Bitcoin (BTC) experienced a sudden drop to $8,900 on BitMEX, deviating significantly from its stable $60,000+ valuation on other exchanges.

What is a Bitcoin flash crash?

On a late Monday, Bitcoin experienced a swift downturn, dropping to a low of $8,900 on the cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX, a stark contrast to its stability above $60,000 on other platforms. This is known as a flash crash.

A sharp decline started at 22:40 UTC that within two minutes led Bitcoin’s price down to $8,900, marking its lowest point since the beginning of 2020. However, the recovery was just as rapid, with the price surging back to $67,000 by 22:50 UTC.

During this rapid rise and fall on BitMEX’s spot market, the global average price of BTC hovered around $67,400. Speculation arose on the social media platform X, with some users suggesting that massive sell-offs by large holders, or ‘whales’ triggered the price drop.

User @syq pointed out that an individual had sold more than 850 BTC (valued at approximately $55.49 million) on BitMEX, causing the XBT/USDT spot pair to dive to $8,900.

The XBT index on BitMEX monitors the price of Bitcoin, whereas the XBT/USDT pair indicates the price of Bitcoin in terms of Tether (USDT), the leading stablecoin pegged to the US dollar. Despite the turbulence in the spot market, BitMEX’s derivatives markets, worth billions, remained unaffected.

In response to the incident, BitMEX announced via social media that it had initiated an investigation into the large sell orders. Furthermore, BitMEX reassured its users, stating, “The trading platform is fully functional, and all user funds are secure.”

As mentioned earlier today already – we are investigating unusual activity on our BTC-USDT Spot Market.

This did not affect any of our derivative markets, nor the index price for our popular XBT derivatives contracts.

The trading platform is operating as normal and all funds…

— BitMEX (@BitMEX) March 19, 2024

The development follows Bitcoin reaching new all-time highs of almost $74,000 on Mar. 15, before then dropping to $66,885 on Mar. 15. The world’s first cryptocurrency’s price started skyrocketing following the approval of Bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund (ETFs) contracts back in January.

The newly-approved ETF contracts have attracted significant attention from market participants, reaching daily net inflows in excess of $1 billion for the first time on Mar. 12.

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Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) is considering Bitcoin (BTC) as a potential investment diversification tool amidst economic and technological changes.

According to a Mar. 19 announcement, the Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) of Japan, recognized as the world’s biggest pension fund, is considering Bitcoin as a possible tool for diversification. The GPIF unveiled plans for new long-term investment strategies in light of significant societal and economic shifts, alongside rapid technological advancements.

To address these evolving challenges, the GPIF has initiated a five-year research initiative aimed at discovering innovative investment diversification methods. This initiative places a strong focus on sustainability and managing risks.

Part of this initiative involves the GPIF seeking information on a range of potential diversification instruments, including assets it currently views as illiquid and does not possess. Among those assets there are cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, precious metals such as gold, and other types of assets.

This recent announcement from the GPIF serves as a request for information and does not confirm the fund’s future expansion into any of those assets. The decision to conduct further research will be based on the data gathered through this request.

What is the world’s largest pension fund?

Founded in 2006 by the Japanese government, the GPIF’s investment strategy has traditionally focused on core infrastructure funds, which support essential social and economic activities. The fund diversifies its investments across traditional assets such as domestic and international stocks and bonds, in addition to alternative assets like infrastructure and real estate.

The report highlighted the fund’s goal to leverage its long-term investment horizon for achieving stable and efficient returns, despite short-term market price fluctuations. As of December 2023, GPIF managed assets totaling 225 trillion Japanese yen ($1.54 trillion), securing its position as the largest pension fund globally.

Although GPIF is in the preliminary stages of exploring the inclusion of Bitcoin in its portfolio, some global pension funds have already made moves into Bitcoin-related assets. For instance, in November 2023, South Korea’s National Pension Service announced the acquisition of over 280,000 shares in the U.S.-based Coinbase.

With the approval of the United States Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETF) by the Securities and Exchange Commission back in January, the world’s first cryptocurrency has gained more credibility which may get major financial institutions on  board. Following the approval, the daily Bitcoin ETF inflows surpassed $1 billion earlier this month.

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The Solana (SOL) blockchain has emerged as a major platform for the emergence of new memecoins, signaling the onset of a bullish market trend. This trend was accompanied by a surge in SOL’s price as well, nearing $100.

A standout in this memecoin surge is Slerf (SLERF), which despite its creator accidentally destroying over $10 million in Solana before its debut, quickly soared to a market capitalization of $500 million within just a few hours and then fell again.

Guys I fucked up. I burned the LP and the tokens that were set aside for the airdrop.

Mint authority is already revoked so I can not mint them.

There is nothing I can do to fix this.

I am so fucking sorry.

— Slerf (@Slerfsol) March 18, 2024

As of press time CoinMarketCap data shows that Slerf is trading at $0.51. The 24-hour trading volume also reached nearly $681.6 million, up 3,450% from the $19.21 million reported 24 hours ago.

Before this crash the cryptocurrency rallied from its initial CoinMarketCap price of just under $0,68 to nearly $1.06 before crashing to its current price. The market cap reported by Coingecko also very quickly rose to over $622 million down to $184 million before settling at over $205 million as of press time. All of this activity took place on Mar. 18 as intraday volatility.

