Market Analysis

AI altcoins are pumping — Is this the beginning of the next bull market? The Market Report

On this week’s episode of The Market Report, Cointelegraph’s resident experts discuss artificial intelligence altcoins, what they are, and whether they could lead us into the next bull market.

This week on The Market Report, the resident experts at Cointelegraph discuss what artificial intelligence (AI) altcoins are, what their potential benefits are, how they work, and whether they can be a catalyst for a 2023 bull market.

We start off this week’s show with the latest news in the markets:

BTC price 3-week highs greet US CPI — 5 things to know in Bitcoin this week

Bitcoin (BTC) starts a new week on a promising footing, with BTC price action near one-month highs — but can it last? The move precedes a conspicuous macroeconomic week for crypto markets, with the December 2022 Consumer Price Index (CPI) print due from the United States. Jerome Powell, chair of the Federal Reserve, will also deliver a speech on the economy, with inflation on everyone’s radar. Inside the crypto sphere, FTX contagion continues, with Digital Currency Group (DCG) at odds with institutional clients over its handling of solvency problems at subsidiary Genesis Trading. Our resident experts take a look at these factors and more as the second trading week of January gets underway.

Digital Currency Group under investigation by US authorities: Report

Crypto conglomerate Digital Currency Group, or DCG, is under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Eastern District of New York and the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to a Bloomberg report. 

The authorities are digging into internal transfers between DCG and its subsidiary crypto lending firm, Genesis Global Capital, according to the report, which cited people familiar with the matter. Prosecutors have already requested interviews and documents from both companies, while the SEC is running a similar early-stage inquiry.

We discuss what impact this could have on the crypto market. Could this put a damper on the current positive trend in the crypto space, which is finally starting to see some green?

5 sneaky tricks crypto phishing scammers used last year: SlowMist

We take a look at some of the most common phishing techniques crypto scammers used on victims in 2022 to help you be more aware and cautious when dealing in the space and hopefully save you from any possible scams or rug pulls in 2023.

Our experts cover these and other developing stories, so make sure you tune in to stay up-to-date on the latest in the world of crypto.

Next up is a segment called “Quick Crypto Tips,” which aims to give newcomers to the crypto industry quick and easy tips to get the most out of their experience. This week’s tip: Chasing the whale.

Market expert Marcel Pechman then carefully examines the Bitcoin and Ether (ETH) markets. Are the current market conditions bullish or bearish? What is the outlook for the next few months? Pechman is here to break it down.

Lastly, we’ve got insights from Cointelegraph Markets Pro, a platform for crypto traders who want to stay one step ahead of the market. Our analysts use Cointelegraph Markets Pro to identify two altcoins that stood out this week, so make sure to tune in to find out which ones made the cut.

Do you have a question about a coin or topic not covered here? Don’t worry — join the YouTube chat room and write your questions there. The person with the most interesting comment or question will have a chance to win a one-month subscription to Markets pro worth $100.

The Market Report streams live every Tuesday at 12:00 pm ET (5:00 pm UTC), so be sure to head on over to Cointelegraph’s YouTube page and smash those Like and Subscribe buttons for all our future videos and updates.

Ethereum’s Shanghai upgrade could supercharge liquid staking derivatives — Here’s how

Traders are contemplating what will happen to ETH price and staked Ether derivatives after the next network upgrade opens withdrawals for stakers.

The crypto market witnessed the DeFi summer of 2020, where decentralized finance applications like Compound and Uniswap turned Ether (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC) into yield-bearing assets via yield farming and liquidity mining rewards. The price of Ether nearly doubled to $490 as the total liquidity across decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols quickly surged to $10 billion.

Toward the end of 2020 and early 2021, the COVID-19-induced quantitative easing across global markets was in full effect, causing a mega-bull run that lasted almost a year. During this time, Ether’s price increased nearly ten times to a peak above $4,800.

After the euphoric bullish phase ended, a painful cool-down journey was exacerbated by the UST-LUNA crash which began in early 2022. This took Ether’s price down to $800. A ray of hope eventually arrived in the third quarter as the market experienced a positive rally led by the Ethereum Merge narrative.

The shift to an environmentally-friendly proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism was a big step forward. The event also reduced Ether inflation post-merge. During a lead-up to the Merge on Sept. 15, 2021, ETH peaked at over $2,000. However, the bullish momentum faded quickly, turning the Merge into a buy-the-rumor and sell-the-news event.

