Expert Says Widespread Cryptocurrency Demand Will Come When Dogecoin Does This

Audy Castañeda
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Expert Says Widespread Cryptocurrency Demand Will Come When Dogecoin Does This

There is a feeling that DOGE could attract a lot of attention once it makes a parabolic rise that leads to a new ATH.

Cryptocurrency expert Scott Melker, also known as the “Wolf of All Streets,” has laid out a theory as to when overall cryptocurrency demand will return in this bull market.

Interestingly, his theory revolved around the biggest meme coin, Dogecoin (DOGE), which he believes could attract non-crypto natives back to the crypto space.

Dogecoin’s Role in Attracting General Cryptocurrency Demand

Melker mentioned in an X (formerly Twitter) post that mainstream FOMO (fear of missing out) will return to the cryptocurrency market when the top meme coin hits a new all-time high (ATH). Their belief is based on the fact that the “mainstream fervor” in the last bull cycle was fueled by dog ​​coins and NFTs (non-fungible tokens).

He alluded to how these people joined waiting lists on exchanges just to register and buy DOGE. As such, DOGE needs to make a similar run as 2021 to attract these people back into the space and get them “excited about the market again.” DOGE reaching a new ATH would be a good start as it would turn all investments from the previous cycle into profits.

Melker suggested that Bitcoin hitting new ATHs has not been enough to attract this class of investors, as there is still “seemingly minimal overall interest.” He joked that so far he hasn’t received calls from old friends and family asking if they should buy Bitcoin.

Although DOGE is not exactly at the center of this bull cycle, meme coins are once again part of the mainstream narratives, and these crypto tokens are gaining a lot of interest from retail investors.

Musk: Dogecoin Will Be Used to Buy Teslas ‘At Some Point’

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has hinted that his electric car maker could add Dogecoin DOGE as official payment method for Tesla cars “at some point.”

On March 13, Musk was interacting with the public at the Berlin Gigafactory, a Tesla manufacturing plant, where an audience member asked if a Tesla could be purchased using DOGE in the near future.

Musk began endorsing DOGE after some employees at Tesla’s Gigafactory urged the CEO to support Dogecoin as an official mode of payment. A similar request was made at SpaceX; The visitors demanded support for Dogecoin, and the petition was finally accepted.

What Dogecoin Needs for a New ATH

In 2021, DOGE rose over 26,000% to reach an ATH of $0.7376. This price increase was due in part to the broader acceptance that the meme currency began to enjoy, with entities such as the Dallas Mavericks NBA team accepting it as a payment option. Therefore, an increase in DOGE’s use case could be critical to its performance in this bull run.

Such a development would undoubtedly send bullish signals throughout the DOGE ecosystem and positively affect its price. Currently, DOGE is trading at around $0.1635, down more than 12% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

As of March 15, 2024, the Dogecoin cryptocurrency recorded a closing price of 0.18 US cents. It should be noted that the value of this digital currency experienced a significant rebound in November 2022, when investors began to buy it after the collapse of FTX.

By Audy Castaneda

Post-Halving Pressure: Marathon Digital Anticipates Bitcoin Breakeven Price of $43,000

Leonardo Perez
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Post-Halving Pressure: Marathon Digital Anticipates Bitcoin Breakeven Price of $43,000

According to a Bloomberg report, Marathon Digital plans to acquire additional electrical infrastructure and expand its mining capacity to keep costs low and profitable.

The Bitcoin (BTC) market has been on a wild ride recently, hitting a new all-time high (ATH) before experiencing notable volatility that resulted in an 8% drop to the $65,500 level on Friday.

Meanwhile, Marathon Digital, one of the largest US-based Bitcoin mining companies, is preparing to acquire more energy infrastructure and streamline operations to meet the challenges posed by reduced revenue due to the upcoming reduction event. in the middle of April.

Bitcoin Miners Prepare for Post-Halving Shakeout

By streamlining operations and expanding its scale, Marathon aims to mitigate the impact of the impending revenue decline and ensure broader margins in the post-halving landscape.

Marathon Digital recently announced an agreement to purchase a 200-megawatt data center in Garden City, Texas, for more than $87 million. This acquisition marks the company’s second major investment in electrical infrastructure after it acquired several sites for $179 million earlier this year.

Fred Thiel, President and CEO of Marathon, commented:

“This transaction increases our influence over our current operations, reduces our cost per coin by approximately 20% at the site and provides us with an additional 100 megawatts of capacity to expand …Following the closing of this transaction and the planned site expansion this year, our bitcoin mining portfolio will consist of approximately 1.1 gigawatts of capacity, 54% of which will reside at sites we directly own and operate, and all of which are diversified across eleven sites on three continents”

As recently reported by an outlet media, Marathon Digital had its best year of revenue in 2023, generating $387.5 million, an increase of 229% from the previous year and 452% for the fourth quarter.

