'Groundhog Day' in Crypto as Bitcoin Again Plunges Following New Record

The world's largest crypto briefly rose above $70,000 Friday, but immediately tumbled about 5% to below $67,000

It's deja vu all over again for bitcoin (BTC) bulls, who for the second time this week barely had a few seconds to celebrate a surge to a new-all time high before prices quickly reversed sharply lower.

In the morning hours of U.S. trading, bitcoin took out the Tuesday record of about $69,200 and rose to $70,136, CoinDesk Bitcoin Index (XBX) data shows. But within seconds, selling took hold and less than one hour later, the price had tumbled about 5% to as low as $66,500.

Crypto Whales Hunt for Bargains As Bitcoin Prices Slide, Data Shows

Bitcoin traded at a fat premium on Bitfinex compared to the global average price over the weekend, hinting at bargain hunting by whales.

Crypto whales, entities with ample token holdings, appear to be snapping up bitcoin (BTC) at cheaper prices as the leading cryptocurrency continues to slide in the aftermath of the recent U.S. spot ETFs debut.

bitcoin has dropped nearly 19% to $39,770 since the spot ETFs began trading in the U.S. on Jan. 11, CoinDesk data show.

Access to Binance's Law Enforcement Request Panel Is for Sale for $10K

 Binance uses a third-party service called Kodex to validate law enforcement requests.

A bad actor is selling access to Binance’s law enforcement request panel, which provides lawful access to account data, for $10,000 in bitcoin (BTC) or monero (XMR).

Binance provides access via a third-party service called Kodex, commonly used by online financial institutions or social media platforms to validate law enforcement requests and facilitate access.

InfoStealers, a publication covering the Darknet and data breaches, reported that three computers belonging to law enforcement officers from Taiwan, Uganda, and the Philippines were compromised in a global malware campaign in 2023, leading to stolen browser-stored credentials and unauthorized access to Binance’s login panel.

Bitcoin ordinals’ creator steps down as inscriptions surpass 10m

Casey Rodarmor, the person behind bitcoin ordinals, reveals he will step aside from his role, with the platform reaching a milestone of over 10 million user registrations.

Casey Rodarmor, the brain behind bitcoin ordinals, took to Twitter today, sharing two significant developments: now there are more than 10 million user registrations on the platform, and his decision to step down from his current role.

Global Loss of Confidence in Fiat Boosting Bitcoin Adoption: Michael Saylor

 Bitcoin adoption has picked up the pace recently as investors acquire more of the leading crypto asset.

With several market analysts giving their takes on the key driver behind this renewed surge, MicroStrategy’s former CEO, Michael Saylor, recently expressed his view on the matter.

Inflation and Counterparty Risks Drive Bitcoin Adoption

In a recent CNBC interview, Saylor noted that two dynamics are pushing the broad adoption of Bitcoin. He revealed that the first one is the concern about inflation.

Radisson Hotel to accept Shiba Inu payments in Georgia

 In a bold stride toward the fusion of hospitality and digital currency, Radisson Hotel, an esteemed global hotel group, is now accepting shiba inu (SHIB), bitcoin (BTC), and ethereum (ETH) for reservations in its Georgian branch. 

This announcement comes shortly afterward Elon Musk changed Twitter’s logo to DOGE’s one, quickly reigniting the curiosity surrounding meme tokens. 

Why Bitcoin? Nigeria Faces Violent Protests Amid Cash Scarcity

 The cash shortage in Nigeria has led to violent protests, leaving countless citizens injured and a few dead. 

The cash withdrawal restrictions imposed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have made a strong case for Bitcoin as a solid store of value and a censorship-resistant currency.

Nigeria is currently facing a shortage of physical cash after the CBN redesigned its banknotes, causing the old bills of the local naira currency to become useless. The policy prompted citizens to flood banks and ATMs to swap their old bills for new ones.

Bitcoin to soar by 2025 says Robert Kiyosaki

 Renowned financial expert Robert Kiyosaki predicts a financial crisis, gold at $5,000, silver at $500, and bitcoin at $500,000 by 2025.

