Discussions about adjusting Ethereum’s issuance curve due to staking concentration and other factors are taking place on social media, with some developers in favor and some against this change. A recent article by Mike Neuder, an Ethereum Foundation researcher, highlights that Ethereum issuance should “preserve the viability and proportion of solo stakers.” Ethereum Issuance Curve […]
Bitcoin News
Greenpeace’s Anti-Bitcoin “Mining for Power” Report Receives Fierce Backlash on X
“Mining for Power,” an anti-Bitcoin report by Greenpeace USA that explains the links between the bitcoin mining industry and fossil fuel companies, has faced a backlash in social media due to its inaccurate portraits of the mining activity. Using community notes, social network users detailed the report contained “many factual errors,” including outdated information. Greenpeace […]
Bitcoin News
‘Controversial’ Bitcoin Proposal to Curb Inscriptions Ignites Fierce Debate, Ends Without Resolution
On Friday, Jan. 5, 2024, the debate surrounding Bitcoin developer Luke Dashjr’s proposal to restrict all varieties of data-bearing transactions concluded as the topic veered into “controversial” territory. Bitcoin Core custodian and Blockstream staff member Andrew Chow terminated the Github dialogue, marking it as a “stalemate discussion.”
Intense Dispute Over Bitcoin’s Data-Carrying Transactions Culminates in Discussion Lockdown
The recent surge in Bitcoin Ordinal inscriptions has riled up the developers responsible for the protocol’s codebase. In September 2023, Luke Dashjr spearheaded a new pull request (PR) named “datacarriersize: Match more datacarrying.” In essence, the proposal aims to amend the datacarriersize parameter in Bitcoin to cap all varieties of data-bearing transactions. Dashjr, along with the proposal’s supporters, contend that Bitcoin’s code inherently curbs spam, and this PR is merely extending an existing datacarriersize restriction to another type of data.
Following its introduction, the proposal elicited a wide array of responses, with some individuals expressing approval of the idea while others firmly believed it to be fundamentally flawed. Peter Todd remarked that the “transactions targeted by this pull-req are a very significant source of fee revenue for miners.” Todd added that it is unlikely that bitcoin (BTC) miners would give up the revenue. “Censoring those transactions would simply encourage the development of private mempools – harmful to small miners – while making fee estimation less reliable,” Todd emphasized.
Chris Martl offered a dissenting opinion to Todd’s argument, asserting that the primary impact would be on node operators who would face increasing expenses. “The transactions targeted by this pull-req. are a very significant source of prohibitive cost for regular node operators,” Martl contended. “It is very unlikely that regular node operators will give up mitigating that source of operative cost. Regular policy rule for these transactions would encourage the economical resource usage of mempools – not harming any miners – neither changing any fee estimation already on the field,” Martl explained.
Pieter Wuille, also known as “Sipa,” disagreed with Dashjr’s proposal and argued that it did not serve the interests of Core’s software users. Wuille said that engaging in transaction relay and maintaining a mempool is crucial for forecasting upcoming block compositions. Willfully omitting transactions, despite their “clear (however stupid) economic demand,” undermines this predictive capability, without even negating the necessity to validate them upon mining. Wuille added:
I believe the demand for [block space] many of these transactions pose is grossly misguided, but choosing to not see them is burying your head in the sand.
The debate intensified, with numerous voices asserting that these transactions did not constitute spam, while others vehemently argued the opposite. “It seems to me that the proposed change here is more harmful than beneficial,” Mark “Murch” Erhardt wrote in response to Dashjr’s proposal. “Except that most new node runners are Ordinals indexers, and inscribers. Ordinals are here to stay, fork off or accept it,” another person insisted. On Friday, Bitcoin maintainer and Blockstream employee Andrew Chow shut the conversation down.
“It’s abundantly clear that this PR is controversial and, in its current state, has no hope of reaching a conclusion that is acceptable to everyone,” Chow said. “At this point in time, I see no reason to leave this open and to continue to send notifications for the constant back-and-forth stalemate discussion.” The discussion was then locked for being “too heated and limited conversation to collaborators.”
As the dust settles on the intense debate around Dashjr’s proposal to limit data-bearing transactions in Bitcoin, the development community stands divided. With voices raised high from both supporters and detractors, the conversation’s abrupt closure by Chow underscores the complexity and passion embedded in Bitcoin’s ongoing evolution. The discussion, though halted, leaves an indelible mark on the narrative of Bitcoin’s development and the diverse community that surrounds it.
