New Delhi: Most major cryptocurrencies plunged on Wednesday as bears continue to push prices lower. Barring US dollar pegged coins, the top 10 traded cryptocurrencies were down up to 25 per cent in the last 24 hours.

Bitcoin was down 8 per cent while Ethereum tanked 21 per cent. Binance Coin, XRP and Cardano were also down in double digits. Interestingly, the sell-off happened at a relatively higher volume, meaning this trend may continue for some time, said analysts.

The markets are currently dragged down by bears. Although this was not a major panic selling session, the momentum prevailing across the markets is pretty bearish. BTC is toying with the $33,000 level. ETH fell below the $2,000 mark creating a sense of scare across altcoins. This sort of volatility can be expected to continue throughout the week, said Edul Patel, CEO and co-founder of Mudrex.

Selling, though, was not just contained in the crypto market but equities across the world were also under pressure. The major reason behind this is the more than expected rise in inflation in the US, which pushed yields and US dollar higher.

The US consumer price index jumped 0.9% in June, the Labor Department said on Tuesday. That was above market expectations and the largest gain since June 2008.

Analysts believe the upcoming Grayscale unlockings, coupled with the Taproot upgrade, is likely to lead to an increased buying by wealthy investors and BTC whales.

The DAO is built on an Ethereum-based tool, Aragon, which connects multiple smart contracts that enable users to deposit liquidity. As of June 2021, there are 39 active pools available for swapping between stablecoins and assets on the platform.

(Views and recommendations given in this section are the analysts' own and do not represent those of ETMarkets.com. Please consult your financial adviser before taking any position in the asset/s mentioned.)

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Top cryptocurrency prices today: Bitcoin tanks 8%, Ethereum follows with 21% plunge - Economic Times

As thecrypto payments market gains steam, lawmakers and regulators across the globe are trying to figure out how to regulate digital currencies effectively to ensure safety and legitimacya debate that took on a new sense of urgency after El Salvador became the first country to accept Bitcoin as legal tender.

Asia-Pacific leads the way:Here are the latest crypto payment moves from two of the biggest global markets.

The bigger picture:When it comes to digital currencies, countries like CBDCs because they have parity with corresponding fiat currencies and can fit within the global banking system: Just days after international financial institutionscalled for global collaboration to make CBDC interoperable, central banks of Singapore and France successfullytesteda cross-border network involving multiple CBDCs supported byJPMorgan'sblockchain infrastructure,Onyx.

Bitcoin, on the other hand, faces anuphill climbtoward being accepted as a currency amid concerns about its high volatility and utility as a payment method, butpayment playersare nevertheless diving into the spacesignaling the asset may be able to overcome this skepticism. But for CBDCs and broader crypto payments to break into the mainstream, continued work toward interoperability will be key to ensure payment utility and enable cross-border transactions.

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How China and India are helping shape the future of CBDCs and Bitcoin - Business Insider

Bitcoin and cryptocurrency mining, in general, have established negative stigma for their all-encompassing effects on the tech industry. Probably, they couldn't use even worse press than this.

According to a report byArsTechnica, a certain former fossil fuel power plant-turned Bitcoin mining center is consuming so much power that it's heating up Seneca Lake in upstate New York. That's on top of polluting the surrounding atmosphere by constantly burning natural gas to power the cryptocurrency operation.

The plant, called Greenidge, was repurposed as a bitcoin mining hub by the private equity firm Atlas Holdings earlier this year. But obviously, they haven't had good ties with the residents of Dresde, a town situated close to the plant.

According to residents, Greenidge is dumping enough hot water (a byproduct of keeping bitcoin mining machinery cool) to heat up Seneca Lake, with one person claiming that the lake is "as hot as a hot tub." It results from Atlas running thousands of mining rigs in the facility in their attempts to ramp up their bitcoin production for the past year and a half. So far, the Greenidge plant has produced over 1100 bitcoin.

Read also:Points to Bear in Mind When Venturing into the Bitcoin Trading Industry

To say that cryptocurrency mining consumes a lot of power is an understatement. Just look at what the bitcoin mining operation in Greenidge is doing, as mentioned earlier. And it's quite simple to understand: the more power is consumed, the more heat is put out.

The massive power requirements of bitcoin mining (and cryptocurrency mining in general) have caused major world governments to notice. A perfect example isChina's crypto crackdown. The bitcoin market there alone is the largest in the world, with Chinese mining operations comprising around 65 percent of global bitcoin mining.

Here's a perspective on how much power bitcoin mining consumes. According to a report byNBC News, all of the bitcoin mining operations worldwide consume more power than the entire country of Chile. Let that sink in. Also, what's even worse is that they tend to use fossil fuels for power.

Despite all of the monetary benefits of crypto, it has one glaring weakness: it is extremely volatile. One moment, it's even more valuable than tons upon tons of gold. The next moment, it's basically worthless. And the value itself can be affected by seemingly simple things, such as an Elon Musk tweet.

Manycryptocurrencies have experienced massive dropsin value lately, all because of that one particular trait. Couple that with government crackdowns all over the place, and crypto as a whole is starting to become less and less profitable. Running and maintaining a mining rig now costs way more on average compared to the projected profits.