Robert Kiyosaki, the renowned financial expert and author of the international bestseller “Rich Dad Poor Dad,” has recently tweeted about a potential financial crisis and the impact it could have on the global economy.

According to Kiyosaki, a giant crash is coming, and the possibility of a depression cannot be ruled out. The Federal Reserve may be forced to print billions in fake money, and by 2025, the value of gold is expected to reach $5,000, silver to reach $500, and bitcoin to reach $500,000.

Bitcoin developer says network is not resistant to censorship, questions mining decentralization

 In a recent Twitter thread, a developer questioned the entire idea of Bitcoin’s censorship resistance.

Bitcoin’s censorship-resistance

Bitcoin was built on the idea of offering complete censorship resistance for transactions. However, according to a Bitcoin developer, this coin is far from censorship-resistant.

The developer Luke Dashjr posted a Twitter thread raising doubts about Bitcoin’s censorship resistance, saying the network’s ” hypothetical censorship-resistance is not based on some mere hope miners won’t censor.” 

As he laid down his case, Luke highlighted his problem with the Bitcoin network noting that miners can do whatever they want. For instance, he said, they (miners) cannot be expected to mine the assets or complete validations of transactions they don’t want to. Instead, miners can choose what to or not work on. Based on the developer, decentralization comes in where another miner can choose to work on what one has turned down. 

The developer highlighted that a party interested in a transaction could mine it for themselves in the worst-case scenario. He added that this can change and a transaction failed to be mined in the event of a spam attack.

Lebanon Devalues its Currency by 90%, Snowden Believes Bitcoin Fixes This

 Lebanon’s paralyzing financial crisis highlights the need for a better and more reliable solution such as Bitcoin.

Lebanon is adopting a new official exchange rate, devaluing its local currency by nearly 90%. The new rate is set at 15,000 Lebanese pounds against the U.S. dollar, according to a January 31 report, which cited a statement from the country’s central bank governor, Riad Salameh.

This marks a significant shift from the old rate of 1,507 Lebanese pounds per dollar. The official Lebanese currency has been pegged to the dollar at that rate since 1997.

Tesla Remained a Bitcoin Hodler During Q2 of 2022

Tesla sold 75% of its Bitcoin stash, but it kept the remaining 25% of its coins during the darkest of times.

Tesla, the electric car company led by Elon Musk, did not sell the remaining of its Bitcoin stash, as it was supposed to do during the 4th quarter of 2022, according to a filing published by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Tesla’s BTC holdings should be priced at around $245 million, which would be the last 25% of all the Bitcoin purchased by the company during the Crypto Bullrun of 2021.

Bitcoin Mining Became Greener and More Efficient in 2022

Bitcoin’s sustainable energy mix is roughly 58.9% sustainable as of Q4 2022. 

Despite much turmoil in 2022, the Bitcoin mining industry’s hashing technology only continued to grow more efficient throughout the year, according to a new survey from the Bitcoin Mining Council (BMC). 

The industry also grew marginally greener, retaining a sustainable energy mix of over 58%.

Bitcoin is Green, Says BMC

In a press release on Thursday, the BMC confirmed that its members’ hashrate has increased from 95 exahashes from its inception in Q1 2022 to 119 exahashes by Q4 2022. An exahash is equal to 1 quintillion hashes – answers to a complex math problem produced by miners in a race to create Bitcoin’s next block. 

Bitcoin hodlers won’t give in

 Data provided by on-chain analytics firm Glassnode shows that the amount of bitcoin (BTC) in circulation that has not moved in over the last 10 years has reached an all-time high of 2,612,163.979 BTC.

Glassnode data also shows that the percentage of the total supply of bitcoin that has not moved in at least five years has also reached an all-time high of 27.678%, and the amount that has not moved in over 2 years has also reached an all-time high of 48.551%.

This data suggests that a significant portion of the total supply of bitcoin is being held for long-term investment.

Top 11 crypto market predictions for 2023

After the bull run in 2021 that saw increased crypto adoption, the crypto industry was impacted by numerous setbacks. The initial correction in 2022 started with a drop of around 20% and 31% in January alone. 

