Author: Faith Yakubu

Tech giant Google has seamlessly integrated Ethereum Name Service (ENS) data into its search results using information sourced from Etherscan. CryptoSlate confirmed this integration through various ENS addresses, including Vitalik.eth, belonging to Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum.

The displayed results provide comprehensive details such as the Ethereum balance and the timestamp of the last transaction, all retrieved from the Ethereum block explorer Etherscan. ENS serves as a naming system for the Ethereum blockchain, facilitating human-readable names for diverse resources, including crypto wallets.

The news of this integration was first shared by Brantly Millegan, a former core member of the ENS team, on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

Google’s Embrace of Crypto

This integration underscores Google’s increasing involvement with crypto and blockchain technology. Previously, the tech giant allowed users to directly check Ethereum address balances via its search engine. Furthermore, Google displayed animated pandas in sync to initiate a countdown to the Ethereum Merge event in 2022.

Last year, Google revised its crypto advertising policy to include “Cryptocurrency Coin Trusts,” enabling investors to trade shares in trusts holding digital assets. As a result, Bitcoin ETF products from prominent asset managers like BlackRock now feature in search results for queries such as “Bitcoin ETF.”

ENS Token’s Upward Movement

The news of Google’s feature on social media has helped the ENS token reverse its recent downward trend, experiencing a gain of approximately 6% in the last 24 hours, trading at $21.56 as of press time, according to CryptoSlate’s data.

In recent months, the ENS project has achieved significant milestones, including full decentralization and a pivotal partnership with GoDaddy, a domain registrar.

Jeff Lau, a developer with ENS, highlighted that these developments aim to “humanize web3.” He emphasized ENS’s role as a naming system for crypto addresses, evolving to encompass various functions within the web3 ecosystem, including serving as farcaster IDs, crypto payment addresses, and DAO contract identifiers.

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Bitcoin has experienced a decline of over 10% from its recent all-time high, reflecting a decrease in interest for newly established spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Strategists at JPMorgan Chase and Co. have cautioned that this pullback could continue.

The group of 10 spot Bitcoin ETFs is currently witnessing its largest weekly outflow since its introduction on January 11. Concurrently, Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, is on track for one of its most challenging weeks of the year following a 6% downturn. On Friday, the token was down 2.7% to $63,675.

JPMorgan strategists reiterated their view that Bitcoin appears overbought, reiterating a prediction made in February for further declines leading up to April’s eagerly awaited halving event, which will reduce the supply of newly minted Bitcoin from miners.

The continuous interest seen in CME Bitcoin futures, along with the diminishing flows in ETFs, stands as notable bearish signs for Bitcoin’s price, as highlighted by strategists headed by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou in a note issued on Thursday.

The slowdown in net inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs challenges the perception of a continuous one-way net inflow, particularly as the halving event approaches. This trend of profit-taking is expected to persist, especially considering the overbought positioning backdrop, despite the recent correction.

Last month, JPMorgan forecasted a decline in Bitcoin’s price towards $42,000 post-April as the euphoria induced by the halving event subsides.

From Monday through Thursday, a net $836 million was withdrawn from the ETFs, reflecting outflows from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust and a decrease in subscriptions for competing offerings from BlackRock Inc. and Fidelity Investments.

While the ETF category has seen net inflows of $11.3 billion to date, marking one of the most successful debuts for an ETF category, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, which transitioned into an ETF, has experienced $13.6 billion in outflows.

Despite Bitcoin reaching a record high of almost $73,798 on March 14, retail traders’ enthusiasm may be waning, according to Naeem Aslam, chief investment officer at Zaye Capital Markets. Aslam expressed concerns about the rally’s strength post-all-time high and emphasized the significance of the upcoming halving event in maintaining momentum. However, failure to sustain this momentum could lead to a significant retracement, potentially dropping below $50,000.

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The Terra blockchain encountered an unexpected halt on Thursday, marking the second disruption within the month. The core team is actively investigating the issue, as stated in an official update. Despite this setback, the price of LUNA, Terra’s native token, has remained largely unaffected, with a weekly loss of nearly 13%.

The Terra blockchain issued an official update regarding the sudden halt experienced on Thursday, the second such incident in March. The cause of the halt remains unclear, prompting the core team to intensify efforts to identify and resolve the issue. The community has been assured that updates will be provided as the investigation progresses.

In a previous occurrence on March 14, the Terra blockchain faced a similar unexpected issue resulting in a temporary halt. Following swift action from the team, block production resumed, and an initial investigation was conducted. While users were informed of the restoration, the team committed to conducting a post-mortem analysis to prevent future occurrences.

Just a week later, on March 21, the blockchain once again paused block productions, prompting a follow-up tweet from the team. Despite these interruptions, the price of LUNA has shown resilience, maintaining stability amidst the technical challenges. As of the latest update, LUNA is trading at $0.9224, representing a 4% increase for the day, recuperating from its weekly losses.

Currently, LUNA’s price is consolidating below the resistance level of $1. Despite the disruptions, the asset remains 41% below its year-to-date high of $1.55, recorded on March 5.

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The momentum of Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) experienced a decline as BlackRock’s inflows dropped significantly. On March 20, BlackRock’s inflows amounted to $49.28 million, while Grayscale’s ETF witnessed higher outflows at $386 million.