The team behind Slerf managed to gather 535,000 SOL for the coin’s launch but inadvertently destroyed $10.4 million in Solana in an attempt to clean their wallet. This surge in memecoin activity has drawn parallels to the Ethereum (ETH) initial coin offering craze of 2017, a period marked by numerous crypto ventures raising significant funds, though most ultimately fell short of their promises.

What are memecoins?

Memecoins, characterized by their origins in internet memes or possessing humorous qualities, in most cases lack practical applications beyond serving as pop culture artifacts. These digital currencies spawned after the introduction of Dogecoin (DOGE) back in 2013 are speculative by nature and are buoyed by dedicated online communities.

Dogecoin gained fame and support from Elon Musk during the 2021 bull market. In 2024, several new memecoins have quickly reached market capitalizations in the billions, creating a wave of crypto millionaires.

The memecoin boom has rekindled memories of the 2017 ICO frenzy, with influencers successfully raising millions for new memecoin ventures. A user on X remarked that the current memecoin craze represents a more transparent iteration of the 2017 ICO and 2021 NFT bubbles, with projects no longer pretending to fulfill unrealistic promises and investors acknowledging their speculative motives.

This meme coin mania is merely a more honest version of the 2017 ICO craze and the 2021 NFT/crypto-art bubble…

Projects no longer have to pretend to deliver on a fake white-paper and investors no longer have to pretend to be in it for the art

Too cynical?

— WhiteRabbit1111 (@WRabbit1111) March 16, 2024

The memecoin phenomenon, while creating overnight millionaires, often results in significant losses for many who invest without fully understanding the lack of inherent value of those assets.

While Solana’s memecoins continue to gain ground, major meme token Shiba Inu (SHIB) has seen many left wondering if it has any life left in it. In our recent market review, we share the predictions of this token’s future by three market analysts.

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The Shiba Inu (SHIB) price has retraced approximately 50% of its 2024 uptrend, now underperforming new low cap meme coins in March – although the second largest meme coin is still up 170% year to date.

Marginally in the green to open the week – while rival Dogwifhat (WIF) pumps by double digits – is this a dead cat bounce? Will the SHIB price dip lower as traders pivot to newer tokens?

Shiba Inu Price Predictions

One school of thought is to bet on strength – echoed this week by one of the longest active crypto Twitter accounts, @Crypto_Chase (formerly Chase_NL).

Crypto Chase

Chase has built up 150,000 followers since 2011 and doesn’t see ‘much point in keeping an eye on $DOGE, $SHIB, $BONK‘ with new meme coins like $WIF being the ‘top performer for longs’ with the cleanest price action.

Among the high cap meme coins he’s also watching $PEPE.

$WIF has proven itself to be the best performer of the high cap memes during this uptrend. I personally don't see much point in keeping an eye on $DOGE, $SHIB, $BONK, etc.

If you're looking for the cleanest PA and the top performer for longs, it's WIF. 2nd place goes to $PEPE.

— Crypto Chase (@Crypto_Chase) March 15, 2024

Both $WIF and $PEPE – which turns one years old next month – today have a market cap of just over $3 billion, the #3 and #4 ranked meme coins.

That potentially gives them room to grow to catch up to Shiba Inu’s $16 billion market capitalization and Dogecoin’s $21 billion.

Dyme

Popular trader Dyme (@CryptoParadyme) posted a bullish Shiba Inu price prediction for his 50k followers today.

He marked out the 651 day accumulation range the Shiba Inu price traded in from Q2 2022 to early 2024, and its breakout above the $0.00002 region.

in hindsight, it was really obvious. but waiting for that range must have been painful $SHIB

probably higher because retardio pic.twitter.com/HcNouu6OUk

— Dyme (@CryptoParadyme) March 17, 2024

His ‘probably higher’ prediction, given the bullish market sentiment around meme coins is the 1.618 Fib at $0.000049.

If that prediction plays out, it’d mark a 1.75x move from the SHIB price today at $0.000028.

Jacob Bury

YouTube and Discord crypto analyst Jacob Bury had $0.000023 marked out as a ‘critical’ support level and noted the RSI on the four hour chart was oversold in a video posted yesterday.

At the time he didn’t see the bearish Shiba Inu price action and ‘capitulation’ to a $14.3 billion market cap as a reason to ‘panic’.

If the Shiba Inu price history repeats, its dip into oversold territory could mark a local bottom and just be a ‘shakeout’ with the daily RSI still strong.

As a low market cap Shiba Inu alternative, he also highlighted the Dogecoin20 (DOGE20) presale which is rapidly selling out, today hitting $2 million raised.

Is Shiba Inu Dead?

Shiba Inu has dropped out of CoinMarketCap’s top fifteen trending token rankings, with brand new Solana meme coin listing Book Of Meme (BOME) taking the top spot.

Dogwifhat and Smog are also in the top crypto gainers today, opening the week with a stronger performance than SHIB.

Whether interest in Shiba Inu is dying or this week’s price crash was a simple retest of its almost two year range breakout remains to be seen in the coming days, if SHIB continues to close high timeframe candles above the $0.000022 level.

Tradingview currently rates SHIB a sell on the four hour timeframe but a buy on the daily and weekly timeframe, plus a strong buy on the monthly.