A similar bullish opportunity could be brewing in Ether as the upcoming Shanghai upgrade scheduled for March 2023 grabs the market spotlight. The upgrade will finally enable withdrawals from Ethereum staking contracts, which are locked presently. The upgrade will significantly reduce the risk of staking ETH.

It will provide an opportunity for liquidity staking protocols to grow. The governance tokens of some of these protocols have jumped since the start of the new year as hype builds around.

There’s a possibility that the upgrade can push these tokens toward last year’s Merge highs. Moreover, Ethereum’s staking space is still in its early stages, providing a market opportunity for the growth of these protocols.

The percentage of staked Ether is low

Currently, 13.18% of Ether’s total supply is staked on the Beacon Chain, which is low compared to other PoS chains like Cosmos Hub with a staking ratio of 62.5%, Cardano with 71.8%, and Solana at 71.4%. The reason for Ethereum’s low staking ratio is that the Staked Ether (stETH) is locked in its current state, but this will change in March.

Ethereum has the lowest staking ratio compared to other L1 blockchains. Source: Staking Rewards

The upcoming Shanghai upgrade will include a code known as EIP 4895 that will allow Beacon Chain staked Ether withdrawals, enabling a 1:1 exchange of staked Ether for Ether. Ethereum’s staking ratio should reach parity with other leading PoS networks after this update. A significant portion of which will likely move to liquid staking protocols.

De-risking of liquid staking derivatives

Liquid staking protocols like Lido and Rocket Pool let Ether holders stake without running a validator node. Since Ether is pooled, a single user doesn’t have a minimum threshold of 32 ETH (worth around $40,000) for staking. People can stake fractions of Ether, reducing the entry barrier for staking.

The protocols also enable liquidity provision for staked assets, which would otherwise be locked in the staking contracts. The DeFi contracts give a derivative token (for instance, Lido’s stETH) in exchange for staked Ether on the proof-of-stake (PoS) network. A user can trade with stETH while earning yields from the staking contract.

As Ethereum’s staking ratio increases after March’s update, the use of liquidity staking protocols will likely increase with it. Currently, the liquid staking protocols account for 32.65% of the total staked Ether. Due to the benefits mentioned above, their market share should remain near or above current levels after the Shanghai upgrade.

The governance tokens of liquid staking protocols could also benefit from their increased locked value, similar to DeFi tokens, which benefited from a rise in total locked value (TVL) in the latest bull run.

How are LSD governance tokens performing ahead of Shanghai?

Lido DAO (LDO)

Lido DAO is the leader of the liquid staking space with higher annual yield and market share than other protocols. Lido commands 88.55% of the total Staked Ether in these protocols.

Let’s take the amount of staked Ether as a proxy for evaluating the protocol. We again find that Lido has the most competitive market capitalization to Staked Ether ratio.

Source: Coingecko, Dune Analytics

The weak point of the project’s token economics is that LDO is a governance token. It doesn’t entitle holders to a share of the generated yield or fees. Moreover, the token has additional inflation from investor token unlocking until May this year.

LDO 4-hour price chart. Source: TradingView

Technically, the LDO token broke above the short-term resistance of around $1.17 with significant buying volume. Bulls will likely target $1.80, capitalizing on the hype around the Shanghai upgrade.

The token is heavily shorted in the futures market after the recent 26% rise in its price since Jan. 1. The funding rate for LDO perpetual swap turned negative with a large magnitude, providing an opportunity for a further uptrend in a short-squeeze. The current support levels for LDO are $1.17 and $1.

Rocket Pool (RPL)

Rocket Pool is similar to Lido, albeit smaller in size. The market capitalization to the stETH ratio of the platform is five times larger than Lido, which likely makes it overpriced.

Nevertheless, the RPL token has additional utility besides governance as an insurance token for users. Node operators stake RPL as insurance, where users receive the staked RPL in case of losses due to the operator’s fault.

The Ethereum Merge high of RPL in September 2021 was $34.30. Since the start of 2023, its price has increased by 10%, last trading at $22.40. If buyers are successful in building support above the $20 level, there’s a possibility that RPL can reach last year’s high of $30, which was attained around the Ethereum Merge.

