Headlines
The top five Bitcoin miners are not selling Bitcoin due to the halving
Bitcoin halving is imminent, but the top five Bitcoin miners are not selling Bitcoin. According to a report by Bitwise on April 10, the total amount of Bitcoin sold by the top five mining companies fell to about 2,000 in the first quarter of 2024, reaching the lowest level in two years. Currently, Bitcoin miners around the world hold more than 700,000 Bitcoins, accounting for 3.4% of the total Bitcoin supply. The last time the top five mining companies sold less than 2,000 Bitcoins was in the first quarter of 2022. In contrast, in the fourth quarter of 2023, the top five mining companies sold more than 7,000 Bitcoins. Among the top five mining companies, Marathon Digital has the most Bitcoin production, with a cost price of $22,249 per Bitcoin. It produced more than 2,500 Bitcoins in the first quarter of 2024, but this figure is lower than more than 4,000 Bitcoins in the fourth quarter of 2023.
WorldCoin announces the launch of the second-layer network World Chain, which is expected to be launched this summer
WorldCoin announced the launch of the second-layer network World Chain, which is expected to go online later this summer and aims to build a financial and identity network. It is reported that Worldchain is an OP Stack chain that will focus on scalability, and the near-term goal is to significantly increase the Gas limit of Layer 2 blocks.
Bankruptcy Court Verbally Approves Proposed Settlement Agreement for Gemini, Genesis and Their Bankruptcy Creditors
Gemini Trust releases update on Earn program: At a hearing on April 16, the bankruptcy court verbally approved a global settlement agreement between Gemini, Genesis, and other creditors in the Genesis bankruptcy case. This is another milestone in the process of achieving full recovery of Earn users' digital assets. The settlement agreement provides for an initial distribution amount to be distributed to Earn users of approximately 97% of the digital assets owed to them as of the suspension date (November 16, 2022), and the initial distribution is expected to be made in late May or early June. The remaining distribution amount will be recovered from Digital Currency Group, Inc. (DCG).
Industry News
CoinGecko: The total market value of cryptocurrencies increased by 65% in Q1, and CEX spot trading volume reached a quarterly high since December 2021
CoinGecko released the 2024 Q1 cryptocurrency industry report. The main points are as follows: The total market value of cryptocurrencies continued to grow by 65% in Q1, reaching a high of US$2.9 trillion in March; driven by the approval of the US spot Bitcoin ETF, the price of Bitcoin soared 69% in Q1, with an average daily trading volume of US$34.1 billion, a 90% increase from Q4 2023; as of April 2, the US spot Bitcoin ETF AUM reached US$55.1 billion; CEX spot trading volume reached US$4.29 trillion, the highest quarterly trading volume for the top ten spot CEXs since December 2021; as of March 2024, Binance's market share was 50%; the scale of Ethereum re-staking on EigenLayer increased by 36%; the total market value of Meme coins on the top ten Solana chains increased by 802% to US$9.36 billion; NFT trading volume reached USD 4.7 billion ️, of which Blur accounted for 28%; the share of DEX transactions on the Ethereum chain fell below 40%, and in February, the indicator fell to a historical low of 30%.
Bybit Report: After Bitcoin Halving, Exchange BTC Reserves Expected to be Depleted within 9 Months
A recent analysis by cryptocurrency exchange Bybit suggests that exchanges could face a shortage of BTC by the end of 2024 if demand for BTC remains at current levels. The report predicts that if the current withdrawal rate continues (currently around 7,000 BTC per day), exchanges' BTC reserves could be completely depleted within the next nine months. The shortage forecast is closely tied to the expected halving event in 2024. "The rapid depletion of Bitcoin reserves is preparing the market for a possible liquidity crisis," said Alex Greene, senior analyst at Blockchain Insights. "As reserves decrease, the market's ability to absorb large sell orders without affecting prices decreases." According to the Bybit report, institutional investors have significantly increased BTC investments following the recent approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs by U.S. regulators, driving up demand against the backdrop of shrinking supply.
