On Wednesday, the ARK 21Shares spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) saw an unprecedented surge in interest, recording $201.8 million in inflows, marking a significant spike and nearly five times its average daily inflows.
This remarkable influx came as Bitcoin neared the $72,000 mark, showcasing a notable enthusiasm in the cryptocurrency market.
According to preliminary figures from Farside Investors, this day’s inflow was four times the ETF’s average daily inflow of $43.9 million since its inception on January 11.
It also represented a substantial increase from the $73.6 million inflow observed the previous day, highlighting a growing investor interest in Bitcoin despite the absence of inflows on March 25.
In comparison, other Bitcoin ETFs experienced considerably lower inflows.
The Valkyrie Bitcoin ETF, Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF, Franklin Bitcoin ETF, and VanEck Bitcoin ETF reported inflows ranging from $1.9 million to $5.1 million, all in single digits, with BlackRock’s data pending at the time.
This surge in interest in the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF coincided with Bitcoin reaching a high of $71,670, although it later dipped below the $69,000 support level, closing at $69,698.
Currently, Bitcoin’s price hovers around $69,464.
READ MORE: Bitcoin Surges Past $71,000, Signaling Bullish Momentum and Potential for Record Highs
The investment community’s focus has largely been on Bitcoin’s short-term price movements. However, crypto analysts suggest a broader perspective is necessary.
Crypto researcher Gumshoe emphasized the significance of the overall influx of funds into Bitcoin, criticizing the narrow focus on daily price fluctuations.
“Bitcoin ETFs seeing ATH inflows and people are panicking over the daily close of a candle,” he highlighted.
Matt Hougan, Bitwise’s chief investment officer, pointed out the regulatory challenges hindering professional investors from accessing Bitcoin ETFs, especially in the UK, due to the Financial Conduct Authority’s cautious stance on cryptocurrency.
He predicted a gradual change over the next two years as due diligence processes evolve.
Echoing a positive outlook, Bitcoin Munger suggested that the next $13 billion in inflows could significantly boost Bitcoin’s price.
This optimism is backed by a Cointelegraph report noting that $13.2 billion has been invested in products like spot Bitcoin ETFs since the start of the year, indicating a robust interest in cryptocurrency investment vehicles.
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Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is experiencing a notable surge, trading at $574.84, reflecting a 9.06% increase in the last 24 hours, as the crypto community anticipates the second BCH halving event slated for next week.
This event has sparked significant trading activity, with traders actively adjusting their positions in anticipation.
According to NiceHash, the BCH halving is expected on April 4, leading to substantial movements in the market on March 28, with $190,140 liquidated in short positions and $211,870 in long positions.
Furthermore, Bitcoin Cash futures perpetual contracts reached a historic peak in open interest (OI), hitting $708.75 million, marking an 18.26% rise in a single day and a staggering 165% increase over the week, as reported by CoinGlass.
This surge in interest is a significant jump from May 2021, when OI was at $684.12 million, around the time BCH hit its five-year peak price of $1,399.
Contrastingly, back on the same date in 2020, just before the first BCH halving, futures open interest was significantly lower at $63.29.
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During the first halving in April 2020, miner rewards were halved from 12.5 BCH to 6.25 BCH, a change that miners are responding to by ramping up their efforts in anticipation of the upcoming halving.
“DavidShares,” a prominent user on X, highlighted that the Bitcoin Cash hash rate has doubled in the past week. Hash rate, a critical measure of the computational power in a proof-of-work blockchain, reflects the mining and transaction processing capacity.
While Bitcoin is nearing its fourth halving on April 21, amid record highs, Bitcoin Cash’s price remains well below its all-time high of $4,355, achieved in December 2017, as noted by CoinMarketCap.
The earlier scheduling of the BCH halving, relative to Bitcoin’s, stems from a temporary algorithm adjustment made by Bitcoin Cash in 2017.
