All News

Bitcoin price moved little on Monday as concerns over high interest rates persisted ahead of key U.S. inflation data due later this week, while Ether saw an extended rally on progress towards a spot exchange-traded fund.

Broader crypto prices were also largely subdued, as traders remained biased towards the dollar amid waning optimism over interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve this year.

Bitcoin fell 0.3% in the past 24 hours to $68,760.3 by 01:04 ET (05:04 GMT), remaining within a trading range established over the past two months.

But world no. 2 token Ether was a key outperformer, rallying 4.4% to $3,913.79, coming close to an over two-month high.
Ether boosted by SEC approval for spot ETF

The world’s second-largest crypto token saw a major boost over the weekend after the Securities and Exchange Commission approved applications from several major exchanges for the listing of ETFs that directly track the price of Ether.

The approval now opens the door for the SEC to engage with fund operators including VanEck, ARK Investment Management and seven other issuers who have applied to list their spot Ether ETFs.

Analysts expect the approval of spot ETFs to trigger a sharp rally in Ether, similar to one seen in Bitcoin after the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs earlier this year.

But Bitcoin has largely tread water in recent months after initial enthusiasm over the ETFs ran dry. Capital flows into Bitcoin ETFs were also seen stagnating in recent weeks.

Crypto price today: Altcoins subdued as PCE test looms

Fears of high for longer U.S. interest rates were a key point of pressure on crypto markets in recent weeks, especially after a string of Federal Reserve officials warned that sticky inflation will delay any plans to cut rates.

This notion kept price moves in altcoins largely muted. XRP and SOL fell 2% and 0.8%, respectively.

Meme tokens DOGE and SHIB shed 4.3% and 1.6%, respectively.

Focus this week is squarely on PCE price index data- the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge.

The reading is widely expected to factor into expectations for interest rates.

Still, traders were seen largely pricing out bets on a rate cut in September, according to the CME Fedwatch tool.

Bitcoin price moved marginally higher on Monday after rebounding over the weekend, although the token still remained rangebound amid persistent caution over the outlook for U.S. interest rates.

The world’s biggest cryptocurrency moved little in the past 24 hours and steadied at $67,085.1 by 09:13 ET (13:13 GMT). It still remained well within a $60,000 to $70,000 trading range established since mid-March, with few catalysts on tap for an immediate breakout.

Appetite for Bitcoin was also overshadowed by a stellar rally in metal markets. A mix of safe haven demand and long positioning saw gold hit a record high on Monday.
Bitcoin rangebound with more Fed cues in sight

Focus this week was squarely on more cues from the Federal Reserve, which are likely to factor into the outlook for interest rates.

The minutes of the Fed’s late-April meeting are due this Wednesday, while a string of Fed officials- chiefly the members of the rate-setting committee- are set to speak this week.

Any more cues on interest rates will be largely in focus, after some soft inflation readings for April put market focus squarely on a September rate cut. But Fed officials warned that the bank needed more convincing that inflation was easing.

The dollar also steadied from last week’s losses, limiting any major upside in Bitcoin. Fears of potential geopolitical instability in the Middle East, after Iran’s President and foreign minister were killed in a helicopter crash, also kept risk appetite subdued and traders biased towards safe havens such as gold and the dollar.

Bitcoin price jumped on Thursday, benefiting from a weaker dollar after some relatively softer consumer inflation readings for April, although the token remained comfortably rangebound as sentiment towards crypto remained subdued.

The world’s biggest cryptocurrency rose 4% in the past 24 hours to $66,264.2 by 08:54 ET (12:54 GMT). The token had pushed as high as $66,700, before losing some momentum.
Bitcoin price cheered by softer dollar after CPI data

Bitcoin rebounded on Wednesday after sinking as low as $60,000 earlier this week.

The rebound was fueled largely by a slide in the dollar, which hit one-month lows after some softer consumer price index readings for April.

Headline CPI grew at a slower-than-expected pace, while core CPI eased as expected.

The readings, which were accompanied by weaker-than-expected retail sales data, pushed up some hopes that inflation will ease in the coming months and give the Federal Reserve more confidence to begin trimming interest rates.

But inflation still remained well above the central bank’s annual 2% target range. A slew of Fed officials also warned in recent weeks that the bank will need much more confidence to begin trimming rates.

This notion limited any major gains in Bitcoin, keeping the token trading comfortably within a $60,000 to $70,000 trading range established over the past two months. Increased risk appetite, which was reflected in Wall Street hitting record highs, also did not spill over into crypto.

