Tag: price

Bitcoin Hits New All-Time High

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Despite a protracted decline that threatened to derail the whole cryptocurrency ecosystem, Bitcoin made history on Tuesday, surging to a new all-time high and that marked a victorious recovery. Naturally, for crypto enthusiasts including gamers, this is an exciting development that will likely impact a lot of things in 2024.

Surpassing its previous peak of $68,789 set on November 10, 2021, the digital currency surged above $69,000, according to CoinMarketCap.

What’s Behind It?

According to experts, this recent increase in the value has likely been spurred by the approval of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that are connected to the digital currency by the regulatory authorities in the United States. This governmental green light allowed long-time Bitcoin investors to add the cryptocurrency to their holdings with ease, thereby accelerating its price rise.

The first eleven “spot” Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which follow the asset’s real-time market price, have reportedly amassed net fresh flows of more than $4.2 billion since coming online in January.

Considering the volatility that has plagued the cryptocurrency market for the last several years, the currency’s comeback is all the more noteworthy. Bankruptcies of prominent exchanges, unpredictable price movements, and legal actions against prominent figures are all examples of such events.

More Global Push for Crypto

As Bitcoin continues to shine, crypto is taking more and more of a mainstream treatment. Russia, a member of the BRICS group, made an important statement on Tuesday about the development of a new payment system. This groundbreaking payment system is based on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology and aims to provide an alternative to the US dollar and enable independent trade settlements.

If implemented as planned, the new BRICS payment system would serve the interests of people, companies, and governments. Underscoring the integration of digital assets and cryptocurrencies on the blockchain, Russian ambassador Yuri Ushakov said that the system would use cutting-edge technology.

With this, the BRICS group can undermine the US dollar’s hegemony in international commerce by facilitating cross-border transactions among its member states and other emerging communities. This new information is likely to affect the worldwide market dynamics of the US dollar’s supply and demand, which in turn would put pressure on the currency.

Crypto Market Booms as World Ushers in A New Year

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2020 was, without a doubt, one of the worst years of the past decade. The coronavirus pandemic dealt a huge blow to societies, businesses, and industries all around the world – most of these are, in fact, yet to recover.

Even so, thanks to all of the efforts that were meant to help the world return to normal, things began to get better as the end of 2020 drew nearer. The stock market, for instance, was slowly approaching record highs and the same applied to crypto which is considered to be an alternative to the existing financial system.

Bitcoin Breaks Records

This digital currency is widely considered to be the mother of all crypto and has been known to break several records throughout the time that it has existed. As of December 31, Bitcoin was trading for a little over $29,000 per coin. The previous record for the digital currency was $20,000 and experts believe that the cryptocurrency will probably hit the $30,000 mark pretty soon.

Over the last six months, interest in Bitcoin and crypto, in general, has increased significantly. So, while Bitcoin might be well ahead of the pack, it is not the only one that has been breaking records. Alt-coins like Litecoin and Ether have also seen their prices go up significantly, something that has boosted the overall crypto markets. Several other digital currencies have also been on the rise.

What Does 2021 Hold?

Needless to say, the latest price surges for digital currencies have continued to fuel discussions about the readiness of crypto to go to even greater heights in terms of mainstream adoption. In the case of Bitcoin which is now being likened to gold, there are lots of people who already see it as a great hedge against dollar weakness and inflation risk. At that same time, some people are still questioning its validity as an asset class especially considering its rather volatile nature.

Still, if the past few months are anything to go by, 2021 could turn out to be an even more memorable year for crypto and related technologies as well as their applications. Most notably, the rapidly growing acceptance of these alternative currencies will pave way for even more developments such as a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund.

This will not only open the doors for new investors but also create new opportunities or uncover untapped spaces that disruptive companies can exploit. As always, we will be keeping you updated every step of the way. Happy New Year!

High Hopes as Third Bitcoin Halving Approaches

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There is currently a lot of chatter in the Bitcoin community and the crypto industry at large as Bitcoin’s third-ever block halving nears. Set to take place this month (May 2020), there has been a lot of speculation regarding what will happen to the digital currency’s price.

What the Halving Means

In essence, the bitcoin halving means that the reward for mining a block of bitcoin will be divided by two. When the network finally hits block number 630,000 the amount will drop from 12.5 BTC to just 6.25 BTC. This will be the third time that a halving will be happening since the Bitcoin network went live over a decade ago.

