According to the latest statistics, Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) experienced its most significant outflow on March 18, 2024, totaling 3 million. Onchain experts have closely observed GBTC’s activities as a considerable number of bitcoin have been moved out of the trust’s reserves. Record-Breaking Outflow Hits Grayscale Bitcoin Trust Grayscale has continued to face outflows, marking […]
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Avalanche C-Chain Experiences Block Production Halt, AVAX Price Responds
In a recent development, the Avalanche (AVAX) C-Chain encountered a significant disruption in block production, leading to a halt for over one hour. The interruption, which affected the primary network, was observed through the Avascan browser, with the last transaction recorded at block 42046853 (19:13 UTC+8).
Although other subnets experienced a slight delay, the primary network faced the most substantial impact.
Avalanche C-Chain Block Production Halt
Ava Labs, the team behind the Avalanche protocol, acknowledged the issue and promptly initiated an investigation. According to Kevin Sekniqi, co-founder of Avalanche, the disruption is believed to be related to a new inscription wave that was launched approximately an hour before the block production interruption.
Sekniqi expressed confidence that the incident was caused by an “esoteric bug” stemming from an untested edge case, emphasizing the need for a swift resolution.
The disruption is presumed to be associated with a mempool handling issue specifically tied to inscriptions, which encountered untested edge cases.
When questioned about the possibility of such untested scenarios arising, Sekniqi acknowledged that while ideally, there should be no untested edge cases, the vastness of the codebase and continuous updates make it challenging to anticipate every possible scenario.
The Avalanche co-founder further clarified that thorough testing is conducted on testnets, but the intricacies of the mainnet environment can introduce “unforeseen challenges.”
At present, no further official statement has been issued by the Avalanche protocol, awaiting additional reports and updates from the development team to gain further insights into the situation.
AVAX Price Dips
During the occurrence of the block production halt, the AVAX price, which serves as the native token of the Avalanche protocol, exhibited a negative reaction, further extending the ongoing decline observed since Thursday when the price was at .
As of now, the AVAX price has reached .13, indicating a decline of over 2% within the past 24 hours, accompanied by a substantial drop of 11.7% over the course of the previous seven days.
The subsequent actions taken by the Avalanche team in response to this situation, as well as the consequential effect on the AVAX price, are yet to be determined.
Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com
$867 Million Erased — Grayscale’s GBTC Experiences Record 20,803 Bitcoin Reduction in 24 Hours
Recent data from Grayscale’s GBTC spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund reveals a significant reduction in its holdings, with 20,803.83 bitcoin, valued at 7.98 million, being withdrawn from the fund’s reserves. This substantial outflow, occurring over the past 24 hours, marks the most considerable decrease in GBTC’s reserves since it transformed into a publicly-listed ETF on Jan. 11, 2024.
Grayscale’s Latest GBTC Bitcoin Withdrawal Amounts to 7M, Remains Top ETF Holder
Grayscale’s GBTC holds a significant position with 502,712.60 BTC in its reserves, valued at approximately .10 billion. Still, this figure reflects a reduction of 20,803.83 BTC from its holdings on Friday morning, which then amounted to 523,516.43 BTC. Since Jan. 12, 2024, GBTC’s bitcoin holdings have decreased by 114,367.39 BTC, equivalent to .77 billion, based on the BTC exchange rates as of Jan. 27, 2024. The fund has also seen substantial trade activity, dominating the market on Friday with 9.74 million out of the .68 billion total trade volume across all ten spot bitcoin ETFs.
GBTC has led the market in all 11 trading sessions since the launch of the ten new spot bitcoin ETFs. Its highest trading volume was recorded on Jan. 11, reaching .29 billion, while its lowest was on Jan. 25, with a volume of 1.49 million. To date, these ten ETFs have accumulated a total trading volume of .36 billion, with GBTC’s transactions contributing .15 billion, accounting for 63.68% of the total since Jan. 11, 2024.
Despite competition from new entrants like Blackrock and Fidelity, Grayscale’s trust remains the largest bitcoin-holding fund. The Canadian Purpose Bitcoin ETF (BTCC) holds 33,062 BTC as of Jan. 27, and the ETC Group Physical Bitcoin fund (BTCE), traded on Germany’s Börse Frankfurt, holds 24,856 BTC as of Jan. 25. Even with the presence of these international ETFs and smaller U.S. counterparts like IBIT and FBTC, Grayscale’s trust still surpasses them all in size.