Related

• 14 Best Meme Coins to Buy in 2024

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President Joe Biden’s proposed 30% tax on crypto mining power faced criticism for potentially harming the industry and erasing investor wealth.

The resurgence in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency values has brought Bitcoin (BTC) back into the spotlight, prompting an unexpected shift in stance from Donald Trump towards cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin’s value recently soared past $71,000, surpassing its 2021 all-time high before dropping well under $70.000. This surge not only spotlighted Bitcoin but spurred growth in the prices of cryptocurrencies like Ethereum (ETH), XRP, and Solana (SOL). BlackRock — the world’s premier asset management firm — foresees a crypto market expansion to $90 trillion.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden faces criticism for policies perceived as harmful to the crypto industry, potentially erasing billions in investor wealth. In a contentious move, the Biden administration has revisited the idea of imposing a 30% tax on crypto mining operations, which rely on high-energy computing for transaction verification and network security. According to the “General explanation of the administration’s fiscal year 2025 revenue proposals” dated Mar. 11, 2024:

Any firm using computing resources, whether owned by the firm or leased from others, to mine digital assets would be subject to an excise tax equal to 30 percent of the costs of electricity used in digital asset mining.

This proposal, as outlined by the U.S. Treasury in its 2025 revenue plan, could severely impact the mining sector, leading to significant losses in investor value, according to Taras Kulyk of SunnySide Digital:

“Implementing a blanket 30% federal tax on digital mining will certainly kill the sector and wipe out billions of dollars of investor value virtually immediately in the U.S.”

Senator Cynthia Lummis, a crypto advocate, warned that such a tax could decimate the industry’s presence in the U.S. Yet, some interpret the White House’s budget as showing strong confidence in crypto’s revenue-generating potential, suggesting an underlying bullish stance on Bitcoin and digital assets.

The White House 2025 budget is incredibly bullish on crypto assets, some might even say they believe it’s going to the moon.

But a proposed 30% punitive tax on digital asset mining would destroy any foothold the industry has in America.

— Senator Cynthia Lummis (@SenLummis) March 11, 2024

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Despite reaching record highs of almost $74,000 on Thursday (March 14), the price of Bitcoin (BTC) dropped by 9% early on Friday (March 15) to $66, 885.

Many cryptocurrency traders will likely sell some of their Bitcoin holdings to cash in on the substantial 175% price increase over the past year. This profit-taking will be a contributing factor to the Bitcoin drop.

City Index analyst Matt Simpson told Sky News: “Bitcoin has an established history of getting volatile and ruthless after hitting a record high. And not only did it recently hit a new high, but it looks like the Federal Reserve won’t be as dovish as traders had hoped.”

Analysts speaking to Coindesk echoed this sentiment. “The recent surge in bitcoin prices has been too fast for the market to price correctly, so the current correction is expected,” Greta Yuan, Head of Research at VDX, a Hong Kong-licensed exchange said.

What will happen when Bitcoin halves?

A further complicating factor is the upcoming Bitcoin “halving”, which happens every four years and is due in April. During the halving, the number of new Bitcoins being made available will be permanently halved. After this point, just 450 BTC a day will enter the market.

Why is this significant? First and foremost it helps maintain and control Bitcoin’s fixed supply and the digital asset’s inflation rate over time. This escalating scarcity is part of why Bitcoin is valuable, however, there’s no evidence previous Halvings have caused the price to rise, which adds to the current uncertainty.

On top of this, the United States recently approved spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF), which have seen huge volumes of capital passing through since their launch. The largest Bitcoin ETF is run by BlackRock with $15.5 billion flowing into the fund in the two months since its launch.

“The historical trading volume of Blackrock’s Bitcoin ETF has caused some unease in the market,” said Adrian Wang, founder and CEO of Metalpha in an interview with Coindesk, “with some stakeholders fearing that Bitcoin’s price will surge too much too soon and could experience a flash crash,” Wang said.

The SEC has also delayed an important regulatory decision on whether to approve the trading of options on ETFs that invest directly in Bitcoin.

The market is uncertain and Bitcoin is historically volatile. Dips such as the one seen during Friday’s Asia trading hours are to be expected, especially amidst the anticipation of the halving.

Featured image credit: Generated with Ideagram

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In a ground-breaking step for the streaming industry, Movies Plus has become the “first streaming platform” to allow subscribers to pay for their service using Bitcoin.

The free movie streaming app announced on Wednesday (Mar.12) it has integrated Bitcoin as an accepted payment method through a partnership with crypto payment processor Flash, which utilizes the Bitcoin Lightning Network for fast and cheap transactions.

What is Movies Plus?

It should be pointed out that Movies Plus is a small and up-and-coming streaming service. The company’s tagline on X is, “No commercials, no censorship, no agenda. Just quality content, at an affordable price.”

It is part of a wave of new entertainment brands in the US promoting their belief in free speech as a reason to subscribe.

One of the biggest titles on the service currently is The Plot Against the President a documentary into the Russian collusion accusations levelled at former President Donald Trump.

The company’s CEO and founder Corey Tucek, an evangelical Bitcoin supporter and businessman, shared his excitement of the news on X earlier this week.

Have been waiting a while to share this.

