Good morning. Here’s what happens:
the prices: Bitcoin and Ether prices plummeted due to the BRC-20 meme crowd, with a potential solution being to shift profits to altcoins and Ethereum.
ideas: Paul Esma, Head of Trading at XBTO Group, told CoinDesk TV that Bitcoin’s path is “not straight.”
Bitcoin is spiraling under the pressure of chaotic network congestion
Bitcoin begins the East Asian trading day down 2.6% at $27,715, while Ether is down 1.4% at $1,850.
“What’s happening now in bitcoin is completely unprecedented. We haven’t really seen this in many years,” 21Co co-founder and CEO Hani Rashwan said during a recent appearance on CoinDesk TV.
Like others, Rashwan blamed the BRC-20 meme coins, but also said we shouldn’t merge them with altcoins.
He said, “I would not rank meme coins in the same league as altcoins like Ethereum or Solana. These altcoins are essentially smart contract platforms that facilitate a range of functions, including but not limited to meme coins and NFTs.”
Rashwan sees a way out of the jam involving meme coin holders taking profits and moving to altcoins and Ethereum, which could in turn increase the value of these coins as well.
But it would take another major macroeconomic event to trigger this move. And for now, we are stuck with Bitcoin NFTs for PEPE.
Bitcoin’s path is not straight
Bitcoin software “On Monday,” Paul Esma, Head of Trading at XBTO Group, told CoinDesk.
“It’s like a deer in the headlights of the bitcoin protocol,” said Ezema, linking the latest technical problems to the Taproot upgrade in late 2021, which boosted the privacy of the bitcoin network, among other improvements.
But Esma said optimistically that bitcoin has remained in the roughly $25,000 to $30,000 range for most of this year. Cryptocurrency is still in its formative years, he said, so it is understandable that it is subject to the same headwinds that have plagued other early-stage technologies throughout history.
“Like any emerging, young technology that gets upgrades and tweaks, that’s part of it,” Esma said. This is part of the growth and development of the network, and the path is not straight.
Esma said he is looking forward to Wednesday’s release of the May Consumer Price Index (CPI) to get a sense of the US central bank’s next privacy move. The Fed has boosted interest rates by 25 basis points three times in a row, but monetary policy watchers, particularly those critical of the Fed, are hopeful that the Fed’s tightening will stop.
“What asset markets are looking for is something that’s not too strong or too weak because if something comes up with, like, I don’t know, plus or minus, you know, some decent, low standard deviation of what’s expected, then (still) it’s too soon to stop.” However, he added cautiously that the current inflation rate remains above “the 2% level that the Fed is seeking.” It still comes down to the basic PCE level they are looking for as well. So, you know, Powell has been very clear that he’s going to keep interest rates at that level for longer than the market indicates.”
Binance has once again resumed bitcoin (BTC) withdrawals after a second halt, as the bitcoin network suffered unprecedented congestion. This came as Pepecoin (PEPE) holders could cash in on their positions after one of the most dramatic rally in the history of altcoins. 21. co Co-founder and CEO Hany Rashwan shared an analysis of the cryptocurrency markets. Revolut Brazil CEO Glauber Mota and founder of the Delta Blockchain Fund and GP Kavita Gupta also joined the conversation.
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