Cryptocurrency analyst Michael van de Poppe has predicted a market upswing for Bitcoin following the conclusion of the halving event. He noted that Bitcoin dominance is decreasing, signaling the start of a market rotation.  #Bitcoin halving has finished and the markets are going up again. Bitcoin dominance goes back down, which means that the rotation has slowly started. pic.twitter.com/2u4BmfRzdk — Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) April 22, 2024 This development comes amidst speculation about the future of the cryptocurrency market. The outcome of the Bitcoin halving and the subsequent market rotation could have significant implications for the entire cryptocurrency market.  Bitcoin’s performance has been a topic of debate, with analysts predicting both fresh highs and potential declines. The recent halving is also expected to impact Bitcoin miners, as production costs are set to increase.  As of now, Bitcoin is trading at $67,063, reflecting a slight increase in the last 24 hours and a notable rise over the past seven days. Ethereum is also experiencing positive price action. Source: BENZINGA Crypto

Top Bitcoin Layer 2 coins like STX (Stacks), ELA (Elastos), and SAVM (SatoshiVM) have outperformed Bitcoin (BTC) since the Bitcoin halving event, rising 5-20% compared to just 4.7% for BTC. The outperformance comes amid a spike in Bitcoin transaction fees since the halving. Data shows the mean transaction fee soared to nearly 0.0020 BTC, the highest level since early 2018.  The surge in fees is attributed to the launch of a new protocol called Runes, which allows users to “etch” and mint tokens directly on the Bitcoin blockchain. This has driven increased transaction activity and higher costs. Bitcoin Layer 2 solutions aim to scale and introduce programmability to the main Bitcoin blockchain, addressing its limitations around scalability and transaction speed. This is in contrast to Ethereum Layer 2 projects which focus on scaling the Ethereum smart contract platform. The market-beating performance of these Layer 2 Bitcoin tokens indicates growing demand and adoption of these scaling solutions as transaction volumes and costs rise on the main Bitcoin network. Source: CoinDesk

Bitcoin‘s price movements in the market ahead of the Halving event have defied expectations, with the coin charting its path contrary to analysts’ predictions.  Despite this unpredictability, one analyst foresees a bullish trend post-Halving, citing instances where Bitcoin has diverged from historical trends.  In the past, Bitcoin experienced sharp contractions after significant rallies, but it rebounded unexpectedly, breaking previous all-time highs before the Halving event.  This analyst anticipates a similar scenario, suggesting that Bitcoin may outperform altcoins due to increased regulatory scrutiny and its status as the only cryptocurrency with a U.S. SEC-approved ETF.  Despite current bearish formations, the analyst believes Bitcoin could enter a multi-year “up only” phase akin to gold’s trajectory post-ETF approval. Source: NEWSBTC

Global interest in the upcoming Bitcoin Halving event has reached new highs, as indicated by surging Google search trends. The search term “Bitcoin Halving” has hit record levels, particularly in countries like Nigeria, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Cyprus. The Bitcoin Halving is a programmed event that reduces the reward for mining new Bitcoin blocks by half, from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. This is designed to maintain Bitcoin’s scarcity. The current Google Trends score for “Bitcoin Halving” is 45, but is projected to reach a maximum of 100 by the end of April. This compares to lower levels during the 2020 halving event. The surge in search interest can be attributed to Bitcoin’s remarkable price rise so far in 2024, with Bitcoin reaching over $61,000 and Ethereum (one of the best altcoins to invest in) climbing above $73,000 in recent months. Historically, Bitcoin Halvings have been followed by significant price rallies in the months after. However, experts caution that investors should not rely solely on past trends and should consider multiple factors. The intense global interest in the halving event signifies growing mainstream awareness and acceptance of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum as the world moves towards a more “fully-fledged digital currency” future. Source: Cryptopolitan

The Shiba Inu (SHIB) token‘s burn rate has skyrocketed by over 25,000% in a community-led effort to boost the token’s value amid the current market downturn. In just one day, 658,082,956 SHIB tokens were burned through 11 transactions, reducing the total SHIB supply from 1 quadrillion to 410,725,555,674,170. Despite the token burns, SHIB’s market value has not shown clear signs of recovery, with the token price trading between $0.000022 and $0.000025 and facing resistance at around 51 trillion SHIB.  SHIB’s market capitalization has fallen by 12%, now standing at $12.7 billion, with a daily trading volume of $1.9 million, indicating a strong bearish trend.  The community remains hopeful that the deflationary measures will eventually boost SHIB’s value, though the long-term success of this strategy is uncertain given the ongoing market challenges and investor caution in the broader cryptocurrency landscape. Source: CRYPTO INTELLIGENCE

Crypto prices took a hit with Bitcoin and Ethereum leading the decline. Over $1.2 billion in Bitcoin long positions were liquidated in a single day, contributing to a 4% drop in the market, reducing its total capitalization to $2.38 trillion.  Despite a brief rally after Hong Kong’s approval of spot ETFs, Bitcoin fell below $62,000 amid rising tensions between Iran and Israel. Other major altcoins also saw decreases.  Meanwhile, regulatory scrutiny intensifies with Senators requesting records of CFTC Chair’s communications with FTX’s ex-CEO, and Trust Wallet warning iPhone users of a zero-day exploit threat.  Additionally, BlackRock’s BTC ETF recorded inflows while others faced outflows. OKX launched X Layer, an Ethereum-based layer-2 network, aiming for faster transactions and interoperability.  South Korea intensifies its crypto tax crackdown, extending to Yeongcheon city. Various speculations arise, including concerns over a potential Bitcoin crash and the impact of Middle East tensions on the crypto market. Source: COINGABBAR

Bitcoin has rebounded above $65,000 amid easing geopolitical tensions following Iran’s missile attack on Israel, which was largely thwarted. The U.S. has ruled out joining Israel in a counter-attack, calming concerns. Traders anticipate approval of Bitcoin ETFs in Hong Kong, which could unlock significant demand, with estimates suggesting up to $25 billion.  Ethereum has also risen above $3,100, and market volatility has subsided as the focus shifts to the awaited ETF decision. Source: CoinDesk

Bitcoin experienced a sharp decline of over 7% in the past 24 hours, resulting in $256 million in losses for traders with long positions.  Analysts consider this drop as normal for Bitcoin’s volatility, despite geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Traders anticipate further downside, with approximately $1.05 billion in short positions at risk if Bitcoin returns to its previous day’s price.  The cryptocurrency market as a whole saw widespread liquidations totaling $945.9 million from over 250,000 traders. The fear and greed index for crypto markets decreased slightly to 72, indicating a level of greed.  Additionally, demand from Bitcoin whales has surpassed the market’s supply, suggesting increasing scarcity post-Bitcoin halving. Source: Cointelegraph