Ankr (ANKR)

Ankr is a blockchain infrastructure provider which offers API endpoints and runs RPC nodes besides staking solutions. Similar to LDO, ANKR is only used for governance purposes.

The token’s price has stayed relatively flat over the last few days. The market capitalization to the staked Ether ratio of Ankr is on the higher side at par with Rocket Pool, which is a negative sign.

Still, if the hype around Shanghai upgrade increases, ANKR can reach August 2021 highs of $0.05. The recent breakdown level of $0.03 will act as resistance for buyers. Currently, the token is trading around $0.015.

Stakewise (SWISE)

Stakewise offers the highest staking yield of 4.43%. Its governance token is comparatively less inflated than RPL and ANKR in the market capitalization to Staked Ether ratio, making it cheaper than RPL and ANKR.

However, the token distribution is adversely skewed towards private investors and the founding team, which have 46.9% of SWISE’s total supply. According to data from Nansen, wallets identified as “smart money” have been slowly accumulating SWISE since April 2021.

Smart wallet holdings of SWISE tokens. Source: Nansen

The Ethereum Merge high for SWISE was $0.23, which will be the likely target for buyers. The support lies near 2022-lows around $0.07.

Shared Stake is flagged red because the protocol was suspected of an insider exploit, which caused a 95% decline in the token’s price in June 2021. The high staking return of the Shared Stake compared to others is also an eyebrow-raising detail to take note of. On the other hand, Cream Finance has discontinued its Ether staking service.

The upcoming Ethereum Shanghai upgrade provides an opportunity for the liquid staking space to grow. Lido DAO is the clear leader in this space with an optimum market price. The de-risking of ETH staking and hype around the event could translate to a series of rallies that could push the price of LDO and other liquid staking protocols back to their Merge highs from last year.

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the authors’ alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Crypto in 2023 — Do bulls have a chance? Watch Market Talks on Cointelegraph

Join us as we discuss what 2023 holds for crypto. Hosting the show will be Cointelegraph’s head of markets, Ray Salmond, with special guest Mohit Sorout.

On this week’s episode of Market Talks, Cointelegraph welcomes Mohit Sorout, co-founder of Bitazu Capital, a proprietary algorithmic trading and investment management platform.

This week, to kick things off, we get to know a little bit about Sorout, his background in finance and trading. We also dive into his skillset, trading style and unique approach to the crypto markets. We get his view on the current Bitcoin (BTC) market sentiment and price action. Is Bitcoin finally shifting toward a bullish trend?

Volatility has been low across the board as things have been pretty boring, but Ether (ETH) and BTC both have reported record-low volatility. What does this mean, and is this a positive sign or a negative one? What about altcoins, should traders be paying close attention to them since there isn’t much happening with the big two cryptocurrencies?

As much as we would like to put the whole FTX debacle behind us, there is still much to unfold. We get Sorout’s take on FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, the extent of the contagion and how it might continue to impact crypto markets. We also look forward to the new year and try to spot any other potential black swan events.

Next we get specific about Bitcoin and its price action. With everything happening in the world, including the Fed’s fight against inflation and the strength of the dollar index, we ask Sorout what his vision for Bitcoin’s price action is and if it has changed at all for 2023.

Make sure to stay tuned until the end to get all of these insights and more. We’ll also be taking your questions and comments throughout the show, so be sure to have them ready to go.

Market Talks streams live every Thursday at 12:00 pm ET (5:00 pm UTC). Each week, we feature interviews with some of the most influential and inspiring people from the crypto and blockchain industry. So, be sure to head on over to Cointelegraph’s YouTube page and smash those Like and Subscribe buttons for all our future videos and updates.

Bitcoin Santa Claus rally unlikely, according to on-chain and derivatives data

Data suggests that BTC’s rally to $18,300 is the only Santa rally that Bitcoin will see before year-end.

As the coldest days of the crypto winter set in, investors’ speculative interest in the crypto market has fallen to pre-2021 levels, impairing the chance of a substantial directional price move. However, there’s a possibility of a bear market rally akin to the July through August 2022 uptrend.

The market enters a state of limbo

The FTX implosion impacted over 5 million users globally and adversely affected numerous crypto companies that were exposed to it. The industry is currently in recovery mode, as U.S.-based crypto market broker Cumberland recently echoed in a tweet. The firm noted that “dozens of crypto companies are either severely curtailed or out of business, and the industry’s future is as cloudy as ever.”

