Bitcoin prices remain in consolidation following a 42% rally off the cycle bottom this year, but on-chain metrics are hitting new highs.
Despite the 2023 crypto market rally, Bitcoin remains down 66% from its all-time high of 69,000 in November 2021. Those that missed the cycle bottom of $16,500 in mid-November may still have opportunities at current levels if the market momentum continues – according to analysts.
Furthermore, the rally has occurred amid a backdrop of regulatory pressure and macroeconomic gloom.
On March 1, Fidelity researcher Jack Neureuter compiled a list of on-chain metrics that are making new records.
The first notable on-chain metric, as reported by the researcher, is the Bitcoin hash rate. Average network horsepower is currently near peak levels of 327 EH/s (exahashes per second), according to Bitinfocharts. It peaked in late February, with Neureuter noting:
“The solvency issues many publicly listed miners cited last year appear to have subsided for now as new machines continue to find their way online to secure the network.”
Bitcoin’s premier scaling solution, the Lightning Network, is also at an all-time high in terms of BTC locked into channels.
Furthermore, the number of coins that haven’t moved in the past year has reached a new peak. More than 67% of BTC has not moved in the past 365 days as hodler conviction strengthens.
On the same note, accumulation addresses have also hit an all-time high of 800,000, according to data from Glassnode.
Finally, the average block size also hit a new peak recently amid the Ordinal inscription craze. Higher demand for block space is likely to lead to an increase in network revenue, highlighting the long-term strength of the industry, the researcher noted before concluding:
“Bitcoin had 4 price drawdowns of over 70% prior to this past year’s collapse. Each time recovering to new ATHs. Based on on-chain data today, the 5th time may follow this prior historical trend.”
BTC prices haven’t moved much over the past 24 hours and remain consolidating around $23,500 at the time of writing.
The asset failed to break resistance at $25K on four occasions in February and has fallen back to current levels.
BTC is currently down 3.3% over the past week and could return to support at $22K if there is no buying pressure.