The situation with Greenidge will reach a tipping point, and hopefully, the environment will be all the better for it.

Related:Crypto Miners to Pay Higher Rates for Electricity in Kazakhstan | 'Negative Impact on Investment Attractiveness'

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Written by RJ Pierce

2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

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Bitcoin Power Plant Consumes So Much Power, and It's ...

Bitcoin (BTC) starts a new week in familiar territory crucial support is back, but bulls have not yet got their breakout. Could that soon change?

After reclaiming $33,000 on Friday, BTC/USD has held on to the trading corridor it had been in before last weeks brief volatility.

That involved a dip to $32,000 on the back of sudden short positions accumulating on exchange Bitfinex.

The impact was only temporary, however, and the weekend saw highs of $34,600 on Bitstamp.

Cointelegraph presents five factors to consider when eyeing what Bitcoin might do next.

With stocks going upward as usual, there seems to be little in terms of friction that could cause problems for cryptocurrency gains.

While analysts are increasingly warning about a comedown in the future, the mood in equities remains firmly buoyant this week.

There does seem to be a complacency that Goldilocks is not only alive and well, but that its getting stronger by the day, Simon Ballard, chief economist at First Abu Dhabi Bank, told Bloomberg.

The United States dollar, however, could provide more clues.

Taking a look at the U.S. dollar currency index (DXY), which measures USD strength against a basket of 20 trading partner currencies, the picture shows some familiar resistance is back in play.

Late last week, one analyst argued that DXY needed to rise from its current 92.2 to around 94 in order to see major resistance kick in, which would boost Bitcoin.

On Monday, however, DXY is still recovering from losses it incurred at the end of the week, also battling a zone that has kept it in check in the past.

Bitcoins inverse correlation to DXY has also been placed under the microscope recently, as BTC increasingly forges its own path within the macro environment.

Looking at the spot market, traders are bullish at the prospect of $33,000 returning and enduring after a brief bearish episode last week.

After reaffirming the level, trader and analyst Rekt Capital explained on Sunday that BTC/USD is back at the lower end of an established range.

BTC is breaking back above the orange trendline, he said in a subsequent update alongside a chart showing the current landscape.

Monday has continued the trend, with Bitcoin trading at around $34,350 at the time of writing.

Bitcoin is trying to rally and close an 8th week in a row above 34k with a long wick down. Lots of demand still, fellow trader Scott Melker added.

Last week, targets of up to $39,000 were in for Bitcoin should bulls manage to attack $35,500 resistance and continue, something that in the event failed to occur.

If last weeks price action disappointed, under the hood, Bitcoin has been working on a more important turnaround.

Data from monitoring resources on Monday shows that both network difficulty and the hash rate are stabilizing and that, therefore, the worst of the recent mining turbulence could be firmly over.

After its record drop earlier in July, difficulty was previously on track to beat even its latest performance and shed another 28% or more.

In the intervening period, however, a recovery has started to take place. Now, the next difficulty adjustment should only see a 10% drop should price action remain near current levels.

Blocks coming in at a rapid phase next difficulty adjustment is now estimated at ~ -7.5% but it seems to me like hash rate is coming back pretty quickly at the moment, angel investor Klaus Lovgreen summarized on the day.

The changes are testament to the power of the Bitcoin network to balance itself without any external assistance regardless of the circumstances, difficulty adjusts to take into account any given eventuality.

The estimated hash rate remains only modestly above its recent lows of 83 exahashes per second (EH/s), but even here, stability and a slow return to the norm are visible.

As Cointelegraph reported, both metrics are expected to make fresh gains as mining power returns to Bitcoin after relocating out of China. The timeframe for this to happen, by contrast, is anyones guess.

An event that is on every Bitcoin market participants radar this month is the multiple unlockings of BTC at institutional giant Grayscale.

As Cointelegraph explained, the Grayscale Bitcoin Fund (GBTC) is due to release in excess of 40,000 BTC in the coming weeks, this having been subject to a six-month lock-up period.

Opinions differ about its market impact. Some are concerned that selling pressure will increase (only to then become practically zero after the unlockings are over), while others argue that spot markets will be broadly unaffected.

Sunday, July 18, is of particular interest, with that days unlocking worth just over 16,000 BTC.

When GBTC shares unlock and get sold, the GBTC Premium drops (share price drops relative to the BTC in the trust), statistician Willy Woo commented last week.

In need of some reliable hopium for the week ahead? Bitcoin market analytics has the answer.

On Monday, attention was turning to a nifty indicator from on-chain data service CryptoQuant, which has historically caught every major BTC price run in the past two years.

Dubbed the Taker Buy Sell Volume/Ratio, it tracks exchange data to produce as a guide for when to hodl and when is a good opportunity to take profit during a local market cycle.

Right now, the Ratio appears to be forecasting another BTC/USD surge, leading to a classic take profit point.

Analyst Cole Garner has even highlighted what to expect should history repeat itself. He noted, however, that the trigger phase where the Ratio touches the upper green channel has not happened yet.

Buy signal incoming, he nonetheless commented.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

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Countdown to Grayscales big BTC unlock: 5 things to watch in Bitcoin this week - Cointelegraph