Bitcoin

Price analysis 12/18: SPX, DXY, BTC, ETH, BNB, XRP, SOL, ADA, AVAX, DOGE

Bitcoin may remain under pressure for a few days, but a collapse is unlikely, as traders are expected to buy the dips in anticipation of a spot Bitcoin ETF.

The S&P 500 Index (SPX) rose 2.49% last week, extending its string of weekly gains to seven weeks, the longest such winning streak since 2017. However, Bitcoin (BTC) could not maintain its momentum and succumbed to profit-booking by the bulls. Trading resource Material Indicators said in an X (formerly Twitter) post that “ year-end profit taking and tax loss harvesting” will prevail in the short term.

However, a crash is unlikely because several analysts expect the United States Securities and Exchange Commission to approve one or more spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications in January. If that happens, it could prove to be a game-changer for the sector.

VanEck CEO Jan van Eck said in an interview with CNBC that Bitcoin is likely to hit a new all-time high in the next 12 months. He expects Bitcoin to become an accompaniment to gold.

Bitwise launches crypto ETF media campaign with ‘The Most Interesting Man in the World’

The ad spot came as the U.S. SEC is looking at multiple spot crypto exchange-traded fund applications from asset managers.

Actor Jonathan Goldsmith, who appeared as “The Most Interesting Man in the World” in an advertising campaign for Dos Equis beer, is reviving his persona to promote Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for Bitwise Asset Management.

In a Dec. 18 post on X (Twitter), Bitwise released an ad spot with Goldsmith showing “The Most Interesting Man in the World” in an upscale bar, as he often did in the beer commercials. However, rather than saying his signature “Stay thirsty, my friends” over a Dos Equis bottle, the actor had a crypto-focused message for viewers:

Goldsmith appeared in multiple ad spots, portraying himself as “The Most Interesting Man in the World” from 2006 to 2018. The commercials included humorous “facts” about his character, including “he is the only man to ever ace a Rorschach test” and “he’s on the upgrade list for flights he hasn’t even checked into.”

‘Inherently bearish’ below $41.5K — 5 things to know in Bitcoin this week

BTC price action keeps traders nervous going into the holiday period as Bitcoin faces the pressure of the yearly close.

Bitcoin (BTC) starts a new week in risky territory as sell-offs from whales mark a change in mood.

The latest weekly close has done little to comfort nervous traders as a pause in “up only” BTC price activity continues.

With just two weeks to go until the yearly candle concludes, the countdown is on — together with the pressure — across risk assets.

Daily gas spent on EVM inscriptions surges to record high of $8M

Bitcoin is not the only network getting clogged up with Ordinals inscriptions, with weekend activity on EVM chains also spiking.

Network transaction fees across all blockchains have spiked over the weekend as the Ordinals inscriptions craze continues to push demand for blockspace — and not just on the Bitcoin network.

Inscriptions on Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) chains skyrocketed over the weekend, causing a spike in gas fees.

On Dec. 16, gas spent on inscriptions surged to a record high of $8.3 million, according to data from Dune Analytics.

Bitcoin's 8-week win streak is in danger, but ATOM, FIL, EGLD, and ALGO don't care

Bitcoin is set to break its eight-week winning streak, but that has not affected the prospects of ATOM, FIL, EGLD, and ALGO, which look strong on the charts.

Bitcoin’s (BTC) eight-week winning streak is likely to end as the price is down nearly 4% this week. The recent weakness indicates profit-booking by traders but it does not change the short-term uptrend. The pullback will also help reduce the froth that may have been building.

After the initial shakeout, strong hands are likely to re-enter the crypto market as the macro environment remains bullish for risk-assets. The decision by the Federal Reserve to pause rate hikes and possibly reduce rates in 2024 could further boost demand for crypto products.

However, nothing goes up in a straight line. After sharp rallies, traders generally book profits and shift their focus to other coins. As Bitcoin takes a breather, traders’ are likely to turn their attention to select altcoins.

