Fintech giant and global neobank, Revolut, has strategically expanded into the cryptocurrency domain by launching a bespoke crypto trading platform, Revolut X, in the UK as announced on May 7.
This new initiative aims to attract a specific customer base and stands to compete with established cryptocurrency exchanges by ensuring minimal fees and simplified access, as detailed in a press release available to Cointelegraph.
Revolut X introduces straightforward processes for both depositing and withdrawing funds (“on-ramping” and “off-ramping”), facilitating the smooth transition between fiat currencies, such as the British pound, and various cryptocurrencies.
One of the key highlights of Revolut X is its fixed fee structure, which includes a 0% fee for market makers and a modest 0.09% fee for takers, regardless of the trade volume.
This pricing model is expected to offer a competitive edge over other trading platforms.
Leonid Bashlykov, Revolut’s head of crypto exchange product, expressed his enthusiasm about the new service, stating, “We understand that competitive fees as well as easy on and off ramping are at the heart of what experienced traders want from a crypto platform.”
He emphasized that Revolut X is poised to significantly impact the market for seasoned cryptocurrency traders.
At launch, Revolut X will support trading for over 100 cryptocurrencies, including major ones like Bitcoin, Ether, and XRP, with plans to expand this roster in the near future.
Bashlykov reassured users about the security and integrity of their holdings, noting that customers’ digital assets are held 1:1 and are not lent out, with the majority being securely stored in cold storage.
He explained, “The majority of these funds are also held in cold storage. Rigorous custodian due-diligence and constant risk monitoring mean that we can offer a market-leading solution to our customers.”
This venture into crypto trading follows a period of scaling back on crypto services in the UK and the US due to regulatory challenges.
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Originally launched in 2015 in the UK for money transfers, Revolut has grown into one of the largest fintech entities in the country with over 40 million users globally.
It began its crypto services in 2017 but had to pull back in December 2023 in anticipation of new regulations from the Financial Conduct Authority, which aimed to enhance transparency and investor protection.
Despite these regulatory hurdles, Revolut X represents a renewed focus on cryptocurrency by Revolut, following the March 2024 debut of Revolut Ramp, a direct crypto purchasing service integrated with Web3 wallets in partnership with Consensys and MetaMask.
Bashlykov’s remarks underscore the company’s strategic timing and regulatory compliance focus, “It’s good timing, in the sense that we’re currently amid a bull market and seeing greater regulatory clarity now.”
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Bitcoin‘s price experienced a test of its range lows on May 8, with the cryptocurrency sector marked by a general sentiment of “boredom” following the recent halving event.
The price of Bitcoin (BTC) sagged towards $62,000 during the Asia session, as data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView revealed.
This marked a retreat from a brief rebound that had seen BTC surpass $65,500 just days before, followed by a 5% retracement that entrenched it within a trading range established prior to the weekend.
The closing price for the day hovered around $62,300, positioning BTC/USD perilously close to forfeiting more of its recent gains.
According to J. A. Maartunn, a CryptoQuant analyst, “Any daily close below $62,100 or prolonged inactivity counts as a stop-loss,” highlighting the precarious position of the market.
Michaël van de Poppe, CEO of MNTrading, voiced his frustration over the stagnant market movement since the halving in mid-April, stating, “Bitcoin slowly proceeds towards the lower boundaries of the range for a test of support,” and added, “After that, it seems likely we’ll continue the upwards grind.
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“Boredom has started since the Bitcoin halving took place.”
The commentary was mirrored by fellow trader Moustache, who remained optimistic about future prospects, noting that these movements are typical precursors to a more substantial rally.
“The last dips before $BTC starts the next leg imo,” he observed, likening the current patterns to those seen in 2017 and 2020.
“Concurrently, the exchange-traded fund (ETF) sector for cryptocurrencies experienced a mix of reactions.
Following the report of significant inflows exceeding $500 million in previous days, Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. recorded a day of net outflows on May 7, totaling $15.7 million.
This was a stark contrast and highlighted the volatility and uncertainty prevailing in the market.
Furthermore, Grayscale, a major player in the space, retracted plans for an Ether futures ETF product, signaling potential shifts in strategic focus or market sentiment.
These developments illustrate the complex dynamics at play in the cryptocurrency markets, where investor sentiment can quickly shift, influenced by regulatory actions, market movements, or broader economic factors.
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Crypto asset manager Grayscale has ended its four-month outflow streak from its spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) with inflows into the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) occurring for two consecutive days.
On average, GBTC experienced a significant outflow of approximately $218 million daily over 78 days, totaling over $17.5 billion since January 11.
This trend reversed on May 3 when GBTC recorded an inflow of $63 million, marking a significant positive shift.
As a result, the overall spot Bitcoin ETF market observed net positive inflows of $378.3 million after a week of losses.
The subsequent inflow recorded on May 6 was $3.9 million, bringing GBTC’s total recent inflows to $66.9 million.
Despite this recent influx, GBTC’s net outflow remains at $17.4 billion.
However, the broader U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs landscape shows a healthy balance sheet. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust leads with the largest overall investment, capturing net inflows of $15.5 billion.
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Other significant contributors to net inflows include Fidelity Investments’ Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund with $8.1 billion, Cathie Wood’s ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF with $2.1 billion, and the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF Trust with $1.7 billion.
Collectively, these investments have brought the cumulative flow into the spot Bitcoin ETF market to nearly $11.8 billion as of the latest figures.
The U.S Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delayed its decision on approving or denying spot Ether ETF applications from several providers, including BlackRock, Grayscale, and Invesco Galaxy, pushing decisions to July.
The SEC stated, “The Commission finds that it is appropriate to designate a longer period within which to issue an order approving or disapproving the proposed rule change so that it has sufficient time to consider the proposed rule change and the issues raised therein.”
