In today’s bitcoin and cryptocurrency news, hear about Bitcoin is ready to end its relationship with stock markets after months of pleading and tantrums. The cryptocurrency is making one of its most concerted efforts to date to break away from its close correlation with tech equities for much of its turbulent 2022. Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market as a whole, including Bitcoin, has been trading in tandem with risk assets on Tuesday, one day before the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision. Lastly, one of the major grocery chains in South Africa, Pick & Pay, is getting ready to accept Bitcoin BTC ($20,401) as payment.
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Bitcoin is Eager to Sever Its Ties to the Stock Market
Original Source: Cryptoverse: Bitcoin wants to break its bond with stocks
After months of tears and tantrums, bitcoin wants to break with stock markets.
The cryptocurrency, which has been closely associated with tech equities for much of 2022, is launching one of its boldest bids yet to break free.
Its 30-day correlation with the Nasdaq (.IXIC) fell to 0.26 last week, its lowest since early January. A value of 1 suggests the two assets are moving in lock step.
The correlation, which illustrates how well the two move in sync over a 30-day period, has been over 0.75 for much of the year and has reached perfect synchronization in May and September.
For some crypto believers, each bitcoin break-up from Big Tech is a sign of strength.
“The latter’s growth has tapped out, and investors are seeking for the next boom area. Bitcoin and crypto is one of the ‘next’ growth businesses “Santiago Portela, CEO of FITCHIN, a Web3 gaming platform.
The fledgling uncoupling coincides with a moment of quiet and consolidation for the young cryptocurrency a year after it began its epic plummet from $69,000 in November last year.
Bitcoin is hanging near one-month highs above $20,500 and surged over 5% last week, outpacing the Nasdaq’s 2% rise as dour quarterly results from Microsoft (MSFT.O), Alphabet (GOOGL.O), Meta (META.O), and Amazon (AMZN.O) weighed.
HODLERS HOLDING OUT
The crypto winter has been cold and severe, nevertheless.
The overall market cap for cryptocurrencies has fallen by more than two-thirds to $984 billion from nearly $3 trillion in November 2021, according to CoinMarketCap.com.
Average daily trading volume of digital asset goods fell to $61.3 million as of Oct. 25, much below the daily levels of roughly $700 million recorded last November, CryptoCompare data shows.
Months of unrelenting selling has failed to shake out the old hands, who are digging in despite a gloomy economic backdrop.
The dollar worth held in bitcoins that haven’t been moved for three months or longer is at an all-time high, indicating accumulation by long-term holders or “HODLers,” according to blockchain data firm Glassnode. The moniker for that group of crypto investors came from a trader misreading “hold” on an internet forum.
55,000 bitcoin were removed from the top exchange Binance on Oct. 26, according to analytics company CryptoQuant, indicating coins are transferring to wallets for longer-term storage.
“The holder base of BTC has changed drastically from being heavily weighted towards speculators, who largely came in in 2021, to the near cult-like ‘HODLer’ community, which would not sell their BTC in almost any macro circumstance,” said Stéphane Ouellette, CEO at crypto derivatives provider FRNT Financial.
“The market is now looking to the Fed meeting next week for confirmation of the risk asset/BTC link breakdown.”
NEXT FOR FICKLE BITCOIN?
Samuel Reid, CEO of consultancy firm Geometric Energy Corporation, said huge withdrawals from exchanges could signal large purchasers were “sniffing out” the conclusion of the bear market.
It’s anyone’s bet whether bitcoin will surge, sink, or quickly comeback to the embrace of technology stocks.
Macroeconomics will drive a speculative market for the foreseeable future.
Alex Miller, CEO of blockchain developer Hiro Systems, said, “The more speculative crypto, the more it’s related to macro.”
“What are the asset’s use cases and productivity? Less connected to macro as it’s utilized for other things.”
Ahead of the Fed’s Interest Rate Decision, Bitcoin Remains Above $20,000
Original Source: Bitcoin Holds Above $20K Ahead of Fed’s Interest Rate Decision
Bitcoin and the crypto market traded closely with risk assets Tuesday ahead of the Fed’s rate announcement tomorrow.
According to CoinGecko, the largest cryptocurrency by market cap was up 0.2% at press time, trading for $20,414.
Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, was $1,579, up 0.6%.
Wall Street’s major indexes slumped on news of a healthy labor market, which could encourage the Fed to continue raising interest rates. Low unemployment equals greater spending, which raises prices.
Social media articles indicated China’s government may lessen COVID-19 lockdowns, which boosted Chinese stocks traded in the U.S.
Global central banks have raised interest rates to combat inflation. Inflation is at a four-decade high, therefore the Fed is desperate to contain it. Investors avoid risky assets like stocks and Bitcoin.
Bitcoin and crypto are associated with U.S. stocks, especially tech companies. Bitcoin has become increasingly resistant to macroeconomic trends, raising questions about whether it has “decoupled” from equities.
The Fed will declare interest rates tomorrow. It was expected to ease down its aggressive monetary policy this year to reduce inflation, but today’s results reveal that may be misguided.
We are apprehensive about a negative market reaction to the Fed’s ongoing hawkishness, said Darius Sit of Singapore’s QCP Capital.
Dogecoin has remained to be one of the largest cryptocurrencies by market cap today.
The original meme coin is now worth $0.13, up 7.2% in 24 hours. It’s also the best-performing digital asset over the past week, rising 132.4%.
Elon Musk, Twitter’s new CEO, has been posting Dogecoin-related jokes, leading to fresh interest in the eighth-largest digital asset by market cap.
South African Supermarket Chain Pick N Pay Plans to Start Accepting Bitcoin Countrywide
Original Source: South African grocery giant ‘Pick n Pay’ intends to accept Bitcoin in all stores nationwide
Pick & Purchase, one of South Africa’s leading supermarket chains, will allow consumers to pay with Bitcoin BTC.
ticker falls $20,401
According to South African digital news outlet Tech Central, Pick N Pay plans to roll out its bitcoin payments service statewide in the coming months following years of experimenting in select outlets. The supermarket operator purportedly started experimenting with Bitcoin payments five years ago in Cape Town but was thwarted by exorbitant fees and long transaction wait times.
The statewide launch would allow users to pay for things using cryptocurrencies through “trusted apps” on their cellphones or by scanning a QR code and accepting the rand conversion rate at the moment of payment.
Chris Shortt, the group executive for IT at Pick n Pay, said the advancement and evolution of bitcoin technology has made it feasible to now “offer an affordable service for large volume, low-value transactions that will encourage financial inclusion in South Africa.”
Pick n Pay apparently teamed with Electrum and CryptoConvert during its test run to allow clients to pay using the Bitcoin lightning network.
South Africa appears to be making headway in the use of cryptocurrencies in Africa. In October, South Africa’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) revised its financial advice to identify crypto assets as financial products, allowing local and international South-African licensed financial service companies to market cryptocurrency.
In September, Chainalysis’ 2022 Global Crypto Adoption Index ranked South Africa 30th internationally for cryptocurrency adoption. Various estimates suggest 10-13% of South Africans own crypto.
Summary of today’s Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency News
To put it simply, some of bitcoin’s supporters see its separation from Big Tech as a badge of honor. “Growth in the latter has slowed to some degree, and investors are keen to move on to the next hot sector.” One of the ‘next’ growing industries is bitcoin and cryptocurrency “FITCHIN CEO and Web3 gaming ecosystem head, Santiago Portela said this.
Meanwhile, after a day, the value of the original meme currency, which was previously trading at $0.11, has increased to $0.13. It is the greatest performing digital asset over the previous week, having increased by 132.4% in that time. This is mostly due to the fact that Elon Musk, Twitter’s new CEO, has maintained his pattern of sharing Dogecoin-related jokes on the social media platform, thereby reviving interest in the coin, which is currently the eighth largest digital asset by market cap.
Lastly, the acceptance of bitcoin in Africa appears to be gaining ground in South Africa. The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) of South Africa updated its financial guidance in October to identify crypto assets in the country as financial products, allowing licensed financial service companies in South Africa to provide cryptocurrency to their clients. South Africa was also placed at number 30 on Chainalysis’ 2022 Global Crypto Adoption Index, which was released in September. Several calculations suggest that between 10 and 13 percent of the people in South Africa currently hold some form of cryptocurrency.