What do you think about the outflows Grayscale’s GBTC has seen since it was transformed into a publicly-listed spot bitcoin ETF? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.
GBTC Experiences Record Bitcoin Outflow; Blockguard CEO Advises Investor Calm Amidst Market Shift
Grayscale’s spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), known as GBTC, has experienced increased outflows since its recent update. Present data reveals that a substantial 14,292.18 bitcoin, valued slightly above 6 million, exited the fund after Monday’s trading activities.
GBTC Sees 6 Million Leave, Bitcoin Prices Slide Beneath K
Recent figures indicate a notable decrease in Grayscale’s spot bitcoin ETF holdings, declining from 566,973.40 BTC on Friday to 552,681.22 BTC currently. This reduction highlights that the fund’s most recent outflow is its largest to date, with 14,292.18 BTC, equivalent to 6 million, departing from the trust. Since Jan. 12, 2024, GBTC has seen its reserves diminish from 617,079.99 BTC to its present level, a loss of roughly 64,398.77 BTC, now valued at just over .5 billion.
On Jan. 22, the trade volumes for spot bitcoin ETFs reached .09 billion, with GBTC volume contributing .08 billion to this total. The latest figures reveal that Blackrock’s IBIT spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) has experienced a notable uptick in its holdings, currently possessing 39,925.37 BTC as of Jan. 22, 2024. In a similar vein, Fidelity’s Wise Origin spot bitcoin ETF, known as FBTC, now boasts a holding of 30,169.54 BTC.
Grayscale’s outflows and the declining value of bitcoin have sparked widespread discussion on social media platforms. Bitcoin’s price has slid below the K threshold. Etoro’s market strategist, Simon Peters, commented on Monday morning that a portion of GBTC’s outflows can be attributed to investors migrating towards options with “lower fee alternatives.” Concurrently, xs.com’s market analyst, Antonio Ernesto Di Giacomo, pointed to bitcoin miner outflows as contributing to the downturn.
In a note sent to Bitcoin.com News, Blockguard CEO Anthony Bevan emphasized that retail investors should remain calm during the correction. “Retail investors need to be aware that large players in the market will always try to manipulate prices, this is done to flush out sellers’ lower price, and more often than not the big player will buy back in,” Bevan explained. “The important thing you is to stay calm and where possible DCA (dollar-cost-average) into your investment.”
Bevan additionally emphasized that predicting the duration of this downturn is an uncertainty. “However in my opinion, we will see a strong wick down to liquidate longs with bounce and slight recovery so that we find a range again, once we find a new range, we will have a better idea of where the market would go next,” the Blockguard executive added. Over the last 24 hours, coinglass.com metrics show .92 million in bitcoin long positions have been liquidated.
What do you think about the GBTC outflows and bitcoin’s price sinking below K? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.
Cardano Experiences Decline In Q3 Network Activity – Unraveling The Root Cause
Cardano, one of the prominent blockchain networks, experienced a mixed bag of performance during the third quarter of the year, leaving investors and enthusiasts intrigued about its future trajectory. While certain metrics presented a less-than-stellar picture, there are emerging indicators that suggest the potential for a positive turnaround.
In this article, we look into Cardano’s Q3 performance, examining stagnant metrics, the impact they have had, and the potential price direction that could shape its future.
The Impact Of Stagnant Metrics
In the realm of cryptocurrencies, metrics play a crucial role in determining the health and vitality of a blockchain network. Cardano’s performance in Q3, as shown in Messari’s analysis, revealed some concerning trends, albeit not entirely bleak. The average transaction fee on the Cardano network, denominated in US dollars, saw a 29.9% decrease, dropping from .13 to .10, suggesting a reduction in the cost of network usage.
One of the more significant concerns was the decline in daily active addresses. Between July and September, the average count of daily active addresses plummeted by 29%, from the 58,000 recorded during the year’s second quarter to 41,137. This decline raises questions about the network’s ability to maintain user engagement and activity levels.
