News & Research

Bitcoin cloud mining firm Bitdeer announced on its official X account that it mined 144.1 BTC this week. During the same period, the company sold 141.5 BTC, leaving it with net holdings of 1996.7 BTC as of Dec. 19.

Bitcoin's price is struggling as investors increasingly prefer safe-haven assets in response to sluggish U.S. employment figures and slowing economic growth, according to an analysis by Cointelegraph. The report explains that strong demand for U.S. Treasuries and a decreased likelihood of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut are prompting investors to seek safer options, thereby reducing interest in Bitcoin. Cointelegraph also noted that Japan's economic recession and the poor U.S. jobs data are contributing to the downward pressure on the cryptocurrency.

BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes has stated that while altcoins are currently ailing and will take time to recover, now is the time for investors who understand capital preservation and exchange mechanics to seek out opportunities. In an essay published on Dec. 20, he argued that even in a battered market, there are valuable assets to be found at low prices. Hayes added that Bitcoin could experience a sharp recovery once the market recognizes that the U.S. Federal Reserve's Reserve Management Purchases (RMP) plan is effectively a form of quantitative easing. He also identified Ethena (ENA) as his most preferred altcoin, noting that he has invested in the project through his family office, Maelstrom.

The Lido (LDO) community has introduced a Whitehat Safe Harbor Agreement to protect its approximately $26 billion in assets, according to DL News. The agreement permits white-hat hackers to intervene for the purpose of asset recovery in the event of a hack. This new policy provides an institutional safeguard for ethical hackers, who previously faced the risk of legal punishment for such unauthorized interventions.

Selling pressure on XRP remains strong despite the potential approval of a U.S. spot ETF, according to an analysis by CryptoQuant contributor PelinayPA. The contributor noted that most recent XRP inflows to Binance originated from wallets holding between 100,000 and one million XRP, as well as those with over one million XRP, indicating that whales, not retail investors, are depositing funds onto the exchange. Historically, such spikes in exchange inflows have preceded sustained price declines, signaling that supply is overwhelming demand. PelinayPA identified a key support zone between $1.82 and $1.87 but warned that continued large-scale transfers by whales could push the price down to the $1.50-$1.66 range. The analysis also highlighted that the chart currently shows no signs of a bullish trend reversal and that XRP faces repeated selling pressure each time it approaches $1.95. A significant rebound is considered unlikely until these exchange inflows decrease.

The EigenLayer Foundation has introduced a governance proposal to overhaul its EIGEN token incentive system, CoinDesk reported. The proposal's central aim is to restructure incentives based on network activity and fee generation. Under the plan, a new incentives committee would be formed to adjust token issuance. The system is designed to reward users who contribute to securing Actively Validated Services (AVS) and expanding the EigenCloud ecosystem.

Bitcoin's weekly Relative Strength Index (RSI) has fallen to its lowest level since January 2023, according to a Cointelegraph analysis of the Bitstamp BTC/USD chart. The indicator has dropped to 35, a level last seen when Bitcoin was trading between $15,500 and $17,000. Cointelegraph suggests this decline indicates an extremely oversold condition, which has historically preceded price rallies and may signal a short-term reversal. The analysis also noted that Bitcoin's Network Value to Transactions (NVT) ratio suggests the asset is currently undervalued. Meanwhile, crypto analyst Jelle stated that this RSI level is significant, indicating that the market could either be approaching a bottom or be on the verge of a larger decline, describing it as a pivotal moment for traders.

Solana-based decentralized exchange (DEX) Lifinity is shutting down, SolanaFloor reported. The move follows a proposal to cease operations that was submitted to the project's community on Dec. 10 and subsequently passed unanimously. In line with the proposal, the Lifinity DAO will distribute its $42 million in assets to LFNTY token holders. Holders are estimated to receive between $0.90 and $1.10 per token.

CoinMarketCap's Altcoin Season Index has fallen one point from the previous day to 17. The index measures whether altcoins are outperforming Bitcoin. It is considered an "altcoin season" if 75% of the top 100 cryptocurrencies, excluding stablecoins and wrapped tokens, have performed better than Bitcoin over the last 90 days. A score closer to 100 indicates a stronger altcoin season.

The decentralized synthetic asset protocol Synthetix (SNX) is returning to the Ethereum mainnet, Cointelegraph reported. The founder of Synthetix explained that while derivatives trading had migrated across various networks over the past few years, Ethereum now has sufficient capacity to support high-performance financial applications. The founder added that the extreme network congestion that previously affected Ethereum has now been significantly resolved.