You can now subscribe to Movies Plus by paying in Bitcoin! https://t.co/C7B0aoIHpR

— Cory Tucek (@Cory_Tucek) March 12, 2024

As of yet, the big players in the sector like Netflix, Disney+ and Prime Video have not yet shown any indication they will also allow payments by Bitcoin. But with the digital asset reaching record highs this month and the launch of the Bitcoin ETF earlier this year there are signs the cryptocurrency is beginning to penetrate the mainstream.

Featured image: Ideogram

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In a major victory against cryptocurrency scams, federal prosecutors in Massachusetts have taken unprecedented steps to return $2.3 million worth of digital assets seized from fraudsters to victims duped by a devious “pig butchering” scheme.

The Massachusetts US Attorney’s Office (USAO) filed a motion on Wednesday (Mar.13) to return all the funds to victims.

The investigation began in spring 2023 after the USAO became aware of a ‘pig butchering’ cryptocurrency scam targeting the eastern state’s residents. 

The assets being sought for forfeiture include of 299,457.4 USD Coin (USDC), 1,455,305.997648 Tether (USDT), 102,278.515015 Tron (TRX), 3,032.1689461 Solana (SOL), 67.79400436 Binance Coin (BNB), 13,703.955431 Cardano (ADA) and 0.54151495 Ether (ETH), all of which were seized from two Binance accounts traced back to the scam. Binance is the world’s most popular cryptocurrency exchange and wallet service.

What is a ‘pig butchering’ crypto scam?

The ‘pig butchering’ crypto scam follows a methodology scammers have used for decades: build trust with the victim through lying, manipulation, and social engineering, persuade them to invest, then disappear with the money.

Frequently originating on dating sites or through ‘wrong number’ texts, scammers befriend the victim and either walk them through downloading an app to use for investing which is actually a fake app controlled by them, or they will get the victim to send money to their crypto wallet so they can do the heavy lifting.

Often the scammers will engineer the situation so it looks like the victim is making good returns. This encourages them to keep investing with higher and higher amounts of money – the proverbial fattening of the pig.

Make sure you know how to avoid the most common crypto scams with our handy guide.

Featured image credit: Generated with Ideogram

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Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has advocated for Bitcoin (BTC) as a financial discipline tool, suggesting it could counteract United States deficit spending and echo the fiscal restraint of the gold standard era.

This is (in part) why Bitcoin matters. It’s a return to the gold standard that we left fully in 1971. A return to financial discipline.

Bitcoin will be an important check and balance on excessive deficit spending which is essential to the U.S. and the dollar remaining strong. https://t.co/u4mN5SgPTX

— Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) March 12, 2024

Robert Sterling, CFO of 20 Dollar Consulting, explained that the United Sates national debt is a symptom of fiscal  expansion. The trend took hold and started accelerating during the Gerge W. Bush administration and never subsided away since then.

Furthermore, the situation was further exacerbated as a consequence of military spending, tax cuts, the Great Recession and the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Armstrong commented on this trend by advocating for Bitcoin as a possible solution.

Bitcoin: the new gold standard?

The Coinbase CEO suggested the Bitcoin is a return to how the financial landscape looked up to when in 1971 the Nixon administration abolished the gold standard — one of the causes of the so-called Nixon shock. According to Armstrong, the inability of financial institutions to issue more Bitcoin according to their wishes constitutes “a return to financial discipline.”

The Coinbase CEO believes that Bitcoin could serve as a counterbalance to what he perceives as excessive deficit spending of the United States administration. He also claims that Bitcoin could keep the United States dollar strong.

Still, Armstrong did not explain how Bitcoin would strengthen the dollar or act as a counterbalance to United States’ deficit spending. Eric Voorhees — CEO of instant crypto exchange ShapeShift — voiced his confusion concerning how Bitcoin would achieve anything that was suggested by the Coinbase executive.

How does Bitcoin provide a check and balance on excessive deficit spending?

Very long term, when fiat is gone, I can see how, but while fiat is still a thing, does Bitcoin restrain gov spending at all?

— Erik Voorhees (@ErikVoorhees) March 13, 2024

Voorhees has gone as far as to suggest that in the long-term Bitcoin could end up keeping public spending in check. Still, he suggested that this could only happen after fiat currency become a thing of the past. This is in stark contrast with the Coinbase CEO’s suggestion that it could instead strengthen the United States dollar.

The debate follows recent reports that El Salvador — the world’s first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender — has seen $84 million in gains from its Bitcoin holdings. The country is also working to launch its “Volcano Bonds” backed by Bitcoin.

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The United States recently approved spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which experienced another day of record-breaking inflows on March 12.

Data gathered from BitMEX Research shows that net inflows for spot bitcoin ETFs surpassed $1 billion. Blackrock’s IBIT product also saw significant activity, registering a record inflow of $849 million shortly after it reported having over 200,000 BTC assets under management earlier in the week.

In terms of Bitcoin, the inflow for the day reached a record-breaking 14,706 BTC, valued at approximately $72,895.52 per Bitcoin. Since January 11, 2024, total net inflows into Bitcoin ETFs have amounted to $11.1 billion.

In related metrics, as of the latest data, spot Bitcoin ETFs now account for over 90% of the daily trading volume among ETFs that provide exposure to Bitcoin. This marks a new peak in market share dominance. Conversely, Bitcoin futures ETFs have seen their market share decline to just 10%.