This adjustment expedited the block creation process, setting the stage for the earlier halving event compared to Bitcoin, scheduled for April 21.
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AI Pepe King (AIPEPE) is currently 240% up in the last 24 hours, according to Bitrue data.
AI Pepe King (AIPEPE) has witnessed a meteoric rally in the last 24 hours, benefitting from Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Dogecoin (DOGE) investors pouring funds into this new coin in search of 10x-100x gains.
AIPEPE has rallied 240% in the last 24 hours, according to Bitrue data, but its market cap is currently just $5 million, meaning it has massive potential for further growth.
It is therefore not surprising that many memecoin investors, including SHIB and DOGE holders, are continuing to invest in AIPEPE.
AI Pepe King (AIPEPE) Price Prediction
AIPEPE is currently trading around $0.000000001025 on Bitrue, and the token is expected to breach the $0.000000002 mark in the next 72 hours.
Looking further ahead, if AI Pepe King is able to reach a market cap of $500 million – a relatively conservative estimate – it would deliver a 100x return to investors who buy in at the current price.
Shiba Inu, meanwhile, is currently trading around $0.000027 – down 2% in the last day – giving it a market cap of approximately $15 billion.
As for Dogecoin, it is down over 15% in the last 24 hours, trading around $0.175.
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In the latest market update, Bitcoin‘s price trajectory aimed for higher levels during the week’s closing Wall Street session, showcasing the bullish sentiment undeterred by prevailing market uncertainties.
Tracking the Bitcoin (BTC) price movement, data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView highlighted a significant rebound as the cryptocurrency crossed the $71,000 threshold.
This resurgence came after a tumultuous previous day marked by sharp fluctuations.
The volatility was primarily driven by the legal tussle between Coinbase, a major U.S. exchange, and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which saw Bitcoin dip below the crucial $69,000 support level.
Despite this, the market’s resilience was on display as buyers propelled a recovery, aiming to reclaim positions near record price levels.
Amid these dynamics, Skew, a recognized trader, cautioned followers about potential deceptive price movements, attributed to manipulative liquidity strategies.
Notably, a sudden influx and subsequent withdrawal of bid support in the $70,200 to $70,600 range on the Binance platform exemplified these tactics.
With Bitcoin’s all-time high still serving as a formidable resistance, trader Daan Crypto Trades speculated on the possibilities of price exploration beyond current records.
“Break all time high and low $80Ks should follow shortly afterwards I think,” he advised on X, pointing to immediate trendline support highlighted by the 200-period simple and exponential moving averages on 4-hour charts.
Further insights into the Bitcoin market dynamics were provided by Ki Young Ju, CEO of the on-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant.
His analysis shed light on a notable shift in ownership among Bitcoin’s largest holders.
According to Ki, long-established Bitcoin whales are distributing their holdings to new institutional investors, rather than to retail market participants.
This transition is underscored by the substantial daily acquisition of BTC by U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), effectively reducing the circulating supply.
“Old whales are selling Bitcoin to new whales(TradFi), not retail investors,” Ki remarked, presenting on-chain data to support his observation.
He also linked these ownership changes to historical precedents of price rallies towards all-time highs, similar to those seen in the 2017 and 2021 bull markets.
Despite reaching new heights, mainstream interest in Bitcoin has seen a decline, a trend reported by Cointelegraph amidst the cryptocurrency’s breakthroughs.
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In a stark demonstration of the escalating threat posed by phishing scams within the cryptocurrency sector, recent data has revealed a significant uptick in stolen funds on the Ethereum layer 2 solution, Base.
According to Scam Sniffer, a blockchain anti-scam platform, there was an alarming 18-fold increase in losses due to phishing in March compared to January.
The figures are staggering, with approximately $3.35 million reported stolen in March alone.
This marks a 334% surge from February, which saw losses of $773,900, and a shocking 1,880% increase from January’s $169,000, as per Dune Analytics data compiled by Scam Sniffer.
