The EU parliament turns to the dark side, LFG continues to accumulate, bitcoin reserves continue to plummet… will BTC rebound off a critical level?
TL;DR:
- Diminishing bitcoin reserves.
- BTC testing a fundamental level.
- EU parliament result.
- NFT & metaverse update and mints.
Diminishing bitcoin exchange reserves
In 2017, as crypto exchanges began gaining popularity, investors began relocating BTC from wallets to exchanges for speculation and trade. The influx began an uptrend in bitcoin exchange reserves that lasted for years. However, nearly a year before the last Bitcoin halving, in May 2020, the long-lasting uptrend was broken. Ever since then, bitcoin reserves have experienced a steady downwards trend.
This month exchange reserves hit an all-time low of 2.3 million BTC. Exchanges had not seen the current levels since August 2018, when the bitcoin price was US$6,700.
www.cryptoquant.com
Despite a notably higher price (IS$35,000 – US$45,000), holders have been removing their BTC from exchanges to non-custodial wallets at a record pace. Since a July 2021 high, non-custodial wallets have accumulated an average of 36,000 bitcoins a month.
Bitcoin and crypto have seen massive adoption in the previous two years hence the strengthening downtrend. Additionally, there will always be people willing to speculate, so exchanges will never run dry of BTC, but the diminishing supply highlights the willingness to HODL (hold on for dear life) vs. speculating. And with a scarcer supply comes a greater probability of a price increase.
Market update 🌍
Bitcoin (BTC) broke through the 200 EMA (exponential moving average) this week, followed by its first significant downwards move today, toward testing the critical level. BTC fell 3.28% on news of the EU parliament voting in favor of harmful crypto-based regulations and completed the US trading session at US$45.436.
Source: Trading View
| US markets close | Gain |
| S&P 500 | -1.57% |
| Nasdaq | -2.02% |
| Dow | -0.84% |
| VIX | +6.63% |
Notable Gainers (24h)
| Protocol (Coin) | Price ($) | Gain (%) |
| STEPN (GMT) | 2.48 | +24 |
| Theta Network (THETA) | 4.31 | +7 |
| Waves (WAVES) | 55.60 | +6 |
| Celer Network (CELER) | 0.07 | +28 |
| IOST (IOST) | 0.044 | +19 |
| DeFi Kingdom (JEWEL) | 10.81 | +15 |
| SKALE (SKL) | 0.255 | +12 |
| Acala (ACA) | 1.51 | +12 |
| Astar (ASTAR) | 0.18 | +19 |
| Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index | 50 Neutral (-2) |
| “Crypto” Google Trends | 33 |
| “Bitcoin” Google Trends | 43 (-5) |
Newswatch 📰
- EU votes pass. The EU parliament voted in favor of the FATF-inspired (Financial Action Task Force) crackdown on non-custodial crypto wallets by 58-52. The hearing is not the final legislative proceeding concerning the regulation but represents a step towards a consequently negative direction for crypto-asset law in Europe.
- The decline of dominance. According to the Financial Times, International Monetary Fund (IMF) official, Gita Gopinath, stated that world sanctions imposed on Russia threaten to dilute the US dollar’s dominance gradually. Gopinath noted “you might see some slow-moving trends towards other currencies playing a bigger role.”
- Binance sponsors Grammys. Binance announces its plan to sponsor the 64th annual Grammy Awards held later this year.
- Bitcoin mining in Russia. According to Prime1, officials in Russia state that the country plans to develop industrial-scale bitcoin mining in the country and will draft/finalize a deal soon.
On-chain ⛓
- Lightning strikes the Kraken. US-based crypto exchange, Kraken, adds support for bitcoin Lightning Network which allows the fast and low-cost transfer of BTC often utilized for small transactions.
- The decentralized exchange Uniswap (UNI) community proposes integrating Uniswap V3 into Polkadot (Ethereum Virtual Machine) EVM parachain Moonbeam (GLMR).
- Fantom (FTM) unveils a 335-million FTM incentive program in partnership with Gitcoin Grants to “better support a wider variety of projects” and “empower the Fantom community.”
NFT & metaverse update 🐵
- SnoopDogg and @champmedici will partner with Clay Nation. Join Snoop, Champ,, @IOHK_Charles and @The_ClayMates on April 5l, 18.00 UTC (http://claynation.io/baked)
- Shiba Inu’s (SHIB) largest whale holdings have doubled after the network announced the release of its native metaverse project label SHIB.
Notable mints
| Project | Mint Price | Date/Time (UTC) |
| Arcade | 0.25 ETH | April 1, 0400 |
| Chill Bear Club | 0.06 ETH | April 5, 1000 |
| Shinsekai | 0.15 ETH | April 7, 0300 |
Banter’s take
Today, the battle against harmful European crypto regulations is lost, but the war continues. The legacy system is ripe with entities and personas which gravitate toward protecting personal interests. Crypto poses a threat to current systems and the positions within those systems. Some regulations are inevitable and protect investors, but others spring out of fear of the unknown. The crypto community’s job is to forward the industry by deciphering which is which. Unfortunately, the EU regulators are going down a path of over-regulation which will ultimately hurt the jurisdiction, relocate employment/opportunities and place the EU a step behind in technological advancement.
-Gabri
