Prices drop to under 65000
Last week, the Ethereum network celebrated the long-awaited Dencun upgrade, which resulted in a significant decrease in transaction fees across various layer-2 protocols. Meanwhile, Bitcoin (BTC) experienced a decline, falling below the $65,000 mark. However, spot Bitcoin ETFs continued to see impressive growth, achieving record-breaking trade volumes.
The Dencun upgrade was successfully implemented on the Ethereum network as planned by developers on March 13, marking the beginning of “The Spurge.” Following the upgrade, there was a notable reduction in average transaction fees across multiple Ethereum layer-2 protocols, according to a report from crypto.news. Notably, Zora witnessed a remarkable 99% drop in average transaction costs to $0.003 on March 14, while Optimism experienced a 98.8% decrease to $0.035 within the same timeframe. Base also saw a similar decline in fees, now costing $0.035 per transaction. Arbitrum, on the other hand, maintained its fee levels, opting not to implement blobs just yet. However, they revealed plans to introduce blobs through an upcoming ArbOS update.
In other news, MicroStrategy was reported to have increased its Bitcoin holdings by acquiring $821 million worth of the cryptocurrency during its price discovery phase. The broader crypto market experienced a turbulent week. Bitcoin started off strong, surging to a new all-time high of $73,750 on March 14 due to significant accumulation from long-term holders and whales. This bullish trend led to a rapid spike in the global crypto market cap. Dogecoin (DOGE) also made headlines as it rallied by 11% after Elon Musk suggested that the asset could be used as a payment method for Tesla. However, both DOGE and the rest of the market suffered losses as BTC faced intense selling pressure above the $73,000 mark. Bitcoin dropped to a low of $67,000 on March 15, with analysts from ITB warning of a potential steeper correction.
Bitcoin’s correction continued into the next day, with the asset falling below $65,000 on March 16, reaching a 10-day low of $64,780. However, BTC found support at this price level and subsequently recovered above $67,000. Despite the market downturn, market watchers remain optimistic, with veteran trader Kevin Svenson expecting BTC to reach $83,000 after the upcoming halving event next month.
Interestingly, Solana (SOL) and its associated meme tokens, including Book of Memes (BOME), bucked the market trend and continued to see significant gains. Solana experienced a remarkable 10% increase in just 24 hours, while meme coins like Jupiter (JUP) and dogwifhat (WIF) saw rapid surges in value. Book of Memes, a new Solana-based meme coin launched on March 14, also witnessed a staggering spike of 345% in just 24 hours and a mind-boggling 39,000% increase from March 14 to 16.
The spot Bitcoin ETF market attracted significant attention this week as these investment products saw sustained demand. In the previous week, the crypto market witnessed a record-breaking $2.7 billion inflow, further boosting the popularity of spot Bitcoin ETFs. On March 12, these ETFs set a new record by purchasing 14,261 Bitcoin tokens, surpassing the 900 BTC produced by miners on the same day. Market experts from Bitcoin mining firm Luxor Technology revealed that investors have shifted their focus from crypto mining stocks to these ETFs. However, despite the growing demand, Vanguard’s outgoing CEO maintained a bearish stance on these products.
In an important legal ruling, the U.K. High Court decided that Craig Wright, who has persistently claimed to be Bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto, is not indeed the creator of Bitcoin. The ruling came as a result of the case between COPA and Craig Wright, with COPA seeking to prevent Wright from filing further lawsuits against community figures who debunked his claims. The U.K. court concluded that the evidence presented indicates that Craig Wright is not Satoshi.
In conclusion, last week was eventful in the world of cryptocurrencies, with Ethereum’s Dencun upgrade leading to reduced transaction fees, Bitcoin experiencing a decline, and spot Bitcoin ETFs achieving record-breaking trade volumes. Additionally, Solana and its associated meme tokens saw significant gains, and a U.K. court ruled against Craig Wright’s claims of being Satoshi Nakamoto.