A well-received investment contract

The performance of spot ETFs focused on Bitcoin has been overwhelmingly positive, meeting and exceeding benchmarks across various indicators. During a recent interview, Brian Rudick, a Research Analyst at GSR, told The Block, “The success of U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs has far exceeded even the most positive forecasts. Their acquisition of over $10 billion in inflows within two months nearly matches what many anticipated for their first year. Potential factors that could drive further inflows include increased sales efforts by issuers, inclusion in wealth manager portfolios, and the normalization of outflows from GBTC.”

The report follows the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) delaying decisions on the approval of Bitcoin ETF options for trading. The deferral means another 45 days (the maximum of 90 days under the law) to reach a final decision, which is now set for 24 April.

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Ethereum’s (ETH) development team is all hands on deck, preparing for the highly awaited Dencun update happening today.

This isn’t just another update, this is one of the biggest change implemented on the Ethereum blockchain in over a year. The Dancun name is a combination of the project names Deneb and Cancun, indicating a dual upgrade on Ethereum’s consensus and execution layers that were named this way.

The update is expected to go live around 13:55 UTC and the costs of transactions is expected to then take a dive. The effects should be even more noticeable on the burgeoning number of secondary networks, or layer-2 “rollups,” built on top of Ethereum.

What is Dencun?

At its core, Dencun introduces the long-awaited “proto-danksharding” with Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 4844. This change is expected to significantly improve the network’s ability to handle the data generated by layer-2 solutions.

The road to Dencun travelled along a bumpy road, with the team originally eyeing a launch in late 2023. However, the implementation was slowed by technical challenges which pushed the target date forward. Still, following test network implementations — which had issues of their own — the roadmap is moving forward once again.

How to follow the Ethereum Decun upgrade?

The Ethereum community is buzzing with excitement, and the EthStaker developer group along with Nethermind, an Ethereum infrastructure firm, are hosting live streams to celebrate Dencun’s debut which you can watch below.

Dencun’s crown jewel is the aforementioned new feature called “proto-danksharding.” It’s introducing a whole new way to store transaction data on Ethereum through so-called “blobs.” Those blobs are then deleted when their data is not necessary anymore, significantly decreasing the strain on network resources and lower costs.

Proto-danksharding is Ethereum’s first attempt at “sharding,” a technique aimed at breaking the blockchain into smaller pieces to process transactions more cheaply. Though a full-blown sharding solution is likely still a few years away, this step could mean high fees can more easily be avoided through layer-2s in the meanwhile.

Moreover, this update will make life easier for a new breed of blockchains known as data availability (DA) layers, which L2s often use to store large quantities of transaction data. Proto-Danksharding could result in cheaper DA data downloads. Polygon’s co-founder, Jordi Baylina, told Coindesk in early March:

Prices should go down… it’s a matter of supply and demand.

The next steps for Ethereum

After Dencun, the team’s eyes will be on the next big thing, currently dubbed Electra + Prague (Petra). The EIPs that will be included in this update are not yet decided, but “Verkle Trees,” a new way to help nodes store data, is being considered. Karl Floersch, the brain behind OP Labs — the company behind the Optimistic Rollups layer-2 implementation Optimism (OP)  — explained:

Scalability is the key that unlocks permissionless collaboration.”

The development follows recent reports that United States-based publicly traded cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase met with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to discuss the Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF) proposed by asset manager Grayscale Investments.

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El Salvador’s Bitcoin (BTC) holdings have yielded an unrealized profit of $84 million, with the treasury’s value increasing by 69% to over $206 million due to Bitcoin’s 250% appreciation over the past year.

According to data gathered from NayibTracker, since September 2021, El Salvador has seen its Bitcoin investments swell to an unrealized profit of $84 million. The value of its Bitcoin treasury has soared to more than $206 million.

This marks a 69% increase from El Salvador’s initial investment, thanks to the cryptocurrency’s 250% appreciation over the past year. El Salvador now possesses 2,681 BTC, bought across 12 transactions at an average price of $42,600 each.

El Salvador became the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender alongside the U.S. dollar in 2021, following the enactment of the “Bitcoin Law.” This legislation allows for the use of Bitcoin in transactions for goods, services, and taxes within the country. The country is also working to launch its “Volcano Bonds” backed by Bitcoin.

President Nayib Bukele has shared that El Salvador is generating additional Bitcoin revenue through various services. These revenue streams include a citizenship passport program, converting Bitcoin to U.S. dollars for local businesses, proceeds from Bitcoin mining operations and government service fees.

+ #BTC revenue from our passport program
+ Revenue from converting #BTC to USD for local businesses
+ #BTC from mining
+ #BTC revenue from government services https://t.co/O1sjKoJRiq

— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) March 11, 2024

El Salvador also launched the “Freedom VISA” program in December. The program offers residency to up to 1,000 individuals yearly who invest a minimum of $1 million in Bitcoin or Tether (USDT) stablecoins.

Those who qualify are granted long-term residency permits and can eventually apply for full citizenship. Application to the program also costs a non-refundable fee of $999 in either Bitcoin or USDT. Tether announced that the firm will be managing the technical aspects of the project, by providing technology and payment infrastructure.

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Nigerian authorities arrested former United States federal agent and Binance’s criminal investigations team Tigran Gambaryan along with another company official, according to a Wired report published on Tuesday (Mar. 12)

During his tenure as a federal agent in the United States, Tigran Gambaryan played a pivotal role in spearheading significant investigations that led to the apprehension of cryptocurrency criminals, dark-web narcotics vendors, and networks involved in child exploitation financed through crypto.

