Market Overview: Bitcoin and Ether Decline Amid Economic Shifts

Latest Market Overview

CoinDesk 20 Index: 1,791.61 — Decrease: 1.35%

Bitcoin (BTC): $56,496.83 — Decrease: 1.1%

Ether (ETH): $2,314.39 — Decrease: 1.45%

S&P 500: 5,495.52 — Increase: 0.45%

Gold: $2,521.60 — Increase: 0.11%

Nikkei 225: 35,619.77 — Decrease: 1.49%

Key Highlights

Bitcoin’s Volatility: The price of Bitcoin has experienced a notable slide, dropping to just above $56,000 following a perception that Vice President Kamala Harris outperformed Donald Trump during their first presidential debate. Although BTC managed to recover slightly, hovering around $56,500 during the European morning hours, it remained approximately 1.3% lower over the past 24 hours.

The broader digital asset market, as indicated by the CoinDesk 20 Index, also witnessed a decline of about 1%. Meanwhile, the Japanese yen has strengthened significantly, trading at 140.70 per U.S. dollar, marking its highest level since January. This shift reflects a broader movement away from riskier assets, which has been further fueled by the Bank of Japan’s recent interest rate hike, the first of its kind in decades.

Debate Dynamics: In the recent debate, Vice President Harris appeared to gain an edge over Donald Trump based on trends observed in prediction markets, particularly on Polymarket. Interestingly, despite the heightened stakes of the debate, discussions surrounding crypto policy were noticeably absent. As the debate progressed, Harris’ odds of winning the election slightly improved, although both candidates remain effectively tied in terms of their overall prospects. Trump reiterated his support for substantial tariffs, while Harris countered by highlighting the trade deficit left by the previous administration, which she described as “one of the highest we’ve seen in history.”

Mining Insights: According to investment bank Jefferies, profitability in Bitcoin mining saw a decline in August compared to July. The average network hashrate increased by approximately 2.7%, leading to a significant drop in miners’ average daily revenue per exahash by 11.8% month-over-month. Analysts at Jefferies noted that September is likely to present further challenges, with Bitcoin staying below the $60K mark and the network hashrate continuing its upward trend. However, it was also reported that fewer extreme heat days this summer contributed to better operational uptime for large mining operations. For instance, Marathon Digital achieved around 88% uptime in its mining activities last month, compared to 75% in August of the previous year. For the largest ten Bitcoin miners tracked by the bank, the implied uptime rose to about 83%, up from 76% a year ago and 79% in August 2022.

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— Omkar Godbole