Decentral Block Post

Bitcoin (BTC) begins the first week of 2023 in an uninspiring place as volatility stays away — along with traders.

After failing to budge throughout the Christmas and new year break, BTC price action remains locked in a narrow range.

Having sealed yearly losses of nearly 65% in 2022, Bitcoin has arguably seen a classic bear market year, but for the time being, few are actively predicting a recovery.

The situation is complex for the average hodler, who is watching for macro triggers courtesy of the United States Federal Reserve and economic policy impact on dollar strength.

Prior to Wall Street returning on Jan. 3, Cointelegraph takes a look at the factors at play when it comes to BTC price performance in the coming week and beyond.

Jared Grey, CEO of the decentralized exchange Sushiswap, has plans to redesign the tokenomics of the SUSHI token, according to a proposal introduced on Dec. 30 in the Sushi's forum.

As part of the new proposed tokenomics model, time-lock tiers will be introduced for emission-based rewards, as well as a token burning mechanism and a liquidity lock for price support. The new tokenomics aims to boost liquidity and decentralization in the platform, along with strengthening "treasury reserves to ensure continual operation and development," noted Grey.

In the proposed model, Liquidity Providers (LPs) would receive 0.05% of swap fees revenue, with higher volume pools receiving the biggest share. LPs will also be able to lock their liquidity to earn boosted, emissions-based rewards. The rewards are forfeited and burned, however, if they are removed before maturity.

Also, staked SUSHI (xSUSHI) won't receive any share of the fee revenue, but emissions-based rewards paid in SUSHI tokens. Time-lock tiers will be used to determine emissions-based rewards, with longer time locks resulting in bigger rewards. Withdrawals before the maturity of time locks are permitted, but rewards will be forfeited and burned.

The decentralized exchange will use a variable percentage of the 0.05% swap fee to buy back and burn the SUSHI token. The percentage will change based on the total time-lock tiers selected. The proposal notes that:

Bitcoin’s (BTC) volatility remained subdued in the final few days of the last year, indicating that investors were in no hurry to enter the markets.

Bitcoin ended 2022 near $16,500 and the first day of the new year also failed to ignite the markets. This suggests that traders remain cautious and on the lookout for a catalyst to start the next trending move.

Several analysts remain bearish about Bitcoin’s near-term price action. David Marcus, CEO and founder of Bitcoin firm Lightspark, said in a blog post released on Dec. 30 that he does not see the crypto winter ending in 2023 and not even in 2024. He expects that it will take time to rebuild consumer trust but believes the current reset may be good for legitimate firms over the long term.

The bearish calls are an indication that the sentiment remains negative but there is also a silver lining to it. Usually, bear markets end after the last bull has turned bearish. With no more sellers left, the price action stabilizes and new buyers enter the market. That usually causes a reversal and starts a new up-move.

While Bitcoin remains range-bound, select altcoins are showing signs of strength. Let’s look at the charts and spot the important levels to keep an eye on.

Bitcoin’s (BTC) volatility remained subdued in the final few days of the last year, indicating that investors were in no hurry to enter the markets.

Bitcoin ended 2022 near $16,500 and the first day of the new year also failed to ignite the markets. This suggests that traders remain cautious and on the lookout for a catalyst to start the next trending move.

Several analysts remain bearish about Bitcoin’s near-term price action. David Marcus, CEO and founder of Bitcoin firm Lightspark, said in a blog post released on Dec. 30 that he does not see the crypto winter ending in 2023 and not even in 2024. He expects that it will take time to rebuild consumer trust but believes the current reset may be good for legitimate firms over the long term.

The bearish calls are an indication that the sentiment remains negative but there is also a silver lining to it. Usually, bear markets end after the last bull has turned bearish. With no more sellers left, the price action stabilizes and new buyers enter the market. That usually causes a reversal and starts a new up-move.

While Bitcoin remains range-bound, select altcoins are showing signs of strength. Let’s look at the charts and spot the important levels to keep an eye on.

Futures and options let traders put down only a tiny portion of a trade’s value and bet that prices will go up or down to a certain point within a certain period. It can make traders' profits bigger because they can borrow more money to add to their positions, but it can also boost their losses much if the market moves against them.

Even though the market for crypto derivatives is growing, the instruments and infrastructure that support it are not as developed as those in traditional financial markets.

Next year will be the year that crypto derivatives reach a new level of growth and market maturity because the infrastructure has been built and improved this ye, and an increasing number of institutions are getting involved.

Crypto derivatives' growth in 2023

In 2023, the volume of crypto derivatives will continue to grow because of two factors: first, the growth of relevant infrastructure such as applications for decentralized finance (DeFi) and also because of more professional and transparent intermediaries planning to enter the space. Eventually, this will lead to more institutions getting involved.

Understanding why traditional financial institutions use derivatives more than traditional spot markets is an excellent way to learn more about the market.

Stepping into the year 2023, it's time to pause and reflect on the accomplishments and struggles the global crypto community witnessed over the last 365 days. Starting from the very beginning of 2022, no investment strategy could help recover the falling portfolios across traditional and crypto ecosystems. January 2022 inherited a slightly collapsing market, wherein investments made on 2021 all-time high prices resulted in immediate losses. 

For many, especially the new entrants, falling crypto prices were perceived as an end game. But what went widely unnoticed was the community’s resilience and accomplishments against a global recession, orchestrated attacks and scams and an unforgiving bear market.

As a result of falling prices, 2022 also inherited the 2021 hype around nonfungible tokens (NFTs), the Metaverse, iconic all-time highs for Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies.

Economies worldwide suffered massive inflation as the most influential fiat currencies succumbed to the ongoing geopolitical pressures. The fall of investor confidence in traditional markets seeped into crypto and the fall of ecosystems only aided the sour sentiments.

A year full of disruption

Amid poor market performance, the crypto community focused on strengthening its core. This meant releasing blockchain upgrades and introducing faster, cheaper and more secure features and capabilities — all driven by the consensus of the respective communities. As a result, 2022 was a milestone year for leading crypto ecosystems.