Bitcoin (BTC) Reviews - Page 7

Crypto supporters should be jumping with joy after Bitcoin, the benchmark of cryptocurrencies, surpassed $55,000 yesterday, gaining momentum to the rally started earlier this week. Bitcoin is already trading 13% higher this week. On Wednesday, crypto prices likely rose after institutional investors decided to get into the action. The mentality of institutional investors is such that they move along with the herd, fearing that their competitors might perform better, and they may miss out on the opportunity.

The price of Bitcoin finally broke through the $50,000 price level after dipping over the last few days because of increased crackdowns by Beijing on the digital sector and El Savador’s bumpy start to incorporating the digital coin as its legal tender. However, Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s statement that the Fed is not likely to ban stable coins caused a spur of optimism among investors. Furthermore, Elon Musk’s enigmatic tweet on Tuesday also supported the bullish sentiment. On Tuesday, Bitcoin touched $50,400 and recovered losses incurred during the third quarter. During its last rally, bulls were able to climb as high as $51,276. The notorious digital asset is up nearly 76% over the last twelve months and has nearly risen 17% in October. Investors should expect the rally to continue as long as there isn’t a big correction in equity markets, which could potentially have a spillover effect on crypto markets as well. Furthermore, investors should keep in mind that cryptocurrencies and crypto-related products are continuing to rise in demand as the digital sector carries on gaining traction and popularity. One of the largest banks, US Bank, has also entered the playing field, quoting that the phenomenon is too hard to ignore. The bank has started offering crypto custody services for Bitcoin and will evaluate if it is feasible for the bank to provide custody services for other digital coins as well going forward.

Bitcoin, the benchmark of cryptocurrencies, is experiencing a price retracement and is currently trading above $49,000 as of 11:10 p.m. EST, poised to test the critical $50,000 mark. After El Salvador declared the infamous digital coin to be its legal tender, investors see this as the most important practical test of cryptocurrencies to determine their utility in everyday life. However, its initiation has been bumpy as the country’s digital wallet faced technical errors. Crypto traders will be over the moon after hearing that even the Bank of America has started researching cryptocurrencies because of the ever-expanding interest by institutions and retail investors. The number of companies mentioning digital coins in their financial statements has risen from 17 in 2020 to nearly 147 last quarter. Moving onwards, the blockchain sector is not limited to just cryptocurrencies, but it is coming out to be an entire new ecosystem providing opportunities for companies and individuals alike to innovate and drag the financial sector into a new era.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s statement that stable coins should not be banned helped rally the bulls and drag Bitcoin prices up from the low $40,000s. Bitcoin is currently trading around $47,000, with the market capitalization expanding to $2.2 trillion on Sunday from $1.9 trillion on Wednesday. Other possible explanations for the rally include a short squeeze and the end of the historically volatile month of September. However, failure of Bitcoin to cross $50,000 depicts that bulls do not have their energy tanks full yet. Moreover, crypto traders should understand how the proposed $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, if passed, will affect crypto markets. A provision in the bill could be used to require cryptocurrency brokers to report their activities to the Internal Revenue Service. The term “broker” is, however, incredibly vague and does not clearly exclude other blockchain participants such as miners, wallet providers, and software developers. The proposed bill seeks to raise $28 billion from the blockchain sector over the next ten years to fund infrastructure development such as roads and bridges.

The head of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, expressed his stance on stablecoin regulation. His prior remarks caused a stir in the crypto markets, as he was reported to have said that stablecoins should be made illegal. That is not the case, however. According to his testimony before the House Financial Services Committee, central banks’ own digital money would most likely replace stablecoins because it would perform the same function. He did, however, confirm the need for some kind of regulation on such digital assets. Stablecoins are similar to bank deposits and money market funds in this regard. As a result, just as they are protected under other financial products, consumers will need some kind of protection against fraudulent activities while using stablecoins as well.

