Bitcoin’s Average Block Size Hits All-Time Highs

Because to the introduction of the nonfungible tokens (NFTs) protocol Ordinals in January 2023, the average size of a Bitcoin block has surpassed 2.5 megabytes (MB) for the first time since the cryptocurrency’s foundation in 2009. This marks a new all-time high for the cryptocurrency.

According to statistics obtained from Blockchain.com, the size of Bitcoin blocks increased by more than 2 MB in the weeks after the debut of the Ordinals Protocol. This surge in block size can be traced back to the beginning of February 2023.

Software developer Casey Rodarmor introduced the Ordinals protocol in the month of January. This protocol makes it possible for users of the Bitcoin network to create “digital artifacts.” These may include JPEG photographs, PDF documents, as well as audio and video files.

In the documentation for Ordinals, Rodarmor explains that each of these digital objects may be inscribed to a single satoshi, which is one of the component parts of a Bitcoin. The value of one bitcoin is equal to 100,000,000 satoshis.

Individual satoshis have the ability to be imprinted with any kind of data, allowing for the creation of one-of-a-kind digital artifacts that are original to Bitcoin. These artifacts may be stored in bitcoin wallets and moved via bitcoin transactions. The permanence, immutability, security, and decentralization of inscriptions are on par with those of Bitcoin itself.

The Bitcoin community is split on the issue of whether or not it should be possible to engrave digital items into the blockchain, and the reasons both for and against the proposal provide plenty of material for reflection. The greater use of block space for the inscription of several Ordinals has emerged as one of the primary topics of discussion.

Since July 2021 and continuing until February 2023, the typical size of a Bitcoin block has ranged between 0.7 and 1.5 megabytes. The average size of a Bitcoin block topped 2 megabytes for the first time on February 5, and it is now hovering at around 2.2 megabytes at the time of this writing.

According to statistics obtained by Glassnode, the introduction of Bitcoin Ordinals has also resulted in the network reaching a new high of 44 million non-zero addresses.

The most recent issue of Glassnode’s newsletter mentions that Ordinals compete for block space demand despite the fact that they have not yet materially influenced network pricing.

The introduction of Ordinals was referred to as a “new and unique point in the history of Bitcoin” by Glassnode. This is because innovation may promote network activity even without the “classical transfer of currency volume for monetary objectives.”

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WisdomTree cryptocurrency funds lose value in fourth quarter

As a result of the protracted bear market in Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies, the value of the digital asset assets managed by WisdomTree, a fund management company based in the United States, fell by a significant amount during the fourth quarter.

The cryptocurrency funds managed by WisdomTree had a total asset value of $136 million as of the end of the year 2022, which was down from $163 million at the beginning of the quarter and represented a depreciation of $23 million, the company disclosed in its quarterly earnings report on February 3, 2023. During the period under review, there was a total of just $4 million worth of redemptions or outflows from the funds. In the previous year, the cryptocurrency portfolios managed by WisdomTree contained a total value of assets equal to $357 million.

Although the fund manager’s operational revenues grew to $73.31 million in the fourth quarter, the manager reported a net loss of $28.3 million for the period. It was the eleventh consecutive quarter in which positive inflows were recorded, and net flows came in at $5.3 billion.

The loss in WisdomTree’s cryptocurrency portfolio of over 62% year-over-year is comparable with the decline in the larger cryptocurrency market during the same time period. According to CoinMarketCap, the overall market value of cryptocurrencies reached more than $2.2 trillion by the end of 2021. However, this figure dropped to about $795 billion the following year.

During the second quarter of 2022, WisdomTree’s portfolio saw a loss of $235 million, which was the company’s largest cryptocurrency loss to date. The crypto markets were in a state of disarray at the time because of the failure of Terra Luna and the knock-on consequences it had on other firms, including as the hedge fund Three Arrows Capital and the cryptocurrency lender Celsius, both of which declared bankruptcy in July.

WisdomTree has a number of funds that are focused on blockchain technology and allow investors access to the digital asset market via the use of conventional financial infrastructure. In December, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission gave WisdomTree the go-ahead to list nine new blockchain-enabled funds on its platform. However, the securities regulator has repeatedly shot down proposals to create an exchange-traded fund that would invest in spot Bitcoin transactions.

