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Analysts from Bitfinex and Bitget provide different perspectives on the future of Bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD). While Bitfinex suggests that a pause in the Federal Reserve’s U.S. interest rate hikes at their December 13 meeting could attract more investments in Bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD), Pereira points to the recent uncertainties generated by the U.S. GDP, which exceeded expectations. “The newly released U.S. GDP came in much higher than expected, causing market uncertainties regarding dollar inflation and potential new interest rate hikes in 2024. As a result, most stocks and currencies (including cryptocurrencies) ended the day in a stalemate, neither rising nor falling. Payroll data next week should give more concrete clues whether we will end the year with BTC above $40k or not. For now, the most likely scenario is that we won’t,” commented Pereira. This scenario created doubts about dollar inflation and the possibility of new interest rate hikes in 2024, impacting markets and cryptocurrencies, which ended the day stable. According to Pereira, payroll data next week will be crucial in predicting whether Bitcoin will end the year above $40k. At the moment, he believes this is unlikely, contrasting with Bitfinex’s long-term optimistic view, which predicts a more favorable environment for cryptocurrencies if the Fed cuts rates in 2024.
ProShares’ Bitcoin Strategy ETF (AMEX:BITO), a Bitcoin futures fund in the U.S., has reached a new peak with $1.47 billion in assets under management, surpassing its previous record from December 2021. This growth reflects growing institutional interest in Bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD), amid an increase in registered Bitcoin ETF applications in the U.S. Listed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (NASDAQ:CME), BITO offers investors the opportunity to profit from Bitcoin yields in a regulated format.
Data analysis from Datamish shows a common practice on Bitfinex in 2023: investors closing long positions in Bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD) during periods of volatility. The year started with the opening of around 100,000 long positions, but after the SVB collapse in March, 12,000 of these positions were closed. A similar pattern occurred recently, with the closure of a significant number of positions after substantial gains in October and November, resulting in approximately 80,000 BTC in remaining long positions. This strategy suggests that investors prefer to secure profits in the face of rising Bitcoin prices. Meanwhile, short positions remained moderate, with fewer than 1,000 BTC, indicating a more optimistic market sentiment despite uncertainties.
MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) continues its expansion in the Bitcoin market (COIN:BTCUSD) with the acquisition of 16,130 BTC for $593.3 million, at an average price of $36,785 per Bitcoin. This raises its total holdings to 174,530 BTC, with an average cost of $30,252 per unit. The company is now in a favorable position, with a potential profit of about $1.3 billion, highlighting its strong profitability and its approximately 0.90% stake in the total circulating Bitcoin supply, which is 19.5 million BTC.
Robinhood (NASDAQ:HOOD), an online trading platform, has announced its expansion into the UK, planning to launch in early 2024. According to CEO Vladimir Tenev, in an interview with Bloomberg, Robinhood has already started a waiting list for early access, with the goal of offering trading of 6,000 US stocks and a 24-hour trading feature. This move represents a renewed effort by Robinhood to reach a global market, following a delayed attempt in 2019 due to regulatory challenges. Tenev emphasizes the vision of making Robinhood a global company, reflecting its roots as a startup founded by immigrants.
Ark Invest, led by Cathie Wood, sold $4.94 million worth of Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) shares on Wednesday, adding to the $5.3 million sold on Monday, totaling more than $10 million in the week. At the same time, the company acquired 221,759 shares of Robinhood (NASDAQ:HOOD) for $1.97 million for the Ark Fintech Innovation ETF (AMEX:ARKF), in addition to the 143,063 shares purchased on November 27. Coinbase shares have seen significant increases but are still below their historical peak, while Robinhood shares have also grown but have experienced a substantial decline since their peak in 2021. Ark Invest also increased its holdings in Robinhood, coinciding with the company’s launch in the UK and its planned expansion into the EU.
In November, cryptocurrencies faced their largest monthly losses in 2023, totaling more than $343 million in hack and fraud incidents, an increase of over 15 times compared to the approximately $22 million recorded in October. Surprisingly, centralized financial platforms (CeFi) were the main victims, accounting for 53.8% of the losses, surpassing decentralized finance (DeFi). Hackers predominated in the attacks, causing losses of over $335 million, while fraud incidents totaled about $7.5 million. Binance Smart Chain (COIN:BNBUSD) and Ethereum (COIN:ETHUSD) were the most targeted networks, accounting for 83% of the total losses.
Talos, a cryptocurrency trading platform known for providing liquidity from centralized exchanges, will now offer institutional clients the ability to trade via Uniswap, a leader in decentralized finance (DeFi). This move marks the first time that Talos has incorporated liquidity from a decentralized exchange and also represents the debut of an enterprise API integration for Uniswap Labs, according to sources. The integration facilitates access to a broad and deep source of liquidity, whether for investors looking for exposure to various Uniswap projects and unique protocols or for market participants seeking additional liquidity in major assets like ETH, as explained by Talos CEO Anton Katz.
