This Might be the Bitcoin Dip You’ve Been Waiting for!

The price dropped as low as $50,000 at one point in the past two weeks. 

But that had little to do with the crypto market itself. 

The price dump was driven by macro factors, which caused a fire sale across global markets. 

The Japanese central bank raising rates combined with worse-than-expected U.S. employment figures were the main culprits behind the market correction. 

Bitcoin got dragged down with the rest of the global markets because it's a liquid (and, for a lot of investors, risky) asset that’s easy to sell when you’re forced to liquidate positions. 

But once again, Bitcoin proved that it’s a force to be reckoned with! 

Within a few days, we bounced back from $50,000 to over $60,000 per orange coin. 📈 

I would even argue that this was a golden buying opportunity! 

The recent dip also didn’t impress HODLers. Bitcoin wallets holding at least 0.1 BTC are at a near all-time high, and a nation state has just legalized mining and international trade with crypto. 

Let’s not waste any time and get stuck in! 

Bitcoin dipped because of bad macro news 📉

Earlier this month, global markets took a hit when Japan’s central bank unexpectedly announced a rate hike from its previous 0% to 0.1% range to 0.25%, ending a 17-year period of essentially interest-free yen borrowing. 

Investors involved in the yen carry trade (where they borrow in yen at de facto zero interest and invest in higher yielding, often dollar-denominated assets) got spooked and were forced to unwind positions, causing a mass sell-off in a range of assets (Bitcoin included). 

Japan's Nikkei stock index experienced the worst trading days since 1987’s Black Monday. 🇯🇵

Ouch! 

To make matters worse, bad U.S. employment data came out on the same day, sparking worries about the future of the U.S. economy, creating even more selling pressure. 

However, Bitcoin showed its resilience once again, and within a week, recovered back to around the $60,000 mark, where it’s been trading in the $58,000 to $62,000 range for the last couple of days. 

Anyone who’s been in Bitcoin for a little longer knows that these kinds of dips are all part of the journey. 

In fact, if you have enough conviction in the future of Bitcoin, they can provide a great buying opportunity. 

Russia legalizes crypto mining and crypto payments for international trade 🇷🇺

Last week, Vladimir Putin officially signed a law legalizing crypto mining.

From now on, companies can mine Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. All they need to do is register with the Ministry for Digital Development and go through the official channels. 

The Russian parliament also issued a law enabling the use of digital currencies for international trade. 

But there is a catch! 

If the central bank notices that these transfers are hurting the Russian ruble, it can intervene and block payments. 

Whether these new laws will help Russia bypass sanctions remains to be seen. However, what’s clear is that they send a strong signal that nation-states are adopting Bitcoin (and potentially ditching the dollar).  

This could be a playbook for other countries as well, especially the ones who aren’t too friendly with the U.S. 

So, the U.S. needs to react, which is not something I see with the current administration. 

Only one guy in the race for president is truly embracing Bitcoin and crypto, and that’s Donald Trump. 🇺🇸

Bitcoin Wallets holding 0.1 BTC near all-time high 🚀

Although Bitcoin dipped earlier this month, quite a few investors aren’t phased by that at all. 

On the contrary! 

If you take a closer look at on-chain data, you’ll see that addresses holding at least 0.1 BTC are near all-time highs. In fact, it almost passed the previous all-time high before the number dipped a bit last week. 

This metric can be seen as an indicator of retail investors coming back to Bitcoin, and judging by this data, there hasn’t really been an influx of new retail investors so far this year. 

A lot of price action has been driven by the Bitcoin ETFs and many first-time Bitcoin investors are probably getting their Bitcoin exposure through the ETFs now. 

So seeing wallet addresses holding more than 0.1 BTC moving closer towards its all-time high is arguably another bullish metric that suggests more people are putting money into Bitcoin, even if the bull market has had a few bumps in the road during the summer. 

Argentina’s financial crisis explained and how things are changing 🇦🇷

The latest episode of my Proof of Words podcast featured Pablo Fabris, a former banker from Argentina who is now a consultant and journalist. 

In our conversation, we delved into Pablo's experience working in banking in Argentina during times of extreme inflation and the growing adoption of alternative currencies as a hedge against economic instability. 

We also spoke about the broader implications of Javier Milei's recent victory in Argentina, the role of libertarian ideals in the current global climate, and the potential for Argentina to become a model of economic freedom. 

It was an amazing episode and gave me a lot of insight into how crazy the Fiat Ponzi can get when unelected officials bet on the wrong horses. You can tune in here to watch the full episode!

Your fellow stacker in sats,

Patrick Lowry