The prospect of regulatory headwinds bode poorly for crypto markets, especially as recent reports suggested the Securities and Exchange Commission was mobilizing more regulatory action against the sector.

Bitcoin’s rangebound performance also comes as capital flows and trading activity in spot exchange-traded funds, which were a key driver of its March rally, largely stagnated in recent weeks.
Crypto traders believe BTC could surge to $74K

Bullish sentiment for riskier assets following soft inflation figures could drive bitcoin prices toward $74,000 in the coming days as institutional demand continues to grow, according to a Singapore-based crypto asset trading firm QCP Capital.

The softer-than-expected CPI data triggered a breakout for BTC, with the asset regained the $66,000 mark for the first time since April and posted its biggest single-day gain since March.

This move, coupled with demand from traditional finance, could see Bitcoin regaining its March record of $73,700, QCT traders noted.

“We expect bullish momentum here that could take us back to the highs of nearly $74,000,” they said. “The desk saw sizeable buyers of $100K-$120k BTC Calls for Dec 2024 on this move higher in spot.”

“Institutional demand for bitcoin continues to grow, with large asset managers Millennium and Schonfeld investing approximately 3% and 2% of their AUM into the BTC spot ETF.”

Multiple filings on Wednesday revealed that several big-name funds, such as Millennium Management and Elliott Capital, held millions worth of bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in their portfolios.

Meanwhile, some analysts note that selling pressure on bitcoin appears to have eased, citing on-chain and exchange data.
Crypto price today: Altcoins rally but struggle to make progress

Major altcoins also clocked sharp gains on Thursday, although a bulk of tokens remained well below highs hit in March, when they had piggybacked the Bitcoin rally.

World no.2 token Ethereum rose 1.4%, while XRP added 2.2%.

Solana was an outperformer, rising 9.5% to an over one-month high. Still, the token also remained well below its 2024 peaks.

Bitcoin price has more than doubled since the batch of spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) began trading in the U.S. back in January.

Demand from these regulated vehicles was so intense that the original cryptocurrency hit a new all-time high, driven by a flurry of Bitcoin purchases.

However, it seems that the market might have gotten a bit ahead of itself in the hype, according to Kaiko Research, as investors offloaded crypto ETFs at the fastest pace last week.

Both ETF inflows and the Bitcoin (BTC) rally decelerated in early April. Last week, BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)'s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) saw its first daily outflow of $37 million, breaking a 71-day streak of consecutive inflows.

On Friday, however, the tide seemed to turn, with strong inflows across various ETFs, including Grayscale's GBTC. Additionally, BlackRock's IBIT fund is currently nearing parity with GBTC in terms of holdings. Kaiko analysts attribute this rebound in ETF inflows to U.S. jobs data, which sparked speculation about interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.

Globally, competition among ETFs is heating up. Last week, three mainland Chinese asset managers—Bosera Asset Management, Harvest Global Investments, and China Asset Management—launched Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) spot ETFs in Hong Kong.

The first trading day saw a combined volume of $12.7 million across Hong Kong dollar, renminbi, and U.S. dollar trading pairs.

Although this volume is modest when compared to the $4.6 billion traded by U.S. spot ETFs at their launch, it highlights the relatively smaller scale of the Hong Kong ETF market.

“Interestingly, ChinaAMC's Bitcoin ETF saw the strongest volume despite its higher fee of 99 basis points. ETH ETFs attracted 23% of the total first day volume, while BTC accounted for the majority at 77%,” Kaiko note reads.

In the Asia-Pacific region, demand for crypto exposure remains strong. According to recent mandatory 13F filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, a Hong Kong-based asset manager is the largest holder of BlackRock's IBIT fund.

Although inflows into spot crypto ETFs have slowed, institutional interest in tokenizing real-world assets (RWA) is gaining traction. Last week, BlackRock's BUIDL fund crossed the $300 million mark, overtaking Franklin Templeton's BENJI to become the largest tokenized U.S. Treasuries fund.

This growth was propelled by Ondo Finance, which moved $95 million to BlackRock's fund.

As the Bitcoin community celebrated the completion of another halving event, renowned Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff took to the stage with a warning for BTC holders.

The highly anticipated Bitcoin software update called "halving" has been completed. The modification went into effect as of 8:10 p.m. Friday, New York time, according to data from analytics websites mempool.space and Blockchain.com.

This event, which reduces the reward for mining new blocks by half, is seen by many as a bullish signal for the cryptocurrency's value. However, Schiff's perspective offers a sobering counterpoint to the prevailing optimism.

