According to Bitfinex Alpha, after a significant market adjustment and consolidation, Bitcoin (BTC) has entered an accumulating phase. Long-term holders (LTHs) sold off large portions of their Bitcoin when it hit a new all-time high of $73,666 in March. This increased supply caused price adjustments.
Market Dynamics and Bitcoin ETFs
Demand for Bitcoin ETFs has surged in recent weeks, with net inflows averaging $136 million daily, well exceeding the $32 million daily sell pressure from miners following the halving. While the number of new accumulation addresses has surged, Bitcoin exchange reserves have been decreasing. Long-term positive attitude is shown by LTHs who started reaccumulating Bitcoin after selling at the height of the market.
Solana’s DeFi Ecosystem Growth
The DeFi ecosystem in Solana is expanding quickly, and there is a lot of activity in the lending, liquid staking, and perpetual markets sectors. With a 24-hour NFT trading volume of $1.8 million, Solana now has a Total Value Locked (TVL) of $4.78 billion. Because of its tremendous speed and scalability, Solana is also the blockchain with the largest stablecoin transaction size. Solana is ranked second by chain in decentralized exchange volumes, however it lags behind Ethereum in TVL.
Macro Economic Indicators
Divergent opinions of US consumer confidence have surfaced in the larger economy. The University of Michigan’s sentiment index experienced a dramatic decline, while the Conference Board recorded an unexpected uptick. With a revised rate of 1.3 percent, Q1 GDP growth fell short of forecasts due to lower consumer expenditure and lower inflation.
The April Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index has stabilized, indicating that high interest rates and decreased government support are reducing consumer spending, while personal saving rates are still low. Later in the year, potential rate decreases from the Federal Reserve are expected.
Notable Developments in Crypto
Bitdeer, a Bitcoin miner, has received up to $150 million from Tether in order to expand. To improve digital asset offerings and risk management tools, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and CoinDesk Indices plan to introduce cash-settled Bitcoin index options. Pending SEC approval, Franklin Templeton, VanEck, and Invesco Galaxy are getting ready to introduce spot Ether ETFs.
Thanks to cheaper costs and larger trading volumes, BlackRock’s iBIT has surpassed GBTC to become the largest Bitcoin ETF and has drawn institutional investors.