According to the cryptocurrency financial services platform Matrixport, institutional investors have been stepping up to purchase the drop despite the recent pessimism that has been surrounding crypto assets. According to the data given by the company, it seems that institutional investors residing in the United States have been responsible for the majority of Bitcoin purchases in recent months.

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On-chain data is signaling a “generational buying opportunity”

After the surge that we’ve seen this year, several on-chain measures from the Bitcoin (BTC) network are indicating that now is the time to purchase.

Bitcoin has emerged from its slumber to post a gain of 37% since the beginning of 2023, breaking out of its previous slump.

However, according to experts, on-chain data is still indicating it might be a “generational buying opportunity.”

On January 24, 2019, a researcher and technical analyst by the name of “Game of Trades” found six on-chain measures for the 71,000 people who follow him on Twitter.

The first measure is an accumulation trend score, and its purpose is to identify pockets of significant accumulation in terms of both the size of the organisation and the total amount of coins purchased.

The market analyst made the observation that “large entities have been in deep accumulation mode ever since the FTX collapse,” and went on to say that “similar accumulation took happened in the 2018 and 2020 bottoms.”

Six on-chain data pointing to a potentially generational and long-term purchasing opportunity for bitcoin

A thread called Game of Trades (@GameofTrades_), which may be found here. The 23rd of January, 2023 The ratio of the current market capitalization to the annualised dormancy value is the measurement that is used to determine the Bitcoin entity-adjusted dormancy flow.

When the dormant value surpasses the market capitalization, the market is said to have fully capitulated, which in the past has been a favourable purchasing zone.

Glassnode reports that in 2022, this measure reached an all-time low, making it the lowest point it has ever been.

The level of confidence that long-term Bitcoin holders have in relation to the price of Bitcoin may be measured using Bitcoin’s reserve risk.

According to the statistics provided by Glassnode, this dropped to its all-time lowest level by the end of 2022.

The Realized Price (RP) of Bitcoin is the worth of all coins in circulation at the price at which they were last traded. This is an estimate of what the whole market paid for their coins.

Since the fall of FTX in November till the 13th of January, Woo Charts indicate that Bitcoin has been trading at a price that is lower than this level.

At this moment, it is located slightly over the RP, which gives even another possibility for buyers.

The Bitcoin MVRV Z-score indicates if BTC is highly overvalued or undervalued in comparison to its “fair value” or the price it has actually been traded for.

It is common practise to consider the bear market to be over when the indicator no longer falls under the highly undervalued zone.

Last but not least, there is something called the Puell Multiple, which investigates the fundamentals of mining profitability and its influence on market cycles.

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Bitcoin’s Winning Streak Finally Comes to an End

Following the formation of the cryptocurrency’s first red candle on January 18, the two-week winning run that Bitcoin (BTC) had been on has finally come to an end.

The previous day, it seemed as if Bitcoin might equal or possibly break its record set in November 2013 of 15 straight days of positive price movement. This would have been the longest stretch of its kind in its entire existence.

In spite of the fact that the record wasn’t broken, Bitcoin managed to register the longest victory streak since the 2013 record in a run-up that some Twitter critics have described as “crazy.” Bitcoin is denoted by #. One bearish daily candle does not cancel out two weeks of all green candles being bullish.

the 18th of January, 2023 — IncomeSharks (@IncomeSharks) The primary reason for the negative price action appeared to be an ominous announcement made earlier on January 18 by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), which stated that it would “announce an international cryptocurrency enforcement action.” [Citizens] should be aware that the DOJ has the authority to take legal action against anyone who engages in illegal activity related to cryptocurrencies.

However, it turned out that the action was taken against a rather obscure cryptocurrency exchange called Bitzlato that was situated in Hong Kong and had connections to Russia. Many people had assumed that it may be against a prominent cryptocurrency exchange or organisation.

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Why Bitcoin’s Price Rebound Could Signify a Market Bottom

During the third week of January, the price of one Bitcoin (BTC) soared beyond $21,000, reaching a new high point not seen in the cryptocurrency market for four months. This encouraged investors.

The comeback in the price of bitcoin in January has resulted in the greatest amount of investor confidence witnessed in the market since July.

The trading crowd mood has reached its greatest level in the previous six months, according to statistics provided by the crypto analytics company Santiment, and it has reached its second highest level of bullishness in the past 14 months.

Based on the data, it seems that traders are seeing the recent price recovery of Bitcoin as a potential precursor to a more significant price increase in the near future.

