Bitcoin Magazine

16 Aug 2023 16:48

💰 Bitcoin volatility hits all-time low as trading volume slumps

Bitcoin's annualized 30-day price volatility is now 15.5%, an all-time low according to data from The Block. For comparison, average annualized 30-day volatility for the digital asset in 2022 was 61.4%. So far in 2023, the metric has averaged 43.8%. The low fluctuation in price is consistent with slumping trading volume, with the major exchanges seeing only $1.88 billion worth of bitcoin moved on Sunday. The drop implies traders are less active in the market, signaling disinterest.

With activity stagnant, the digital asset has traded mostly flat above the $29,000 mark for over a month now. The world's largest digital asset was changing hands for $29,488 at 2:15 p.m. ET, up 0.5% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko. However, there are some signs that things could be turning a corner. Bitcoin investment products saw inflows last week totaling $29 million after U.S. inflation data came in slightly below expectations. "Data suggests sentiment for bitcoin and the broader crypto market remains supportive despite the seasonally low volumes," CoinShares said. According to a CoinShares report, fund flows rebounded from $144 million in outflows over the previous three weeks.

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Bitcoin Magazine

12 Aug 2023 09:26

🥇 Matrixport's Bitcoin Greed & Fear Index Indicates Upswing Ahead

Crypto-services provider Matrixport's proprietary Bitcoin Greed & Fear Index, which has a solid track record of marking trend reversals, is signaling a bull revival in bitcoin (BTC). The Greed & Fear Index measures investor sentiment. Readings above 90% signal greed or excess optimism, and readings below 10% represent extreme fear or pessimism. Such indicators are widely tracked because excess optimism or greed is often seen at market tops while fear is seen at market bottoms.

Data shows Matrixport's index recently turned higher from 30% to 60%, bottoming out after July's slide from above 90%. "The index appears to have bottomed out as the daily signal (grey) is projecting upside pressure. After four weeks of consolidation, this indicator is tactically bullish and bitcoin prices could resume the uptrend," Markus Thielen, head of research and strategy at Matrixport, wrote in a note to clients on Thursday. Notice how tops and bottoms in the index and the index's 21-day simple moving average, or SMA, have historically coincided with bullish and bearish reversals in bitcoin's price. The 21-day SMA now shows signs of bottoming out, supporting the case for a renewed upside volatility in bitcoin.

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Bitcoin Magazine

07 Aug 2023 12:02

🪙 Reports Suggest 11th-Largest Bitcoin Wallet Belongs to Stablecoin Giant Tether

Tether’s attestation reports have sparked discussions within the crypto community regarding the firm’s earnings and bitcoin (BTC) holdings. The Q1 2023 Assurance Report for Tether indicated that it possessed bitcoin reserves amounting to $1.5 billion. BDO prepared the most recent attestation, which demonstrated an $850 million increase in Tether’s reserves in Q2 2023. On August 3, 2023, Tom Wan, a research analyst at 21.co, posted on social media platform X that he believed a specific address was associated with Tether.

Crypto journalist Yogita Khatri reported after the social media post that “a source with direct knowledge of the matter confirmed to The Block that Tether is the 11th-largest bitcoin holder.” According to the BTC rich list, the address “bc1qj” possesses a balance of 55,022.19 BTC, equivalent to $1.6 billion at current exchange rates. Blockchain explorers characterize the address connected with the purported Tether bitcoin wallet “1Kr6Q” as one owned by Bitfinex. Ifinex owns both Bitfinex and Tether. The blockchain explorer OXT displays an annotation from June 14, 2020, that reads: “This is a Bitfinex hot wallet which is still in use today.”. In May 2023, Tether declared that it would allocate 15% of its profits towards bitcoin.

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Bitcoin Magazine

05 Aug 2023 15:46

🥇 Marathon Digital Holdings Sets New Bitcoin Mining Records In July 2023

Marathon Digital Holdings, a prominent player in the Bitcoin ecosystem, announced impressive updates regarding its Bitcoin (BTC) production and mining activities in July 2023. The company reported a significant increase in mined BTC, marking a remarkable growth trajectory for the month. One of the key contributors to this achievement was the boost in the company’s operating hash rate, which rose by 6% to reach 18.8 exahashes per second (EH/s). Furthermore, the installed hash rate also witnessed a 5% increase, reaching 22.8 EH/s.