The issue isn’t isolated to Base; Binance’s BNB Smart Chain also experienced a surge in phishing scams during the same period, highlighting a broader vulnerability in the crypto ecosystem to such types of fraud.
The overall impact across all chains was profound, with $71.5 million lost to phishing scams from 77,529 victims, eclipsing the losses recorded in January and February, which stood at $58.3 million and $46.8 million, respectively.
Scam Sniffer identifies phishing links from fraudulent social media accounts as a predominant method of scamming, with over 1,500 incidents detected in March.
These scams are increasingly prevalent despite a notable decline in crypto hack thefts, which fell 48% to $187.2 million in March, as reported by blockchain security firm PeckShield.
READ MORE: The Latest DeFi Marvels: What’s New and Why It Matters
Notably, of the total losses, $98.8 million was recovered, largely thanks to efforts surrounding the $97 million Munchibles exploit, with prominent cryptocurrency sleuth ZachXBT playing a key role in the recovery efforts.
The surge in phishing activities coincides with a memecoin craze on Base, significantly boosting its total value locked to over $3.2 billion, a 370% increase in 2024, according to L2Beat.
This growth occurs even as significant losses have been reported from smart contract exploits, including a $40 million loss from Curio’s MakerDAO-based contract and an $11.6 million hack of Prisma Finance, with ongoing negotiations for the return of the stolen funds.
This landscape underscores the complex challenges and risks present in the rapidly evolving crypto market.
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Deribit, a leading cryptocurrency exchange specializing in options and futures, has announced its move to Dubai following the acquisition of a new regulatory license.
This strategic relocation is propelled by the successful attainment of a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license issued by Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) to Deribit’s local subsidiary, Deribit FZE, on April 2.
This newly granted license enables Deribit to broaden its service offerings in Dubai, including spot trading and crypto derivatives like futures and options.
However, the exchange must meet all of VARA’s conditions and localization requirements before the VASP license becomes operational.
Deribit anticipates revealing its launch strategies, terms, and operational commencement date shortly.
Upon becoming operational, Deribit aims to cater to institutional and qualified investors within Dubai while maintaining service for its retail clientele through its Panamanian broker affiliate, a member of the Dubai-based Deribit FZE, until further announcements are made.
In a significant move signaling its commitment to the Dubai market, Deribit will transfer its global headquarters from Panama to Dubai and has appointed Luuk Strijers, its former chief commercial officer, as the new CEO.
John Jansen, co-founder of Deribit, remarked that acquiring the conditional VASP license from VARA represents a commitment to ensuring a safe and transparent trading platform, enhancing Deribit’s position as a preferred platform for traders.
Despite attempts to obtain further comments from Deribit regarding the VARA license, there was no immediate response.
Founded in 2016, Deribit has risen to prominence in the cryptocurrency derivatives market, competing closely with industry behemoths like Binance and Bybit.
As of April 2, CoinMarketCap ranks Deribit as the fifth-largest derivatives exchange globally, with daily trading volumes reaching $1.9 billion.
VARA, established in March 2022, serves as Dubai’s chief regulator for cryptocurrency-related activities, overseeing all zones within the Emirate except the Dubai International Financial Centre.
Since its inception, VARA has granted multiple crypto trading licenses to leading companies, including Binance and OKX, underlining Dubai’s growing stature as a hub for digital asset trading and innovation.
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On April 2, Ethena Labs executed a significant airdrop event, dispensing $450 million in ENA tokens across various eligible wallets.
Notably, the largest share of this airdrop was captured by a single wallet, identified as 0xb56, which received a staggering 3.3 million Ethena tokens.
This allocation was valued at approximately $1.96 million, as per analysis from Arkham Intelligence.
This distribution was part of a broader initiative by Ethena Labs, detailed in an April 2 X post, which saw the complete allocation of a 5% $ENA share to claim smart contracts, with the team highlighting, “The full 5% of $ENA has already been distributed to the claim smart contracts.
