Gov’t says crypto miners consume 2% of total electricity in Russia

May 30, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Crypto mining falls under the “gray zone” in Russia, which means even though it's not banned, it doesn’t fall under the purview of law which could pose risks for those involved.

Crypto miners account for two percent of the total electricity consumption in Russia, according to the latest government estimate.

The energy consumption share of the crypto mining industry has exceeded the country’s agricultural sector, showing signs of recovery after Russia fell out of the top three in the global Bitcoin (BTC) mining hash rate share.

Russia's deputy minister of trade and industry Vasily Shpak called for bringing the mining industry under the purview of law in the wake of the recent mining estimate. He said:

"Do you know how much mining accounts for in the overall map of electricity generation in our country? And I'll tell you: more than 2%. This is more than the cost of electricity for agriculture. We cannot but recognize mining in this sense as an industrial activity or industry."

Crypto mining in Russia falls under the “gray zone‘ where even though it is not banned, it is not regulated either, which creates a risk for those involved in the industry. The deputy minister also assured that once the crypto mining industry is regulated, it would move toward more energy-intensive methods.

The calls for regulating the crypto mining industry come just days after legislators in the country introduced an updated version of the crypto mining bill. The updated bill removed two sub-sections - the obligation for mining operators to join a special registry and a one-year tax amnesty for all those who've registered.

Apart from the deputy minister of trade, the country’s prime minister Mikhail Mishustin has also batted for looking into the crypto mining industry, In April Mishustin has said:

"We also think that in order to stimulate investment, primarily in fixed capital, we can discuss mining issues, this is the creation of data centers and related infrastructure,"

The Russian central bank on the other hand continues to call for a blanket ban on mining operations in the country.

*Bitcoin mining hash rate share. Source: CBECI*

Russia’s BTC mining hash rate share dropped to 4.55% behind Kazakhstan, China and the United States in the latest report from the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (CBECI).

Bitcoin network difficulty falls 4.3% to 29.897T, biggest drop in 10 months

May 28, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin mining

The network difficulty recorded a drop of 4.33% — falling from 31.251 trillion to 29.897 trillion on May 26, just two weeks after attaining its all-time high.

The Bitcoin network witnessed a historic event on May 12 when the network difficulty attained its all-time high of 31.251 trillion as miners mined nearly 50,000 BTC of the remaining 2 million tokens.

While the Bitcoin community rejoiced the added resilience to the network owing to the rising difficulty in mining a Bitcoin block, the network difficulty recorded a drop of 4.33% — falling from 31.251 trillion to 29.897 trillion on May 26.

As Cointelegraph reported on several occasions, Bitcoin’s network difficulty consistently achieved all-time highs over the past ten months as it recovered from a massive drop of 45.4% — from 25.046 trillion on May 29, 2021, to 13.673 trillion on July 22, 2021.

Ever since then, Bitcoin’s network difficulty witnessed a total growth of 128.56% as it surged to its all-time high. However, despite the momentary decline of over 4%, the BTC ecosystem is still guarded by the most secure blockchain network.

Higher network difficulty demands higher computational power to validate and confirm transactions over the BTC blockchain. As a result, this prevents bad actors from taking over the network by contributing to over 50% of the hash rate and carrying out double-spending attacks.

Cointelegraph recently interviewed Dania Gonzalez, Deputy of the Republic of El Salvador, to better understand the social impact of adopting BTC as legal tender.

According to Gonzalez, El Salvador made profits via strategic BTC investments and repurposed the fresh funds to build infrastructures like a veterinary hospital and a public school.

"What Nayib Bukele did was buy Bitcoins and make a profit at a certain strategic moment,” she said.

The Bitcoin (BTC) network broke its 10-month-long streak as the network difficulty recorded a drop of 4.33%, standing at 29.897 trillion at the time of writing.

Contrarian Bitcoin investors identify buy zones even as extreme fear grips the market

May 19, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin mining

A popular BTC price metric points to “extreme fear” in the market, but contrarian investors say multiple on-chain metrics suggest Bitcoin is in buy territory.

Bitcoin (BTC) support at the $30,000 level has proven to be quite resilient amidst the turmoil of the past two weeks with many tokens in the top 100 now showing signs of consolidation after prices bounced off their recent lows.

