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Standard Chartered: Bitcoin to rally to $150,000 this year – CNBC

The excitement around the arrival of bitcoin exchange-traded funds and the subsequent surge to new highs for the cryptocurrency is making even bitcoin bulls raise their expectations. Standard Chartered's head of digital assets research, Geoff Kendrick, said in a note to clients Monday that he is raising his already-high estimates for bitcoin's trajectory. "We raise our long-held price estimate to the USD 150,000 level from USD 100,000 given the more rapid pass-through from ETF inflows to the BTC price to date," the note said. That $150,000 prediction would be more than double bitcoin's record high of nearly $74,000, according to Coin Metrics. The cryptocurrency was trading at around $68,000 Monday morning. BTC.CM= YTD mountain Bitcoin has rallied to record highs this year. The new bitcoin ETFs have pulled in billions of dollars from investors since their January launch, even with the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust seeing heavy outflows. The iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has raked in more than $12 billion on its own, according to FactSet. The post-ETF rally for bitcoin has some similarities in what happened with gold, the physical asset that the digital currency has often been compared to. Kendrick said the behavior of gold after the introduction of its ETFs is one reason for optimism that the bitcoin rally can go even higher in 2025, along with other factors such as projected total ETF inflows of $75 billion. "This suggests to us that USD 200,000 is the 'correct' end-2025 price level for BTC, in line with our previous price estimate and that it is likely to be the new midpoint for a sideways trading range at that time. It also suggests that an overshoot to USD 250,000 is likely at some point in 2025 if ETF inflows continue apace and/or reserve managers buy BTC," the note said. The quick growth of the bitcoin ETFs has boosted confidence that there are more investors interested in crypto who have been reluctant to buy it through crypto exchanges. In theory, these funds could become a long-term, consistent source of demand for bitcoin. Predictions that bitcoin can rise above $100,000 have been made before, including during previous rallies that ended with dramatic declines.

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Is Bitcoin ready for a new all-time high now that the excessive leverage is gone? – Cointelegraph

Bitcoin (BTC) experienced a 12.5% drop in price from March 14 to March 17, falling to $64,545, which led to significant buying activity around the $65,000 mark. Currently, opinions are mixed, and while the excessive leverage in Bitcoin futures has been resolved, investors are still pondering if BTC will be able to surpass its all-time high of $73,755.

Many believe that investors are waiting for the U.S. Federal Reservesmonetary policy meeting on March 20 before deciding to invest more in cryptocurrencies, despite the widespread expectation that interest rates will remain unchanged. This decision goes beyond short-term considerations, focusing on the Feds confidence in the economys ongoing strength.

Another key uncertainty for Bitcoin investors is when the Fed will cease reducing its $7.5 trillion balance sheet. Generally, a more expansive Fed monetary policy indicates more money in circulation, which is beneficial for risk-on assets.

The U.S. monetary base represents currency and reserves within the banking system. Higher interest rates typically aim to stabilize or decrease this figure. By diminishing the appeal for businesses to borrow and grow, this contractionary economic strategy usually helps control inflation.

Some analysts speculate that Bitcoins potential bull run in 2024 relies heavily on the Fed transitioning from a contractionary to an expansive monetary policy. This shift could be prompted by inflation falling below 3% or signs of an economic downturn. Therefore, if interest rates remain elevated for an extended period, the likelihood of a Bitcoin surge decreases.

Excessive leverage has also caused unease among Bitcoin investors, particularly as the open interest in BTC futures hit a record high in March, increasing from $22.2 billion on Feb. 25 to $35.5 billion on March 14. Moreover, the imbalance in leverage demand led to distortions that are rarely sustainable.

Perpetual contracts, also known as inverse swaps, incorporate a rate that is recalculated every eight hours. A positive funding rate signals a rising demand for leverage among those holding long positions.

An unusually high funding rate of 0.09% was observed on March 11, equivalent to 1.7% per week. This indicator declined as bulls faced $370 million in liquidations from March 13 to March 15. While these figures may seem significant at first glance, considering Bitcoins open interest is at $34.8 billion, it translates to approximately 1% of positions being forcibly closed.