Data suggests that building a sustainable bullish move will be challenging because the market is pushed back to a low liquidity and volatility regime.

Crypto analytics firm Glassnode reported “depressing” futures volumes for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), tracing back to pre-2021 levels when Bitcoin’s price surpassed $20,000 for the first time.

Bitcoin (orange) and Ether (blue) futures trading volume. Source: Glassnode

The open interest volume of Bitcoin and Ether futures has dropped significantly toward mid-2022 levels, which was after the collapse of Luna-UST. The BTC and ETH leverage ratio indicator, which measures the ratio between open interest volume, is currently down to 2.5% and 3.1%.

Bitcoin’s spot trading volumes on crypto exchanges have also dipped significantly toward 2020 lows. Data from Blockchain.com shows that the seven-day moving average of exchange trading volume has dropped to $67 million, compared to $1.4 billion near the peak of the 2021 bull market.

Bitcoin spot exchange trading volume. Source: Blockchain.com

Due to low liquidity and a cloud of uncertainty over the market, there’s a strong possibility that the bear market is far from over. The realized volatility of Bitcoin has also dropped toward two-year lows of 22% (one week) and 28% (two weeks).

Moving forward, volatility may remain dull, with more sideways or slow downside price action. However, there’s still a chance of a short-term bear market rally.

Is a Bitcoin price pump and dump in play?

November’s FTX-induced shakeout was similar to the LUNA-UST implosion seen in June, and these events usually cause panic selling, making an asset attractive to bargain hunters looking to buy into a capitulation.

Consequently, a short-term bull rally takes effect that may last a few days or weeks, which is precisely what happened in July through August when Bitcoin’s price surged toward $25,000. Based on the shakeout levels from November and signs of institutional buying, Bitcoin might be undergoing a similar bear market rally.

The realized profit and loss metric of long-term holders dropped toward all-time lows, indicating possible oversold conditions. The long-term holder realized losses had reached comparable levels only during the 2015 and 2018 bottom.

Profit and loss by return bands. Source: Glassnode

Additionally, the futures market is currently in backwardation, meaning there are more open short positions than long. Throughout Bitcoin’s history, similar conditions have lasted for short periods only and ended up in a short-term pump to squeeze the short orders.

BTC futures market swaps vs. 3 month rolling basis. Source: Glassnode

The accumulation trend among institutions and whales, which had been negative for most of this year, turned positive in mid-November. An Increase in holdings of these investor cohorts provided a tailwind for the bear market rally in the third quarter of this year.

CoinShares reported that institutional Bitcoin investment vehicles saw inflows totaling $108 million after the FTX implosion, with $17 million added last week. Notably, the present inflows are significantly lower than weeks 25 and 35 this year, which caused the uptrend toward $25,000.

Weekly asset flow metrics from institutional BTC investment products. Source: CoinShares

On-chain data from Glassnode also shows positive accumulation among Bitcoin whales, identified as addresses holding greater than or equal to 100 BTC (worth around $1.7 million at current prices).

While the holdings of these whales has increased from its yearly lows in a similar fashion seen in July to August, BTC price has yet to reflect this positive addition.

Holdings of BTC addresses with greater or equal to 100 BTC. Source: Glassnode

Technically, the support and resistance levels of the previous trading range between $18,700 and $22,000 could form the local top levels of the current rally. Conversely, if BTC builds support above $22,000, the bear market rally could become more meaningful with a continued uptrend.

BTC/USD 1-day chart. Source: TradingView

However, the chances of a bullish rally above $22,000 are feeble due to low liquidity and the cloud of uncertainty that will motivate selling as prices rise. Still, discounting a short-term bear market rally can punish late sellers.

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the authors’ alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

How hard has this bear market been for Bitcoin mining? Watch Market Talks on Cointelegraph

Join us as we discuss the current state of the current bear market and Bitcoin mining. Hosting the show will be Cointelegraph’s head of markets Ray Salmond, with special guest Drew Vosk.

On this week’s episode of Market Talks, Cointelegraph welcomes Drew Vosk, founder of VoskCoin, a cryptocurrency YouTube channel with over 607,000 subscribers.

