Decentral Block Post

Bitcoin (BTC) price broke above $25,000 on Feb. 21, accruing a 53% year-to-date gain. At the time, it made sense to expect the rally to continue after U.S. retail sales data from the previous week vastly surpassed the market consensus. This fuelled investors’ hope for a soft landing and a possible averted recession in the U.S. economy. 

The apex of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s strategy success would be increasing interest rates and scaling back its $9 trillion balance sheet reduction without significatively damaging the economy. If that miracle happens, the outcome would benefit risk assets, including stocks, commodities and Bitcoin.

Unfortunately, the cryptocurrency markets took a hit after the $25,200 level was rejected and Bitcoin price plunged 10% between Feb. 21 and Feb. 24. Regulatory pressure, mainly from the U.S., partially explains investors' rationale for the worsening market conditions.

In a Feb. 23 New York Magazine interview, Securities and Exchange Commission  Chair Gary Gensler claimed “everything other than Bitcoin” is potentially a security instrument and falls under the agency’s jurisdiction. However, multiple lawyers and policy analysts commented that Gensler’s opinion is “not the law.” Hence, the SEC had no authority to regulate cryptocurrencies unless it proved its case in court.

Additionally, at a G20 meeting, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stressed the importance of implementing a strong regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. Yellen’s remarks on Feb. 25 followed International Monetary Fund managing director Kristalina Georgieva pointing out that “if regulation fails,” then outright banning “should not be “taken off the table.”

Bitcoin (BTC) and the United States equities markets are trying to start the week on a positive note but some analysts are skeptical about the short-term prospects of the markets. According to Bloomberg Intelligence senior macro strategist Mike McGlone, Bitcoin will face significant resistance at $25,000. McGlone believes that it “may be a while before buy-and-hold types gain the upper hand.”

It also looks like Bitcoin whales, unique entities owning 1,000 Bitcoin or more, are also not convinced of the recovery in the crypto markets. According to Glassnode, Bitcoin whale numbers have fallen to 1,663, which is well below the peak of 2,161 hit in February 2021.

It is difficult to catch the bottom in any market. Hence, traders should try to build a portfolio when they believe that the downtrend has ended and a basing pattern has begun.

Instead of buying the entire quantity at one go, they could gradually build a portfolio and aim to finish the purchases before the asset picks up momentum and shoots higher.

Could the strength in the equities markets pull Bitcoin and altcoins higher? Let’s study the charts to find out.

Blur, a NFT marketplace, has seen its trading volumes and total sell-side liquidity skyrocket since conducting an airdrop on Feb. 14, 2023. The reason for the spike could be the start of season 2 airdrops, where 10% of BLUR token’s total supply will be distributed to certain users based on their activity. The team allocated 12% toward an early user airdrop in the first season that ran from the marketplace’s gated launch in March 2022 to February 2023.

Blur has made a significant dent in OpenSea’s position as the leading marketplace. Analytics from data scientist Hildobby shows that Blur is eating into the market share of OpenSea and other aggregators like X2Y2. Blur's incentive program and advanced NFT trading features are causing users to shift from OpenSea to Blur.

OpenSea feels the heat 

Following Blur’s example, OpenSea discontinued its marketplace fee of 2.5% per sale. The fact that OpenSea LLC was willing to let go a significant chunk of its earnings—close to around $336.8 million for one year—suggests that Blur’s growth threatens it.

The two NFT giants also recently locked horns on the critical issue recently of creator royalties. By restricting the ability to earn full creator royalties on both platforms, creators have to choose between Blur and OpenSea to list collections.

Pacman, the founder of Blur, told Cointelegraph on Feb. 23 that OpenSea started the spat first. They were forced to retaliate with restrictive features like limited royalties on Blur if a collection is also listed on OpenSea as well. However, ideally, he would want both creators to be able to earn their royalties on both platforms without having to choose. It appears that Pacman wants OpenSea to succumb to the competition and instead of fighting Blur, it should accommodate the aggregator progressively.

Blur, a NFT marketplace, has seen its trading volumes and total sell-side liquidity skyrocket since conducting an airdrop on Feb. 14, 2023. The reason for the spike could be the start of season 2 airdrops, where 10% of BLUR token’s total supply will be distributed to certain users based on their activity. The team allocated 12% toward an early user airdrop in the first season that ran from the marketplace’s gated launch in March 2022 to February 2023.

Blur has made a significant dent in OpenSea’s position as the leading marketplace. Analytics from data scientist Hildobby shows that Blur is eating into the market share of OpenSea and other aggregators like X2Y2. Blur's incentive program and advanced NFT trading features are causing users to shift from OpenSea to Blur.

OpenSea feels the heat 

Following Blur’s example, OpenSea discontinued its marketplace fee of 2.5% per sale. The fact that OpenSea LLC was willing to let go a significant chunk of its earnings—close to around $336.8 million for one year—suggests that Blur’s growth threatens it.

The two NFT giants also recently locked horns on the critical issue recently of creator royalties. By restricting the ability to earn full creator royalties on both platforms, creators have to choose between Blur and OpenSea to list collections.

Pacman, the founder of Blur, told Cointelegraph on Feb. 23 that OpenSea started the spat first. They were forced to retaliate with restrictive features like limited royalties on Blur if a collection is also listed on OpenSea as well. However, ideally, he would want both creators to be able to earn their royalties on both platforms without having to choose. It appears that Pacman wants OpenSea to succumb to the competition and instead of fighting Blur, it should accommodate the aggregator progressively.

Bitcoin (BTC) headed toward $24,000 at the Feb. 27 Wall Street open as a strong weekly close translated into further gains.

Bitcoin gains $1,000 versus weekend lows

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD rebounding in line with United States equities futures.

The pair had seen lows of $22,770 on Bitstamp over the weekend, these nonetheless proving short lived as the weekly candle closed above $23,500.

With stocks rebuilding strength into the new week, hopes were high that Bitcoin could continue its upward trajectory to finish February on a high.

“Rejecting at crucial $23.8K level would indicate that we´ll be having another test of the support,” Cointelegraph contributor Michaël van de Poppe, founder and CEO of trading firm Eight, wrote in part of a Twitter update on the day.