Crypto traders' urge to create leverage positions with Bitcoin (BTC) appears irresistible to many people, but it's impossible to know if these traders are extreme risk-takers or savvy market makers hedging their positions. The need to maintain hedges holds even if traders rely on leverage merely to reduce their counterparty exposure by maintaining a collateral deposit and the bulk of their position on cold wallets. Not all leverage is reckless Regardless of the reason for traders' use of leverage, currently there is a highly unusual imbalance in margin lending markets that favors BTC longs betting on a price increase. Despite …

The supply of wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC) dropped to its lowest since May 2021 after the second-largest single-day burn on Feb. 27. A total of 11,500 WBTC worth about $260 million linked to now-bankrupt crypto lender Celsius was burned, turning its growth rate to negative. The current total supply of the wrapped token is 164,396 WBTC, with a monthly growth rate of -7.39. WBTC is an Ethereum-based ERC-20 token that mirrors the value of Bitcoin and is pegged 1:1 with the Bitcoin (BTC) price. Bitgo co-developed wBTC in 2019 alongside blockchain interoperability protocol Ren and multi-chain liquidity platform Kyber. wBTC is …

For the first time since the 7th century, the paper-money economy found its true competition in the internet era. With Bitcoin’s (BTC) debut in 2010, the fiat ecosystem was not only challenged with proving its worth in day-to-day transactions but also safekeeping the investment ecosystem it helped build. Over the years, the crypto ecosystem attracted people from all walks of life — serving their unique financial needs while filling the gaps left wide open by the fiat ecosystem. While most of the world watched from the sidelines, trying to decipher the true potential of cryptocurrencies, the first batch of Bitcoin …

Brazilian bank Banco do Brasil is offering a new and convenient option for taxpayers to settle their dues using cryptocurrencies. According to a statement published by Banco do Brasil on Feb. 11 it is now “possible” for Brazilian taxpayers to pay their tax bill with crypto, in a joint initiative with Brazilian-based crypto firm Bitfy. This initiative is available to Brazilian’s who have their crypto under the custody of Bitfy, who will act as a “collection partner” for the major Brazilian bank. It noted that besides the convenience it brings to customers, it makes it possible to “expand” the use …

Bitcoin (BTC) price surge above $20,000 in the second week of January led to a market FOMO (fear of missing out), especially among small BTC holders with a wallet balance of 0.1 BTC. There was a significant surge in BTC addresses holding 0.1 BTC or less, after January 13. According to data shared by crypto analytics firm Santiment, 620,000 new BTC addresses have popped up since the January 13 BTC price surge totaling 39.8 million. The rise in Bitcoin small addresses indicates regrowing investor optimism in 2023. The growth of such small addresses was very limited and slowed down remarkably …

The beginning of 2023 has provided Bitcoin (BTC) with bullish indicators and the rally to a year-to-date high at $21,647 has crypto traders hopeful that the worst part of the bear market has ended. The surge effect of BTC’s bullish price action is also carrying over to Ether (ETH) and Bitcoin mining stocks. The reduction in Bitcoin Fear and Greed index to neutral is possibly driven by volume increases, Bitcoin on-chain data and BTC price decoupling from equities markets. While not all analysts believe a market bottom is in, let’s dive into the data. Trading volume and volatility return Bitcoin’s …

Companies become industry giants when they provide the best user experience in the simplest form possible. Google, for example, has the most advanced search engine on the whole planet. And how does it provide that sci-fi-level technology to the user? By a simple, one-line search bar. Apple’s motto is removing the hardware from the user experience (UX) as a layer. It means that when users forget that they are holding a smartphone and browsing an app while scrolling down memory lane, Apple succeeds. Technology needs to hit the perfect balance between utility and usability — comprehensive features and ease of …

As cryptocurrency investors know, the market moves in cycles. We had the up-cycle when Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) hit their all-time highs, and now the bears are back in town. One of them mauled MicroStrategy founder and executive chairman Michael Saylor this week. In this case, it was a very powerful bear — Washington, D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine — suing the Bitcoin evangelist for allegedly owing $25 million in unpaid taxes. MicroStrategy’s stock price has fallen more than 13% on the news, from $251 on Aug. 29 to less than $220 on Sept. 1. Still, now isn’t the …

So-called “market tourists” are fleeing from Bitcoin (BTC), leaving only long-term investors holding and transacting in the top cryptocurrency, according to blockchain analytics firm Glassnode. In its July 4 Week Onchain report, Glassnode analysts said June saw Bitcoin have one of its worst-performing months in 11 years, with a loss of 37.9%. It added activity on the Bitcoin network is at levels concurrent with the deepest part of the bear market in 2018 and 2019, writing: “The Bitcoin network is approaching a state where almost all speculative entities, and market tourists have been completely purged from the asset.” However, despite …

Canada's Purpose Bitcoin ETF (BTCC) witnessed its Bitcoin (BTC) holdings slashed by half in just one day, suggesting an alarmingly waning buying sentiment among the crypto's most-experienced investors. Purpose Bitcoin ETF has 51% of AUM slashed The fund's holdings dropped from $47,818 BTC to 23,307 BTC between June 16 and 17, its lowest level since October 2021. The 51% drop in BTC holding is also the biggest daily outflow ever. Interestingly, another Canadian crypto fund, dubbed 3iQ CoinShares Bitcoin ETF, witnessed similar outflows, dropping from 23,917 BTC on June 1 to 12,668 BTC on June 17, suggesting the Purpose's massive …

A crypto trader who defrauded over 170 people was sentenced to 42 months in prison on Wednesday for operating a series of cryptocurrency funds claiming to make big returns but in reality, were losing money and instead operated as a Ponzi scheme. The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) said that 25-year-old Jeremy Spence had solicited millions through false representations, “including that Spence’s crypto trading had been extremely profitable when, in fact, Spence’s trading had been consistently unprofitable.” Spence, who operated the social media channels for a crypto investment scheme called Coin Signals, was handed the decision by United States …

A sharp reversal in the price of Bitcoin (BTC) out of an otherwise bearish technical setup has raised its chances of reaching $58,000 in Q2. Bitcoin price bottoming out? On the daily timeframe, Bitcoin broke out of its ascending triangle on March 27 to the upside, bringing the much-anticipated level of $50,000 within its range. Interestingly, ascending triangles are continuation patterns, meaning they typically resolve by sending the price in the direction of its previous trend once it breaks out of their tightening range. Bitcoin, which was trending downwards before forming an ascending triangle, avoided further downside. Instead, it managed …