Bitcoin

This article exposes the truth about Bitcoin DeFi projects. Due to Bitcoin's lack of a Turing-complete virtual machine, projects like BitVM, Rootstock, Sovryn, and BitcoinOS are either heavily centralized or impractical to implement. These projects employ misleading marketing to hide their centralization risks—ultimately creating a collective delusion fueled by greed and ignorance. The article demonstrates that Bitcoin cannot fundamentally support true decentralized finance, a limitation that will likely persist for the foreseeable future.

The history of cryptocurrency development has repeatedly proven: the darkest hours often give birth to the brightest dawn. Whether it's short-term pain from sudden events or prolonged aftershocks triggered by a crisis of trust, the market consistently revives with remarkable resilience, paving the way for new heights under emerging narratives.

This article introduces Thunderbolt, an experimental protocol upgrade designed to enhance Bitcoin's performance. Though not yet approved by core developers, miners, or nodes, we will explore its background, core technical principles, operational mechanism, potential impacts, current challenges, and future directions.

Meme coins like DEGEN, TURBO, and SATS, as well as strategies like Blast’s UI and Base’s growth tactics, have been rapidly replicated across the market. Yet, many of these copycat projects have succeeded. This article analyses the inner logic and patterns of success and failure behind the "Replica Economy" through on-chain data, community structures, and distribution mechanisms.

Unlike previous halving cycles that saw explosive price surges, this cycle has experienced a more subdued increase of just 31%, compared to a 436% rise in the same timeframe during the previous cycle. Long-term holder metrics (like the MVRV ratio) show a sharp decline in unrealized profits, suggesting a maturing market with compressed upside potential.

This article analyzes the correlation between Bitcoin prices and factors such as global liquidity, the U.S. stock market, and fiscal deficits. It also argues that the correlation between Bitcoin and the U.S. stock market may be spurious. The article further explores the impact of the Trump administration's trade policies on global capital flows, and the potential implications for Bitcoin prices.

Standing at the crossroads of Bitcoin's technological evolution, we see three distinct paths: Nubit represents native scaling and adherence to Bitcoin's values; Babylon embodies the pursuit of cross-chain integration and capital efficiency; Bitlayer showcases a pragmatic choice of copying successful models.

In 2024, gold prices broke through $3,000 per ounce with a total market cap of $20.14 trillion, while Bitcoin’s market cap surged to $1.55 trillion, narrowing the gap between digital and traditional assets. This marks a significant challenge from cryptocurrency to traditional stores of value. With its scarcity, technological advantages, and growing institutional adoption, Bitcoin is emerging as a new focal point for global liquidity and safe-haven assets — potentially ushering in the digital currency era.

Gate Research's latest report, "2025 Q1 BTC Network Review," presents a detailed analysis of Bitcoin's market performance, on-chain activity, transaction costs, ecosystem evolution, mining metrics, and technical upgrades in Q1 2025. The report offers key insights into the state and future direction of the Bitcoin network.

In the global Bitcoin mining landscape, the U.S. leads with a monthly hash rate share of 37.84%. However, after Trump’s announcement of new tariffs, the American Bitcoin mining industry may be dragged into the mire of a trade war.

In April 2025, Bitcoin’s price fluctuated between $83,700 and $85,200, failing to break a key resistance level. Strong U.S. economic data dampened expectations of a Fed rate cut and suppressed risk-on sentiment. Meanwhile, gold hit a record high, drawing attention to Bitcoin’s trajectory. Analysts forecast Bitcoin may enter a parabolic growth phase in H2 2025, with a potential target of $400,000. Rising global tariff uncertainty further highlights Bitcoin’s appeal as a safe-haven asset. Investors should watch the complementary dynamic between gold and Bitcoin amid mounting macro risks.

The scalability issue of Bitcoin has always been a key bottleneck in its development. This article delves into the challenges Bitcoin faces during the scaling process, particularly the limitations of existing solutions, such as the user attrition problem in projects like Babylon and Bitlayer after the failure of their incentive mechanisms.

The target price of Bitcoin at the end of the year may reach 200,000 US dollars. As a store of value, it is similar to gold, but young people prefer Bitcoin because of its volatility. Circle postpones its IPO, is in good financial shape, and has seen significant revenue growth. Ripple acquires Hidden Road to expand the stablecoin market. The Bitcoin market is affected by changes in interest rates and may become decoupled from other coins. Investor interest in Bitcoin continues to grow as global economic uncertainty and tariff policies impact the cryptocurrency market.

Learn more about Space and Time and its unique multi-layer architecture.

In this issue of Coin Metrics’ State of the Network, we understand the significance of the halving, its impact on crucial stakeholders in the ecosystem and potential effects on BTC’s price as the 4th Bitcoin halving nears.