2024-07-05 06:22

Miners need to continually sell bitcoin rewards to keep operations afloat, and they are stressed during a market downturn. Only five mining rigs remain profitable as bitcoin prices dropped below $58,000, potentially signaling a local bottom for the market. Miners, who provide computing power to blockchain networks are facing significant operational costs. Only five mining rigs are profitable for their operators as bitcoin (BTC) slumped to the $54,000 mark this week, creating a scenario that could mark a “local bottom." “At a rate of $0.08/kWh, ASICs less efficient than 23 W/T operate at a loss,” mining giant F2Pool said in a graph released early Friday. A kWh or kilowatt-hour measures the energy usage of an electrical device or load. F2Pool’s graph shows four of Antminer’s various rigs and one Avalon rig that are profitable as long as prices are above $53,100. All other miners are now costing more to run than the rewards received by operators. Miners are entities that supply computing power to any blockchain network in return for “rewards” in the form of tokens. These rewards are continually sold by miners to cover operational costs – which are fairly intensive, with some miners even filing for bankruptcy in the past few years. Miners were a major source of bitcoin selling pressure in June with over $1 billion worth of BTC sold over two weeks as prices ranged between the $65,000 and $70,000 levels, as previously reported. Meanwhile, some market observers say miners' unprofitability could mark a local bottom as there is less selling pressure. “Bitcoin miners are (an) inch away from capitulation, S19 break even at 52k,” said Dovey Wan, partner at crypto fund Primitive Crypto, in an X post on Friday. “This is a perfect setup for local bottom.” https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/07/05/as-bitcoin-bellyflops-to-54k-only-five-mining-rigs-remain-profitable-says-f2pool/

2024-07-05 05:01

While the industry was not mentioned in the party's manifesto or on the campaign trail, Labour has said it will support tokenization and a central bank digital currency. The U.K.'s Labour Party won a landslide victory in Thursday's general election. Crypto was not mentioned in the party's election manifesto, but Labour has previously commented on tokenization and the digital pound. The Labour Party won Thursday's U.K. general election with a landslide that ended 14 years of Conservative rule and will install Keir Starmer as prime minister with a legislative program that leaves the direction of crypto regulation unclear. Labour won well over the 326 seats needed for a majority, with BBC reporting it held 412 seats as of 11:19 British Summer Time (10:19 UTC) Friday, relegating the Tories – as the Conservative Party is known – to 121 with two results still to be declared. Neither party mentioned the crypto industry in their manifestos in the lead-up to the election. Labour concentrated on the economy, police and the National Health Service. The Conservative's stance on crypto, by virtue of its long tenure in government, is clearer. The party had said it wanted the country to be a crypto hub, enacted legislation for crypto to be treated as a regulated activity and consulted on future plans including stablecoin rules. Bim Afolami, who served as Economic Secretary under outgoing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, graced the stages of many fintech conferences and had promised the government would issue secondary legislation for stablecoins. Labour, for its part, has said it will support the Bank of England's digital pound plans. A decision on whether to issue the central bank digital currency (CBDC) will be taken by the bank in 2025-2026. Before that happens, the Parliament will need to approve the appropriate legislation. In a victory speech early Friday, Starmer said, "change begins now." "Four and a half years of work, changing the party, this is what it is for: a changed Labour Party ready to serve our country, ready to restore Britain to the service of working people," he said. Rachel Reeves will take over as Chancellor of the Exchequer, meaning she will head the country's Treasury department. "The Labour Party has won this general election and I have called Keir Starmer to congratulate him," Sunak said in a concession speech early Friday. "The British people have delivered a sobering verdict tonight." Hours later Sunak said he will resign as leader of the Conservative party. Room to do more In January, Labour released a plan for financial services that included making the country a securities tokenization hub by "advancing work to clarify the law around tokenization." Tokenization is the digital representation of financial and other assets on the blockchain. There is room for Labour to do more, members of the crypto community told CoinDesk before the election. That includes putting through the needed regulations identified by the previous government as well as enhancing guidance on promotional material for the sector. "A lot of the really important work has been done and it's not been done by the parties themselves, it's been done by government departments," Jordan Wain, U.K. policy lead at Chainalysis, told CoinDesk in an earlier interview. "It's been done by the FCA [Financial Conduct Authority], they're the ones that are formulating legislation. They are not going to sweep all of that hard work off the table, it's not going anywhere." Crypto UK a lobby group that often met with regulators and ministers, advocating for the crypto community during the Tory reign, said it also has ties to members of the incoming government. "As the landscape evolves rapidly, CryptoUK calls on Labour to prioritise clarity and proactive policy-making to fully harness our sector’s potential,” a spokesperson said in an emailed statement. "Despite the industry’s potential to drive job creation, economic growth and increased inclusivity, a comprehensive strategy for the UK’s crypto and digital assets industry remains elusive." https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/07/05/labour-landslide-sets-up-starmer-as-uk-prime-minister-with-unstated-crypto-plans/

