As the highly anticipated Bitcoin halving event approaches, the alpha crypto is experiencing varying degrees of price volatility, with fluctuations around the $70,000 level. Bitfinex’s latest report suggests that both long-term and short-term holders are realizing profits and adjusting their positions, leading to increased selling pressure.

With roughly 10 days before the halving, Casey Rodarmor, the founder of Ordinals, is set to launch Runes, a protocol for fungible tokens on the Bitcoin blockchain to coincide with the event. While Runes is widely anticipated and expected to generate a surge in transactions, it remains controversial among conservative Bitcoiners who view these transactions as spam and a violation of Bitcoin’s intended purpose.

Meanwhile, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse predicts that the crypto market cap will double this year, reaching over $5 trillion by year-end. He cites the debut of US spot Bitcoin ETFs, the upcoming Bitcoin halving, and potential positive regulatory changes in the US as key drivers for the market’s growth.

Today’s Newsletter

Bitcoin faces selling pressure nearing halving event: Bitfinex report
Ordinals founder Casey Rodarmor to launch Runes at Bitcoin halving
Crypto market cap set to double this year, says Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse

Markets

Ticker

24hr

Bitcoin

3.6%

2.7%

Ethereum

8.3%

5.4%

L1s

– 0.1%

L2s

7.2%

– 3.8%

DeFi

0.2%

Fear & Greed Index

Extreme Greed (78)

Extreme Greed (79)

Data powered by CoinGecko.

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Top Stories

BITCOIN

Bitcoin faces selling pressure nearing halving event: Bitfinex report

As the Bitcoin halving draws near, the alpha crypto sees a frenzied price volatility. According to Bitfinex’ latest report, this volatility has led to increased selling pressure from both long-term holders (LTH) and short-term holders (STH) who are taking profits.

The report highlights that maintaining the BTC price above critical support zones of approximately $60,000 and $57,000 is crucial to reduce the likelihood of major corrections and preserve short-term momentum.

The report also sheds light on the shifting dynamics between LTH and STH. The gap between the two groups has begun to narrow, with LTHs selling a portion of their BTC holdings to secure significant unrealized profits.

Conversely, the supply held by STHs has increased by 1.121 million BTC, more than offsetting the distribution pressure from LTHs. This increase in STH supply includes new spot buyers and approximately 508,000 BTC currently held in spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), excluding GBTC. [cryptobriefing]

ORDINALS

Ordinals founder Casey Rodarmor to launch Runes at Bitcoin halving

Casey Rodarmor, the founder of Ordinals, is gearing up to launch Runes, a protocol for fungible tokens on the Bitcoin blockchain on April 20, roughly coinciding with the estimated date for the halving event.

As a project, Runes has generated significant buzz within the Bitcoin community, with many predicting a surge in transactions that could potentially drive fees above 1,000 satoshis per vByte, a substantial increase from the current sub-10 sat/vByte levels.

Rodarmor’s motivation behind Runes is to provide a superior alternative to the unauthorized BRC-20 fungible tokens, which he believes are inferior to his protocol. However, Runes and Ordinals remain a topic of controversy, especially among conservative Bitcoiners. They argue that these transactions amount to spam and exploit a combination of Taproot and SegWit incentives in a manner unintended by the authors of those Bitcoin upgrades.

Critics contend that Ordinals users are underpaying for data storage within Bitcoin blocks and that non-financial transactions, such as saving image pixels, violate the core principle of advancing Bitcoin as a monetary network rather than a data storage platform.

Despite these concerns, Rodarmor’s celebrity status among meme coin traders and the success of Ordinals have created significant anticipation for the launch of Runes. [protos]

MARKETS

Crypto market cap set to double this year, says Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse is optimistic about the future of the crypto market, predicting that the market cap will double to over $5 trillion by the end of the year. In a recent interview with CNBC, Garlinghouse identified several key factors that he believes will drive this growth, including the debut of US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), the upcoming Bitcoin halving, and the potential for positive regulatory changes in the US.

Garlinghouse emphasizes the importance of institutional money entering the market through ETFs, which he expects will lead to sustained growth. The exec also addressed the regulatory landscape in the US, acknowledging that despite the SEC’s aggressive enforcement actions, including a lawsuit against Ripple, he remains hopeful for clearer regulations that could make the country a more welcoming market for crypto.

According to Garlinghouse, the US’ status as the largest economy in the world has the potential to significantly influence the crypto industry’s growth if it adopts a more favorable regulatory stance. Garlinghouse’s prediction of a doubling crypto market cap this year reflects his confidence in the industry’s resilience and the potential for positive developments on multiple fronts. [cryptobriefing]