Peter Schiff, a long-time skeptic of Bitcoin and advocate for gold, warns that the halving may not necessarily lead to the much-expected price increase. He believes that the halving event may ultimately fail to deliver expected gains, resulting in Bitcoin hodlers experiencing a "halving" of their net value, implying a price fall.

"Congratulations, Bitcoiners, on the Halving. Are you guys commemorating this occasion by throwing parties tonight? I haven't been invited to any. I think halving is an appropriate name for what's happening as soon Bitcoin hodlers experience a halving of their net worths," Schiff wrote in a tweet.

Bitcoin's performance after halving remains under debate
As Bitcoin enters a new chapter following the completion of its latest halving event, the debate over its future trajectory rages on.

Before the halving event, on-chain analytics firm IntoTheBlock highlighted the trend of BTC price performance following each Bitcoin halving, noting that a bullish trend often emerges and lasts about a year.

Also, miners' BTC holdings reached a 12-year low, implying that miners had been net sellers before the halving.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin whales may have finally begun buying the dip. On April 18, the top Bitcoin holders, who own more than 0.1% of the total supply, added 19,760 Bitcoins to their holdings at an average price of $62,500. Historically, accumulations by these addresses have frequently foreshadowed increases in Bitcoin's price.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading down 2.17% in the last 24 hours to $63,738 as investors took profits following the halving event.

Constrained mainly by pressure from a strong dollar as investors grew more uncertain over the path of U.S. interest rates in anticipation of key labor market data this week.

In the past 24 hours, the world’s largest cryptocurrency climbed 0.5% to $65,920.0.

A broader decline in risk appetite- marked by a sharp fall in global stock markets- also pressured Bitcoin, as investors pivoted into safe havens such as the dollar and gold.

The greenback raced to a 4-½ month high this week, while gold prices notched record highs.

Risk appetite- particularly in Asian markets- was also dented by a devastating earthquake in Taiwan, the impact of which remained unclear. But this kept Asian stocks trading negative, while the dollar stemmed a decline from recent peaks.

Bitcoin price on edge as US government seen mobilizing Silk Road funds
A potential mass sale event also kept Bitcoin investors on edge, especially as the U.S. government was seen mobilizing part of the 30.1K Bitcoins ($2.1 billion) recovered from the Silk Road marketplace.

Crypto influencer ZachXBT noted on social media platform X that an address associated with the U.S. government had moved $139 million of Bitcoin to a Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) deposit address.

A move onto an exchange could herald a potential sale of the tokens on the open market, presenting some sell-side pressure on Bitcoin. Past crypto seizures by the U.S. government have usually resulted in the government auctioning off the seized tokens.

Trading volumes in Bitcoin ETFs tripled to $110M in March
Bitcoin’s strong price run-up this year- where the token hit a new record high was driven chiefly by the U.S. approval of spot exchange-traded funds.

In March, these funds witnessed a significant surge in trading volume, reaching over $110 billion—tripling the trading volumes seen in January and February—as Bitcoin's value reached new heights.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)'s IBIT led the charge, accounting for nearly half of the month's total trading volume, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Eric Balchunas. Close behind, Grayscale's GBTC captured 20% of the market share, with Fidelity's FBTC contributing to 17%.

“$IBIT won the volume race and is officially the $GLD of bitcoin,” said Balchunas, referring to the largest gold ETF, SPDR Gold Trust (P:GLD (NYSE:GLD)).

“I can't imagine April will be bigger but who knows,” he added.

Following their approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in January, U.S. Bitcoin ETFs began trading on January 12. At the time, Bitcoin was priced around $45,000.

The cryptocurrency's price has since staged a strong rally, soaring to a new all-time high of $73,000 last month.

But capital inflows into these ETFs were seen slowing in recent weeks, a trend that could potentially herald more weakness in Bitcoin prices.

Bitcoin's blockbuster surge has led to massive losses for short sellers of crypto-related stocks, totaling nearly $1.9 billion in mark-to-market losses today, according to data compiled by S3 Partners.

This downturn for short sellers accompanies Bitcoin's over 7% jump in late-day trading and an almost 12% rise from its recent low three days ago.

The total short interest in crypto-related stocks stands at $10.7 billion, with MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR) and Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ:COIN) accounting for 84% of this short interest. Overall, the sector's short interest as a percentage of float is over three times larger than the U.S. average of 5.13%.

