BTC sputters after steep climb

A sprawling ward of recovering cryptos lies still on the last Monday of January, a soothing month-long balm on a marketplace severely burned by industry wrecks. Surging solo today, however, is Mina.

A smart contract platform vying for next-generation Ethereum-killer status, Mina is said to be in the midst of a targeted effort to carve a niche as a lightweight blockchain, that is, in terms of byte size, on a thesis that, when it comes to scalability, less is more. "Mina has a number of impressive applications that are serving its community," U.Today said.

MINA is the 70th-largest digital asset, according to CoinGecko. Since this time yesterday, MINA has surged 13% to eighty cents. Back in June 2021, MINA hit nine bucks, an all-time high. Its all-time low, of $0.42, was reached only this past New Year's Day.

Bitcoin spent Sunday almost getting to $24,000 – and then abruptly reversed course. As of today, at 8:32 a.m. (EST), the largest digital currency was changing hands in the spot market for $23,125 having declined 1.9% in 24 hours. Total crypto market capitalization fell 1.7% to $1.09 trillion.

Among the Big Ten, Polygon endured the most significant loss (-5%) during the past one day.

Widening out to the Top 40, per CoinGecko, we find some steeper declines. No. 33 Near lost 7%; No. 35 Lido DAO lost 8%.

The market seems to be pulling back after a busy weekend infused with cheerfulness from dropping-inflation news that dropped Friday.

Bitcoin’s mining difficulty and hash rate has been going up, harsh news for an already beleaguered mining industry.

“It means more advanced machinery, more computers, and more power might be needed to produce the same amount of Bitcoin,” Decrypt said.

Even as BTC recovers, miners are reeling. In December 2022, Core Scientific declared bankruptcy. Another major miner, Greenidge, appears to be on the brink.

"There remains uncertainty regarding Greenidge's financial condition and substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern," the cash-hemorrhaging company said late last year in a press release accompanying news that it was entering a deal with NYDIG to restructure about $75 million worth of debt while exploring its potential bankruptcy options.

Not only is Greenidge confronting crypto market uncertainty and soaring energy prices, but it is also under siege by environmental activists convinced that the mining operation is a menace to the community surrounding Seneca Lake in New York State's Finger Lakes region.

Last year, the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation denied the renewal of Greenidge’s air pollution permit last year but is now in the process of considering a formal appeal.