Market Overview
Bitcoin experienced significant price fluctuations this week, with highs surpassing $8,300 and lows dipping below $7,000. Analysts remain divided on the causes, while mining pool shares saw notable shifts.
Key Events:
- Price Volatility: Binance Research reported a 16% daily price swing on May 17, matching extreme levels seen during November 2018's downturn.
- Self-Service BTC Machines: Decentralized OTM kiosks launched in Beijing (only 2 units currently available), operating on a peer-to-peer trading model.
- Search Trends: Google Trends data shows "bitcoin" searches hit a 14-month high.
Secondary Market Analysis
Price Movements:
- 30-day surge of 32%, outperforming 90% of major cryptocurrencies (LongHash).
- Exchange disparities highlighted varying price valuations.
👉 Track real-time BTC price movements
Fiat Trading Pairs:
| Rank | Currency | Share (%) | Change vs. Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | USD | 55.82 | ↓ |
| 2 | JPY | 38.50 | ↑ |
| 3 | KRW | 2.94 | – |
Regional Highlights: Argentina, Colombia, and Venezuela recorded all-time high BTC volumes on LocalBitcoins.
Mining Updates
Network Metrics:
- Hashrate: 51.62 EH/s (↑ weekly)
- Difficulty: 6.7 T (↓ weekly)
Pool Rankings:
- BTC.com (18.39% share, 9.52 EH/s)
- F2Pool (12.48%, 6.46 EH/s)
- Unknown Pool (11.65%, 6.02 EH/s)
Trend: Smaller pools now control 23-24% of hashrate, doubling 2018 averages (Diar Report).
On-Chain Data
Key Metrics:
- Large Transfers: 10,074 transactions ≥100 BTC (+1,176 weekly)
- Active Addresses: 690,009 (↓ weekly)
- Address Concentration: Top 100 addresses show net inflows.
Wallet Statistics:
- 48.39% of addresses hold 0.01% of total BTC supply.
- 732,982 addresses contain ≥1 BTC.
Lightning Network & Adoption
Stats (1ML):
- Nodes: 8,427 (+85)
- Channels: 37,456 (-521)
- Capacity: 1,037.59 BTC (-24.8)
👉 Explore Lightning Network applications
Top Service Providers:
- Bitrefill
- Blockstream
- Tippin.me
FAQ
Q1: Why is BTC volatility comparable to late 2018?
A: Macro uncertainty and speculative trading amplify price swings during liquidity crunches.
Q2: How do OTM machines differ from traditional Bitcoin ATMs?
A: OTMs use decentralized C2C matching, eliminating centralized custodial risks.
Q3: What drives Bitcoin's current search popularity?
A: Retail interest spikes often follow rapid price recoveries (per Joseph Young's analysis).
Q4: Are mining pools becoming more centralized?
A: Despite pool consolidation, small pools now control 24% of hashrate, improving decentralization.
Data sources: Binance Research, Coinhills, Tokenview, Diar. Compiled by Odaily Planet Daily.