Bitcoin slides below $69,000 anticipating US inflation data
Before the American inflation data release by the Bureau of
Labor Statistics, Bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD) dropped below $69,000 this
Wednesday. The US CPI for March indicated inflation higher than
expected, reaching 3.5% annually, surpassing the forecast of 3.4%.
Despite intensified efforts by the Federal Reserve to control
inflation, it remained stubborn. The monthly inflation and the core
rate, excluding food and energy, also exceeded estimates, with the
latter recording 3.8% annually. This scenario of high inflation led
to a drop in the Bitcoin price to $68,016.96 at the time of
writing. Beyond the US inflation in March exceeding forecasts, the
Bitcoin market is under additional pressure as long-term investors
begin to liquidate their positions. Analyst Fernando Pereira from
Bitget wrote, “we can see day by day that long-term investors,
who usually hold their bitcoins for at least 6 months, are exiting
the market. This is a sign of profit-taking that precedes more
significant drops.”
Spot Bitcoin ETFs surpass $200 billion in trading
Recent reports from Farside indicate significant movements in
Bitcoin ETFs on April 9, with total outflows of $18.6 million. The
fund from Grayscale (AMEX:GBTC) saw the smallest daily outflow
since the beginning of the month, totaling $15.96 billion.
Conversely, the ETF from BlackRock (NASDAQ:IBIT) experienced
significant inflows of $128.7 million, the largest since April 5,
accumulating a total of $14.92 billion in inflows. Less than three
months after the SEC’s approval, the spot Bitcoin ETFs, including
those from BlackRock and Fidelity, have surpassed $200 billion in
trading volume in the US. This milestone was reached after rapid
growth, with the volume doubling since the $100 billion mark in
March. Grayscale’s GBTC holds 316,202 BTC, outpacing BlackRock’s
IBIT with 266,102 BTC by a margin of 50,100 BTC. Fidelity’s FBTC
has 150,694 BTC, reflecting the increased interest of institutional
investors. In total, the 11 Bitcoin ETFs hold 838,729 BTC, showing
the substantial Bitcoin holdings by these funds.
Grayscale CEO optimistic after stabilization of fund outflows
Michael Sonnenshein, the head of Grayscale (AMEX:GBTC),
perceives a stabilization in the outflows from the firm’s Bitcoin
ETF, especially after resolving issues with collapsing crypto
companies like FTX. He notes that the SEC’s approval of spot
Bitcoin ETFs affected the pre-existing Grayscale fund, leading to
sales in favor of the new products with lower fees. However, the
monthly outflows, which reached $600 million in March, have
significantly decreased, indicating a potential recovery.
Hong Kong set to approve first spot Bitcoin ETFs
Regulators in Hong Kong are close to green-lighting the first
spot Bitcoin ETFs next week, enabling their launch in April,
according to Reuters. This decision places Hong Kong alongside
Australia in leading Asia in offering spot Bitcoin ETFs, with other
regions like Singapore and the United Arab Emirates still in
preliminary stages. Companies such as Harvest Global Investments
and VSFG are among those who have applied for approval for such
funds.
Bitcoin miners liquidate stock before halving
As the halving of Bitcoin mining rewards approaches on April 20,
which will cut the block rewards in half from 6.25 to 3.125 BTC,
miners are selling their Bitcoin reserves, reaching the lowest
level since early 2021 with 1.794 million BTC. This sale
anticipates the reduction in rewards. This strategy, highlighted by
the recent high of Bitcoin above $73,000, differs from the
accumulation observed before the previous halving in 2020. Miners
are capitalizing on the high prices to fund upgrades, aiming for
long-term sustainability, as indicated by a 45% increase in the
hashrate.
Ethereum’s early adviser files a billion-dollar lawsuit against the
US government
Steven Nerayoff, one of the early advisers to Ethereum
(COIN:ETHUSD), has filed a $9.6 billion lawsuit against the US
government, alleging persecution and unfounded charges by federal
agents. In 2019, Nerayoff was charged with extortion, but after a
four-year legal battle, the charges were dropped in 2023. His
lawyers claim that this persecution caused significant damage to
his life and career, including financial losses during a peak in
the cryptocurrency market.
Circle expands Web3 services on Solana to bolster USDC
Circle (COIN:USDCUSD) is extending its Web3 tools and services
to the Solana blockchain, aiming to facilitate access to USDC for
developers and businesses, promoting integration across various
applications. This move follows the revelation that Solana has
emerged as the leading platform for stablecoin transactions,
especially in international payments. Circle’s initiative includes
APIs for wallet integration and transactions, reinforcing the use
of USDC in a growing stablecoin market where Solana is leading in
payment volume.
Permissionless Capital launches event for Web3 startups
Permissionless Capital unveils “Permissionless Opportunities,”
an innovative event inviting Web3 startups to participate to gain
resources and guidance to launch their products. Designed as an
interactive game show, the event offers access to funds, tools, and
essential connections in the blockchain sector. Renowned partners
like Solana and Chainlink support the program, promising broad
exposure and collaboration opportunities for winners. Open to
startups in various areas, such as DeFi and gaming, the event
represents a unique chance for emerging Web3 companies to stand
out.
P2P.org introduces staking solution for institutions
P2P.org has introduced its Staking-as-a-Business (SaaB) service,
aimed at financial institutions like exchanges and custodians, to
incorporate staking and decentralized finance (DeFi) into their
offerings. With over 1 million Ether (ETH) staked and a total value
locked (TVL) of more than $7.4 billion, the initiative also
includes comprehensive support in areas like marketing and legal
issues, aiming to facilitate these entities’ entry into the staking
and DeFi market.
MetaMask integrates Daylight for airdrop verification
MetaMask, the popular Web3 wallet, now offers users the ability
to verify eligibility for airdrops in collaboration with the
Daylight project. This feature makes it easier to discover
potential airdrops available in the ecosystem of their favorite
decentralized applications. Using MetaMask’s Explore page, users
can find information about airdrops and NFT claims, with
personalized suggestions from the Daylight API based on social and
token ownership criteria, spanning networks like Ethereum and
Polygon.
WOO X launches perpetual contracts for meme coins and L2 tokens
WOO X, in collaboration with Wintermute and GMCI, has announced
the introduction of perpetual contracts for indices covering meme
coins, the top 30 cryptocurrencies, and Layer 2 (L2) tokens.
Following a recent $9 million funding round, the platform expands
its offerings, including GMCI’s MEME index with popular meme coins
like Shiba Inu (COIN:SHIBUSD) and Dogecoin (COIN:DOGEUSD), and an
L2 index focused on scalability tokens. WOO X plans to add features
like copy-trading and on-chain US Treasury bonds in the future.
Indictment for money laundering at Taiwanese cryptocurrency
exchange
Prosecutors in Taiwan have indicted David Pan, the founder of
ACE Exchange, and six others for money laundering and fraud
involving more than $10.7 million. They allegedly used an offshore
entity and the “Alfred Wallet” service to attract and deceive
investors, resulting in at least 162 victims. ACE Exchange, stating
that Pan is no longer active in the company, assures operational
normality and the security of user assets.
OpenTrade raises $3.2 million to expand institutional lending and
yield products
OpenTrade, a platform dedicated to institutional lending and
yield products, has raised $3.2 million in its seed funding round,
bringing its total funding to $4.45 million. The round saw
participation from notable investors such as the a16z Crypto
Startup Accelerator, among others. The company, leveraging Circle’s
payment and DeFi infrastructure, plans to bolster its team with the
new capital. OpenTrade offers networked lending products for asset
managers, enabling yield generation through USDC and EURC.
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