original vision of L2s and their role in Ethereum no longer makes sense, and we need a new path," Buterin wrote, citing two fundamental shifts that have undermined the original plan.