Bitcoin appears to be on the verge of a bullish breakout again. The price of bitcoin has surged along with equity indices as broader markets reacted to rate cuts by the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of Canada. On Wednesday, the Bank of Canada reduced its benchmark overnight rate by 25 basis points to 4.75%, kicking off the G-7 monetary easing cycle. The following day, the ECB lowered interest rates as expected, bringing the key rate down to 3.75% from a record high of 4%, marking its first rate cut since 2019. These rate cuts, combined with next week’s CPI release may trigger new bitcoin all-time highs. On the other hand, today’s strong US non-farm payrolls exceeded expectations and shows that the economy is on track. In derivatives markets, Bitcoin traders set a new record for BTC futures positions, with open interest surpassing $37.7 billion this week. This surge in open interest aligns with record inflows into spot bitcoin ETFs and a bullish long-short ratio, suggesting positive market sentiment and expectations for bitcoin to reach new highs soon.
Meanwhile, US Spot Bitcoin ETFs continue to register strong inflows. The 11 ETFs have now experienced net inflows for 18 consecutive days, marking the longest streak of positive flows since listing. On Thursday alone, ETFs reported a daily net inflow of $217.78 million. Since their inception in January, the instruments have accumulated a total net inflow of $15.56 billion.
In other cryptoassets, Binance’s BNB token reached a new all-time high, surpassing $700 for the first time on Tuesday and briefly trading around $716. Additionally, Binance has resumed allowing Mastercard users to purchase cryptocurrencies on its platform after a temporary suspension by the card giant in August 2023. Elsewhere, GameStop and Roaring Kitty-themed memecoins surged after Keith Gill, also known as “Roaring Kitty,” returned to Reddit and revealed large options positions in GameStop stock.
Market Overview
The global cryptoasset market capitalization currently amounts to roughly $2.79 trillion – compared with $2.67 trillion last week, with bitcoin accounting for about 50.5%. Among the Top 30 cryptoassets by market cap, Kaspa (KAS) outperformed, gaining about 30% over the week. The price of bitcoin (BTC) rose by 4.1% to $71,554 while the price of ether (ETH) decreased slightly by 0.5% to $3,816. The total value locked (TVL) in DeFi is sitting at almost $110 billion, with Ethereum (excluding Layer 2s) accounting for about 61% of TVL. Arbitrum One is currently the largest Layer 2 by value locked, accounting for 40% of the $48 billion in assets.
This Week’s Headlines
- US President Joe Biden vetoes a bill to overturn a controversial SEC bulletin, SAB 121, establishing accounting standards for firms that custody crypto
- Franklin Templeton exploring crypto fund for tokens other than bitcoin and ether, The Information reports
- Securitize CEO calls for clearer digital asset regulation in House Financial Services hearing
- Coinbase donates $25 million to crypto super PAC Fairshake
- Matter Labs drops “ZK” trademark applications following backlash from leading projects
- Medical device maker Semler Scientific buys $17 million more bitcoin and is raising money to purchase more
- Paxos unveils UAE-based yield-generating stablecoin Lift Dollar
- Telegram launches digital mini-app payment system, Telegram Stars
- X bans alleged celebrity memecoin scammer Sahil Arora
- Dapper Labs settles NBA Top Shot Moments lawsuit for $4 million
Notable Deals and Fundraising
- Robinhood set to acquire crypto exchange Bitstamp in potential $200 million deal
- Kraken explores pre-IPO funding round, Bloomberg reports
- Avail raises $43 million in a Series A round led by Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund
- Stablecoin minting protocol M^0 raises $35 million Series A led by Bain Capital Crypto
- Metaverse developer The Sandbox raises $20 million via convertible promissory notes
- Tether invests $18.75 million in XREX to facilitate cross-border payments in emerging markets
- Ethereum Layer 2 Fhenix – focused on confidentiality – raises $15 million in Series A funding
- Yield-bearing stablecoin issuer Mountain Protocol raises $8 million in Series A round
- Glacier Network raises $8 million in angel and Seed rounds
- Stashh Labs raises more than $3.3 million ahead of NFT platform upgrade from Animoca and others
- Bain Capital Crypto raising second fund, filing shows
- Core Scientific signs 12-year deal with AI firm, projects $3.5 billion total revenue
- Polygon Labs acquires zero-knowledge research firm Toposware
- Watford FC to sell 10% of club as digital equity, including tokens, to investors and fans