The feelings that investors have in general regarding a certain asset or financial market are referred to as the “crowd sentiment” or “investor sentiment.”

It is a term that refers to the sentiment of a market or the psychology of the players in that market, which is indicated by activity and changes in the price of the item that is being traded in that market.

The chart that is above demonstrates that there have been three significant upticks in investor sentiment since 2021.

The first significant increase in sentiment occurred in November 2021, which was immediately followed by a jump in the price of bitcoin to a new all-time high of $68,789.

The second significant increase occurred in July 2022, when the United States Federal Reserve began dropping signals about the possibility of an inflation reduction. This was immediately followed by a more modest price increase.

Despite the fact that the price increase after the jump in crowd feelings in July 2022 was not particularly big due to the adverse attitude prevalent across the market, traders did purchase the dip at $19,000.

The most recent uptick in public mood occurred in 2022, after a very harsh winter.

Analysts in the market say that the recent price increase in bitcoin might indicate that the market has reached its bottom.

Since 2015, the time it takes to get from the bottom to the top and from the top to the bottom has stayed the same at 152 weeks and 52 weeks, respectively, according to an independent market analyst named HornHairs.

Bitcoin denoted in $BTC

2015-2017 bull market: 1064 days

2017-2018 bear market: 364 days

2018-2021 bull market: 1064 days

2021-current bottom point of the market: 364 days

If we merely make a carbon duplicate of the cycle period again, there are days remaining till we reach the top: 1001 days pic.twitter.com/KoNZxJRuy5 — HornHairs (@CryptoHornHairs), an account on Twitter. The 12th of January, 2023 When looking at Bitcoin’s price behaviour over a longer period of time, it is startling to see how similar the run-up to the peak and bottom of the previous cycles were.

Even more fascinating is the possibility that the cycle spanning 2020 and 2021 may follow a pattern of a similar kind.

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Allegations of fraud against Compass Mining after company cuts ties with Russian

Compass Mining severed its ties with the Russian hosting provider Bit River and did not return Bitcoin mining gear to its customers. The company claimed the reason for its actions as a non-applicable sanction issued by the United States of America. Directly as a result of this, customers of Compass Mining have filed lawsuits against the company, alleging that it engaged in misleading business practises in an attempt to recoup more than two million dollars.

A document that was submitted to the court on January 17 reveals that Compass Mining informed the court in April 2022 that it had terminated its “relationships and transactions with Bit River” as a direct response to the sanctions that were issued as a consequence of Executive Order 14024. The information was revealed in the document that was filed with the court.

According to the accusations, Compass “did not offer” to return or even retrieve the assets that its clients had entrusted the firm with and which were being housed at Bit River’s facilities in Russia. These assets had been entrusted to Compass by its customers. The Russian Federation was the location of these assets.

On the other hand, it has been said that the claim that the return of the mining equipment would violate Executive Order 14024 is “false.” This order prohibits entering into deals with companies that have been blacklisted. Transactions with companies that have been placed on a blacklist are forbidden under this ruling. It was said that this directive may be the cause of the disagreement in question.

Compass has “both the right and responsibility” to ensure the return of its customers’ mines, as stated in the legal agreement between the two parties. The paper does have this stipulation as a part of it.

In an angry response to the concerns raised by clients, the management of Compass said that the company is “unable to execute or even assist” any business transactions with Bit River. This was done in response to the concerns expressed by the consumers.

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U.S. sanctions: Customers suing Compass Mining

Compass Mining severed its ties with the Russian hosting provider Bit River and did not return Bitcoin mining gear to its customers. The company cited an inapplicable fine issued by the United States of America as the reason for its actions. Bit River was the Russian hosting provider. Directly as a result of this, customers are filing lawsuits against Compass Mining for over 2 million dollars, alleging that the company took part in fraudulent operations and defrauding them of their money.

According to a document that was submitted to the court on January 17, it is stated that Compass Mining informed Bit River in April 2022 that it had terminated its “relationships and transactions with Bit River” as a direct result of the penalties that were imposed as a direct result of Executive Order 14024. These penalties were imposed as a direct result of the fact that Compass Mining informed Bit River that it had terminated its “relationships and transactions with Bit River.” This information was included in the document that was presented to the court as part of the filing process.

Compass “did not offer” to refund or even retrieve the assets that its customers entrusted the business with, which were stored at Bit River’s facilities in Russia, according to the allegations that have been made against the company. These allegations come from the lawsuits that have been filed against the company. The assets at issue were located in Russia at the time of the investigation.