Algorand (COIN:ALGOUSD) has established strategic partnerships in India to strengthen the country’s Web3 foundation. Collaborating with NASSCOM, TiE Bangalore, and the Mann Deshi Foundation, the company focuses on digital empowerment, support for women entrepreneurs, and blockchain education. Algorand’s “AlgoBharat” initiative aims to promote financial inclusion and the development of the Indian Web3 ecosystem.
Cega, specializing in structured products for cryptocurrencies, has launched an innovative strategy that offers an APY of 22% for stakers of staked Ether (COIN:STETHUSD) and ETH (COIN:ETHUSD), surpassing typical staking yields, which are currently around 3%. This new strategy benefits from options trading and comes at a time of lower volatility in the cryptocurrency market. Cega recently raised $9.3 million in initial funding led by Dragonfly.
Celsius, now in bankruptcy, initiated withdrawals for certain custody customers starting on November 29, allowing them to withdraw 72.5% of their cryptocurrencies until February 28. Only specific assets are available for withdrawal. Users report technical issues and delays, especially with Facebook logins, while Celsius anticipates possible delays due to the volume of requests.
AntPool, a Bitcoin mining pool, announced that it will refund 83 BTC, equivalent to over $3 million, to a user who inadvertently paid this amount in gas fees for a transaction. This error occurred in BTC block 818,087 and set a record for transaction fees on the blockchain network. After the abnormal fee was detected by AntPool’s risk control system, the pool temporarily froze the funds and requested that the rightful owner of the funds prove their identity by December 10. A claimant known as 83_5BTC emerged on social media, claiming to be the owner of the affected wallet. They explained a script error in the wallet that led to the overpayment.
Trust Wallet, by Binance, is facing issues with its Bitcoin node, causing transaction failures and delays, as well as loss of transaction history in the app. The incident is linked to the recent surge in Bitcoin transactions, which has overwhelmed the nodes. Trust Wallet is monitoring the situation and working on a solution, while users report data loss from transactions and frustrations. Bitcoin network activity has reached record levels, influenced by the growth of enrollments in Bitcoin Ordinals.
The hacker who stole $47 million from KyberSwap demanded full control of the company and its governance, KyberDAO. They seek to enact “legislative changes” and demand access to corporate documents, assets, and intellectual property. The intruder promised to buy out executives for a fair value, double salaries for remaining employees, and offer a 12-month severance package to those who leave. For token holders and investors, they warned that their tokens would lose value under their management, while Kyber would undergo a complete overhaul. Liquidity providers on KyberSwap would receive a 50% discount on losses. This agreement is the hacker’s only offer, threatening to nullify everything if contacted by authorities. Following the incident, KyberSwap co-founder Victor Tran reaffirmed his commitment to users. The KyberSwap team has recovered $4.7 million of the lost funds, and the hacker is also suspected in a previous attack on Indexed Finance.
RARI Foundation, specializing in NFT infrastructure, has used Arbitrum Orbit technology to launch the RARI Chain, an innovative Layer 3 chain. They recently introduced their testnet, aiming to enhance royalty assurance for creators. The team highlights that the RARI Chain is an essential solution for NFT infrastructure, offering an EVM-compatible chain on Arbitrum. This network is optimized for high speed, low cost, and ease of use for developers, creators, and collectors, integrating royalties directly at the node level and promoting interoperability across different markets.
Bitget, a global cryptocurrency and Web3 exchange, has announced the launch of a new feature that allows Turkish consumers to instantly convert their local currency, the Lira, into digital assets like Tether USD (COIN:USDTUSD) or Bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD). With this “easy buy and sell” functionality, customers can deposit Lira directly from their bank accounts to Bitget and perform the conversion without waiting or matching orders in wallets.
The Bank of Korea (BOK) has revealed a digital currency (CBDC) pilot program for 100,000 citizens, allowing them to make purchases with CBDC tokens issued by commercial banks. The project aims to address issues with government vouchers and is planned for the next year. The initiative follows Augustin Carstens’ visit to Seoul and is part of a global movement toward digital currencies.
The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Professionals Association has proposed a regulated portal for initial coin offerings (ICOs), aiming to provide a safe environment for legitimate projects and mitigate fraud. The initiative, part of a larger effort to regulate the cryptocurrency sector, includes new regulations that allow the trading of virtual assets to retail investors and grant licenses to cryptocurrency exchanges.
Grove, specializing in Web3 infrastructure (formerly Pocket Network), has raised $7.9 million to develop Decentralized Physical Infrastructure (DePIN), focusing on strategic partnerships. This investment, coming from entities associated with Fidelity, aims to promote DePIN in the conventional market.
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