Marathon Digital Holdings now boasts ownership of an impressive 12,964 BTC as of August 1, 2023. To support its monthly operations, manage finances, and for general corporate purposes, the company opted to sell 750 BTC during the month of July. Additionally, Marathon has plans to sell some of its Bitcoin holdings in the future. The expansion was largely due to the successful completion of the Ellendale facility in North Dakota. With all six buildings now fully operational at Ellendale, the facility contributed an additional 7.6 EH/s to the company’s overall operational capacity. The company’s financial position has also seen a noteworthy improvement. As of July 31, 2023, Marathon reported $129.4 million in cash and cash equivalents on its balance sheet, with $115.1 million being unrestricted.

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Bitcoin Magazine

02 Aug 2023 14:14

💰 Bitcoin Ordinals break daily inscriptions record, but trading nosedives

Bitcoin Ordinal inscriptions rebounded in a big way in July, but sales volumes measured by dollar value cratered as demand wanes. Even though July 30 saw a new daily record with more than 422,000 inscriptions, according to a Dune Analytics dashboard, sales volumes for the Bitcoin NFTs are on pace to finish nearly 50% lower than last month. Ordinals, which were launched in January, allow for the creation of NFTs on Bitcoin through a process that's been dubbed as "inscription."

CryptoSlam! trading data shows that Bitcoin Ordinal trading volume in July will likely post a total of about $65 million, a nearly 50% decrease from June when volumes neared $120 million. The average sales price and number of buyers also declined over the period to about $460 per Ordinal and roughly 27,000 unique buyers, down from $604 per Bitcoin NFTs with more than 54,000 buyers. July’s spike in inscriptions despite depressed trading is likely due to Luminex, an Ordinals launchpad, releasing a modified BRC-20 standard earlier this month that helps reduce fees associated with inscriptions, The Block Research Analyst Rebecca Stevens said.

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Bitcoin Magazine

31 Jul 2023 11:28

💰 Navigating the Wrapped Bitcoin Landscape: 86,000 WBTC Exit Circulation in One Year

The Wrapped Bitcoin project has been around for over four years, originating as WBTC on the Ethereum blockchain at the dawn of 2019. As of now, WBTC stands as the 16th most valuable asset among a sea of alternative cryptocurrencies, boasting a market value of approximately $4.73 billion. Despite its ranking as the most prominent wrapped bitcoin (BTC) derivative token, a notable contraction in circulating coins has been observed since the previous year.

To illustrate, rewind to July 13, 2022, when the circulating supply of WBTC stood at an estimated 247,832 WBTC. Today, that number has tapered off to 161,460 WBTC. This translates into a reduction of over 86,000 WBTC, or a significant 34% pullback in circulating supply over the past year. Additionally, a comparison of WBTC’s market valuation reveals substantial growth – ascending from a tad above $3 billion on January 2, 2023, to a markedly more impressive figure of $4.73 billion today. However, this augmentation in value primarily stems from the appreciating price of BTC, which was exchanging hands at $16,662 per unit on January 2. Now, each BTC coin commands a price of $29,328, marking a surge of over 65% since the year’s commencement.

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Bitcoin Magazine

26 Jul 2023 11:34

💰 Over $41 Million in Bitcoin Long Positions Liquidated as BTC Crashes Toward $29K

On July 24, 2023, Coinglass data revealed that over $41 million worth of Bitcoin long and short leveraged positions were liquidated as the BTC prices unexpectedly crashed below a consolidation level of around $29,500, shrinking by over 4%. The drop below the primary support is heaping pressure on the coin. It may draw more selling pressure in upcoming sessions, pushing prices toward immediate reaction lines, the next being at about $28,300.

In crypto trading, liquidation happens the facilitating exchange, for example, OKX or Binance, forcibly takes over the collateral securing the leverage position whenever prices move against the trader’s prognosis. In this case, the recent liquidation was triggered by the rapid sell-off in Bitcoin, leading to a more than 4% price decline within a few hours during the New York Session on July 24. A big chunk of liquidated positions were “longs,” meaning traders expected prices to rise in the days ahead. Coinglass said over $41 million of cumulative long positions were closed. Meanwhile, only $2.5 million of short positions were closed despite Bitcoin plunging, moving along the traders’ price prediction.