Interestingly, Bitcoins funding rate dropped to 0.25% per week on March 15, considered neutral in a market where traders are typically bullish. This indicates that there was no excessive demand for short positions, suggesting that bears were hesitant to bet against Bitcoin prices falling below $65,000.

Related: Bitcoin to enter pre-halving danger zone, but crypto CEOs remain bullish

To verify whether the decreased demand for leveraged long positions accurately reflects market sentiment, it's essential to compare this data with the demand for stablecoins in China, a critical indicator of retail investors entering or exiting the crypto markets. The USD Coin (USDC) premium measures the difference between the value of USDC in peer-to-peer transactions and the official U.S. dollar rate.

The USDC premium has been above 3% for the past week, indicating that the stablecoin is trading at a value higher than its pegged rate. Most notably, this premium has not fallen below its fair value even amid the recent price correction to $64,545 on March 17.

This trend signifies ongoing demand for cryptocurrencies in China, supporting the positive Bitcoin funding rate favoring long positions and indicating no signs of a bearish trend or investor apprehension.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

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Is Bitcoin ready for a new all-time high now that the excessive leverage is gone? - Cointelegraph

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Solana climbs higher while bitcoin, ether prices cool – Blockworks

Bitcoin and ether held steady Monday morning in New York after their selloff over the weekend, while Solana continued its rally.

After dipping to $64,500 over the weekend, bitcoin moved 2% higher Monday, according to Coinbase, to around $68,000.

Bitcoins (BTC) weekly low on Sunday comes after a historic run for bitcoin last week, when the crypto posted a new all-time high of $73,835, per Coinbase. Analysts say the price moves are not surprising.

A pullback was to be expected considering Bitcoins steep climb over the past few weeks. If there were any surprises, its that the correction was a mild 12%, as compared with the 20 to 30% dips weve seen in the past, Lucas Kiely, chief investment officer of digital wealth platform Yield App, said. In part, this showcases Bitcoins current resilience to the macro environment.

Read from our opinion section: As bitcoins price soars, Im having fun and staying poor

Ether (ETH) was also relatively quiet, gaining 1% to trade around $3,600 after briefly topping $4,000 last week. The cryptocurrency has yet to surpass its 2021 record price of $4,721, according to Coinbase.

Meanwhile, Solana (SOL) bounced another 16% Monday, per Coinbase, positioning it nearly 40% higher over the week.

The run comes as Solana MEV startup Jito Labs announced earlier this month that it will suspend mempool functionality offered by the Jito Block Engine. The company cited an increased amount of sandwich attacks on the Solana blockchain.

To mitigate network congestion from spam, Jito introduced an external mempool solution for Solana, effectively adding a 200ms mempool phase within the 400ms block period, Alex Thorn, head of research at Galaxy Digital, said in a note.

The introduction of the mempool, however, also opened the door for more toxic forms of MEV like sandwiching that harm the user experience, ultimately resulting in Jito shuttering the service, Thorn added.

Looking ahead, traders are waiting for this weeks main event: the Federal Reserves rate decision on Wednesday. While markets overwhelmingly anticipate rates will stay the same, the Federal Open Markets Committee will also be releasing its economic projections, which could give insight into what to expect for the remainder of the year and in 2025.

In the latest release, the Fed lowered its forecast for end-of-year fed funds from 5.1% to 4.6%, which the market celebrated, Noelle Acheson, author of the Crypto is Macro Now newsletter, said. Its likely that they will be raised again, if not this week then at the June meeting, since inflation seems somewhat stuck.

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Two potential outcomes for Bitcoin if Satoshi Nakamoto’s true identity is revealed By Investing.com – Investing.com

The mysterious identity of 's creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, has been a topic of discussion and speculation since the cryptocurrency's inception. The possibility of unmasking Nakamoto has sparked intense debate within the crypto community, with many speculating about the potential outcomes for Bitcoin if the figure behind it were to be revealed.

