By Omkar Godbole (All times ET unless otherwise noted)
A new Bitcoin Improvement Proposal, BIP-110, which seeks to curb spam-like data clogging the blockchain, is facing backlash from some industry leaders who argue it risks damaging the network’s reputation more than spam itself.
BIP-110 is a “soft fork,” a type of upgrade that works seamlessly with existing Bitcoin setups without breaking the blockchain. It seeks to set strict temporary limits on non-monetary data in transactions, particularly Ordinals inscriptions that attach images, videos or tokens to Bitcoin blocks.
Implementing the same can help fight “spam” and unclog the network, making it cheaper for ordinary people to use, keeping the blockchain focused on payments. Onchain activity has been close to negligible in recent months.
However, Blockstream CEO Adam Back disagrees, calling the proposal an attack on Bitcoin’s reputation as reliable money.
“It’s worse because it’s an attack on bitcoin’s credibility as a store of value, it’s security credibility, and a lynch mob attempt to push non-consensus changes. Spam is just an annoyance, it all fits definitionally within the block size. the op-return is 4x less,” Back said on X.
Several others echoed this, arguing that the fix can damage trust more than spam does.
Meanwhile, the markets offer some excitement as bitcoin continues to trade back and forth between $67,000 and $70,000, with prices nearing the lower end of the range as at the time of writing. The CoinDesk Memecoin Index (CDMEME) is down 3% in 24 hours, along with 1% declines in other major tokens such as ether and BNB.
“The fallout of the major coins is an ominous sign for smaller ones, as it could soon drag them down with it at an accelerated pace,” Alex Kuptsikevich, senior market analyst at The FxPro, said in an email.
He added that the market has entered a “stress zone” but has not yet reached the final capitulation stage. “To form a ‘true bottom’, a peak in loss-taking and a complete exhaustion of selling pressure is necessary,” he noted.
In traditional markets, dollar shorts hit their highest level in over a decade, while the latest drop in the inflation-adjusted yield on the US 10-year note gave hope to battered bitcoin bulls. Pay attention!
Read more: For analysis of today’s activity in altcoins and derivatives, see Crypto Markets Today
What to see
For a more comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk’s “Crypto Week Ahead.”
- Crypto
- 17 February at 19: Rocket Pool launches its Saturn One upgrade.
- Macro
- 17 February at 8.30am: Canada Inflation Rate YoY for January (Prev 2.4%); Core interest rate year/year (previously 2.8%)
- 17 February at 8.30am: NEW Empire State manufacturing index for February estimated 7.1 (previous 7.7)
- 17 February at 18.50: Japan’s trade balance for January estimated at 2.142 billion. yen (previously 105.7 billion yen)
- Earnings (Estimated based on FactSet data)
- February 17: HIVE Digital Technologies ( HIVE ), pre-market, -$0.07
Token Events
For a more comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk’s “Crypto Week Ahead.”
- Governance votes and calls
- February 17: Jito hosts an X Spaces session with Hush Protocol.
- February 17: Basic Attention Token to host a Brave Talk session at X Spaces.
- Balance votes to replace a signer on Emergency subDAO multisigs to improve operational responsiveness and security coverage. Voting ends February 17.
- Unlocks
- February 17: to unlock 17.24% of its circulating supply worth $20.84 million.
- The token is launched
Conferences
For a more comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk’s “Crypto Week Ahead.”
