🚀 Snowden praises Bitcoin, Worldcoin soars with AI, Ethereum innovates with Verkle trees, and Bitcoin ETF smashes records !
Welcome to the Daily Tribune on Tuesday, February 20, 2024 ☕️
Hello Cointribe! 🚀
Today is Tuesday, February 20, 2024, and like every day from Tuesday to Saturday, we summarize the news from the last 24 hours that you shouldn't miss!
But first…
✍️ Cartoon of the day:
A quick look at the market…
🌡️ Temperature:
Rainy 🌧️
24-hour crypto summary ! ⏱️
🚀 Bitcoin: The monetary revolution according to Snowden 🚀
Edward Snowden, a strong advocate of Bitcoin, describes it as the greatest monetary advancement since the invention of currency. Created in 2009 by the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin is a decentralized virtual currency that is based on blockchain technology. This technology allows for secure and verified transactions without the need for intermediaries. Snowden sees Bitcoin as a means to promote innovation, competitiveness, inclusivity, transparency, resilience, and financial diversification. He also highlights its crucial role in resisting government surveillance and censorship, offering a new form of freedom and human rights through the possibility of anonymous transactions.
The Bitcoin market has experienced exponential growth, reaching unprecedented heights in 2024 with a value surpassing $52,000 on February 18th, more than 40 times its value in 2017. This increase is attributed to growing demand, particularly from institutional investors who see it as a safe haven comparable to gold or a means to diversify their portfolio. The approval of several Bitcoin ETFs by the SEC has also played a role in this rise.
Edward Snowden highlights Bitcoin as a bastion of freedom in an increasingly monitored global financial ecosystem. This perspective is not just philosophical but has concrete implications for how Bitcoin is perceived by the public and regulators. By emphasizing its utility in protection against state surveillance, Snowden reminds us that the value of Bitcoin lies not only in its technical aspects but also in its potential for social change. However, this idealistic vision collides with the reality of a volatile crypto market and the constant threat of strict regulations, which could limit its revolutionary potential.
🌐 Worldcoin: AI propels crypto to new heights 🌐
Worldcoin, the ambitious project of OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman, recently surpassed one million users, thanks to its innovative use of artificial intelligence (AI). By using AI-powered biometric scanning to create tamper-proof digital identities, Worldcoin promises secure and reliable transactions. This innovative approach has attracted over one million users in less than a year, demonstrating the effectiveness of blending AI and crypto. With plans to expand into more than 20 new countries by the end of the year, Worldcoin aims to further increase its usage and popularity.
The success of Worldcoin is also reflected in its token WLD, which has seen a 140% surge in value in just one week, propelling the crypto's valuation to nearly $5 billion. This remarkable increase is a testament to the market's confidence and enthusiasm for the project, supported by a 40% growth in users over the past month. The launch of the Sora wallet, facilitating daily use of the WLD token, has contributed to this positive momentum. Experts see tremendous potential in Worldcoin, with the project hailed as a revolution in the combination of AI and crypto, promising a bright future for the WLD token and its users.
The combination of AI with blockchain by Worldcoin, under the guidance of Sam Altman, marks a significant step towards innovation in digital identification. This initiative could reshape access to financial services by providing a secure and accessible solution. However, it also raises important ethical and privacy concerns.
🌳 Verkle Trees: A new era for Ethereum staking 🌳
Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, expresses excitement for the imminent integration of Verkle trees on the Ethereum blockchain, anticipating a revolution in the field of staking. Verkle trees, with their proof-of-concept data structure (zkSNARKs), will enable block validation without requiring the full storage of the blockchain. This advancement promises to significantly reduce the disk space required to run a node, marking a significant step towards increased efficiency and improved accessibility for validators.
The arrival of Verkle trees is seen as a major lever for strengthening Ethereum's decentralization by lowering entry barriers for becoming a validator. It also promises to drastically reduce the time required to synchronize new nodes with the blockchain, facilitating the integration of new participants into the validation process. This technical update is expected to not only improve the user experience for solo staking, allowing anyone to validate blocks without requiring significant storage capabilities, but also pave the way for Ethereum's upcoming "Dancun" upgrade, with profound implications for the decentralization and accessibility of the blockchain.