*Fear & Greed Index. Source: Alternative.me*

During high volatility and sell-offs, it's difficult to take a contrarian view and traders might consider putting some distance from all the noise and negative news-flow to focus on their core convictions and reason for originally investing in Bitcoin.

Several data points suggest that Bitcoin could be approaching a bottom which is expected to be followed by a lengthy period of consolidation. Let's take a look at what experts are saying.

BTC may have already reached "max pain"

The spike in realized losses by Bitcoin holders was touched on by 'Root' a pseudonymous analyst who tweeted the following chart and said realized losses are “reaching bear market highs.”

*Bitcoin realized profit/loss. Source: Twitter*

While previous bear markets have seen a greater level of realized losses than are currently present, they also suggest that the pain could soon begin to subside, which would allow Bitcoin to begin the slow path to recovery.

Analysts have also pointed out that "Bitcoin's RSI is now entering a period that has historically preceded outsized returns on investment for long-term investors.”

According to Rekt Capital,

“Previous reversals from this area include January 2015, December 2018, and March 2020. All bear market bottoms.”

Strong hands hold firm

Additional on-chain evidence that Bitcoin may soon see a revival was provided by Jurrien Timmer, Global Director of Macro at Fidelity. According to the Bitcoin Dormancy Flow, a metric that displays the dormancy flow for Bitcoin that “roughly speaking is a measure of strong vs. weak hands.”

*Bitcoin dormancy flow. Source: Twitter*

Timmer said,

“The entity-adjusted dormancy flow from Glassnode is now at the lowest level since the 2014 and 2018 lows.”

One metric that suggests that the weak hands may be nearing capitulation is the Advanced NVT signal, which looks at the Network Value to Transactions Ratio (NVT) and includes standard deviation (SD) bands to identify when Bitcoin is overbought or oversold.

*Advanced NVT signal. Source: LookIntoBitcoin*

As shown on the chart above, the advanced NVT signal which is highlighted in light blue is now more than 1.2 standard deviations below the mean, suggesting that Bitcoin is currently oversold.

Previous instances of the NVT signal falling below the -1.2 SD level have been followed by increases in the price of BTC, although it can sometimes take several months to manifest.

Hash rate hits a new all-time high

Aside from complex on-chain metrics, there are several other factors that suggest Bitcoin could see a boost in momentum in the near future.

Data from Glassnode shows that the hashrate for the Bitcoin network is now at an all-time high, indicating that there has been a substantial increase in investments in mining infrastructure with the most growth happening in the United States.

*Bitcoin mean hash rate vs. BTC price. Source: Glassnode*

Based on the chart above, the price of BTC has historically trended higher alongside increases in the mean hash rate, suggesting that BTC could soon embark on an uptrend.

One final bit of hope can be found looking at the Google Trends data for Bitcoin, which notes a spike in search interest following the recent market downturn.

*Interest in searching for Bitcoin over time. Source: Google Trends*

Previous spikes in Google search interest have largely coincided with an increase in the price of Bitcoin, so it's possible that BTC could at least see a relief bounce in the near future if sidelined investors see this as an opportunity to scoop up some Satoshis at a discount.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

China returns as 2nd top Bitcoin mining hub despite the crypto ban

May 17, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin mining

China still hosts 21% of the total global Bitcoin hash rate after the local government banned all crypto operations in the country last year.

The Chinese government has not managed to take down cryptocurrency operations as part of its crypto ban last year as China has re-emerged as one of the world’s largest Bitcoin (BTC) mining hubs, according to a new report.

China became the second-largest Bitcoin hash rate provider as of January 2022, months after the local government banned all crypto operations in the country, according to the latest update from the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (CBECI) shared with Cointelegraph on Tuesday.

Bitcoin miners in China accounted for 21.1% of the total global BTC mining hash rate distribution as of early 2022, following only the United States, which produced 37.8% of the total hash rate as of January, according to the data.

China was once the world’s largest Bitcoin mining country, with the local BTC hash rate power accounting for more than 75% in 2019. The hash rate then plummeted to 0% in July and August 2021, following a series of crypto mining farm shutdowns in the country.

Despite the crypto ban in September 2021, the hash rate share surged to 22.3% that month and did not drop below 18% over the analyzed period.