Bitcoin fees hit 20-month high as miner revenues match $69K BTC price

Bitcoin miners are the main beneficiaries of current sky-high transaction fees, data shows, but many longtime market participants have little time for complaints.

Bitcoin (BTC) on-chain transaction fees are dividing opinion as the cost of sending BTC skyrockets.

Data from the statistics resource BitInfoCharts puts the average transaction fee at nearly $40 as of Dec. 17.

The latest wave of Bitcoin Ordinals inscriptions has resulted in elevated transaction fees for all network users — but some believe that they are here to stay.

Price analysis 12/15: BTC, ETH, BNB, XRP, SOL, ADA, DOGE, AVAX, DOT, MATIC

Bitcoin and select altcoins are witnessing profit-booking on rallies, increasing the likelihood of a short-term pullback.

Bitcoin’s (BTC) rally has been taking a breather for the past few days but its strong rally in 2023 has not gone unnoticed. A survey of United States financial services companies by crypto firm Paxos showed that 99% of the firms were putting as much or more focus on crypto projects this year as compared to previous years.

Analysts are increasingly bullish on Bitcoin and the crypto space in 2024. Bitwise senior research analyst Ryan Rasmussen made ten predictions for the crypto industry in 2024 in an X (formerly Twitter) post on Dec. 13. He believes Bitcoin will soar to $80,000 in 2024 and “more money will settle using stablecoins than using Visa.”

Along with crypto-specific issues, expectations of rate cuts by the Federal Reserve in 2024 are adding to the bullish sentiment. Arthur Hayes, the former CEO of crypto exchange BitMEX, reiterated his bullish view on crypto in an X post on Dec. 14. He said that the fiat was “a filthy piece of trash” and there was no reason not to be long crypto.

Bitcoin whales aim to reclaim $42K after BTC price dives over 3%

Bitcoin bulls face a battle for support on multiple timeframes as BTC price action stays volatile.

Bitcoin (BTC) tapped lows beneath $41,700 after the Dec. 15 Wall Street open as BTC price action fielded fresh sell-side pressure.

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD diving over $1,300, or 3.2%, on the day.

The largest cryptocurrency, fresh from a recovery from snap volatility the day prior, failed to hold its ground at $43,000 as Bitcoin bulls were denied upside continuation.

Iris Energy to double hash rate in 2024 with $22M Bitmain T21 mining rig order

Iris Energy will receive mining hardware orders from Bitmain in the first six months of 2024, taking its operational mining capacity above 10 EH/s.

Renewable Bitcoin (BTC) mining firm Iris Energy is set to increase its total hash rate to 10 exahashes per second (EH/s) in 2024 by acquiring new Bitmain T21 mining rigs.

The company announced it had acquired an additional 1.6 EH/s of Bitmain T21 miners, set for delivery in the second quarter of 2024. The company currently has 5.6 EH/s of operational capacity as of December 2023.

The newest generation of Chinese manufacturer Bitmain’s mining hardware will also improve the efficiency of Iris’ operations from 29.5 joules per terahash (J/TH) to 24.8 J/TH. Iris invested $22.3 million in the latest order from Bitmain, pricing the hardware at $14 per terahash.

$100K BTC? Don’t undervalue Bitcoin ETF influence, says Adam Back

Resolving recent systemic failures in the cryptocurrency ecosystem and the prospect of spot Bitcoin ETF approvals could drive Bitcoin to $100,000 in 2024.

The COVID-19 pandemic, rampant inflation and regional conflicts directly influenced Bitcoin’s (BTC) drop in value over the past two years. However, 2024 promises to be a resurgent period, according to Blockstream CEO Adam Back.

The cryptographer, who pioneered the proof-of-work algorithm applied in Bitcoin’s protocol, tells Cointelegraph that the preeminent cryptocurrency is trailing below the historical price trend line of previous mining reward halving events.

Back weighed in on the potential price action of Bitcoin as the next halving approaches, which will see Bitcoin miners’ block reward reduced from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. Block reward halvings are programmatically hardwired into Bitcoin’s code, taking place after every 210,000 blocks.