The introduction of Verkle trees by Ethereum promises to significantly reduce the entry barriers for staking, through a decrease in storage requirements for validators. This technical advancement could further democratize participation in the Ethereum network, strengthening its decentralization and security. However, it requires careful attention to the impact on transaction validation and network governance. By facilitating access to staking, Ethereum may witness increased participation from small investors, potentially influencing the distribution of power within the network.
🌊 The Bitcoin ETF tsunami: $2.2 billion in one week 🌊
The week of February 12th to 16th marked a dramatic turning point for Bitcoin Spot ETFs, with net inflows exceeding $2.2 billion, a record that highlights the growing enthusiasm of investors for the cryptocurrency market. This phenomenon is primarily driven by BlackRock's IBIT ETF, which alone captured $1.6 billion, representing nearly three-quarters of total flows. Since its launch in January, the IBIT ETF has accumulated $5.2 billion, illustrating the appetite of institutional investors for regulated investment vehicles offering daily liquidity, reduced fees, and asset security.
This momentum is not limited to BlackRock; other major players such as Fidelity, Ark 21Shares, and Bitwise have also benefited from this wave, attracting over $1.2 billion in new capital in a week. Together, these asset management giants now hold over $12.3 billion in assets under management. The increasing adoption of Bitcoin ETFs is a key driver behind the dramatic rise in BTC price, currently trading around $52,000, marking a 24% increase since early February and 91% over the past four months. The approval of the first Bitcoin Spot ETFs by the SEC in January was seen as a strong signal of increasing integration of crypto-assets into the traditional financial system, promising a continuation of this bullish trend throughout 2024.
The massive influx of capital into Bitcoin Spot ETFs, notably through BlackRock's IBIT ETF, signals increasing institutional adoption of Bitcoin. This trend represents a crucial step towards legitimizing and integrating Bitcoin into the traditional financial system. However, it raises questions about market volatility and regulation. The enthusiasm for these ETFs could accelerate Bitcoin adoption by the general public, but it is essential to monitor the implications of this concentration of capital on market stability and the decentralization of the Bitcoin network.
Crypto of the day: Filecoin (FIL)
Filecoin represents a major innovation in the decentralized storage space, offering a blockchain-based alternative to traditional cloud storage solutions. By using blockchain technology, Filecoin allows anyone to rent out their unused storage space, creating an open and competitive marketplace for data storage services. The added value lies in its ability to provide secure, private, and efficient storage at potentially lower costs than centralized providers.
The native cryptocurrency of Filecoin, FIL, primarily serves to facilitate transactions within the network, including payment for data storage and rewards for miners providing that storage. FIL was distributed through an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) in 2017, which was one of the largest in history at that time, highlighting the interest and trust in the project. FIL holders benefit from the ability to use the token to purchase storage space or stake it to participate in network governance. Additionally, like any cryptocurrency, FIL offers capital appreciation potential, attracting investors and speculators.
Recent Performance
Current Price: $7.59 (approximately €7.08)
Percentage Change: +17.39% (1-day increase)
Market Cap: $3,882,901,702.94 (approximately €3,621,620,000)
Rank on CoinMarketCap: 27
Crypto analysis of the day: Bitcoin (BTC)
Bitcoin seems to be charting a course towards new all-time highs. Last week, it crossed a notable threshold, closing above $52,000, a level it had not reached since late 2021. This performance comes in a context where Bitcoin has not only surpassed its previous peak of around $48,000 but also initiated a consolidation phase, oscillating between $50,700 and $52,900. This consolidation is particularly interesting as it coincides with an attempt to fill the bearish gap on CME futures contracts, an indicator often scrutinized by analysts to anticipate future market movements.
From a technical perspective, Bitcoin's position above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages confirms a sustained bullish trend. However, reaching high levels by oscillators raises an alert for a possible overbought asset, a scenario that requires increased vigilance from investors. Analysis of BTC/USDT derivatives reveals that open interest moves in parallel with the Bitcoin price, suggesting a balance between buyers and sellers, while the positive funding rate indicates a predominance of bullish conviction.
The liquidation heatmap for BTC/USD highlights critical liquidation zones, notably around $51,300, recently surpassed, signaling an increase in buyer interest. The key levels to watch now are above the current price, between $52,800 and $52,900, and below at $52,300, with particular attention to the zone below $48,000, which could trigger increased volatility if approached.
In summary, although Bitcoin's bullish momentum seems to be confirming, caution is advised. The current consolidation could either foreshadow a continuation of the bullish trend towards new highs or signal a correction if buyer support weakens.