Crypto Heat Check: Bitcoin's Rise and Other Hot Trends

GM Readers!📪 It's BitDegree Insider, and let's hit that Web3 gym.

⭐️Today's selection:

• 🚀Bitcoin Rises
• 😎Cool Facts Tuesday
• 👌Selected Meme of The Day
• 📰Bite-Sized News

BITCOIN RISES

So, here's what we see today: Bitcoin rises above $30,000 for the first time since June 2022.

The world's largest cryptocurrency is trading at its highest price since June 10, 2022. Clapping sounds.

So, okay, Bitcoin is getting back on its feet. But what is popular besides Bitcoin in the crypto world?

Liquid Staking

ETH staking pools are currently experiencing a surge in popularity.

Since the beginning of the year, the total number of ETH staked through these pools has risen by approximately 21%, from 4.9 million to 6 million ETH.

This increase has occurred even before the Shanghai update.

This update, btw, is expected to be released in the next 25-30 hours.

It will allow investors to withdraw their staked ETH for the first time. The market will primarily pay attention to how many stakers decide to withdraw their funds and rewards.

The pool management tokens, such as Lido (LDO), Rocket Pool (RPL), StakeWise (SWISE), Frax (FXS), and Stader (SD), have also benefited from this heightened demand for staking.

These tokens have more than doubled in value in the first quarter.

NFT Finance

NFTs are also following the trend with the development of DeFi tools in this segment to enhance liquidity. For instance, there are NFT lending platforms and reward systems on NFT platforms.

NFT credits increased from $95.4 million to $436.5 million in the first quarter of 2023, with NFTfi, Arcade, and BendDAO leading this market.

Spot and Futures DEX

As a result of the decline of FTX, people are less trusting of centralized exchanges, so liquidity has shifted towards DeFi or "On-chain Finance."

Trading volumes on spot and futures DEX have risen 77.3% year-to-date, from $92.6 billion to $164.3 billion.

dYdX (DYDX), GMX (GMX), Gains Network (GNS), and Kwenta (KWENTA) are leaders in this sector.

GameFi

Furthermore, the first GameFi AAA project, Illuvium, is already in beta testing.

An AAA game project is a high-budget, high-quality video game project developed by an established game studio, featuring cutting-edge graphics, advanced gameplay mechanics, and immersive storylines.

Well, all in all, things do have this bullish vibe going on. Yet, we never know what happens next. Therefore, if things are OK, we can't promise they will look like that tomorrow. (aka not financial advice).

TL;DR: As Bitcoin returns to $30K value, the entire DeFi sphere looks like it's about to get back on its feet in new shapes, forms, and ventures.

COOL FACTS TUESDAY

Here's a question.

Do you know what this is?

Don't cheat, you can figure it out even if you don't know! (probably..?)

DRUM ROLL 🥁🥁🥁

 It portrays the initial design of Bitcoin logo, which was crafted by Satoshi in 2009.

In March 2009, people using early Bitcoin software tools, saw this image. It was showcasing "BC" letters on a gold coin.

This design adhered to the trend of skeuomorphism, which involved imitating real-world objects in software.

In February 2010, Satoshi proposed a logo redesign on the Bitcointalk forum, suggesting the use of the "₿" symbol instead of "BC."

The community quickly adopted the new logo as the official symbol of Bitcoin.

In November 2010, a forum member named bitboy made a bold move and released a new version of the Bitcoin logo based on Satoshi's original design.

Instead of the "BC" characters engraved on a gold coin, bitboy replaced it with the iconic orange circle that we all know today.

But that's not all - he also tilted the "₿" logo 14% clockwise, giving it a sleek and modern look.

Without a doubt, the updated logo was a triumph, and it's still being used to this day!

SELECTED MEME OF THE DAY

BITE-SIZED NEWS

• The Stock Prices of Crypto Firms Jump as Bitcoin Price Reaches Its 10-Month High. Crypto spring is here.
• BNB Chain Launches Testnet for Decentralized Storage Solutions, BNB Greenfield. BNB Greenfield will mirror traditional Web2 cloud storage services.
• Hong Kong Embraces Web3, Financial Secretary Deems It's the "Right Time." Right time o'clock.