*Evolution of country hash rate share. Source: CBECI*

CBECI project lead Alexander Neumueller told Cointelegraph that the new data is enough to conclude that Bitcoin mining is still live in China, stating:

“Our data empirically confirms the claims of industry insiders that Bitcoin mining is still ongoing within the country. Although mining in China is far from its former heights, the country still seems to host about one-fifth of the total hash rate.”

Russia drops out of the top three largest miners

The latest CBECI update also signals a slight drop in the hash rate share in Kazakhstan, the world’s third-largest BTC mining hub. Kazakhstan’s BTC hash rate share dropped from 18% in August to 13.2% in January.

The CBECI data also shows that miners now mine as much as 9% of the global BTC hash rate in undefined locations. Canada and Russia are the following major mining hubs, accounting for 6.5% and 4.7%, respectively.

In addition to dropping out from the three biggest countries by BTC hash rate power, Russia also saw its actual hash rate declining from 13.6 EH/s in August to 8.6 EH/s in January.

Georgia, Texas and Kentucky lead BTC hash rate production in the US

The new CBECI update provides more specific insights about the largest Bitcoin mining market’s hashrate distribution at the state level.

The data shows that Georgia, Texas and Kentucky make up the three largest states in terms of hash rate, accounting for 32%, 11.2% and 10.9%, respectively. All three states combined account for more than half of the overall hash rate in the United States.

Notable mining activity can also be found in the states like New York, California, North Carolina and Washington, the data suggests.

Methodology: CBECI uses data from four mining pools

The CBECI is released under the umbrella of the Cambridge Digital Assets Programme, a research initiative host Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance.

The report is based on data obtained in collaboration with four major mining pools, BTC.com, Poolin, ViaBTC and Foundry. According to the CBECI website, the sample size for the analyzed mining pool data has varied between 32% and 38% of Bitcoin’s total hash rate since the release of the mining map in 2019.

“We are continually seeking ways in which to improve our data in order to increase the reliability of our estimates. The best way for us to do this is to welcome additional contributing mining pools, so we would encourage other mining pools to reach out and get involved,” the CBECI project lead said.

Bitcoin network fortifies as mining difficulty records ATH of 31.251T

May 14, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

BTC’s latest network difficulty all-time high makes it nearly impossible for bad actors to represent over 50% of the hash rate.

Further distancing itself from any concerns of planned attacks on the blockchain, the Bitcoin (BTC) network established a new mining difficulty all-time high of 31.251 trillion — exceeding the 30-trillion mark for the first time in history.

The creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, warranted the security of the BTC network through a decentralized network of BTC miners who are tasked with confirming the legitimacy of transactions and minting new blocks.

Given the extensive community support — from developers to hodlers to traders to miners — that spans over 13 years, the BTC network was witness to a historic 10-month-long rally as it achieved mining difficulty of 31.251 trillion.

Bitcoin network difficulty. Source: Blockchain.com

Mining difficulty safeguards the BTC ecosystem against network attacks such as double-spending, wherein bad actors try to reverse confirmed transactions over the BTC blockchain. Greater mining difficulty demands higher computational power from miners to confirm transactions over the BTC network.

As a result, BTC’s latest network difficulty ATH makes it nearly impossible for bad actors to represent over 50% of the hash rate. According to blockchain.com, the BTC network demands 220.436 million terahashes/second (TH/s) at the time of writing.

Bitcoin total hash rate. Source: Blockchain.com

Despite the crypto community’s concerns related to the ongoing targeted attacks and an active bear market, BTC continues to position itself as the most resilient blockchain network.

Roughly $1.4 billion worth of BTC was reportedly moved from a wallet tied to Luna Foundation Guard (LFG) as the community announced their intent to “proactively defend the stability of the UST peg [and] broader Terra economy.”

Terra’s ecosystem of tokens took a nosedive as the stablecoin UST depegged from its initial $1 value to nearly $0 in a matter of days, sparking commotion among the LUNA and UST investors.

While Terra co-founder Do Kwon attributed the market collapse to coordinated attack against the protocol, current plans for reviving the UST and LUNA ecosystems involve purchasing and redistributing BTC based on requirement.

