MicroStrategy co-founder Michael Saylor has discussed the impact of BTC Ordinals on Bitcoin mining and adoption, citing it as a catalyst for adoption. He also mentioned other factors such as bank failures, hyperinflation, and regulators referring to an asset as a commodity. Cryptocurrency exchange OKX has introduced Ordinals to its wallet and marketplace, while Binance has hinted at plans to support BTC Ordinals in collaboration with more NFT projects. In other news, MicroStrategy has purchased an additional 5,050 bitcoins for approximately $242.9 million, bringing their total holdings to 114,042 bitcoins, which Saylor believes is a better store of value than gold.

Javier Milei, a pro-Bitcoin presidential candidate with unconventional economic views, is gaining popularity among Argentine voters as the country struggles with its ongoing economic crisis. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation has been growing month on month since April 2022 and currently stands at 104.3%, while the peso continues to slide against the dollar. Milei's manifesto includes a plan to dollarize the Argentine economy, which has polarized the electorate. However, before Milei can win the presidency, he must first face the primary elections, which are scheduled for August 13.

The upcoming release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report has raised questions about its potential impact on the cryptocurrency market, particularly Bitcoin. The US core inflation rate, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, is the primary focus for economists, policymakers, and investors, as it has historically influenced the price of Bitcoin. If the inflation rate is higher than expected, it usually results in a stronger US dollar, which puts downward pressure on Bitcoin prices. Conversely, if the inflation rate is lower than expected, it can weaken the US dollar, which may drive an increase in Bitcoin prices. Today, US inflation data is set to be released, which could lead to a breakout from the current trading range of Bitcoin.

The Bitcoin network is facing increased fees and a backlog of transactions due to the surge in block space demand caused by the BRC-20 memecoin minting on the BTC blockchain. Unlike conventional token standards, BRC-20 does not utilize smart contracts and operates only with wallets supporting the Bitcoin blockchain. This has led to a spike in the average fee per transaction, exceeding $16 and peaking at $29 on May 9. The total fees per block temporarily exceeded the block subsidy reward of 6.25 BTC for the first time since 2017, and there are currently 400,000 unconfirmed transactions pending on the network. Bitcoin core developers are considering taking action against BRC-20 tokens and Ordinals which they consider as network spam.

PayPal, the online payments giant, held almost $1 billion worth of cryptocurrency on its balance sheet by the end of Q1 2023, according to a filing with the SEC. The filing showed that PayPal held $943 million worth of customers' Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin on its balance sheet as of that time. PayPal allows customers to buy, sell, receive, send, and hold cryptocurrencies, and use the proceeds from their sales to purchase goods and services at checkout. The company also fully protects customers from unauthorized crypto purchases or sales, and from unauthorized crypto transfers up to $50,000 lifetime.

The Litecoin blockchain has experienced a surge in daily transactions over the past two days, as the Bitcoin network struggles with congestion and higher transaction fees. According to data from Glassnode, Litecoin processed a record-breaking 576,708 transactions on Tuesday, compared to just 100,684 on May 1.

Bitcoin and Ether both saw slight gains on Wednesday morning, with Bitcoin holding above the US$27,500 mark despite recent congestion and high transaction fees. Litecoin led the winners as users turned to alternatives due to these issues, logging a record-high in daily transactions.

Bitcoin and Ethereum prices have rebounded as congestion on the bitcoin blockchain has eased, with both cryptocurrencies showing signs of growth. Bitcoin is currently trading at $27,741, up 0.3%, while ether is trading at $1,853, up 0.2%.

Grayscale Investments has announced the formation of a new entity called Grayscale Funds Trust and the filing of registration statements for three new ETFs related to cryptocurrency. The Grayscale Funds Trust will allow the firm to manage its older products while pursuing ETFs.

Bitcoin remained stagnant below $28,000 on May 9 as investors awaited macroeconomic data releases. The cryptocurrency was trading near $27,700 at the day's Wall Street open, after experiencing deeper losses the day before. Traders were anticipating the United States Consumer Price Index (CPI) print for April on May 10, hoping for some much-needed volatility. While some traders were optimistic about a recovery, others predicted further downside, with one analysis suggesting a potential target near the $24k region. On-chain analytics platform CryptoQuant suggested realized price clusters as potential support, with the area around $25,600 flagged as one to watch.