In addition to pressure from regulators, whale behavior is another warning sign. On the one hand, the number of coins they own is growing. If in February there were an average of 3236 BTC per whale, this figure increased to 3722 BTC in September. But the number of whales themselves has decreased by 15% and now stands at 2,125. This is thelowest for the last 15 months. In addition, significant amounts of their coins have flowed from their wallets to exchange accounts. This suggests that the whales are preparing for a possible continuation of the bear market. Of course, whales are not a single entity. And despite the general desire to make a profit, they can be divided into short-term and long-term investors. The former are prone to speculation and quick fixation of small profits. The second, such as MicroStrategy, prefer to restock on price downturns. And it is thanks to them that the market is kept from a complete collapse. As for investor sentiment, the data provided by Glassnode in the latest report is interesting. Since late July, while the price of bitcoin has been climbing from $31,000 to $52,000, long-term holders have sold coins they purchased between the $18,000 and $31,000 levels. According to analysts, this suggests that some of the passive investors have moved into the category of active traders selling coins that were purchased at close to current prices. The total crypto market capitalization has again dropped below the psychologically important threshold of $2.0 trillion and is at $1.84 trillion. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index has moved from the neutral zone (48 points) to the Fear zone. It was 27 on Thursday, September 23, at the low of the week, and it grew slightly on Friday September 24 - up to 33 points. In general, the crypto market is now in a state of uncertainty, some influencers predict unprecedented growth for it, while others, like the president of Euro Pacific Capital, Peter Schiff, believe that this “bubble” will burst soon. Of course, this discord applies not only to bitcoin, but also to ethereum.

This week's BTC/USD and ETH/USD charts are very similar to those of the S&P500 and Dow Jones stock indices. The reason is fluctuating investor sentiment. The risk of default on obligations of one of the largest construction companies in China, Evergrande, which has accumulated debt in the amount of 2 trillion yuan ($ 309 billion), provoked panic in the financial markets on September 20. Investors began to get rid of risky assets, crashing stock markets. The cryptocurrency market did not escape the sell-off either. If bitcoin was at $52,870 on Monday, it fell to $39,666 for a short time on Tuesday, losing up to 25% of its value. The panic caused by Evergrande subsided on September 22, followed by a correction, and moderate risk appetite returned to investors after the Fed meeting, and the charts crept further north. However, it was too early to think that the sell-off was over. After rising to $45,150, bitcoin flew down again on Friday, September 24, then fought back and is trading at $43,000 at the time of writing.

Crypto traders should be ecstatic after hearing that it is becoming increasingly normal to hear big names now entering into the digital sector. Invesco is an example of such a company working on creating crypto products for its consumer base. The company manages $1.5 trillion worth of assets around the world and manages ETFs and indexed strategies worth about $470 billion. The investment management firm is partnering with Galaxy Digital to offer digital products backed by physical assets. However, Mike Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Digital, warns that he expects the regulatory environment around digital assets to be extremely fickle over the next year. Emily Chi, Coinbase’s COO, confirmed rumours that her company is working on a proposal to lawmakers outlining how the crypto markets should be regulated. The proposal, according to her, is aimed at achieving transparency and integrity in the blockchain sector. She went on to say that the regulations potentially governing crypto markets should ensure fairness and equal opportunity for both crypto and financial services.

Over the last few days, Bitcoin has been on a downward spiral after sentiment related to riskier assets took a beating and as of now the digital coin is hovering around the $41,000 price level. The price action is currently testing the Ichimoku cloud technical pattern which supports the asset near $39,900. The price movement currently has a longer, lower shadow, and is forming a hammer candlestick, depicting that investors are closely monitoring these support levels for signs of further decline in prices. Institutional investors, on the other hand, are continuing to show interest in the blockchain space. VanEck, a mutual fund and ETF manager, has launched a Bitcoin Tracker Fund to give its clients exposure to the infamous digital coin. The firm has also filed to launch a strategy fund that will invest in bitcoin futures, as well as an ETF that will invest directly in bitcoin. The company is also excited about the technology behind Solana. The capacity to execute 50,000 transactions per second, which rivals Nasdaq, has enticed the firm to investigate the technology because it would allow the company to potentially securitise any asset and then trade tokens using the Solana technology.

In terms of shorter-term forecasts, crypto trading veteran Ton Vays believes that the BTC/USD pair will complete the current correction relatively soon, and then rise sharply to six-digit levels. Vays explained that the recent move in the BTC price is reminiscent of July, when the flagship cryptocurrency fell to a one-year low below $29,000 and then aggressively rose to $52,000 in less than six weeks. According to Ton Vays, bitcoin is likely to fall short and give traders an opportunity to buy near the $40,000 level. After that, it will sharply bounce off this support and rush upward. “The $40,000 low will come either next week or may be delayed until early October, and then we will cross that area with a rise to $50,000 in mid to late October. We will be over $65,000 by early November, and probably $100,000 by the end of December,” he said.