Bitcoin celebrates halfway to the halving with new hash rate record

May 5, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin Halving

The Bitcoin hash rate hit another all-time high and the 105,000th block since the last halving was mined, marking the halfway to the next halving.

Bitcoin (BTC) marks a milestone mining journey on Thursday, crossing the halfway point on the way to its next halving.

In Block number 735,000, mined at approximately 10:29 UTC, Bitcoin crossed the halfway point to the next halving. The block was mined by Poolin, earning 0.16215354 BTC ($6,402.45) in fees.

Halvings occur every 210,00 blocks, and May 5 marks the cross-over point into the second leg of 105,000 blocks. For some Bitcoiners, such as Samson Mow, the Bitcoiner pioneering Bitcoin nation-state adoption, the halving is a reminder to stack more SATs:

WE ARE HALFWAY TO THE NEXT HALVING AND YOU HAVEN’T STACKED ENOUGH #BITCOIN YET.
— Samson Mow (@Excellion) May 5, 2022

The halving cycle is a unique device that envelops the Bitcoin issuance rate. As the Cointelegraph Cryptopedia explains, “As a result of the halving cycle, the supply of available Bitcoin decreases, raising the value of Bitcoins yet to be mined.”

The halving is key in determining the supply of Bitcoin –which recently crossed the milestone 19 million mark– and the issuance rate, currently at 6.25 new BTC per roughly 10 minutes. In essence, roughly $250,000 worth of BTC is minted with every new block.

The next halving is due to take place in April 2024, and the previous halving occurred on 11th May 2020 as Bitcoin entered its fourth “epoch.” The system will continue until roughly 2140 when the last Bitcoin is mined.

The issuance rate and the "supply shock" that accompanies the halving have a significant impact on the price:

As shown in the box above, the Bitcoin price has increased by a factor of 100 since the 2012 halving to reach the previous halving price. With current price levels around the $40,000 mark, the price has done another 4x.

With typical Bitcoin “honey badger” aplomb, the decentralized peer-to-peer electronic cash system also struck a new record: the mining hash rate hit an all-time high.

Bitcoin hash rate keeps soaring higher and higher. Source: Glassnode

The hash rate hit 249.1 exahashes per second (EH/s) overnight on May 4th, pipping the previous all-time high by 1 exahash. In essence, with the hash rate consistently setting new highs, Bitcoin security–as these computers or 'miners' work to secure the network–has never been stronger.

Halfway to a halving and another ATH for the hash rate; it’s another small celebration for Bitcoin amidst mini bear market woes.

Bitcoin network difficulty breaks into a new all-time high of 29.794T

April 30, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin mining

While Bitcoin miners continue to pursue the last 2 million BTC into circulation, the overall network is well-positioned to attain greater resilience against vulnerabilities.

Reassuring its position as the most resilient blockchain network against attacks, the Bitcoin (BTC) network recorded a new all-time high network difficulty for the second time this month in April — jumping from its previous all-time high of 28.587 trillion to 29.794 trillion.

Greater network difficulty demands greater computational power to successfully mine a BTC block, which prevents bad actors from taking over the network and manipulating transactions, also known as double-spending.

As evidenced by data from blockchain.com, Bitcoin’s network difficulty has seen almost a year-long uptrend since August 1, 2021. Before that, between May and July 2021, was a timeline when BTC network difficulty fell nearly 45.5% from 25.046 trillion to 13.673 trillion — at the time raising momentary concerns about the network’s vulnerability.

Further cementing Bitcoin’s resilience against 51% attacks, on April 28, the Bitcoin network hash rate too recorded a new ATH of 258 EH/s. As shown below, the network hash rate eased down to the 220 EH/s mark by the end of the month with no visible negative impact on the BTC network difficulty.

The month of April also was witness to one of the lowest average transaction fees on the Bitcoin network — the cost associated with transferring BTC. For the first time in two years, on April 18, the average BTC transaction fee fell down to $1.039, which at its highest was $62.788 in April 2021.

While Bitcoin miners continue to pursue the last 2 million BTC into circulation, the network is well-positioned to attain a newer all-time high with respect to overall security and price.

New research paints an optimistic picture about BTC, underscoring the strength of hodlers hoping for all-time highs.

