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Bitcoiner who tried to trade his way to Alaska shares his ‘humbling’ experience

Despite coming up short of his goal, crypto trader Thomas Kralow said the crypto-funded expedition was all about two things: “Bitcoin and happiness.”

A Bitcoin proponent’s recent attempt to crypto trade his way from New York to Alaska has come to a sudden and bitter end — some 900 miles from his final destination. 

Thomas Kralow, a crypto trader and educator recently set himself the daring task of traveling from one side of the United States to the other funded solely by trading crypto.

On Aug. 12, Kralow set out from New York with his assistant Ilya and an initial budget of $5,000 cash.

The pair forked out some cash for a dinged-up Mercedes and set up a Starlink antenna on the back of the vehicle — with fast internet being a requirement for quick trades — leaving them with just $2,500 to trade their way to Alaska.

Unfortunately for Kralow, he never made it to his final destination — with his oil-starved vehicle grinding to a permanent halt in Seattle, just 12 days after starting the journey.

Speaking to Cointelegraph, Kralow shared some details of the trip that didn’t make it into the 6-episode YouTube series where he documented the daily happenings of the crypto-fuelled voyage.

Kralow said that despite the trip being riddled with “insanely scary” lightning storms, wildfires, car troubles, theft, and navigating a constantly changing landscape in a foreign country on a razor-thin budget — the biggest challenge of the entire journey was actually the trading itself.

“We had like $2,500 our initial trading deposit and we had approximately $300 per day in expenses, which means everyday we had to earn like 12 to 14%,” he said.

“Anyone who is into the world of finance would think it's just suicide, which it kind of was. I was very open from the start and I just said, ‘listen, if I blow the account, it's just going to be done.’”

Despite the odds being firmly stacked against him, Kralow explained that it didn’t matter all that much that it was a potential suicide mission. While he admitted that some of the motivation behind the journey was growing his social media following, he said that he only wanted viewers to take away two things.

“It’s all about happiness and Bitcoin.”

“In these videos, I just wanted to show how important it is to lead a fulfilled and grateful life, as well as sharing knowledge about the most incredible industry and asset which is Bitcoin and blockchain.”

Thomas Kralow posing with a Starlink antenna and his Mercedes. Source: Twitter

Kralow, who routinely flaunts his wealth across his various social media channels, described the journey as a “kind of humbling” experience, saying that it helped take him back to his roots and reminded him of growing up in a home that was pretty far from wealthy.

“I just wanted to level with the world basically, go back to where I came from, and really just enjoy it again.”

Notably, Kralow said that the most surprising part of the entire adventure was the level of crypto literacy present in completely unexpected parts of the U.S.

“I met this welder in Louisiana, and we had such a great conversation about the Southern part of the United States and Bitcoin. He was driving a truck and chewing tobacco and spitting on the ground and it really shocked me how well-educated he was on Bitcoin.”

Related: Bitcoin gains legal recognition as digital currency in Shanghai, China

This stood in stark contrast to Kralow’s experience in more tech-savvy parts of the states like Silicon Valley, where he said he expected more knowledge around the concept of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.

“And then we meet this other guy who presented as this stereotypically smart, well-dressed person in California, and he knew nothing about crypto or Bitcoin. We were talking about our trip and he just asked us ‘oh, what even is Bitcoin?’”

The next order of business for Kralow after wrapping up the trip was lodging a request with Guiness Book of World Records.

“A lot of people have driven from wherever to wherever, but I’m pretty sure no one has ever driven more than 5,000 miles while surviving only on earnings from trading Bitcoin or crypto.”

Magazine: How to protect your crypto in a volatile market — Bitcoin OGs and experts weigh in

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AI signals vs. human intuition: Decision-making in crypto trading

AI and human intuition together can make for powerful trading tools.

Traditionally, traders have relied on human-based pattern recognition and technical analysis, looking at the company’s financial health, competitors and other methods for determining what trades to make on an asset.

However, with the growth of artificial intelligence (AI), there are additional ways that traders can analyze the markets, using the data gathered via machine learning. Both methods have their place in the industry, but it is best to understand how they both work and their benefits and drawbacks.

AI plays a crucial role in cryptocurrency trading by providing insights and predictions based on vast amounts of data. Cryptocurrency markets are highly volatile and operate 24/7, making it challenging for traders to keep up with the constant fluctuations.

AI algorithms can analyze and interpret complex market data in real-time, enabling traders to make informed decisions and maximize their chances of profitable trades.

