Cryptocurrency markets are trading lower amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.

Notable Statistics:

• IntoTheBlock data shows large transaction volume increased by around 99% and daily active addresses rose by 7.1%. Transactions greater than $100,000 are up from 5,655 to  9,193 in a single day. Exchanges netflows are down by 1,521.2%.
• Coinglass data reports 159,405 traders were liquidated in the past 24 hours for $482.24 million, with crypto long liquidations of $361.8 million at the highest since Aug. 5. Bitcoin long liquidations of $90.7 million are at the highest level since Aug. 5.

Notable Developments:

Top Losers:

Trader Notes: With Bitcoin prices retreating lower to $61,000, crypto trader Cold Blooded Shiller stated that even anything down into the green box represents opportunity for some of the best risk-reward long exposure to six-figure Bitcoin.

Jack Dorsey, who co-founded social media giant Twitter, now known as X, is among the handful of tech honchos to publicly champion Bitcoin BTC/USD and its underlying technology.

However, apart from words, his actions also reflect his commitment to leading the cryptocurrency industry. 

What happened: Dorsey, who’s currently at the helm of Block, Inc., once famously said that Bitcoin had the potential to become the internet’s native currency, owing to its fundamentals. 

On Feb. 12, 2021, he, along with rap star Jay-Z, established a Bitcoin non-profit to fund the development of the apex cryptocurrency, initially targeted at Africa and India. The duo invested 500 BTC to support the fund.

During this time, one BTC was valued at $47,504, meaning that an investment of $1,000 would have fetched 0.021 units of the coin.

At the time of writing, the value of one BTC has swelled to $63,948.02, boosting the portfolio value to $1,346, which is a significant return of nearly 35%.

See Also: Pay Taxes With Bitcoin? Ohio Senator Proposes Bill For Crypto Tax Payments, But There’s A Catch

Why It Matters: In line with the initial objective, the non-profit trust, called Btrust, continues to provide financial backing and training to Bitcoin developers in the Global South.

Earlier this month, it acquired Qala, a platform that shared its vision of advancing Bitcoin development in Africa, reported Forbes.

Bitcoin BTC/USD exceeded expectations in September, surging 7.29% in a month that has averaged negative returns of 3.77% in the cryptocurrency’s brief history.

The market’s expectations were high from the fourth quarter, which has historically witnessed strong uptrends.  

Price Action: At the time of writing, Bitcoin was exchanging hands at $63,948.02, down 1.10% in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro. 

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Photo courtesy: Shutterstock

Memecoins created on the Solana SOL/USD blockchain withstood the overall market drop on Monday to post encouraging gains. 

What happened: Dog-themed Bonk emerged as the best-performing billion-dollar capitalization meme coin in the last 24 hours and the third-best cryptocurrency overall, surging over 8%. 

The token’s trading volume soared 92% to $486 million, indicating heightened demand. 

Dogwifhat, the largest memecoin on Solana by market capitalization, jumped 4.6% to extend its weekly gains past 40%. In fact, both BONK and WIF were up more than 40% over the week.

Popcat, the cryptocurrency market’s biggest gainer this year, also traded in the green. The feline-themed coin was up a massive 12317% year-to-date.

Meanwhile, blue-chip meme currencies like Dogecoin DOGE/USD and Shiba Inu SHIB/USD retraced 3.90% and 1.68%, respectively. The total meme coin market valuation shrank nearly 5% in the last 24 hours.

See Also: Pay Taxes With Bitcoin? Ohio Senator Proposes Bill For Crypto Tax Payments, But There’s A Catch

Why It Matters: The strong performance of Solana-based meme coins coincided with the broader market decline owing to an escalation in geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

Bitcoin BTC/USD, the market bellwether, was down 1.36% in the last 24 hours, while Ethereum ETH/USD traded flat as of this writing. SOL, Solana’s native coin, lost 1.35% from yesterday.

Image via Shutterstock

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