What do you think about the discussion concerning Dashjr’s proposal and the conversation getting locked over being too heated? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
Binance Launches High-Yield USDT Earning Program Amid Fierce Market Competition
This week, Binance, the world’s leading crypto exchange by trading volume, announced the introduction of a tether (USDT) earning program with up to a 13% annual percentage yield (APR). Binance’s USDT earn product joins a slew of other digital currency trading platforms offering yield services for stablecoin assets.
Binance Adds New Tether Earning Option With Potential 13% Annual Yield
Binance is offering investors a chance to earn as much as 13% APY with its newest program. But the offer is available for a limited time. The promotion began November 7 and ends November 13, 2023.
“Back by popular demand… you can now earn up to 13% APR with USDT on Binance Earn,” the exchange announced. It emphasized the offer’s “real-time APR,” with rewards accruing and adding up in the user’s Earn wallet every minute.
A variety of exchanges and cryptocurrency businesses have provided rewards on crypto assets for the past three years. Stablecoins such as USDT and USDC are in higher demand than traditional cryptocurrencies like bitcoin (BTC) or ethereum (ETH) and usually offer better rewards.
Recent statistics show Nexo offers a 16% APY for USDT holdings, Youhodler has a 12% yield, and Crypto.com offers up to 6.5% APY for tether. In June, Coinbase announced that customers could receive up to 4% APR from USDC rewards.
The decentralized finance (defi) platform Aave reportedly gives an 8.09% yield on USDT, while Compound has a reported yield of about 5.17%. In addition to the latest USDT earn program, Binance recently introduced rewards for locked TAI and DAI on the Binance Simple Earn platform. Lock-in periods range from 15 to 120 days, but users can choose an early redemption process if needed.
Binance’s Earn service, crypto exchange, and various wallets are valued at about .71 billion at current cryptocurrency exchange rates. USDT comprises 27.87% of Binance’s portfolio, indicating the company holds approximately .75 billion of the leading stablecoin, according to the latest nansen.ai statistics. This means, that out of the 85.73 billion tether in circulation, Binance commands 20.70% of the entire supply.
What do you think about Binance’s latest rewards offering associated with tether? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
Bitcoin Caught Between Fierce Sellers And Scarce Buyers, Why $36K Could Be Imminent
Bitcoin has taken another turn to the downside, at the time of writing, after moving sideways during the weekend. As NewsBTC has been covering over the past days, BTC lost critical support at around ,000, and seems likely to continue its downtrend.
Related Reading | Data: Bitcoin Miners Are Quietly Accumulating While The Market Bleeds
Bitcoin is trading at ,118 with a 2.6% loss in the past 24-hours.
BTC trends downwards on the 4-hour chart. Source: BTCUSD Tradingview
Per a recent report from Glassnode Insights, Bitcoin has reached a delicate equilibrium. As the benchmark crypto moves back into yearly lows, buyers are trying to absorb bears and establish new support.
However, as the report claims, selling pressure has been “persistent” as speculator dump their BTC, probably due to the current macro-economic environment. This status quo has been maintained for over two months, as short-term investors jump out of the market.
This new normal could break at any point if bulls continue to lose momentum, or sellers reached a level of exhaustion. Glassnode Insights added:
With prices trading sideways in recent weeks, a relative equilibrium has been established. However, given the limited incoming fresh demand, this delicate balance can be disrupted by any significant degree of seller exhaustion, or conversely a re-invigoration of sellers.
In the chart below, it is easier to visualize the above with an equilibrium created in the amount of Bitcoin held in crypto exchange platform as BTC’s price moves sideways. This metric has trend to the downside since March 2020, after the event called “Black Thursday”.
Source: Glassnode Insights
Furthermore, the report claims speculator record a 15% aggregate unrealized loss. The majority of these investors bought at around ,400, and they are currently existing their positions at a loss in opposition to long term holders which record an average purchase price of ,200. Glassnode added:
We can see that non-trivial daily losses have been sustained for over two months, equivalent to of around 0.5% of the Market Cap per day. Whilst significant, losses of this magnitude are nowhere near the extreme capitulation levels seen in the 2018 bear market, March 2020, or in May 2021.
The Most Critical Level For Bitcoin
In case of future downside, Bitcoin could experience a bounce at 3 critical levels. In the short term, ,000 should hold to prevent a major drawdown as there are around million in bids orders sitting at those levels.
This support has been swelling over the past days, as data from Material Indicators points out. At around ,000, there are additional million in bids orders which provides an extra layer of protection against selling pressure. Remains to be seen if these levels will hold.