By increasing its ownership of mining capacity infrastructure to 53%, up from just 3% the previous year, Marathon is positioning itself for greater operational efficiency and profitability, Bloomberg notes.

However, after the halving, the Bitcoin mining industry is expected to undergo significant changes, with some miners facing profitability challenges and possible exits.

A Profitability Crisis Looms

Marathon Digital CEO Fred Thiel highlights the impact of reduced revenue, estimating that the industry’s average breakeven point will rise from around $23,000 per Bitcoin to approximately $43,000. Thiel stated the following:

“After the halving, there will be some miners who will lose profitability, maybe challenged or maybe looking for a way out, as their income will fall due to the rewarded Bitcoin decreasing. The simple math is that if the average industry break-even point was around $23,000 per Bitcoin, it will now increase to around $43,000.”

This does not necessarily mean that the price of Bitcoin will fall to $43,000 from its current trading price of $69,300. The breakeven price refers to the price at which miners like Marathon Digital can cover their operating costs and achieve profitability. It is not directly related to the market price of Bitcoin.

Next up for mining companies like Marathon Digital will be navigating the impending Halving. This event could have a disproportionate effect on large-scale mining organizations, as rewards for mining a block will be reduced by 50%, from 6.25 BTC to 3,125 BTC per block.

BTC is trading at $69,300 and is about to reclaim the important milestone of $70,000. The cryptocurrency saw a notable spike in volatility during the early hours of the trading session on Friday, but has since recovered, mitigating its losses from 8% to 2.5%.

By Leonardo Perez

Hong Kong SFC Issues Warning Against Crypto Platform MEXC Over Unlicensed Activities

Audy Castañeda
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Hong Kong SFC Issues Warning Against Crypto Platform MEXC Over Unlicensed Activities

Although MEXC does not face direct accusations of wrongdoing, its past operations without proper licenses in several regions indicate potential risks.

Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued a warning against MEXC, a cryptocurrency exchange, for operating in the region without a license on March 15, 2024. The move is another regulatory action against MEXC globally, raising concerns about the platform’s compliance practices.

This is not the first time Hong Kong regulators have taken an aggressive stance against MEXC. For example, in April 2023, Japan’s Financial Services Agency flagged the exchange for unregistered trading. Similarly, Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority also raised red flags in October last year.

The SFC’s warning against MEXC is another alert coming on the heels of its recent warning against Bybit earlier this week. These measures come in response to Hong Kong’s efforts to create a solid regulatory ground for the growing digital asset market.

“Under the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Ordinance, it is an offense to operate a business providing virtual asset services (i.e. operate a virtual asset exchange) in Hong Kong and/or actively promote such services to investors. from Hong Kong without a license,” the regulator’s statement said.

Starting June 1, 2024, any crypto exchange operating within Hong Kong jurisdiction will require a license from the SFC.

The SFC Also Warned MEXC for Alleged Crypto Fraud

The warning against MEXC was more than just a licensing issue. Previously, the SFC warned about a fake site impersonating MEXC on February 9, 2024. It attracted people on social media, offering free investment advice. Victims were sent to sites controlled by scammers to purchase cryptocurrency.

After depositing for “investment,” the victims had difficulty withdrawing funds. The fake MEXC and its associated websites were quickly placed on the Securities and Futures Commission’s watch list for potentially fraudulent virtual asset trading platforms.

Additionally, authorities worked to restrict access to these deceptive sites, showing a united front in the battle against cryptocurrency scams. Although MEXC does not face direct accusations of wrongdoing, its past operations without proper licenses in several regions indicate potential risks.

For investors in Hong Kong and around the world, diligent research into the background of any crypto exchange becomes imperative before committing funds to such platforms.

Recent SFC Warning Against Bybit

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission also issued a warning against Bybit, a cryptocurrency exchange. According to the warning list published by the regulator, the platform is not licensed to trade cryptocurrency-related products in many jurisdictions.

The SFC warning covers 11 Bybit products such as futures, leveraged tokens and lending services that are not permitted. The regulator stated that none of the Bybit group entities are licensed or registered to carry out any regulated activities in Hong Kong. However, Bybit did not apply for a virtual asset trading operator license before February 29, the deadline for such applications in Hong Kong.

The SFC’s warning highlights regulatory non-compliance and a broader effort to crack down on unlicensed platforms operating within the special administrative region. The SFC has only authorized two crypto exchanges, OSL and HashKey Exchange. The OSL exchange obtained its license on December 15, 2020, becoming one of the first licensed crypto exchanges.

