Bitcoin News Today: Bitcoin Price Stable at $118,500 Despite Positive Economic Data

Bitcoin's price remained relatively stable despite the release of positive economic data, which typically influences market sentiment. The economic indicators, such as retail sales and corporate earnings, showed signs of improvement, boosting optimism in traditional financial markets. However, Bitcoin's price did not reflect this optimism, remaining flat near $118,500. This stability suggests that Bitcoin's appeal as a hedge against inflation remains strong, as investors continue to view it as a safe haven asset.

The economic data released on Thursday indicated a positive trend in the economy. Retail sales for June exceeded forecasts, sparking a wave of optimism on Wall Street. This optimism was further fueled by a slew of corporate earnings releases, which showed strong performance across various sectors. The S&P 500 added 0.5%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 125 points, or 0.3%. The Nasdaq also showed resilience, remaining near record highs despite the mixed batch of corporate earnings.

Despite the positive economic data, Bitcoin's price remained flat. This stability can be attributed to several factors. Firstly, Bitcoin's appeal as a hedge against inflation remains unwavering. Investors continue to view Bitcoin as a safe haven asset, which can protect their wealth from the eroding effects of inflation. Secondly, the decentralized nature of Bitcoin makes it less susceptible to the fluctuations in traditional financial markets. This decentralization allows Bitcoin to maintain its value, even in the face of positive economic data.

However, the stability of Bitcoin's price does not mean that it is immune to market forces. The recent trend of corporations buying Bitcoin for their treasuries, while retail customers steer clear, has turned the 'peer-to-peer electronic cash' described in the Bitcoin white paper into "a completely custodial asset run by governments and institutions." This trend raises serious questions about the network's future security and decentralization.

The situation has grown so deplorable that miners have rethought their longstanding refusal to process transactions with fee bids lower than one sat/vByte. Users have been taking advantage of miners' perceived desperation by continually bidding lower, leaving most of the few transactions available to mine falling below this previous floor price. This has led to a collective reduction in the minimum transaction fee to a mere 0.1 sat/vByte. This would be fantastic news for the network if it were not for the inconvenient truth that Bitcoin's artificially constrained bandwidth makes it impossible for a sufficient number of these cheap transactions to be processed in a single block to serve as a true financial backstop.

The centralization of Bitcoin mining also poses a threat to the network's security. Just three pools—Foundry USA, Antpool, and F2Pool—are responsible for nearly 60% of Bitcoin's hashrate, with the first two accounting for nearly half the overall pie. This not only makes a mockery of Bitcoin's self-declared identity as a 'decentralized' network, but it also transforms the threat of network manipulation from theoretical to possible.