By Omkar Godbole (All times ET unless otherwise noted)
A new Bitcoin improvement proposal, BIP-110, which aims to reduce spam-like data that clutters the blockchain, is facing backlash from some industry leaders who say it risks doing more damage to the network’s reputation than the spam itself.
BIP-110 is a “soft fork,” a type of upgrade that works seamlessly with existing Bitcoin setups without breaking the blockchain. It seeks to place strict temporary limits on non-monetary data in transactions, particularly ordinal registrations that block images, videos or tokens in Bitcoin blocks.
Implementing the same could help combat “spam” and decongest the network, making it cheaper for ordinary people to use, while keeping blockchain focused on payments. Onchain activity has been almost negligible in recent months.
However, Blockstream CEO Adam Back disagrees, calling the proposal an attack on Bitcoin’s reputation as a reliable currency.
“It’s worse because it’s an attack on Bitcoin’s credibility as a store of value, its security credibility, and a lynching attempt to push changes for which there is no consensus. Spamming is just a nuisance, all of this is by definition block size. Operation returns are 4 times smaller,” Back on X said.
Several others echoed this point, arguing that the fix could harm trust more than spam.
In the meantime, markets offer little enthusiasm as bitcoin continues to trade between $67,000 and $70,000, with prices approaching the lower end of the range at the time of writing. The CoinDesk Memecoin Index (CDMEME) is down 3% over 24 hours, alongside a 1% decline in other major tokens such as Ether and BNB.
“The decline of larger coins is a worrying sign for smaller ones, as it could soon drag them down with it at an accelerating pace,” Alex Kuptsikevich, senior market analyst at The FxPro, said in an email.
He added that the market has entered a “stress zone” but has not yet reached the final stage of capitulation. “To reach a ‘real bottom’ requires a peak loss and complete exhaustion of selling pressure,” he noted.
In traditional markets, short selling on the dollar has reached its highest level in more than a decade, while the recent decline in the inflation-adjusted yield on US 10-year bonds has offered hope to battered Bitcoin bulls. Stay vigilant!
Read more: For analysis of current altcoin and derivatives activity, see Crypto Markets Today
What to watch
For a more comprehensive list of this week’s events, check out CoinDesk’s “Crypto Week Ahead.”
- Cryptocurrency
- February 17, 7 p.m.: Rocket Pool will launch its Saturn One upgrade.
- Macro
- February 17, 8:30 a.m.: Canadian inflation rate year-on-year for January (previous 2.4%); Base rate over one year (previous 2.8%)
- February 17, 8:30 a.m.: Empire State of New York manufacturing index for February est. 7.1 (previous 7.7)
- February 17, 6:50 p.m.: Japanese trade balance for January estimated at 2.142 billion yen (previously 105.7 billion yen)
- Earnings (Estimates based on FactSet data)
- February 17: HIVE Digital Technologies (HIVE), pre-market, -$0.07
Token Events
For a more comprehensive list of this week’s events, check out CoinDesk’s “Crypto Week Ahead.”
- Votes and calls on governance
- February 17: Jito will host an X Spaces session with Hush Protocol.
- February 17: Basic Attention Token to host a Brave Talk session on X Spaces.
- Balancer votes to swap a signer on emergency subDAO multisigs to improve operational responsiveness and security coverage. Voting closes on February 17.
- Unlocks
- February 17: to unlock 17.24% of its circulating supply worth $20.84 million.
- Token Launches
Conferences
For a more comprehensive list of this week’s events, check out CoinDesk’s “Crypto Week Ahead.”
