Bitcoin (BTC) is leading the cryptocurrency markets lower and the matter is being exacerbated by Silvergate Banks' ongoing issues. This week the cryptocurrency-focused bank said that it needed additional time to file its annual 10-K report and warned that it may not be able to operate for another 12 months. Reacting to this news, several cryptocurrency companies announced that they were reducing or canceling their partnerships with Silvergate Bank. The uncertainty regarding the future of the bank and its overall impact on the cryptocurrency sector may have caused a knee-jerk reaction. However, if the contagion does not spread, the downside …

Bitcoin (BTC) was marginally positive in February even though the S&P 500 index (SPX) fell by 2.61%. On the first day of March, Bitcoin has started on a positive note while the United States equities markets are struggling. This shows that Bitcoin is trying to decouple from the U.S. equities markets. A positive sign is that retail traders seem to have made the most of the crypto bear market. Instead of panicking and selling their holdings, traders have purchased at lower levels. Glassnode data shows that wallets holding at least one Bitcoin have consistently risen and are nearing the 1 …

A small monetary bounty and an aptitude for coding were all it took to fork the Ordinals protocol to the world’s second-ever cryptocurrency network, Litecoin (LTC) earlier this week, its creator told Cointelegraph. On Feb. 18, an Australian software engineer by the name of Anthony Guerrera posted a repository to GitHub that forked the Bitcoin (BTC) Ordinals protocol to Litecoin. This allowed for nonfungible token (NFT)-like assets on the Litecoin network in much the same way it had made it to Bitcoin earlier in the year. In an interview with Cointelegraph, Guerrera said he was spurred to make a Litecoin …

Bitcoin (BTC) is leading the cryptocurrency markets on the path to recovery. Although the United States Consumer Price Index (CPI) print for January was marginally higher than expectations, it did not dent the enthusiasm of bullish crypto trader. A positive response to seemingly negative data is a sign that the sentiment is bullish and traders are looking for buying opportunities. However, some analysts are cautious due to the strengthening of the U.S. dollar index (DXY). They believe that a sustained rally in the DXY could limit the upside in cryptocurrencies. Usually, long-term downtrends are followed by a base formation. During …

On Feb. 9, United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair Gary Gensler explained why the regulator had cracked down on Kraken cryptocurrency exchange, forcing it to stop its crypto staking program for U.S. clients. This news may have rattled crypto investors and they sold aggressively. Bitcoin (BTC) crashed about 5% on Feb. 9 and several altcoins also followed suit. The fresh round of selling has traders wondering whether the bear market has resumed or if the dip should be interpreted as a buying opportunity. This question may be troubling to investors, but for now the correction looks to be …

The United States Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on Feb. 7 that the “disinflationary process, the process of getting inflation down,” has started but it is still in its very early stages. He cautioned that strong data would be met with more rate hikes. Though the comments are mixed, they triggered buying in the S&P 500 and Bitcoin (BTC) on Feb. 7 as investors speculated that the Fed may soon end its rate hikes. Bitcoin’s strong rally in January and signs of ebbing inflation seem to have turned around investor sentiment. CoinShares data on Jan. 30 shows that institutional …

Bitcoin’s (BTC) rally in 2023 has been boosted by expectations that the United States Federal Reserve will slow down the pace of its rate hikes as inflation has started cooling down. Some even anticipate a rate cut by the end of the year. That assumption received a jolt on Feb.3 when the U.S. employment data for January beat expectations and unemployment hit its lowest level since May 1969. If markets do not react negatively to news perceived as bearish, it’s a sign that the sentiment has turned positive. Traders may then shift their focus to the next important economic data …

Bitcoin (BTC) gained about 40% in January, its best finish in the first month of the year since 2013. The sharp rally caused a change in sentiment and the futures markets which saw backwardation in November and December started trading at a healthy contango in January, according to Glassnode. Coming out of a bear market low, a rally driven by the leaders rather than the laggards is a sign that the bottoming process may have begun. The rise in Bitcoin’s dominance from about 38% in November to above 42% in January is an indication that smart investors may have started …

There are rumors that Dogecoin could switch from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake (PoS). Do I know if Dogecoin is switching to PoS? No. Do I think it’s going to PoS? Probably not. But I love the “what if” game. As a person who works in the crypto mining industry, I do my best to gauge where the market and mining industry are going, along with how that could play out. If Dogecoin makes a change to PoS or some other change to how new blocks are created, it would have massive ramifications for the mining industry. Here’s a look at a …

After two weeks of a stupendous rally, Bitcoin’s (BTC) price has largely been flat this week. This is a positive sign as it shows that market participants are not growing nervous before a slew of central bank meetings take place next week. The United States Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of England are scheduled to announce their policy decisions next week. The confidence of the bulls received another boost after the U.S. core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) data for December showed the slowest annual rate of increase since October 2021. The core PCE rose 4.4% from a year …

Litecoin (LTC) has rebounded by 130% to almost $100 after bottoming out near $40.50 in June 2022. The primary reasons include broadly improving risk-on sentiment and euphoria around the Litecoin halving in August 2023. However, technicals suggest that LTC may wipe out most of these gains in the coming months. LTC price paints giant bear flag Litecoin stands to pare its gains mainly due to a giant bear flag on the weekly char. A bear flag is a bearish continuation pattern that occurs when the price consolidates inside an ascending, parallel channel after undergoing a strong downtrend. It resolves after …

Bitcoin (BTC) has been consolidating near $23,000 for the past few days. The next big question troubling investors is whether the rally is over or if Bitcoin resume its recovery. The strong year-to-date rally in Bitcoin has turned several analysts bullish in the short term. They anticipate Bitcoin to extend its up-move and reach $25,000 and even $30,000. However, for the slightly longer term, analysts seem to be divided. In comments to Cointelegraph, economist Lyn Alden said Bitcoin could face “considerable danger” in the second half of 2023 as liquidity risks rise. On the other hand, ARK Invest CEO and …