This week, we take a deep dive into all things crypto from the unique perspective of a Bitcoin (BTC) miner. We get Vosk’s take on the things that are impacting his bottom line as a Bitcoin miner and what challenges he is currently facing by mining Bitcoin at home as opposed to with an industrial miner.

Is it worth investing in a solar mining farm with electricity costs soaring at the moment? What is the ROI, and is it more cost-effective in the long run to harness the power of the sun? Vosk not only mines Bitcoin but also a host of other coins. We ask him what his mining strategy is to stay afloat in these troubling times.

Next, we pivot over to centralized finance (CeFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi). We ask if he has been impacted by all the recent bankruptcies and what his main takeaway from everything that has happened is.

As we approach 2023, we discuss what changes need to occur to make it easier and more cost-effective to mine Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. We also take a look back on 2022 — has this been the toughest year for miners, and is it over, or is the worst yet to come? 

If you’re thinking about getting into cryptocurrency mining or setting up your own mining rig, make sure to tune in, as we’ve got some great information for anyone looking to get into the space. Who better to walk you through it all than someone who has literally put everything on the line to mine Bitcoin and has been through all the highs and lows of the market?

Make sure to stay tuned until the end to get all the answers and more. We’ll also be taking your questions and comments throughout the show, so be sure to have them ready to go.

Market Talks streams live every Thursday at 12:00 pm ET (5:00 pm UTC). Each week, we feature interviews with some of the most influential and inspiring people from the crypto and blockchain industry. So, be sure to head on over to Cointelegraph’s YouTube page and smash those Like and Subscribe buttons for all our future videos and updates.

Crypto and Capitulation — Is there a silver lining? Watch Market Talks on Cointelegraph

Join us as we discuss the current state of the crypto market and whether there could actually be a silver lining to capitulation. Hosting the show will be Ray Salmond, head of markets at Cointelegraph, and our special guest this week is Magdalena Gronowska.

On this week’s episode of Market Talks, Cointelegraph welcomes Magdalena Gronowska, co-founder of Citadel 256 and senior consultant at MetaMesh — a blockchain consultancy and building platform.

This week, we take a deep dive into everything that is happening in the crypto space — we get Gronowska’s professional take on Sam Bankman-Fried and the whole FTX saga and also BlockFi’s bankruptcy. Bitcoin (BTC) miners have also had a rough few months with profits slowly dipping. What are the odds of most miners shutting down shop and selling their Bitcoin while still making some profit on it, especially since most of them are currently struggling to manage their debt? How will this impact the rest of the market?

During the bull market, there were a lot of synergies formed between energy and Bitcoin mining companies. Has this current extended crypto winter impacted those plans and relationships? We ask Gronowska for her valuable insights into this, as she has had years of experience in the industry and was also the co-founder of Citadel 256, an enterprise-scale Bitcoin mining company.

In light of all the recent negative stories coming out of the crypto industry, from Terra to FTX and collapsing exchanges, how far back has this pushed mass adoption and institutional investors? Has the confidence in the industry been forever broken? 

Crypto advocates, for the longest time, have advocated for less or no regulation and been anti-authority and pro-privacy, but in light of recent events, many have come to understand the need for regulations and a certain amount of government oversight. But how much is too much or too little regulation, and what kind of regulations would best benefit crypto investors and also encourage a growing and robust market? 

Make sure to stay tuned until the end to get all the answers and more. We’ll also be taking your questions and comments throughout the show, so be sure to have them ready to go.

Market Talks streams live every Thursday at 12:00 pm ET (5:00 pm UTC). Each week, we feature interviews with some of the most influential and inspiring people from the crypto and blockchain industry. So, be sure to head on over to Cointelegraph’s YouTube page and smash those Like and Subscribe buttons for all our future videos and updates.

$16K Bitcoin dropping to $12K–$14K — Can this really happen? Watch The Market Report

On this week’s episode of The Market Report, Cointelegraph’s resident experts discuss if Bitcoin can actually drop all the way down to $12,000 or $14,000 and how the markets could potentially react.

On this week’s The Market Report show, Cointelegraph’s resident experts discuss the possibility of a $12,000–$14,000 Bitcoin (BTC) price and what that would mean for the rest of the crypto space.