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Bitcoin Magazine

23 Jul 2023 04:44

💰 Whale Alert Detects $420 Million Bitcoin Transfer Amidst Binance Wallet Concerns

Whale Alert reported a massive transaction involving 14,159 Bitcoins (BTC) valued at approximately $420 million. What makes this transaction even more intriguing is the involvement of a previously identified address linked to Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges. According to Whale Alert, the address that received the 14,159 BTC is the same one that had previously received 4,451 BTC before transferring them to Binance.

The nature of the transaction, involving such a substantial amount of cryptocurrency, has raised eyebrows within the crypto community. Whale Alert’s monitoring capabilities have made it possible to track large movements of digital assets across various blockchains, providing real-time updates to the public and authorities. The nature of the transaction, involving such a substantial amount of cryptocurrency, has raised eyebrows within the crypto community. Whale Alert’s monitoring capabilities have made it possible to track large movements of digital assets across various blockchains, providing real-time updates to the public and authorities.

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Bitcoin Magazine

20 Jul 2023 13:14

💰 Bitcoin ETPs Witness Historic Monthly Inflows, According To K33 Research

According to recent data from K33 Research, investors in the cryptocurrency market have been pouring money into bitcoin exchange-traded products at a record pace. K33 Research’s data shows that the BTC-equivalent exposure of ETPs listed worldwide has increased by an impressive 25,202 BTC ($757 million) to 196,824 BTC in just four weeks to July 16. This marks the second-highest monthly net inflow in the history of ETPs, only surpassed by inflows seen following the launch of ProShares’ futures-based ETF and other futures-based ETFs in October 2021.

The total BTC-equivalent exposure is now at the highest it has been since June 2022, which suggests that investor confidence in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is on the rise. For those who may not be familiar, ETPs are a broad category of listed products that track some sort of underlying financial asset. Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), on the other hand, are a particular subset of ETPs that typically hold a variety of financial products within a specific theme. While the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has made it difficult to list crypto-based ETFs in the United States, Europe has a plethora of ETPs available from a range of issuers. This has led many investors to look to Europe as a way to gain exposure to the cryptocurrency market.

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Bitcoin Magazine

19 Jul 2023 08:58

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Bitcoin Magazine

17 Jul 2023 17:11

💰 Bitcoin Miners Face 'Stress Test' in Next Halving: JP Morgan

Bitcoin miners will face headwinds as the hash rate reaches new record highs ahead of the upcoming halving event next spring, with volatile electricity costs and competition among miners pushing up the cost of production, according to analysts at global financial giant JP Morgan. Hash rate refers to the computational power used to mine a cryptocurrency. The halving event, which occurs roughly every four years, will reduce miners' rewards by half.

"The upcoming bitcoin halving event in April/May 2024 could be a stress test for Bitcoin miners," writes JP Morgan analyst Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou and colleagues in the firm's latest Flows and Liquidity report, which the firm shared with Decrypt. According to the analysis, and based on a global average cost of electricity of $0.05/kWh, it costs around $20,000 to mine a Bitcoin, which is currently worth around $30,000, per CoinGecko. But JP Morgan said the volatility of the hash rate points to the use of a variety of energy sources, meaning miners with access to lower-priced power have an advantage. "Post halving this sensitivity would double to $8,600, thus increasing the vulnerability of higher-cost producers," the firm noted.

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Bitcoin Magazine

14 Jul 2023 10:17

🇪🇺 Europe’s First Bitcoin ETF Finally Launches After Year-Long Delay

According to the Financial Times, Europe’s first Bitcoin ETF is expected to be publicly listed this month, marking a significant development for the cryptocurrency industry. The delay in launching the Jacobi Bitcoin ETF was attributed to last year’s perception that the timing was unfavorable. Factors such as the Terra Luna May 2022 crypto crash and the November FTX crypto exchange crash likely influenced the decision to postpone the launch. The asset management firm took a cautious approach to ensure optimal market conditions for the ETF’s debut.

