Bitcoin exchange outflows hit historic levels as ‘tourists’ exit

Bitcoin whales have withdrawn over 8 million BTC from exchanges to their own wallets, with Shrimps also putting a significant amount of coins into illiquid supply.

Most investors are under water as a result of the recent market sell-off, but rather than sell, on-chain data shows hodlers are digging in. This even as the market gets rid of weak hands with prices hovering at the crucial $20,000 level after dipping to lows near $17,600.

According to on-chain analytics platform Glassnode, Bitcoin investors last week continued to pull their holdings off exchanges,

Per Glassnode, the risk-off sentiment has seen exchange outflows soar to -151k/month in June. It’s the highest rate at which investors have taken BTC off exchanges, with hodlers retreating to the safety of offline wallets as they look to ride the crypto winter.

Exchange reserves fall to 2018 levels

According to Glassnode, aggregate exchange reserves have fallen remarkably over the past year, with continued large scale withdrawals pushing exchange balances to levels last reached in July 2018.

Overall balance on exchanges have seen an aggregate outflow of -750k BTC since March 2020. The last three months alone have seen some 142.5k BTC in outflows alone, a remarkable 18.8% of the total,” Glassnode wrote in its weekly report.

As exchange net reserves dwindle, Bitcoin’s illiquid supply has increased as investors relocate their coins to wallets. On-chain data shows illiquid supply has jumped by over 223,000 BTC in July, while whales alone have withdrawn over 8.69 million BTC from exchanges Glassnode tracks.

Per the platform, exchange outflows have increased since April to hit 140 BTC/month in June.

Bitcoin ‘tourists’ annihilated

Bitcoin price dropped to lows of $17,600 in June, with intensified selling after the collapse of LUNA and subsequent rot hitting several crypto companies. Combined with broader market negativity, selling activity had the most impact on “market tourists” – the weak hands.

Bitcoin has locked in one of the worst monthly price performances in history, with prices trading down -37.9% in June. Bitcoin has seen a near complete expulsion of market tourists, leaving the resolve of HODLers as the last line standing,” the analytics platform noted in its report.

But the percentage of BTC supply in loss is around 48.1% for all coins held off exchanges.

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Binance announces zero-fee Bitcoin spot trading

As it celebrates its 5th anniversary, the world-leading crypto exchange Binance has announced the elimination of trading fees on a range of bitcoin spot trading pairs. The exchange revealed this through an announcement on its blog page.

In a separate article Binance stated:

“As #BinanceTurns5, join in the celebration with zero fees on a selection of BTC trading pairs… Trading BTC just got a whole lot cheaper. Well… free, in fact! We’re in the giving mood and want to show our community how much they’re appreciated as we turn five years old.”

Binance’s move is aimed at establishing it as a global leader in cryptocurrency pricing especially since it has long maintained some of the lowest spot trading fees in the industry.

Bitcoin spot pairs to trade for free on Binance

Binance removed the trading fees for a total of 13 bitcoin spot trading pairs. These pairs include BTC/USDT, BTC/BUSD, BTC/TUSD, BTC/USDC, BTC/USDP, BTC/RUB, BTC/EUR, BTC/TRY, BTC/AUD, BTC/GDP, BTC/BRL, BTC/BIDR, and BTC/UAH.

Traders shall “enjoy zero maker and taker fees” for the above bitcoin pairs without incurring any trading fees as of July 8 (two days from now).

According to the press release, Binance did not give information on when the zero-fee trades will last. It stated that the free bitcoin spot trading will be in effect “until further notice.” This means that traders will enjoy the new trading fees beyond the two weeks of the anniversary celebrations.

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Cosmos (ATOM) integrated on THORChain: ATOM price jumps 10%

Cosmos (ATOM) is among the few cryptocurrencies that have experienced some gains in the past 24 hours as the majority of coins continue to fall.

At the time of writing, ATOM was trading at $8.82, up 9.2% in the past 24 hours. It has hit a daily high of $9.27. Over the past two weeks, ATOM has gained about 23.7%.

