This article is a collaboration by Glassnode and Bitcoin Magazine to introduce Bitcoiners to the world of on-chain analysis. Our aim is to simplify, demystify and improve access to on-chain data, helping you take the first steps into using these powerful new tools.
The Bitcoin blockchain is one of the most organic sources of data into human behavior in a free market that the world has ever seen. From its cypherpunk roots without price, to today’s corporate adoption with eyes on #LazerRaysTo100K, human demand for ultimate scarcity has attracted buyers and sellers from all walks of life.
Financial markets at their core are a balance of supply and demand which ultimately plot human psychology and perception of value against time. Market analysts have developed and deployed many tools to evaluate present and future valuations. Their goal is to find market inefficiencies, edge and financial advantage over their competitors.
Broadly speaking, there are three primary fields of market analysis and approaches that are utilized within the traditional finance world:
- Macroeconomic (Macro): Analysis of the big picture interrelation of asset classes, geopolitics and central bank policies over very long time scales. The aim is to identify large scale macro trends and opportunities with focus on baskets, indices and asset classes rather than individual “stock picks.”
- Fundamental Analysis/Value Investing (FA): Analysis of the intrinsic and structural advantages and weaknesses of a particular asset or asset class against the total addressable market and competitors. The aim is seeking to capitalize on under/overvaluation and market inefficiencies and identifying prices of maximum relative value.
- Technical Analysis (TA): Analysis of price signals, charts and indicators to extract information, patterns and probabilities with respect to the supply and demand balance over time. TA often places less relative emphasis on asset fundamentals, and instead focuses on the distillation of all…