Related Reading | Bitcoin Drops Below ,000 As Crypto Markets Tank Over The Weekend
In higher timeframes, ,000 stands as a major psychological price point. During 2021’s downtrend, BTC found support at those levels, and losing them could trigger further losses. Glassnode highlights another important level:
Realized Price is currently at .1k, and is the average price of all coins valued when they were last moved on-chain. Historically, this has been a very sound cycle support level, and suggests that the aggregate market is still holding an unrealized profit of 63%.
Crypto Market May See Fierce Momentum if Bitcoin Closes Above This Level
It has been a generally positive day for the crypto markets, with Bitcoin’s rebound from its dip below ,600 yesterday allowing it to incur some notable momentum that has since led it to break back into the ,000 region.
The intensity of this uptrend has been particularly visible amongst altcoins – many of which have climbed 5% or more.
In order for altcoins to see further upwards momentum, however, it may be imperative that Bitcoin closes its daily candle above ,950, as a sustained retrace below this level in the coming hours could prove to be grave for the crypto market.
Bitcoin Pushes Towards Overhead Resistance as Bulls Awaken
Prior to today’s upswing, Bitcoin’s bulls and bears had long been at an impasse, leading the cryptocurrency to trade sideways within the upper-,000 region for an extended period of time.
This consolidation, however, ultimately resulted in bulls gaining the upper hand over bears, subsequently propelling the crypto up by nearly 5% to its current price of ,020.
Although the break above ,000 was undoubtedly a positive development for bulls, BTC isn’t out of the woods yet as it is still trading below its key resistance at roughly ,380 – a level that bulls have not yet tested throughout the course of this current uptrend.
Josh Rager, a crypto analyst on Twitter, offered his analysis of Bticoin’s current price action in a recent post, pointing to this key resistance as an important level to close above in the hours and days ahead.
“BTC: 00 is the support to watch & has held the 4 hr close since April 1st. 83 is still the level to close above before high ks and if BTC can close this 4 hr above k, could see another move up to 00. I’m neutral for now though, looks like more ranging,” he noted.
Image Courtesy of Josh Rager
How BTC Closes Today Could Have a Big Impact on the Crypto Market
Another popular crypto analyst noted in a recent tweet that he believes Bitcoin closing its daily candle above ,950 is critical in order for altcoins to see any further upwards momentum.
“Patiently waiting for a daily close above 50 to start longing BTC & ALT/USD pairs all over again.”
Image Courtesy of Galaxy
Bitcoin is currently trading just a hair above this level, and whether or not bulls are able to flip ,000 from resistance to support will be integral in determining the long-term sustainability of this movement.
Featured image from Unsplash.
NewsBTC
Ethereum Technical Analysis – Looking to Break Free Amidst Fierce Resistance 08/02/2018
Key Highlights
- Ethereum was up 10.79% to 0.99 against the U.S Dollar in the early part of this morning, as market sentiment towards the market improved through Wednesday.
- A bullish trend has been formed, with Ethereum looking to test the first major resistance level of 1.04 for a third time today, having moved through to an intraday high 5.87 in the early hours.
- Resistance will be on the stronger side with investors ready to lock in profits early.
Ethereum Price Support
Following Tuesday’s intraday low 5.56, support levels kicked in, with ETH/USD moving to an intraday high 1.20 before easing back to a 7.07 close on Wednesday.
Market sentiment has seen a vast improvement from Tuesday’s lows on expectations that regulatory action in the U.S at least will be more moderate than initially thought.
Ethereum hit a swing hi 5.87 this morning, breaking through the 1.04 resistance level for the 2nd time, before pulling back to 0.99 (+10.79%). A move through to 0 levels will be needed for a more sustained rally, with the next major resistance level sitting at 5, as ETH/USD looks to break back to ,000 levels.
The trend continues to be bullish, though a failure to make a sustained break through 1.04 resistance levels could see ETH/USD fall back to the 23.6% FIB retracement of 1.73 before buying appetite returns.
The good news for Ethereum buyers is the fact that the threat of the PBoC banning the trading of cryptocurrencies domestically and overseas turned out to be fake news, with the cryptomarket bulls coming out in support, with calls of the cryptomarket cap hitting tn by the end of the year providing support.
We will expect resistance to be strong, however, holding back a move through to ,000 in the near-term, as uncertainty continues to plague the market, with investors quick to lock in profits through the day.
Looking at the Technical Indicators
- Major Support Level: 3.27
- Major Resistance Level: 1.04
- Fib 23.6% Retracement Level: 1.73
- Fib 38% Retracement Level: 6.6
- Fib 62% Retracement Level: 3.64
The post Ethereum Technical Analysis – Looking to Break Free Amidst Fierce Resistance 08/02/2018 appeared first on NewsBTC.