Tag: Bitcoin

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Australian Analyst Positive About 2021 as Ethereum (ETH) Hits New All Time High

Australian Analyst Matt Harcourt of Apollo Capital, the country’s leading crypto-asset investment firm, recently spoke to DMARGE about crypto trends in 2021. While the discussion focused largely on Bitcoin (BTC), it’s Ethereum (ETH) that’s making headlines today after securing a new all-time high (ATH) above its previous record of AUD$1,850 (US$1,420).

Ethereum was one of the best-performing assets of 2020, gaining over 800% in value throughout the year. After starting the year at the extremely low price of AUD$166, ETH has steadily climbed to its new ATH, only suffering a brief dip during the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak.

In mid-2020, a thriving decentralized finance (DeFi) market emerged that was largely developed on Ethereum’s ERC20 protocol. Although DeFi had a somewhat bumpy start with several projects collapsing or exit-scamming, it nevertheless helped to boost Ethereum’s price and should continue to do so into 2021. 24-hour volume on the Ethereum network has also seen extreme growth this year, peaking at $140 billion on January 4.

Harcourt believes there is room for more growth going into 2021, citing a ‘broken’ financial system that will help boost interest in cryptocurrencies.

“…there is a ‘broken’ (I use that word loosely) financial system that will inevitably be replaced by the more open, fair and efficient system that is Bitcoin and blockchain technology (Ethereum, Decentralised Finance),” he told Australian news outlet DMARGE.

However, he noted that now may not be the best time to buy as prices are very high. “A good time to enter the market may come in 1, 2 or 3 months as I think Bitcoin will end 2021 at a higher price,” he said. It looks like he might be right, as other market indicators are suggesting a possible retrace from the current overbought level.

The supply of Bitcoin on exchanges is currently at the highest its been in nine months, suggesting traders are getting ready to sell. With Bitcoin already up by a massive 25 percent just in 2021 alone, buying power must surely start dissipating soon. Even the institutional interest that drove Bitcoin to new highs through late 2020 is beginning to wane, and retail investors appear to be diversifying into altcoins.

Over the past 24 hours, smaller-cap cryptocurrencies like AAVE, ATOM, and MIOTA have all enjoyed gains of between 7 to 12 percent. In the same period, Bitcoin has seen barely any change at all, suggesting that this record-breaking month-long rally that saw it double in price may finally be exhausted.

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Bitcoin Bitcoin Mining Crypto News Crypto Trackers Cryptocurrencies Ethereum Investing Markets Stablecoins Tether Worldwide

Crypto Market Cap Hits One Trillion US Dollars

The overall cryptocurrency market capitalization has reached one trillion US dollars for the first time in history, according to data from the leading crypto statistics site Coinmarketcap.com.

Major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) have seen exponential gains over the past few months, both rising by over 300% since November. Some smaller cap crypto assets and digital tokens like Chainlink (LINK), Cardano (ADA), and Polkadot (DOT) have enjoyed similar price rallies.

Bitcoin’s market valuation recently catapulted to $650 billion, overtaking major US investment firm Berkshire Hathaway, with a $533 billion market cap. Berkshire Hathaway was acquired and reformed in the 70s by iconic investor Warren Buffet, who remains its chairman and CEO to this day. Buffett has historically been very vocal about his dislike of cryptocurrencies, once famously calling Bitcoin “rat poison squared”. 

Despite Bitcoin being the best performing asset of the past decade by a large degree, Buffett continues to discount its worth, insisting that it has no value and is purely speculative. However, several major tech firms and financial institutions disagree, such as 170-year-old Mass Mutual which recently bought up $100 million worth of Bitcoin. A small amount compared to the world’s largest digital currency asset manager, Grayscale, with over $20 billion invested in crypto assets.

Image from Howmuch.net
Image from Howmuch.net

Criticism

Naturally, the extreme gains mean the cryptocurrency market has once again come under fire from critics who believe that asset prices are being manipulated. As with the previous 2017 rally, many critics believe that USDT tokens printed by stablecoin company Tether are being used to artificially prop up the cryptocurrency market – much like the US Federal Reserve props up traditional stock markets with seemingly endless USD issuance.

