2024-01-08 13:34

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters. NEW YORK - In a strategic move to capture market share in the burgeoning cryptocurrency exchange-traded fund (ETF) market, BlackRock (NYSE:BLK), the world's largest asset manager, has set a competitive fee for its newly introduced spot bitcoin ETF. The fee of 0.30% undercuts rivals, with Fidelity's bitcoin ETF at 0.39% and Valkyrie's at 0.80%. As the industry gears up for the launch of spot bitcoin ETFs in the United States, pricing strategies are becoming a critical battleground for major players. BlackRock's aggressive pricing is part of its strategy to attract investors to its offering. However, the company has indicated that this low fee will increase once the ETF reaches a certain threshold of assets under management. This pricing announcement comes at a time when investment firms are eagerly awaiting regulatory approval to offer spot bitcoin ETFs to U.S. investors. These financial products are designed to track the price of bitcoin directly, allowing investors to gain exposure to the cryptocurrency without having to purchase it directly. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/blackrock-sets-low-fee-for-new-spot-bitcoin-etf-93CH-3269546

2024-01-08 10:34

HIVE Digital Technologies Ltd. (HIVE) is pleased to announce the summarized unaudited production figures from the Company's global Bitcoin operations for the 2023 calendar year. Production totaled 3,260 Bitcoin mined, and hashrate increased by 100% in the 2023 calendar year, from 2 Exahash per second ("EH/s") at the end of December 2022 to 4 EH/s at the end of December 2023 (all amounts in US dollars, unless otherwise indicated). HIVE has maintained approximately 1% of the global Bitcoin mining network through 2023, mining an average of approximately 9 Bitcoin per day throughout the calendar year of 2023, by maintaining a growing hashrate over the course of the year, that has generally kept pace with the Bitcoin mining network hashrate growth. With the total daily block rewards of the Bitcoin mining network averaging 900 Bitcoin per day, or 328,500 Bitcoin in a calendar year, HIVE earning 3,260 Bitcoin for calendar 2023 is approximately 1% of the Bitcoin mining network. Throughout calendar 2023 the Bitcoin mining network continued to attract more efficient ASIC machines to compete for the 900 new Bitcoin mined per day, as HIVE'S network hashrate grew from approximately 2 EH/s from the beginning of 2023 to approximately 4 EH/s at the end of 2023. Accordingly, Mining Difficulty1 also increased approximately 100% year over year, from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023, as per www.blockchain.com. This is how HIVE maintained approximately 1% of the total Bitcoin rewards mined in calendar 2023. HIVE ended the 2023 calendar year with approximately $17 million in cash and a Bitcoin HODL position of 1,704 BTC. As mentioned in the Company's December 19, 2023, news release, the Company's HODL strategy is such that it anticipates to be able to HODL all its Bitcoin until the upcoming Halving which is expected to be in April 2024 after which the number of new Bitcoin mined per day will drop to 450 Bitcoins per day. Bitmain S19k Pro Update HIVE also announces that further to its news releases dated November 14, 2023, and December 4, 2023, all 9,800 of the Bitmain S19k Pro Antminers ordered by the Company have shipped. Currently approximately 70% have been installed, and it is expected that 100% of these machines will be installed before January 2024 month-end. After these miners are installed, it is expected that HIVE will have 4.8 EH/s of ASICs with an average fleet efficiency of 28.7 J/TH. In addition, further to its news release dated December 21, 2023, upon the completion of the installation of the 7,000 Bitmain S21 Antminers ordered in December 2023, which will begin in January 2024 and is expected to be completed in June 2024, it is expected that HIVE will have an average fleet efficiency of 25 J/TH and a total of 5.6 EH/s of active mining capacity. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/hive-digital-technologies-mined-3260-bitcoins-in-2023-432SI-3269066

2024-01-08 10:09

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters. WORLDWIDE - Despite the volatility in cryptocurrency markets, over 6,000 merchants around the globe now accept Bitcoin as a form of payment. This uptick in adoption is spread across various regions, with Europe, Latin America, the United States, and the Philippines showing significant engagement. The current number, as tracked by BTC Map, marks a growth from previous figures, albeit lower than the peak recorded in September. Businesses of different types, including restaurants and bars, are increasingly incorporating Bitcoin into their payment options. They are showing interest in both on-chain transactions and payments via the Lightning Network, a second-layer technology designed for faster and more cost-effective Bitcoin transactions. On the other hand, the landscape for Bitcoin ATMs paints a contrasting picture. The United States, in particular, has witnessed a downturn in the number of these machines. However, this decline is not universal. Other regions like Canada and the European Union have experienced growth, indicating a mixed response to the infrastructure supporting Bitcoin transactions. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/global-merchant-adoption-of-bitcoin-grows-in-2023-93CH-3268966

