Strengthens
- Of the cryptocurrencies tracked by CoinMarketCap, the best performer for the week was Mask Network, which rose 34.86%.
- Unrest in the banking sector, warmer-than-expected inflation data and renewed hopes for a dovish Federal Reserve have sent Bitcoin to levels not seen in about nine months. Bitcoin topped $28,000 for the first time since June 2022, Bloomberg reports, and is now up more than 70% since the start of the year.
- Tether Holdings, the issuer of the largest stablecoin, expects to deliver a profit of around $700 million this quarter, CTO Paolo Ardoino said. That’s similar to what Tether reported for the three months through December. The circulation of Tether’s stablecoin has increased by 18% since the turn of the year to 78 billion dollars, writes Bloomberg.
Weaknesses
- Of the cryptocurrencies tracked by CoinMarketCap, the worst performer for the week was Arbitrum, down 88.33%.
- Investors pulled $375 million from crypto-focused exchange-traded products (ETFs) over the past month and $147.5 million over the past year, according to Bloomberg data.
- Tokens linked to crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun fell sharply after the US Securities and Exchange Commission accused him and three of his companies of offering and selling unregistered securities, as well as price manipulation. TRX, the token linked to the Tron network that Sun started, fell about 12%, Bloomberg reports.
Possibilities
- Cryptocurrency-exposed stocks rose after Bitcoin extended its gains for a fifth straight session, Bloomberg reports, with the digital asset hitting levels not seen in nine months. Bitcoin is up 70% so far this quarter, putting it on track for its best quarter since March 2021.
- A pair of former Jefferies Financial executives at Crossover Markets Group have launched a cryptocurrency exchange aimed at high-frequency traders, backed by investment giant Two Sigma and other traditional finance and digital asset firms. The startup, called CROSSx, collected $6.35 million in seed rounding, writes Bloomberg.
- The forces that have rekindled crypto prices have also sparked activity in the derivatives market for digital assets. Open interest in Bitcoin options has skyrocketed with the number of contracts rising to a record high in recent days, according to derivatives exchange Deribit, writes Bloomberg.
Threats
- Bitcoin retreated from its highest price level since June and minor cryptocurrencies fell after the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hike eased speculation that looser monetary policy would spur demand for digital assets. Bitcoin fell 3.5% after climbing as high as $28,913, Bloomberg writes.
- A new investigation claims that Binance’s billion dollar security protocols are being manipulated by users worldwide through insider help. According to a CNBC investigation, Binance employees and volunteers allegedly helped customers in China subvert the exchange’s Know Your Customer Controls.
- Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon was charged by US prosecutors with orchestrating a year-long cryptocurrency scam that wiped out at least $40 billion in market capitalization, Bloomberg reports. His arraignment Thursday night by the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan capped a dramatic day that began with the news that Kwon, already a fugitive, had been arrested in Montenegro.
