The digital asset trading platform, Moonpay, announced on May 2 that it had formed a partnership with Paypal. This partnership will allow U.S. users to purchase cryptocurrency using their Paypal accounts. Users of Moonpay can benefit from the security offered by Paypal, a payment provider known for sharing comprehensive financial information about transactions. Moonpay Users […]
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Is Ethereum Back? Record 267,000 New Users Spark Speculation
The winds of change are swirling around Ethereum, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency. Despite a recent price dip, the network has witnessed a surge in new user activity, sparking a wave of optimism. However, the outsized influence of large holders, known as whales, continues to cast a long shadow.
New Wallets Open For Business
Data from blockchain analytics firm Santiment reveals a surge in new Ethereum wallets, with a record-breaking 267,000 created on April 28th and 29th. This influx marks the highest two-day increase since October 2022 and suggests a potential resurgence of interest in the Ethereum network.
#Ethereum saw a milestone as April came to an end. 266.6K new wallets were created on April 28th and 29th, the highest 2-day stretch of network growth since October 8th and 9th, 2022. It is a strong that $ETH continues expanding despite dipping prices. https://t.co/SN6xqc3JXV pic.twitter.com/KDcjhY30y5
— Santiment (@santimentfeed) May 1, 2024
This trend defies the current market downturn, with many cryptocurrencies experiencing significant price drops. Analysts speculate that the rise in new wallets could be fueled by several factors, including:
- Anticipation of future growth: Investors may be looking towards upcoming Ethereum upgrades that promise improved scalability and security, betting on the network’s long-term potential.
- Bargain hunters: The recent price dip might be seen as an attractive entry point for new investors seeking a discount on Ethereum.
On Minnows And Whales
While the number of new users is encouraging, a closer look at Ethereum’s address distribution reveals a stark disparity in holdings. According to CoinMarketCap, a staggering 97% of Ethereum addresses hold between and ,000 worth of the cryptocurrency. This signifies a large pool of small-scale investors, often referred to as “minnows.”
However, the real power lies with a select few. Whale tracking platform Clank estimates that whales, representing only 0.10% of all Ethereum addresses, control a whopping 41% of the total circulating supply. This translates to an average holding of nearly 10 million ETH per whale, valued at a staggering .7 million.
Holding Steady: A Vote Of Confidence?
Despite the recent price decline, Ethereum appears to be weathering the storm better than the broader crypto market. In fact, Ether is up more than 30% year-to-date (YTD) from an opening price of about ,282.
As of today, Ethereum sits at ,014, with a total market capitalization of 2 billion. Notably, the market experienced an average decline of 8.75% over the last week, highlighting Ethereum’s relative resilience.
Furthermore, data suggests that a majority of Ethereum investors (74%) are long-term holders, demonstrating a strong belief in the project’s future. This “hodling” mentality indicates a commitment to maintaining their Ethereum positions for the long haul, even in the face of short-term market fluctuations.
Featured image from Pixabay, chart from TradingView
Hybrid L2 Build on Bitcoin Launches Mainnet; US Users Face Geo-Blocking
The layer-two initiative known as BOB, short for ‘Build on Bitcoin,’ has declared its mainnet operational with over 40 apps launching in the initial phase. Notably, the BOB application that facilitates bridging and access to the ecosystem is geo-blocked in the United States. BOB Mainnet Activates, Project Expects a ‘Bitcoin-Driven Defi Summer’ On May 1, […]
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Russian Crypto Exchange Unable to Process Withdrawals; Angry Users Try to Storm Offices
Approximately 50 users of Beribit, a Russian cryptocurrency exchange, recently tried to storm the company’s Moscow offices to demand their digital assets. Beribit’s management has attributed the delay in processing withdrawal requests to an audit initiated following the discovery of discrepancies in the exchange’s balance sheet. Balance Sheet Discrepancies About 50 users of the Russian […]
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Scammers Trick Crypto Users With Faked USDT Balances, Slowmist Reports
Slowmist, teaming up with Imtoken, has exposed a new cryptocurrency scam exploiting offline transactions and using USDT, where scammers manipulate Ethereum RPC to falsify USDT balances in the victim’s wallet. The con artists coax victims into changing their Ethereum RPC URL to one they control, making it appear as though USDT funds were deposited, only […]
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Zksnacks Bars US Users from Wasabi Wallet in Wake of Samourai Indictment
