2023 is a record year for bitcoin in many ways. It reached the highest hashrate and mining difficulty, and on May 1 it broke the daily transaction record: 682,281 confirmed transfers. Despite the problems with the mempool, the network maintains a dynamic growth in the number of transactions, although the fees range from $ 1.46 to $ 2.42.

On May 7, there was an increase in fees due to the chaos in the mempool, 2023 became a record year for Bitcoin. At the beginning of the year, its hashrate – that is, the computing power used to mine the cryptocurrency – and the difficulty of mining reached record highs.

In early May, bitcoin broke another record, the #Bitcoin price action contained a breakout on May 11, and although the price rebounded afterward, it failed to regain the previous level reported by @beincrypto_en on May 16, 2023

New daily transaction record

On May 1, 2023, the Bitcoin network broke the daily transaction record, approaching the level of 700,000 transactions in one day. On that day, 682,281 confirmed transactions were made through the web. Just 9 days later, the number of confirmed daily transactions dropped to 671,668.

ycharts.com has informed us that not all record volumes were processed to perfection by the Bitcoin infrastructure. On May 7^th, there was a sharp increase in fees due to chaos in the mempool, i.e. the pool of pending transactions, caused by more than 500,000 users’ unconfirmed transactions.

It was a record high regarding the number of transactions awaiting confirmation. However, since then, the congestion in the mempool has decreased, and now approximately 250 thousand transactions are waiting to be processed.

The number of confirmed Bitcoin transactions from May 1 to 15, 2023

Source: ycharts.com

A sharp increase in fees

Despite the dramatic situation related to the transaction queue, the Bitcoin network was still able to process an impressive amount of transactions per day. May was a particularly notable month as the network achieved a record number of confirmed daily transactions on the first day.

According to ycharts.com, 682 281 transfers were confirmed, just one day before the Bitcoin hash rate reached its all-time high of 491 EH/s. From May 6 to May 15, 2023, the number of daily transactions did not drop below 500 000, and on May 10, miners confirmed 671 668 transactions.

Bitcoin continues to maintain a dynamic growth rate in the number of confirmed daily transactions, for example, on May 14 alone, 631,677 transactions were processed. However, about 250,000 still accumulate in the mempool. unconfirmed transactions and fees range from USD 1.46 to USD 2.42 per transfer.

According to archived data compiled by mempool.space, high-priority transactions require a fee of $2.21, medium-priority transactions cost $1.94 and low-priority transactions cost $1.79 at the time of writing.

                                                                                             By Marina Meza

Coinbase’s chief legal officer Paul Grewal expressed concern over the SEC’s response, stating that they will happily continue to monitor the sector.

SEC argues that it should not be forced to make rules for the cryptocurrency industry

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has finally issued a formal response in court regarding Coinbase’s request for clear regulation for cryptocurrencies, stating that any regulation may take years and that enforcement actions will continue in the meantime.

According to court papers filed on May 15th, the SEC argued that it has no obligation to comply with Coinbase’s requirements outlined in its petition, and also argued that the company has asked for a complex set of reforms and rulemaking in an unreasonably short period of time.

SEC Denies Coinbase’s Injunction Request

The securities regulator has asked the court to deny Coinbase’s injunction request, arguing that the injunction is an “extraordinary remedy” and that Coinbase “does not have and cannot demonstrate a right” to the satisfaction of its claims.

Coinbase’s chief legal officer, Paul Grewal, said in a Twitter thread that the filing may be the first time the securities regulator has explained its views on whether the SEC should create rules for the crypto industry. He also said there were still many things on the table that needed clarification.

Today the SEC responded to Coinbase’s petition for an injunction: it has asked the court to require the SEC to answer only yes, or no to whether it will undertake rulemaking for our industry

The SEC told the court that rulemaking can take years and that they are in no hurry, arguing that the SEC acknowledged that it will continue to use enforcement actions as a substitute for rulemaking for the foreseeable future, but not to worry: those enforcement actions may eventually ‘inform’ as-yet-unplanned rulemaking.

