Bitcoin Depot, the largest Bitcoin ATM operator in the United States, has demonstrated remarkable resilience in its revenues despite the volatile nature of cryptocurrency prices.

According to its recently filed 10-K annual report on April 15, the company disclosed revenues of $689 million in 2023 and $647 million in 2022, indicating a strong performance unaffected by Bitcoin’s price fluctuations.

Bitcoin Depot’s Robust Revenue Amid Market Volatility

Despite the tumultuous movements in cryptocurrency prices, Bitcoin Depot has maintained steady revenue growth, showcasing its stability amidst market turbulence. Even during periods of extreme volatility in Bitcoin prices, the company’s revenues remained resilient and unaffected. For example, despite Bitcoin’s 155% surge in 2023, Bitcoin Depot’s revenue growth was a modest 6% year-over-year.

This resilience is attributed to Bitcoin Depot’s strategic focus on non-speculative services such as money transfers, international remittances, and online purchases. Unlike entities heavily involved in cryptocurrency trading or mining, Bitcoin Depot maintains a relatively low balance of Bitcoin, typically less than $1 million, at any given time.

Additionally, the company minimizes its exposure to Bitcoin’s volatility by purchasing Bitcoin through reputable liquidity providers like Cumberland DRW or Abra, rather than engaging in mining activities. This proactive approach to risk management sets Bitcoin Depot apart from its competitors and ensures effective management of principal risk.

Bitcoin Depot’s operational model involves maintaining Bitcoin balances to fulfill user demand from kiosk or BDCheckout transactions, rather than acting as an agent or exchange for users. As users receive Bitcoin, the company replenishes its balance through purchases from leading liquidity providers, ensuring smooth operations and stability.

Furthermore, Bitcoin Depot’s success extends globally, as it leads the Bitcoin ATM market with a network of over 7,000 BTMs worldwide. Despite a decline in Bitcoin ATM installations globally in 2023, Bitcoin Depot remains optimistic about the industry’s future, anticipating a rebound following the upcoming Bitcoin halving event.

Bitcoin Depot’s CEO, Brandon Mintz, remains confident in the industry’s prospects, expecting increased market activity and interest in cryptocurrencies post-halving.

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Renowned Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff recently forecasted a potential downturn in BTC’s price to $20K, accompanied by a caution about MicroStrategy’s holdings. Schiff emphasized the significance of Bitcoin’s $60K support level, hinting at a possible “triple top” pattern.

Expressing concerns, Schiff suggested that a dip below the $60K mark might trigger a substantial decline, potentially leading to a significant drop to $20K. He also underscored the potential impact on MicroStrategy, the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, which could face an estimated $2.7 billion unrealized loss if prices plummet.

MicroStrategy currently holds approximately 214,000 BTC, acquired at an average price of $34K. Despite potential losses during bearish markets, CEO Michael Saylor remains bullish on Bitcoin, advocating for a long-term investment strategy.

This isn’t the first time Schiff has targeted MicroStrategy over crypto market uncertainties. In March, he criticized the company’s $623 million BTC acquisition, warning of potential losses at a $20K Bitcoin price.

However, Schiff’s projections of a $20K price seem unlikely based on current market trends and technical analysis. Bitcoin’s 50-day and 200-day Exponential Moving Averages could offer significant support at $63,128 and $47,900, respectively. A sustained level above these EMAs might negate Schiff’s forecast.

Despite Schiff’s consistent skepticism, Bitcoin has defied previous doomsday predictions. The recent projection coincided with geopolitical tensions, but historical parallels and market rebound trends suggest a potential recovery.

Critics within the crypto community, like Stephan Livera, dismiss Schiff’s analysis as lacking substance and relevance, highlighting ongoing debates around Bitcoin’s future trajectory amidst varying viewpoints.

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Adidas and the crypto fitness app Stepn have joined forces, marking the beginning of a collaboration set to encompass both NFTs and physical merchandise. The partnership’s inaugural offering will be an NFT collection, with plans for tangible products in the pipeline, as per Stepn’s announcement.

The collaboration will commence with the Stepn x Adidas Genesis Sneakers collection, featuring 1,000 NFTs inspired by some of Adidas’s most renowned running silhouettes. Stepn stated that this initial Genesis collection marks the start of a year-long partnership, with further NFT drops and wearable items slated for release.

Scheduled for release later this week on April 17, the NFT collection will be available via Stepn’s affiliated non-fungible token marketplace, Mooar. Adidas has previously engaged in crypto-related partnerships with platforms such as Coinbase, Bored Ape Yacht Club, and Bugatti.

