2024-03-11 13:33

Bitcoin jumped to a record high on Monday, fuelled by continued positive momentum of the spot ETFs. Bitcoin continues to rise in the ranks of top assets by market cap, pushing past silver to become the world's eighth most valuable property. With a 4% advance to an all-time high past $72,000 in the morning hours of U.S. trading, bitcoin's (BTC) valuation shot to $1.42T, above that of sliver at $1.387T, according to CompaniesMarketCap. Earlier in this historic bull run, bitcoin pushed ahead of the market cap of Meta (formerly known as Facebook), which now stands at $1.2 trillion. Next up in bitcoin's sight is the globe's seventh most valuable asset, Google parent Alphabet, whose current valuation is just shy of $1.7 trillion. Some bitcoin bulls have their sights set on the world's most valuable property – gold and its $14.7 trillion market cap. To get there, bitcoin would have to rise more than 10-fold, or past $720,000 per token. “The robust price action continues to be fueled by the positive momentum of BTC Spot ETFs,” said Matteo Greco, research analyst at Fineqia Capital, in a morning note. To that point, the London Stock Exchange Monday decided to accept applications for bitcoin and ether exchange-traded notes (ETNs). https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/03/11/bitcoins-market-cap-jumps-to-14t-surpassing-silver/

2024-03-11 12:31

Three years ago, the ex-president labeled bitcoin as a "scam." Former U.S. president Donald Trump continued to come around on Bitcoin (BTC), calling it an "additional form of currency" in a CNBC appearance. "There has been a lot of use of that [bitcoin] and I'm not sure that i would want to take it away at this point," he added. The comments represent a stark change in stance from 2021 when Trump labelled bitcoin as a "scam" that threatened the U.S. Dollar as the world reserve currency. Trump's comments this morning follow remarks he made last month when he said bitcoin had "taken on a life of its own" and that it will probably need regulation. To be sure, the GOP standard bearer for the 2024 presidential election is a long way from becoming a Bitcoin maxi or showing anything other than a passing interest in the crypto. "I want one currency, I want the dollar, I don't want people leaving the dollar," he continued, before moving on talking about the great interest shown in some of his NFT offerings. "People were going crazy for these things [NFTs], and so many of these were bought with this new cryptocurrency and I couldn't believe the amount," he said. Trump added that he "would not allow countries to go off the dollar" because when the U.S. loses that standard it will "be like losing a revolutionary war." Trump has regularly been posting screenshots of his bullish odds on Polymarket, a crypto-based prediction market. https://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/03/11/donald-trump-sounds-more-constructive-on-bitcoin/

2024-03-11 12:29

The software firm, founded by staunch bitcoin advocate Michael Saylor, now holds 205,000 BTC worth around $14.7 billion MicroStrategy (MSTR) has purchased 12,000 more bitcoin (BTC), mostly funded by the $782 million raised from its recent convertible deft offering. The software firm, founded by staunch bitcoin advocate Michael Saylor, now holds 205,000 BTC worth around $14.7 billion. MicroStrategy acquired its latest batch of BTC for ~$68,477 per coin, Saylor said in a post on X on Monday. In total, the company acquired the bitcoin for $821.7 million, using the proceeds from the debt raise and excess cash. MicroStrategy last week announced that it was looking to raise $600 million for the purchase of more bitcoin through the sale of convertible senior notes at an interest rate of 0.625% per annum. The company subsequently increased the target to $700 million. Shares of MicroStrategy were up nearly 10% at $1,560 in pre-market trading in the wake of BTC attaining a new all-time high above $72,000 during the European morning on Monday. Read More: Michael Saylor Not Interested in Selling: ‘Bitcoin Is the Exit Strategy' https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/03/11/microstrategy-acquires-12000-btc-with-convertible-senior-notes-proceeds/

2024-03-11 10:12

Positive drivers such as spot ETF inflows are likely to meet some important macro and technical headwinds in the coming weeks, the report said. Crypto markets could face macro and technical headwinds in the near term, Coinbase says. Liquidity could be impacted by quarter-end rebalancing. The world’s largest cryptocurrency is expected to trade in a narrow range until next month’s halving event. Despite bitcoin (BTC) hitting a new all-time high, cryptocurrency markets are faced with some macro headwinds and negative technical factors in the short term, which may limit further gains, Coinbase (COIN) said in a report on Friday. “The short covering move that contributed to the initial upside now appears to be exhausted, but U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs continue to be a meaningful anchor for bitcoin demand,” analysts David Duong and David Han wrote. In previous cycles, “liquidity conditions” were the main setback to price momentum, but that doesn’t appear to be the case anymore. Still, these support drivers are “likely to meet some important macro and technical headwinds in the weeks ahead,” the authors wrote. The Federal Reserve is expected to let the Bank Term Funding Program (BTFP), which was used to support U.S. regional banks, expire on March 11, the report said, adding that “this may close an arbitrage opportunity for banks but at the expense of potentially re-introducing vulnerabilities into the financial system.” Additionally, the note said that a drop in fund managers’ cash reserves coupled with quarter-end rebalancing may tie up liquidity. Due to these offsetting dynamics, Coinbase said the most likely scenario is for bitcoin to trade inside a narrow range until the “next idiosyncratic event - the bitcoin halving in mid-April.” The quadrennial reward halving will cut bitcoin mining rewards by 50%. Coinbase notes that exchange-traded funds have changed bitcoin’s market dynamics, undermining the usefulness of studying previous halving cycles. “The cumulative net growth in BTC held by ETFs has outpaced that generated by miners by nearly threefold,” the report added. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/03/11/crypto-market-could-face-some-short-term-headwinds-coinbase-says/

