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Bitfinex Alpha | Rate Pause Is Coming as BTC Trading Activity Slows
The consumer price index (CPI) improved in March but remained stubbornly high. The drop in monthly inflation was mainly due to a sharp drop in energy prices, excluding food and energy, and core inflation persisted. However, we think enough has been done over the past year to allow for a pause in rate hikes. While we expect a further 25bp rate cut on May 3, we expect further tightening to moderate thereafter.
Supporting this view is the fact that the producer price index (PPI), or wholesale inflation, saw its biggest drop in nearly three years. The decline in the index was partly amplified by sharp falls in energy prices and trade services, and while energy prices could surge again after OPEC+ announced oil production cuts earlier this month, there should be enough downward pressure elsewhere for the Fed to get the economy off the ground further. Take a breath in the crunch.
Indeed, a review of the minutes of the latest FOMC meeting showed concerns that the strains on the banking system following the collapse of two mid-sized banks could have a negative impact on growth.
The Small Business Optimism Index also suggests that small business owners in the U.S. are grappling with inflation-driven price increases. Meanwhile, retail sales posted their biggest drop in four months in March, suggesting business owners are witnessing lower sales as a result of a slowing U.S. economy and shifting consumer spending habits.
All of this is considering further rate hikes. The market's verdict seems to be: Tighten up one more time and let the economy run.
In the cryptocurrency market, bitcoin spot trading volumes have experienced a sharp decline since peaking last month. On April 14, spot volumes on major exchanges were around $16.4 billion, in stark contrast to the $70 billion average reported during the same period last month. In mid-April, Bitcoin futures and options trading volumes also decreased significantly.
The reduction in trading volumes coincides with a transition period in the market, as the rebound in spot buying in the first quarter of 2023 has weakened in recent weeks. One underlying factor is BTC breaking the important $30,000 level, prompting larger traders to take profits or hedge their positions.
Despite the decline in transaction volume, long-term on-chain indicators remain favorable, suggesting a positive medium- to long-term outlook for Bitcoin. Key on-chain metrics such as daily active addresses, addresses with non-zero balances, and unique on-chain entities holding at least one BTC all point to the growing adoption of Bitcoin as a store of value and means of payment. An important milestone observed in Bitcoin’s cost basis metric is when the realized price moves back above the realized price of long-term holders, indicating a shift in sentiment from bearish to bullish.
In addition to all these market dynamics, it was also a busy week for the rest of the cryptocurrency industry, including the successful Shapella upgrade of the ethereum network, which enabled stakeholders to withdraw their ether for the first time in 28 months.
Troubled cryptocurrency exchange FTX is also facing scrutiny after a new report leaked internal controls and security failures. The exchange is also considering restarting operations with funding from creditors, and its lawyers said the exchange could reopen in the near future. However, no final decision has been made as of now.
Hong Kong continues to embrace cryptocurrencies alongside the region’s financial secretary Paul Chan, advocating the adoption of Web3 technology and identifying it as a key area in the region’s budget planning.
Twitter has partnered with social trading platform eToro to expand its "Cashtag" functionality by allowing users to buy and sell stocks, cryptocurrencies and other financial assets directly from the platform.
https://blog.bitfinex.com/bitfinex-alpha/bitfinex-alpha-rate-pause-coming-soon-as-btc-trading-enters-a-lull/
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Bitfinex Plans to Offer Trading Fee Discounts for New Token Listings
Bitfinex is pleased to announce plans to reduce trading fees for all newly listed tokens for six months. *
Users of Bitfinex can trade newly listed tokens such as CryptoGPT (GPT), Onomy (NOM), Wrapped Minima (WMINIMA), Toncoin (TON), Lido (LDO), Prema (PRMX), Bitgert (BRISE) and Arbitrum ( ARB), enjoy fee waivers. Pay 0 pips for makers and 4 pips for takers on some spot pairs.
The term for which order execution charges apply may vary. For more information on Bitfinex fees, please visit https://www.bitfinex.com/fees/
https://www.bitfinex.com/posts/910
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Bitfinex Receives CCData's Exchange Grade A Rating
According to a report published by credit scoring agency CCData, in March 2023, based on updated ratings, 71% of total trading volume came from top exchanges, compared to 92% in October 2022. Among them, Bitfinex received an exchange grade A score and was listed as a top exchange in multiple classifications.
Exchange KYC practices are improving. According to Ciphertrace, in April 2023, 15% of exchanges analyzed in the report were deemed to have insufficient KYC practices, an improvement from 21% in October 2022 and 35% in April 2022.
https://ccdata.io/reports/exchange-benchmark-april-2023
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Bitfinex Will Support Zilliqa Network Upgrade
Bitfinex announced that it will support the Zilliqa network upgrade. The upgrade will introduce a range of new features, including Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatibility.
The upgrade is scheduled for April 25, 2023 at 8:00AM UTC and will take up to 24 hours to occur.
During the upgrade period, Zilliqa (ZIL) deposits and withdrawals will be suspended starting approximately April 25, 2023 at 08:00 AM UTC until the Zilliqa network is deemed stable. Transactions of ZIL are not affected.
Users will be notified once ZIL deposits and withdrawals resume.
https://www.bitfinex.com/posts/911