Jacobi Asset Management made headlines with the announcement of the Jacobi Bitcoin ETF. This groundbreaking ETF received regulatory approval from the Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC) in October 2021, paving the way for its launch. The ETF will be listed on Euronext Amsterdam with the trading code BCOIN. To ensure the smooth operation of the ETF, Jacobi Asset Management has partnered with reputable industry players. Fidelity Digital Assets will provide custody services, ensuring the secure storage of the Bitcoin assets. Additionally, Flow Traders and DRW have been selected as market makers, facilitating the trading of the ETF on the exchange.

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Bitcoin Magazine

12 Jul 2023 07:20

💰 Bitcoin Ordinals Activity Surges Following BRC-69 Token Standard Launch: Report

The BRC-69 token standard launch has sparked a surge in Bitcoin Ordinals activity. In just one day, over 350,000 new inscriptions were made, as per CoinDesk. The modified version of the BRC-20 standard reduces inscription costs by more than 90%. Activity in the Bitcoin Ordinals world has surged since the BRC-69 token standard launch. This method of generating Bitcoin non-fungible tokens (NFTs) through a process called inscribing has seen a rise in new inscriptions, with over 350,000 new inscriptions on Monday.

The daily tally has surged by over 250% since the launch of the BRC-69 token standard on July 3. The modified version of the BRC-20 standard reduces the cost of inscriptions for Ordinals by over 90%. Luminex, the Ordinals launchpad, said, “With BRC69, we can reduce the costs of inscriptions for Ordinals collections by over 90%. This reduction is achieved through a 4-step process: (1) inscribe traits, (2) deploy collection, (3) compile collection, and (4) mint assets.” The brilliance of BRC69 lies in its simplicity. Minters only need to inscribe a single line of text instead of a full image. This text allows the final image to be automatically rendered on all ordinals-frontends, using solely on-chain resources, thanks to recursive inscriptions.

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Bitcoin Magazine

10 Jul 2023 10:01

💰 Experts warn 2024 Bitcoin halving to spell ‘death knell’ for crypto miners

Bitcoin (BTC) halving is among the most anticipated events in the cryptocurrency space, with the potential to help the maiden digital asset price rally to new heights. Indeed, previous halvings have partly contributed to Bitcoin’s rally to record valuations, and the upcoming 2024 event carries similar expectations. Although the halving could spell good fortunes for Bitcoin and the general cryptocurrency market in terms of price, the event is also projected to sound the ‘death knell for certain’ miners, Bloomberg reported on July 8.

Notably, concerns about the mining economics leading up to the next halving have emerged. In this line, Jaran Mellerud, a crypto-mining analyst at Hashrate Index, predicts that the higher costs of the process will impact most miners. For instance, he indicated that the break-even electricity price for the primary mining machine is predicted to decrease from 12 cents/kWh to six cents/kWh after the halving. Mellerud added that around 40% of miners have operating costs exceeding this threshold, and miners with costs above 8 cents/kWh and smaller miners who outsource their rigs will face difficulties staying profitable. The concerns come at a time the Bitcoin mining industry is operating in debt partly.

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Bitcoin Magazine

08 Jul 2023 18:04

“If I just sold one more office chair I could easily get another 0.001 for it at least…”

@CryptoCommunity ™️

Bitcoin Magazine

13 Aug 2023 16:32

🥇 Pending Grayscale ruling could tip balance in race for bitcoin ETF

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Friday move to further delay a decision on an application for a spot bitcoin ETF from Ark Invest and 21Shares may not have come as a total surprise, but experts say a looming court ruling and questions posed by the agency could make all the difference. A final ruling in a lawsuit brought by Grayscale Investments against the SEC last year for rejecting its proposal to convert its flagship fund, GBTC, into a spot bitcoin ETF could play a role, said Nathan Geraci, president of The ETF Store, an advisory firm.

Grayscale presented oral arguments in March, accusing the SEC of contradicting itself by allowing bitcoin futures ETFs and not similar spot bitcoin products. "In that scenario, the SEC would have much more cover to continue denying spot bitcoin ETFs," Geraci said. "Why approve a spot bitcoin ETF until they know the outcome of that case? There’s simply no reason to do so in my opinion." Firms vying for a spot bitcoin ETF since the beginning of the summer have named Coinbase as a surveillance sharing partner in an effort to differentiate their applications from ones that have failed in the past and help assuage regulator fears about market manipulation. “However, the SEC is not required to make a final decision until January, 2024 and I expect them to take their sweet time,” Geraci added.

