One week following the bitcoin halving, bitcoin along with the broader crypto market was little changed. Bitcoin was off -1.93% over the last 7 days with its market capitalisation at US$1.25 trillion. The the total crypto market cap was at US$2.38 trillion and bitcoin’s market dominance sits at 52.8%.
| Price | High | Low | Change from previous week | |
| BTC (in US$) | $63,906 | $67,203 | $62,581 | -1.93% |
| ETH (in US$) | $3,317 | $3,326 | $3,082 | 4.30% |
Source: CoinMarketCap. As at 28 April 2024. Past performance is not indicative of future performance. Performance is shown in US dollars and does not take into account any USD/AUD currency movements.
Source: Glassnode. Past performance is not indicative of future performance.
Crypto news we’re watching
Bitcoin ETF flows slow
Net inflows slowed drastically for US spot bitcoin ETFs and have turned to net outflows for the month of April. Two of the largest spot bitcoin ETF managers, Blackrock and Fidelity, last week saw net daily outflows for the first time since launch on 11 January. Blackrock’s streak of inflows was halted after 71 consecutive days which put it into the top 10 US ETFs, with the longest inflow streak ever. To date, Blackrock’s IBIT ETF has raised over $15 billion, while the other 11 funds have brought in over $12 billion1.
Spot Ether ETF approval unlikely
ETF managers and industry insiders are expecting a rejection by the US Security Exchange Commission (SEC) of spot ETH ETFs next month. Recent meetings between ETF managers and the SEC have been discouraging and one-sided according to four people who participated in these meetings but declined to be identified. If applications are rejected, some of the reasons that may be cited include limited time to observe the underlying ether market and the need to ensure ETH-based investment products are sound for public markets2.
Marathon increases hashrate
Bitcoin mining firm Marathon Digital has announced an increase in hashrate targeting 50 EH/s following recent acquisitions. If successful, the firm will have doubled its hashrate since the start of 2024. The CEO commented that there would be no need to raise capital to achieve its hashrate target3. The company’s stock increased after the announcement and has also rallied since the bitcoin halving.
Marathon Digital is currently held in Betashares Crypto Innovators ETF (ASX: CRYP)4. According to the company’s website, Marathon is ‘one of the largest, most energy efficient, and most technologically advanced bitcoin mining companies, as well as being one of the largest holders of bitcoin among publicly traded companies in North America.’
Bitcoin (BTC): Number of Addresses
This metric shows the total number of unique addresses that ever appeared in a transaction of the native coin in the network.
According to data from Glassnode, this metric continues to move steadily higher.
Source: Glassnode. Past performance is not indicative of future performance.
This metric shows the number of unique addresses holding at least 0.01 coins, which is worth at least US$639 at current prices.
According to data from Glassnode, after hitting an all-time high in January, the number of addresses with balances greater than 0.01 BTC fell slightly through to March, but has started to slowly tick higher again.
Source: Glassnode. Past performance is not indicative of future performance.
Altcoin news
The top performing Top 20 altcoin over the past week, up over 15%, was NEAR Protocol (NEAR). It is up 98% YTD and 279% in the last year. News that may have helped push the price higher are projects with NodeKit and True ZK recently integrating NEAR’s solution for Ethereum rollup’s. In addition, collaborations with fintech’s LuloX and Peersyst Technology were also announced5.
According to Crypto.com the NEAR Protocol is designed to incentivise a network of computers to operate a platform for decentralised applications, utilising sharding for more efficient data retrieval and scaling.
Investing in crypto assets or companies servicing crypto-asset markets should be considered very high risk. Exposure to crypto assets involves substantially higher risk when compared to traditional investments due to their speculative nature and the very high volatility of crypto-asset markets.
Investing in crypto assets or crypto-focused companies is not suitable for all investors and should only be considered by investors who (i) fully understand their features and risks or after consulting a professional financial adviser, and (ii) who have a very high tolerance for risk and the capacity to absorb a rapid loss of some or all of their investment. Any investment in crypto assets or crypto-focused companies should only be considered as a very small component of an investor’s overall portfolio.
References:
1. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/04/25/blackrocks-bitcoin-etf-snaps-71-day-inflows-streak-data-show/
2. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-sec-expected-deny-spot-ether-etfs-next-month-industry-sources-say-2024-04-25/
3. https://ir.mara.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/1355/marathon-digital-holdings-increases-2024-hash-rate-target
4. As at 26 April. no assurance is given that this company will remain in the portfolio or will be a profitable investment.
5. https://www.newsbtc.com/news/near-protocol-soars-7-3-is-it-poised-to-go-higher/
Off the Chain is published every second Tuesday. It provides the latest news on bitcoin and the rest of the crypto market, along with analysis and insights into the world of crypto.
It provides general information only and is not a recommendation to invest in any crypto asset, crypto-focused company or investment product.
Written by
Justin Arzadon
Director, Adviser Services & Head of Digital Assets.
C4 Certified Bitcoin Professional (CBP) and Blockchain Council Certified Bitcoin Expert™ with over 18 years’ experience in the ETF market. Passionate about the future of money.
Read more from Justin.