Market movements
- BTC is down 1.03% as of 16 ET Monday at $68,131.79 (24 hours: -1.28%)
- ETH is down 1.11% to $1,976.32 (24h: -0.57%)
- CoinDesk 20 is down 1.28% to 1,978.56 (24h: -1.03%)
- Ether CESR Composite Staking Rate is up 6 bps to 2.84%
- BTC funding rate is at 0.002% (2.2119% annualized) on Binance
- DXY is up 0.21% to 97.12
- Gold futures are down 1.87% at $4,952.10
- Silver futures are down 4.19% at $74.70
- The Nikkei 225 closed up 0.42% at 56,566.49
- The Hang Seng closed up 0.52% at 26,705.94
- The FTSE is up 0.37% at 10,512.50
- The Euro Stoxx 50 is up 0.15% at 5,987.94
- The DJIA closed Friday up 0.10% at 49,500.93
- The S&P 500 closed up 0.05% at 6,836.17
- The Nasdaq Composite closed up 0.22% at 22,546.67
- The S&P/TSX Composite closed up 1.87% at 33,073.71
- The S&P 40 Latin America closed Monday down 0.64% at 3,717.23
- The US 10-year Treasury yield is down 2.7 bps to 4.029%
- E-mini S&P 500 futures are down 0.20% at 6,836.50
- E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures are down 0.58% at 24,658.75
- E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Average Index futures are down 0.02% at 49,560.00
Bitcoin statistics
- BTC Dominance: 58.81% (-0.16%)
- Ether to bitcoin ratio: 0.02897 (-0.14%)
- Hashrate (seven-day moving average): 1,043 EH/s
- Hash price (spot): $34.08
- Total fees: 2.22 BTC / $151,829
- CME Futures open interest: 118,450 BTC
- BTC priced in gold: 13.8 oz.
- BTC vs Gold Market Cap: 4.53%
Technical Analysis
- The chart shows fluctuations in bitcoin’s 30-day implied volatility index in candlestick format.
- Volatility has cooled significantly, reversing the first month’s pop to nearly 100%.
- The reversal indicates that the panic has subsided and traders are no longer frantically chasing opportunities or hedging bets as in the first six days of the month.
Crypto stocks
- Coinbase Global (COIN): closed Friday at $164.32 (+16.46%), -0.94% at $162.78 in premarket
- Circle Internet (CRCL): closed at $60.04 (+6.02%), -0.35% at $59.83
- Galaxy Digital (GLXY): closed at $21.66 (+7.49%), -1.66% at $21.30
- Bullish (BLSH): closed at $31.73 (+0.06%), -0.66% at $31.52
- MARA Holdings (MARA): closed at $7.92 (+9.24%), -1.14% at $7.83
- Riot Platforms (RIOT): closed at $15.22 (+7.18%), -1.18% at $15.04
- Core Scientific (CORZ): closed at $17.84 (+2.06%)
- CleanSpark (CLSK): closed at $9.85 (+5.80%), -0.81% at $9.77
- CoinShares Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI): closed at $41.34 (+3.09%)
- Exodus Movement (EXOD): closed at $11.27 (+10.60%), -3.02% at $10.93
Crypto Treasury Companies
- Strategy (MSTR): closed at $133.88 (+8.85%), -1.60% at $131.74
- Strive (ASST): closed at $8.33 (+8.18%), -0.12% at $8.32
- SharpLink Gaming (SBET): closed at $6.85 (+4.74%), -2.34% at $6.69
- Upexi (UPXI): closed at $0.77 (+3.36%), +5.76% at $0.81
- Lite Strategy (LITS): closed at $1.12 (+8.74%)
ETF Flows
Spot BTC ETFs
- Daily net flow: $15.1 million
- Cumulative net flows: $54.31 billion
- Total BTC holdings ~ 1.26M
Spot ETH ETFs
- Daily net flow: $10.2 million
- Cumulative net flows: $11.67 billion
- Total ETH holdings ~ 5.71 million
Source: Farside Investors
While you were sleeping
Bitcoin remains under pressure near $68,000 even as panic subsides (CoinDesk): Bitcoin is struggling to build upward momentum, even as the main panic gauge pulls back from its early-month high and hints at renewed stability.
BofA survey shows dollar bearish bets over ten years. Here’s what it means for bitcoin (CoinDesk): Investors are the most bearish on the dollar in more than a decade, according to Bank of America’s latest survey, and the extreme effort could create bitcoin volatility, just not the way crypto bulls have grown accustomed.
Pound, Bond Yields Fall as Weak Data Cements Interest Rate Cut Bets (Bloomberg): The pound falls below $1.36 after data showed wages growth fell more than expected to 4.2% in December, while unemployment ticked up.
US, Iran begin nuclear talks in Geneva as war threatens (Reuters): Iran’s supreme leader warned that US attempts to oust his government would fail as Washington and Tehran began nuclear talks amid a US military build-up in the Middle East.