Fees denominated in Cardano’s native token, ADA, also fell by 3% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ), indicating that users may have been transacting with smaller amounts of ADA due to lower fees. Furthermore, the network’s revenue took a hit, falling by a substantial 30%, which could raise concerns about its overall financial stability.
Cardano’s Chart Signals Optimism
Amidst the stagnant metrics and challenges faced in Q3, Cardano’s chart on TradingView paints a different narrative, hinting at the potential for an upward momentum. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) for Cardano is on an upward trajectory, approaching the overbought territory. While this might typically be seen as a signal for a potential pullback, it should be considered in the context of Cardano’s recent price performance and external factors.
The moving averages on the chart provide further cause for optimism. After a period of sideways movement, the price appears to be making an effort to break above the long-term resistance trendline. This, combined with the formation of higher lows on the chart, creates a potentially bullish scenario, suggesting that Cardano may be gearing up for a significant price move.
Potential Price Direction
As of the most recent data from CoinGecko, Cardano (ADA) is trading at .290817. In the last 24 hours, the price experienced a dip of 3.8%, while over the past seven days, it saw a 2.8% rise. These short-term price movements indicate a level of volatility and uncertainty in the market.
Cardano’s performance in Q3 had its fair share of challenges, with stagnant metrics and declining user engagement. However, the positive signals on the trading chart and the potential for an upward momentum suggest that Cardano may be poised for a price breakout.
(This site’s content should not be construed as investment advice. Investing involves risk. When you invest, your capital is subject to risk).
Featured image from Shutterstock
Bitcoin Skyrockets, Yet South Korea Experiences a ‘Kimchi Discount’ Instead of the Usual Premium
Bitcoin has soared, doubling its value since the start of the year. Yet, intriguingly, the famed “Kimchi premium” in South Korea remains absent in this current surge of bullish activity. This is a notable deviation from previous bull markets, where the phenomenon was prominently observed. In fact, this time around, BTC prices in South Korea are trading at a discount compared to other parts of the world.
Despite the Won Ranking as the 5th Largest Bitcoin Trading Pair, South Korea Sees Unprecedented ‘Kimchi Discount’
This month, bitcoin has exhibited remarkable performance, appreciating 27.9% against the U.S. dollar. As of 10:15 a.m. EDT, BTC hovered just above the K mark, boasting a seven-day gain of 14.8%.
Intriguingly, during this upward trajectory, bitcoin prices on South Korea’s top crypto exchanges, Upbit and Bithumb, are slightly lower. This scenario stands in stark contrast to the “Kimchi premium” observed in previous years, which typically manifested during crypto bull runs, pushing BTC’s value several hundred dollars above the global average.
Currently, bitcoin trading is thriving in South Korea, with cryptocompare.com data revealing that BTC is the fifth largest trading pair in the country, accounting for 3.73% of all BTC’s global trades.
Despite BTC’s global trading price of ,059 at the time of writing, it is exchanging hands at ,902 on Upbit and approximately ,869 on Bithumb. This translates to a 7 and roughly 0 per unit discount on Upbit and Bithumb, respectively.
Contrary to the “Kimchi premium,” where not just BTC, but also other cryptocurrencies like XRP and ETH would experience price elevations, the current discounts are uniquely impacting bitcoin’s value.
Ethereum, for example, is exhibiting a minor discount discrepancy of around -15 per unit. On the trading front, Bithumb recorded approximately 8 million in global trades on Friday, while Upbit saw a much higher .7 billion. Among Bithumb, Coinone, and Korbit, Upbit dominates in the country, commanding nearly 80% of South Korea’s crypto trading volume.
South Korea’s government and regulators from the country have tried to curb the “Kimchi premium” and put the trend to an end. While there is no sign of a premium, a “Kimchi discount” still brings an opportunity for arbitrage.
What do you think about the lack of the “Kimchi premium” during bitcoin’s current upswing? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
Binance Experiences Significant BTC, ETH, and Stablecoin Withdrawals Following CFTC Lawsuit
After the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission sued Binance for alleged violations of trading and derivatives rules, a significant amount of cryptocurrency was withdrawn from the exchange. Data from analytics provider Nansen shows 0 million in Ethereum-based funds were withdrawn in 24 hours, and 3,655 bitcoin worth more than million were withdrawn over the past day, according to Coinglass metrics.
