Ethereum's circulating supply has hit a new low due to increased demand and a surge in burn rate, with 86,219 ETH worth around $300 million being removed from circulation in the last 30 days. The network has seen a rise in user activity, reflected in the increase in new addresses created and a spike in DeFi ecosystem performance, including a 21% rise in total value locked and a 27% increase in Lido Finance's TVL. Additionally, Ethereum's decentralized exchange trade volumes have risen by 161% in the past 30 days, and the NFT sector witnessed a 17% rally in sales volume despite a decrease in the number of transactions. However, as the crypto market becomes overheated, ETH sell-offs have surged, leading to a spike in ETH's supply on exchanges, reaching its highest level in the last month at 14.1 million, indicating increased selling pressure.
Standard Chartered has raised its Bitcoin price prediction to $120,000 by the end of 2024, citing miners hoarding their coins and reducing additions to Bitcoin's circulating supply as the driving factors. The bank's analysts believe that increased miner profitability will lead to a decrease in the number of coins sold, creating a bullish feedback loop. The recent rise in Bitcoin's price has boosted the industry's revenue, reversing the declining trend seen in 2022. Additionally, data shows a shift of BTC from short-term holders to long-term holders, indicating a potential early upswing. The approval of a Bitcoin spot ETF in the US could further fuel Bitcoin's surge.
Over $2.2 billion worth of USD coin (USDC) was burnt in a single day as redemptions crossed $4 billion on Tuesday night. The burns refer to effectively taking tokens out of circulating supply by sending them to an address that’s not controlled by any entity. The USDC burns followed a likely reduction in reserve backing or redemptions. The dollar-pegged stablecoin has failed to win back investors following last week’s depegging.