The concerns are not without merit, especially considering Tether’s continued reluctance to prove that it’s USDT tokens are fully backed by genuine dollar reserves. Tether has been minting millions of dollars in USDT tokens lately, presumably to meet the demand of consumers cashing out their Bitcoin profits or buying USDT as a digital onramp to the crypto world. Without clear and transparent auditing of this issuance, it’s fair to say the situation has the potential for abuse and manipulation.

One argument that challenges this theory is PlanB’s Bitcoin stock-to-flow model, which has accurately tracked the price movements of the BTC/USD trading pair over several years. The model reveals how the price of Bitcoin closely follows a set pattern dictated not by buyers or sellers but rather scarcity created by the algorithm which halves the BTC mining reward every 210,000 blocks. Price movements from the very first Bitcoin halving in late 2012 – long before Tether started printing in 2015 – correlate with Plan B’s stock-to-flow model. This suggests that the current price rally and the one following the previous 2016 halving are simply a result of Bitcoin’s coding rather than any external manipulation.

Image from PlanB (@100trillionUSD) on Twitter
Image from PlanB (@100trillionUSD) on Twitter
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Crypto News

Bitcoin Market is Currently in Extreme Greed as F&G Index Clicks 83

Australian SMSFs are Buying More Bitcoin Despite Increase in Price

Compared to the past weeks, the leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin (BTC) is losing price momentum after many failed attempts to break above the US$20,000 level. The cryptocurrency has been fluctuating since this week, which resulted in a US$1,000 drop sometime on Wednesday. 

Although, many industry experts the volatility in the crypto market to be over soon, the fear and greed index developed by Alternative.me suggests that the Bitcoin market might even face more correction. 

Bitcoin Investors are in Extreme Greed

At the time of writing, the Bitcoin fear and greed index clicked 86, while a higher score of 95 was recorded on Tuesday. Although the record today is lower compared to the previous data, it still indicates an extreme level of greed amongst Bitcoin investors in the current market conduction. For the past week and 30 days, the index reached a score of 92 and 90, respectively. 

On that note, ICO analytics tweeted that November was the biggest month that got many Bitcoin investors in extreme greed. This is evident given that the cryptocurrency made an exponential kind of growth in November. Bitcoin briefly crossed its previous all-time high (ATH) at $19,900 in the past month. Since that move, however, the cryptocurrency began correcting dropped below US$19,000 to the current price of US$18,311 on Coinmarketcap.

What 86 Fear & Greed Index Mean

With a zero score on the index, the Bitcoin market is supposedly in extreme fear, while a score of 100 means extreme greed. As the index currently clicks at 86, Alternative.me explained that Bitcoin investors are still very greedy; hence, the cryptocurrency might continue to face some correction in price. On the other hand, fear in the market could mean a buying opportunity for investors.

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Australia

S&P/ASX 200: Crypto Market Shades Points as Aussie Stocks Peak

Swyftx Exchange to List BSC DODO and PancakeSwap Token

The recent bullish rally in the cryptocurrency market is gradually calming down, as many popularly-traded digital currencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Ripple (XRP), etc., were seen slightly dropping and fluctuating in price today. While the crypto market shades points, the Australian stock market was seen in its good times. The S&P/ASX 200 reached/closed on Tuesday with more than ten points from the previous close. 

Australian Stocks Reached Nine-month High

According to the information today from the Sydney Morning Herald, the S&P/ASX 200 peaked by 12.7 points or approximately 0.2 percent, to close at 6687.7 points on Tuesday. The record today accounts for a new nine-month high – a closing point, which was last seen on February 26, according to the report. Notably, the stock market has been garnering some points for the past few days. 

The ASX reportedly has added six-day straight gains since December. This comes as consumers’ confidence figures are currently at the highest level all year. Meanwhile, the report opined that the hopes for COVID-19 vaccines are driving up the market, especially as some vaccines have been dispatched to countries like the United Kingdom (UK). 

“On the global side, it would seem that markets are certainly quiet today, but over the last month or so the biggest theme has been one of optimism over the rollout of vaccine programs, said Andrew Ticehurst at Nomura Australia. “That is certainly buoying the market, and after a very tough year, I think the prevailing sentiment is that there are better days ahead.”