We start off this week’s show with the latest news in the markets:

New BTC miner capitulation? 5 things to know in Bitcoin this week

Bitcoin prepares to exit a grim November just above $16,000 — what could be on the menu for BTC’s price this week? We discuss the protests in China, the possibility of Bitcoin miners being on the verge of capitulation and other important things to know about Bitcoin this week. We break down everything that could affect the price of Bitcoin and explain in simple, easy-to-understand language so you’re up-to-date and well-informed.

BlockFi bankruptcy filing triggers a wide range of community reaction

As crypto lending platform BlockFi filed for bankruptcy, members of the crypto community reacted with mixed feedback as another platform fell during the current bear market. We take a look at what the crypto community thinks of the BlockFi bankruptcy and do our own analysis as to what could possibly be the reason.

Calls for regulation get louder as FTX contagion continues to spread

Crypto executives and politicians are becoming louder in their calls for crypto regulation as the aftermath of the FTX collapse continues to reverberate through the industry. Could the whole FTX debacle be the catalyst that crypto regulators needed? Will the industry finally see some serious progress being made on the regulation front, and what could those regulations possibly look like? 

Our experts cover these and other developing stories, so make sure you tune in to stay up-to-date on the latest in the world of crypto. 

Next up is a segment called “Quick Crypto Tips,” which aims to give newcomers to the crypto industry quick and easy tips to get the most out of their experience. This week’s tip: High-Frequency Trading (HFT).

Market expert Marcel Pechman then carefully examines the BTC and Ether (ETH) markets. Are the current market conditions bullish or bearish? What is the outlook for the next few months? Pechman is here to break it down.

Lastly, we’ve got insights from Cointelegraph Markets Pro, a platform for crypto traders who want to stay one step ahead of the market. Our analysts use Cointelegraph Markets Pro to identify two altcoins that stood out this week, so make sure to tune in to find out.

Do you have a question about a coin or topic not covered here? Don’t worry. Join the YouTube chat room and write your questions there. The person with the most interesting comment or question will have a chance to win a one-month subscription to Cointelegraph’s Market pro worth $100.

The Market Report streams live every Tuesday at 12:00 pm ET (4:00 pm UTC), so be sure to head on over to Cointelegraph’s YouTube page and smash those Like and Subscribe buttons for all our future videos and updates.

Bitcoin capitulations abound — Data shows realized and unrealized losses at record-highs

Bankruptcies, shrinking profit margins and traders realizing hefty losses are all signs of capitulation from various market participants.

Being three weeks removed from the FTX collapse, Bitcoin (BTC) analysts are combing through data to decipher whether more selling will continue or if a bear market floor has been reached. 

One thing miners, short-term and long-term holders have in common is they are losing in the Bitcoin market right now.

According to on-chain analysis from Glassnode, the scale of both realized and unrealized losses among Bitcoin holders is one of the heaviest capitulation events in BTC’s history. Capitulation is hindering all groups from the increasing number of bankruptcies and dwindling miner revenue.

Bitcoin’s realized losses fourth largest on record while unrealized losses increase

November recorded $10.8 billion in 7-day realized losses for Bitcoin. The largest recorded realized loss in Bitcoin’s history is in June 2022, when $19.8 billion was recorded. Such losses show that a large volume of Bitcoin has changed hands at discounted prices.

Bitcoin realized 7-day losses. Source: Glassnode

A popular crypto investing saying is “you cannot lose if you do not sell.” Unrealized losses track the entire Bitcoin market versus total market capitalization. The November 2022 56% unrealized loss is the largest in the current bear market. In 2014-2015, unrealized losses hit an all-time high for Bitcoin holders at 86%. The current unrealized losses are the fourth largest in Bitcoin’s history.

According to Glassnode analysts:

“This metric has recently peaked at 56%, which is the highest for this cycle, and comparable to prior bear market floors.”

Bitcoin unrealized losses 7-day moving average. Source: Glassnode

Block times slow down as Bitcoin miners struggle

Bitcoin investors are not the only group capitulating in the current market. Bitcoin miners are struggling to remain profitable with the depressed prices.

Since Bitcoin miners are under pressure to remain financially viable, this affects the BTC mining hash rate. A reduction in Bitcoin’s hash rate slows down BTC transactions. According to HashRate Index, block times reached over 11 minutes.

Despite the current challenges, analysts believe that capitulation is healthy for starting the next bull run. Glassnode notes:

“One consistent event which motivates the transition from a bear back towards a bull market is the dramatic realization of losses, as investors give up and capitulate at scale.”

