Decentral Block Post

Bear markets are always tough, but one of the positives is they clear the clutter and this allows legitimate projects to stand out. 

While most investors are focused on the latest centralized finance (CeFi) and decentralized finances (DeFi) scandal, the blockchain gaming sector has quietly weathered the storm better than other niches of the market.

As shown on the chart above, all sectors of the market have experienced a noticeable decline in active users, but the gaming sector has proven to be the most resilient at retaining users as the bear market intensified.

Transactions continue to rise

Further proof of the continued engagement by gamers can be found by looking at the number of transactions occurring in the top sectors of the market.

With a current count of 173.17 million, the number of gaming-related transactions is significantly higher than any other sector of the market, with the second closest sector being decentralized finance with 8.86 million.

The total crypto market capitalization has fluctuated in a 17% range in the $840 billion to $980 billion zone for the past 28 days. The price movement is relatively tight considering the extreme uncertainties surrounding the recent market sell-off catalysts and the controversy surrounding Three Arrows Capital.

From July 4 to 11, Bitcoin (BTC) gained a modest 1.8% while Ether (ETH) price stood flat. More importantly, the total crypto market is down 50% in just three months, which means traders are giving higher odds of the descending triangle formation breaking below its $840 billion support.

Regulation uncertainties continue to weigh down investor sentiment after the European Central Bank (ECB) released a report concluding that a lack of regulatory oversight added to the recent downfall of algorithmic stablecoins. As a result, the ECB recommended supervisory and regulatory measures to contain the potential impact of stablecoins in European countries' financial systems.

On July 5, Jon Cunliffe, the deputy governor for financial stability at the Bank of England (BoE) recommended a set of regulations to tackle the cryptocurrency ecosystem risks. Cunliffe called for a regulatory framework similar to traditional finance to shelter investors from unrecoverable losses.

A few mid-cap altcoins rallied and sentiment slightly improved

The bearish sentiment from late June dissipated according to the Fear and Greed Index, a data-driven sentiment gauge. The indicator reached a record low of 6/100 on June 19 but improved to 22/100 on July 11 as investors began to build the confidence in a market cycle bottom.

Cloud mining is the process of mining cryptocurrency without the direct use of mining equipment or hardware. The process allows users to mine Bitcoin or altcoins without having to manage their own resources.

Related: What is an altcoin? A beginner’s guide to cryptocurrencies beyond Bitcoin

In traditional crypto mining, cryptocurrency is produced through a computational process. Miners need to solve complex mathematical problems using mining hardware to be rewarded with coins. The process of cloud mining is similar, but instead of using their own resources, miners rent or buy resources from a service provider.

As more players entered the cryptocurrency scene, mining became more complex, requiring more computing power. For this reason, many people who used to mine crypto using their own hardware now find it unsustainable due to high electricity costs and the wear and tear on their hardware. Cloud mining has therefore become an attractive option.

How does cloud mining work?

In cloud mining, third-party providers rent out computing power to miners. This means miners don’t have to invest in their own resources, which generally requires a large upfront investment. Cloud mining also removes the need for miners to maintain and update their own equipment.

Bitcoin (BTC) fought to reclaim $20,000 on the July 12 Wall Street open as the U.S. dollar cooled its surge to new two-decade highs.

Dollar bull run takes fresh breather

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView revealed a tug-of-war between buyers and sellers following seven-day lows for BTC/USD.

The intraday losses had come at the hands of a rampant U.S. Dollar Index (DXY), which hit its highest levels since October 2002 at risk assets' expense thanks to inverse correlation.

A subsequent pause gave U.S. equities room to breathe, with both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq stemming losses on the day. 

With the July 13 Consumer Price Index (CPI) print in focus, however, optimism around crypto on shorter timeframes was barely perceptible.

Bitcoin (BTC) could undergo a massive price recovery in the coming months, based on an indicator that marked the 2015 and 2018 bear market bottoms.

What's the Bitcoin Pi Cycle bottom indicator? 

Dubbed "Pi Cycle bottom," the indicator comprises a 471-day simple moving average (SMA) and a 150-period exponential moving average (EMA). Furthermore, the 471-day SMA is multiplied by 0.745; the outcome is pitted against the 150-day EMA to predict the underlying market's bottom.

Notably, each time the 150-period EMA has fallen below the 471-period SMA, it has marked the end of a Bitcoin bear market.

For instance, in 2015, the crossover coincided with Bitcoin bottoming out near $160 in January 2015, followed by an almost 12,000% bull run toward $20,000 in December 2017.

Similarly, the second 150-471 MA crossover in history marked the end of the 2018 bear cycle. It also followed a 2,000% price rally — from nearly $3,200 in December 2018 to $69,000 in November 2021.