🔥 Bitcoin Rises And Defies Historically Bad February

Bitcoin hits a six-month-high, over 100k Ordinals minted on the Bitcoin network, and Nostr could redefine social media.

Feb 17, 2023

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It's been another exciting week as bitcoin hit a six-month high of more than $25,000. Despite February being historically bearish, this surge in price has surprised many. Meanwhile, the rise of ‘Ordinals’ on Bitcoin is still generating excitement (and anger). In other news, the Nostr protocol with native bitcoin support is getting more attention as it tries to create an alternative to centralized social media platforms. Overall, it's been a week full of exciting developments and innovations in the world of Bitcoin. So sit back, and enjoy this week's newsletter!

Quote of the Week:
“Bitcoin may move from consolidation to another parabolic move back to $56,000. (…) Said differently, there could be a new bull market in stocks that looks like the last bull market. 2023 could be a surprisingly good year for both crypto and equities.”
- William Noble, a former analyst at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley

🔥 Bitcoin Hits Six-Month High, Going Above $25,000

This week, bitcoin's price surged 15% to reach a six-month high of more than $25,000, surprising many as February has historically been a bearish month for the cryptocurrency. Some attribute the surge to a rise in the dollar value, signs of declining inflation, and the popularity of Bitcoin-NFTs (‘Ordinals’). This comes as the regulators in the US are increasing their negative stance towards altcoins, especially Proof-Of-Stake assets and services. Along with the bitcoin price, many other metrics recently witnessed steady growth. For instance, bitcoin’s trading volume reached $36 billion following a 35% increase. It looks like the bearish sentiment is vanishing (at least for now), and more bullish optimism is taking over. This is also reflected in the number of non-zero addresses, meaning addresses on the Bitcoin network with a balance of more than zero reached an all-time high of 44,232,961.

My take: Smart investors focus on the long-term and keep adding to their bitcoin portfolio with an auto-invest plan. But short-time price action is gripping, too, of course. Especially when bitcoin makes more significant moves upwards despite a bearish market sentiment.

🖼️ Over 100K Ordinals Minted on Bitcoin, Bringing Cheers and Network Congestion

Over 100,000 Ordinal inscriptions have been minted on the Bitcoin network, causing network congestion and high transaction fees and generating excitement in the community. Unlike NFTs on Ethereum or Solana, Ordinals are inscribed directly onto individual Satoshis on the Bitcoin chain without smart contract support or programmability. While the rise of Ordinals presents challenges, such as limited data storage and lack of marketplaces and wallets, it also has benefits, including the demand for NFTs on Bitcoin and the use of its database for important information storage. The Bitcoin network was not designed for this use case, but upgrades like SegWit and Taproot now allow things like Ordinals.

My take: Ordinals are a double-edged sword, and I expect they will remain controversial. The good news is that they are a positive catalyst in the current sentiment surrounding Bitcoin.

📱 With Bitcoin Integration, Nostr Could Redefine Social Media

Social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook suffer from a lack of trust from their users. These platforms have increasingly grown agenda-driven and divisive while their owners exploit user data for financial gain. The Nostr protocol is an alternative to this broken model. Interestingly, it incorporates inherent values in Bitcoin: censorship resistance, decentralization, and anonymity. At its core, Nostr is not a social network; it allows users to exchange signed messages seamlessly. On top of that, anyone on Nostr can easily transact bitcoin micropayments. While Nostr is not as user-friendly or popular as its centralized competitors, the open-source network backed by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey seems to come at just the right time.

My take: Nostr is another hot new topic next to Ordinals. Competition in the social network space is fierce; network effects are hard to replicate. I’ve seen many competitors to Facebook, and Twitter come and go in recent years (among them giants like Google). But judged on its ethos, Nostr is a project worth supporting–and trying.

Short news:

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Disclaimer: None of this content constitutes investment advice. Always conduct your own research before investing in any digital asset.

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Your Relai Team

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