Market movements
- BTC is down 1.03% from 4 p.m. ET Monday at $68,131.79 (24 hours: -1.28%)
- ETH is down 1.11% at $1,976.32 (24 hours: -0.57%)
- CoinDesk 20 is down 1.28% at 1,978.56 (24 hours: -1.03%)
- Ether CESR Composite Staking Rate Up 6 Basis Points to 2.84%
- BTC funding rate is 0.002% (2.2119% annualized) on Binance
- The DXY is up 0.21% at 97.12
- Gold futures are down 1.87% at $4,952.10
- Silver futures are down 4.19% at $74.70
- The Nikkei 225 closed down 0.42% at 56,566.49
- Hang Seng closed 0.52% higher at 26,705.94
- The FTSE is up 0.37% at 10,512.50
- The Euro Stoxx 50 is up 0.15% at 5,987.94
- DJIA closed Friday up 0.10% at 49,500.93
- The S&P 500 closed up 0.05% at 6,836.17
- The Nasdaq Composite closed down 0.22% at 22,546.67
- The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed up 1.87% at 33,073.71
- The S&P 40 Latin America closed Monday down 0.64% at 3,717.23
- The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield is down 2.7 basis points at 4.029%
- E-mini S&P 500 futures are down 0.20% at 6,836.50
- E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures are down 0.58% at 24,658.75
- E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are down 0.02% at 49,560.00
Bitcoin Statistics
- BTC dominance: 58.81% (-0.16%)
- Ether-bitcoin ratio: 0.02897 (-0.14%)
- Hashrate (seven-day moving average): 1,043 EH/s
- Hash price (spot): $34.08
- Total fees: 2.22 BTC / $151,829
- Open Interest on CME Futures: 118,450 BTC
- BTC valued in gold: 13.8 ounces.
- BTC vs. gold market capitalization: 4.53%
Technical analysis
- The chart shows the fluctuations of Bitcoin’s 30-day implied volatility index in candlestick form.
- Volatility has eased significantly, reversing the rise from earlier in the month to almost 100%.
- The reversal indicates that panic has eased and traders are no longer frantically searching for options or hedging their bets like during the first six days of the month.
Crypto Stocks
- Coinbase Global (COIN): Closed Friday at $164.32 (+16.46%), -0.94% at $162.78 in pre-market
- Circle Internet (CRCL): closed at $60.04 (+6.02%), -0.35% at $59.83
- Galaxy Digital (GLXY): closed at $21.66 (+7.49%), -1.66% at $21.30
- Bullish (BLSH): closed at $31.73 (+0.06%), -0.66% at $31.52
- MARA Holdings (MARA): closed at $7.92 (+9.24%), -1.14% to $7.83
- Riot Platforms (RIOT): close at $15.22 (+7.18%), -1.18% at $15.04
- Core Scientific (CORZ): closed at $17.84 (+2.06%)
- CleanSpark (CLSK): closed at $9.85 (+5.80%), -0.81% at $9.77
- CoinShares Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI): Closed at $41.34 (+3.09%)
- Exodus Movement (EXOD): closed at $11.27 (+10.60%), -3.02% at $10.93
Crypto Cash Companies
- Strategy (MSTR): closed at $133.88 (+8.85%), -1.60% at $131.74
- Strive (ASST): closed at $8.33 (+8.18%), -0.12% at $8.32
- SharpLink Gaming (SBET): closed at $6.85 (+4.74%), -2.34% at $6.69
- Upexi (UPXI): closed at $0.77 (+3.36%), +5.76% at $0.81
- Lite Strategy (LITS): closed at $1.12 (+8.74%)
ETF Feed
Spot BTC ETF
- Daily net flow: $15.1 million
- Cumulative net flows: $54.31 billion
- Total BTC holdings ~1.26 million
ETH Spot ETF
- Daily net flow: $10.2 million
- Cumulative net flows: $11.67 billion
- Total ETH holdings ~5.71 million
Source: Farside Investors
While you were sleeping
Bitcoin remains under pressure near $68,000, even as panic ebbs (CoinDesk): Bitcoin is struggling to build bullish momentum, even as the key panic gauge pulls back from its high earlier this month and hints at renewed stability.
The BofA survey signals bearish bets on the dollar at their highest level in more than a decade. Here’s what that means for Bitcoin (CoinDesk): Investors are the most bearish on the dollar in more than a decade, according to the latest Bank of America survey, and this extreme bet could bring volatility to Bitcoin, but not in the way crypto bulls are used to.
Sterling, bond yields fall as weak data cements bets on rate cut (Bloomberg): Sterling falls below $1.36 after data showed wage growth slowed more than expected to 4.2% in December, while unemployment rose.
U.S., Iran begin nuclear talks in Geneva as war threat looms (Reuters): Iran’s supreme leader warned that U.S. attempts to overthrow his government would fail, as Washington and Tehran began nuclear talks amid a U.S. military buildup in the Middle East.
