Cryptocurrency

In a recent social media post, the entrepreneur commemorated the 10th anniversary of a life-changing decision: “10 years ago today, I quit my job, sold my house, and aped into Bitcoin.”Despite the eye-catching headline, was quick to advise against blindly following in his footsteps. He emphasized that risk tolerance varies among individuals and underscored the importance of learning effective risk management strategies.Responding to queries from followers, Zhao highlighted the significance of managed risk, humorously recalling his mother’s skepticism at the time.CZ’s revelation comes at a pivotal moment in his career as he faces legal challenges following a recent trial in the U.S. He now grapples with a $175 million bond and the looming threat of a potential 10-year prison sentence.To bolster his defense, has enlisted the legal expertise of Matthew Diggs, a former federal prosecutor renowned for navigating high-stakes lawsuits.Notably, Arthur Hayes, former CEO of BitMEX, another prominent crypto exchange, weighed in on CZ’s legal woes. In a recent essay, Hayes, who has had his share of legal troubles, criticized the treatment of CZ and , labeling it as “absurd” and emphasizing the arbitrary nature of state-imposed punishments.As Binance’s former boss navigates legal uncertainties, this story serves as a reminder of the risks and rewards inherent in the unpredictable crypto space.This article was originally published on U.Today More

By 05:54 ET (10:54 GMT), the world’s biggest cryptocurrency had risen 6.2% to $41,984.7, extending gains after a three-week rally. Bitcoin had hit $40,825.0 earlier in the day — its highest level since May 2022. The increase marks an acceleration in an ongoing rebound in the digital asset following an over year-long slump triggered by the failure of the TerraUSD stablecoin network.Ethereum, the world’s second-biggest cryptocurrency, had also jumped by 4.5% to $2,264.8. Crypto exchange Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) surged by more than 8% in premarket U.S. trading. Digital coin miners Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) and Riot Platforms (NASDAQ:RIOT) soared by over 10%.Expectations that the Federal Reserve may reduce interest rates earlier than anticipated next year have been a key point of support for crypto prices, fueling a drop in the dollar and boosting the appeal of risk assets.   Some market participants interpreted closely-watched comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell last week as decidedly less hawkish. Although Powell argued that officials could unveil further rate hikes to corral inflation, he noted that policy was already in “restrictive territory.”Traders have begun to price in a more than 95% chance that the U.S. central bank will keep rates on hold in December, and an over 50% chance it will cut rates by as soon as March 2024, according to Investing.com’s Fed Rate Monitor Tool. The Fed is set to meet on Dec. 12 and 13. But the pace of U.S. price growth remains well above the Fed’s 2% annual target, while the labor market also appears strong. Nonfarm payrolls data due this Friday is expected to provide more cues on the latter. Recent history suggests that the prospect of lower interest rates could bode well for Bitcoin. In 2021, an era of easy monetary policy and increased speculative trading helped lift the token to a record high of nearly $69,000.It then fell drastically as borrowing costs rose and the crypto industry was wracked with a series of bankruptcies and regulatory crackdowns. High-profile scandals have also rocked the sector, with one of the more notable cases involving Binance — the world’s largest crypto exchange. The group pleaded guilty to Department of Justice allegations of money laundering in November, and now faces an over $4 billion fine. Former Chief Executive Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to criminal charges as well and resigned.Elsewhere last month, Sam Bankman-Fried, the former head of rival crypto exchange FTX, was convicted of defrauding investors of billions of dollars, bringing a close to a trial that threatened to undermine the industry’s broader reputability.Yet Bitcoin has more than doubled in value this year, with most of the gains coming in recent weeks as investors eyed a possible green light by U.S. regulators for a batch of ETFs that directly tracks the price of the cryptocurrency. Several top asset managers, including BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) and Invesco, have already filed applications with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Analysts at Alliance Bernstein said in a note to clients that should these be approved, they “expect a strong marketing blitzkrieg, that would elevate BItcoin as a recognised household asset, just like people are aware of gold.”But given that products like the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (BTC) (OTC:GBTC), which tracks the price of Bitcoin futures, saw waning investor interest over the past year, doubts have persisted over just how much institutional capital a spot ETF could draw in.The SEC has given no indication that it intends to approve a spot ETF in the near-term, although Grayscale has won a crucial legal battle against the regulator to approve its application for a spot ETF.Ambar Warrick contributed to this report. More