For the second consecutive day, spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded negative flows. According to data from the financial research platform ‘SosoValue,’ Grayscale’s ETF GBTC observed a substantial outflow of $386 million on March 20. The previous day saw the same ETF recording $443 million in outflows, reflecting intensified selling pressure on Bitcoin.

Other ETFs failed to compensate for the outflow, as per SoSo Value data shared by WuBlockchain. BlackRock’s IBIT recorded the highest inflow at $49.28 million on the same day.

Since the approval of ETFs by the U.S. SEC in January, substantial inflows had been driving Bitcoin’s value upwards. However, the recent decrease in inflows suggested that institutional impact might be contributing to the 8.66% decline in Bitcoin’s price over the last seven days.

Despite Bitcoin trading at $67,018, indicating a resurgence of buying pressure, continued outflows surpassing inflows could potentially drive BTC below $60,000.

Bulls are attempting to counter the bearish sentiment prevailing in the market. Coin Edition noted a noticeable bearish bias based on technical analysis. The 4-hour BTC/USD chart revealed a death cross with the Exponential Moving Average (EMA), where the 20 EMA (blue) dipped below the 50 EMA (yellow), signaling a reinforcement of the downtrend. Bitcoin’s price also fell below the 50 EMA, suggesting a potential halt to the recent uptrend.

As it stands, Bitcoin may experience a decrease, with a potential target of around $58,463 if bulls fail to sustain pressure. Conversely, a surge in buying pressure could propel the coin towards $70,202.

The derivatives market also witnessed significant activity, with Bitcoin’s recovery triggering substantial liquidations. Coinglass reported over $317.55 million worth of BTC contracts liquidated, possibly due to high leverage or insufficient funding fees. Short positions constituted the majority of liquidated positions, while volatility also led to liquidations among longs.

The cascade of liquidations could further impact Bitcoin’s price from a trading perspective, with shorts potentially becoming more aggressive if BTC drops below $60,000.

In summary, the decline in Bitcoin ETF momentum, coupled with technical indicators and derivative market activity, suggests a challenging landscape for the cryptocurrency in the near term.

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Bitcoin’s (BTC) recent surge since the beginning of 2023 has reignited interest in the cryptocurrency realm. The launch of several spot BTC ETFs has propelled the top crypto to establish a new record high on March 14, breaking a historical milestone by achieving this feat over 45 days ahead of its next halving event.

Amidst the current correction phase in the crypto market, traders are eagerly searching for the next catalyst to drive prices higher. Analysts widely point to the impending halving as the potential trigger for the next rally. However, halvings pose a significant challenge for Bitcoin miners, as the 50% reduction in new BTC emissions slashes their revenue in half, prompting many to deactivate inefficient equipment post-halving, leading to a decline in the Bitcoin hash rate.

To gain insights into how miners are preparing for the halving and their subsequent strategies, Kitco Crypto engaged in a discussion with Greg Beard, CEO of Stronghold Digital Mining. Stronghold made history as the first mining company to launch an IPO approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Beard, formerly Head of Energy at Apollo, emphasized the importance of viewing crypto mining as a form of “power arbitrage,” highlighting Stronghold’s ownership of power plants and data centers.

Beard emphasized the evolving landscape of the crypto-mining industry and the necessity for miners to assess energy demands on local power grids. Stronghold’s unique approach allows them to swiftly adapt to fluctuating energy prices by turning off data centers during periods of expensive power and selling excess energy to the grid. Beard highlighted the impact of renewable energy sources on energy price volatility and underscored Bitcoin mines’ role as grid-scale batteries, providing stability to power grids.

Regarding Stronghold’s revenue diversification efforts, Beard mentioned ventures into carbon sequestration, coal ash sales, and exploring alternative fuel sources. He contrasted Stronghold’s resilience with the challenges faced by miners lacking their infrastructure, emphasizing the importance of creating additional industrial applications beyond Bitcoin mining.

Criticism towards Bitcoin mining’s energy consumption has overshadowed its contribution to improving energy efficiency and environmental remediation efforts. Beard emphasized Stronghold’s commitment to cleaning up waste coal sites and converting them into power generation facilities. However, he lamented the lack of recognition from ESG investors, highlighting a disparity between investor perceptions and environmental impact.

Addressing concerns over Bitcoin mining centralization, Beard downplayed the risk of a concentrated mining power disrupting Bitcoin’s decentralized nature, citing potential consolidation among public miners. He projected significant consolidation post-halving, with outdated machines being phased out for more efficient models, ultimately driving the industry towards industrial-scale operations.

Beard also discussed potential challenges posed by government regulations, including President Biden’s proposed tax on Bitcoin miners’ power consumption. He cautioned against singling out Bitcoin miners for taxation, warning of unintended consequences on innovation and economic growth.

Looking ahead, Beard anticipated Bitcoin ETFs’ role in driving price volatility, particularly with their obligation to purchase underlying assets upon investor demand. He underscored Bitcoin’s defensive appeal for populations facing economic instability due to inflation and mounting global debt.

As governments grapple with soaring debt levels, Beard highlighted the inflationary implications of printing money to service debt, expressing concern for future economic stability. Despite uncertainties, Beard remained optimistic about Bitcoin’s potential as a hedge against economic turmoil, emphasizing its role in preserving wealth amidst fiscal uncertainties.

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