Following his government service, Gambaryan joined the world’s top cryptocurrency exchange Binance, only to find himself ensnared by a different kind of crypto-focused crackdown by Nigerian authorities. For the last two weeks, Gambaryan and another executive from Binance have been forcibly detained by Nigerian officials.

Why is Nigeria cracking down on Binance?

Since the 26th of February, Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla — the regional manager for Africa based in Kenya — have been held at a government facility in Abuja, Nigeria, without their passports. They have not been formally charged or informed of any criminal allegations against them, according to their relatives.

It appears their detention is part of Nigeria’s sweeping measures to prohibit cryptocurrency exchanges amidst a significant devaluation of the Nigerian currency, as initially reported by the Financial Times, which covered their detention without naming the executives.

Gambaryan, a U.S. citizen, and Anjarwalla, who holds dual citizenship in the UK and Kenya, arrived in Abuja on the invitation of the Nigerian government to discuss the ongoing ban on Binance and other crypto exchanges. This ban was implemented as the exchanges were accused of contributing to the devaluation of the Nigerian naira and facilitating illegal financial flows.

Following their initial meeting with Nigerian officials, they were taken from their hotels, instructed to pack up, and relocated to a “guesthouse” under the administration of Nigeria’s National Security Agency, where they remain detained.

Both Gambaryan and Anjarwalla have received visits from officials from the U.S. State Department and the UK foreign office, respectively, but their meetings were overseen by Nigerian guards, preventing any private conversation. Binance has refrained from commenting on the specifics of the accusations or the demands made by the Nigerian government for their release, emphasizing ongoing cooperation with Nigerian authorities to ensure the executives’ safe return to their families.

Gambaryan’s recruitment by Binance in 2021 was seen as a move to enhance the exchange’s compliance with regulations and its collaboration with law enforcement, given his achievements in cryptocurrency investigations with the IRS Criminal Investigation division. His work included leading significant cases against corrupt federal agents, tracking down stolen Bitcoin, and dismantling criminal networks funded by cryptocurrency.

The news comes on the heels of Binance recently putting a stop to its cryptocurrency services in Nigeria. This is not the first time that local authorities put pressure on the crypto industry, with a previous ban having been lifted by the Central Bank of Nigeria at the end of 2023.

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During the Asian trading session on Monday, Bitcoin (BTC) soared past $71,000 for the first time in history.

This surge comes on the heels of the U.S.’s approval of spot Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) back in January, propelling the cryptocurrency to breach the $70,000 mark last week for the first time. Similarly, Ethereum (ETH) surpassed the $4,000 milestone on Monday. Now companies are looking to do the same with Ethereum.

The rally resulted in the three-month futures premium on leading exchanges, such as Binance, climbing above 25%. This premium increase could entice cash-and-carry traders, potentially enhancing market liquidity.

What’s causing the Bitcoin price to rise?

The surge in prices closely followed the London Stock Exchange’s recent openness to Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded notes (ETNs) applications and the low liquidity of the Asian markets.

In the United Kingdom, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced on Monday that it would start accepting institutional investors’ applications for crypto asset-backed ETNs, with the London Stock Exchange confirming its readiness to process applications for Bitcoin and Ethereum ETNs in the coming quarter.

FCA’s approval of crypto ETNs represents a significant development in the financial and cryptocurrency markets. This approval implies that these financial instruments, which track the performance of cryptocurrencies, can be traded on regulated exchanges and offered to retail and institutional investors in the UK.

As a direct consequence, it could lead to an increase in the accessibility of cryptocurrencies to a broader range of investors who prefer or are required to invest through regulated venues. This could enhance the legitimacy and acceptance of cryptocurrencies as an investable asset class, potentially leading to increased investment flows into the crypto market as time goes on.

Additionally, the regulatory oversight associated with FCA approval may help to improve investor confidence by ensuring that crypto ETNs adhere to specific standards of transparency, reporting, and consumer protection. This step might also pave the way for further regulatory clarity and the development of additional crypto-related financial products in the UK market.

Featured image: Ideogram

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United States-based publicly traded cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase met with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to discuss the Ethereum (ETH) exchange-traded fund (ETF) proposed by asset manager Grayscale Investments.

According to recently filed documents, the crypto exchange described the proposed product to the regulator that Grayscale filed for back in October. If accepted, the proposal would convert the Grayscale Ethereum Trust close-ended fund into a spot ETF.

Coinbase’s presentation also addressed concerns of market manipulation, and claimed that a “comprehensive surveillance-sharing agreement with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) will assist in surveilling for fraud and manipulation.” The document reads:

Spot markets for ETH are highly indicative of a market resilient to fraud and manipulation. […]

As with Bitcoin, the Exchange’s comprehensive surveillance-sharing agreeement with the CME will assist in surveilling for fraud and manipulation.”

The report follows the SEC approving eleven Bitcoin spot ETFs back in January. At the time, SEC chairman Gary Gensler stated that “investors should remain cautious about the myriad risks associated with Bitcoin and products whose value is tied to crypto.”

Nate Geraci — president of investment advisor ETFStore — argued that the SEC would have a hard time finding reasons to disapprove a spot Ethereum ETF. He explained that Coinbase’s analysis found a correlation between the Ethereum future and spot market that is as strong as that found in Bitcoin markets. Furthermore, he highlighted that the SEC also already approved a futures-based ETF by the CME.