The Crypto Market Dips

Arguably, there hasn’t been any notable increase in the cryptocurrency market after the leading digital currency, Bitcoin, briefly surpassed the previous all-time high (ATH), at over US$19,900. The global cryptocurrency market capitalization is down by 1.27 percent in a 24 hours count at US$557.13 billion, according to the information provided by Coinmarketcap, a digital currency price tracking platform.

Serially, the number one to ten top digital currencies were down in the last 24 hours and seven-day chart. At the time of writing, Bitcoin, Ether, and Ripple were trading at US$18,853, US$574, and US$0.585, respectively. The current volatility in the market was well predicted by a few industry analysts, who added that there would be another significant increase in the market after it survives this condition.

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Crypto News

OCC’s Chief Assures the US Isn’t Going to Ban Bitcoin

Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index Clicks 94: Is Bitcoin due for Correction?

Brian Brooks, the acting Comptroller of the Currency at OCC, has brought clarity to the recent rumor that the present United States government is preparing to introduce regulation that will implement know-you-customer (KYC) measures for self-hosted digital currency wallets. According to him, the government won’t ban Bitcoin in the country. Instead, they are making an effort not to destroy the digital currency. 

US Will Champion Bitcoin

The founder of Coinbase, Brian Armstrong, recently informed crypto Twitter that the Trump Administration was planning to introduce regulation for self-hosted crypto wallets, according to the rumor. The said regulation was viewed as a threat to the cryptocurrency industry, especially in the US, as users must have to validate their information before even making a transaction. However, Brooks cleared the rumor while speaking at the CNBC Squawk Box today, saying that such a thing isn’t going to happen.

The OCC chief operating officer added:

“We’re very focused on getting this right. We are very focused on not killing this, and it is equally important that we develop the networks behind bitcoin and other cryptos as it is we prevent money laundering and terrorism financing.”

Brooks further noted that there would be lots of good news for the cryptocurrency industry by the end of Trump’s administration. “There are gonna be very positive messages coming up,” he said. This is unarguably one good development to wrap the week. It sparked positivity among many Bitcoiners and popular industry participants.

Bitcoin Still on the Rise

The leading cryptocurrency has grown tremendously in price since September, making a new all-time high at over US$19,000. The current price of Bitcoin is slightly below the ATH at US$19,004 on Coinmarkecap. Many Bitcoiners are hoping for a US$20,000-priced Bitcoin as several activities on the crypto have been increasing, including the searches on Google. A glance at Google Trends shows that Bitcoin searches surged to a 32-month high globally. 

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Bitcoin

New Ransomware “Egregor” is Threatening Big Companies For Bitcoin

New Ransomware "Egregor" is Threatening Big Companies For Bitcoin

Cybersecurity researchers have learned about new ransomware dubbed “Egregor,” which is gradually rising to pester several organizations in the world, with the recent target being the industrial goods and services companies. Using the malware, the attackers break into the companies’ systems to encrypt their data, which will only be released after victims pay a certain amount of ransom in Bitcoin. 

The researchers also think that ransomware attacks are just getting started. 

Video Gaming Firms Ubisoft, Crytek Already Affected by Egregor

The ransomware was first discovered in September, but it’s spreading rapidly across the world. Popular video gaming companies, such as Ubisoft, Crytek, bookseller Barnes & Noble, and 71 other organizations have been affected by the Egregor malware in more than 19 countries. 

Due to the rate at which the ransomware is spreading, the researchers at Digital Shadows opined that the attackers could be warming up with the attacks after meticulously planning their activities. One of the cybersecurity analysts, Lauren Palace, commented:

“The level of sophistication of their attacks, adaptability to infect such a broad range of victims, and significant increase in their activity suggests that Egregor ransomware operators have been developing their malware for some time and are just now putting it to (malicious) use.”

Ransomware attacks for Bitcoin

They further explained that the main motive for the Egregor attacks is to generate money for the people behind it, just like other ransomware gangs do. As the malware encrypts vital information from the organization’s database, the attackers would threaten to expose the information (usually confidential data) to the public, except the victimized companies comply with paying a ransom in Bitcoin.