Halving is one of the things that set bitcoin apart from all other digital currencies including other popular digital currency networks such as Ethereum’s. In many ways, it is one of the things that drive the price and value of Bitcoin.

As for the impacts, some of them are already coming into play.

Mining Machines Become More Valuable

Needless to say, the halving will have a huge impact on the companies that depend on bitcoin mining. While the systems themselves will not be affected much, their value is a totally different thing altogether.

Now even mining rigs that were previously said to be obsolete have become profitable again. For instance, mining rigs such as the AntMiner s9 and the Avalon A851 are now able to generate between 10 percent to 20 percent gross margin at an average electricity cost of $0.05 per kilowatt-hour (kWh). These margins could increase to as much as 30 percent to 40 percent to miners who adopt more efficient methods.

Even so, considering the dynamic nature of bitcoin mining, this might not be sustainable in the long term. As bitcoin’s halving approaches it is likely that many of the people relying on the older equipment will eventually be squeezed out by people using newer and more efficient mining rigs.

The Current State of Bitcoin

Over the past week, Bitcoin’s price has surged towards the $10,000 mark – this impressive rise has seen the cryptocurrency’s market return to its pre-coronavirus bull run. In fact, the crash losses that experienced because of the impacts of the pandemic have almost been completely erased.

“The interest in cryptocurrencies is now building as investors  look to the month-end and forward to May and June.”

-Marcus Swanepoel, chief executive of London-based bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchange Luno.

In general, members of the bitcoin community are pretty optimistic about the future of bitcoin’s price even after the supply squeeze that will take place this month. However, the actual impacts remain to be seen.

Number of Daily Bitcoin Transactions Drops Significantly

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The month of March has been tough for several industries across the globe and one of the areas that have been affected is the cryptocurrency market. A price drop that occurred earlier within the month was quite significant. Fortunately, the market has been slowly recovering from that drop and it should be back on track sometime this month.

Despite the impressive recovery of the crypto market, there have been some rather unusual reports regarding the decline in Bitcoin network activity. Daily Bitcoin transactions have been on a steady decline leading experts in the field to look into the matter.

As it turns out, there are several changes that have been noted concerning how Bitcoin, which is arguably the most popular and most widely used digital currency, is being used. While it may seem like a temporary anomaly that will blow over after a while, the plunge in network activity may be a reflection of a greater long-term trend. So, what is going on?

How It Started

Well, since the year rolled around, daily transaction activity grew at a pretty impressive pace and this was partly attributed to the increase in the price of Bitcoin. Both trading and mining picked up pace adding to the number of daily transactions.

However, an abrupt turn in the global economy earlier last month as the coronavirus pandemic spread across more countries affected the crypto market. Crypto prices fell and transactions began to dwindle. Daily transactions fell from over 350k to less than 275k and the number Is expected to fall even further going forward.

Bitcoin Holders Are Hodling

People who own or hold Bitcoin have since pulled thousands of their currency from exchanges and are now trading way less than they used to. Many of them are now only interested in keeping their crypto safe in personal wallets.

The decline in trading and network activity is not the only proof of this fact. There has been a recent uptick in the number of Bitcoin wallets and address diversity. As it stands, there are over a hundred thousand additional addresses compared to what was the case at the beginning of March.

A Win for Bitcoin?

While the decline in network activity is definitely something that people need to be concerned about, it might actually be a win for the crypto industry especially Bitcoin, in this case. The fact that people are keeping or holding their currencies is proof that the digital currency has matured enough to be considered as a health and safe store of value.

The global pandemic is wreaking havoc on the world’s economy and this makes Bitcoin a safe haven for lots of people. Its value is also now bound to go up as there will be very little supply.

Bitcoin Bubble Burst: The App That Warns Against Crashes

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One thing that ardent Bitcoin lovers and the usual Bitcoin vultures have in common is their need to keep their eyes on the charts – everyone seems to be having bubble predictions which are simply anticipations of a crash that is expected anytime soon. On Sunday afternoon Bitcoin’s value shot up to over $11,770 from a low of $9,9400 on Thursday. This rapid 1,434% increase in value that has been witnessed in just a few months has led people to think that its volatility is a clear indication that the Bitcoin bubble will burst soon.