2024-07-05 04:55

Traders previously warned of a bearish market reaction to Mt. Gox’s bitcoin repayments. Bullish trades on bitcoin and ether together registered over $380 million in losses. The largest single liquidation order was on Binance—an ETH trade valued at $18.4 million Crypto majors plunged as much as 20% in the past 24 hours as movements from a Mt. Gox-linked wallet spooked traders in early Asian hours, sending the market spiraling down 10% on average. Bitcoin {[BTC}} fell 8% to briefly below $54,000, before slightly recovering, in a move that erased all gains since February. Ether (ETH) dropped more than 10%, Solana’s SOL and Cardano’s ADA fell 8%, while dogecoin (DOGE) dived nearly 18%. Coinalyze data shows that this caused over $580 million in liquidations tied to longs, or bets on higher prices, in one of the largest such events so far this year. Bullish bets on bitcoin and ether together recorded over $380 million in losses. The largest single liquidation order was on Binance—an ETH trade valued at $18.4 million. Meanwhile, open interest—or the number of unsettled futures bets—dropped 12%, indicating money was leaving the market. Liquidations occur when an exchange forcefully closes a trader’s leveraged position due to a partial or total loss of the trader’s initial margin. It happens when a trader cannot meet the margin requirements for a leveraged position (fails to have sufficient funds to keep the trade open). Such moves came as defunct exchange Mt. Gox moved sizeable amounts of BTC to a new wallet, potentially preparing for creditor repayments. Mt. Gox is scheduled to start distributing assets stolen from clients in a 2014 hack this month after years of postponed deadlines. The repayments will be made in bitcoin and bitcoin cash, and could possibly add selling pressure to both markets, as previously reported. Trading firm QCP Capital said in a Thursday broadcast on Telegram that they expect a dim market in the next few months: “We anticipate a subdued Q3 for BTC as the market remains uncertain around the supply from the Mt. Gox release." https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/07/05/crypto-bulls-rack-up-580m-liquidations-as-bitcoin-drops-8-ether-solana-dogecoin-plunge/

2024-07-05 04:32

BTC slides to lowest since late February, breaching key price support. BTC slides to its lowest level since late February, breaching key price support. Early Friday, defunct exchange Mt. Gox moved 47,228 to a new address from cold storage. Bitcoin's (BTC) slid for a fourth day as defunct exchange Mt. Gox moved sizeable BTC to a new wallet, potentially preparing for creditor repayments. The leading cryptocurrency by market value fell over 4% to $53,600, the lowest since Feb. 26, according to charting platform TradingView and CoinDesk data. At 00:27 UTC, Mt. Gox transferred 47,228 BTC ($2.6 billion) from cold storage to a new wallet, according to blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence. The exchange is slated to start distributing assets stolen from clients in a 2014 hack. The impending repayments, which include 140,000 BTC ($7.73 billion), 143,000 BCH, and the Japanese yen, were announced last month. Since then, traders have been worried that creditors who have patiently waited for reimbursements for a decade will immediately sell upon receiving coins, creating mass selling pressure in the market. Note that BTC was trading at roughly $600 when the exchange was hacked in 2014, and today, it is worth over $55,000. Several analysts have recently tried to calm nerves by saying the potential selling pressure from reimbursements would be limited, but to no avail. BTC has declined 10% in seven days and 22% in four weeks. The intense sell-off has flipped the horizontal support of $56,500 stemming from May lows into resistance. Besides, the bears have established a foothold below the crucial 200-day SMA and the bull market trendline. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/07/05/bitcoin-dips-below-54k-as-mt-gox-moves-26b-in-btc/