AI utilizes advanced data analysis techniques and pattern recognition to understand and predict market trends.

By employing AI-based trading algorithms and platforms, traders can gain insights, automate trading strategies and potentially improve their overall trading performance in the cryptocurrency markets.

The role of human intuition in decision-making

Human intuition involves making decisions based on instinct, gut feelings and personal judgement. It plays a significant role in decision-making processes across various domains, including trading.

Intuition involves tapping into unconscious knowledge, experience and emotions to make judgements.

Traditional human-based trading methods include technical and fundamental analysis. Technical analysis involves studying historical price and volume data to identify patterns, trends and indicators to guide trading decisions. Traders using technical analysis rely on charts, graphs and mathematical tools to predict future price movements and make buy or sell decisions.

Fundamental analysis focuses on evaluating the intrinsic value of an asset by analyzing relevant financial, economic and qualitative factors. This approach involves studying financial statements, company news, industry trends and macroeconomic indicators to assess an asset’s value and potential growth.

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Anthony Cerullo, chief communications strategist at Walbi — an AI-powered decentralized finance platform — told Cointelegraph, “We can all agree that AI lacks human intuition. It lacks that ‘gut feeling’ that says when something is right or wrong. In terms of quantitative analysis in trading, that gut feeling is useful.”

Cerullo continued, “Human intuition helps to provide a subjective understanding of market dynamics, investor sentiment and potential opportunities that are not captured solely through numerical data.”

However, the benefits of human intuition don’t make AI obsolete, according to Cerullo. Instead, a relationship combining the two may be beneficial: “This is not to say human intuition is better than AI — just that it can do things AI cannot do.”

“Furthermore, AI can do things humans are not capable of either. That’s why a relationship between the two — and not a competition — is the best possible outcome.”

Comparing AI and human intuition

AI signals offer distinct advantages in trading, including speed, scalability and the ability to reduce emotional bias.

AI algorithms excel at processing and analyzing large volumes of data in real-time. This enables traders to swiftly respond to market changes and execute trades at optimal times.

In highly volatile markets, where prices can fluctuate rapidly, the speed advantage of AI signals can be particularly valuable. Traders can capitalize on timely opportunities and make informed decisions without being hindered by delays in data analysis.

Scalability is another notable advantage of AI signals. These algorithms can be scaled to analyze multiple cryptocurrencies or markets simultaneously. This scalability empowers traders to monitor and trade across various markets, expanding their trading opportunities and potential profits.

As AI gains popularity, a variety of supposedly AI-driven trading bots have appeared. Source: Twitter

AI signals also offer the benefit of reducing emotional bias in trading decisions. Human traders are often influenced by emotions such as fear, greed or overconfidence, which can cloud judgement and lead to suboptimal decision-making.

In contrast, AI algorithms operate based on data-driven analysis, relying on objective information rather than emotional factors.

Cerullo told Cointelegraph, “AI algorithms leverage advanced data analysis techniques and pattern recognition. For example, they analyze historical price data, trade volumes, news sentiment, social media trends and other relevant data points to identify patterns and correlations,” continuing:

“Humans can do this, but not nearly as quickly as AI algorithms. Furthermore, humans may miss patterns that AI picks up 100% of the time. By learning from past market behavior, AI algorithms recognize potential trading opportunities or patterns that indicate future price movements.”

Limitations of AI signals

AI algorithms have limitations that must be considered when relying on them for decision-making. One such limitation is the lack of contextual understanding.

These algorithms primarily depend on historical data and patterns to make predictions, which means they may struggle when faced with complex or unique market situations that lack historical precedents or require a deep understanding of contextual factors. In these cases, AI algorithms may not provide accurate or reliable signals.

Gracy Chen, managing director at crypto exchange Bitget, told Cointelegraph:

“It is crucial for traders to continuously validate the accuracy and stability of AI signals in real-world conditions. Regular monitoring and iteration are necessary to ensure the AI system’s signals remain reliable.” 

“Should any issues arise, updating the data used by the AI system becomes crucial to enhance the stability and accuracy of the signals it generates.”

Another limitation of AI algorithms is their susceptibility to data biases. The quality of AI signals depends on the data they are trained on. The AI signals may be flawed if the training data is incomplete, biased or not representative of current market conditions.

Biases in the training data can influence the accuracy and reliability of the predictions made by AI algorithms. Therefore, ensuring that the training data is comprehensive, unbiased and relevant to the current market conditions is crucial.

