Crypto News
Snowfall Protocol Expected to Hit $1, Bitcoin Consolidates at $20K: Has Crypto Winter Ended?
 
 
2022 was not the year of crypto. The industry was hit with one catastrophe after another. Terra Luna crashed in March; May saw one of the largest crypto funds declaring bankruptcy; July saw one of the most popular crypto lending platforms, Celsius, going down. Also, who can forget the surprise collapse of FTX in November? The crypto winter was freezing. But, with positive news starting to surface again, an end to the crypto winter appears to be on the horizon. The most notable developments are a resurging Bitcoin and the dramatic rise of Snowfall Protocol (SNW).
Bitcoin Consolidates at $20K
After touching its all-time high of almost $69,000, Bitcoin prices fell off the cliff after June 2022. But the coin has finally crossed the $20,000 mark. Reports suggest that the rebound in Bitcoin can be boiled down to three main contributors.
The first cause of the rebound in Bitcoin is the probability that the Federal Bank will slow down the hikes in interest rates, maybe even slashing the rates with the inflation going down. This may see capital flowing to the crypto markets again.
The second factor influencing the Bitcoin price is the increase in the buying activity by the whales, who own a little over 14% of all Bitcoin. According to Kaika, a crypto data collector, the average Bitcoin trade size has increased. The increased activity indicates whales have increased trust in Bitcoin.
The third reason driving the price of Bitcoin appears to be the scheduled halving event that occurs every four years. As the rewards for Bitcoin mining slash in half, the price of Bitcoin goes up. The next halving event will happen in 2024, but it has inspired confidence in the investors.
 
 
Snowfall Protocol Expected to Hit $1
Snowfall Protocol (SNW) offers what can be called a crypto highway. Snowfall Protocol (SNW) has become an attractive asset for crypto adherents who are trying to find the next big crypto.
The presale of Snowfall Protocol (SNW) was launched right in the middle of the crypto winter. Despite the bearish winds, it was one of the most successful presales for the year. The stage 2 sale for Snowfall Protocol (SNW) was an even bigger success. It had to be ended a day earlier than planned because all the Snowfall Protocol (SNW) tokens were sold out. At the start of the stage 3 sale, Snowfall Protocol (SNW) token had risen by 250% compared to its Stage 2 sale price.
After its launch in the first week of February, Snowfall Protocol (SNW) is expected to grow even faster. Experts have predicted that the token will rise sharply by 1000% in the months following its launch. It could be well on its way to hitting the $1 mark in 2023.
Website: https://snowfallprotocol.io
Telegram: https://t.me/snowfallcoin
Presale: https://presale.snowfallprotocol.io
Twitter: https://twitter.com/snowfallcoin
Disclaimer: This is a sponsored article, and views in it do not represent those of, nor should they be attributed to, ZyCrypto. Readers should conduct independent research before taking any actions related to the company, product, or crypto projects mentioned in this piece; nor can this article be regarded as investment advice.
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Legislators need to educate themselves on Web3 if they care about protecting consumers, Steven Eisenhauer, chief risk and compliance officer at Ramp, writes.
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The Ministry of Justice in South Korea announced plans to introduce a crypto-tracking system to counter money laundering initiatives and recover funds linked to criminal activities.
The “Virtual Currency Tracking System” will be used to monitor transaction history, extract information related to transactions and check the source of funds before and after remittance, according to local media outlet khgames.
The South Korean Ministry of Justice will introduce a “cryptocurrency tracking system” in the first half of this year to strengthen the tracking of money laundering and recovery of criminal proceeds using cryptocurrencies. https://t.co/2CLkaLUrX6
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) January 29, 2023
While the system is slated to be deployed in the first half of 2023, the South Korean ministry shared plans to develop an independent tracking and analysis system in the second half of the year. A rough translation of the ministry’s statement reads:
“In response to the sophistication of crime, we will improve the forensic infrastructure (infrastructure). We will build a criminal justice system that meets international standards (global standards).”
The South Korean police previously established an agreement with five local crypto exchanges to cooperate in criminal investigations and ultimately create a safe trading environment for crypto investors.
Related: South Korean prosecutors request arrest warrant for Bithumb owner: Report
The South Korean Supreme Court ruled that crypto exchange Bithumb must pay damages to investors over a 1.5-hour service outage on Nov. 12, 2017.
The finalized ruling from the supreme court ordered damages ranging from as little as $6 to around $6,400 be paid to the 132 investors involved.
“The burden or the cost of technological failures should be shouldered by the service operator, not [the] service users who pay commission for the service,” the court stated.
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Bitcoin hashrate is becoming highly centralized, with a few mining pools controlling most of the blockchain mining power. The latest data from Mempool indicates that 50% of the total hashrate is held by Foundry USA and Antpool.
A Highly Centralized Mining Network
Foundry USA has maintained a hashrate of over 30% of the total Bitcoin network for several weeks. It became the first mining pool of non-Chinese origin to lead the list in November 2021, following the ban on Bitcoin mining in China in the middle of the same year.
Back then, Foundry USA contributed 17% of the total Bitcoin hashrate. Today, the US-based pool averages 34.1% of the mining power, equivalent to about 104 EH/s, considering that the Bitcoin hashrate is around 300 EH/S.
Related Reading: First Bitcoin Mining Powered By Nuclear Energy To Open In The U.S. In Q1 This Year
Antpool comes in second with about 18.0% of the total hashrate equivalent to about 58 EH/s. The Chinese-based pool used to be the largest Bitcoin pool but was affected by the ban on crypto mining which caused several miners in the region to migrate.
What Is Behind This Trend?
The graph shows that over 80% of Bitcoin’s mining power is concentrated among just 5 pools. This contrasts with the beginning of 2022, when these five mining pools barely exceeded 60% of the hashrate.
Some factors could have contributed to this rise. One of which is the location of the servers of the said pools. The closer the servers are to the pools and mining facilities, the lower the information transfer latency. This means that a miner will likely get more shares in the mining process and earn more Bitcoin (BTC) by connecting to a closer server.
Another factor is the financial incentives offered by these major mining pools. Bigger mining pools can consistently distribute profits to their members, who pay a commission for mining with their resources, driving more miners to their ecosystem. This is evident with the high mining difficulty in recent weeks due to the bullish movement of Bitcoin, making it difficult for smaller mining pools to be profitable.
Related Reading: Why The S&P 500 Could Help Send Bitcoin Soaring Higher
However, Bitcoin’s highly centralized mining system poses significant dangers to the cryptocurrency. The miners could agree to reject transactions that do not meet a specific parameter leading to a 51% attack.
We’ve seen such attacks occur on other Proof-of-Work blockchains like Ethereum Classic, which could be a problem for Bitcoin. In addition, these pools are recognized companies and could face pressures from regulatory agencies trying to control activities on the Bitcoin network.
Bitcoin Price
So far, Bitcoin is still maintaining its bullish trend, with the leading cryptocurrency up by 40% since the start of the year. As of the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $23,400, according to data from Tradingview.com.
Featured image from Pixabay, charts from Trading View, Coinwarz, and Mempool
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