Satoshi Nakamoto is the pseudonymous person or group that created the cryptocurrency Bitcoin. The true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto remains unknown, and there has been much speculation and investigation into who or what group is behind the pseudonym.

The name first appeared in a paper published in 2008 that detailed the design of Bitcoin. Satoshi is said to have stayed active in Bitcoins creation and the blockchain until around 2010 but hasnt been heard from since. Despite various claims and theories, the true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto continues to be shrouded in mystery.

Most believe Satoshi Nakamoto holds around 1.1 million BTC. However, this is only an estimate, with some speculating it is between 600,000 and 1.1 million, worth between approximately $43 billion to $80 billion at current rates. This amount is said to be spread across various addresses, and it is believed that these bitcoins were acquired as a reward for mining during the early days of Bitcoin.

Despite the widespread belief that these addresses belong to Satoshi Nakamoto, it is impossible to confirm with 100% certainty.

As mentioned, there have been various attempts at unmasking Satoshi Nakamoto, while some people have also come forward claiming to be the Bitcoin creator.

For example, recent reports about a UK court case involving Craig Wright have brought significant attention to the elusive identity of Satoshi Nakamoto.

A UK High Court ruled on Thursday that Wright, an Australian computer scientist, is not Satoshi Nakamoto, despite his claims to the contrary. Wright was taken to court by the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) to stop him from suing Bitcoin developers. COPA asked for a ruling that Wright was not Satoshi.

Judge James Mellor, presiding over the case, said there was overwhelming evidence that Wright was not Satoshi. "Dr Wright is not the author of the Bitcoin white paper," said the judge. "Dr Wright is not the person who adopted or operated under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto in the period 2008 to 2011."

COPAs members include Twitter founder Jack Dorsey's payments firm Block. Dorsey tweeted the judges comments on Thursday.

So, what would be the impact on Bitcoin if Satoshi Nakamoto was to be unmasked?

Gady Kohanov, the founder of BitcyClub, an educational app designed to help novice investors learn how to predict asset price movements of cryptocurrencies and commodities, told Investing.com that Satoshis anonymity adds to the allure and uniqueness of Bitcoin, contributing to its mystique and widespread adoption.

Kohanov believes the decision to conceal the identity of Bitcoin's creator was intentional and reflects a deep understanding of human behavior, as people tend to judge products based on their creators rather than evaluating the solutions they offer.

Poking the bear often leads to undesirable consequences, said Kohanov. I predict that if the world continues to obsess over uncovering the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, we may be inviting trouble.

If the veil of secrecy surrounding Bitcoin's creator is lifted, it could shatter the idealized image that many hold of the cryptocurrency, he added, explaining he sees two potential outcomes if Satoshi Nakamoto's true identity is revealed.

Firstly, Bitcoin may lose its mystique and appeal as a secure and unassailable digital asset, argues the BitcyClub founder. The introduction of a human element, complete with past mistakes and history, could tarnish Bitcoin's reputation and erode investor confidence.

Secondly, he believes existing investors could face significant losses based on the market reaction to the potential revelation. According to Kohanov, this could potentially result in a drastic decline in Bitcoin's value.

Its enigmatic creator and the anonymity surrounding its origins have contributed to its allure, he stated. However, attaching a human face with a history, especially one potentially fraught with controversy, could irreversibly alter Bitcoin's perception and value in the eyes of future investors.

Overall, Kohanov believes that even if Bitcoin's fundamentals were to remain unchanged, the revelation of Satoshi Nakamoto's identity could trigger a seismic shift in the cryptocurrency landscape, leaving existing investors reeling from substantial losses.

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Vanguard’s perspective on bitcoin ETFs – Vanguard

Tim Buckley: It's in the news spot: bitcoin ETFs. A question came in, "Hey, we know you're not offering one. Have you changed your mind? What would it take for you to change your mind?" We don't plan to, and we're not going to change our minds around this unless the asset class changes.

For why, first of all, we don't believe it belongs, like a bitcoin ETF belongs in a long-term portfolio of someone saving for their retirement. It's a speculative asset.