HashKey Exchange received its license on November 9, 2022, joining the small group of regulated crypto companies in the region.

By Audy Castaneda

Senators Write to Gensler: No to Ethereum ETFs

Leonardo Perez
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Senators Write to Gensler: No to Ethereum ETFs

It is an unusual letter, as it does not seem to be the work of the senators. According to the experts, there are references to technical issues that US senators could hardly handle with such confidence.

A curious letter presumably sent by two US senators to Gary Gensler against Ethereum ETFs causes surprise.

A letter was sent to Gary Gensler, signed by two senators from the United States of America, which refers to Bitcoin ETFs and any other possible ETFs that emerge in the future.

Two senators from the United States of America sent a letter to Gary Gensler who is known to lead SEC, challenging some alleged irregularities in the ETF offering note on BTC. However, this is not the most interesting part of the letter.

In fact, there is a frontal attack on what could happen in the coming weeks: the possibility of approving an ETF also on Ethereum. So far nothing strange: it is known that at least on one side in American politics, cryptocurrencies must be opposed at all possible levels.

The reasons included in the letter would seem to be a little above the knowledge of the markets that can be assumed from senators who – presumably – deal with something else.

“We do not believe other cryptocurrencies have the same trading volumes or integrity to support ETPs. And we do not believe that futures markets for other cryptocurrencies show a close correlation with spot markets, which would allow for meaningful surveillance of the same markets and be able to counter fraudulent traders.”

Don’t Use Bitcoin as Precedent

The first request is not to use what happened with Bitcoin ETFs as a precedent for future approvals. The issue is complicated, but deserves further investigation: Bitcoin ETFs were approved after US courts forced them to do so, given that there is a significant correlation between the performance of futures markets (particularly those of the Chicago CME, a market more than the regulated stock exchange) and markets places that is, those where Bitcoin is bought and sold directly.

Correlation between ETH Futures and ETH Spots

The issue of correlation between these two markets has been decisive in reaching the approval of the Bitcoin ETF. And it is at this point that SECOND will try to make the barricades. And so far nothing new, given that a few days ago there was a meeting between Coinbase and the SEC itself to discuss this issue.

The curious thing is that two senators who probably do not have such a deep knowledge of the world take up the issue. markets. Hence the theory that seems to be shared by specialists in the ETF world.

A Letter Written by Others?

The suspicion, apparently well founded, is that the letter was actually written by other people, specifically by someone from the SEC, given the perfect agreement of the arguments used by the senators themselves and by the SEC.

This cannot be certain, although there are several clues. In any case, the answers are already beginning to arrive; for example, Paul Grewal of Coinbase, who obviously has an interest in seeing Ethereum ETFs approved.

Yesterday, Grewal took on X to post lengthy notes, the first of which is the following:

“Respectfully Senators, the evidence points exactly the opposite way. We have discussed our analysis with SEC staff and would be happy to do the same for you and any other policy makers who have questions.”

By Leonardo Perez

Craig Wright Is Not Satoshi Nakamoto, the Creator of Bitcoin, and other News

Audy Castañeda
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Craig Wright Is Not Satoshi Nakamoto, the Creator of Bitcoin, and other News

The decision comes after the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) filed a lawsuit against Wright in London, seeking injunctive relief to stop his claims.

As ruled by Judge James Mellor on March 14, Craig Wright, the Australian computer scientist who claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto, has been dismissed as the pseudonymous creator of the Bitcoin network.

Closing arguments, which began on March 12, revealed allegations of massive falsification of documents by Wright to support his claim to be Nakamoto. COPA argued that Wright had “lied on an extraordinary scale,” fabricating a biographical story and presenting falsified documents to support it.

MicroStrategy Announces New Private Sale to Acquire More Bitcoin

MicroStrategy, the software firm recently rebranded as a “Bitcoin development company,” has revealed its plans for another private sale with the goal of purchasing more Bitcoin.

In a statement issued Wednesday, the company announced its intention to offer $500 million in convertible senior notes due 2031 to institutional buyers. With the purpose of increasing your cryptocurrency portfolio.

This announcement follows one made last week, where MicroStrategy revealed its plans to conduct a private sale of $600 million in convertible senior notes to acquire more Bitcoin.

With a current reserve of 205,000 BTC in its treasury, MicroStrategy positions itself as the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin.

Cryptocurrency Investors See Return to Profits in 2023, Chainalysis Report Reveals

According to a recent report from blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis, cryptocurrency investors experienced a rebound in profits during the year 2023, racking up billions of dollars in profits after a prolonged period of recession.

The new figures reveal that the profits made by investors, defined as the profits obtained from the sale of assets at a price higher than their acquisition. They reached USD 37.6 billion during the year 2023.