Coinbase analysis shows correlation b/w ether futures & spot markets every bit as strong as w/ bitcoin markets…

Add-in that SEC approved CME-traded ether futures ETFs and I’m not sure what grounds for disapproval of spot ether ETFs would be.

— Nate Geraci (@NateGeraci) March 8, 2024

Why is an Ethereum ETF a big deal?

The introduction of an Ethereum spot ETF to the market would represent a significant development with multifaceted implications. Primarily, it would enhance the accessibility of Ethereum for institutional investors, offering a pathway to investment that bypasses the complexities and security concerns associated with direct cryptocurrency ownership. This streamlined access is expected by many to bolster Ethereum’s market presence by attracting substantial institutional capital.

Furthermore, the market would likely see an improvement in Ethereum’s liquidity. An ETF facilitates easier buying and selling of its underlying asset, in this case, Ethereum, thereby reducing the impact of large trades on the asset’s price. Such liquidity is crucial for the health of a market as it attracts a broader investor base by decreasing slippage.

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An analyst has urged caution on the artificial intelligence (AI) token market, warning the recent surge in prices could be fuelled more by hype, rather than its actual value.

In a report compiled by David Han, a research analyst at Coinbase, the long-term viability of the tokens was questioned, due to key factors. Intense competition within the market and technical issues were flagged as realistic obstacles in the way of AI tokens, further along the road.

At present, the proliferation of AI across many industries is driving the price up but Han believes the current values attributed could be overstated, without sustainable conditions to maintain the status even in the short-term future.

$26 Billion market capitalization for AI crypto

The report examines the claims made by crypto-based platforms of the potential to make a significant impact on the AI landscape, but questions remain. This caution comes despite landmark returns for heavyweight firms in the tech space.

Nvidia, the world’s largest supplier of chips used in AI, has enjoyed a 15% spike in its shares this week, as part of an overall boom.

The total value of AI crypto projects has already exceeded $26 billion this year, with CoinGecko underlining 37% of these gains have occurred in the last seven days. That would be grounds for serious optimism for some, but Coinbase has urged restraint on future prospects and the bold claims of prosperity raised by crypto platforms.

Han was cognizant of the upcoming regulatory challenges and wider market dynamics stacked against AI tokens as well as pointing to the technical difficulty presented by decentralized networks, which are the main idea of crypto AI projects.

“AI tokens generally benefit from strong associated performance in both the broader crypto market as well as related AI news headlines,” said the analyst.

“Rapid changes in AI make us cautious of bold claims that crypto-focused platforms are uniquely positioned to disrupt the industry, making the path towards long-term and sustainable value accrual to most AI tokens uncertain in our view, especially for those on a fixed token model,” Han continued.

So far in 2024, AI tokens such as Akash and Render have performed better than the overall crypto market, with respective gains of 146% and 99%, comparing favorably to the not-insignificant 54% increase in Bitcoin.

Image credit: Ideogram

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The United States Securities and Exchange Commission has delayed its decision on whether to approve the trading of options on exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that invest directly in Bitcoin.

The opening could pave the way for more institutional funding into Bitcoin but the timeline on the call has now been extended, following the filing from Cboe Exchange Inc. A similar filing from Nasdaq has also been given the same holding treatment by the SEC, which would allow listing and trade options on BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust.

After the exchanges all moved to list Bitcoin ETF options on 25 January, the SEC faced its initial deadline for a decision on 10 March, but US securities laws give the independent agency of the United States federal government 45 days to decide or defer a decision on the matter.

The deferral means another 45 days (the maximum of 90 days under the law) to reach to a final decision, which is now set for 24 April.

How do the options on ETFs work?

Options are derivative products that give traders leverage to make directional bets on the market.

If a trader believes Bitcoin’s price will rise, they could pay a premium, buy a ‘call option’, and agree to buy 1 BTC at the current price within a month while placing less money than would be required to buy 1 BTC.

If Bitcoin rises over the month, the trader could use their option to buy Bitcoin at a lower price to sell on for a profit. If it falls, the trader could let the contract expire with the loss of the premium paid.

Since spot Bitcoin funds were approved by the SEC in January, there has been significant backing received from the market with investors clamouring to get on board. As included in the Bloomberg report, the 10 funds have amassed a net $8.9 billion so far this year, with the overall approved fund holding standing at around $26 billion (in assets), excluding Grayscale’s spot fund which was already contained in an existing fund structure.

Options are good for investors, whether retail or institutional, and contribute to a robust and healthy market. Options support price discovery, and can help investors better navigate market conditions or achieve desired outcomes, such as generating income.

— Sonnenshein (@Sonnenshein) February 5, 2024

Last month, Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein urged regulators to approve exchange-listed options for the ETFs, adding his voice to the argument that the options represent a positive for investors as they support “price discovery and can help investors better navigate market conditions or achieve desired outcomes, such as generating income.”

Image credit: Pierre Borthiry – Peiobty on Unsplash

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A Montenegro court has ruled in favor of extraditing Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon to South Korea, as local media Vijesti reports. This decision overturns a previous ruling that favored his extradition to the United States, spotlighting the intricate web of legal challenges Do Kwon faces across multiple jurisdictions.

