Bitcoin Continues Threatening Correction After Hitting Best Price Since August; Ethereum could pull back further, analyst says

After reaching $23,000 over the weekend for the first time since August of last year and pulling back on Monday, Bitcoin (BTC) is attempting to reclaim that level on Tuesday (24). As of 7 am today, the cryptocurrency was trading at $22,871, up a slight 0.5% over the past 24 hours. Ethereum (ETH) is down slightly by 0.8% to $1,622.

However, BTC sustains gains close to 40% at the beginning of the year, outperforming any risk asset so far in 2023. According to experts, the high is related to the depletion of the stock of miners, companies that use heavy machinery to help validate transactions on the network and are rewarded with cryptocurrency.

Some miners filed for bankruptcy last year and liquidated Bitcoin positions, contributing to selling pressure in the market. According to data tracked by cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex, the amount of Bitcoin transferred from miner addresses to exchange wallets has dropped to a three-year low.

For brokerage analysts, this is a sign that these players are in better shape and, therefore, should have less need to sell BTC in the market to sustain trades.

“It is a potential indication that miners are already transitioning or in the process of transitioning to a source of buying pressure. Miners are protecting their Bitcoins as they anticipate further increases,” the analysts added.

Meanwhile, smaller cryptocurrencies known as altcoins (Bitcoin alternatives) are capitalizing on the momentum of heightened optimism and continue to deliver double-digit gains. In the last seven days the strong point is Aptos (APT), which records an increase of almost 60%, followed by Axie Infinity (AXS), with 34%. Both have a slight 4% correction today, while Rocket Pool (RPL) is up 10%.

Ethereum (ETH) is climbing softer than Bitcoin, advancing 3% on the week while BTC is gaining more than 8% over the period. Since Jan. 11, the price of ETH measured in BTC has dropped 8%, reflecting a decline in the Relative Strength Index (RSI), a metric used to understand the strength of an asset. Currently, Ethereum’s RSI is at minus 40, a level last seen in December.

For chart analyst Glenn Williams, however, if ETH continues to weaken against Bitcoin (more specifically, if the RSI dips below 30), it could present an attractive opportunity for investors to increase targeted positions over the medium to long term.

On the other hand, several analysts are not convinced that the rally in cryptocurrencies in general (Bitcoin included) will last much longer after a market low of almost 14 months and a series of collapses of companies in the sector.

Jeff Dorman, director of resource of digital assets Arca, highlights the recovery of Bitcoin and “a strong resurgence” of tokens of “applications and protocols that were about to die”, but also highlights the difficulty in predicting whether the current rise was only a momentary leap or if the movement will be sustained longer.

“At the micro level, most apps and individual protocols are still near their lowest levels of users and activity, even though many are up more than 100% in recent weeks,” Dorman wrote in a statement. “The market is trying to find a balance, somewhere between last year’s dead zone and 2021’s euphoria,” he added.

Check out the performance of the main cryptocurrencies at 7:00:

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Find out how cryptocurrency ETFs closed in the last trading session:

Genesis provides for an amicable resolution with creditors

Genesis Global attorneys told a federal bankruptcy court in New York City on Monday that they have been working with creditor representatives and authorities at the Justice Department “around the clock” for the past two months to reach an “agreeable resolution” with the creditor broker.

Earlier this month, Genesis Global Holdco – the holding company of Genesis Global Capital – and two of its subsidiaries, Genesis Asia Pacific (GAP) and Genesis Global Capital (GGC), filed for bankruptcy protection (similar to bankruptcy in Brazil) after the crisis triggered by the bankruptcy of FTX.

The head of the Ark’s risk committee, Michael Dershewitz, believes the filing represents the endpoint of “a publicly known long-term default”.

“[A proteção contra falência] it is a useful process for suspending responsibilities and negotiating a court-approved restructuring,” he said. “We can’t add much to predict how these talks will play out, but we are watching closely.”

Ethereum goes deflationary again

Ethereum returned to being deflationary during the market recovery in early 2023.

According to data from the ultrassom.money website, the net issuance of ETH (annualized inflation rate) fell to -0.07%, which means that the volume of ETH burned by the protocol is exceeding the amount issued over time .

Marcus Sotiriou, market analyst at digital asset exchange GlobalBlock, attributed the recent move to a surge in non-fungible token (NFT) sales, driven by positive sentiment in the broader cryptocurrency market.

More than 14,700 ETH worth about $24 million has been burned in the past seven days, according to ultrasound.money. About 3,400 of that ETH was burned in NFT trades, most of it on OpenSea.

Plunged into crisis by Genesis, Gemini lays off another 10%

In at least its third round of layoffs since June, cryptocurrency exchange Gemini is laying off another 10% of its staff, according to an internal message obtained by The Information.

Gemini is involved in the bankruptcy of cryptocurrency platform Genesis Global Capital and failed to pay out funds to customers of a crypto savings product.

Gemini founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss have waged a Twitter war with the Digital Currency Group, the parent company of Genesis, over $900 million owed to their customers.

“We had hoped to avoid further layoffs after this summer, however, persistent negative macroeconomic conditions and unprecedented fraud by bad actors in our industry have left us with no choice but to revise our outlook and further reduce headcount,” he wrote. Cameron. the message.

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