Goldman Sachs: Bitcoin's historical halving cycle should not be over-interpreted, and the medium-term outlook depends on the inflow of spot ETF funds
Investment banking giant Goldman Sachs warned its clients in a report not to over-interpret Bitcoin's historical halving cycles. The report states: "Historically, the first three halvings have been accompanied by an increase in Bitcoin prices, although the time required to reach historical highs has varied significantly. Extrapolation of past cycles and the impact of halvings should be treated with caution given the respective current macro environment." According to Goldman Sachs, Bitcoin halving is "a psychological reminder for investors with limited Bitcoin supply," and the medium-term outlook depends on the inflow of funds into spot ETFs. "Halving has less impact on Bitcoin's medium-term outlook, as Bitcoin's price performance is likely to continue to be driven by the above-mentioned supply and demand dynamics and continued demand for Bitcoin ETFs, coupled with the self-reflective nature of the crypto market as the main determinant of spot price movements," the team wrote.
CryptoQuant: BTC exchange withdrawals reached their highest point since January 2023, which may indicate an important accumulation phase
CryptoQuant posted on the X platform that BTC exchange withdrawals have reached their highest level since January 2023, indicating that BTC has entered an important accumulation phase. In addition, recent data shows that prices are likely to rise after the market cools down (BTC fell 10% last week). Analysts pointed out that the open interest of BTC contracts on derivatives exchanges has decreased from $18 billion to $14.2 billion, showing a decrease in leveraged trading. This comes after a period of high trading activity and may mean that the market has temporarily stabilized.
JPMorgan: Recent weak performance of listed BTC mining companies provides investors with an attractive entry point
JPMorgan Chase said the recent weakness in bitcoin miners offers an attractive entry point for investors, with the bank reporting that the total market value of 14 bitcoin miners it tracks in the U.S. fell 28% to $14.2 billion from March 31 to April 15. All stocks performed poorly, all falling at least 20%. Bitcoin is up 43% this year and 130% in the past six months as the typical post-halving rally appears to have been pulled ahead of schedule.
Project News
Jupiter announces launch of LST token JupSOL to improve user trading experience
Jupiter announced the launch of the LST token JupSOL in an article on the X platform. The validator node charges no fees and provides 100% MEV cashback. It is currently entrusting an additional 100,000 SOL to increase the yield of JupSOL. This may make JupSOL the highest-yielding LST in the Solana ecosystem. The more SOLs that participate in staking, the more Jupiter can send transactions and reduce the number of transactions affected by network congestion.
Merlin Chain has opened the Merlins Seal points corresponding airdrop query page
Merlin Chain announced on the X platform that the airdrop query page corresponding to Merlins Seal points is now open, and users can provide feedback on related issues within 24 hours.
BTC L2 project B² Network announces the official launch of the mainnet
BTC Layer 2 project B² Network announced the official launch of the mainnet. Currently, users can use the official bridge and meson.fi to bridge assets into B² Network. Ecosystem projects and assets will gradually deploy the mainnet, and Buzz activity asset extraction and mining activities will begin one after another. Previously, B² Network has announced the official launch of the mainnet activity, and users who participate can receive multiple airdrop rewards from B² Network and ecological projects.
ByteDance subsidiary BytePlus and Sui work together to empower the Web3 ecosystem, focusing on games and SocialFi
ByteDance company BytePlus has partnered with Mysten Labs to adapt its recommendation solutions and augmented reality products to the Sui ecosystem. BytePlus provides services such as content distribution, personalization, and AR technology to support Sui developers and promote the development of applications with global impact.
Omni Network is now open for airdrops and staking
According to official news, Ethereum interoperability protocol Omni Network has opened airdrop applications and staking, and Binance platform trading will start at 8 am Eastern Time.