The decision by the high court in Podgorica came after a series of legal maneuvers, including an appeal by Do Kwon against his extradition to the U.S., which had initially been decided on Feb. 21. His defense argued that the legal process was flawed, leading the Montenegro Court of Appeals to revoke his U.S. extradition on March 5, according to The Block.

The twist in Do Kwon’s extradition saga underscores the global nature of the legal pursuit against him. Earlier on Thursday, South Korea’s National Police Agency sought assistance from Interpol to secure Do Kwon’s extradition from Montenegro, highlighting that South Korea had lodged its request before the United States did. This international legal tug-of-war illustrates the complexity and high stakes involved in Kwon’s case.

Do Kwon is at the center of a storm following the dramatic collapse of the Terra ecosystem in May 2022. The failure of the algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD led to a staggering $45 billion loss in market capitalization, shaking the cryptocurrency world to its core. As the co-founder of Terraform Labs, Do Kwon faces fraud charges in South Korea related to this collapse, marking a swift fall from grace for the once-celebrated crypto entrepreneur.

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The ultra-modern and traditional markets coincided on Mar 5, as both Bitcoin and gold saw record-breaking highs occur on the same day.

In the early hours in Europe on Monday 4 March, Bitcoin jumped to above $65,537 which was the crypto asset’s highest level since late 2021 when its all-time record of $68,999.99 was reached.

Just a day later, Bitcoin continued to soar and it hit a historic high of $69,210 at 3:00 pm UTC.

According to data from TradingView, spot gold smashed through its peak at $2,130 at around 1:30 pm UTC on the same day, March 5.

The price of Bitcoin then took a tumble as it hit $60,793 in the early afternoon before slightly recovering to trade around $62,780.

As these highs were reached, all three major U.S. stock indexes fell 1 percent or more on the same day.

National investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management, Tom Hainlin, told Reuters: “We can draw the line from weaker economic data to higher expectations that the Fed will cut interest rates to less support the dollar, which, in turn supports gold.”

As prices went up, the trading app crashed

Whilst investors were likely overjoyed with the price, some users were unable to buy or sell as cryptocurrency trading app Coinbase crashed at a pivotal moment.

At 3:44 pm ET, Coinbase posted on Twitter: “We are aware that some users may be experiencing errors when transacting. Our team is investigating this issue and will provide an update shortly. Your assets are safe.”

We are aware that some users may be experiencing errors when transacting. Our team is investigating this issue and will provide an update shortly. Your assets are safe.

— Coinbase Support (@CoinbaseSupport) March 5, 2024

This left several Coinbase users feeling frustrated and they took to X to voice their anger. One customer wrote: “We can’t buy and we can’t sell and my accounts not being credited sales that went through.”

At 5:43 pm ET, the trading company said customer transactions had fully recovered.

Featured image: Photo by Aleksi Räisä on Unsplash 

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Binance has reportedly announced that it will discontinue all currency services in Nigeria amidst an ongoing legal dispute.

According to an update on its website quoted by CNBC, the U.S. cryptocurrency firm said on March 5 that the platform will suspend Naira (NGN) withdrawals after March 8. Any leftover NGN in user accounts will be automatically exchanged for Tether, a stablecoin cryptocurrency that is tied to the U.S. dollar.

Binance will also immediately cease NGN deposits, as transactions of this nature will no longer be accepted after 2:00 pm UTC on Friday.

The company will also eliminate all trading pairs that include the NGN on March 7. In addition, Binance Pay, the platform’s payment service, will discontinue supporting the NGN as a payment option on March 6.

Nigeria ranks among the largest cryptocurrency markets globally. However, the country’s authorities have sought nearly $10 billion in damages from Binance, alleging that the company engaged in currency speculation and rate-fixing to manipulate foreign exchange rates.

Following these accusations, two senior executives from the firm were detained last week, as reported by the Financial Times.

In February, Nigeria’s central bank, governor Olayemi Cardoso told reporters, “We are concerned that certain practices go on that indicate illicit flows going through a number of these entities [crypto platforms] and suspicious flows at best.

“In the case of Binance, in the last year alone, $26bn has passed through Binance Nigeria from sources and users who we cannot adequately identify,” he added.

Reuters said that blockchain research firm Chainalysis said in a September 2023 report that the volume of crypto transactions in Nigeria grew 9% year-over-year to $56.7 billion between July 2022 and June 2023.

Is crypto allowed in Nigeria?

Cryptocurrencies are allowed in Nigeria, as stated by the Crypto Council for Innovation. In December 2023, the government rescinded its prohibition on cryptocurrencies. This shift followed the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) changing its position, leading to the Central Bank issuing instructions in January 2024 for banks to facilitate the opening of cryptocurrency accounts.

This reversal is seen as an acknowledgment of the ineffectiveness of the ban, given Nigeria’s status as the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency user and the recognition of the significant commercial prospects presented by such a vast and evolving market.

A 2023 ConsenSys report found that 99% of Nigerians and 98% of South Africans are more knowledgeable about Web3 than people in major economies like the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan, and Germany.

Amidst the challenges with cryptocurrency in the country, it is attempting to contain soaring inflation, which hit an annual 29.9% in January. It is thought to be driven by rising food prices that have triggered a cost-of-living crisis in Africa’s largest economy.

Binance has been approached for further comment.

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