First mover: Ether steals the limelight with a new all-time high price as Bitcoiners HODL – CoinDesk

Bitcoin (BTC) was higher on a second day, trading between $ 34,000 and $ 40,000 for the past two weeks.

“This phase of consolidation creates a solid base on which those who want to sell Bitcoin have plenty of time,” said the cryptocurrency exchange Diginex.

Ether (ETH), the second largest cryptocurrency, rose to a new all-time high of USD 1,499.33 on Tuesday and reached a price level that has not been seen since the beginning of 2018.Blockchain networks are also setting a record price.

Read more: Ethereum’s ether cryptocurrency sets new price record on major exchanges

As the Bitcoin market trades sideways, some investors could switch to what are known as alternative cryptocurrencies for faster returns, said Edward Moya, a leading market analyst for currency broker Oanda, in emailed comments.

“Cryptocurrency is growing again and right now a lot of cryptocurrency traders are diversifying into other coins,” Moya said.

in the traditional marketsAsian and European stocks rose, and US stock futures indicated a higher opening ahead of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s confirmation hearing. The former chairman of the Federal Reserve is expected to urge the government, “act big“About borrowing and spending to support economic recovery.

Gold gained 0.2% to $ 1,845 an ounce.

With Bitcoin prices up 26% in January, after quadrupling in 2020 and doubling the year before, a trader could be forgiven for taking profits.

Based on data extracted from the underlying blockchain network, investors appear satisfied. Apparently, a new rally could quickly bring the cryptocurrency to a new all-time high.

Delphi Digital, a cryptocurrency analysis firm, did one last week report Bitcoin balances on cryptocurrency exchanges had dropped from 2.4 million last month to around 2.3 million as prices rose. When prices go up, balances often go up as more investors transfer bitcoins to the exchange to liquidate them.

“This time net outflow may be an indication of the long-term direction of the youngest investors,” said Delphi analysts Yan Liberman and Kevin Kelly.

Exchange outflows are in line with other blockchain data showing that in the long run, more Bitcoin will be hoarded by investors, known in the crypto industry jargon as HODLing.

Analysts for Glassnode, a blockchain data company, noted Monday that the number of Bitcoins in “accumulation addresses” increased by 17% to over 2.7 million in the past year. These are addresses that so far only received Bitcoin and have never issued.

“This increase underlines the massive supply restriction on the BTC market, in which almost 15% of the total supply is held at these addresses,” said the company.

About 14.6 million of the 18.6 million bitcoins mined in the 12-year history of the blockchain network are “either lost or HODLed in the long term,” says Glassnode. This means that new buyers such as large investors or companies who want to use the cryptocurrency as a hedge against potential inflation would have to compete for the remaining 4 million bitcoins that are still in circulation.

“This, combined with the general decline in Bitcoin’s liquid supply and the number of coins lost, results in an even more limited supply, which helps BTC maintain the highest prices it has ever seen,” the analysts said wrote.

Bitcoin remains in a narrower price range despite resurgent institutional demand.

The top cryptocurrency has drawn a symmetrical triangle for the past few days, as shown on the hourly chart. This is a sign that both buyers and sellers are unwilling to lead the price action.

Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), the largest publicly traded crypto investment trust, Bought A total of 16,244 BTC ($ 607 million) on Monday, which is taking 18 times more deliveries from the market than the miners. This came after the trust reopened last week after a month-long hiatus and quickly amassed another 4,700 BTC. (Grayscale is owned by the Digital Currency Group, the parent company of CoinDesk.)

Even so, the cryptocurrency is struggling to make the move up. The bulls appear to be on hiatus after rallying more than 200% for the past three months.

Digital asset traders appear to have shifted to alternative cryptocurrencies like ether, the second largest cryptocurrency, which rose to a new record high early Tuesday.

The focus could shift back to Bitcoin if the largest cryptocurrency breaks out of its triangular pattern for hourly charts. That would resume the broader trend and put $ 50,000 on the map. like Vinny Lingham, investor and founder of the crypto wallet and identity verification company Civic.

Read More

Enjin (ENJ): Enjin Coin is the first gaming cryptocurrency to be whitelisted for use in Japan (CoinDesk).

rope (USDT): Anonymous columnist asks if Tether’s true bond is skewed by advertising prices (medium)

Celsius (CEL): Alex Mashinsky, CEO of crypto lender Celsius, says in an interview that the company filed an SEC exemption form for CEL tokens “because the regulations are not clear” (CoinDesk).

XRP (XRP): The Kraken exchange recently stopped XRP trading for US citizens after an SEC lawsuit against Ripple Labs (CoinDesk).

Goldman Sachs reportedly plans to enter the crypto market soon with Custody Play (CoinDesk).

Huobi Global connects to the European banking system via the British BCB Group (CoinDesk).

Coinbase Cryptocurrency Exchange Haunted By Thick Social Media Comments On Reliability, Planning Infrastructure Improvements (CoinDesk)

CoinShares Launches Exchange Traded Bitcoin Product (Bloomberg)

The MetLife investment arm predicts that “a real introduction of digital currencies by the central bank in Western countries is unlikely” (CoinDesk).

Bitcoin is ranked “busiest trade” in Bank of America’s survey after passing “Long Tech” (CoinDesk).

“No, Bitcoin is not in a bubble,” writes Noelle Acheson, research director of CoinDesk, in the Crypto Long & Short Newsletter (CoinDesk).

JPMorgan analysts see $ 40,000 as an important Bitcoin price threshold before the upward trend continues, reports Bloomberg (CoinDesk).

In an interview, the former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper lists Bitcoin among the US dollar alternatives that could find their way as international reserve assets (CoinDesk).

Wall Street CFOs are more cautious about putting corporate funds into Bitcoin after last week’s 30% drop in prices (CoinDesk).

Bitcoin is “two bets in one: a solid, unimpeachable money protocol and the reserve assets for a fast-growing crypto financial network,” writes Nic Carter of Castle Island Ventures (New York Magazine)

South Korea’s Dunamu launches its own bitcoin index “Fear and Greed” (CoinDesk):

Biden Treasury nominee (and former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen) said in prepared remarks to Tuesday’s hearing that “with interest rates at historic lows, the smartest thing we can do is trade big “(FT)

Jamie Dimon says JPMorgan Chase should definitely be “less afraid” of threats from fintech rivals, PayPal, Square, Stripe, Ant Financial, Amazon, Apple, Google (CNBC)

Believed US bank Wells Fargo is targeting $ 8 billion in cost savings over three years, including downsizing, and is considering options to exit its asset management and corporate trust businesses (Pensions & Investments)

Foreign investors expect the US dollar to remain weak under Biden (WSJ)

U.S. corporate bond spreads shrink to 0.93 percentage points, the narrowest since January 2020, due at least in part to investor confidence in the Federal Reserve’s ongoing stimulus and easy money (WSJ)

The Reserve Bank of Australia could end the quantitative easing program in April (Australian Financial Review)

China’s GDP grew 2.3% in 2020, the lowest level in 44 years (Nikkei Asia Review)

Taiwanese chipmaker startup Kneron is aiming for global expansion and is aiming for 8x growth in 2021 as US blacklists hit Chinese rivals (Nikkei Asia Review)

Southeast Asian company Grab expects the US IPO to be valued at $ 2 billion (Reuters)