After four months of declining transaction volumes from retail investors, Bitcoin (BTC) retail on-chain activity shows signs of resurgence. Will Bitcoin Benefit From Rising Retail Participation? According to a recent analysis by on-chain analytics platform CryptoQuant, BTC transactions worth less than $10,000 are rising, reflecting a shift in the market’s sentiment from risk-averse to risk-on. Related Reading: Bitcoin Breaks Through $65,000, Is “Uptober” Rally Just Getting Started? Tracking transactions under $10,000 helps gauge retail activity. Unlike institutional transactions driven by fundamentals and long-term outlooks, market sentiment and news often influence retail activity. Per the analysis, Bitcoin’s retail demand struggled to rebound after the cryptocurrency’s all-time high (ATH) in March 2024. However, retail demand has surged 13% in the past 30 days with room for further growth. During this same period, BTC gained approximately 7%, rising from $63,142 on September 22 to $67,346 by October 22. Both rising retail on-chain activity and price suggest a potential upside for BTC in Q4 2024. The swift recovery of BTC and other cryptocurrencies following Iran’s offensive against Israel earlier this month also signals a return to risk-on behavior in the digital asset market. It is worth noting that although retail on-chain activity diminished over the last four months, institutional investors continued to maintain “a high amount of transactions and absorption of coins.” The analysis reads in part: This recent rise in bitcoin is causing small investors to return to trading, signaling the beginning of a pattern of lower risk aversion. Is A Q4 2024 Rally On The Horizon? The return of Bitcoin retail on-chain activity is an encouraging sign that suggests renewed interest among retail investors toward the leading digital asset. However, with the looming US presidential elections, there could be more volatility ahead for BTC price. Related Reading: Bitcoin Price Braces For Volatility Ahead Of Chinese Stimulus Speculations, Options Expiry According to several crypto analysts and trading firms, the likelihood of a crypto Q4 2024 rally hinges on the results of the US presidential elections. Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan recently remarked that “anything other than a Democratic sweep” would benefit BTC propel to $80,000 in Q4 2024. Bitcoin dominance, a metric that measures BTC’s share of the overall crypto market, recently hit 58.9%, a new cycle-high. While this is promising for BTC’s future price, a further surge in dominance could harm altcoins’ performance. As a result, Q4 2024 may bring a new ATH for BTC but muted returns for altcoins. It is also worth considering that the renewed retail demand for digital assets might be geography-specific, and not uniform worldwide. For instance, in South Korea, BTC is trading at slightly lower prices than global prices due to a negative ‘kimchi premium,’ hinting low domestic investor sentiment toward digital assets. BTC trades at $67,346 at press time, down 1.4% in the past 24 hours. Featured image from Unsplash, charts from CryptoQuant and Tradingview.com
Italian Deputy Economy Minister Maurizio Leo announced today that Italy is considering raising the capital gains tax on Bitcoin (BTC) and other crypto assets from 26% to 42%. Italy Weighs Higher Bitcoin Capital Gains Tax At a news conference on October 16, 2024, Leo stated that the Giorgia Meloni administration is contemplating a significant increase in […]
Bitcoin (BTC) has surged past the $65,000 mark, renewing traders’ optimism for an “Uptober” rally that could extend the digital asset’s bullish momentum. Is The Bitcoin “Uptober” Rally Finally Here? In the early hours of October 15, Bitcoin briefly crossed $66,000 before retracing to $65,964 at the time of writing. Over the past 24 hours, BTC has gained 1.4%. According to a report by crypto exchange Bitfinex, Bitcoin’s decisive move past the crucial $63,000 resistance level, combined with encouraging on-chain metrics, points toward further potential upside move. Related Reading: Bitcoin Price Holds Above $63,000 — Here’s The Next Critical Resistance Level The report mentions that Bitcoin’s realized price of unspent transactions output (UTXO) age bands are a “pivotal on-chain metric for gauging Bitcoin’s market dynamics.” For the uninitiated, Bitcoin’s UTXO age bands refer to the value at which different groups of BTC – based on their holding duration – were last moved. Essentially, it helps track the average purchase price across various age groups of BTC holders, indicating market sentiment and the profitability of specific cohorts. Notably, the average realized prices for short-term (3-6 months) and mid-term (6-12 months) holders have historically been key support or resistance levels. The short-term holder price is around $63,000, while the mid-term holder price is $55,000. When Bitcoin trades below the average purchase price of these groups, it often signals a bearish trend. Conversely, a move above these levels can indicate bullish momentum. Since BTC has surpassed the $63,000 resistance, further gains could be in sight. However, a failure to close above this level could have triggered a potential decline toward $55,000. Market Displays Strong Appetite For Digital Assets The report highlights BTC’s weak price action on October 10, when it fell to $58,943 due to lack of aggressive buying in the spot market. Per the report, the majority of the selling originated on Coinbase. Related Reading: Spot Bitcoin ETFs Back To Positive Returns With $308 Million Inflows – Details The report mentions the Coinbase Premium Gap Indicator (CPGI) – a metric that shows the difference between the BTC-dollar pair on Coinbase versus other major centralized exchanges. The CPGI decreased by 100 points as BTC’s price declined below $59,000. The report notes that during the past year, anytime the CPGI fell below 50 points, BTC price has witnessed a subsequent recovery. The report adds: Bitcoin has been trading within a broad range for the past eight months. In the event of the onset of a bear market, selling typically ensues when the Coinbase Premium turns negative. However, such selling has not been observed, suggesting that despite the fluctuations, the market remains relatively stable without widespread fear-driven divestment. This resilience could indicate underlying strength or a balanced market sentiment that may steer future price movements. This analysis aligns with a separate report by crypto firm QCP Capital, which noted that the shallow sell-off in the crypto market following geopolitical tensions between Iran and Israel indicates sustained demand for risk-on assets. In related news, BTC bulls will be relieved to learn that the defunct crypto exchange Mt. Gox has delayed its repayment until October 2025, potentially easing pressure on spot selling. However, some analysts warn that BTC may face price capitulation due to tightening on-chain liquidity. At the time of writing, Bitcoin trades at $65,964, up 1.4% in the past 24 hours. Featured image from Unsplash, charts from CryptoQuant and Tradingview.com
