Bitcoin Dominance Sinks Below 50% (April 23, 2021)
Good morning. Welcome to Friday Focus, part of our new series: BitPinas Daily. We will look at the price of Bitcoin, Ethereum and the major cryptocurrencies. Crypto is global, but sometimes news that matters happens while we sleep. So we bring to you what’s happening in our space here and abroad.
Market Price as of April 23, 2021:
Bitcoin | $51,701 | -4.59% |
Ethereum | $2,397 | +1.01% |
BNB | $505 | -8.18% |
XRP | $1.15 | -12.21% |
DOGE | $0.26 | -13.33% |
SLP | $0.038 | -7.9% |
Bitcoin closed April 21, 2021, at $51,701 per BTC. We’re down 18% in the last 7 days and up 76% since the year began. This is also 20% below the all-time high of $64,804, which was hit on April 14, 2021.
Bitcoin’s market capitalization stands today at $967,415,055,606 which is 48.68% of the entire cryptocurrency market. The entire crypto market, by the way, now has a market cap of $1,982,659,309,158 (-4.4%).
On the table above, there’s the cryptocurrency SLP. If you wonder what that is, check out this article: Playing Axie Infinity vs Minimum Basic Salary in the Philippines.
Bitcoin Dominance
Bitcoin Dominance Sinks Below 50%
Whenever Bitcoin’s dominance drops, analysts see it as the opportunity for alts to rally. As of today, Bitcoin’s dominance is at 48% while Ether continues to surge, now commanding 14%.
What’s noteworthy is that all these happened as Ether reached new all time highs of just below $2,700 yesterday. Many other coins, including the meme crypto Dogecoin rose significantly during this bullrun while Bitcoin stayed at the $55,000 level for almost two months now. Coindesk is saying that the current market is drawing comparisons to the “rampant speculation” that occurred during the ICO boom of 2017.
Bitcoin Mining
ARK: Bitcoin Mining Can Be Good for the Market
According to Ark research director Brett Winton (and co-authors Yassine Elmandjra and Sam Korus), crypto mining can actually drive investment in solar power and other renewable energy options. “A world with bitcoin is a world that, at equilibrium, generates more electricity from renewable carbon-free sources,” the researchers said.
Square
Square Defends Bitcoin as ‘Green’
Yes, the narrative this week is crypto mining and the notion that it destroys the environment. Fintech company published a whitepaper saying Bitcoin can actually pave the way for a greener future.
For Square, Bitcoin mining is an opportunity for a global transition to renewable energy. The company said solar and wind power are hitting a bottleneck because grid congestion and unreliable power supplies. Therefore, Bitcoin miners can act as “flexible load options” to enable power grids to deploy more renewable energy. News outlet Decrypt’s Scott Chipolina noted:
“Bitcoin mining, Square claims, is an “ideal complementary technology for renewables and storage.” And by combining Bitcoin miners with renewables plus storage projects, Square asserts that renewable energy like solar and wind becomes more profitable.”
Citi
Citi: Bitcoin Could Lose Out to Other Digital Currencies
Citi is claiming that while the digital asset industry is expected to grow as a whole, Bitcoin’s dominance could continue to decline as it’s going to be affected by the usefulness of other cryptocurrencies.
Ronit Ghose, Citi’s Global Head of Banks argued the problem is that Bitcoin isn’t used for everyday payments. Also, if the value constantly rises, people would be unwilling to spend their Bitcoins.
It is for these reasons that Ghose pointed to two alternative cryptocurrencies that will disrupt Bitcoin’s market share for digital payments – Ethereum and Polkadot. The other alternative is central bank digital currencies or CBDCs.
#CryptoPH
March 2021 Paxful and LocalBitcoins P2P Bitcoin Transaction Volume Report
The volume of Bitcoin transactions in the Philippines in March 2021 has increased by 56% compared to the previous month according to data available for peer-to-peer exchanges Paxful and LocalBitcoins. This is the largest recorded combined volume on both exchanges, with Paxful getting the lion’s share of the volume.
March 2021 is now the single best month for P2P in the Philippines, whose previous record was barely above $4 million in September 2020. Current volumes are way higher than any previous volume recorded.
What else is happening
- Ethereum Gas Limit Hits 15M as ETH Price Soars
- CoinDesk Research: Does Bitcoin Have an Energy Problem?
- Crypto Users Bicker After Turkish Exchange Abruptly Goes Silent
- Safemoon Not So Safe? BSC Token Jumps By Over 10 Times, Then Halves
This article is published on BitPinas: Bitcoin Dominance Sinks Below 50% (April 23, 2021)