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Bitfinex Alpha | Bitcoin and Ethereum Prices Hold Steady as U.S. Economy Shows Resilience
Despite the increasingly severe challenges facing the US economic situation, good news keeps coming. U.S. consumer spending rose sharply in April, showing strong spending by U.S. households and their ability to cope with an uncertain economic situation. Continued wage growth and low unemployment have boosted consumer spending. U.S. households increased purchases at online retailers and increased spending at restaurants and bars.
Builder confidence also increased notably in May, registering a fifth straight month of positive growth. As a result of lower interest rates, homeowners decide to continue living in their existing homes, reducing the supply of existing homes and increasing demand for new construction.
While indicators such as the yield curve have been warning of a looming recession in the U.S., other factors such as industrial production, employment, real personal income and real manufacturing and trade sales conspire to point to a resilient economy. Tighter monetary policy will have an impact, but we are clearly still in the lag phase.
In the cryptocurrency market, long-term holders data remained firm despite the slide in bitcoin prices. According to Glassnode data, 22.2% (approximately 4.3 million) of bitcoins in circulation are currently at a loss. However, these long-term investors are not deterred. Also, impressively, two-thirds of all Bitcoins (roughly 13.1 million) have not moved in over a year, underscoring Bitcoin’s status as a long-term asset. The narrative of accumulation is supported by a continued increase in addresses of long-time Bitcoin supporters and a significant increase in transaction fees, and miners are also handsomely rewarded for their on-chain activity. Investors continue to accumulate and hold bitcoin, boosting their confidence in its long-term prospects.
Ethereum staking fever is also escalating, and despite the long wait to become a validator on the network, it still shows the enduring confidence of investors. Currently, the total amount of ETH in stake is 22.35 million, or 15.3% of the total number of tokens, with only a minuscule 0.5% of ETH in stake waiting to be withdrawn. This trend is primarily driven by large numbers of Ether holders who view staking as a cash flow for passive income while keeping their positions firmly in place. Ether supply has experienced rapid deflation due to rising transaction fees, and we may be witnessing the early stages of a potential price surge. Regardless of validator queues and volatile market sentiment, Ether staking demand has steadily climbed, reflecting Ethereum holders' firm belief in its bright future.
Looking back at this week's crypto news, Tether, the largest USD stablecoin issuer, announced that it will allocate 15% of its monthly net operating profit to purchase Bitcoin. The move is aimed at strengthening Tether's reserves and protecting its users.
Renowned hardware wallet maker Ledger is trending for a new feature called “Ledger Recover,” which allows users to recover their private keys by paying a monthly subscription fee. However, the feature has sparked controversy and raised some concerns about potential security risks.
Tron founder Justin Sun has accused Li Wei, brother of Huobi founder Li Lin, of unfairly profiting from the Huobi token (HT). According to Sun, Li Wei obtained millions of HT tokens for free and cashed them out. Huobi is facing increased scrutiny of its operations and governance, resulting in a significant drop in the value of HT. The HT DAO committee plans to negotiate a refund and burn Li Wei's remaining HT tokens. The HT DAO community consists of individuals who hold and participate in the management of HT tokens.
Finally, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has asked a judge to dismiss Coinbase's lawsuit seeking to respond to a rulemaking petition filed by the company. The company is not entitled to special relief under its preferred regulatory action, the SEC said, stressing the complexity of regulatory changes.
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Bitfinex Lists $PEPE
PEPE is a meme token created in April 2023 in honor of Matt Furie's Pepe the Frog internet meme - which became popular on the internet in the early 2000s. PEPE stands out in the cryptocurrency exchange ecosystem with three unique features: a tax exemption policy that allows a wider audience to purchase tokens, a redistribution system that prevents inflation and rewards long-term stakeholders, and an ongoing burn mechanism to maintain PEPE tokens scarcity.
https://blog.bitfinex.com/media-releases/bitfinex-to-list-pepe-token/
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Bitfinex will delist nine tokens including Multiverse (AI)
Deposits for AI, CONV, ETP, GLM, GXT, HEC, PASS, TERRAUST, and PNT are now closed at 11:00 UTC on May 23rd. Trading in the above currencies will cease at 10:00 UTC on May 30. Withdrawals of the above currencies will be open until 10:00 UTC on July 25.
https://www.bitfinex.com/posts/924
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Bitfinex Supports Terra Classic Network Transaction Tax Burn Increased to 0.5%
Bitfinex suspended the deposit and withdrawal of LUNA Classic (LUNA) and withdrawal of TerraUSD (TERRAUST) on Bitfinex around 19:00 UTC on May 23, and will resume after the new burn tax is implemented and the network is stable. Transactions will not be affected.
https://www.bitfinex.com/posts/925
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Bitfinex Announces Listing of Tenet (TEN)
Bitfinex announced that it will list TEN, the underlying token of the Tenet blockchain.
