Miner capitulation is back as bitcoin’s $70,000 price fails to cover $87,000 production costs

Bitcoin BTC$71,004.72 is now approximately 20% below its estimated average production cost, increasing financial pressure across the BTC mining sector. The average cost to mine one bitcoin is around $87,000, according to data from Checkonchain, while the spot price has fallen towards $70,000. Historically, trading below production cost has been a feature of a bear…

Startale, SBI launch Strium for institutional FX, RWA trading

Startale Group and Japan’s financial conglomerate SBI Holdings have launched Strium, a layer-1 blockchain designed to support exchange-layer and settlement infrastructure for institutional trading of foreign exchange, tokenized equities and real-world assets (RWAs). The platform is designed as an exchange-layer network, according to an announcement shared with Cointelegraph. “Tokenization is an inevitable trend, and equities…

Payy Launches As Ethereum’s First Privacy-Enabled EVM L2

Crypto project Payy, which operates a privacy-focused wallet alongside a crypto banking card, has launched an Ethereum layer-2 network designed to support private ERC-20 transfers. In an announcement via X on Wednesday, Payy said users can add the network as a custom chain in MetaMask and that ERC-20 transfers made on it are routed through…

Crypto Firms Offer Compromises To Save Stablecoin Yield Bill

Some crypto companies have proposed giving community banks a bigger stablecoin role as Senate negotiations stall over the contentious market structure bill. Crypto companies are reportedly floating concessions relating to stablecoin yields in an attempt to unfreeze the delayed crypto market structure bill.  The House has advanced crypto market-structure legislation, but negotiations have stalled in…

XRP Risks Another 23% Drop as Price Slides Below $1.60

XRP (XRP) price dropped below $1.50 over the weekend, its lowest level in over 14 months. Now, a bearish technical setup on the charts suggests that the downtrend may extend throughout February. Key takeaways: XRP’s bear pennant on the four-hour chart targets $1.22. XRP futures open interest dropped to $2.61 billion, which gives some hope…

XRP Sentiment Extremely Higher Than Bitcoin And Ethereum: Santiment

XRP sentiment on social media has remained relatively robust despite a crypto market slump that has seen Bitcoin fall close to $70,000. Santiment said in an X post on Wednesday that “XRP is seeing a more optimistic outlook among traders” on social media as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) have “turned extremely bearish” after a…

Bitcoin ETFs ‘Hanging In There’ Despite Price Plunge: Analyst

US-based spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) holders are showing relatively strong conviction despite a four-month Bitcoin downtrend, according to ETF analyst James Seyffart. “The ETFs are still hanging in there pretty good,” Seyffart said in an X post on Wednesday. While Seyffart said that Bitcoin (BTC) ETF holders are facing their “biggest losses” since the…

Payy Launches As Ethereum’s First Privacy-Enabled EVM L2

Crypto project Payy, which operates a privacy-focused wallet alongside a crypto banking card, has just launched a privacy-enabled Ethereum layer 2. In an announcement via X on Wednesday, Payy said users can now integrate the network into their MetaMask accounts, and that all ERC-20 transfers made on it are automatically made private with “no smart…

Classic Chart Pattern Signals ETH Could Slip Below $2K

The price of Ethereum’s native token, Ether (ETH), risks sliding below $2,000 in February as a classic bearish setup plays out. Key takeaways: ETH breakdown keeps $1,665 downside target in focus. MVRV bands also point to price sliding toward $1,725 or lower before a potential bottom. ETH/USD daily chart. Source: TradingView ETH risks declining 25%…

CFTC Pulls Proposal Banning Sports Prediction Markets

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has withdrawn a Biden administration-era proposal that would have banned sports and political prediction markets, some of the most popular event contracts today. The recently confirmed CFTC chair, Mike Selig, said on Wednesday that the agency has withdrawn a 2024 notice of proposed rulemaking that sought to ban event…