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Bitcoin Magazine

09 Aug 2023 15:14

🇺🇸 SEC May Approve Multiple Bitcoin ETFs Worth $50B At The Same Time: ARK Invest CEO

ARK Invest’s CEO and CIO, Cathie Wood, anticipates the likelihood of a delay in the approval of ARK Invest’s proposed spot Bitcoin ETF by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Wood’s statement highlighted her expectation that the SEC would not meet the upcoming review deadline for the fund. According to Wood, the SEC might approve multiple Bitcoin spot ETFs concurrently, departing from its past reluctance.

In an interview with Bloomberg, she suggested that if the SEC decides to move forward with any pending applications, it could approve more than one ETF. ARK Investment Management, known for its active participation in cryptocurrency, submitted a Bitcoin ETF application in June, and Wood noted the possibility of several approvals simultaneously. Market giants such as BlackRock, Fidelity, WisdomTree, VanEck, and Invesco have all submitted applications for similar products to ARK’s proposed Bitcoin ETF. Differentiating these similar offerings will hinge on the issuers’ marketing strategies, according to Wood.

Source

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Bitcoin Magazine

06 Aug 2023 11:13

💰 Miami Mayor Francis Suarez to Accept Presidential Campaign Donations in Bitcoin

Bitcoin-friendly Miami Mayor Francis Suarez will be accepting donations to his presidential campaign in bitcoin (BTC) , he announced on CoinDesk TV on Friday. "Officially, my campaign is accepting bitcoin," Suarez said. "This is a process of developing technologies that are going to create democratizing opportunities for wealth creation and are not manipulated by a human being's ulterior motives, political goals, etc." he said. Supporters can donate as little as 0.00034 bitcoin, or the equivalent of $1, at FrancisSuarez.com, he said.

"The biggest mistake that this administration has made is they don't understand crypto, so they have gone to a regulated-by-enforcement mechanism as opposed to set the ground rules," Suarez said on CoinDesk TV. "You have to be able to classify certain digital products, you have to be able to have certain guidelines and rules that are clear with respect to the custody of assets." Suarez also said that he would ban a central bank digital currency. "Nobody wants the federal government knowing where you have your money and how much money you have ... I don't think that there's anything particularly innovative about that," he said. Suarez, a Republican, announced his candidacy for president in June, entering a crowded race for the GOP nomination that includes front-runners former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Source

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Bitcoin Magazine

03 Aug 2023 20:06

💰 MicroStrategy Sells $750 Million In Stock To Increase Investments In Bitcoin

According to a document filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday, MicroStrategy plans to raise $750 million by selling more shares and using the proceeds to buy Bitcoin and working capital. MicroStrategy’s latest Financial Report published on Tuesday revealed it purchased an additional 467 Bitcoin (BTC) in July at a cost of $14.4 million. As such, the company has raised the value of Bitcoin in its treasury to 152,800 BTC, with an average purchase price of $29,672/BTC or $4.53 billion.

Previously, in June, MicroStrategy announced buying 12,333 BTC with $ 347 million in cash because it believes in the potential of the world’s largest cryptocurrency following news that asset management group BlackRock has applied for a fund. ETF Bitcoin spot to the SEC. As of August 2020, regardless of the high or low Bitcoin price, the software company has maintained a long stance. MicroStrategy said the investment is part of a new capital allocation strategy that seeks to maximize long-term value for the company’s shareholders. According to Michael Saylor, co-founder of MicroStrategy, the investment reflects the belief that Bitcoin, the most widely used cryptocurrency in the world, is a trusted store of value and an attractive investment asset with longer-term upside potential than holding cash.