As Cointelegraph reported, on-chain indicators suggest bullish momentum thanks to a lack of short-term holders (STHs), as noted by popular analyst “Root”:

“Since we didn't reach prices above 100K, which so many expected, many still believe this will eventually happen and might therefore hold on to their coins.”

Bitcoin network hash rate hit a new record high amid price volatility

April 28, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin mining

Bitcoin network hash rate hit a new record high, seeing a 400% increase since the mining ban by China last year.

The hash rate of the Bitcoin (BTC) network hit a new ATH, even when the price of the top cryptocurrency struggled to get past the $40K mark.

The network's hash rate hit a new record high of 258 EH/s on Thursday before settling around the 220 EH/s mark.

The recent rise in the BTC network hash rate signifies the growing number of miners on the blockchain. The bitcoin network hash rate has grown more than 400% since the Chinese crypto mining ban last year when it fell below 70 EH/s.

The Bitcoin network managed to recover from the significant hashrate drop by the end of last year and has only grown in 2022.

Bitcoin network also saw an increase in mining difficulty to new historic highs, reaching 29.70 trillion. The mining difficulty is adjusted to keep the block generation time of 10 minutes constant. A rise in the mining difficulty signifies that more miners are competing against each other to mine the next block.

According to data from BTC.com, Bitcoin mining difficulty increased by 5% on April 27 and has seen three positive re-adjustments and two negative ones in 2022. The next difficulty adjustment is slated for May 10.

Bitcoin network has stood the test of times and various regulatory onslaughts. The rise in mining difficulty and network hashrate also comes at a time when there is a significant push for Bitcoin’s change to proof-of-stake from its current proof-of-work mining consensus.

Greenpeace, along with other climate groups, and co-founder and executive chairman of Ripple (XRP), Chris Larsen has launched a new campaign aimed at changing Bitcoin to a more environmentally friendly consensus model. However, core Bitcoin proponents continue to advocate for the current mining mechanism as it offers true decentralization.

While Bitcoin’s energy consumption has become a controversial topic, it has often been used to peddle fake narratives such as “BTC will use up all the energy by 2022.” With BTC gaining mainstream popularity, clean mining has become a priority for several mining companies.

‘Something sure feels like it’s about to break’ — 5 things to know in Bitcoin this week

April 25, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin

Bitcoin looks set for a fall as a surging U.S. dollar sparks suspicion based on an equally grim macro picture.

Bitcoin (BTC) starts a new week in an uncertain place facing uncertain times — is $40,000 now resistance?

The largest cryptocurrency has just closed a fourth red weekly candle in a row, something that has not happened since June 2020.

As cold feet over the macro market outlook continues to be the norm, there seems little to comfort bulls as the week gets underway — and Bitcoin is not done selling off yet.

On the back of $4,000 in losses over the past four days alone, price targets now focus on retests of liquidity levels further towards $30,000.

It is not all doom and gloom — long-term hodlers and key participants such as miners are showing a more positive stance when it comes to Bitcoin as an investment.

With that in mind, Cointelegraph takes a look at the forces at work when it comes to shaping BTC price action in the coming days.

Asia woes overtake French election relief

The key external event for risk assets at the start of the week is the French election, this being won by incumbent Emmanuel Macron.

A sigh of relief for market players concerned about a surprise victory from far-right rival Marine Le Pen, Macron’s second term is expected to lift French stocks in particular on Monday’s open and the embattled euro along with them.

The European Union, much like the United States, faces a potent cocktail of inflation and plummeting bond markets, with the European Central Bank (ECB) nonetheless not yet taking decisive steps to raise interest rates or reduce its near $10 trillion balance sheet.

Bitcoin was unmoved at the Macron victory, and risk assets are already contending with an Asia downturn on Monday as Coronavirus in China rattles sentiment.

The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong is down 3.5% on the day so far, while the Shanghai Composite has shed 4.2%.

With crypto en masse heavily correlated to stock market movements currently, a repeat performance by Europe and the United States would produce clear directional cues.

“The worry is the current policy support that the government has already put in place may not be effective because of the Covid policies as activities are subdued,” Jenny Zeng, co-head of Asia Pacific fixed income at global asset management firm AllianceBernstein, told Bloomberg.