By November, it had declined by more than 70% from its previous peak in November 2021.

Several factors contributed to this volatility, including the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes and rising inflation. In this article, we will dive into what the crypto market will look like in 2023 as we cover the top predictions. 

Bitcoin will lead a bull market

2022 has been rough for crypto after its value dropped more than 50% over the past year. 

The bulls have returned, bitcoin is bouncing back

 Bitcoin is in the middle of a massive rally, but will it last?

Bitcoin (BTC) gained nearly 21% in the previous seven days, and was trading at $20,994. At the same time, ethereum (ETH) was trading at $1,549, up more than 16%.

While the market is recovering from Terra’s collapse, the bankruptcy of leading DeFi players such as Celsius and Voyager, and the high-profile collapse of FTX, favorable sentiments have finally resurfaced for the cryptocurrency market.

According to CoinMarketCap, the overall market cap, which was $982bn at the time of writing, is approaching the $1 trillion mark due to bullish sentiment, a level not seen since November 2022.

Argo Blockchain’s BTC Production in December Crippled by a Winter Storm

The miner produced only 147 BTC in December, compared to 198 BTC in November, because of the snow blizzard that hit Texas.

The bitcoin mining giant – Argo Blockchain – mined 147 BTC in December, roughly 25% less than the production levels registered in November.

The main reason for the decrease was a massive winter storm that hit the US last month and negatively affected the company’s Helios facility in Dickens County, Texas.

Bitcoin Soars to $19,000 Amid $380 Million in Liquidations

Bitcoin has returned to a trading price last seen before FTX’s implosion.

Bitcoin has returned to $19,000 for the first time since October, soaring beyond its low trading range established after FTX’s collapse.

The move has many on crypto twitter calling for a new bull market – though some believe it’s a bull trap. 

Bitcoin traded for $17,911 early on Thursday, experiencing some volatility after December’s CPI inflation clocked in at 6.5%. 

The asset pumped by roughly $1000 at about 17:35 UTC, and has maintained its elevated price level since then. By 19:47 UTC, Bitcoin had reached $19,036, before pulling back to $18,864 at writing time.

Data from Coinglass shows that the crypto market has experienced $382 million worth of liquidations within the past 24 hours, affecting over 59,000 traders, stemming from recent volatility. 

Most of these liquidations took place on ETH trades, which alone accounted for $165 million in wiped trades. 

The biggest liquidations took place on OKX, on a BTC-USDT swap with a value of $3.52 million.

Bitcoin long-term holders do not lose their grip, on-chain data shows

Bitcoin (BTC) long-term holders are not afraid of the current volatility. Distrust towards centralized crypto service providers continues to drive bitcoin off exchanges.

Blockchain analytics service Glassnode reveals that the amount of bitcoin supply last active ten years ago or more reached a new all-time high of 2,594,574.300 BTC on Dec. 30. On the same day, the number of bitcoin addresses holding at least 100 BTC — worth 1.66 million as of press time — also reached a one-time high of 16,133. The data suggest that the accumulation is ongoing among big holders again.

Bitcoin long-term holders do not lose their grip, on-chain data shows - 1

Terra Classic (LUNC) Drops 8%, Bitcoin Dips to Weekly Lows (Market Watch)

Solana also continues to suffer and currently sits below $10.

Bitcoin continued with minor price declines in the past 24 hours, resulting in a dip to a weekly low of under $16,500.

Most altcoins are also in the red, including substantial losses from Solana and Terra Classic.

Bitcoin Exchange Outflow Volume Plunges to 7-Month Lows

Investors might have rebuilt some confidence in CEXs, with BTC exchange outflow volumes hitting a seven-month low record.

Glassnode data shows a decrease in the 7-Day MA of bitcoin leaving centralized exchanges with only 986.237 BTC getting withdrawn in the past week or so.

The declining outflow could signal that investors have restored some faith in CEXs after the gigantic collapse of FTX. Billions of dollars worth of various digital assets were withdrawn from such exchanges amid FTX’s crash.