Greg Davis: That's exactly it.

Tim Buckley: And the funds that we offer invest in asset classes that actually have underlying cash flow. So like we mentioned stocks, you're buying the forward earnings of a company.

Greg Davis: Of a company, that's right.

Tim Buckley: And that bond, I mean

Greg Davis: Has coupon and principal payment.

Tim Buckley: Hey, you're going to pay me back and you're going to pay me something for lending you the money. So they both could be valued. And for us, I don't understand why they would rise up in a portfolio and the role that we're playing we can model them. Something like bitcoin is just too volatile and it's not a store of value. It hasn't been and it's very volatile. When stocks got hammered in the recent crisis, bitcoin went right with them. And so it is speculative. Really tough to think about how it belongs in a long-term portfolio.

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Sheriff’s office warns residents to beware of Bitcoin scams – Placer County

Published March 14, 2024

Our property crimes unit has observed a concerning increase in scams revolving around transferring money into bitcoins. In a recent incident, the victim was convinced by a caller that their email had been compromised and their bank account was implicated in the breach. The victim was then directed to what they believed was their bank, where they were persuaded to transfer $15,000 into Bitcoin under the guise of protecting their funds. Subsequently, the victim received a call from someone posing as the FBI, who convinced them to transfer an additional $8,000 for the same reason. It wasn't until after the second transfer that the victim grew suspicious and reached out to the Sheriffs Office.

These scams are regrettably prevalent and often highly successful. If you ever receive emails or calls alleging an urgent situation that requires transferring money, STOP immediately and contact law enforcement. Neither law enforcement nor legitimate banking institutions will ever ask you to transfer your funds into Bitcoin or gift cards. This should serve as a major red flag indicating something is amiss.

Please assist us in spreading awareness about these types of scams to ensure that your loved ones do not fall prey to them. Together, we can combat these fraudulent activities and safeguard our community's financial well-being.

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Bitcoin ‘dumb money sells’ as whales, sharks add 328K BTC in a month – Cointelegraph

Bitcoin is splitting hodler sentiment near all-time highs as coins migrate to larger players.

Data from on-chain analytics firm Glassnode shows that Bitcoin (BTC) whales are furiously accumulating BTC at current prices.

Bitcoin investors have vastly different impressions of the current bull market, and the latest on-chain data confirms it.

Glassnodes coverage of the net position change for various BTC hodler cohorts draws a clear distinction between larger and smaller allocations.

The figures were uploaded to X by popular commentator account Bitcoin Munger this week.

What you observe in nature is much like what you observe in markets, he argued in the post.

Glassnode shows that both Bitcoin whales (entities holding 1,000 BTC or more) and sharks (entities holding between 100 BTC and 1,000 BTC) are fighting to accumulate coins.

Based on flows between whale wallets and exchanges, whales held around 84,000 BTC more than 30 days prior as of March 17.

Sharks, the data for whom is not focused on exchanges, began majorly adding to their exposure at the end of February. As of March 17, their 30-day net position change was 244,000 BTC.

Both classes strongly contrast with Bitcoin fish those with between 10 BTC and 100 BTC. These have seen the distribution of assets throughout this month.

For Bitcoin Munger, the conclusion is clear.

Smart money is buying, while dumb money sells, he wrote.

As Cointelegraph continues to report, Bitcoin is currently in flux as old all-time highs refuse to be flipped to support without a fight.

Related: FOMC meets halving danger zone 5 things to know in Bitcoin this week

While institutional inflows continue, price discovery has only existed for a brief period this month.

Comparing the current price cycle to history, however, Bitcoin Munger was unfazed.

Relative to historical cycles, the fun hasn't even started yet, he argued.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

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Bitcoin 'dumb money sells' as whales, sharks add 328K BTC in a month - Cointelegraph

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Calvin Ayre leaves X after court finds Craig Wright is not Satoshi – Protos

Calvin Ayre, a gambling magnate who has funded many Bitcoin Satoshi Vision (BSV) projects, has taken to X (formerly Twitter) to announce that he is taking a break the day after the UK High Court ruled that Craig Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto.