Over-reliance on AI signals can also pose potential risks, such as technical failures, that AI systems may encounter. These failures can result in inaccurate or misleading signals.

It is, therefore, important to have human involvement and supervision to mitigate the risks associated with technical failures.

The strengths and limitations of human intuition

One advantage of human intuition is its flexibility. Traders can quickly adapt to changing market conditions and make decisions based on their unique perspectives. Unlike AI algorithms, which primarily rely on numerical data, human intuition allows traders to consider a broader range of factors.

They can consider qualitative information, market sentiment and industry knowledge, which can significantly influence trading decisions. This flexibility enables traders to incorporate a more comprehensive market understanding into their decision-making process.

This adaptability is crucial in dynamic markets where unforeseen events or sudden shifts in trends can occur.

Critical thinking is an essential component of human intuition. It involves combining rational analysis with subconscious information processing. Traders with developed intuition can assess the credibility and reliability of information. They can question assumptions, identify potential biases and make judgements based on a holistic market view.

However, limitations of human intuition can also impact decision-making in trading. One limitation of human intuition is cognitive limitations.

Humans have limited memory, attention span and information processing capacity. In complex and data-intensive trading environments, these cognitive limitations can impact the accuracy and reliability of intuitive judgments.

Traders may struggle to process and analyze vast amounts of information efficiently, leading to potential errors or oversights in decision-making.

Combining AI signals with human intuition can be particularly effective. AI can provide data-driven insights, identify patterns and process large volumes of information efficiently. Human intuition, on the other hand, adds contextual understanding, adaptability and critical thinking to the decision-making process.

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Traders can leverage their intuition to identify potential biases in AI signals, consider additional qualitative factors, and make adjustments based on their experience and market understanding. This collaboration between AI signals and human intuition enhances the overall decision-making process.

Developing a balanced approach is key. Traders can integrate AI signals and human intuition with other traditional analysis methods. By considering multiple perspectives and approaches, traders can gain a more comprehensive assessment of market conditions. This balanced approach reduces the risks associated with relying solely on one approach and increases the chances of making well-informed trading decisions.

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Bitcoin’s next rally may be imminent, on-chain analyst says

On-chain data shows that an imminent Bitcoin rally could drive its price up to $32,000, says Glassnode lead analyst James Check.

After a long period of unusually low volatility, Bitcoin’s (BTC) next major price move is likely imminent and could drive BTC to $32,000, according to James Check, lead on-chain analyst at Glassnode. That price level is where Bitcoin’s “true cost basis is sitting,” Check explained in an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph. 

To calculate Bitcoin’s average cost basis — the average price at which BTC was bought — Check and his team removed coins that are lost forever from the calculation and focused on active Bitcoin investors. 

“It’s where the mean reversion level would be, so a rally to that level, to be honest, wouldn’t surprise me,” he said.

Despite this bullish scenario, Check also pointed out that a large number of investors are likely tired of the bear market and waiting for Bitcoin to reach that level before selling, thus putting pressure on the price. 

“That's an area where you start getting more resistance,” he stated.

To find out more about the chances of an upcoming Bitcoin rally, check the full interview on our YouTube channel — and don’t forget to subscribe!

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Wrapped Bitcoin supply drops to negative after 11,500 wBTC burn linked to Celsius

Wrapped Bitcoin garnered DeFi traders' support in the 2021-22 bull season, but the demand started to fade post numerous crypto contagions led to redemptions.

The supply of wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC) dropped to its lowest since May 2021 after the second-largest single-day burn on Feb. 27. 

A total of 11,500 WBTC worth about $260 million linked to now-bankrupt crypto lender Celsius was burned, turning its growth rate to negative. The current total supply of the wrapped token is 164,396 WBTC, with a monthly growth rate of -7.39.

wBTC Daily mint and burn. Source: Dune

WBTC is an Ethereum-based ERC-20 token that mirrors the value of Bitcoin and is pegged 1:1 with the Bitcoin (BTC) price. Bitgo co-developed wBTC in 2019 alongside blockchain interoperability protocol Ren and multi-chain liquidity platform Kyber. wBTC is also managed by the decentralized autonomous organization wBTC DAO, which comprises over 30 members.

When a merchant wants to exchange BTC for wBTC, they start a burn transaction and alert the custodians. The custodians then send the matching amount of BTC to the merchant's bitcoin address. Users can then exchange their wBTC for BTC at merchants, who burn the received tokens.