On the other hand, it has been asserted that the claim that returning the mining equipment would be a violation of Executive Order 14024, which prohibits doing business with sanctioned organisations, is “wrong.” In other words, returning the mining equipment would not be a violation of Executive Order 14024. This is due to the fact that Executive Order 14024 prohibits doing business with organisations that are under punishment.

According to the legally binding agreement that was signed by all parties, Compass has “both the right and responsibility to effectuate the recovery of its customers’ mines.” This provision is included in the agreement.

The management of Compass provided an aggressive reaction to the concerns that were raised by clients by declaring that the company is “unable to execute or even facilitate” any business transactions with Bit River.

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Bitcoin Price Falls Below $20,000 Following US Jobs Report

The US added 263,000 jobs last month, according to a job figures report released by the Labor Department on Friday.

It was the slowest month of hiring in 18 months, indicating the hot job market is cooling slightly as the Federal Reserve tries to restrain the economy enough to tame the worst inflation in four decades without causing a recession.

The jobs number reveals a significant slowdown in hiring from August when the U.S. added 315,000 positions. The unemployment rate dropped to a 50-year low of 3.5% in September as employers continued to hire from a shrinking pool of workers. The labor participation rate dropped slightly, indicating that fewer people are working or looking for jobs.

The data shows that the labor market remains tight, with the rate of joblessness falling to a five-decade low. In the past few months, the job market has been weakening, with the average monthly job gains shrinking from about 530,000 a month at the beginning of the year to 370,000 in June.

Crypto prices plummeted following the new job figures reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Bitcoin fell below $20,000 following the news, losing about 2% in the last hour to trade at $19,623, according to data from CoinMarketCap. The drop signals that hiring remains too strong for employers’ tastes. The strong monthly hiring figure implies that the Federal Reserve is likely to keep hiking interest rates sharply as it moves to slow down hiring in its efforts to squash high inflation.

Paul Craig, portfolio manager at Quilter Investors Ltd, commented about the development: “With this jobs report it seems clear we are on course for another significant hike from the Fed, with the market pricing in a 75 [basis point] rise in interest rates at its next meeting.”

In its epic battle to tame inflation, the Fed has raised its benchmark interest rate five times this year. The Central Bank is aiming to slow economic growth enough to reduce annual price increases back towards its 2 percent target. But it has a long way to go. In August, one key measure of year-over-year inflation, the consumer price index (CPI), amounted to 8.3 percent. Traders are waiting for U.S. inflation data due on Thursday next week.

Image source: Shutterstock

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PlanB Says Bitcoin Has Bottomed Out for New Bull Run

A crypto analyst and creator of the Stock-2-Flow (S2F) model has a bullish forecast for the world’s largest digital currency.

B2.jpg

According to PlanB, it became glaring in the first quarter of this year that the Bitcoin bull run was over and we have now entered a full-blown bear market.

PlanB’s words come on the heels of the premier coin trading at 16 month low of $26,350.49 this past week as the broader digital currency ecosystem crumbled with the collapse of the Terra protocol. While selloffs have been consistent in the crypto market lately, PlanB is of the opinion that the price trend has bottomed out, and a stage has been set for the next bull run in the market.

“December 2021 I was still hoping for a 2nd leg of the bull market. But in Q1 2022 it became clear that this bitcoin bull market was over. We entered a bear market since Apr 2021 peak (yes ATH was Nov 2021). Now we are creating a bottom. Then a new bull market will start,” he tweeted, noting that this is a typical BTC cycle.

PlanB has made a name for himself in the financial world as his S2F model can be applied to a variety of assets. However, his predictions about BTC have not always been right given the highly volatile nature of the digital asset in the past year.

One of the top projections that PlanB has given with respect to the price of Bitcoin is that it is bound to hit the $100,000 mark by 2023. While we are just in the second quarter of 2022, conservative analysts believe that projection is a very ambitious one. Considering the fact that BTC once printed an ATH above $68,000, PlanB knows better than anyone not to discount the potential upshot of the digital asset.

Image source: Shutterstock

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Bitcoin (BTC) $ 26,961.22 1.80%
Ethereum (ETH) $ 1,670.96 2.87%
Litecoin (LTC) $ 65.68 2.78%
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) $ 232.18 0.72%