MicroStrategy, the world's largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, leads the downturn with $1.4 billion in mark-to-market losses. This amount contributes to the sector's $1.9 billion loss today and a $5.7 billion year-to-date loss, highlighting a -79.1% downturn for those betting against the software company. Despite these large losses, the sector remains a hotspot for short selling activity, given its crowded nature and high potential for squeezes.

The crowded scores, a measure of how densely packed short sellers are in a stock, averages at 57.34 for crypto stocks, considerably higher than the street average of 32.41. The squeeze scores, which indicate the potential for a short squeeze, average at 78.69, far surpassing the street average of 34.41. MicroStrategy, Coinbase, and Cleanspark Inc (NASDAQ:CLSK) are identified as the most susceptible to squeezes in the sector.

Despite Bitcoin's bullish run, the total short interest in the sector has increased by $3.67 billion to $10.71 billion in 2024. This indicates continued skepticism or strategic hedging by short sellers. However, the recent rally has triggered increased short selling, with the sector's total short interest climbing by an additional $4.50 billion in the last 30 days, mainly driven by heightened short selling in MicroStrategy.

Further gains in MicroStrategy's stock price could put pressure on short sellers, which at one point could force them to buy back shares to cover their losses. This scenario could drive the stock price even higher.

Global shares dipped and the yen slid on Tuesday after the Bank of Japan met market expectations by ending eight years of negative interest rates, likely the highlight of a busy week for central banks.

Investors will now turn their focus to the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting that ends on Wednesday, when the central bank is expected to provide further clues about the pace at which it will likely lower interest rates this year.

Financial markets are now considering the chance that the Fed might reduce the number of projected rate cuts this year to two from three on the back of last week's stronger-than-expected inflation data.

"We don’t think the Fed will fundamentally change its outlook for inflation based on two hotter than desired prints to start the year," said Christopher Hodge, chief economist at Natxis CIB Americas.

"However, we do expect a slightly more hawkish tone in the hopes of keeping a leash on financial conditions."

MSCI's world share index shed 0.36%, though it was still near all-time highs. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.11%, the S&P 500 lost 0.30%, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.73%.

The U.S benchmark 10-year Treasury yield was down 2.4 basis points to 4.316%. [.N] [US/]

The day's big news was in Japan, where the BOJ heralded a new era as it shifted away from years of ultra-easy monetary policy. It also abandoned bond yield curve control and dropped purchases of riskier assets, including exchange-traded funds.

Japan's Nikkei was choppy after the decision but closed 0.66% higher, buoyed by the weaker yen, while Japanese government bond yields fell. The dollar rose 0.95% to 150.7 yen against the Japanese yen.

"The BOJ clearly has been very, very keen to manage this process so that it is not disruptive,” said David Mitchinson, fund manager at Japan focused Zennor Asset Management. “The markets have front-run them and anticipated their move.”

Though the shift was Japan's first interest rate hike in 17 years, it still keeps its rates stuck around zero as a fragile economic recovery forces the central bank to go slow on further rises in borrowing costs, analysts say, giving the rate-sensitive yen little traction.

In a statement announcing its decision, the BOJ said it would keep buying "broadly the same amount" of government bonds as before.

"So some of that spread closure between Japan and the U.S. isn’t quite really happening at the moment because although Japan has hiked a little, the U.S. hasn’t cut,” said Mitchinson, pointing to the fact that U.S. inflation pressures have been stronger than expected

BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda said in his press conference that accommodative financial conditions would be maintained for the time being and the pace of further hikes would depend on the economic and inflation outlooks.

European shares were fairly muted, with the STOXX 600 and euro zone bond yields little changed. (EU) [GVD/EUR]

CENTRAL BANK BONANZA

In the day's other central bank news, the Reserve Bank of Australia held interest rates steady as expected, while watering down a tightening bias to say it was not ruling anything in or out on policy.

The Australian dollar slipped 0.64% to $0.6518 following the decision. The Aussie is down over 4% against the U.S. dollar this year.

The Federal Reserve's two-day meeting wraps up on Wednesday, and central banks in Britain, Norway, and Switzerland meet on Thursday. All are expected to keep rates steady, though markets are not ruling out a move in the Alps.

When it comes to the Fed, the market's attention is on policymakers’ updated economic and interest rate projections and comments from Chair Jerome Powell.

Last week's stronger than expected inflation reports led traders to reduce their bets on U.S. rate cuts this year, with markets now pricing in 71 bps of easing in 2024, roughly in line with expectations the Fed published in December, the latest iteration of which are due at this meeting.