Earlier this month, Ayre was confident that Craig is winning the lawsuit he has since lost. Despite this court ruling, Ayre claimed that he still knows that Wright is Satoshi.

Ayre has been the principal financier behind nChain, a firm that has attempted to market a collection of intellectual property it contends is related to blockchain.

Ayre has also reportedly provided the funding behind various other lawsuits related to BSV, including a class action lawsuit that accuses Binance and other exchanges of hurting investors by not describing BSV as Bitcoin.

Read more: Former nChain CEO claims Craig Wright is lying about Satoshi

BSV has fallen nearly 20% to less than $90, or approximately 0.0013 bitcoin for each BSV, over the last 24 hours.

Before Ayre involved himself in a Satoshi Vision created by someone a court ruled isnt Satoshi, he made his fortune in the gambling industry, eventually agreeing to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge related to the transmission of gambling information.

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Samson Mow Warns of Imminent Altcoin Crash, Ripple’s Legal Fight with SEC Gears Up With New Deadlines, Craig … – TradingView

Here are the top three news stories presented to you by U.Today.

Altcoin crash imminent, '$1 million for Bitcoin' advocate Samson Mow warns

Samson Mow, Jan3 CEO known for his bold "$1 million for Bitcoin" prediction, has recently taken to X platform to warn his followers ofan impending crash in altcoins. In his post, Mow highlighted how unsustainable altcoin gains are in contrast to Bitcoin's strong performance while pointing out a notable difference in daily inflows between Bitcoin ETFs and other cryptocurrencies. The CEO then added that altcoins do not receive the same level of significant investment influxes as Bitcoin, which makes their gains precarious. Mow also drew attention to the astronomical market capitalization of altcoins such as Solana in comparison to businesses such as MicroStrategy (MSTR), underscoring an imbalance on the market. Thus, the entrepreneur urges investors to stay cautious amid changing dynamics of the crypto market, reminding of risks associated with the pursuit of astronomical gains in the altcoin arena.

Ripple's legal fight with SEC gears up with new deadlines

According toa recent update provided by defense lawyer James K. Filan,new deadlines for remedies briefing have been set in the ongoing legal battle between Ripple and the SEC. The updated schedule reads that the SECs opening brief is set for March 22, Ripples opposition brief is due by Apr. 22, and the SECs reply brief is expected by May 6. As a reminder, in February, Ripple requested a one-week extension for remedies-related discovery, moving the deadline from February 12 to February 20; the extension was granted. Later, on Feb. 27, Judge Analisa Torres received a letter motion from the SEC, represented by Jorge G. Tenreiro, asking for an additional extension of time to file a remedies-related briefing. The regulator was seeking a total one-week extension for the completion of such a briefing. The SEC's motion for an extension of time was granted in early March.

Craig Wright not Satoshi Nakamoto UK court officially states

As became known yesterday, March 14, U.K. judge James Mellor ruled that Craig Wrightis not Satoshi Nakamoto or the creator of Bitcoin whitepaper. The judge described the evidence presented during the month-long trial as "overwhelming," stating he plans to write a ruling outlining his conclusions, which would include the fact that Wright was not the creator of the Bitcoin system. This came as a result of a lawsuit brought by COPA (the Crypto Open Patent Alliance) against Craig Wright, which started in 2021. In 2016, Australian computer scientist Wright proclaimed himself to be Satoshi. The news of the judges ruling was also shared by Twitter cofounder and Bitcoin evangelist Jack Dorsey.

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Samson Mow Warns of Imminent Altcoin Crash, Ripple's Legal Fight with SEC Gears Up With New Deadlines, Craig ... - TradingView

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What is Satoshi Nakamoto Net Worth in 2024? – CoinGape

Almost 93.4% of Bitcoin is already mined and distributed among groups and individuals. But the most interesting fact is no one can claim he is the highest Bitcoin holder. This is because the one who really holds the highest Bitcoin is a mystery man. The world calls him Satoshi Nakamoto, Father of Bitcoin, for his remarkable work in developing Bitcoin blockchain.