Being an ERC-20 token makes the transfer of wBTC faster than normal Bitcoin, but the key advantage of wBTC is its integration into the world of Ethereum wallets, decentralized apps and smart contracts.

During the peak of the bull run, wrapped tokens became a popular tool of use in the DeFi ecosystem. wBTC's supply peaked at 285,000 in April 2022 when the BTC price was trading above $48,000.

However, with the advent of the bear market and numerous crypto contagions, the demand started to fade away. The first signs of lowering demand came after the Terra-LUNA-led crypto contagion that forced several crypto lenders to redeem their wBTC. According to one report, Celsius Network redeemed about 9,000 wBTC amid a growing withdrawal demand.

Related: Celsius Network coin report shows a balance gap of $2.85 billion

A similar scenario occurred in November 2022 after the FTX collapse, where reports indicate the now-bankrupt crypto exchange tried redeeming 3,000 wBTC right before filing for bankruptcy. After the FTX's collapse in November, wBTC experienced its largest monthly coin redemption, with over 28,000 wBTC redeemed back to the original coin.

The market contagion caused by the FTX collapse also depegged wBTC from the original value of BTC. Although the slippage was just about 1.5%, it raised serious concerns at the time about whether such synthetic tokens is a viable mode of value transfer.

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Understanding crypto bag holders and their mindset

The freedom to stick to what makes the most sense financially sprouted various classes of investors, each distinguished by their intent behind crypto investments.

For the first time since the 7th century, the paper-money economy found its true competition in the internet era. With Bitcoin’s (BTC) debut in 2010, the fiat ecosystem was not only challenged with proving its worth in day-to-day transactions but also safekeeping the investment ecosystem it helped build.

Over the years, the crypto ecosystem attracted people from all walks of life — serving their unique financial needs while filling the gaps left wide open by the fiat ecosystem. While most of the world watched from the sidelines, trying to decipher the true potential of cryptocurrencies, the first batch of Bitcoin millionaires swayed investors’ attention toward the budding ecosystem.

The freedom to stick to what makes the most sense financially sprouted various classes of investors, each distinguished by their intent behind crypto investments. Based on the overall approach taken by investors, there are four main categories of mindsets of crypto bag holders — Maximalists, hodlers, fomoers and traders.

Maximalists

Right from the day Bitcoin showcased its cross-border supremacy after being used as a currency on the dark web, numerous investors witnessed a true peer-to-peer monetary system for the first time. What followed was a pledge to stick with Bitcoin and see it overpower the centralized entities, i.e., bringing power back into the hands of the people.

This total support for Bitcoin and the belief that BTC is the only true replacement for the fiat economy gave birth to the term Bitcoin maximalism. Bitcoin maximalists have, time and again, advised the community members to hodl their assets during the bear market. Instead, they often recommend buying the dip — a process that involves investing in crypto during the market’s poor performance. And over the last decade, the recommendation checks out.

However, maximalism is not limited to Bitcoin has spread widely across other crypto ecosystems as well. Investors and crypto enthusiasts that have committed years to the growth of their preferred blockchains and cryptocurrencies have a belief pattern similar to Bitcoin maxis. Ethereum (ETH), Dogecoin (DOGE), Shiba Inu (SHIB) and XRP (XRP) are the few leading cryptocurrencies that have garnered loyal maximalists over the years that continue to preach the strength of their respective tokens.

HODLers

Hodlers are the type of crypto investors that believe in making long-term investments. This type of investor does not fear the infamous volatile market fluctuations and instead focuses on accumulating cryptocurrency tokens over time.

Hodlers can be found across all crypto ecosystems and are known to be the most resilient of the bunch. For new Bitcoiners, the dream behind hodling is to amass at least 1 BTC over time. Ultimately, through many halving cycles and the resultant scarcity, Bitcoin hodlers envision a future when their investments shell out a return unimaginable in a traditional fiat setting.

This dream seems more attainable for other cryptocurrencies considering that investors can accumulate a big bag of tokens using comparatively lower funds. Most Gen Z and a large subset of millennials prefer purchasing thousands of meme tokens in the hopes of hitting the jackpot during bull markets.

FOMOers

Fomoers are a subset of investors that end up making the biggest mistakes in investing. Fomo stands for “fear of missing out,” implying a feeling of apprehension related to price movements.

By design, fomoers tend to react adversely to every market condition. When the price of cryptocurrencies goes up, these investors purchase more tokens hoping that the prices will continue to rise. However, this approach does not always yield fruitful results. As a result, they often end up buying the top and selling the bottom.

