Author: Faith Yakubu

The Open Network Foundation, the entity behind developing the TON blockchain powering Telegram’s new advertising platform, has unveiled a community incentive program worth $115 million. This initiative will see the allocation of 30 million Toncoin (TON) tokens to reward the community.

As outlined in the announcement on March 20, the incentives will be distributed across four key areas: $38 million for token mining and user incentives, $22 million for airdrops, $15 million for The League developer ecosystem, and $40 million for liquidity pool boosts. Developers stated that the distribution of the 30 million Toncoin will commence on April 1 in monthly seasons, to facilitate a straightforward journey from Telegram user to on-chain participant.

During an initial pilot season, the TON Foundation disbursed 650,000 TON tokens ($2.6 million) through Liquidity Pool boosts and plans to allocate 550,000 TON tokens ($2.2 million) among winning projects in The League Pilot on March 31. Jack Booth, Director of Marketing at TON Foundation, remarked on the positive response from the community during the pilot season, indicating readiness for further engagement.

The Telegram Ad Platform, operating on the TON blockchain, was recently launched in March 2024. This platform enables Telegram channel owners globally to monetize their channels by selling advertising space and sharing revenue in TON tokens.

Originally developed by Telegram, the TON token’s development was halted in May 2020 following a legal dispute with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Despite this setback, Telegram remains a significant player in the messaging app landscape, boasting over 900 million users globally and ranking as the world’s fourth-largest messaging app.

In recent developments, Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov revealed plans for the company to pursue profitability, with considerations for an initial public offering (IPO). Durov also hinted at potentially offering priority access to loyal users for the firm’s IPO subscription, taking inspiration from Reddit’s approach. Over the past year, TON has seen a notable surge of close to 75% in value, currently trading at $4.12.

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In the wake of heightened market volatility, the price of Bitcoin has surged back above the $63,500 threshold. Over the past 24 hours, the crypto landscape witnessed a tumultuous period, with the liquidation of more than $150 million in leveraged bitcoin positions.

After dipping to a recent low of $69,900, Bitcoin’s value rebounded, showing a resilient increase of over 1% within the same period.  As of 7:50 a.m. ET, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization was trading at $63,559, according to data from The Block’s Price Page.

The volatility in price action led to significant liquidations across both long and short positions on centralized exchanges. CoinGlass data revealed that more than $78 million in bitcoin longs and over $72 million in shorts were liquidated, totaling over $150 million in liquidations.

While Bitcoin saw a rebound, the second-largest cryptocurrency, Ether, experienced a modest 0.3% increase, reaching $3,262 at 7:48 a.m. ET. Conversely, SOL, the native coin of the Solana network, recorded a decline of over 2% during the same period, according to The Block’s Prices Page.

The broader crypto market witnessed a total of over $275 million in liquidated long positions over the past day, contributing to a cumulative figure of $428 million in liquidations across various centralized exchanges.

Liquidations occur when traders’ positions are automatically closed due to insufficient funds to cover losses. This scenario arises when market movements go against the trader’s position, resulting in the exhaustion of their initial margin or collateral.

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The countdown to Bitcoin’s next halving event, scheduled to take place in just a month, is underway. As estimated by The Block’s halving countdown, the event is set for April 20, where miners’ block rewards will be slashed from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC.

Approximately 4,450 blocks remain until the anticipated date, based on Bitcoin’s average block generation time of 10 minutes. If the current pace holds, April 20 around 8 a.m. EDT marks the potential moment for the halving event, reducing miners’ rewards per block by half.

Bitcoin halvings occur automatically every 210,000 blocks, approximately every four years, in a programmed event. Following each halving, miners receive 50% fewer bitcoins as a reward for their mining efforts, although they still earn transaction fees per block as usual.

With three previous halving events in Bitcoin’s history, the block reward inflation has decreased from 50 BTC to 25 BTC in 2012, then to 12.5 BTC in 2016, and most recently to 6.25 BTC on May 11, 2020. Ultimately, there will only be 21 million bitcoins in existence, with the halving events set to continue until the last bitcoin is projected to be mined around 2140, after which miners will solely earn from transaction fees.