reports that this adept trader successfully sold all 2,850 ETH, amounting to a staggering $6.35 million, at an impressive price of $2,230 within the past six hours. The calculated maneuver resulted in a noteworthy profit of approximately $457,000.This seasoned investor has a commendable history of trading, engaging in 25 transactions over the past year. Impressively, the trader emerged victorious in 20 of these trades, consistently selling at prices higher than the initial purchase and accumulating an impressive total profit exceeding $3 million.Source: The timing of this strategic exit into cash coincides with ETH’s surge to new heights in 2023, reaching levels not witnessed since May 9, 2022.ETH to USD by As the eyes the next important level, speculation looms over whether ETH will achieve the $3,500 milestone. Equally intriguing is the interpretation of the successful trader’s decision to sell positions at this pivotal moment. According to the investor’s perspective, the altcoin has attained its current objectives.The question now arises: are we on the brink of a correction, or has the market outplayed this seasoned whale? The crypto community awaits the unfolding of this high-stakes narrative.This article was originally published on U.Today More

The market has been voraciously absorbing the positive sentiment, as indicated by Bitcoin’s decisive breakout at $41,000, a resistance level that had previously acted as a significant barrier. Observing the chart, the price action has not only breached this level but has also established it as a potential new support zone. However, there lies a conspicuous absence in this market rally — the approval of a Bitcoin ETF, which many investors are eyeing as the main propellant for sustained market growth. The sanctioning of a Bitcoin ETF is anticipated to usher in a new era of institutional investment, providing a safer and more regulated vehicle for traditional investors to gain exposure to . Despite the ETF’s pending approval, the industry is not solely reliant on it. The intrinsic indicators suggest that the crypto market is entering a bullish phase, independent of external catalysts. The moving averages on the chart display a golden cross, where shorter-term moving averages cross above longer-term ones, a classical bullish sign in technical analysis that also shows the presence of extremely high momentum on the .While the approval of a Bitcoin ETF could indeed serve as a significant boost to Bitcoin’s value, the current market dynamics and technical indicators suggest strong bullish sentiment. Bitcoin’s breakthrough above $41,000, combined with the golden cross observed in the moving averages and heightened trading volume, underscores a market that is gathering momentum on its own merits.This article was originally published on U.Today More

LONDON/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Bitcoin rose on Monday, briefly surpassing $42,000 for the first time since April 2022, in a new surge of momentum fueled by the possibility of U.S. interest rate cuts and traders betting that the U.S. will soon approve exchange-traded bitcoin funds. The world’s biggest cryptocurrency hit as high as $42,162 on Monday, its highest since April 2022, seemingly casting off the funk that had settled over crypto markets following the collapse of FTX and other crypto-business failures last year. At 1256 GMT, it was at $41,754, up 4.4% on the day.Its 50% rally since mid-October has “seemed to mark a decisive shift away from the bearishness of 2022 and early 2023,” said Justin d’Anethan – head of business development for Asia-Pacific at Keyrock, a digital assets market making firm. D’Anethen said evidence of institutional buying through November showed a new leg of interest and that although reversals ahead were not inconceivable, lows hit around $16,000 a year ago “probably marked the bottom”.Bitcoin is up by over 150% so far this year.Bitcoin-investor Microstrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) last week disclosed it bought an additional $593 million in bitcoin during November. Meanwhile, riskier investments and other interest-rate sensitive assets, such as gold, have also rallied hard over the last few weeks as markets wager that the U.S. Federal Reserve has finished hiking rates and will start cutting early in 2024.Reports in October that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission won’t appeal a court ruling that found the agency had been wrong to reject an exchange-traded fund application have also driven bets that an eventual approval is near.A spot bitcoin ETF could allow previously wary investors access to crypto via the stock market, ushering a new wave of capital into the sector.Geoff Kendrick, head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered (OTC:SCBFF), said bitcoin’s recent gains were “mostly due to expectations of spot ETFs coming to fruition” in the U.S., which he expects to happen in the first quarter of 2024.Lower Treasury yields are also helping, Kendrick said, as bitcoin is “the ultimate long duration assets.”Investors have welcomed the settlement of a years-long U.S. criminal probe into Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange and a key cog in the worldwide crypto market. The deal, which saw Binance founder Changpeng Zhao step down after pleading guilty to breaking U.S. anti-money laundering laws, allows the company to continue operating.Ether, the coin linked to the Ethereum blockchain network, also rose on Monday, hitting $2,274.Both bitcoin and ether remain far below their record highs, hit in 2021, of $69,000 and $4,868 respectively. More