2024-03-11 09:24

ARK Invest aims to have no individual holding surpass a 10% weighting of an ETF's value, making such large sell-offs necessary when an asset surges in value ARK Invest sold over 580,000 COIN shares last week, worth $149.85 million at Friday’s closing price. The total marks the largest offload of Coinbase stock by ARK since the week ended Feb. 16. Coinbase shares have increased by over 80% in value in the last month thanks to a rally of nearly 50% in bitcoin's price during the same period. Cathie Wood’s investment manager, ARK Invest, sold over 580,000 shares of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (COIN) in the week ended March 8, worth $149.85 million at Friday’s closing price of $256.62. ARK sold COIN shares from three of its exchange-traded funds (ETFs): Innovation ETF (ARKK), Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW), and Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF). The total marks the largest offload of Coinbase stock by ARK since the week ended Feb. 16 when it sold shares worth $151 million at the time. It is also the second-highest weekly total since July 2023. ARK Invest aims to have no individual holding surpass a 10% weighting of an ETF’s value, making such large sell-offs necessary when an asset surges in value. Coinbase shares have increased by over 80% in value in the last month thanks to a rally of nearly 50% in bitcoin’s (BTC) price during the same period. COIN’s weighting across the three ETFs remains comfortably in excess of 10% meaning further sales from ARK can be expected, particularly after BTC hit a new all-time high above $70,000. Coinbase is currently up 5.6% at $271 in pre-market trading. Read More: Ark and 21Shares to Disclose Spot Bitcoin ETF Reserves Via Chainlink Integration https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/03/11/cathie-woods-ark-invest-sold-nearly-150m-coinbase-shares-last-week/

2024-03-11 09:08

The KOSPI trading volume totaled a record 11.4794 trillion won on Mar. 8, compared to nearly 12 trillion won on local crypto exchanges on Sunday. Korea-based crypto exchanges registered a trading volume of 12 trillion won on Sunday, surpassing Friday's stock market tally of 11.47 trillion won. Koreans are increasingly turning to alternative investments, with altcoins being preferred over major assets like BTC or ETH. Rising bitcoin (BTC) prices have revived a crypto trading frenzy in South Korea, with volumes on local exchanges crossing those in the local stock market last week. Local media reported that trading volumes on South Korea-based crypto exchanges totaled a record 11.8 trillion won (KRW) on Sunday, or $9 billion at the going USD-KRW exchange rate. These topped Friday’s South Korean stock trading volume of 11.47 trillion won, or $8.7 billion. This figure is the combined transaction amount of Korea's five largest won markets, including Upbit (8.8 trillion won), Bithumb (2.7 trillion won), Coinone (176.4 billion won), Gopax (55.2 billion won), and Coinone (32 billion won). The top five crypto markets on Upbit were the won-traded pairs of bitcoin (BTC), space id (ID), IQ Protocol's IQ, 0x's ZRX and shiba inu (SHIB). Local market observers said that a relatively bigger volume in the crypto market increased risk tolerance among Korean investors. “Koreans favor high-risk, high-return investments because they experienced a rapidly growing economy,” shared Ki Young-Ju, founder of on-chain provider CryptoQuant, in a message. “With the increasing wealth gap, more people are turning to such investments, with altcoins being the preferred choice over major assets like BTC or ETH.” The high volumes occur despite bitcoin, ether, and other tokens trading at a higher markup on Korean exchanges than on their global counterparts, indicating strong retail demand. “The kimchi premium is at its highest since the Luna crash in May 2022,” shared Bradley Park, head of research at CryptoQuant, in a message. “It is often seen as a sign of strong retail demand, as Korean investors are willing to pay a premium for Bitcoin.” “Upbit's daily trading volume has remained high since March after reaching 60K. It further supports the evidence of retail inflow,” Park added. The "Kimchi premium" refers to the difference in Bitcoin prices on Korean exchanges compared to global bourses. Bitcoin is trading at a 10% premium in South Korea – opening a profitable but operationally complex arbitrage involving buying bitcoin on an international exchange and selling it on a Korean exchange for a riskless profit in Korean won. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/03/11/bitcoin-surge-sees-crypto-trading-volumes-exceed-the-stock-market-in-south-korea/