Satoshi Nakamoto came and disappeared within a year after introducing Bitcoin. Within that short span he generated wealth and created a place for himself in the list of worlds richest people. So, what is Satoshi Nakamoto net worth? We will discover it in this present article.

Satoshi Nakamoto is an anonymous pseudonym for the individual or group who created Bitcoin. The real identity and background details of Satoshi Nakamato is still a mystery. Furthermore, all the communication with Satoshi was via email made it further difficult to decode his identity.

Satoshi Nakamoto solved a major problem which posed a hurdle in the adoption of cryptocurrency. The concept of cryptocurrency existed way before. However, adopting cryptocurrency wasnt possible before because of the double spending problem. Satoshi Nakamoto solved this with the creation of a blockchain system that works as a peer-to-peer network.

The concept of Bitcoin was introduced by Satoshi Nakamoto in the Bitcoin Whitepaper published in 2008. This introduced the concept of cryptocurrency among masses thus leading to its rising popularity.

January 2009 saw the launch of the first iteration of the Bitcoin network and software. The genesis block, the first block in the Bitcoin blockchain, was then mined by Satoshi.

After this, he continued mining Bitcoin for some time alongside increasing its popularity via discussions with interested participants across various online platforms. However, Satoshi Nakamoto left the world of Bitcoin in 2010, after which he completely disappeared.

Nevertheless, Satoshis legacy is still a daily memory for Bitcoin users. Its because of the common Bitcoin abbreviation shats or sats which actually refers to satoshis. Named after him, Satoshi is the smallest unit of Bitcoin. Its value is equal to 0.00000001 BTC.

As the identity of the person is not disclosed, a lot of information about the person is still a question mark. Likewise, it is only an estimation that Satoshi might be the owner of 1.1 million Bitcoins. As he is considered one of the early miners and contributed almost 22,000 blocks to the chain, he experimented with mining rewards at 50 Bitcoins per block. Now, after the fourth Bitcoin Halving in April 2024, the reward rate per block will drop to 3.125 BTC.

Satoshi was believed to have disappeared after 2010, and from 2009 to until he left the project, he received around 1.1 million BTC as a mining reward. The approximate number of Bitcoins owned by Satoshi is possible to determine due to the Patoshi Pattern, which was discovered by the cryptocurrency researcher Sergio Demian Lerner. And, Satoshi holds almost 5.2% of the total Bitcoin distribution as of February 2024.

Considering the present Bitcoin price, i.e., around $68,000, as of March 2024, Satoshi Nakamoto net worth would be around $75 billion USD. However, from 2009 to 2010, when Nakamoto almost mined all his bitcoins, the value of one bitcoin was merely 0.00099 USD. So, it wont be wrong to conclude that Nakamotos net worth was not so lavish back then, if his entire net worth is calculated only on the basis of how much bitcoin he had.

There is not much information available about who Nakamoto is and what he actually does. So, it is possible that he had/has other sources of income. This possibility hints at a net worth thats supposed to be much higher than 75 billion USD.

On top of that, if the financial value of a single bitcoin reaches 114,000 USD, there is absolutely no doubt about Satoshi Nakamoto being the wealthiest man on this planet. Also, if Bitcoin ever matches golds market cap, the world will witness the first Trilionaire in the name of Satoshi Nakamoto.

Bitcoins financial worth is predicted to increase up to 3-5 percent by 2030 as compared to the present value. Likewise, Satoshi Nakamotos net worth may grow at the same rate, considering his net worth as a sum of his bitcoin balance.

The world will never stop hunting for Satoshi Nakamoto. This mysterious legend gifted the world with the most powerful cryptocurrency. The Satoshi Nakamoto net worth is increasing every year in parallel with the rising Bitcoins value. Almost all sources claim that Bitcoin will spike in the future, and people will always discuss Satoshi whenever Bitcoin hits a new milestone.

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What is Satoshi Nakamoto Net Worth in 2024? - CoinGape

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