Source

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Bitcoin Magazine

01 Aug 2023 15:33

🥇 Human Rights Foundation Backs Bug Bounty With Bitcoin

Make Bitcoin better for activists and claim part of a 20 Bitcoin reward—worth over half a million dollars—offered by the Human Rights Foundation (HRF). The foundation officially launched a bug bounty challenge to support open-source development on the Bitcoin protocol, centered around ten improvements to the Bitcoin user experience (UX) and mainly aimed at mobile wallets. “These bounties come from conversations with global activists,” Alex Gladstein, Chief Strategy Officer for HRF told Decrypt. “They are features that many would like to see come to Bitcoin.”

Each bounty is worth 2 BTC (nearly $60,000 according to CoinGecko), and is aimed at a specific problem that Bitcoin faces today, with six aimed at improving mobile wallets. One bug bounty challenge looks at open-source design components for Bitcoin projects, which currently rely heavily on proprietary design software called Figma. The goal is to provide developers free access to a Bitcoin User Interface (UI) guide. Another challenge looks to help expand and bolster development of Nostr, an open source and censorship resistant social network backed by Jack Dorsey that has garnered substantial notoriety in the past few months–especially among the more technical crypto crowd.

Source

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Bitcoin Magazine

29 Jul 2023 10:56

💰 Gensler raises concerns about fraud and manipulation when asked about bitcoin ETFs

Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler expressed skepticism about the crypto marketplace when asked about pending applications for spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund applications in a televised interview on Thursday. Though he made clear he would not make a direct statement until the full five-member commission could consider the recent wave of filings, spurred by investing giant BlackRock and largely based around surveillance sharing agreements with Coinbase.

The comments may signal that regulatory hurdles related to concerns about transparency and manipulation in the underlying market likely remain for bitcoin ETFs, despite renewed investor enthusiasm. The SEC notably filed a major enforcement case against Coinbase last month over several parts of the company's business, and in a separate lawsuit accused Binance, the world's largest crypto trading platform, of secretly betting against its own customers, among other allegations. Gensler declined to directly answer questions about his thoughts about digital asset-related legislation advancing this week on Capitol Hill, though he repeated his long-held belief that existing securities laws are clear for the industry.

Source

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Bitcoin Magazine

24 Jul 2023 10:56

💰 Craig Wright Will Be Able to Fight Bitcoin Copyright Claim in UK After Winning Appeal

Craig Wright, who claims to be Bitcoin inventor Satoshi Nakamoto, will be able to argue his case that the Bitcoin file format should receive copyright protection under UK law after a bench of three UK judges accepted his appeal to a previous court denial, according to a court filing. On Feb 8. 2023, a UK Court dismissed Wright's plea that he should be able to block the operation of Bitcoin and the system that forked from it, Bitcoin Cash, because they breach his intellectual property rights.

Wright's claim was made against a host of defendants (26 in total) associated with Bitcoin, including developers and several entities of crypto exchange Coinbase. Wright claims the Bitcoin Satoshi Vision blockchain he created from another Bitcoin fork is the authentic blockchain behind the bitcoin cryptocurrency. Dr. Wright should be allowed to argue that the Bitcoin file format is sufficiently well-defined to receive copyright protection under UK law," said a statement from the Bitcoin Legal Defense Fund, a nonprofit set up by former Twitter chief Jack Dorsey to assist developers facing lawsuits, including 13 in this case. "The decision does not address the question of whether the Bitcoin file format should receive copyright protection and whether that copyright belongs to Dr. Wright."

Source

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Bitcoin Magazine

21 Jul 2023 12:00

🇰🇼 Kuwait Takes A Stance: Financial Regulator Enacts Absolute Prohibition On Crypto

Kuwait’s financial landscape is witnessing a significant shift as the country’s main financial regulator, the Capital Markets Authority (CMA), has taken a firm stance against cryptocurrencies. The circular explicitly outlines the major use cases and operations that are now banned in Kuwait, which encompass cryptocurrency payments, investments, and even mining activities. In addition to these prohibitions, the CMA also restricts local regulators from granting licenses to businesses for providing virtual asset services on a commercial basis.

The move is part of Kuwait’s broader strategy to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, a critical concern for financial authorities worldwide. The CMA’s actions also align with the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which has been actively addressing the issue of virtual assets in its guidelines. Within the circular, the CMA emphasized the importance of adhering to Recommendation (15) issued by the FATF. According to this recommendation, virtual assets are defined as assets that possess a digital representation of their value, can be traded or digitally transferred, and are used for payment or investment purposes. However, it explicitly excludes digital representations of paper currencies, securities, and other financial assets.

