Bitcoin Edges Lower Following Economic Reports; Arweave Emerges As Top Gainer

Bitcoin BTC/USD moved slightly lower, but the cryptocurrency prices remained above the $34,500 level on Tuesday.

Ethereum ETH/USD also edged lower, but traded above the key $1,800 mark this morning.

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city home price index climbed 2.2% year-over-year in August versus a 0.2% increase in July. The FHFA house price index increased by 0.6% from the prior month in August versus a 0.8% rise in July.

Arweave AR/USD was the top gainer over the prior 24 hours, while Render RNDR/USD turned out to be the biggest loser.

At the time of writing, the global crypto market cap rose to $1.28 trillion, recording a 24-hour gain of 0.1%. BTC was trading lower by 0.3% at $34,509…

Read more on Benzinga

LATEST: Bitcoin Sees Record Number of Profitable Wallet Addresses Despite Price Dip

Despite Bitcoin’s price remaining 50% below its all-time high, recent data from on-chain analytics firm Glassnode reveals a significant milestone for the cryptocurrency. As of October 30, a record-breaking 39.1 million Bitcoin wallet addresses were in profit, surpassing the previous peak of 38.1 million in November 2021 when BTC was at all-time highs. In percentage terms, profitable addresses are at an 18-month high of 81.1%, up from 60% just two months ago. This surge in profitability has been driven by Bitcoin’s recent price gains, with investors returning to profit-taking as the market passed $34,000.

Nomic kicks off native Bitcoin bridging to Cosmos with 21 BTC

Matt Bell was on the staff at Tendermint (All in Bits) in the early days of 2017 when Cosmos was just a talking point between co-founders Jae Kwon and Ethan Buchman.

One of his early jobs as a software engineer was working out how best to accept bitcoin for the ATOM token sale. The June 2017 fundraiser, held during the heady days of a bull market, easily hit its hard cap of $17 million in bitcoin at a time when it was changing hands for around $2,500.

Bell left at the end of 2018 and founded Nomic-developer Turbofish, with the goal of bringing bitcoin to Cosmos directly.

After nearly five years, Nomic is now locking mainnet bitcoin and minting nBTC, an IBC-transferrable token, available…

Read more on Blockworks

A closer look at the evolving stablecoin ecosystem

The rise of digital currencies, exemplified by Bitcoin (BTC), brought a groundbreaking shift in the financial landscape. 

However, it also brought to light a critical challenge: price volatility. Bitcoin and many other early cryptocurrencies exhibited extreme price fluctuations, making them difficult to use for everyday transactions or as a reliable store of value.

Users recognized the need for stability when dealing with digital assets, particularly when conducting business or holding assets for an extended period. This need for stability in the digital currency realm paved the way for the development of stablecoins.

As a result, stablecoins emerged to address the need for a reliable and…

Read more on Cointelegraph

Crypto investors are in for a ‘very exciting spring,’ says Van Eck CEO

Politically-motivated rate cuts could coincide with the bitcoin “halvening” — as well as potential spot bitcoin ETF launches — making for a “very exciting spring” for crypto investors, Van Eck says.

“We’re near the end of this Fed cycle of tightening,” he says. “We’re certainly closer to the end than the beginning.”

“If one is cynical about the election, then you want at least six months for lower rates to kick in,” he adds. 

On the Empire podcast (Spotify/Apple), the Van Eck CEO admits he is not a “mind reader” when it comes to the timing of potential spot bitcoin ETF approvals. But he sees “movement at the [US Securities and Exchange Commission] now,…

Read more on Blockworks

President of El Salvador Bukele Announces Re-Election Bid

In a move that has stirred both excitement and controversy, President of El Salvador Nayib Bukele has officially announced his bid for re-election in the Central American nation. Bukele, who gained international recognition as a pro-Bitcoin leader for his efforts to make Bitcoin legal tender in El Salvador, made his re-election intentions public, setting the stage for a significant political showdown.

Source: X

President of El Salvador to Continue Plans

Bukele and El Salvador’s Vice President Felix Ulloa officially submitted their re-election candidacy despite legal uncertainties at the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) in the capital, San Salvador. The submission took…

Read more on bitcoinnews

Analyzing The United Nations’ Report

The United Nations (UN) recently released a new report about Bitcoin in which they claim their research reveals a “staggering carbon, water and land footprints of the global Bitcoin mining network”. The full report and key findings can be found here.

While most provided findings were negative, there were some positive points. Let’s go over the major findings from the report, and discuss some Bitcoin facts.

The Positives

The substantial growth in bitcoin price, evidenced by a 400% increase from 2020 to 2021, indicates a robust and potentially lucrative market. Bitcoin mining can also provide income opportunities in countries with inexpensive electricity.

The… Read more on bitcoinnews

Warren Buffett’s ‘crypto stock’ beats Apple and Amazon — but not Bitcoin

Warren Buffett may still view cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin (BTC) as “rat poison squared,” but he is generating big profits from his position in a crypto-friendly bank in 2023.

Warren Buffett’s “crypto bet” up $130 million in 2023

The “Oracle of Omaha” purchased 107 million shares of Nu Holdings, a Brazil-based fintech company and owner of the crypto-friendly Nubank, via his firm, Berkshire Hathaway, in two separate rounds in 2021.

Berkshire invested $500 million in Nu Holdings in June 2021 and raised its stake by another $250 million in December 2021. The firm has not sold a single share since, according to its second quarter 2023 earnings report.

Nu’s share price is…

Read more on Cointelegraph

Bittrex’s US bankruptcy plan cleared by court

The US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware approved Monday the amended Chapter 11 liquidation plan for Bittrex and its associated entities, including Desolation Holdings LLC.

Despite the procedural rigor behind the ruling, questions remain as the court-approved decision moves the Seattle-based company toward liquidating its assets to repay creditors. 

Bittrex filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy relief in the US in May. Rather than reorganizing its debts, which is often the objective of Chapter 11 filings, the company elected a plan of liquidation. 

With the green light from the court, Bittrex is now authorized to proceed with the selling off of its US-based assets, per a court…

Read more on Blockworks

Sam Bankman-Fried lawyers pitch for changes to judge’s jury instruction

The attorneys representing former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried have written another letter to the judge, seeking changes to the jury instructions; in the letter addressed to Judge Kaplan, the defense attorneys requested that the jury consider the role of English law in governing FTX’s terms of service.

The proposal calls on 12 jurors in the case to consider that for misappropriation to have occurred, there must have existed a trust, fiduciary relationship, or a similar relationship between FTX and its customers. However, the firm’s terms of service have made it clear that there was no such relationship between the two parties.

The defense attorneys’ proposal read:

“Under English law,… Read more on Cointelegraph