The biggest cryptocurrency by market capitalization extended its rally on Friday, reaching $39,000 on the Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) crypto exchange.With its recent surge, Bitcoin has its greatest value since May 2022, right before the cryptocurrency sector was rocked and prices started a gradual slide due to the collapse of the Terra ecosystem.As 2023 draws to a close, cryptocurrency speculators are focused on the possibility that Bitcoin may reach $40,000, since the largest digital asset has more than doubled in value in the year.Bitcoin has increased by more than 133% so far this year, outpacing gains in many other traditional sectors as investors turned to riskier assets.The hope among traders and the cryptocurrency community as a whole that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission may soon approve the first exchange-traded fund directly linked to Bitcoin is driving up prices.With this move, Santiment believes that Bitcoin’s path has already been cleared for a $40,000 price.Adding to this positivity is the fact that attention has increasingly been on instead of altcoins, which, according to Santiment, represents “enough fear typically needed for prices to continue rising.”Santiment observed that as interest in altcoins wanes, Bitcoin’s social dominance has increased in just one month.At the time of writing, BTC was up 0.78% in the last 24 hours to $38,782, reaching intraday highs of $38,848 in Saturday’s trading session.This article was originally published on U.Today More

Bitcoin (BTC) was up 1.89% in the last 24 hours to $39,459, a level it last traded at in April 2022, at the time of writing.Bitcoin has more than doubled in price in 2023, rebounding over 134% from the crypto rout of 2022, outperforming investments such as stocks and gold.Against this backdrop, Bitcoin proponent predicts an all-time high (ATH) coming in for Bitcoin. “New ATH for BTC on this pulse, $220,000 in play,” Keiser stated in a tweet.Bitcoin peaked at over $69,000 in November 2021 before plummeting 64% the following year due to a string of bankruptcies in the crypto industry and macroeconomic concerns.At its present price, Bitcoin is currently down 42.69% from this high, and its profitability has soared to 80%, the highest value since December 2021, per IntoTheBlock.The expectation voiced by Bitcoin bull Max Keiser is also similar to that of Galaxy Digital CEO , who predicted that Bitcoin might reach its old highs of $69,000 with ETF approval.Novogratz predicts that billions of dollars will pour into the ETF industry within the first year, if not more, once the Bitcoin ETF begins trading.According to data, Bitcoin rose only in 2020 over the previous five years, but the magnitude of the rise (46.92%) was significant. With the current , bulls may attempt to replicate the performance this season.According to , the pattern of positions in the Bitcoin options market hints at a trading range of $37,000 to $40,000 in December.This article was originally published on U.Today More

In a recent social media post, the entrepreneur commemorated the 10th anniversary of a life-changing decision: “10 years ago today, I quit my job, sold my house, and aped into Bitcoin.”Despite the eye-catching headline, was quick to advise against blindly following in his footsteps. He emphasized that risk tolerance varies among individuals and underscored the importance of learning effective risk management strategies.Responding to queries from followers, Zhao highlighted the significance of managed risk, humorously recalling his mother’s skepticism at the time.CZ’s revelation comes at a pivotal moment in his career as he faces legal challenges following a recent trial in the U.S. He now grapples with a $175 million bond and the looming threat of a potential 10-year prison sentence.To bolster his defense, has enlisted the legal expertise of Matthew Diggs, a former federal prosecutor renowned for navigating high-stakes lawsuits.Notably, Arthur Hayes, former CEO of BitMEX, another prominent crypto exchange, weighed in on CZ’s legal woes. In a recent essay, Hayes, who has had his share of legal troubles, criticized the treatment of CZ and , labeling it as “absurd” and emphasizing the arbitrary nature of state-imposed punishments.As Binance’s former boss navigates legal uncertainties, this story serves as a reminder of the risks and rewards inherent in the unpredictable crypto space.This article was originally published on U.Today More