Month: February 2023

• Bitcoin active addresses measure the daily total amount of Bitcoin addresses that are participating in some transaction activity on the chain.
• The metric has seen some increase with the latest rally in the price of Bitcoin, but the rise has still not been too significant compared to previous cycles at a similar stage.
• An analyst noted that market activity rapidly changed after the bottom formed during the previous cycles.

What Are Active Addresses?

Bitcoin Active Addresses measure the daily total amount of Bitcoin addresses that are participating in some transaction activity on the chain. The metric only measures unique addresses, meaning that if an address takes part in multiple transfers in a single day, it’s still counted only once. This indicator also accounts for both senders and receivers in this measurement. When this value is high, it means a large number of users are making transactions on the network right now and when it is low, it implies not many users are engaging with cryptocurrency currently.

Previous Cycles

As pointed out by an analyst in a CryptoQuant post, market activity rapidly changed after the bottom formed during previous cycles. During bear markets, price is usually consolidating which leads to less interest from traders while volatile moves result in investors rushing to trade hence why active address metric can show elevated values at such times.

Recent Activity

The chart below shows how Bitcoin active addresses have been trending over last few years:

Looks like value of metric hasn’t moved much recently | Source: CryptoQuant

Recently there has been some improvement registered in this indicator as well as some increase with recent rally in price of Bitcoin but rise has still not been too significant compared to previous cycles at similar stage.

FTX Collapse

A recent example of sudden activity return can be seen around time of FTX collapse where as soon as price began moving sideways again following crash active addresses also sunk down again.

Conclusion

Demand for Bitcoin has been returning recently however growth rate has been slower than what was seen at similar stages during earlier cycles as measured by active address metric which tracks daily amount of bitcoin addresses taking part in transaction activities on chain.

• Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the market, is reportedly considering ending relationships with U.S. business partners due to a tightening in regulatory policies by the SEC.
• The SEC has alleged that BUSD, a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar, is a security and sued crypto firm Paxos.
• Binance CEO Changpeng Zao denied the allegations on Twitter and clarified that Merit Peak is neither trading nor providing services on Binance.US platform.

Binance Considering Delisting Tokens from US-Based Firms

According to a Bloomberg report, crypto exchange Binance is considering ending relationships with U.S. business partners due to a tightening in regulatory policies by the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC).

SEC Alleges BUSD as Security & Sues Crypto Firm Paxos

The SEC has alleged that BUSD, a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar, is a security and sued crypto firm Paxos. In addition, the report said that Binance is reassessing investments in the United States as regulators do not license it to operate in U.S..

Binance CEO Denies Allegations

Binance’s CEO Changpeng Zao (CZ) denied these allegations in a Twitter post clarifying that Merit Peak is neither trading nor providing services on Binance.US platform and only its subsidiary’s employees have access to it.

Controversy around $400 Million Movement from Secret Account

Recently there have been controversies around $400 million movement from “secret” account paired with its subdiary Binance.US involving crypto-friendly bank Silvergate which was sent to trading firm Merit Peak owned by CZ which had invested over $1 million into Biance’s subsidiary earlier this year according to Reuters report .

Crypto Market Experiences Rough Q1 Amid Intense Regulatory Scrutiny

Amidst intense scrutiny from U.S regulators,the crypto space has had turbulent times during this quarter making investors uncertain of their investments despite recording slight rise in prices of some cryptos recently .

• The Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and Kraken have recently settled a case regarding the crypto exchange’s staking program.
• SEC Commissioner Hester M. Pierce argued that this staking program should have been registered with the SEC as a securities offering.
• Commissioner Pierce believes that the SEC should have provided guidance on the staking programs instead of taking an enforcement action against Kraken.

SEC Settles Case Regarding Kraken’s Staking Program

Following the settlement reached by Kraken and its subsidiaries Payward Ventures and Payward Trading with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) on February 9, covered by Bitcoinist, Commissioner Hester M. Pierce stated in a report that she disagreed with and dissented with the closure of the crypto exchange’s staking program.

Staking Program Should Have Been Registered As A Security

The regulator argued that this staking program should have been registered with the SEC as a securities offering. SEC Commissioner Pierce, also known as “Crypto Mom,” argues whether or not registration would have been possible in the current crypto-related climate: An offering like the staking service at issue here raises a host of complicated questions, including whether the staking program as a whole would be registered or whether each token’s staking program would be separately registered, what the important disclosures would be, and what the accounting implications would be for Kraken.

Solution Or Poor Judgement By The SEC?

The Commissioner stated that the SEC has been aware of the staking programs for an extended period. Thus, she suggests the SEC should have set guidance on the staking programs “long before this situation cracked” rather than using enforcement actions to inform people what law is in an emerging industry . Most concerning is that our solution to a registration violation is to shut down entirely a program that has served people well according to Commissioner Piers which she calls “paternalistic and lazy regulator”.

Kraken Forbidden From Offering Stake Services In U.S.

Kraken’s staking program will no longer be available in United States registered or not since they are forbidden from ever offering such service again by SEC due to their recent settlement agreement.

Commissioner Calls For Guidance Instead Of Enforcement Actions

Commissioner Pierce states that one-off enforcement actions and “cookie-cutter” analysis do not provide solutions for crypto investors in US therefore she calls for more guidance from regulators rather than strict enforcement actions when dealing with these kinds of situations especially when it comes to emerging industries such as cryptocurrency market where new regulations are still being established and enforced today.

• FTX is warning customers of an ongoing scam where fraudsters are impersonating the exchange and asking for money or passwords.
• This is not the first time bad actors have attempted to take advantage of FTX’s troubled situation. Earlier, a fake video had popped up on Twitter impersonating the exchange’s founder.
• The Oregon Division of Financial Regulation also warned investors against a cryptocurrency scam involving FTX in December.

FTX Warns Customers Against Crypto Scam

The embattled crypto exchange FTX is warning its community about an ongoing scam targeting its investors. Bad actors are trying to deceive users by offering them the return of their lost funds from the exchange’s bankruptcy in November, demanding money or sensitive information in return.

Fraudsters Impersonate Exchange & Founder

To target potential victims, scammers offer the return of their lost funds while impersonating the platform. Additionally, days after FTX filed for bankruptcy in November, a fake video popped up on Twitter which was designed to look like it was from Sam Bakman-Fried (SBF), founder of FTX, asking users to go to an unsafe website to “double their crypto funds.”

Oregon Division Of Financial Regulation Warned Investors

Furthermore, a month after FTX’s downfall, Oregon Division of Financial Regulation also issued a warning to investors against a cryptocurrency scam involving FTX. Consequently, this new attack vector tries to bait victims by requiring account passwords or payment as fees for allegedly transferring back funds.

FTX Team Confirms No Agents Ask For Payment

While addressing its community in a recent tweet, the FTX team confirmed that neither debaters nor any agents will ask users for money or payments or any passwords for accounts related with recovery efforts and reassurance their customers that no such request should be met with compliance.

Bitcoin Price Rises Above $23500

At press time Bitcoin’s price stands above $23500 according to daily chart from TradingView. Additionally, scammers have been continuously attempting various strategies since then to cause losses among unsuspecting victims investing in cryptocurrencies even though regulatory authorities have been actively monitoring these occurrences and taking necessary actions against it.