Related: Is it possible to achieve financial freedom with Bitcoin?

To get out of this mindset, one needs to study the market extensively while putting aside the noise of misinformation. Moreover, prominent crypto entrepreneurs often recommend against fomo-ing and ask the general public to focus on the bigger picture.

Traders

These are the most straightforward investors that primarily focus on day-to-day prices in search of opportunities to earn profits. Traders closely monitor market sentiment, new developments and regulations to gauge how the markets react.

Regardless of the prices going up or down, traders are ready to cash in on the market fluctuations by longing or shorting trades. The need for liquid tokens for trading requires traders to store a significant amount of their assets on crypto exchanges. However, the FTX fiasco of 2022 is a reminder that self-custody is the ideal way of storing cryptocurrencies.

In reality, every type of crypto holder can potentially make a lot of money buying and selling cryptocurrencies if they know the real strategy. Check out how Cointelegraph Markets Pro members managed to make 120x returns with the help of advanced machine learning algorithms and news indicators for trade opportunities.

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Bitcoin price over $20K creates FOMO with 620K new BTC wallets

The growth of small BTC addresses was very limited in 2022 and slumped to new lows post-FTX, but a significant surge in January suggests trader optimism is high.

The Bitcoin (BTC) price surge above $20,000 in the second week of January led to a market FOMO (fear of missing out), especially among small BTC holders.

There was a significant surge in BTC addresses holding 0.1 BTC or less after Jan. 13. According to data shared by crypto analytics firm Santiment, 620,000 new BTC addresses have popped up since the Jan. 13 BTC price surge, totaling 39.8 million.

Bitcoin addresses holding 0.1 BTC or less. Source: Santiment

The rise in Bitcoin addresses holding small amounts indicates regrowing investor optimism in 2023. The growth of such small addresses was very limited and slowed remarkably post-FTX collapse in November 2022, but 2023 has seen the rate of new address creation increase.

The recent spike in small Bitcoin addresses is the highest since November 2022, when BTC dipped to its cycle low of around $16,000. The price decline prompted small traders to scoop up BTC at a lower price. The current surge is attributed to a growing bullish sentiment in the market where, apart from Bitcoin, several altcoins have also recorded multimonth highs, while the overall crypto market surged over 30%.

Related: Bitcoin, Ethereum and select altcoins set to resume rally despite February slump

Bitcoin continued its bullish momentum into the first week of February, reaching a five-month-high above $24,000. However, the $24,000 resistance proved too much to hold, with the price hovering around $23,000 at the time of writing. Market pundits believe February may not be as bullish as January.

Bitcoin 1-year price chart . Source: Coinmarketcap

Amid confusion over how incoming United States macroeconomic data may affect market sentiment, market analysts have warned that the rebound in crypto and stocks this year may flip bearish this month. They attributed the potential upcoming downward trend to the extent of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes.

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How are ‘lite’ versions of crypto apps helping adoption?

Crypto exchanges use technology and basic design principles to attract a new wave of users into the crypto ecosystem.

Companies become industry giants when they provide the best user experience in the simplest form possible. Google, for example, has the most advanced search engine on the whole planet. And how does it provide that sci-fi-level technology to the user? By a simple, one-line search bar.

Apple’s motto is removing the hardware from the user experience (UX) as a layer. It means that when users forget that they are holding a smartphone and browsing an app while scrolling down memory lane, Apple succeeds.

Technology needs to hit the perfect balance between utility and usability — comprehensive features and ease of use — to achieve broader adoption. Bitcoin (BTC), the original cryptocurrency, became available to a much bigger user base as it became easier and more reliable to buy BTC from user-friendly mobile apps.

The number of Bitcoin block explorer Blockchain.com wallet users over the years. Source: Statista

For better or for worse, crypto exchanges played a pivotal role in bringing new users to the market. Millions of users saw crypto exchanges as the go-to trading platforms as the crypto apps made the overall experience more feature-packed and simplistic. Hiring Hollywood A-listers to promote them also helped crypto companies to make a case.

However, it becomes increasingly difficult to keep the interface as simplistic as, say, Google’s homepage, with more and more features introduced into crypto trading platforms. So, a number of crypto exchanges made a choice at some point. They divided their target audience — for design purposes — into newbies and pro traders and offered two different user experiences to each.