3,655 Bitcoin Withdrawn From Binance in 24 Hours
On Monday, March 27, 2023, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) sued Binance and CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ), alleging the exchange had violated specific trading and derivatives rules. The CFTC is seeking disgorgement and monetary penalties, as well as a ban on future registrations. Following the news, Binance experienced a large number of withdrawals, and some observers noted “large onchain movements prior” to the exchange’s troubles with the CFTC.
“A few hours before the Binance CFTC Indictment, there were large stablecoin withdrawals across centralized exchanges, totaling almost .5B in just 12 hours. Notably, Binance itself saw an 0M outflow,” analysts from ‘An Ape’s Prologue’ explained. “Just one hour after the announcement, Binance saw an additional 0M withdrawn,” the researchers noted.
Data from Nansen and Dune Analytics show more than 0 million in Ethereum-based funds were withdrawn in 24 hours. As of writing, Nansen’s proof-of-reserves portal shows Binance holds .36 billion worth of cryptocurrency assets. Statistics also show more than 150 million BUSD stablecoins were redeemed on Monday. There’s currently 7.84 billion BUSD in circulation, and 7.1 billion of those tokens are held on Binance.
Binance also holds one of the largest caches of bitcoin, as its cold wallet holds 248,597 bitcoin, the single largest address today. According to Coinglass, Binance’s BTC balance indicates that the exchange has shed 3,655 bitcoin worth close to 0 million over the last day. While Binance saw the most bitcoin outflow over the last 24 hours, Coinglass records indicate that 1,025 bitcoin was withdrawn from Coinbase.
What do you think about the CFTC’s lawsuit against Binance? Share your thoughts about this subject in the comments section below.
Bitcoin Price Experiences Correction to $23,000 Support, Can Bulls Push Higher?
Bitcoin has experienced a correction down to ,000 over the weekend; with the recent downtrend, the Bitcoin price action needs a significant push above its resistance to confirm a continuation of the bullish trend that began in early 2023.
BTC has recently held above the ,700 level, preventing further price declines. After a full-throttle uptrend since January, BTC has seen a correction to low levels since last week, dropping to ,700. BTC succumbed to the selling pressure.
With the current price action of BTC and the uncertainty of the direction of the next move of the largest cryptocurrency in the market, the total amount of liquidations data has increased over the past few days, with almost 0 million in positions liquidated since February 22nd, according to Coinglass data.
Is A Bitcoin Bull Trend In Full Effect?
Data and crypto analyst CryptoCon has outlined in a Twitter post the recent positive correlation between Bitcoin and the U.S. dollar, as measured by the DXY Index, and how this can drive the next bull trend for Bitcoin.
The analyst states that the bull market is in full effect, given the high correlation after the 2022 bear market between the DXY and BTC. Two out of three times, this correlation has been the precursor to BTC rallies in 2011 and 2015. The 2019 rally, as seen in the chart below, makes this the fourth time the correlation hinted at the beginning of a new, fully formed bull market.
It’s well known that crypto price movements have been correlated with the DXY index since the inception of the crypto market. The recent correlation has turned positive, as the DXY index gets a correction below its annual high of 5, as do Bitcoin and Ethereum on their respective charts. CryptoCon concluded:
Although Bitcoin is correcting, it is still primed for Bull Market upside. Market structure compared to July 2015 is entirely different, and instead looks just like the Nov 2015 surge before the Bull Market. Bitcoin is in an uptrend, and these are among the best cycle buying prices.
BTC’s recent reversal of the price action, which was expected to be strong support at the ,500 level, has formed a new resistance wall for the flagship currency.
If the Bitcoin price action continues to wipe out the short and long positions by moving sideways, BTC could fuel up the liquidity at higher levels. This liquidity could allow BTC to surpass the nearest resistances of ,500 and ,000 to attempt another breakthrough, the critical resistance of ,000, which for analysts, is the last obstacle for Bitcoin as it seems poised to break the milestone of ,000 in the medium term.
Bitcoin is trading at the ,300 level, below the critical support lost over the weekend with the retracement to ,700. With this price drop, Bitcoin has seen a slight gain of 0.7% over the past 24 hours.
In broader time frames, the price of BTC has noted a decline of -3.9% in its price in the seven-day time frame but has managed to maintain gains in the fourteen and thirty-day time frames of 7.1% and 1.1%, respectively.
Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView.
Solana Blockchain Experiences Technical Glitch Causing Transaction Slowdowns
The Solana smart contract token network experienced a technical glitch on Saturday, February 25, 2023, known as a “large forking event,” causing transaction failures for some users. Solana’s incident report referred to it as “cluster instability” and indicated that a coordinated restart was launched to accelerate block finalization.
Solana Blockchain Deals With ‘Large Forking Event’
On Saturday at about 6:37 UTC, the Solana blockchain experienced reduced functionality, and users reported a significant slowdown in block finalization, along with some transaction failures. Solblaze, the liquid staking pool, reported that while Solana did not completely stop block production, it did experience a slowdown due to a forking event.
Solblaze stated that “Solana is currently operational” despite a large forking event on mainnet-beta that has caused validators to slow down as they attempt to resolve forks. The account said the network was confirming blocks at a rate of about 16 transactions per second. Validator operators and Solana engineers are collaborating to identify the underlying cause. Additionally, Solblaze mentioned that “validators are beginning to revert from v1.14 to v1.13.”
A coordinated restart is underway to address an issue during the upgrade from 1.13 to 1.14 that caused block finalization to slow significantly.
Validators: please follow instructions below https://t.co/L7b3kAFOJS
— Solana Status (@SolanaStatus) February 25, 2023
The Solana Status update website contains similar information, referring to the issue as “cluster instability.” It indicated that Solana engineers are investigating slow root production on mainnet beta and that a coordinated restart was launched “to resolve an issue during the upgrade from 1.13 to 1.14 that caused a significant slowdown in block finalization.”
The Solana Status page includes a document link that provides validators with instructions on how to proceed with the restart. Essentially, validators were required to take a snapshot at slot 179526408, modify validator command-lines, install the previous version 1.13.6, and then restart the validator. Solana’s recent issues are reminiscent of the problems the blockchain encountered last year, including multiple block production outages.
What do you think about Solana’s technical glitch on Saturday? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.
Bitcoin Network Experiences Slight Dip in Difficulty After Record High
Bitcoin’s difficulty decreased 0.49% on Feb. 12, 2023, following a sustained all-time high of 39.35 trillion over the previous two weeks (2,016 blocks). The decrease in difficulty offers a brief respite for bitcoin miners, after the network recorded a 14.94% increase in the last month.
Bitcoin Difficulty Drops 0.49% Lower; Top Five Mining Pools Continue to Command Majority of Global Hashrate
At the time of writing, Bitcoin’s hashrate is coasting along at 289.14 exahash per second (EH/s) after a 0.49% decrease in difficulty at block height 776,160. The network difficulty has been operating at approximately 39,350,942,467,772 hashes for the past 2,016 blocks, or two weeks. With the recent 0.49% decrease in difficulty, the network’s difficulty will now be set at 39.16 trillion hashes for the next two weeks.
Since the latest difficulty change, block times — the intervals between mined blocks — have been 10 minutes, 7 seconds to roughly 11 minutes, 14 seconds in length. Bitcoin’s next difficulty retarget is scheduled for around Feb. 26, 2023. The average hashrate over the last 2,016 blocks was approximately 280.6 exahash per second (EH/s), and the average block time for those blocks was 10 minutes, 2 seconds.
During the past three days, Foundry USA has been the top mining pool with 33.26% of the global hashrate, or approximately 95.89 exahash per second (EH/s) of hashpower. Foundry is followed by Antpool with 15.97% of the global hashrate and Binance Pool with 15.54% of computational power. F2pool (14.22%) and Viabtc (9.41%) are next, respectively. There are approximately 12 known mining pools today, and the top five control 88.4% of the global hashrate.
According to macromicro.me statistics, the cost of producing bitcoin (BTC) remains higher than its current spot market value. Macromicro.me calculates its estimates based on data on electricity consumption and daily bitcoin issuance provided by Cambridge University. Currently, the average cost of mining a single bitcoin is around ,119, while its spot market value is approximately ,901 per unit.
What impact will the recent decrease in difficulty have on the future of Bitcoin mining and the distribution of hashpower among mining pools over the next two weeks? Share your thoughts in the comments below.