But why has ATOM been on the rally while the majority of the tokens are bowing to the crypto market meltdown? Here is why.

ATOM integration on THORChain

One of the main reasons for the ATOM uptrend is after THORChain (RUNE), one of the best DeFi protocols, integrated ATOM into its ecosystem.

With this integration, users will be able to transfer ATOM directly to Ethereum, Bitcoin, and other cryptos that are supported on the THORChain network without the need for wrapped solutions or bridges.

However, the need to include the ATOM support was earlier on announced on June 23, when THORChain went live on the main network four years later since its inauguration. In addition, the team also announced the integration of Avalanche (AVAX), another prominent crypto project, into their ecosystem.

Impact of the Integration on ATOM coin 

With the ATOM integration into the THORChain ecosystem, Cosmos token turnover will increase and also allow seamless exchange into the original ETH and BTC.

It’s important to note that ATOM has portrayed an impressive performance as a result of these integrations. This year, Cosmos announced its transition into the Interchain Security Protocol that helps to advance the security of Cosmos Hub and the entire ecosystem’s performance.

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DappRadar launches cross-chain token staking solution

DappRadar’s cross-chain token staking is now live, the first in the industry to allow users to stake and claim rewards on any chain regardless of where they stake their RADAR tokens.

DappRadar is making it easy for investors to earn staking rewards on any blockchain with support for the native RADAR token.

This after the Dapp store and dApps data tracking platform’s launch of its cross-chain staking solution on Thursday. According to the DappRadar team, RADAR holders can now stake their tokens on one blockchain and claim staking rewards or withdraw their staked tokens on another chain.

Interoperability

The launch of the cross-chain token staking solution involves LayerZero, an interoperability protocol that allows for cross-chain smart contracts communication.

The protocol enables this for both EVM-compatible and non-EVM compatible chains, which means users will not be limited to those blockchains only compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine.

Cross-chain staking support will be available on whichever chain RADAR launches on, the platform said in a blog post. Simply, it means RADAR stakers do not require a bridge to access their staked tokens.

Also beneficial to the RADAR staking community is that APR will be the same across all supported blockchains. No bridging also means users won’t have to bear the associated high gas fees.

Skirmantas Januskas, the CEO and co-founder of DappRadar noted in a statement shared via a press release, that the platform’s product was built with users, “especially margin-sensitive” ones in mind.

He noted that the innovation is now available for use elsewhere in the blockchain industry, adding that the community can achieve more growth and adoption if they “build together.”

DappRadar hosts and tracks over 10,000 dApps across more than 45 blockchains and protocols,with data and insight on DeFi, NFTs and gaming among others.

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Report: Short Bitcoin ETF attracting a lot of attention

The crypto crash has pushed up interest in short Bitcoin ETFs, with the ProShares Short Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITI) seeing massive daily inflows since it launched a little over a week ago.

Data from crypto analytics firm Arcane Research cited by Forbes showed interest in the ProShares inverse ETF, which allows investors to bet on Bitcoin price declines, had inflows of 1684 BTC on Wednesday.

Per the report, BITI inflows have jumped to 3086.2 BTC, putting the fund’s holdings at roughly $59 million. The ProShares Short Bitcoin Strategy ETF has consequently become the second largest BTC-linked ETF in the US.

Why investors are shorting bitcoin

According to the analytics firm, the increased demand for the inverse vehicle that delivers a 1% profit for investors if BTC value falls 1% is down to Bitcoin’s high correlation to equities. The firm also points to inflation and the turmoil that continues to unveil in the crypto market as key elements of why this is a move traders fancy.

Arcane Research analyst Vetle Lunde told Forbes that short demand was rising as a result of more investors either looking to hedge against current declines or as nothing but a realization of the opportunity available to benefit from the crash.

Notably, Wednesday’s inflows coincided with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s rejection of the Grayscale spot Bitcoin ETF proposal. Grayscale has filed a lawsuit against the securities regulator.

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