BTC Blockchain Processed Over $8 Trillion in Transactions Last Year

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Something big just happened on the Bitcoin blockchain. Crypto analytics firm CoinMetrics noted that $8 trillion worth of transactions have taken place on the cryptocurrency king’s blockchain. This means that more and more people are using Bitcoin to transact in their daily lives more than ever.

But does that mean that widespread adoption is already underway?

What does this step mean?

The $8 trillion transaction metric may not be as big as some hope. The number was generated during 2022, a strongly bearish period compared to the entire financial system as a whole. A quick look at the charts shows that at the start of 2022, Bitcoin has already fallen from its all-time high in November 2021.

Bitcoin blockchain transaction chart for 2022. Source: CoinMetrics

Since then, several high profile bankruptcies and implosions have erupted in the second half of 2022 – from Terra Luna and the UST depeg to the collapse of FTX, investors and traders can confidently say that they have lost faith in the crypto industry as a whole.

While some are certainly optimistic that Bitcoin will play a bigger role in the financial space, like how NBA Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban argued that people who hold Bitcoin BTC are “stupid”, at the end of the day, crypto is still a speculative asset.

With fears of an impending recession affecting the broader financial market, investors will place their capital in safe-haven assets to protect their portfolio against risks such as gold or bonds.

BTC Total Market Cap at $324 Billion on Daily Chart | Chart: TradingView.com BTC Hits a Big Milestone, Now What?

Currently, Bitcoin investors and traders are watching the January economic calendar for insight into current macro trends. But the recent news that BTC has reached $8 trillion in transactions has certainly had an effect on the market.

At the time of writing, CoinGecko notes a gain of 0.7% on the daily timescale with 0.9% on the weekly. This may indicate that investor sentiment picked up steam after the news. However, the strength of this bullish sentiment will be tested once the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes are completed.

Image: Zipmex

Although there are recession fears, the broader financial market is hopeful that macroeconomic trends have improved. With bitcoin being one of the major veins connected to the traditional financial space, improving macro means gains for the top crypto which would lift the whole crypto industry.

Right now, BTC is changing hands at $16,820, just a little below the target resistance level of $17,000. Investors and traders should wait for the FOMC meeting minutes to unfold before making bigger decisions.

If the Fed is still hawkish on the market and the macro situation, expect more pain in the weeks or months ahead.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s latest $8 trillion transaction milestone should provide welcome respite from the doubts that still hang over the broader crypto market and the bitter aftertaste of bad things that marred 2022.

– Featured Image: Esports.net

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