With so many groups currently at a loss at this stage of the bear market post-FTX collapse, Bitcoin and overall market sentiment will need to improve to spur new money to drive a bull run. Without improved sentiment, the capitulation may not match previous Bitcoin cycles.

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the authors’ alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

How bad is the current state of crypto? On-chain analyst explains

Despite the widespread loss of confidence in crypto following the FTX collapse, Bitcoin’s on-chain data gives investors hope.

Despite the market downturn and the widespread negative sentiment in the industry in the wake of the FTX collapse, on-chain data still show reasons to be bullish on Bitcoin (BTC). 

As pointed out by on-chain analyst Will Clemente, it’s enough to look at the positions of long-term holders, which reached an all-time high despite their profitability being at an all-time low.

“Long-term holders buy heavily into the bear market. They set the floor, […] and then those long-term holders distribute their holdings to new market participants in the bull market,” he told Cointelegraph in an exclusive interview.

Another positive trend worth noticing after the FTX collapse, in Clemente’s opinion, is that the average crypto user is increasingly turning away from exchanges and taking self-custody of their own coins. 

According to Clemente’s analysis, that can be seen in the increasing outflow of capital from exchanges to self-custody wallets and also in the increasing amount of supply held by entities holding between 0.1 and 1 BTC. 

“By combining those two metrics, you get this picture of coins coming off exchanges into these custodial wallets for the average everyday retail person. And so, I think that’s very positive,” he said. 

To find out more about the silver lining in the aftermath of the FTX collapse, check out the full interview, and don’t forget to subscribe!

Could a Grayscale Bitcoin Trust collapse be the next black swan event? Watch The Market Report

On this week’s episode of The Market Report, Cointelegraph’s resident experts discuss the potential collapse of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust and its implications on the market.

On this week’s The Market Report show, Cointelegraph’s resident experts discuss what the ramifications would be if Grayscale Bitcoin Trust were to collapse.

We start off this week’s show with the latest news in the markets:

GBTC next BTC price black swan? — 5 things to know in Bitcoin this week

Bitcoin (BTC), the largest cryptocurrency, just like the rest of the crypto industry, remains highly susceptible to downside risk as it continues to deal with the fallout from the implosion of exchange FTX.

Contagion is the word on everyone’s lips as November grinds on — just like the Terra collapse earlier this year — and fears are that new victims of FTX’s giant liquidity vortex will continue to surface. Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) seems to be on everyone’s radar this week for all the wrong reasons. Will it be the next black swan event? We break down all the details surrounding GBTC to keep you up-to-date. 

Data shows traders are slightly bullish even as crypto’s total market cap falls under $800B

The total crypto market capitalization has dropped under $800 billion, but data highlights a few reasons why some traders are bullish. Our very own Marcel Pechman breaks down why some traders are actually bullish, a sentiment that seems highly counter-intuitive. Marcel has some very good reasons for this, so make sure you tune in to find out.

Cardano to launch new algorithmic stablecoin in 2023

Proof-of-stake blockchain platform Cardano has partnered with Coti, a directed acyclic graph-based layer-1 protocol, to launch what it refers to as an overcollateralized algorithmic stablecoin. The project said in an announcement provided to Cointelegraph that the stablecoin would be backed by excess collateral in the form of cryptocurrency stored in a reserve. Do we need another stablecoin? How will this one be different from the existing stablecoins already in circulation?

CoinMarketCap launches proof-of-reserve tracker for crypto exchanges

CoinMarketCap, a leading market researcher and tracker in the crypto industry, announced the launch of a new feature on its platform that gives users updated financial insights on exchanges.

The proof of reserves (PoR) tracker audits active cryptocurrency exchanges in the industry for transparency on liquidity at a given moment. According to the announcement, the tracker details the total assets of the company, and its affiliated public wallet addresses, along with the balances, current price and values of the wallets. Our experts break down the need for such a tool and how it helps the industry.

Do you have a question about a coin or topic not covered here? Don’t worry. Join the YouTube chat room and write your questions there, and we’ll make sure to get you your answers. 

The Market Report streams live every Tuesday at 12:00 pm ET (4:00 pm UTC), so be sure to head on over to Cointelegraph’s YouTube page and smash those Like and Subscribe buttons for all our future videos and updates.