Layer 1 Blockchain Token Aptos Reaches Record High
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Layer 1 blockchain Aptos’ token, which has risen since the beginning of the year, broke the record on Wednesday.
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The token, APT, hit new record highs and is up 427% since January 1, according to CoinDesk data.
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APT recently changed hands at $18.30an increase of more than 46% in the last 24 hours.
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The tokens rally have oversized the last moves from the two largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, bitcoin and ether. Bitcoin is up 30% in 2023, while Ether is up 34%.
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However, funding rates for the token are still negative, suggests that traders expect the rally to be short-lived.
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“If traders are willing to open short positions with very negative funding rates, they must have faith that the token will decline,” Christopher Newhouse, a crypto derivatives trader at crypto market maker GSR, said. “Despite the increase, this suggests the shorts believe the rally may have gone too far.”
Bitcoin (BTC): The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization rebounded from a late Tuesday swoon to recently trade at around $22,950, roughly flat over the past 24 hours. BTC dipped below $22,500 the previous day along with most other major cryptos as many investors likely took profits after a four-day rally. Bitcoin has risen more than 35% in value this year.
Stock traded sideways with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, the S&P 500, which has a hefty technology component, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) all down a few percentage points. Investors chewed on the latest cascade of fourth-quarter earnings, including Boeing and Microsoft.
Ether (ETH): ETH had yet to recover as much ground as bitcoin from Tuesday’s crypto fall. The second largest crypto by market capitalization recently changed hands at around $1,580, off about 2.1%.
Popular meme coins dogecoin (DOGE) and shiba inu (SHIB) fell by 2.6% and 3.3% respectively.
Axie infinity (AXS): Play-to-win giant Axie Infinity’s AXS cryptocurrency, which hit a four-month high of $13.94 earlier Monday and was up 13% at one point on Tuesday, continued its rally. AXS was recently up approx. 2%.
CoinDesk Market Index (CMI)
1,089.09
+7.6 ▲ 0.7%
Bitcoin (BTC)
$23,680
+824.2 ▲ 3.6%
Ethereum (ETH)
$1624
+30.8 ▲ 1.9%
S&P 500 daily close
4,016.22
−0.7 ▼ 0.0%
Gold
$1,948
+14.1 ▲ 0.7%
Treasury Yield 10 years
3.46%
▼ 0.0
BTC/ETH prices per CoinDesk indices; gold is the COMEX spot price. Prices from approximately 4:00 PM ET
By Glenn Williams Jr.
Derivatives markets are signaling positive sentiment for bitcoin.
Bitcoin’s current futures structure is in “contango,” a condition that exists when the price of bitcoin futures exceeds the price of bitcoin in spot markets.
Contango is represented by an upward-sloping futures curve. The opposite condition is “backwardation”, where futures prices are lower than spot prices, and represented by a downward sloping price curve.
In traditional markets, where supply, demand and physical storage are important factors, contango is often a bearish sign because the difference between the futures and the spot price is largely based on the cost of transporting and storing that asset.
Read the full technical overview here.
