Ethereum is becoming more centralized

Bitcoin saw its price rise above $28 early last week, but quickly dropped to around $000 before recovering to the $27 level.

Ethereum however, it experienced significant lows last week, falling by about 5,8%. After the weekend, the rate hovered around $1700, but in the following days it dropped and currently oscillates around $1610 on eToro.

Bitcoin saw a short-term drop in price after Friday's US labor market report, which – despite falling wages and rising unemployment – ​​showed many more new jobs than expected. However, this was a short-lived episode and the price quickly rebounded.

This is despite a challenging bond market that appears to be showing signs of concern over the narrative of:

"higher interest rates for longer".

Yields on 10-year US bonds have risen over the past month, but this does not seem to have worried the bitcoin market too much.

This week we will see meeting notes Fed Open Markets Committee (FOMC) from September, published on Wednesday, which could attract market attention. The latest CPI data in the US will also be released on Thursday, also eagerly awaited.

Both are particularly interesting as interest rate concerns weigh on sentiment. Especially as earnings season begins on Friday and major financial institutions once again give us insight into the financial health of the global economy.

Bitcoin seems to be taking in the latest macro events right now, but other cryptoassets in the market aren't holding up as well.

Ethereum is becoming more centralized

The arrival of The Merge and Shanghai updates on the Ethereum network came at the expense of centralization and worse staking returns, according to a report JPMorgan.

According to the report, increased centralization is a problem for users because it increases the likelihood of experiencing performance issues or attacks. However, it is difficult to assess the impact of what is essentially an ongoing development process, especially as new updates are planned in the coming months.

The report also noted that profitability deteriorated following both events. Again, this is disappointing for investors but only reflects existing market conditions. Staking is a growing area of ​​the cryptocurrency market, led by Ethereum. However, it is important for investors to weigh the benefits of this process against the potential risks.

Bitcoin miners are preparing for halving

Bitcoin miners have had a difficult few years, navigating rising energy prices and volatile markets that have made the economics of mining the world's largest cryptocurrency a puzzle.

However, there are signs that miners are preparing for another one halving, which is scheduled to take place next year. For example, Canadian miner Iris Energy just announced increasing mining capacity by 25% in preparation for halving.

The company has already increased its hashrate by 25%. thanks to additional performance. Other miners who don't prepare for this will have a hard time making a profit because less efficient hardware means less profit from what will already be worse due to the process of halving the Bitcoin block reward.

Author Sam North, eToro analyst