Influencers continue to predict a great future for major cryptocurrencies. So, Austrian economist Ronald-Peter Stöferle, managing partner of investment company Incrementum AG, said that "in five to ten years, bitcoin will rise to heights that we cannot currently imagine." At the same time, the top manager noted that the next phase of bitcoin's growth has not yet begun. According to him, the rise in price of bitcoin will occur when the asset becomes "a means of inflation protection during the ongoing large monetary experiments." Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood expects bitcoin to rise to $500,000 within five years. In a conversation with CNBC, Wood explained that the validity of her forecast will depend on whether companies continue to diversify their bitcoin reserves and whether institutional investors decide to place 5% of assets in it. The head of Ark Invest also highlighted the potential of Ethereum, saying that her company will likely continue to adhere to a 60% Bitcoin and 40% Ethereum strategy.

Analytics software provider MicroStrategy additionally purchased 5,050 BTC at $48,099. This was announced by the head of the company Michael Saylor. As of September 12, MicroStrategy owns 114,042 BTC. A total of $3.16 billion was spent on their purchase, thus the average cost was $27,713 per coin. Other US companies that have made similar large investments in cryptocurrency include Jack Dorsey's Square and Elon Musk's Tesla. Now they are set to be joined by billionaire Alan Howard's Brevan Howard Asset Management hedge fund, which opened a dedicated BH Digital division for these purposes.

El Salvador entered into force a law recognizing bitcoin as a legal means of payment on Tuesday, September 7. And the quotes of the flagship cryptocurrency fell by 18% in a matter of hours: from $52,870 to $43,205. The market is slowly trying to recover after this "black" day. At the time of writing this review, the BTC/USD pair had risen to the $47,300-48,000 zone. Of course, it's not much, which is why the past week can only be described as “slightly greenish.” The Crypto Fear & Greed Index has risen by only 2 points, from 46 to 48, and is in the central neutral zone. The total crypto market capitalization remained virtually unchanged, at $2.120 trillion compared to $2.100 trillion a week ago. The news background looks “slightly greenish” too. The most interesting news is that Panama has decided to follow El Salvador's example. A draft law on cryptocurrencies was presented to the Congress of this country. Panama currently uses the US dollar as a means of payment. If the law is passed, it will also be possible to use BTC and ETH. Unlike El Salvador, the Panamanian option does not provide for the mandatory use of cryptocurrencies, that is, citizens and companies will be able to freely decide whether they want to accept cryptocurrencies or be limited to just the dollar. The law has not yet been passed, but analysts are already wondering how the market will react to its entry into force. Should we wait for another "black" day of the calendar, as in the case of El Salvador?

Since Beijing imposed restrictions on the crypto industry, the crypto mining sector has been under intense scrutiny. Since then, transaction fees earned by bitcoin miners have been at an all-time low. Previously, such levels had only been observed at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. Block subsidies, on the other hand, are assisting the industry in establishing itself in North America. Miners are essentially compensated in the form of block subsidies for their efforts in verifying the network. The fee reduction is unlikely to have a substantial impact on the bitcoin expansion prognosis or investment premise. Mining businesses listed in the United States have added around 10,500 BTC in the last year. However, the mining industry will take some time to recuperate and reach its full potential.

Bitcoin and Ethereum are back on track, and it seems like that the golden cross for Bitcoin on the daily time frame has provided much confidence among crypto traders. It is highly likely that the selloff, or let’s call it a retracement, may be over and we may see another strong rally for Bitcoin. Traders also need to keep in mind that two major upgrades will be taking place for both top coins in the coming month and they are likely to take the prices to completely new levels if there is success. Firstly, it is the ETH 2.0 upgrade which is really going to make or break Ethereum and finally the Taproot upgrade for Bitcoin network which is likely to take place in November. Taproot network upgrade is the biggest upgrade that the bitcoin network will see since its invention.