In a decisive move, Zksnacks announced on Saturday that it will block all U.S. residents and citizens from accessing its bitcoin mixer, Wasabi Wallet. This policy change comes as U.S. authorities intensify their crackdown on unregulated crypto activities, spotlighting the recent indictment of Samourai Wallet founders. Wasabi Wallet Withdraws from U.S. Market to Avoid Regulatory […]
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Bitget Cites High Adoption Rates in MENA Following 1,400% Surge in Region’s Active Users
Between November 2023 and April 10, the number of active cryptocurrency users from the Middle East and North Africa using the Bitget platform grew by more than 1,400%. Bitget’s strong performance in the Middle East and North Africa is attributed to the region’s perceived high adoption rates and the generally friendly landscape for cryptocurrencies. Support […]
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Tether Integrates USDT on TON Network, Targets 900 Million Telegram Users
Tether, the stablecoin company, has launched native USDT, the largest dollar-pegged stablecoin, on The Open Network (TON). With this addition, over 900 million Telegram users can seamlessly transfer digital dollars, without having to type crypto addresses. 11 million TON will be distributed among USDT users on TON to incentivize its adoption in the ecosystem. Tether […]
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Battle For The Halving Block: Bitcoin Users Spend Record $2.4 Million On Block 840,000
With Bitcoin finally completing its fourth-year halving cycle, many users are aggressively competing for halving blocks, paying exorbitant amounts of fees to mine a single block.
Bitcoin Mining Pool Pays Over .4 Million In Block Fees
Earlier today, the 840,000th block was added to the Bitcoin blockchain, triggering the onslaught of the highly anticipated halving event. While the price of BTC did not witness a dramatic change following the halving, transaction fees spiked to unprecedented highs.
Amidst the massive competition, a mining pool identified as ViaBTC had successfully mined the 840,000th Bitcoin block. Cumulatively, BTC users had spent a staggering .7 BTC in mining fees, equivalent to .4 million, recording the highest fee ever paid for a Bitcoin block.
According to reports from mempool, after ViaBTC had produced the 840,000th block, the protocol had initiated an automated reduction of miners’ reward by half, from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC per block. In addition to the fees, ViaBTC had received a total payout of 40.7 BTC, valued at approximately .6 million, for mining the historic block.
While it may seem that Bitcoin miners had thrown caution to the wind by spending over .4 million on a single block, the 840,000th block had a major significance within the cryptocurrency space. The historic Bitcoin block is said to hold the first Satoshis, ‘sats,’ the smallest units of BTC following the halving.
There are several of these “epic sats,” that appear after the halving event, coveted as a rare collector’s item among cryptocurrency enthusiasts. Some even speculate that these Bitcoin fragments could be potentially worth millions of dollars.
Including the hype surrounding these fragmented BTC, much of the competition for the Bitcoin blocks, following the halving has been attributed to the new Runes Protocol which launched at the same time as the Bitcoin halving.
Degens Rush To Secure Infamous Rune Tokens
The Runes Protocol, created by Casey Rodamor, a Bitcoin developer, has sent shockwaves through the cryptocurrency community, as degens are avidly competing to etch and mint tokens directly on the Bitcoin network.
While mining pools were mining new Bitcoin blocks, degens had paid over 78.6 BTC valued at .95 million to mint the rarest Runes. This exponential surge in fees has been an unprecedented event, highlighting the increased adoption and participation of the Bitcoin network.
According to reports from Ord.io, a Rune labeled as ‘Decentralized’ was acquired for a fee of 7.99 BTC, equivalent to 0,760. While another titled ‘Dog-Go-To-The-Moon’ was obtained for a fee of 6.73 BTC, worth approximately 9,831.
Leonidas, protocol developer and host of the groundbreaking Ordinals, a system for numbering “epic sats,” has declared the Runes Protocol a remarkable success as degens have “single-handedly offset the drop in miner rewards from the halving.” He concluded that Runes have significantly impacted Bitcoin’s security budget, potentially playing a major role in ensuring the network’s sustainability.
Drift Foundation Announces 100 Million Token Airdrop for Solana-Based Dex Users
On April 16, 2024, the Drift Foundation, which supports the Solana-based decentralized exchange (dex) platform Drift, disclosed plans to distribute 100 million tokens to its users. The tokens will function as the platform’s governance coin, to be utilized by the community and the Drift decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). Solana-Based Dex Platform Drift to Distribute Governance […]
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