This data represents a notable recovery compared to the realized losses of USD 127.1 billion in 2022. However, in contrast to the previous bullish cycle, the recovery is perceived as more moderate. According to Chainalysis estimates, in 2021, cryptocurrency investors made profits totaling $159.7 billion.

Bybit Cryptocurrency Exchange Warned in Hong Kong for Unauthorized Operations

In a preventive measure, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has issued a warning against the popular cryptocurrency exchange Bybit. Pointing out that the platform does not have authorization to operate in the territory.

The Financial Services Commission (SFC) has raised concerns regarding the marketing of various cryptocurrency-related financial products to Hong Kong investors without obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals.

The SFC warning list includes products such as Futures, Options and Leveraged Tokens, among others, offered by Bybit. Furthermore, it has made it clear that no entity linked to this exchange has been registered or authorized by them to carry out regulated activities in Hong Kong.

The SFC’s warning highlights that products associated with cryptocurrencies, such as futures or securities contracts, require prior licensing before being offered to Hong Kong residents.

Peter Schiff Admits Buying Bitcoin in 2010 Would Have Been a Good Idea

The controversial Peter Schiff, one of the biggest detractors of cryptocurrencies, recently admitted that he would have liked to be part of that market. In that sense, he states that buying Bitcoin in 2010 would have been very positive for him. These are curious words, considering the permanent disdain he shows for the pioneering cryptocurrency.

Despite the apocalyptic warnings of detractors, buying Bitcoin is a reasonable decision and not only for those who did so in 2010. With the new all-time highs of the coin’s price, 100% of investors at any time in recent 15 years (approximately) are in profit.

By Audy Castaneda

Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Reaches Unprecedented Levels

Leonardo Perez
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Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Reaches Unprecedented Levels

A recent increase in difficulties means an influx of new miners, likely attracted by the recent rally in the price of Bitcoin, which peaked at a staggering $73,800 on the same day.

Winds of change are blowing in the Bitcoin landscape. On March 14, 2024, the network witnessed a monumental change: mining difficulty skyrocketed to a record 84 trillion hashes. This unprecedented challenge coincides with another major event on the horizon: The Bitcoin halving scheduled for April.

According to BTC.com, the rate has increased by almost 5.80% since the previous modification. The mining hashrate of the original coin has also peaked, indicating that more people are now participating in the mining process. Currently, the value stands at 617 EH/s.

Bitcoin Mining: The Difficulty Dilemma

Mining Bitcoin is not an easy task. Miners compete to solve complex cryptographic puzzles, and the difficulty of these puzzles is adjusted based on the network’s overall hash rate. As more miners join the network, the difficulty increases to ensure a constant block production rate (approximately 1 block every 10 minutes).

Concurrently, Bitcoin’s computing power has reached new heights, recording a peak hashrate of 628 exahash per second (EH/s) on March 12, 2024. Since that peak, the hashrate has decreased slightly to 624 EH/s, as reported by the seven-day simple moving average (SMA).

As of now, there are less than 5,500 blocks left before the next Bitcoin halving event, which will reduce miners’ block rewards from 6.25 bitcoins per block to 3,125 bitcoins per block. Miners will face two more difficulty adjustments before the halving, expected to occur around April 19, 2024.

The Halving Effect

The upcoming halving event in April throws another variable into the equation. Every four years, the block reward for miners (the amount of Bitcoin earned for successfully mining a block) is halved.

This economic policy is a cornerstone of Bitcoin’s design, which aims to control inflation and maintain scarcity over time. The last halving in May 2020 saw a significant price increase in the following months, and many analysts believe that the next halving will follow suit.

Here’s the logic: as the supply of new Bitcoins halves, existing Bitcoins become relatively scarcer, which could drive up the price due to increased demand.

A Balancing Act for Miners

Despite the increasing difficulty, the possibility of Bitcoin price appreciation after the halving could incentivize miners to weather the storm. This economic incentive is reinforced by the recent increase in mining rewards, which reached almost $79 million.

This suggests that even with the increase in difficulty, miners are still making substantial profits due to the high price of Bitcoin. However, the long-term sustainability of this model is debatable.

As the difficulty continues to increase, the energy consumption required for mining will also increase. It raises concerns about the environmental impact of Bitcoin mining, especially considering the dependence on non-renewable energy sources in some regions.

Beyond the Headlines

The narrative surrounding Bitcoin’s recent surge often focuses on its price and the upcoming halving. However, there are crucial underlying factors to consider.

The increasing difficulty of mining raises questions about the long-term viability of proof of work, Bitcoin’s current consensus mechanism. Alternative, more energy-efficient mechanisms are being explored, but their widespread adoption remains uncertain.

By Leonardo Perez

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