Bitcoin surged around 10% in the past 24 hours to $54,778.3 by 08:56 ET (12:56 GMT). The token had slumped as low as $49,000 before recovering some ground.
Broader crypto prices also recovered some of Monday’s slump, tracking a rebound in equity markets. But sentiment towards risk-driven assets still remained largely fragile.
While the world’s biggest cryptocurrency did recover some of its recent losses, a bigger recovery remained doubtful amid persistent concerns over a U.S. recession and an extended rout in equity markets.
Crypto markets were especially vulnerable to the risk-off rout, given their highly speculative nature. Sentiment towards Bitcoin was already strained by reports showing the U.S. government mobilized at least $2 billion of tokens for a potential sale.
Uncertainty over the regulatory outlook for crypto, as the 2024 presidential election drew near, also kept traders skittish towards cryptocurrencies.
Crypto investment products saw outflows of around $528 million in the past week, data from digital assets manager Coinshares showed on Monday.
Bitcoin and Ether accounted for most of the outflows, which appeared to be spurred by a broad decline in sentiment. Short-Bitcoin instruments were among the few products to see inflows, especially after the reports of the government mobilization last week.
Trading volumes in crypto investment products also remained well below yearly averages, with the recent launch of spot Ether exchange-traded funds sparking little optimism.
Broader crypto markets tracked a recovery in Bitcoin, recouping some of their steep losses but still remaining well below levels seen last week.
World no. 2 token Ether rose 8.4% to $2,443.75, while ADA, SOL and XRP rose between 11% and 22%.
Among meme tokens, DOGE surged 14% and SHIB/USD soared 20%.
Crypto prices rose tracking gains in U.S. stock index futures and Asian markets, as equities appeared to be somewhat stabilizing after a bruising rout on Monday.
The prospect of U.S. interest rate cuts also helped sentiment, as markets bet on a bigger reduction in September on worsening economic conditions.
But crypto’s recovery still remained relatively fragile, with sector’s speculative nature keeping the risk of another potential selldown in play.
In other crypto-related developments, new trade filings show that Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest acquired 93,797 Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ:COIN) shares valued at $17.8 million across three of its ETFs on Monday.
Taking advantage of the crypto rout, ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) purchased 65,165 shares worth $12.3 million, the Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) added 13,003 shares for $2.5 million, and the Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF) acquired 15,629 shares amounting to $3 million.
This marks Ark’s first repurchase of Coinbase shares since June 2023, when it bought $21 million worth of COIN. Following that acquisition, Coinbase’s stock surged over 250%, prompting Ark to sell portions of its holdings multiple times.
On Monday, Coinbase shares dropped 7.3% to $189.47, their lowest closing price since February. This decline trimmed the stock’s year-to-date gains from over 75% to just 9.5%.
In addition to Coinbase, Ark Invest also purchased $11.2 million worth of shares in the crypto-friendly online brokerage Robinhood Markets Inc (NASDAQ:HOOD), marking its first purchase of HOOD since February 13.
Source: Cryptocurrency - investing.com
