BTC starts 2022 all over again — 5 things to know in Bitcoin this week
Categories: Crypto News US
Inflation meets fresh money printing
There has been much talk of the end of the post-COVID “easy money” period and the impact it’ll have on risk assets such as Bitcoin.As the United States Federal Reserve pledges to reduce its record high balance sheet and keep raising key rates, commentators have sounded the alarm over what could be a shockwave hitting investment into crypto.For Zschaepitz, this is not only a surprise, but could be “the biggest monetary experiment in history.”
“In comparison, the ECB and the Fed look like amateurs,” he argued.
The contrasting view, as signaled by last week’s yield curve inversion, pits rate hikes against the now high risk of a recession in the U.S. — a combination that should pressure Bitcoin and stocks alike.
Spot bulls aim for $50,000
The lack of volatility is the main talking point among Bitcoin traders and analysts as Monday gets underway.Some classic but brief excitement around the weekly close faded within hours, with bears still failing to take the yearly open away as support, data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows.April itself, meanwhile, has much to live up to — in and of itself, this month has historically been “good” for Bitcoin.
Buyers usher coins out of exchanges in March
It’s no secret that a lot of Bitcoin has been leaving exchanges this year, but the latest data shows just how the supply squeeze is playing out.According to on-chain analytics firm Glassnode, last month saw exchange outflows unlike many others — exchanges are down by the equivalent of almost 100,000 BTC.Historically, there have only been two occasions in Bitcoin’s lifespan when outflows surpass the 100,000 BTC mark, making March’s among the highest.A meandering downtrend in 2022 gathered pace in March, which saw a total of 77,000 BTC withdrawn to private wallets.
Never mind the altseason
An unusual event has occurred when it comes to Bitcoin’s relationship with altcoins — combined open interest and volume on altcoin derivatives markets has surpassed that of Bitcoin for the first time in over a year.Taking the limelight away from BTC may not be a dampener on performance per se, Dodan meanwhile added, thanks to volatility similarly draining away.“On the other hand that makes BTC pretty stable because it is not over leveraged; it's a good floor for BTC,” he explained.
Hash rate hits new all-time high
Hot on the heels of record difficulty for the Bitcoin network, hash rate has hit new all-time highs.“Bitcoin mining is pretty much the most anti fragile system designed by man,” Francis Pouliot, CEO of payment processor Bull Bitcoin, argued in a well-known blog post about Bitcoin hash rate and energy consumption last year.The topic of Bitcoin versus energy remains highly controversial, with multiple popular figures taking pains to explain what they see as a logical fallacy — that Bitcoin uses “too much.” Bitcoin does not waste energy, they contend, but merely converts it into something more useful as the most sound money ever created. Hash rate, regardless of the narrative, meanwhile continues to grow, underscoring the basic bullish premise for investing in Bitcoin.