They prefer using digital currency as the payment method due to the anonymity it provides for the users. Recently, CipherTrace confirmed in a report that Bitcoin and Monero, a privacy coin, are the two most-used digital currencies by bad actors and the darknet marketplaces. 

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Australia

Australian Stock Market Pushes for New High as Bitcoin (BTC) Surges

Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index Clicks 94: Is Bitcoin due for Correction?

As the year rounds up, both the Bitcoin and Australian stock market are seen recouping from the losses incurred during the severe times of the coronavirus pandemic. It’s clearly an exciting time for Bitcoin investors and traders as the leading digital currency is rallying to make another all-time high (ATH) at above US$20,000. Likewise, the S&P/ASX 200 has been making a big push towards the highest point recorded in February.

Aussie Stocks are Bouncing Back

On Wednesday, the S&P/ASX 200 garnered about 39.20 points from the previous level to close at the current point of 6683.3. This represents about 0.59 percent growth. During the trading hours, the index reportedly surged to about 6713 points, which was only 6.7 percent away from the highest level attained in February, before the market collapsed in March due to the pandemic.

The energy, material, and financial sectors are leading the market while other sectors like healthcare, information technology (IT), and communication were seen underperforming. Among other things, the upticks in the Australian stock market were related to the low-interest rates, the news on COVID-19 vaccines progress, including low inflation. While speaking on the development, the market analyst at Bell Direct, Jessica Amir, commented:

“Markets are really just giving us a forward look of what the future is going to look like from here on in. […] It is a pretty good day and another nine-month high, there is not much to complain about.”

Bitcoin on Pace to ATH

The leading cryptocurrency has jumped in price exponentially since the rally began in October. The cryptocurrency is pushing towards the highest level, which is slightly below the US$20,000. Presently, one Bitcoin is traded at the price of US$19,210 on Coinmarketcap, a digital currency price tracking platform. Since the year began, the digital currency has grown by over 100 percent from as low as US$9,500 in January.

Many analysts separately speculated that both the S&P/ASX 200 and Bitcoin are likely to finish at a new all-time high.However, only time would tell how true the speculations can be.

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Bitcoin

Institutional Call? Grayscale, 3iQ, ETC Group Stacked up Over 24,000 BTC Last Week

Bitcoin Outperformed Global Assets in February Despite Facing a 26% Drop

Bitcoin adoption among institutional investors has been rising tremendously since the current bullish tide began. This is evident as institutional-grade investment platforms have been posting substantial records and have also accumulated more Bitcoin so far. Just in the past week, Grayscale Investments, 3iQ, and ETC Group purchased over 24,000 BTC, according to new data. 

The record simply translates to more interest and demand for the leading digital currency amongst institutional investors.

Institutions are Increasingly Buying Bitcoin

A recent diagram from Crypto Crunch App summarized the Bitcoin purchases across the three platforms. 

Grayscale Investments is one of the largest Bitcoin fund managers. According to the information, it purchased about 20,336 BTC in just the past week. At the moment, its assets under management (AUM) are worth more than US$11 billion. The assets are dominated by its Bitcoin Trust fund, which is worth about US$9.65 billion. Other top-ranking Grayscale Trust funds cover Ethereum (US$1.2 billion) and the Digital Large Cap Fund (US$155 million).

From the recent Bitcoin purchase, Grayscale currently has about 526,764 BTC from its Trust Fund. Likewise, the total number of Bitcoin held by the Canadian investment fund manager, 3iQ, increased to about 13,765 BTC, after an additional purchase of 3,140 BTC last week. ETC Group made the third-largest Bitcoin purchase last week, raising its Bitcoin holdings by 895 BTC to a total of 8,312 BTC.

More purchase, more scarcity

Most recently, Crypto News Australia reported that Square’s Cash App and PayPal purchased more than 100 percent of newly-mined Bitcoin – signaling more adoption amongst retail investors. Together with the report today, it is evident that there is currently a strong demand for cryptocurrencies from both retail and institutions. This demand was even attributed as one of the factors behind the runs in the Bitcoin price.