According to a Bloomberg report, a recent survey found that almost half of the traditional hedge funds have some exposure to cryptocurrencies, with the degree of exposure expected to increase by year-end. Traditional Hedge Funds Venturing Into Crypto A survey conducted by the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) and PwC revealed that 47% of traditional […]
Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 7781 aims to reduce Ethereum network slot times, expand blob capacity, enhance decentralized exchange (DEX) performance, and lower gas fees. What Is Ethereum Improvement Proposal – 7781? EIP-7781 has garnered attention from the Ethereum (ETH) community due to its potential impact on the smart contract platform. Proposed by Ben Adams, co-founder of Illyriad Games, the new EIP promises several benefits, including reducing network slot times from 12 seconds to eight seconds, resulting in a 33% increase in transaction throughput without a corresponding rise in data blob counts. Related Reading: Vitalik Buterin Proposes A Privacy Fix for Ethereum For the uninitiated, data blob counts in Ethereum refer to the number of chunks of data included in a block for future use by rollups or layer-2 scaling solutions. These blobs help offload data storage and processing from the base Ethereum network, reducing congestion and improving scalability. EIP-7781 also aims to distribute network bandwidth more evenly, effectively lowering peak bandwidth requirements without sacrificing network efficiency. In his proposal, Adams explains: This would be equivalent to increasing blob count from 6 to 8 or gas limit from 30M to 40M; however this approach does not increase peak bandwidth. Commenting on the proposal, Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake said he supports reducing slot times to eight seconds. Drake added that the proposal would help DEXes like Uniswap v3 become 1.22 times more efficient, saving approximately $100 million in CEX-DEX arbitrage annually, resulting in better user trade execution. Similarly, Pseudonymous developer Cygaar shared their thoughts on EIP-7781, saying, if approved, the proposal can increase Ethereum’s throughput by as much as 50%. The developer also confirmed that the proposal would help lower Ethereum gas fees. However, Cygaar cautioned that reducing slot times should not come at the expense of significantly increasing hardware requirements for solo validators. To clarify this concern, shorter block times could cause the Ethereum blockchain’s data to grow more rapidly, requiring stronger hardware and faster internet to keep up with the quicker updates. This could present challenges for solo stakers and node operators. EIP-7781 Raises Concern For Solo Stakers While EIP-7781 promises to address several of the current challenges on the Ethereum network, there are concerns about its impact on solo stakers. Related Reading: Ethereum Inflation Surge Casts Doubt On “Ultrasound Money” Claim: Report For instance, Cinnehaim Ventures partner Adam Cochran noted that the proposal “seems reasonable in terms of bandwidth on solo stakers” as long as the gas limit per block remains unchanged. Cochran added: Would want to see some tests on I/O hardware and staker return ping times to make sure it doesn’t cut off some home stakers but, it seems like it should be within range for most. It should be recalled that recently, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin advocated lowering the ETH requirement for solo stakers from 32 ETH to 16 or 24 ETH. Buterin stressed the importance of solo stakers in securing the Ethereum network, suggesting that an increased proportion of solo stakers could provide an extra layer of protection against network attacks. At press time, ETH trades at $2,469, up 1.7% in the last 24 hours. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from Tradingview.com
According to Geoff Kendrick, Standard Chartered’s global head of digital assets research, Bitcoin (BTC) dropping below $60,000 due to escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East could offer a prime buying opportunity. Bitcoin Below $60,000, A Buying Opportunity? As tensions between Iran and Israel intensify, risk-on assets like Bitcoin may face a downturn as investors […]
SWIFT said it is uniquely positioned to interlink the fragmented digital asset landscape with its upcoming digital currency trials in 2025.
In a significant legislative development, the President of the United States has been granted extensive powers to regulate digital assets, sparking concern across the crypto community. This new authority allows the President to intervene directly in digital asset transactions, particularly those that could be linked to foreign entities and potentially harmful activities. Experts argue that […]
Hester Pierce said her “sandbox” pitch would offer opportunities for cross-border collaborations between blockchain firms without fear of regulatory threats.
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In episode 54 of Hashing It Out, Micah Yeackley, the co-founder of Kula DAO, discusses how tokenizing traditional illiquid assets opens up investment opportunities to a broader audience.
VanEck continues to expand its presence in the cryptocurrency and Web3 space by launching its own NFT management platform.
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Are you ready to talk about crypto investing with your clients? CoinDesk’s Kim Greenberg collaborated with Adam Blumberg and DJ Windle to provide a guide to getting “Digital Asset Ready” as this year is sure to be interesting.