Bitcoin has already consumed more power in 2021 than it did in all of 2020 according to a recent study. A new study suggests that Bitcoin has already used more power so far this year than it did in all of 2020. By the end of the year, the Bitcoin network will have consumed 91 TW/h (terawatt-hours or one trillion watts per hour) and it has already consumed more than the estimated 67 TW/h for all of 2020 according to a Sept. 13 Bloomberg report. The precise energy consumption figures are variable and not easy to calculate accurately, but the trend is clear - they are increasing. The Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index currently estimates that BTC is set to consume an even greater 95.68 TW/h by the end of the year. This is about the same as the power consumption of the Philippines. A separate study by Science Direct has highlighted another issue - electronic waste. E-waste generally refers to discarded computer equipment and electronics. The report suggests that one transaction on the Bitcoin network produces 272 grams of e-waste, mostly comprised of old mining equipment. It added that Bitcoin miners “cycle through a growing amount of short-lived hardware that could exacerbate the growth in global electronic waste,” adding that its annual e-waste generation totaled 30.7 metric kilotons as of May 2021. Projecting that through to the end of the year the study stated: “Bitcoin could produce up to 64.4 metric kilotons [64,400 tons] of e-waste at peak Bitcoin price levels seen in early 2021.”

Crypto traders were in a frenzy on Monday after reports that Walmart accepted Litecoin as a medium for online payment for its products. The price of the digital coin rose by about 30% as a result of the fake news. The rally quickly died down after Walmart issued an official statement clarifying the situation and calling the GlobeNewswire report deceptive. On the other hand, the software company MicroStrategy has purchased more bitcoins, worth nearly $243 million. The company owns a total of 114,042 bitcoins at an average price of $27,713. Traders view investing in this company as a way to gain exposure to the digital asset without actually holding the digital coins. As time goes on, seeing cryptocurrencies included in company portfolios is gaining normalcy. The digital asset is seen as a hedge against inflation and an alternative to holding gold.

Analysts at the international banking group Standard Chartered have also given a positive assessment of the outlook for bitcoin and ethereum. They compared the first with currency, and the second with the financial market, where lending, insurance and exchange transactions take place. Therefore, given the wider range of ETH use cases, its capitalization may eventually reach that of the first cryptocurrency. Standard Chartered predicts bitcoin prices in the $50,000-$175,000 range and ethereum in the $26,000-$35,000 range. Thus, these cryptocurrencies should grow threefold and tenfold, respectively. “While the return on ETH may outperform BTC in the future, the risks associated with it are also higher,” the bank representatives said. On average, 20% of analysts agree that the BTC/USD pair will cross over $50,000 in the coming week, their number increases to 40% onthe monthly forecast, and 80% agree that it will happen before the New Year.

The leading cryptocurrency managed to win back some of the losses, and it is trading in the range of $45,000-46,000 per coin at the time of writing the review, on Friday September 10. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index has shifted into the fear zone, dropping from 74 to 46 points. The total crypto market capitalization fell below the important psychological level of $2 trillion to $1.975 trillion by September 08, but then rose to $2.100 trillion by the end of the working week. Despite what has happened, many experts are still positive about the prospects for both bitcoin and ethereum. For example, senior strategist Mike McGlone called the $100,000 mark for bitcoin and the $5,000 mark for ethereum as "the path of least resistance" in the September Bloomberg Crypto Outlook report. “Crypto assets enter a renewed second-half year bull market after a serious drop from previous highs,” the Bloomberg expert noted, adding that he sees “bitcoin's future as a digital reserve asset to complement the dollar.”

The past week on the crypto market can be reduced to one day, Tuesday September 07. A law came into force in El Salvador on that day recognizing bitcoin as a legal means of settlement on par with the dollar. The country's young president, Nayib Bukele, twitted about this three minutes before midnight local time. “In three minutes we will go down in history,” he wrote. Earlier, the head of state confirmed that the government of El Salvador acquired the first 200 BTC. Bitcoin has been rallying since July 20 and has jumped above $52,000 since this announcement. Roughly 20% of the country's GDP comes from remittances that Salvadorans working abroad send to their relatives. The huge commissions in USD that have to be paid are extremely unprofitable and enrich the US financial structures. This is what has been one of the main reasons for bitcoin adoption. However, for most Salvadorans, a third of whom do not even use the internet, digital assets still remain a mystery behind seven seals. According to surveys, about 70% of the population fear the innovations, and pensioners believe that the government wants to take away their USD pensions in this way. The result of these concerns and misunderstandings were protests and demonstrations that swept across the country.