2024-01-08 09:10

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters. Investing.com - The U.S. dollar edged higher in early European trade Monday, continuing to see demand as risk appetite remained subdued ahead of a key U.S. inflation report later in the week. At 04:10 ET (09:10 GMT), the Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, traded 0.1% higher at 102.262, remaining within sight of a three-week high. Dollar in favor ahead of key CPI release The dollar posted strong gains last week after traders abruptly scaled back expectations that the Federal Reserve could begin cutting interest rates as early as the first quarter of 2024. The monthly U.S. jobs report showed U.S. employers hired more workers than expected in December, suggesting a still-resilient labor market - one of the Federal Reserve’s key metrics. This brings Thursday’s U.S. inflation data squarely in focus, as markets seek out more cues on when the central bank could potentially begin trimming rates this year. U.S. CPI is seen rising by 0.2% month-on-month, an annual increase of 3.2% - a pick-up in inflation that could further boost the dollar as it bodes poorly for early rate-cut bets. “Expect a quiet start to the week before US CPI data on Thursday,” said analysts at ING, in a note. “The dollar appears more sensitive to negative news but a fragile risk environment should keep USD broadly supported in the near term.” Euro on unstable ground In Europe, EUR/USD traded 0.1% lower at 1.0934, with the euro continuing to drift lower after a decline of 0.9% last week, ending a run of three weeks of gains. Eurozone inflation jumped to 2.9% in December from 2.4% in November, data showed on Friday. But this was widely expected, and growth in the region remains difficult to find. German industrial orders rose less than expected in November, climbing 0.3% month-on-month, below the forecast rise of 1%, data showed earlier Monday, as the region’s largest economy continued to struggle. “We continue to see EUR/USD on unstable ground this quarter, and any positive impact from softer US data/better EZ data may be more short-lived than downside corrections,” ING added. GBP/USD fell 0.2% to 1.2692, with sterling likely to see quiet trading this week ahead of Friday’s release of GDP data for November on Friday with economists expecting a modest rebound after October’s drop. Japanese, Chinese inflation data due this week Elsewhere, USD/JPY traded 0.1% lower to 144.50, after the yen last week logged its worst weekly loss since late-2022 in the wake of an earthquake battering central Japan. Focus is now on CPI inflation data from Tokyo for December, later in the session, which usually acts as a bellwether for nationwide Japanese inflation. USD/CNY rose 0.3% to 7.1613, despite a stronger-than-expected daily midpoint fix by the People’s Bank, as sentiment towards China remained weak. Chinese inflation data is due this Friday, and is expected to show that China remained in deflation through December. https://www.investing.com/news/forex-news/dollar-benefits-from-risk-aversion-ahead-of-key-inflation-data-3268927

2024-01-08 05:14

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters. Investing.com-- Gold prices fell in Asian trade on Monday, extending losses from the prior session as stronger-than-expected U.S. labor data saw markets reconsider expectations for early interest rate cuts. The yellow metal logged a weak start to 2024, tracking a sharp rebound in the dollar as traders scaled back bets that the Fed could trim rates by as soon as March. This notion was exacerbated by stronger-than-expected nonfarm payrolls data on Friday showing resilience in the labor market- which gives the Fed more headroom to keep rates higher for longer. Gold also saw a heavy degree of profit-taking after a fairly strong melt-up through December. The yellow metal ended 2023 with over 10% in gains. Spot gold fell 0.5% to $2,035.69 an ounce, while gold futures expiring in February fell 0.4% to $2,042.25 an ounce by 00:00 ET (05:00 GMT). Both instruments lost about 0.9% in the first week of 2024. US inflation in focus after nonfarm payrolls surprise Markets were now focused squarely on key U.S. consumer price index (CPI) inflation data for December, which is due this Thursday. The reading, which comes on the heels of a strong payrolls report, is expected to show a pick-up in inflation from the prior month. Any signs of sticky inflation bode poorly for bets on early interest rate cuts by the Fed, given that the labor market and inflation are two major points of consideration for the central bank when adjusting monetary policy. The Fed had also warned that any signs of sticky inflation and labor market strength are likely to keep it from cutting interest rates early. The CME Fedwatch tool showed traders pulling back their expectations for a March cut. Traders now expected a roughly 63% chance for a 25 basis point cut in March, down from an over 73% chance being priced-in last week. Higher-for-longer rates are likely to herald more near-term pressure on gold, which was battered by rising rates through most of 2023. While the Fed is still expected to trim rates eventually this year, analysts at ING said they had pushed back expectations for a cut to May from March. High interest rates push up the opportunity cost of investing in bullion, which offers no yield. Copper rises after weak start to 2024, more China cues on tap Among industrial metals, copper prices rose gingerly on Monday after falling sharply in the first week of 2024. Copper futures expiring in March rose 0.3% to $3.8128 an ounce, after losing 2.2% in the past week. Prices were battered by a strong dollar, as well as weak purchasing managers index data from several major economies, particularly top importer China. China is set to release more economic indicators this week, with inflation and trade data due this Friday. Chinese copper imports will be a key point of focus for traders of the red metal. https://www.investing.com/news/commodities-news/gold-prices-slide-as-markets-question-early-rate-cuts-inflation-data-on-tap-3268746

2024-01-08 03:27

Investing.com - Cardano was trading at $0.7051 by 04:37 (08:37 GMT) on the Investing.com Index on Friday, down 10.06% on the day. It was the largest one-day percentage loss since December 16, 2022. The move downwards pushed Cardano's market cap down to $25.7123B, or 0.99% of the total cryptocurrency market cap. At its highest, Cardano's market cap was $94.8001B. Cardano had traded in a range of $0.7030 to $0.7641 in the previous twenty-four hours. Over the past seven days, Cardano has seen a stagnation in value, as it only moved 1.28%. The volume of Cardano traded in the twenty-four hours to time of writing was $1.8161B or 0.92% of the total volume of all cryptocurrencies. It has traded in a range of $0.6880 to $0.8097 in the past 7 days. At its current price, Cardano is still down 77.25% from its all-time high of $3.10 set on September 2, 2021. Elsewhere in cryptocurrency trading Bitcoin was last at $67,771.5 on the Investing.com Index, down 7.59% on the day. Ethereum was trading at $3,699.38 on the Investing.com Index, a loss of 6.66%. Bitcoin's market cap was last at $1,339.3475B or 51.56% of the total cryptocurrency market cap, while Ethereum's market cap totaled $448.8158B or 17.28% of the total cryptocurrency market value. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/cardano-falls-10-in-rout-3339422