Bitcoin has continued to see declining performance in recent days with on- 
chain metrics offering valuable insights into market behavior. Among these 
metrics, the Spent Output Profit Ratio (SOPR) for long-term holders has 
particularly emerged as a critical tool for assessing investor sentiment and 
market resilience. Long-term holders, defined as investors holding Bitcoin for 
over 155 days, are often viewed as a stabilizing force in the market. Their 
selling patterns can significantly influence price trends, making SOPR an 
indicator worth watching. Related Reading: Bitcoin Market Leverage and 
Coinbase Premium: What Recent Data Reveals Long-Term Holder Trends And Market 
Sentiment Recent analysis from a CryptoQuant analyst known as Cryptoavails 
highlights that Bitcoin’s long-term holder SOPR metric continues to exhibit 
notable patterns as Bitcoin’s price trends upward. Historically, SOPR values 
above 1 indicate that long-term holders are selling at a profit, while values 
below 1 suggest they are offloading their holdings at a loss. This behavior 
reflects broader market confidence or capitulation during periods of price 
decline. Currently, the SOPR metric remains consistently above 1, signaling 
that long-term holders are selling profitably without adding significant 
downward pressure on Bitcoin’s price. The analysis from Cryptoavails tracks 
key phases in the Bitcoin market over the past two years, highlighting 
significant shifts in SOPR values. For instance, in early 2022, the SOPR 
metric showed high volatility with frequent spikes, suggesting intense profit- 
taking activity by long-term holders. Amid these sales, Bitcoin’s price 
experienced a downward trend, reflecting persistent selling pressure during 
that period. This trend gradually shifted in late 2022 and early 2023 when the 
SOPR metric mostly remained below 1, indicating that long-term holders were 
selling at a loss as the market sought to find stability. By mid-2023, the 
SOPR began trending upwards, signaling renewed confidence among long-term 
investors. The metric consistently moved closer to or above the critical level 
of 1, suggesting that long-term holders were once again selling at a profit 
while market confidence began to recover. This upward trend has remained 
intact into 2024, supported by Bitcoin’s rising price levels. Importantly, 
there have been no significant sell-offs by long-term holders, reinforcing the 
broader market’s stability, according to the crypto analyst. SOPR As A Forward 
Indicator For Market Growth Overall, Cryptoavails mentioned that the current 
state of Bitcoin’s SOPR suggests a healthy market dynamic, with long-term 
holders contributing to a stable price structure. Despite periodic 
corrections, the sustained presence of SOPR above 1 indicates that selling 
pressure remains controlled. Related Reading: What’s The Worst Case Scenario 
For Bitcoin Right Now? Analyst Explains The analyst also pointed out that this 
behavior reflects market maturity, where long-term investors are not rushing 
to offload their holdings despite Bitcoin’s price appreciation. Regardless, 
Bitcoin has continued to consistently decrease in price since its sharp drop 
below $100,000 last week. At the time of writing, Bitcoin trades at a price of 
$93,991 down by 1.6% in the past 24 hours. Featured image created with DALL-E, 
Chart from TradingView

Bitcoin’s Key SOPR Metric Holds Steady: Are Long-Term Holders Eyeing Higher Prices?

Cybersecurity company Kaspersky revealed that malicious actors have devised a 
new scam involving seed phrases to target unsuspecting crypto users, according 
to a Dec. 23 blog post. This sophisticated scheme preys on individuals&#8217; 
curiosity and dishonesty, leading to financial losses for unsuspecting 
victims. How the scam works Seed phrases, crucial for recovering access to 
crypto […]
The post Rising crypto scams lead to $2.3 billion in total losses in 2024 
appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Rising crypto scams lead to $2.3 billion in total losses in 2024

MoonPay is reportedly looking to acquire Helio Pay for around $150 million, 
adding to the crypto firm’s merchant service offerings.

