The digital coin is up 10% since last Monday and is now trading in the higher ranges of its two-and-a-half-month-long consolidation phase, according to research from Arcane.<\/p>\n
Other digital tokens such as Bitcoin Cash and Ethereum Classic gained even more on Tuesday, rising more than 10% each.<\/p>\n
Brett Munster at Blockforce Capital is tracking the percentage of the total Bitcoin supply that hasn\u2019t moved in over a year, meaning coins that have sat dormant for at least 365 days. That percentage is approaching record highs, he found via data from Glassnode.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot only that, the rate at which the percent is growing is much faster than the last time we were at these levels,\u201d Munster wrote in a note.<\/p>\n
\u201cI expect this number to set new all-time highs in coming weeks and months because it\u2019s exactly this cohort that stepped in and aggressively bought in April and May of last year when Bitcoin\u2019s price fell.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite declines over the past year, a majority of Bitcoin supply never sold, he added. \u201cIn other words, a greater number of people and a greater percent of bitcoin holders understand the long-term viability of the asset they are holding and are completely unfazed by short-term volatility.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bitcoin is many things to different people, so narratives around why investors should own it have shifted over time. It gained renewed attention over the past few weeks as the war in Ukraine broke out.<\/p>\n
The coin, which emerged during the depths of the global financial crisis more than a decade ago, has long been touted as an alternative asset that could serve useful during inflationary periods, geopolitical conflicts and more.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not beholden to any government, the argument goes, and can therefore be thought of as a safe haven during times of turmoil.<\/p>\n
Still, not everyone\u2019s sold on the idea that Bitcoin has definitively dug itself out of its rout.<\/p>\n
Noelle Acheson, head of market insights at Genesis Global Trading, says more than 80% of Bitcoin in circulation is being held in longer-term addresses, meaning those with an average holding period of five months. Meanwhile, over 60% of BTC has not moved in over a year, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis build-up of both support and uncertainty points to an eventual breakout at some stage,\u201d she said. \u201cThat said, until there is some resolution of the factors that are driving the current uncertainty, the market will likely not break out of its current range.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many crypto backers also argue Bitcoin could prove its might as an inflationary hedge as consumer prices spike right now, though others say it\u2019s too soon to make that case.<\/p>\n
Brendan Playford, founder and CEO of Masa Finance, a decentralized financial data platform, says there\u2019s a risk rate hikes by central banks could spawn a global recession without doing much to crimp inflation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat will be interesting to watch is how Bitcoin will factor in this equation. Demand for the world\u2019s foremost crypto asset is still very, very high,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd if this plays out as expected, then Bitcoin could be a significant step closer to serving as a hedge against instability.\u201d<\/p>\n
A stealth rally in cryptocurrencies is currently underway.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":341034,"featured_media":434760,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"idle","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"","_sma_facebook_post_id":"","_sma_instagram_post_id":"","_sma_threads_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44696],"tags":[187,44923,191,51537],"class_list":["post-438450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cryptocurrency","tag-bitcoin","tag-bitcoin-cash","tag-cryptocurrency","tag-ethereum-classic"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/438450"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/341034"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=438450"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/438450\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/434760"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=438450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=438450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=438450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Bitcoin-price_March-2022_Bloomberg-800x449.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
\nNow read: E-Rand prototype tested on international platform<\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"