Even before Monday’s losses, the past week was already painful for equities, as noted by markets commentator Holger Zschaepitz.

“Global stocks lost $3.3tn in mkt cap this wk as US equities – after peaking Thur morning – experienced steady fall lower as investors seem to reconsider why they have been buying risk assets in world filled w/so much uncertainty,” he told Twitter users Sunday.

“Global stocks worth $107.6tn, equal to 127% of GDP.”

*Bloomberg global stock market cap chart. Source: Holger Zschaepitz/ Twitter*

A further post flagged the so-called Buffett Indicator — the ratio of total U.S. stock market valuation to GDP — still being in what he called “problematic” territory at over 100%.

Dollar strength is back with a vengeance

One component of the macro landscape firmly in bullish mode — to the chagrin of crypto traders — is the U.S. dollar.

The U.S. dollar currency index (DXY), after wobbling at two-year highs last week, now looks to be continuing its uptrend.

At 101.61 at the time of writing, DXY is challenging its performance from March 2020, when the Coronavirus crash sent assets worldwide tumbling.

Dollar strength has rarely been a boon for Bitcoin, and the inverse correlation, while criticized by some, appears to be firmly in control this month.

*BTC/USD 1-week candle chart vs. U.S. dollar currency index (DXY). Source: TradingView*

"Looks like the DXY dev announced a token burn or something," popular trader Crypto Ed joked in response to the latest move.

For Preston Pysh, host of the Investor's Podcast Network, something does not seem right.

"We got the BoJ implementing Yield Curve Control while the Yen is collapsing and we have the FED about to hike 50bps while the dollar is making new highs," he warned Monday.

"Something sure feels like it’s about to break…"

Weekly chart prints fourth straight red candle

Bitcoin is looking anything but rosy this Monday. While the weekend managed to avoid significant volatility, the weekly close still disappointed, coming in at just under last week’s level.

This nevertheless means that there are now four red candles in a row on the weekly chart, something that Bitcoin has not seen since June 2020, data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows.

The downtrend then continued overnight to see BTC/USD fall below $39,000, a position it maintains at the time of writing.

*BTC/USD 1-week candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView*

Traders are eyeing various chart features for clues as to where the pair is headed next, but bullish inklings are decidedly few and far between.

For popular trader and analyst Rekt Capital, it is the Ichimoku cloud looming overhead that would cause further losses for Bitcoin.

During Retest 1 #BTC fake-brokedown from the Cloud before reversing

During Retest 2 $BTC wicked sub-Cloud before reversing

Now retest 3 is in progress

BTC needs to reclaim Cloud as support

It's crucial BTC doesn't flip Cloud into resistance to avoid downside#Crypto #Bitcoin https://t.co/dDLtWwzuTn pic.twitter.com/NQfEbS3nAH
— Rekt Capital (@rektcapital) April 24, 2022

Popular analyst Cheds, author of Trading Wisdom, meanwhile eyed a potential crossing under the 200-period moving average on the three-day chart.

This would be significant, he argued over the weekend, as the last time that this happened after a bull run was the bear market bottom of 2018.

“Not a prediction just an observation,” he cautioned.

On the topic of December 2018 and its $3,100 floor, Matthew Hyland, known as Parabolic Matt on Twitter, produced further comparisons between that period and current BTC price action.

On longer timeframes, he said, holding $37,600 is now “crucial.”

#Bitcoin comparison of the 2018/2019 Bear Market Bottom compared to the current structure BTC has been in since January of this year

✅Similar Time Frame
✅Series of Lower Highs and Higher Lows
✅Creation of a higher high
✅Pullback after first higher high

Crucial $37.6k Holds pic.twitter.com/kzQhvZUTMr
— Matthew Hyland (@MatthewHyland_) April 23, 2022

“Looking for that sweep down, at which point i will then be looking for signs of a relief rally to play off from,” fellow Twitter pundit Crypto Tony meanwhile added Monday as part of his own analysis.

Hodlers put in a new record

The “choppy” nature of lower timeframe price action on Bitcoin makes it an uninspiring trade for anyone but the most experienced players.

As such, it is perhaps little surprise that the majority of hodlers are choosing to stay hands-off and do what they do best.

That is now reflected in on-chain data, which shows that the proportion of the Bitcoin supply that has stayed dormant for at least a year is now at all-time highs.