2024-07-04 10:34

A wallet belonging to a German official entity moved its largest stash of BTC to exchanges earlier today, while Mt. Gox wallets showed activity for the first time in a month. Bitcoin dropped under $58,000 for the first time since May, marking a 5% loss in 24 hours. Mt. Gox wallets, dormant for a month, showed activity with test transactions, hinting at potential asset distributions and increased selling pressure. Bitcoin (BTC) plunged under $58,000 in European morning hours, extending 24-hour losses to nearly 5% and dropping to prices not seen since early May. The sell-off came as wallets belonging to defunct crypto exchange Mt. Gox showed signs of activity for the first time in a month and the German Federal Criminal Police Office moved over $75 million to crypto exchanges. “Among the top reasons for the price drop was the German government moving more than $50 million to crypto exchanges, creating sell speculation in the market,” Lucy Hu, a senior analyst at crypto investment firm Metalpha, said in a Telegram message. Mt. Gox is scheduled to start distributing assets stolen from clients in a 2014 hack this month, although it is unclear when, after years of postponed deadlines. The repayments will be made in bitcoin and bitcoin cash (BCH) and could add selling pressure to both markets, as previously reported. Wallets tracked by Arkham show Mt. Gox wallets conducted test transactions in during the Asian morning, moving a total of $25 worth of bitcoin across three transactions to different wallets. Entities holding large amounts of tokens are known to move insignificant amounts between wallets before larger transfers – which may indicate an intention to sell. Arkham data also showed the German entity moved $175 million in BTC to various wallets, $75 million of which was sent to crypto exchanges Kraken and Coinbase. Arkham CEO Miguel More previously told CoinDesk that transfers from a wallet to an exchange may indicate an intent to sell tokens. Meanwhile, bitcoin has now fallen below a widely followed technical indicator for the first time since October, signaling a possible downtrend in the months ahead. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/07/04/bitcoin-nosedives-under-58k-amid-mt-gox-german-government-wallet-movements/

2024-07-04 09:07

Markets that consistently trade below the 200-day moving average are said to be in a downtrend. BTC fell below the 200-day SMA line for the first time since October. The focus now is on the trendline representing the surge from October lows. Bitcoin's (BTC) decline gathered pace as the largest cryptocurrency fell for a third straight day, dropping below the 200-day simple moving average (SMA), a good indicator of long-term price trends in both traditional and crypto markets. The cryptocurrency slid below the average's $58,492 level during European hours on Thursday to less than $57,300, a price last seen on May 2, according to data on charting platform TradingView. Markets that consistently trade below the 200-day average are said to be in a downtrend, while those trading above the average are considered bullish. BTC rose past the 200-day SMA in October, when the average value was $28,000. The breakout – fueled by expectations for a spot bitcoin ETF in the U.S. – paved the way for a rally to record highs above $70,000 by March. One factor in bitcoin's price movements is the U.S. interest rate. As rates fall, the attraction of riskier investments such as cryptocurrencies increases. The minutes of the Federal Reserve meeting released Wednesday showed policymakers led by Chairman Jerome Powell do not want to cut rates until more data emerges to give them greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably to their 2% target. That may come as early as tomorrow, when the Labor Department releases its non-farm payrolls figure for June. "We believe hawkish comments from Jerome Powell and the ongoing selling pressure are likely to push BTC down to 52,000," Valentin Fournier, a digital assets analyst at advisory firm brn, said in an email. "However, we recommend viewing this as a buying opportunity, as improving regulations around cryptocurrencies and cooling inflation in the US have not been fully priced in and are likely to bring strong momentum once investors shift focus to a longer-term vision." The sell-off may run out of steam if the payrolls data shows the labor market weakened in June. The figure is forecast to show payrolls increased by 195,000, a notable slowdown from 272,000 a month before, according to FXStreet. The jobless rate is forecast to have held steady at 4.0%, while average hourly earnings are projected to have slowed to 3.9% from 4.1% year-on-year. The bull market progression can be identified by a rising trendline connecting October and January lows. BTC's latest break below the 200-day line has put the focus on the bull market trendline support at $57,590. A close (midnight UTC) below that level could lead to further selling and downward price momentum, as traders often use trendline breakdowns as indicators to make trading decisions. Fournier is not alone in seeing further declines. According to Alex Kuptsikevich, a senior market analyst at FxPro, prices could slide to as low as $51,500 in the short term. "From the current position, a 12% drop to $51.5k (February consolidation area) is more likely than the same amount of growth to $65.8k (50-day MA)," Kuptsikevich said in an email. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/07/04/bitcoin-drops-below-200-day-average-bull-market-trendline-in-focus/