Source

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Bitcoin Magazine

19 Jul 2023 16:25

💰 Nearly one-third of Bitcoin’s circulating supply possibly lost

Recent data from blockchain analytics company IntoTheBlock indicates that approximately 29% of the total Bitcoin supply, which has remained stagnant for over five years, might be lost forever. Fresh data unveiled by the blockchain analytics firm, IntoTheBlock, reveals that close to 29% of Bitcoin’s total circulating supply might be lost forever, showing no signs of movement for over five years. This highlights an inherent attribute of Bitcoin (BTC) – its scarcity – as only 21 million coins can ever be mined.

IntoTheBlock recently brought attention to the substantial surge in dormant Bitcoin addresses. “Our data shows that 29% of $BTC hasn’t moved in over five years. It’s possible that a large part of this concerns lost coins,” the company noted in their tweet. On-chain metrics monitor Glassnode Alerts added weight to these findings, indicating that the total quantity of HODLed or lost Bitcoins has reached an all-time high of 7,781,224.168 BTC. Given the current price of a single Bitcoin hovers around $30,000, this represents more than $235 billion in BTC potentially lost forever. Over the past year, institutional interest in Bitcoin has seen a significant increase, with companies such as MicroStrategy expanding their BTC portfolio.

Source

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Bitcoin Magazine

18 Jul 2023 11:05

💰 Binance Successfully Integrate BTC On Lightning Network To Improve Quality

Binance announced that they had completed the integration of Bitcoin (BTC) on Lightning Network, and Bitcoin (BTC) deposits and withdrawals are now open on Lightning Network. Binance’s plan to integrate Bitcoin Lightning Network marks a significant step forward in enhancing its services. Users can expect faster withdrawals and reduced fees, allowing for more seamless crypto transactions. Earlier, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume announced plans to integrate the Bitcoin Lightning Network.

Lightning Network is a second-layer solution for Bitcoin that allows for faster and cheaper transactions. It solves the scalability issues associated with the Bitcoin blockchain, allowing for more efficient transfers. It achieves this by creating payment channels between users, which are essentially off-chain channels for conducting transactions. These channels enable users to transact directly with each other without requiring every transaction to be recorded on the Bitcoin blockchain. Binance users will benefit from this integration, as it will reduce transaction execution times and lower transaction fees. Lightning Network has the potential to revolutionize the way users interact with cryptocurrencies, making the process smoother and more user-friendly.

Source

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Bitcoin Magazine

16 Jul 2023 13:40

🇦🇺 ASX’s First Spot Bitcoin ETF Application Marks Significant Milestone

According to Blockworks, Monochrome and Vasco Trustees file for the first Bitcoin ETF under new crypto provisions in Australia’s licensing regime, providing regulated exposure for retail investors. Australia’s first fully-licensed spot Bitcoin ETF has been filed with the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in partnership between Monochrome, a Bitcoin-focused asset management firm, and Vasco Trustees. The updated application for the Monochrome Bitcoin ETF (IBTC) is intended to provide regulated exposure for retail investors.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) revised its Australian financial services (AFS) license rules in October 2021, promoting market transparency among crypto firms while enhancing investor protections. The rules dictate that institutional support and acceptance of the underlying crypto should exist for a spot ETF. “Reputable” and “experienced” service providers must be willing to support those products. Only two AFS licensees, including the issuer behind Monochrome’s ETF, have any retail crypto-asset license authorization. Others are listed as wholesale, meaning they are not yet green-lit to offer such products to mom-and-pop investors. Cosmos Asset Management’s Bitcoin exchange-traded fund attempted to become Australia’s first Bitcoin ETF last year.

Source

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Bitcoin Magazine

13 Jul 2023 09:44

⚡️ Lightning Network wallet Phoenix adds 'splicing' to reduce payment fees

Bitcoin self-custodial Lightning wallet Phoenix has launched its third-generation wallet, introducing splicing technology to reduce fees. Splicing allows for resizing channels, eliminating the need for multiple channels per user which scatters liquidity, the project said. A common feedback from previous versions of Phoenix was the surprise creation of new channels and associated fees, Phoenix's development firm Acinq wrote in a blog post on Tuesday.