Tenet is a Layer 1 blockchain creating a DeFi ecosystem for Liquid Staking Derivatives (LSD). As an EVM-compatible blockchain running on the Cosmos SDK, Tenet allows users to unlock the full value of their staked assets and use them in the native DeFi ecosystem managed by the Tenet validator network.
The chain implements a unique diversified proof-of-stake model that supports staking with any LSD asset from other chains, allowing Tenet to be partially secured across all of its supported networks. Users can stake Tenet tokens on validator nodes to protect network security and obtain liquidity collateralized derivatives of their tokens.
Bitfinex will open Tenet deposits around 12:00 UTC on May 24th. Trading on Tenet will open around 08:00 UTC on May 25, offering USD and USDT trading pairs.
https://blog.bitfinex.com/media-releases/bitfinex-to-list-tenets-base-token-tenet/
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Bitfinex Announces Investment in Chilean Cryptocurrency Trading Platform OrionX
Bitfinex has announced a new round of investment in Chilean cryptocurrency company Orionx, with both companies looking to step up their efforts to promote financial freedom and crypto inclusion across Latin America.
“We are delighted to be partnering with Orionx as we look forward to expanding our presence in Chile and across Latin America,” said Bitfinex CTO Paolo Ardoino. “This investment represents an important step forward in our efforts to leverage the power of Bitcoin and decentralized technology to advance financial freedom and empower businesses that share our values. We look forward to working more closely with the team at Orionx, to support its future growth and development."
Founded in 2017, Orionx has become one of the most promising successful platforms in the crypto industry in Latin America, surpassing its origins as a crypto exchange to become the first crypto bank in the region to offer users a wide range of crypto-related services. The company is now setting its sights beyond Chile, preparing to land in Peru, Colombia and Mexico, with the goal of surpassing 1 million users by 2024.
The partnership is expected to bring significant benefits to Bitfinex and OrionX through a shared commitment to decentralized technology, financial freedom, and providing a viable alternative to the traditional banking system. For its part, Bitfinex will gain another significant foothold in Latin America, indirectly reaching millions of users and supporting co-educational programs at local universities, building on the work it has recently established to promote financial freedom and inclusion. At the same time, OrionX will benefit from Bitfinex's strong crypto trading expertise and network, as well as its industry-leading product capabilities in crypto trading, staking and lending, as well as its continuous development of innovative and easy-to-use crypto services.
"A strategic partnership with a company like Bitfinex will play an important role in advancing our projects in Latin America. We firmly believe that their participation will provide a huge boost to our funding activities," said Joel Vainstein, co-founder of Orionx . "We believe that their extensive experience and historically proven product portfolio will accelerate our own product development and user base expansion, making us a benchmark in the region."
According to a report by blockchain intelligence firm Chainalysis, Latin America is now one of the fastest-growing cryptocurrency markets in the world, growing 40% year-over-year to rank seventh by 2022, with estimated cryptocurrency inflows of $562 billion.
Bitfinex’s backing of OrionX is just the latest in a series of initiatives aimed at increasing the company’s presence in Latin America and other emerging markets where there has been an unmet need for financial services.
Bitfinex has also turned its attention to other places in Latin America, such as Chile's neighbor Paraguay. Bitfinex sponsored a three-week bootcamp run by local NGO Penguin Academy, aimed at teaching women basic coding skills.
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Bitfinex to delist 11 trading pairs on May 30
Bitfinex will delist 11 trading pairs to consolidate and improve liquidity and optimize user trading experience. The following 11 trading pairs will cease trading at 10:00 AM (UTC) on May 30, 2023:
Trading pairs for the following tokens with Tether USD: Boba Network (BOBA/USDt), Spookyswap (BOO/USDt), Dora Factory (DORA/USDt), Terra Luna Classic (LUNA/USDt), Polkacity (POLC/USDt) and Onyxcoin (XCN/USDt)
Trading pairs of the following coins with Bitcoin: Bitcoin Gold (BTG/BTC), Internet Computer (ICP/BTC), Kyber Network Crystal (KNC/BTC) and Zilliqa (ZIL/BTC)
The following tokens are traded with Ether: Cosmos (ATOM/ETH)