Crypto payments firm MoonPay mulls $150M Helio acquisition: Report

Japan-based early-stage investment firm Metaplanet continues its Bitcoin (BTC) 
buying spree. The company announced today that it has purchased 619.7 BTC for 
$61 million &#8211; including fees and other expenses &#8211; making it the firm’s largest 
Bitcoin acquisition to date. Metaplanet Increases BTC Holdings To 1,762 The 
recent crypto market downturn from its all-time highs (ATH) does not appear to 
bother Metaplanet, as the Tokyo-listed firm made its largest BTC purchase to 
date, buying 619.7 BTC worth $ 61 million at an average price of around 
$96,000. Related Reading: Metaplanet To Expand Bitcoin Holdings With $11.3 
Million Bond Sale To recall, Metaplanet started buying BTC earlier this year 
in May with a purchase of 97.9 BTC. Since then, the company has purchased BTC 
every month, barring September, and crossed the 1,000 BTC milestone in 
November. The latest acquisition has pushed Metaplanet’s total Bitcoin 
holdings to 1,762, bought at an average price of $75,600 per BTC. Notably, 
this $61 million purchase is nearly double the value of Metaplanet’s previous 
largest acquisition, which occurred in November and was worth close to $30 
million. The company’s consistent BTC accumulation has earned it the nickname 
“Asia’s MicroStrategy,” in reference to the US-based business intelligence 
firm known for its aggressive Bitcoin buying strategy. It is worth 
highlighting that today’s BTC purchase comes a week after Metaplanet raised 
$60.6 million through two tranches of bond issuance for the purpose of 
“accelerating BTC purchases.” Metaplanet’s latest purchase also makes its BTC 
reserves the 12th-largest among publicly listed firms globally. According to 
Metaplanet’s official announcement, its BTC Yield &#8211; a proprietary metric used 
to measure the performance of its Bitcoin acquisition strategy &#8211; stood at 310% 
from October 1 to December 23. The firm emphasized that this strategy is 
designed to be “accretive to shareholders.” Despite today’s significant BTC 
purchase, Metaplanet’s stock price saw little movement, closing at $22.5, down 
0.98% for the day. However, on a year-to-date basis, the company’s stock has 
surged by an astounding 1,982%, reflecting the long-term benefits of its 
Bitcoin-centric strategy. Bitcoin Supply Crunch To Hasten Adoption? With 
Bitcoin’s total maximum supply capped at 21 million, the digital asset has 
solidified its reputation as an inflation-resistant store of value. A recent 
report highlights that BTC supply on crypto exchanges has hit multi-year lows, 
indicating that holders are increasingly withdrawing BTC from exchanges, 
reducing circulating supply and potentially driving prices higher. Related 
Reading: Bitcoin Adoption Grows As Rumble Unveils $20 Million BTC Treasury 
Strategy Bitcoin’s scarcity has triggered an unofficial race among 
corporations &#8211; and possibly even governments. For instance, Bitcoin mining 
firm Hut 8 recently purchased 990 BTC for $100 million, increasing its total 
holdings to over 10,000 BTC. Similarly, MARA, another Bitcoin mining company, 
acquired 703 BTC earlier this month, bringing its total holdings to 34,794 
BTC. Speculations surrounding a potential US strategic Bitcoin reserve are 
further strengthening BTC’s supply crunch narrative, which may fast-track its 
adoption. At press time, BTC trades at $94,003, down 1.5% in the past 24 
hours. Featured image from Unsplash, charts from Yahoo! Finance and 
Tradingview.com

Metaplanet Bitcoin Reserves Grow With Fresh $61 Million Purchase

Telegram officially became profitable in 2024, generating over $1 billion in 
revenue for the first time, according to the platform&#8217;s founder, Pavel Durov. 
Durove announced the achievement in a social media post on Dec. 23, marking a 
pivotal moment for the messaging platform, which has faced persistent 
financial challenges, accumulating debt, and legal scrutiny in […]
The post Telegram&#8217;s 4x YoY subscriber growth pushes platform to profitability 
appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Cryptocurrency price in MMK