Noteworthily, Bitcoin supply was recently reduced after the third halving. As the demand continues to grow – with less supply – the cryptocurrency gets more scarce, which is speculated to drive up prices even higher. However, it remains largely unknown how Bitcoin will react amidst the growing demand. 

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Bitcoin

PayPal and Cash App are Buying Over 100% of Newly-mined Bitcoin

Bitcoin Whale Moves $165 Million Bitcoin with Just $1.20

According to the latest blockchain letter from Pantera Capital, Paypal’s entry into the cryptocurrency market is one other factor contributing to the current rally in the market – led by Bitcoin (BTC), the largest digital currency by market capitalization. For some reasons, which include PayPal’s user base, the blockchain investment company believes that the current bull run is more sustainable compared to the past record in 2017.

PayPal is Buying 70 percent of New Bitcoin

Notably, the rally in the crypto market kicked-off shortly after PayPal announced that it would support the buying and selling of digital currencies like Bitcoin, Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH). Interestingly, the development exposes over 300 million users on PayPal to Bitcoin, which means more adoption for the cryptocurrency. Additionally, Pantera Capital noted that PayPal’s user-friendly platform is making it easier for people to buy Bitcoin and other cryptos.

“Previously the friction to buy bitcoin was pretty onerous: take a selfie with your passport, wait days to a week to get activated, daily limits. Three hundred million people just got instant access to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies,” the company said.

Due to the growing interest among PayPal users in the cryptocurrency, the digital payment platform has been acquiring a significant amount of newly-minted Bitcoin. Note that the crypto service on PayPal is powered by Paxos, which also operates itBit exchange. The volume of Bitcoin purchases on the exchange began increasing significantly after the service went live PayPal. 

Having analyzed the tremendous growth, Pantera Capital highlighted that PayPal was already buying about 70 percent of new Bitcoin.

Cash App, PayPal is Causing Bitcoin Scarcity

Aside from PayPal, Square’s crypto-friendly digital payment platform, Cash App is also acquiring a significant amount of Bitcoin. Pantera Capital estimated in the report that Cash App buys 40 percent of all newly-issued bitcoin. Together with PayPal, the two companies are purchasing more than 100 percent of newly-minted Bitcoin, which means demand is higher than the supply rate – i.e., scarcity.

“When other, larger financial institutions follow their lead, the supply scarcity will become even more imbalanced. The only way supply and demand equilibrate is at a higher price,” Pantera Capital added.

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Bitcoin Market Analysis

Bitcoin Price Has Surged Over 100% After Halving in May

Binance Australia to List Polkadot, Cardano, and PancakeSwap

The leading cryptocurrency, Bitcoin (BTC), has posted tremendous growth after the third-halving event that happened in the past six months. The Bitcoin market began booming notably a month, just when the network hashrate started declining. With a new yearly high above the US$18,000 level, Bitcoin miners are cashing out big-time from the rally, as their revenue soared to pre-halving levels.

Judging by the fact that the block reward was slashed by 50 percent, the increased miners’ revenue shows just how much the cryptocurrency has grown since the halving.

Bitcoin Price Growth Since Halving

The leading crypto underwent its third-halving on May 11, which decreased miners’ block reward by 50 percent, i.e., from 12.5 BTC to 6.25 BTC. Just after the event, the cryptocurrency was seen trading at US$8,566. This reduced reward and BTC value then, forced many small-scale miners out of business, as the activity wasn’t profitable compared to the pre-halving days. 

As a result, the Bitcoin hashrate took a hit at that time, only to surge again in the next month as more ASIC machines were deployed.

Fast forward today, Bitcoin is looking more profitable for both the investors and miners, following its recent upticks in price. The cryptocurrency, which is presently trading at US$18,124, made another all-time yearly high of over US$18,300, according to Coinmarketcap. The current price is more than double the value seen after the third halving event.

Basically, the cryptocurrency is up by 111 percent from the post-halving value and over 150 percent since this year.

Chart by TradingView.com

Miners’ Revenue

Bitcoin miners’ revenue has grown past the levels they were after the halving. According to the Bitcoin network explorer, miners earned the highest revenue for the year on November 18 at over 21 million. The revenue accounts for both transaction fees they earned and the coinbase block reward. As of yesterday, however, the miners bagged about 19 million in revenue.