The Market Impact of Bitcoin Halvings

Bitcoin halvings historically correlate with significant price fluctuations in the cryptocurrency market. Although not directly causal, these events often precede notable bull runs in Bitcoin’s price trajectory.

Jean-David Péquignot, Head of Markets at OSL, remarked on the positive impact of Bitcoin halvings on its price, attributing it to heightened optimism among crypto investors due to the event’s reinforcement of Bitcoin’s scarcity.

Furthermore, a recent report from ETC Group suggests that the forthcoming halving may not be fully priced into the current market. Their analysis indicates a potential increase in Bitcoin’s equilibrium price, projecting figures as high as $215,000 by the end of the next Bitcoin epoch in 2028.

Despite recent fluctuations, with Bitcoin sliding from $68,136 to $61,506 and eventually rebounding to $63,994, analysts at Bernstein view the dip as a buying opportunity ahead of the impending halving event.

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The meteoric rise of Bitcoin (BTCUSD) alongside the continued dominance of artificial intelligence (AI) stocks has been a notable narrative on Wall Street throughout 2024. Despite recent volatility, BTC has recently reached new highs surpassing $70,000, driven by the introduction of spot Bitcoin ETFs and optimism surrounding the upcoming “halving” event.

While the introduction of Bitcoin-based ETFs initially diverted attention from crypto mining stocks, analysts at Bernstein contend that miners remain the most viable equity proxy for BTC. They argue that the recent underperformance of these stocks, particularly pre-halving, presents an uncommon opportunity to acquire them at a discount. Here’s a closer examination of one such lesser-known Bitcoin mining company poised for substantial growth according to Wall Street analysts.

Overview of Bitdeer Technologies Stock

Bitdeer Technologies Group (NASDAQ:BTDR) specializes in Bitcoin mining, with a focus on blockchain and high-performance computing. Headquartered in Singapore, the company also provides advanced cloud services catering to clients with significant demand for AI. Bitdeer operates data centers in the U.S., Norway, and Bhutan, with a current market capitalization of $823 million.

Despite a year-to-date decline of 25.9%, BTDR stock has notably underperformed the broader equities market.

Strong Q4 Performance

Bitdeer recently announced its preliminary results for the fourth quarter of the previous fiscal year, reporting revenues of $114.8 million, marking a 49% year-over-year increase. Notably, self-mining revenues surged by over fourfold to $46.9 million in the quarter. The company achieved an EPS of $0.11, a significant improvement from the $0.07 loss per share in the corresponding period of the prior year.

Additionally, Bitdeer ended the quarter with a cash balance of $144.7 million, up 7.6% sequentially, and mined approximately 1,299 Bitcoins, a 19.7% increase from the previous quarter. Full results are anticipated to be released on March 22.

Strategic Initiatives

Bitdeer has undertaken several strategic initiatives to bolster its position in the market. The appointment of founder Jihan Wu as CEO received a positive market response, as did the recent opening of a data center in Bhutan, aimed at reducing operating costs through lower electricity expenses.

Looking forward, the construction of the Tydal data center in Norway, equipped with immersion cooling technology, is expected to enhance efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Furthermore, Bitdeer’s partnership with Nvidia to address the growing demand for AI supercomputing underscores its commitment to diversification and innovation.

Analyst Outlook

Analysts are bullish on Bitdeer stock, with Benchmark initiating coverage with a “Buy” rating and a $13 price target, suggesting an upside potential of approximately 103%. H.C. Wainwright analyst Mike Colonnese echoed this sentiment, highlighting the stock’s undervaluation based on forward enterprise value/revenue multiple, with a $20 price target representing a potential upside of 171.7%.

Overall, unanimous consensus among five analysts rates BTDR as a “Strong Buy,” with a mean target price of $14.50, indicating a potential upside of around 97% from current levels.

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