Stepn, recognized as a move-to-earn web3 app rewarding users for physical activity, boasts a user base of 5 million. This collaboration echoes Stepn’s past partnership with Asics in 2022.

Shiti Manghani, CEO of Stepn, emphasized the significance of bridging the physical and digital realms through partnerships like this, describing the alliance between Stepn and Adidas as a testament to the evolving landscape of lifestyle rewards.

In a recent development, Stepn conducted an airdrop of bonus points totaling $30 million worth of GMT tokens, further enhancing its engagement with users.

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EigenLayer recently unveiled its presence on the Ethereum mainnet, marking a significant development in the Ethereum ecosystem. One of the primary avenues to participate in EigenLayer involves contributing to the security of Ethereum and amplifying interest in staking activities. Staking on Ethereum has gained considerable momentum, particularly with the surge in popularity of restaking methods, as discussed in recent discussions.

In a noteworthy update, EigenLayer made its debut on the Ethereum mainnet, introducing its EigenDA data availability layer. Notable operators such as Coinbase Cloud and Google Cloud have joined as the protocol’s initial participants. Additionally, EigenLayer revealed six actively validated services that would benefit from its restaking mechanism, reinforcing its position in the ecosystem.

This launch enables restakers on the platform to earn an additional yield on their staked ETH, a feature previously unavailable. Many users had initially deposited ETH into the protocol in anticipation of higher yields and speculated on potential airdrops as EigenLayer allocated restaking points.

Accessing EigenLayer necessitates staking ETH, either by setting up a validator or utilizing a liquid staking protocol to acquire staking derivative tokens. Liquid staking tokens (LST) offer holders liquidity and can be obtained by depositing into designated protocols or through direct purchase.

The surge in new validators underscores the increasing interest in contributing to Ethereum’s security through EigenLayer. Notably, Ethereum transitioned to Proof-of-Stake with The Merge in September 2022, allowing individuals to operate validators on the Beaconchain alongside the mainnet. Staking gained substantial traction following the Shapella upgrade in April 2023, which introduced the ability to withdraw staked ETH, enhancing user confidence in the security of their funds.

At its peak in June 2023, the validator queue reached 96,000, prompting measures to maintain network stability. However, the queue gradually subsided, remaining below 10,000 from October 2023 to March of the following year. The resurgence of interest in restaking has propelled the validator entry queue to 20,000, reflecting robust demand to fortify the Ethereum network.

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Following a volatile weekend, both Bitcoin and altcoins continue to face downward pressure, with Bitcoin retreating to the $64,000 level after an initial bounce on Monday.

Ether Struggles to Maintain Momentum

Ether (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency, hovers just above the $3,100 mark, showing signs of struggle in retaining gains made since the market’s panicky selloff on Saturday. Despite being up 4% over the past 24 hours, ETH remains lower by about 4% since briefly reaching nearly $3,300 earlier on Monday, fueled by unconfirmed reports of Hong Kong-based spot Bitcoin and Ether ETF approvals.

Bitcoin and Altcoins Face Renewed Downside Pressure

Bitcoin (BTC) also experiences renewed downside pressure, modestly lower over the past 24 hours to $64,200 after nearly reaching $67,000 earlier on Monday. The broader CoinDesk 20 Index reflects a 0.68% increase over the same period.

Solana (SOL) sees a significant reversal of its overnight gains, dropping to around $140 from highs of $155 early Monday morning and $175 reached on Friday.

Geopolitical Tensions Influence Market Sentiment

The crypto market plunged over the weekend as geopolitical tensions escalated, with Bitcoin dropping to the $61,000 area and Ether below $3,000 following Iran’s bombing campaign on Israel. Despite initial turmoil, some stability returned over the weekend.

Market Response and Outlook

Trading house QCP Capital notes that historically, buying the dip during major geopolitical conflicts has been profitable. Ed Goh, head of trading at B2C2, reports consistent buying in BTC, particularly during the weekend dip, with a notable bias towards purchasing altcoins.

As Bitcoin’s halving event approaches on April 19, traders anticipate a potential short-term “sell the news” reaction before and after the event.

Altcoins Show Mixed Performance

Despite setbacks in the broader market, some altcoins continue to see significant gains on Monday. Ondo Finance (ONDO) is up 15% over the past 24 hours, while Render’s RNDR and The Graph (GRT) rose by 12% and 9%, respectively.

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