Lightning Network operates as a network of bi-directional payment channels on top of the Bitcoin blockchain, designed to enable fast and cost-effective micropayments. It offers a solution to the slower transaction speeds and higher fees associated with Bitcoin's mainnet, enabling users to transact directly without immediate settlement on the main blockchain. Rather than creating new channels, the new version will “splice-in” funds. The wallet will display a fee warning beforehand, allowing users to adjust the maximum fee they are willing to pay to avoid unexpected charges. If the fee is too high Phoenix will retry later or reject the transaction.

Source

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Bitcoin Magazine

11 Jul 2023 15:54

💰 Bitcoin Network To Reduce More Emissions Than Its Energy Sources Produce

Bitcoin mining may soon be reducing more emissions than its energy sources produce according to Daniel Batten, cofounder of CH4Capital. Batten is a partner in a fund raising $400 million to fund projects mitigating vented methane from landfills by using the gas to mine bitcoin. “Once fully deployed, we will have enough capital to take the entire Bitcoin Network carbon negative,” Batten told me in our interview, a claim that flies in the face of recent high profile bitcoin critics.

“Like eVs, bitcoin does not have any direct emissions, [but] we want to go one step further and also mitigate all emissions caused by use of electricity,” Batten said about the fund’s intent. According to him, by targeting landfills that vent their methane, they can mitigate emissions ten times faster than other techniques. Batten is confident his project can make significant impact. There are several companies who are already using bitcoin mining as a tool to monetize this waste and mitigate landfill emissions. These companies have paved the way for Batten and his team to pursue this effort. Bryan Black is Co-founder and CEO of Nodal Power, a renewable power company that is tapping into landfills.

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Bitcoin Magazine

09 Jul 2023 10:44

🪙 Bitcoin BRC-20 Tokens Are Now Moving Over to Ethereum

Six months after launching a protocol that lets people mint NFT-like media assets on the Bitcoin blockchain, the Ordinals space is rapidly evolving. Not only are new products springing up one after another, but the Ordinals-based BRC-20 tokens are now expanding onto none other than Ethereum, the dominant NFT and token ecosystem. Two of the largest BRC-20 tokens on the market, ORDI and OXBT, have partnered with Emblem—a tool that lets users store tokens across blockchains without need for a bridge.

BRC-20 tokens use the Ordinals protocol to generate what are effectively fungible tokens built on top of the Bitcoin blockchain. Broadly, they’ve been used thus far to create a wide variety of meme tokens, with the total market cap of all BRC-20s briefly nearing $1 billion in May before falling sharply since. Gallen told Decrypt that the BRC-20 Curated Collections are important “because we can now test what type of asset BRC-20s are most closely related to.” He’s looking forward to “how the community views them,” and whether they want to trade them like fungible tokens “or want some variety.”. He teamed with Adam McBride, colleague and self-proclaimed NFT archaeologist.

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Bitcoin Magazine

08 Jul 2023 17:56

💰 JPMorgan says bitcoin ETF approval unlikely to be a 'game changer'

While crypto enthusiasts eagerly await the approval of a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States, JPMorgan says such approval may not have the significant impact on the crypto market many anticipate. "The potential approval of physically backed bitcoin ETFs by the SEC [Securities and Exchange Commission] is unlikely to be a game changer for crypto markets," JPMorgan strategists led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou wrote in a report on Thursday. Several factors have led to JPMorgan casting doubt on the impact.

First, spot bitcoin ETFs have existed in Canada and Europe for some time but have failed to gain significant investor interest. Outflows from gold ETFs over the past year or so have also not benefited bitcoin funds overall, including futures ETFs, the analysts said. Spot bitcoin ETFs also have the potential to better reflect real-time supply and demand, bringing increased liquidity and improved price transparency, according to the analysts. However, the introduction of spot bitcoin ETFs may shift trading activity and liquidity from U.S. bitcoin futures markets "to the extent spot bitcoin ETFs replace futures-based bitcoin ETFs," the analysts said. The renewed race for a spot bitcoin ETF is underway.

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