At the start of the year, traders were pricing in 150 bps of cuts.

In commodities, spot gold dropped 0.4% to $2,151.89 an ounce, after hitting all time highs earlier this month. U.S. crude rose 0.48% to $83.12 per barrel and Brent was at $87.24, up 0.4%.

Bitcoin fell by the most on any given day in two weeks as investors retreated from risker assets. It was last down 6.57% at $63,173.00.

The mysterious identity of Bitcoin's creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, has been a topic of discussion and speculation since the cryptocurrency's inception. The possibility of unmasking Nakamoto has sparked intense debate within the crypto community, with many speculating about the potential outcomes for Bitcoin if the figure behind it were to be revealed.

Who is Satoshi Nakamoto
Satoshi Nakamoto is the pseudonymous person or group that created the cryptocurrency Bitcoin. The true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto remains unknown, and there has been much speculation and investigation into who or what group is behind the pseudonym.

The name first appeared in a paper published in 2008 that detailed the design of Bitcoin. Satoshi is said to have stayed active in Bitcoin’s creation and the blockchain until around 2010 but hasn’t been heard from since. Despite various claims and theories, the true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto continues to be shrouded in mystery.

How many bitcoin Satoshi Nakamoto has
Most believe Satoshi Nakamoto holds around 1.1 million BTC. However, this is only an estimate, with some speculating it is between 600,000 and 1.1 million, worth between approximately $43 billion to $80 billion at current rates. This amount is said to be spread across various addresses, and it is believed that these bitcoins were acquired as a reward for mining during the early days of Bitcoin.

Despite the widespread belief that these addresses belong to Satoshi Nakamoto, it is impossible to confirm with 100% certainty.

Satoshi Nakamoto unmasking
As mentioned, there have been various attempts at unmasking Satoshi Nakamoto, while some people have also come forward claiming to be the Bitcoin creator.

For example, recent reports about a UK court case involving Craig Wright have brought significant attention to the elusive identity of Satoshi Nakamoto.

A UK High Court ruled on Thursday that Wright, an Australian computer scientist, is not Satoshi Nakamoto, despite his claims to the contrary. Wright was taken to court by the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) to stop him from suing Bitcoin developers. COPA asked for a ruling that Wright was not Satoshi.

Judge James Mellor, presiding over the case, said there was “overwhelming” evidence that Wright was not Satoshi. "Dr Wright is not the author of the Bitcoin white paper," said the judge. "Dr Wright is not the person who adopted or operated under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto in the period 2008 to 2011."

COPA’s members include Twitter founder Jack Dorsey's payments firm Block. Dorsey tweeted the judge’s comments on Thursday.

Impact on Bitcoin price and crypto market
So, what would be the impact on Bitcoin if Satoshi Nakamoto was to be unmasked?

Gady Kohanov, the founder of BitcyClub, an educational app designed to help novice investors learn how to predict asset price movements of cryptocurrencies and commodities, told Investing.com that Satoshi’s “anonymity adds to the allure and uniqueness of Bitcoin, contributing to its mystique and widespread adoption.”

Kohanov believes the decision to conceal the identity of Bitcoin's creator was intentional and “reflects a deep understanding of human behavior,” as people tend to judge products based on their creators rather than evaluating the solutions they offer.

“Poking the bear often leads to undesirable consequences,” said Kohanov. “I predict that if the world continues to obsess over uncovering the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, we may be inviting trouble.”

“If the veil of secrecy surrounding Bitcoin's creator is lifted, it could shatter the idealized image that many hold of the cryptocurrency,” he added, explaining he sees two potential outcomes if Satoshi Nakamoto's true identity is revealed.

“Firstly, Bitcoin may lose its mystique and appeal as a secure and unassailable digital asset,” argues the BitcyClub founder. “The introduction of a human element, complete with past mistakes and history, could tarnish Bitcoin's reputation and erode investor confidence.”

Secondly, he believes existing investors could face significant losses based on the market reaction to the potential revelation. According to Kohanov, this could potentially result in a drastic decline in Bitcoin's value.

“Its enigmatic creator and the anonymity surrounding its origins have contributed to its allure,” he stated. “However, attaching a human face with a history, especially one potentially fraught with controversy, could irreversibly alter Bitcoin's perception and value in the eyes of future investors.”

Overall, Kohanov believes that even if Bitcoin's fundamentals were to remain unchanged, the revelation of Satoshi Nakamoto's identity “could trigger a seismic shift in the cryptocurrency landscape, leaving existing investors reeling from substantial losses.”