Just hours before the filing, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler gave a speech at the Financial Markets Conference, arguing that rules for cryptocurrencies were already published and sufficient.

Remarkably, in its recent presentation, the SEC distanced itself from any public commentary and the views of its chairman, although it appears to be more in relation to comments about Gensler’s views that most cryptocurrencies are classified as a security.

The SEC also said that Chairman Gensler’s public statements are not formal guidance or policy statements from the SEC and the public cannot rely on them as such, Grewal noted.

Ultimately, the regulator has argued that it should not be compelled to make rules for the cryptocurrency sector.

As Coinbase’s own filings make clear, considering the various possibilities it suggests that it is a necessarily complicated task. However, Coinbase filed its regulatory petition less than ten months ago, supplemented aspects of the petition less than three months ago, and sought to supplement the filing again only a few weeks ago.

Part of SEC’s argument for seeking denial is based on the assertion that Coinbase “cannot persuasively allege” that there has been any prejudice from the SEC’s failure to act on the petition since it was initially filed.

                                                                                             By Marina Meza

The Ethereum price is dipping below $1,850 against the US Dollar. ETH/USD remains at risk of further downside below the $1,700 support zone.

Ethereum is the second most relevant cryptocurrency in the crypto world, behind Bitcoin. It is a crypto active that has other uses, beyond accumulating value over time.

Currently, thanks to Ethereum, thousands of projects of all kinds have emerged, such as Decentralized Finance or NFTs. This makes the native token of the Ethereum (ETH) network necessary to trade in all those projects that are coming to light. Meanwhile, the demand and price of ETH increase.

The Ethereum price is gaining bearish momentum below the $1,880 resistance against the US Dollar. It is now trading below $1,850, and the 55 simple moving average. There was a break above a key downtrend line, with resistance near $1,820 on the 4-hour chart, according to Coinbase. The pair could continue moving lower if it sustains below $1850 and $1880.

Ethereum Price Analysis

Last week, Ethereum began a fresh dip below $1,920 against the US Dollar. The ETH price moved into a bearish zone below the $1,880 level.

A low was formed near $1,737 before the price started a bullish correction. There was a move above the 23.6% Fibonacci retracement level of the move down, from the $2,020 high to the $1,737 low. Additionally, there was a break above a key downtrend line with resistance near $1,820 on the 4-hours chart.

It is now trading below $1,850 and the 55 simple moving average. On the upside, the price is now facing resistance near the $1,850 level.

The next major resistance is near the $1,880 level or the 50% Fibonacci retracement level of the move down, from the $2,020 high to the $1,737 low, above which it could rally towards the $2 resistance zone. 1,920. A clear move above the $1880 and $1920 resistance levels could require a further move to $2000. Further gains could even send the price toward the $2,120 or even the $2,200 resistance zone in the near term.

On the downside, initial support is near the $1,780 level. The next major support is now near the $1,740 level. A break below the $1740 support could take the price to $1700. If the bulls fail to protect the $1,700 support, the price could drop to $1,650.

Ethereum price is trading below $1,880 and the 55 simple moving average. Overall, Ether’s price could continue to fall if it sustains below $1,850 and $1,880.

Technical Indicators and Predictions

4-hour MACD – The MACD for ETH/USD is now gaining momentum in the bearish zone.

4-hour RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for ETH/USD is now below the 50 level.

Key Support Levels: $1,740, followed by the $1,700 zone.

Key resistance levels $: $1,840 and $1,880.

According to CryptoPredictions, the ETH price for today (16.05.2023) is forecast to be in the price range of $1,554.539 – $2,286.087. The Ethereum price is forecast to end today at $1,828,870. Ethereum started in May 2023 at $1,885,392 and is expected to end the month at $1,488,748. During May, the expected maximum price of ETH is $2,115.261 and the minimum is $1,438.377.

By Audy Castaneda