Some, like Binance and OKX, provide both UXs within the same application. First-time users are greeted with the “lite” version of the app, with fewer features and an emphasis on the learning curve of cryptocurrencies. If a user feels ready, or they were just reinstalling the app, they can tap a button to transform the app to its pro version with detailed order books, advanced commands, etc. Others went with two different versions with different layers of usability, like Bitpanda and Bitpanda Pro.

Cointelegraph reached out to crypto exchanges and UX developers to get a better understanding of how lite versions of crypto apps work and contribute to adoption.

Tech evolves by solving problems

Binance angles the lite mode of its mobile app as a simplified version of the exchange designed for users who are new to Web3, Binance head of product Mayur Kamat told Cointelegraph. “We looked at the core features that would be most beneficial for those users, and then we designed and built it with the best user experience in mind,” Kamat explained.

Binance Pro, on the other hand, is aimed at Web3 natives and traders. Kamat said that both versions are designed to provide different experiences for users in different stages of their Web3 journey. “As such, we do not compare them against each other,” he added.

When it comes to deciding on a specific platform for crypto, users look for a platform based on their needs at that point in time, according to Kamat:

“[Users’ initial pick] could be driven by education, rewards, referral, fees, liquidity, etc. But we strongly believe that over time users stay with a platform that is trustworthy.”

Technology needs to solve problems at scale for mainstream adoption, Kamat summarized. For people who care about the freedom of money, crypto means more than trading, he added, highlighting the massive crypto adoption in Turkey, Indonesia, Venezuela and Ukraine. 

Simpler interface led to four million users in eight years

Bitpanda, a Europe-based fintech unicorn that offers traditional commodities trading alongside crypto, provides two apps that cater to different forms of trading. The liquidity in the beginner-friendly Bitpanda app is provided by the company itself, whereas on Bitpanda Pro, other traders provide liquidity at a price they themselves set.

Since its inception eight years ago, the base Bitpanda app onboarded almost four million investors, Magdalena Hoerhager, vice president responsible for growth at Bitpanda, told Cointelegraph.

Experienced traders, professionals, institutions and European Union-based companies, ranging from private banks to family offices, prefer Bitpanda Pro to trade assets at more competitive costs, Hoerhager claimed. The exchange offers professional trading solutions, price-matching capabilities and fully automated clearing, settlement and netting processes.

“Crypto isn’t the wild west anymore, or at least it isn’t as wild as it was five years ago,” she said, adding that the ecosystem is now seeing better regulation, better consumer protection, a better understanding of the pros and cons of cryptocurrencies as an asset class.

Lite features attract even pro users

OKX is another crypto trading platform that recently introduced a lite version — conveniently named OKX Lite. Speaking to Cointelegraph, OKX global chief marketing officer Haider Rafique said that professional traders also see value in the lite version, switching between modes when they are not actively trading. 

Traders are using the Earn feature on OKX Lite to stake their assets and earn yields passively, according to Rafique. He explained that the demo trading feature, which allows new users to try out trading tools before actually investing any real money, is an element of attraction.

Experienced traders, on the other hand, look for a broad range of investment options and advanced trading tools. Block Trading feature for example, enables institutional and high-net-worth investors to make volumed trades without adversely moving the market.

“To support the mainstream adoption of crypto, we must build trust,” Rafique said, adding that OKX is investing heavily in security and user protection. However, trust alone is not enough, he noted, “We must also offer guidance to help newcomers navigate this new ecosystem, and OKX Lite is a big part of this.”

Apps should not assume users understand everything

Opera made headlines earlier this year when the internet browser developer launched a Web3-focused Crypto Browser. Given that its main browser — which also has crypto-friendly features — has almost 350 million users worldwide, Opera is well-positioned to introduce crypto to a mainstream audience. 

Speaking to Cointelegraph, Opera Crypto Browser’s senior product manager, Danny Yao, stressed that new users want something that makes onboarding simple:

“They [new users] don’t want to be hit in the face with 1,000 options, nor do they want the app to assume they already understand everything. [...] Pro users want more complex functionality, usually. That doesn’t mean they need the interface to be complicated, just that the utility needs to be present.”

Opera designed the Crypto Browser to enable interaction with decentralized apps and multiple blockchains more accessible, according to Yao. Simplifying the transition of users from Web2 to Web3 became the main goal. An integration with FIO Protocol allows Android-based Opera users to set up their own crypto handles to use as their wallet addresses, he exemplified.