Citing figures from on-chain analytics firm Glassnode, economist Jan Wuestenfeld noted that this translates to the supply more broadly becoming “older” — proportionally, more coins are being hodled for longer rather than spent.

According to Glassnode, the supply now dormant for a year or more has broken 64% for the first time on record.

The percentage of the #Bitcoin supply last active 1+ years ago just crossed 64% for the first time ever! The percentage of old coins continues to trend up. ↗️ pic.twitter.com/Zyj0hyqFti
— Jan Wüstenfeld (@JanWues) April 24, 2022

HODL Waves, a Glassnode indicator showing hodled coins of all ages, meanwhile confirms the trend. Since December 2021, the 1-2 year supply slice has increased more than any other — from under 10% then to nearly 15% as of this week.

The 3-5 year band of hodled coins also increased its presence in Q1.

*Bitcoin HODL Waves chart. Source: Unchained Capital*

Fundamentals still point to the moon

It is not just casual steadfast hodlers who are stubbornly refusing to reduce their BTC exposure despite the grim outlook.

A look at Bitcoin’s network fundamentals shows that miners are also anything but bearish when it comes to investing.

A frequent story this year but nonetheless an impressive one given that price is moving in the opposite direction, Bitcoin’s network hash rate and difficulty are both due to make new all-time highs this week.

Depending on price performance, difficulty should adjust up by around 2.9% in two days’ time, setting a new record of 29.32 trillion in the process.

Underscoring the competition to participate in mining, difficulty joins hash rate — an estimate of the processing power dedicated to the blockchain — which is already at its highest ever.

Estimates vary by source, but raw data from MiningPoolStats underscores the “up only” trend when it comes to hash rate — a key trigger, some argue, for subsequent bullish price performance.

*Bitcoin hash rate chart (screenshot). Source: MiningPoolStats*

The trend of increasing hash rate is nothing new, meanwhile, having been long forecast as investment continues to grow.

As Cointelegraph reported, as of early April, 20% of Bitcoin mining was being undertaken by publicly-listed companies.

One-fifth of global Bitcoin hash rate is now controlled by listed companies

April 7, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin mining

The total share of the Bitcoin hash rate owned by publicly traded companies has surged over the past year as a growing number of Bitcoin miners go public.

A recent report has shown that nearly one-fifth of the total share of Bitcoin’s hash rate now belongs to publicly-listed mining companies.

The report, published by Arcane Research, details that publicly-listed Bitcoin (BTC) mining companies now account for 19% of Bitcoin’s total hash rate, growing considerably from a mere 3% in Jan. last year.

The term hash rate refers to the total computing power used by a miner’s computing equipment to confirm a transaction. A higher hash rate ensures increased protection against double-spending attacks, which is the process of reversing BTC transactions over the blockchain by contributing to at least 51% of the BTC hash rate.

While there were only a small number of public mining companies at the beginning of last year, there are now a total of 26 different public companies involved in Bitcoin mining, an increase driven by the growing number of mining companies going public.

The report suggests that the growth in the number of public mining companies has been driven by public companies having greater access to capital, which allows them to expand their mining fleets faster than their private competitors.

At present, 44.95% of the global hash rate emerges from North American miners, according to the latest data from the Cambridge Bitcoin electricity consumption index. With the massive projected increases in target hash rate among the publicly traded Bitcoin miners, this number is expected to increase, which means that the Bitcoin network will become gradually more centralized over time.

The rate of Bitcoin mining has grown substantially over the past few years as the crypto asset’s hash rate reached a new all-time high of 248.11 exahashes per second (EH/s) on Feb. 18 of this year. Currently, the network’s hash rate is at 213.16 EH/s, roughly two hundred and thirteen quintillion hashes per second.

Hash rate

BTC may have already reached "max pain"

Strong hands hold firm

Hash rate hits a new all-time high

Russia drops out of the top three largest miners

Georgia, Texas and Kentucky lead BTC hash rate production in the US

Methodology: CBECI uses data from four mining pools

Asia woes overtake French election relief

Dollar strength is back with a vengeance

Weekly chart prints fourth straight red candle

Hodlers put in a new record

Fundamentals still point to the moon

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