Now, innovative apps are coming into play to help the Bitcoin community in monitoring changes in Bitcoin’s prices. Presented at the Disrupt Berlin hackathon, the Bitcoin Bubble Burst app is one such handy tool that allows Bitcoin users to focus on other important things while it monitors changes in Bitcoin’s price and related news events then alerts the users in real time. There are, of course, plenty other apps that offer alert services for changes in Bitcoin prices or trading volumes but the creators of Bitcoin Bubble Burst are offering something totally different with their app. While none of the other similar apps offer adequate warnings, Bitcoin Bubble Burst makes use of neural networks and an advanced machine learning system that they trained on data linked to Bitcoin price changes. These include trading patterns as well as key news items all of which are detected by the Bitcoin Bubble Burst’s system and once they attain a certain vital threshold, users are alerted via email with a logical justification of the warning.

“Sometimes huge events, like the ban of Bitcoin in China, are mentioned in social media and the news – before it affects the value,” the creators of BBB say on their website. The idea behind the project was not just to spot and monitor the dynamics of the Bitcoin ecosystem but also to offer Bitcoin users relevant advice on whether they should either buy or sell. Also, according to the creators, Bitcoin Bubble Burst will not have ads or spam and it will be an open source, encrypted service that will only give alerts when they are important.

Fundamentally speaking, the Bitcoin world is still unpredictable which therefore implies that the viability of this app, and other similar ones, still needs to be tested over a significantly extensive stretch of time. Other than that, the idea of having an app that does all the hard work for you is exceptional. Who wouldn’t want that?

Good Weekly Start for Bitcoin as It Tops $9000 Mark

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Bitcoin’s forward trajectory has continued with the cryptocurrency’s dollar price rising above the $9000 mark – as of today, it stands at $9730 as it draws closer to the $10,000 region. This should come as no surprise as Bitcoin has gained a lot of popularity by breaching its all-time highs month after month. The price surge is expected to continue and maintain a similar trend as we approach 2018. This year, 2017, has been a particularly great year for Bitcoin in regards to its value. What began as a $1000-mark breach back in January marked the onset of the currency’s best year.

Is Bitcoin Liquidity Increasing?

In just two weeks or less, Bitcoins’ price has shot up from less than $7800 to over $9060, a surge that has caused a significant increase in its trading volume from about $2 billion to over $4.6 billion. This makes Bitcoin more liquid than even the most liquid stock in the world, a title that was previously held by Apple. Furthermore, Bitcoin now processes more trades than the major stock markets in the world like KOSDAQ in South Korea. As major financial institutions like the Man Group, a $95 billion hedge fund, participate in strictly regulated Bitcoin exchanges in the coming weeks, the price of Bitcoin might surpass $10,000 sooner than anticipated. In fact, financial firms like StandPoint and Wall Street analysts have already set new highs for Bitcoin’s interim price target moving it up from the previous $10,000 to $14,000.

According to StandPoint founder Ronnie Moas, “There have been many positive developments during the last five months and a few of the obstacles that were in Bitcoin’s way have been knocked down.”

Bitcoin mining is now more profitable than it has ever been in its 9-year life – only 4.3 million Bitcoins are left to mine as nearly 75 percent of the decentralized currency has already been mined and is used in the over 250,000 daily transactions on the network.

Bitcoin Passes $7990 and Reaches a New All-Time High

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It’s been a great week for Bitcoin since it took a dive towards the $5500s after the Bitcoin Cash weekend pump. It has since showed an immense recovery with an increase of $41 billion in market cap and a price of $7990 which is a new all-time high.

Before touching distance of $8000, Bitcoin suffered a slight pullback to the mid 7500s this Friday afternoon but is already on it’s way back towards the next price target.

It’s been an incredibly wild few weeks for all cryptocurrencies as a whole due to the controversy between BTC and BCH after the cancellation of SegWit2x for Bitcoin core which has essentially created a divide between the crypto community. The integration of SegWit2x aimed to increase transaction speeds to support the increasing number of users.

Although the previous all-time high for Bitcoin was likely due to the SegWit2x hard fork and the idea of free Bitcoin Gold, the market price has stabilized in the high $7000 range ready to break new records in the last quarter of 2017.

This recovery from the heavy sell-off last weekend proved that Bitcoin, as per usual, will always bounce back higher than before no matter what obstacles are thrown at it.