One for hodlers, one for traders

BtcTurk, a Turkish crypto exchange that turns 10 next year, designed its base “lite” and “pro” apps with two different interactions in mind. The base app, BtcTurk, is intended for hodlers who believe Bitcoin is a long-term investment and want to keep it in the custody of a trusted exchange, a spokesperson told Cointelegraph. BtcTurk Pro, on the other hand, aims to meet the needs of traders who look for detailed charts, reports, indicators and more trading pairs. 

BtcTurk conducted a survey with Ipsos in the summer of 2022 to look into the needs and behavior of crypto users. This research showed that trust is the first and foremost important element for the crypto ecosystem — users are looking for recognition, recommendations and ease of use when they pick a new crypto platform.

The Turkish crypto exchange believes that user-friendly apps that enable investment, transfer and payments for cryptocurrencies, as well as apps that help with new use cases per each project’s strengths, would help more people to become aware of cryptocurrencies and drive adoption.

No end product in crypto apps

Cointelegraph reached out to Altuğ Gürkaynak, a user experience designer and a crypto user. He described the process of launching a new app as a neverending one. “There’s no such thing as a ‘finished’ or ‘end product’ in the world of UX,” he explained: “You keep up with the trends that are ever-changing with iterations.”

If the technology is new, however, it needs a slightly different approach. New tech with a completely new interface will result in disappointment unless there’s something truly extraordinary, Gürkaynak warned. New users need time to adapt to the technology itself, so applications need some familiar screens as a basis.

Making a simple app that users are likely to recommend to others is the most important, he noted:

“Prioritizing the word-of-mouth impact instead of a groundbreaking design would help crypto apps (or any apps for that matter) to drive more adoption.”

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What is Bitcoin whale watching and how to track Bitcoin whales?

There are four primary ways to track whale activities, which include monitoring known whale addresses, order books, sudden changes in market capitalization and trades on crypto exchanges.

Whales are held responsible for sudden price fluctuations in the crypto and traditional markets every so often. Given their capability to manipulate market prices, it becomes paramount for the general Bitcoin (BTC) investors to understand the nuances that make one a whale and their overall impact on trading.

Wallet addresses that contain large amounts of BTC are identified as Bitcoin whales. Dumping or transferring large amounts of BTC from one wallet to another negatively impacts the prices, resulting in losses for the smaller traders. As a result, tracking Bitcoin whales in real-time allows small-time traders to make profitable trades amid a fluctuating market.

Despite Bitcoin's global and decentralized nature, tracking down and monitoring whales simply boils down to accessing readily available trading data from crypto exchanges and services. There are four primary ways to track whale activities, which include monitoring known whale addresses, order books, sudden changes in market capitalization and trades on crypto exchanges.

Monitoring known whales provide a headstart to smaller investors as the likeliness of coming across a whale trade increases significantly. Moreover, keeping track of market changes via order books and trades on crypto exchanges indicates incoming whale trades, which can be leveraged to profit during volatility.

The crypto community also uses free services that inform investors about successful whale trades, often including information about the sender’s and receiver’s wallets and the amount. One of the most popular services for automatically tracking whale trades is @whale_alert on Twitter, which issues alerts related to large transactions as shown above.

Related: Bitcoin whales still 'hibernating' as BTC price nears $21K

In a recent market update, Cointelegraph revealed that on-chain data suggested that the largest Bitcoin hodlers were reluctant to act at current prices. BlockTrends analyst Caue Oliveira supported the above finding by highlighting a "hibernation" continuing among whale wallet. He added:

"Institutional movements, or commonly called "whale activity" can be tracked based on the transaction volume moved over a short period of time, both denominated in BTC and USD."

Moreover, numerous altcoins continue to mimic Bitcoin’s bearish trends as whales await a greener sentiment across the crypto market.

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The Bitcoin Family talks about traveling, giving and orange-pilling

Didi Taihuttu, the father and husband of the Bitcoin Family shares life advice extending to happiness, charity and Bitcoin nomadism in a Cointelegraph video interview.

Seasoned crypto enthusiasts will remember Didi Taihuttu as the man who went all-in on Bitcoin (BTC) in 2016. He sold his and his family’s possessions. camping out in the Netherlands while he waited for Bitcoin to the moon.

In an interview with Cointelegraph, Taihuttu recalls how it felt to own almost nothing but Bitcoin, 6 years ago:

“I don’t have any cars, motorbikes, nothing. And I’m happier than ever. And she [Taihuttu's wife] agrees! At that moment we decide to break that chain and lead by example for the kids.”