“The core contributors will be working around the clock to support with any questions on the claimable $ENA.”
This generous airdrop was quickly followed by the listing of the Ethena token for trading on major centralized crypto exchanges such as Binance, Bybit, KuCoin, HTX, MEXC, and BitMart, starting from 8:00 am UTC.
Despite this expansion, the Ethena token experienced a decline, falling over 15% within 24 hours to a trading price of $0.5824.
Currently, ENA ranks as the 110th-largest cryptocurrency, boasting a market capitalization of $836 million, according to CoinMarketCap.
Earlier achievements of Ethena Labs include the launch of the USDe synthetic dollar on the public mainnet on February 19.
This move positioned it as the top-earning decentralized application (DApp) by March 8, offering an impressive 67% annual percentage yield (APY).
READ MORE: Dogwifhat Surges to Become Third-Largest Meme Coin, Overtaking Pepe Token in Market Cap
The yield has since adjusted to 35.4%, benefiting over 123,000 users and securing a total value locked (TVL) of $1.6 billion.
The USDe market cap has witnessed significant growth, rising 1.9% in the last week and 135% over the past month to reach $1.58 billion, per DefiLlama.
Additionally, the Ethena token was recently featured for farming on Binance’s launch pool.
However, the ecosystem faced challenges, notably on March 29, when a counterfeit ENA token led to a $290,000 exploit in BNB.
This incident, initially misattributed to the authentic Ethena token by PeckShield, a security firm, underscored the vulnerabilities within the crypto space, though the real Ethena token remained uncompromised.
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Bitcoin’s price drop is leading to a significant reset across several key metrics, as the market’s leverage gets a forceful clear-out.
Currently, Bitcoin (BTC) hovers around $66,000, following a sharp 5% decline within an hour, as indicated by data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView.
Despite a 7% decrease in value for April, this pullback could be beneficial for the overheated market by testing and reinforcing support levels.
A substantial liquidation event accompanied the recent price dip, amounting to $400 million for Bitcoin and altcoins combined, according to Cointelegraph.
This event has led to a noticeable shift in market dynamics, with funding rates turning negative, as highlighted by CoinGlass.
This shift suggests that the market is undergoing a purge of excessive leverage, critical for setting the stage for new price discoveries.
Popular trader Jelle remarked on the social platform X, “BTC & ETH margined contracts already into the negatives. All leverage must be destroyed before price discovery.”
QCP Capital, in its “Asia Morning Color” update, pointed out the swift nature of this market correction, attributing it to significant liquidations on platforms popular with retail traders like Binance.
These liquidations caused perpetual funding rates to drop dramatically, essentially recalibrating spot prices within the $60,000 to $72,000 range.
READ MORE: Dogwifhat Surges to Become Third-Largest Meme Coin, Overtaking Pepe Token in Market Cap
Despite the compression in perpetual funding rates, the rest of the forward curve remains elevated, leading to speculation about further adjustments in the market.
The market’s current state is further characterized by Bitcoin’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) returning to a neutral midpoint of 50 on daily timeframes, a critical threshold for maintaining uptrends.
Historically, Bitcoin has shown optimal performance when the RSI exceeds 70, a sign of being “overbought.”
This dynamic underscores the importance of RSI levels in gauging Bitcoin’s market stance.
Additionally, Bitcoin’s potential for an upcoming breakout is hinted at by the narrowing of Bollinger Bands on daily charts, a phenomenon noted by analyst Matthew Hyland who drew parallels to a similar pattern observed in February.
This tightening of the bands, not seen since Bitcoin’s rally from $45,000, alongside previous reports from late December 2023 on RSI and Bollinger Bands, suggests a looming acceleration in the bull market.
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The Tron Foundation, responsible for the layer-1 blockchain Tron, has filed a motion with a New York federal court to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), contesting the regulator’s attempt to govern activities primarily outside the U.S.
