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☆ Bitcoin was up 155% in 2023—but should you invest? Here's what experts say
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Ryan Ermey | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Cryptocurrency investors spent much of 2023 waiting for good news. By the time news broke on Jan. 10 that 11 new bitcoin ETFs would begin trading, crypto investors were taking a victory lap, having bid the coin's price up by 155% in calendar year 2023. "They don't have the ability to put these bitcoin ETFs into client discretionary portfolios, yet," Sigel says. Expect more new crypto ETFs, too — and in different flavors. Experts say these might be as simple as portfolios that combine bitcoin exposure with mainstream investments, such as those in the S&P 500.

Persons: —, Brian Vendig, That's, Matthew Sigel, Sigel, Todd Rosenbluth Organizations: SEC, stoke, MJP Wealth Locations: Westport , Connecticut

☆ Cryptoverse: As good as gold? Spot bitcoin ETFs aim to whip up US demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Suzanne Mcgee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Mainstream investment giants such as BlackRock (BLK.N) and Fidelity, as well as crypto-focused firms like Grayscale, have filed applications for spot bitcoin ETFs. U.S. crypto firm NYDIG estimates demand for a spot bitcoin ETF at around $30 billion. Their calculation compares the sizes of the gold and bitcoin ETFs - $210 billion versus $28.8 billion, respectively - and adjusts them for their relative volatility. BlackRock declined to comment on its pending spot bitcoin ETF, other than to confirm that it is still awaiting final SEC approval. His forecast is based on how demand evolved in smaller markets where spot bitcoin ETFs already exist, such as Canada.

Persons: Dado, Dave Mazza, George Gagliardi, cryptocurrencies, bitcoin, Todd Sohn, Steven McClurg, Crypto, Matthew Sigel, Matthew Hougan, Steve Sosnick, Suzanne McGee, Ira Iosebashvili, Michelle Price Organizations: REUTERS, Roundhill Investments, Fidelity, U.S . Securities, Exchange, Coromandel Wealth Management, Strategas Securities, Boston Consulting, BlackRock, SEC, Bitwise Investments, Interactive, Thomson, Reuters Locations: U.S, BlackRock, Lexington , Massachusetts, Canada

☆ It’s been one year since the Ethereum merge. Here’s how the network is doing on its goals.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-17 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Despite ether's recent price action, the network has been thriving since the "merge" – and could just be getting started. Still, market participants are seeing and feeling the success of the Ethereum merge. Here's how Ethereum is doing on some of its post-merge goals: Yields Ether's staking reward reference rate was 5.854% per annum on Sept. 15, 2022, according to Ethereum data provider Beaconchain. The percentage of ether supply being staked has risen from 11.99% on Sept. 15, 2022, to 20.46% on Aug. 30 of this year. Burning fees and decreasing supply Ethereum has a mechanism programmed in to regulate the network's notoriously high transaction fees, called gas fees, by "burning" them.

Persons: Ethereum, it's, Ethereum haven't, Matthew Sigel, Andrew Ballinger, hadn't, Maria Shen, Shen, It's Organizations: Metrics, First, ETH, Electric Locations: Bitcoin, FTX, First Republic, Shanghai, ETH, Solana, Cardano

☆ It’s been a month since the big Shapella upgrade. Here’s how Ethereum has changed since then
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

A little over a month ago, Ethereum underwent a major technology upgrade that allowed investors to withdraw their "staked," or locked up, coins on the network for the first time ever. The change, known as Shanghai or Shapella, was meant to bring more liquidity to the network by allowing investors to withdraw their staked assets. The total value of ether staked has risen, while the supply has fallen dramatically. Here's what else has happened in the month since Shapella: 1. So far, however, ETH fees have outpaced the growth in the amount of ether staked, leading to higher yields, he said.

☆ Bitcoin volatility fell to historic lows this week. Here’s why that might be bad news
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

"An uptick in bitcoin volatility would, rather than trigger concern, be greeted as a positive sign and would most likely be closely followed by a similar move in spot and derivative trading volumes." Sigel also pointed to bitcoin miners who may be selling covered calls in order to monetize profits as much as they can. Bitcoin miners have had a difficult time with the bitcoin price stuck at such low levels. "Each time volatility has been this low, historically, bitcoin prices have bottomed," said Alex Thorn, head of firmwide research at Galaxy Digital. Thorn said that while seeing lenders and exchanges collapse feels unstable, the crypto market will emerge from this period having significantly matured.

☆ Crypto winter end in sight as Ethereum looks to shake the chills- analysts
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

J.P.MORGAN:"We believe that the Ethereum Merge and really the Ethereum Surge could be a big factor in terms of increasing the use-cases for blockchain into new areas, including financial services," analysts said in an early December note. The Ethereum Merge was a major software upgrade to the Ethereum blockchain that went live in September and reduced its energy usage by 99.95%, according to developers. "We continue to see the Ethereum Surge as a catalyst for development in the cryptocurrency markets, which appears at least 6-12 months away." "From the China crackdown to the several price crashes in earlier 2022, crypto mining has shown an approximately 1-to-1 price-power relationship. Norwood expects the crypto market to pick up in about six months.

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