Fideum Crypto News Desk #67
Bitcoin Mining Difficulty and Prices Peak as Halving Approaches
As the Bitcoin ecosystem braces for the upcoming halving event in April, miners and investors alike are witnessing unprecedented milestones. On March 14, Bitcoin’s mining difficulty soared to a new historical high of 83.95 trillion hashes, a reflection of the increasing computational effort required to mine Bitcoin. This surge in difficulty coincides with Bitcoin’s price peaking at $73,835, setting a new all-time high. Such milestones underscore the vibrant bullish momentum the cryptocurrency has experienced throughout the 2023–2024 bull run.
Mining difficulty, a measure of the challenge in mining Bitcoin, saw a significant 5.8% increase from its previous level, mirroring the heightened activity and interest in the Bitcoin network. This uptick in difficulty and the Bitcoin price rally come ahead of the much-anticipated halving event, which historically has been a catalyst for price movements and network activity.
As miners enjoy a spike in mining rewards, reaching $78.89 million on March 11, the industry looks toward the halving with optimism. This event, set to reduce block rewards from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC, is expected to further influence Bitcoin’s scarcity, demand, and ultimately, its value. With Bitcoin’s steady ascent in Q4 2023 and continuing into Q1 2024, the crypto community eagerly awaits the impacts of the halving, forecasting a new era of growth and challenges in the Bitcoin saga.
Court Verdict: Craig Wright is Not Bitcoin’s Creator, Satoshi Nakamoto
In a landmark ruling on March 14, Judge James Mellor of the United Kingdom declared Craig Wright, the Australian computer scientist who has claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto since 2016, is not the pseudonymous creator of the Bitcoin network. The verdict came after the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) filed a lawsuit seeking to stop Wright from asserting he is Nakamoto, backed by allegations of extensive document forgery to support his claim.
This legal battle, which began on February 5, has drawn considerable attention within the cryptocurrency community. COPA, an organization founded to promote the adoption of cryptocurrency technologies and eliminate patents as a growth barrier, challenged Wright’s assertions vigorously. Their members, including heavyweights like Coinbase and Block, have championed the open-source nature of Bitcoin’s foundational technologies.
Judge Mellor’s decision marks a significant moment, not just in refuting Wright’s claims, but also in affirming the principles of transparency and collaborative innovation that underpin the cryptocurrency ecosystem. As the community moves forward, this ruling reinforces the commitment to keeping Bitcoin’s foundational technology open and accessible to all, ensuring the path of innovation remains unobstructed by unfounded claims.
Vitalik Buterin Advocates for a Layer-2 Focused Future in Ethereum’s Next Decade
Following the seamless Dencun hard fork, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has voiced the necessity for the Ethereum ecosystem to undergo a significant mindset shift towards building on layer-2 (L2) solutions. During his speech at the ETH Global’s Pragma London event, Buterin celebrated the hard fork’s success, emphasizing its role in paving the way for L2 rollups to scale efficiently by reducing the cost of cryptographic proofs on Ethereum’s base layer.
The Dencun update marks a pivotal moment for Ethereum, introducing changes such as EIP-4844, which proposes a more cost-effective method for rollups to store data on the mainnet. This adjustment is expected to significantly enhance the scalability and efficiency of decentralized applications (DApps), steering the Ethereum community towards a layer-2 centric approach.
Buterin’s reflections at the event outlined the journey of Ethereum’s transition, highlighting the shift from a technology-focused first decade to a future where Ethereum aims to make a substantial impact on the broader internet and financial systems. As Ethereum moves beyond its rapid development phase, the focus will increasingly lean towards maintenance and the utilization of L2 solutions for application development. Buterin’s call to action for developers to embrace the “Ethereum 2.0” mindset underscores the importance of leveraging advanced tools and protocols for creating scalable, privacy-preserving applications, ensuring Ethereum’s continued growth and relevance in the ever-evolving digital landscape.
Peter Schiff’s Bitcoin Regret
Peter Schiff, a staunch Bitcoin sceptic and gold enthusiast, recently expressed regret over not purchasing Bitcoin back in 2010, despite his long-standing criticism of its fundamentals. In a candid interview on Impact Theory with Raoul Pal, Schiff disclosed that he had an opportunity to invest in Bitcoin when it was approximately $1, but he dismissed the idea as “ridiculous.” This revelation comes after Schiff previously denounced Bitcoin as a “pure ponzi” with no underlying value.
Despite his critical view of Bitcoin, calling it a gamble on “other people being dumb enough to buy it,” Schiff admits the potential financial rewards he missed by not investing early. This admission underscores a significant moment of reflection for Schiff, who has been vocal about his disdain for Bitcoin, often advocating for gold as a superior investment.
Schiff’s acknowledgment of Bitcoin’s potential, albeit with hindsight, highlights the unpredictable nature of cryptocurrency markets and the challenges of forecasting the success of innovative assets. While Schiff maintains his scepticism towards Bitcoin, his moment of introspection reveals the complexities and opportunities within the cryptocurrency landscape, even for its most fervent critics.
Starbucks to Phase Out NFT Rewards Program Amid Broader Industry Shift
Starbucks has announced the conclusion of its NFT rewards program, the “Odyssey Beta program,” set to end on March 31. This program allowed customers to earn digital collectible stamps, represented as non-fungible tokens (NFTs), for engaging in coffee-related games and challenges. Despite the innovative approach to customer rewards, the coffee giant plans to shut down the program’s marketplace and Discord community, transitioning its NFT activities to the Nifty marketplace.
This move by Starbucks mirrors a trend seen across major companies, with entities like GameStop and Meta scaling back their NFT and crypto-related initiatives. The decision to end the Odyssey Beta program, launched amidst the crypto industry’s turbulent times in September 2022, reflects a re-evaluation of Web3 strategies amidst changing market dynamics and consumer engagement patterns.