In a statement on March 28, Tron emphasized, “The SEC is not a worldwide regulator,” criticizing the SEC’s endeavors to enforce U.S. securities laws on actions that mainly occur abroad.
In March of the previous year, the SEC launched legal action against Justin Sun, the founder of Tron, alongside the BitTorrent Foundation, and Rainberry Inc., its parent company based in San Francisco, which Tron acquired in 2018.
The SEC’s lawsuit alleges that the sale of Tron and BitTorrent (BTT) tokens constituted unregistered securities offerings.
Tron, headquartered in Singapore, argues in its dismissal motion that the SEC’s lawsuit targets “foreign digital asset offerings to foreign purchasers on global platforms,” over which the SEC lacks jurisdiction.
The foundation asserts that the token sales occurred entirely outside the United States and were specifically designed to exclude the U.S. market, pointing out that the SEC failed to prove any initial sales to U.S. residents.
Furthermore, Tron disputes the SEC’s claim regarding subsequent secondary sales of tokens on U.S.-based platforms, labeling these allegations as “tenuous at best.”
It also challenges the notion that the tokens meet the criteria for investment contracts under the Howey test, a standard for defining securities in the U.S.
READ MORE: Bitcoin Surges to $70,000, Eyes Record Highs Amid Positive Economic Remarks from Fed Chair Powell
In addition, the SEC accuses Justin Sun of engaging in deceptive trade practices, including “manipulative wash trading” and undisclosed payments to celebrities like Soulja Boy and Akon for promotion.
Tron counters these accusations by stating the SEC has not substantiated these claims with specific facts, particularly any that would imply victims in the United States.
Tron further criticizes the SEC for its broad allegations and lack of detailed factual claims, suggesting that the accusations against it rely too heavily on generalizations and fail to outline the precise basis for fraud claims.
The foundation also invokes the major questions doctrine, arguing that the case should be dismissed based on principles that regulatory authority must be explicitly granted by Congress, a stance previously taken by other crypto entities in similar disputes with the SEC.
The SEC is expected to respond to Tron’s dismissal motion within two weeks, though the commission had not commented on the motion at the time of the report.
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A sudden drop in Bitcoin’s value by 5% on Tuesday triggered significant losses for traders with leveraged positions in cryptocurrencies, culminating in over $165 million in financial setbacks within a brief period.
This dramatic fall occurred early on March 2 UTC, with Bitcoin’s price plummeting from $69,450 to as low as $65,970 in under 30 minutes, according to TradingView data.
The sharp decrease in Bitcoin’s value led to the liquidation of leveraged positions exceeding $165 million, as reported by Coinglass.
This included over $50 million in Bitcoin long positions and more than $40 million in Ether longs, which constituted the majority of the losses.
Additionally, Dogecoin and Solana’s SOL saw around $6 million and $4 million in long positions liquidated, respectively, following behind Bitcoin and Ether in terms of impact.
Concurrently with the market downturn, Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) experienced a significant withdrawal of funds, totaling $86 million, thereby ending a four-day streak of net positive inflows, based on FarSide data.
Notably, BlackRock’s ETF emerged as the top-performing fund with net inflows of $165.9 million, while Fidelity’s inflows amounted to $44 million.
However, these gains were offset by a substantial $302 million in outflows from Grayscale’s GBTC, resulting in net daily outflows of $85.7 million across all funds.
In the midst of these market movements, the US dollar-pegged stablecoin Tether (USDT) also experienced volatility, briefly deviating from its $1 peg to $0.988, as indicated by CoinGecko data.
The cause of this fluctuation remains uncertain, with speculation about whether it was due to an API error among data trackers or an actual drop in currency value.
Other price trackers did not register this depegging. Despite inquiries, Tether’s response to the situation was not immediately available.
This series of events underscores the volatility inherent in the cryptocurrency market, highlighting the risks associated with leveraged trading and the sensitivity of digital assets to market shifts.
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