He explains his realization that life is about accumulating happiness, “instead of accumulating wealth.” Hence, the Bitcoin Family was born. The three daughters “only have Bitcoin, not bank accounts,” while the parents have never looked back on their former lives.

The fivesome has spent the past five years traveling the world, settling on Southern Portugal as one nomadic base for living. They're in good company to promote the Bitcoiner lifestyle down there; Portugal is a growing hub for the seminal cryptocurrency.

Taihuttu concedes that there are, of course, challenges regarding how to travel the world living off a Bitcoin standard–particularly while looking after three teenage daughters.

However, it hasn’t stopped other explorer families from following in their footsteps. Taihuttu cites that “six families” have since sold all their possessions, à la Bitcoin Family, to enjoy the Bitcoin lifestyle. 

The Bitcoin Family. Source: thebitcoinfamily.com

Closer to home, Taihuttu orange-pilled his brother and sister, even persuading them to take part in the traveling lifestyle. He concludes that “the decentralized digital nomad lifestyle is the future.”

Taihuttu is wildly generous, giving away something in the order of 40% of his wealth to charities. Profits from trading, affiliate links, book sales, merchandise sales and other “digital nomad” activities are funneled into charity projects.

Bitcoin Family charity projects. Source: thebitcoinfamily.com

For example, they have built a school in Mexico for disadvantaged children as well as an orphanage in Venezuela. Naturally, though, there’s a Bitcoin twist.

As the video details with a Mario illustration, it’s a three-step process to orange pill and establish a charity.

  1. Teach Bitcoin
  2. Learn how to exchange it
  3. Grow adoption

While the projects are not born Bitcoin-only, they are certainly not centralized:

“The CEO of a centralized organization [charity] will be driving a BMW. We don’t want that, we do peer to peer.” 

The objective for Taihuttu is to engage with other orange-pilled people wherever they travel. They then sit down together and scope out the sources of concern, addressing the issues that would make the biggest positive impact. 

The process stems from one of Taihuttu’s many mantras, “Everyone with a heartbeat and a telephone should be able to transact value all over the world.” Bitcoin is that solution and it should inevitably become an intrinsic part of charity projects. 

In all, although the Bitcoin Family will continue their world travels, their focus is now firmly on Europe. El Salvador and the next country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender are of course attractive travel destinations, but Taihuttu is passionate about his home continent’s journey towards Bitcoin adoption.

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Sub $30K Bitcoin price sell-off would require panic ‘to a large degree’

Market analysis suggests that for Bitcoin to start knocking on the door of a sub $30,000 Bitcoin, sellers would “need to panic out to a large degree.”

Order books, essentially the list of orders that a trading outlet implements to show the interest of buyers and sellers, show considerable buyer interest in the $30,000 region on large exchanges Coinbase and Binance.

There is 5,000 Bitcoin sat ready to purchase down to a $30,000 price, and another 7,000 BTC down to a $28,000 price on Binance.

The sell-off may not be over, but Bitcoin (BTC) buyers can take solace in the knowledge that order books in the $28,500 to $30,000 region are dense. Consequently, the price plunge due to Russia’s military operations may take a breather. 

Binance order book. Source: ThinkingBitmex Twitter

Binance is one of the leading exchanges worldwide, consistently demonstrating the largest spot volume over a 24 hour period, according to Statista

For Coinbase, it’s a similar story with more acute numbers. There is roughly 3,500 Bitcoin ready to buy for prices approaching $30,000, and 4,500 Bitcoin ready to gobble up Bitcoin down to $28,000.

Glassnode reported that “futures open interest just reached a 6-month low of $1,780,397,103.63” on the Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto exchange, FTX. 

Open interest has been trending down across all exchanges for the past few weeks, meaning that fewer traders are “liquidated” and volatile price swings are less likely.

BTC open interest on FTX. Source: Glassnode

Metrics on exchanges Bybit and Binance Futures also reveal minimal open interest. In essence, these exchanges won’t be “deleveraging us out” of the current bearish price action and leveraged positions are waning.

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So if leveraged positions or “liquidation cascades” won’t drive the price lower, and there is major but interest down to the $30,000 levels, then what would cause a sub $30,000 Bitcoin?

Spot selling. There has to be a strong reason for sellers who didn’t sell the last time Bitcoin was sub $33,000 to do so this time.

Fear and greed index, Source: Twitter

With the Bitcoin Fear and greed index creeping into the “extreme fear” region once more, and BTC dipping 12% overnight, investors' conviction will once again be tested. 

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