Bitcoin Pops Past $66,000 to Resume 'Uptober'
The historically bullish month is serving up gains for Bitcoin and beyond
By: Zack Guzman
October 14, 2024
Sometimes it’s best not to overthink things. Case in point: October is usually one of the strongest months for Bitcoin, and this month is proving to be another data point in favor of the trend.
The Granddaddy of all crypto is off to a strong start to the week, and it’s lifting most of the industry with it. But could a rally mean there are other 100% surges lurking in the shadows? Read on for our best bets from the week’s upcoming action, including the launch of Donald Trump’s DeFi project…
Bitcoin Flows Rebound
Last week, we saw some impressive inflows into digital assets, with CoinShares reporting a net total of $407 million. Unsurprisingly, Bitcoin dominated, pulling in the bulk of those gains, while Ethereum continued to show weakness.
It’s worth noting that in September Bitcoin’s network hash rate (or the collective computing power competing to win the bitcoin block reward every 10 minutes) rose by 11%, adding some challenges for miners as their profitability took a hit. Luckily, miners are mostly in OK financial shape, meaning most aren’t likely to be facing pressure to dump the bitcoin they hold any time soon.
Is Bitcoin Triggering a Memecoin Rally?
Memecoins have been the talk of the town again, thanks to a keynote at the Token 2049 conference in Singapore going viral last week. In it, a Princeton trader named “Murad” advocates for what he calls the “memecoin supercycle.”
He claims memecoins that don’t purport to unlock anything beyond speculation are “a more efficient way of tokenizing community in Web3” and argued that they are better suited for mass adoption than traditional altcoins, like Solana, looking to copy Ethereum.
For reasons we’ve highlighted before, we don’t think turning crypto into a full blown casino is necessarily the best path forward — but, if you are curious, some of the coins Murad owns have rocketed higher as speculators piled in. Just tread carefully, coins like SPX6900, which are already up 500% in the last two weeks, aren’t for the faint of heart.
For what it’s worth, Fundstrat’s Sean Farrell (a crypto analyst who DOES root his research in revenue and fundamentals) says it’s going to take Bitcoin' strength to spill over into memecoin rally anyway.
Avalanche’s Web3 Gaming Bet Pays Off
On the flipside of the proverbial memecoin coin, this week we’re spotlighting Avalanche for a very real bet that seems to be paying off in a big way.
A new game built on Avalanche’s rails called Off the Grid is absolutely blowing up. By which we mean it’s now one of the most played games on Epic Games’ platform - even surpassing Fortnite. Twitch streamers with more than 1 million subs, like Shroud, were chatting about it all weekend. That’s huge because under the hood, players are onboarding with Avalanche wallets even though they aren’t even aware it’s being powered by Avalanche’s blockchain. Some stats:
In five days,
5.5 million wallet addresses playing
53 million transactions
Top 3 shooter game on Twitch, with 1 million+ hours streamed on Twitch
The promise for a long time has been that a big Web3 game might come along that could onboard people without the hassle of needing to understand anything about crypto. It seems like that game is finally here, and AVAX stands to benefit. The token is still well off its highs from the last cycle ($140) at just $30. Popular crypto trader Kaleo has said it's suddenly "not so crazy" to see AVAX flying as high as $400.
This week, our host Zack Guzman is heading down to Avalanche’s summit in Buenos Aires to hear more about upcoming games, rep Coinage, and learn how all that activity might spill over into an AVAX rally.
Trump Closes Gap; Harris Embraces Crypto?
Some are attributing the crypto rally to Donald Trump closing the polling gap to pull into a dead heat with VP Kamala Harris. A new NBC poll shows just that:
But on Monday, Harris announced a new crypto policy mandate: She said it will be a priority to provide “a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency and other digital assets so Black men who invest in and own these assets are protected.” It was part of her new “Kamala Harris Will Deliver for Black Men” platform as she seeks to shore up support among a key Dem voting bloc.
It’s somewhat of a weird way to frame a final push to be “pro-crypto,” but it’s also unclear whether the move might help win votes from two cohorts that are already somewhat unsure of whether there’s truth behind her words.
On the flip side, Donald Trump’s Liberty Financial DeFi project looks to go live with its token sale on Tuesday. The token sale seeks to raise $300 million from accredited investors at a valuation of $1.5 billion, according to the Block.
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