The delay also affects other prospective Ether ETF issuers such as Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, Hashdex, and Ark 21Shares. This decision was aligned with analysts’ expectations.
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Grayscale Investments celebrated a significant milestone as its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust exchange-traded fund (ETF) experienced a day of net positive inflows after enduring nearly four months of continuous outflows since transitioning to a spot Bitcoin ETF in January.
On May 3, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) observed $63 million in net inflows, marking a stark reversal from the approximately $17.5 billion in outflows recorded since the launch of 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs on Jan. 11, as per preliminary data from Farside.
Among the notable funds, Franklin Templeton’s Bitcoin ETF witnessed its highest-ever inflows, totaling $60.9 million.
Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund led the day’s inflows with $102.6 million, followed by the Bitwise Bitcoin Fund with $33.5 million and the Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF with $33.2 million.
The crypto community speculated on how this shift might influence Bitcoin’s price.
Pseudonymous crypto investor DivXman shared insights with his followers, noting GBTC’s significant role in sell pressure across spot Bitcoin ETFs but suggesting a potential turnaround.
He explained, “That effectively means a significant decrease in sell pressure and additional increase in demand while ETFs collectively are buying more BTC than miners can create.”
Crypto trader Jelle predicted to his followers that Bitcoin’s new all-time high is imminent, citing Grayscale’s ETF inflows as a catalyst for price surge.
Meanwhile, crypto trader Jordan Lindsey highlighted Bitcoin’s price response to both outflows and inflows.
At the time of publication, Bitcoin’s price had risen by 4.91% over the past 24 hours to $62,840, according to CoinMarketCap data.
Various factors contributed to Grayscale’s persistent outflows since the launch of the 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs.
One factor is GBTC’s comparatively high fees, standing at 1.5% compared to other ETFs with fees below 1%. Franklin Templeton’s ETF, for instance, boasts the lowest fee at 0.19%.
Additionally, bankrupt crypto firms FTX and Genesis have been offloading substantial GBTC shares to repay creditors.
Cointelegraph previously reported that Genesis liquidated around 36 million GBTC shares for $2.1 billion on April 6 to acquire 32,041 Bitcoin.
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Bitcoin’s price might witness a bullish reversal, igniting what one crypto trader calls the “next leg up,” should the inverse head-and-shoulders pattern, a well-regarded trading indicator, come into play.
Matthew Hyland, a crypto trader, shared his insights on May 4, suggesting that if Bitcoin doesn’t break through $67.5k directly, a scenario unfolding over the next month aligns with a potential bottom pattern reversal.
The inverse head-and-shoulders pattern, which he referenced, indicates a shift from a downtrend to a bullish phase, signaling increased buyer dominance.
“It would be a great setup to propel the next leg up,” Hyland asserted.
While maintaining Bitcoin’s bullish trend is contingent upon it staying above its short-term holder price of $59,500, noted pseudonymous crypto analyst Willy Woo emphasized to his 1.1 million followers on May 3.
The setup of this pattern emerges as Bitcoin’s price forms three troughs beneath a neckline resistance, with the middle trough (the head) deeper than the left and right shoulders.
Following a slight rebound from the “head” at $58,614 on May 1, if the pattern unfolds as per Hyland’s model, Bitcoin could find support around its second shoulder at $60,000, a critical level.
This projected decline would represent a 5% drop from its current price of $63,350, potentially leading to liquidation of $530 million in long positions, as per CoinGlass data.
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According to Hyland’s analysis, Bitcoin could surpass its current all-time high of $73,800 by June, aligning with increasing buyer interest in the crypto market, as evidenced by the Fear and Greed Index, which has recovered to a “Greed” score of 69 from a recent low of 43, indicating “Fear.”
Some traders anticipate Bitcoin’s price to remain stagnant in the short term, but they don’t perceive this as necessarily bearish.
“The longer the Bitcoin consolidation takes, the higher its price will meet the trendline,” noted pseudonymous crypto trader Titan of Crypto.
Echoing a similar sentiment, pseudonymous trader Daan Crypto Traders shared with his followers on X on May 4 that Bitcoin’s previous cycle all-time highs tend to decelerate price momentum, leading to temporary stalls.
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On May 3, options contracts for Bitcoin and Ether worth a combined total of $2.4 billion are set to expire, potentially escalating market volatility.
Bitcoin options are derivatives that let investors bet on Bitcoin’s price fluctuations without holding the actual cryptocurrency.
These contracts are available in two forms: call and put options.
Call options grant the right to buy Bitcoin at a predetermined price before a specific date, whereas put options provide the right to sell it at an agreed-upon price before the contract expires.
The put/call ratio is a common metric used by investors to gauge market mood.
A dominance of put purchases suggests bearish sentiment, whereas more call buys imply a bullish outlook.
A put-to-call ratio below 0.7 signals bullish conditions, but a ratio above 1 indicates bearish sentiment.
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According to data from the Deribit exchange, 23,367 Bitcoin contracts valued at $1.39 billion will expire on May 3.
The put-to-call ratio for these Bitcoin options is currently 0.5, with a maximum pain point—a price level causing the most significant potential loss for the most holders—pegged at $61,000.
Additionally, 334,248 Ether contracts, representing a notional value of $1 billion, are due to expire shortly.
These contracts have a put-to-call ratio of 0.37 and a maximum pain point set at $3,000.
Historically, the expiration of such contracts leads to transient fluctuations in the cryptocurrency spot market.
In recent weeks, both Bitcoin and Ether have been under bearish pressure.
Bitcoin’s value recently dropped below $60,000, a nearly 20% decline in a week following its halving event, while Ether dipped below $2,900.
Typically, the market recovers from this expiry-induced volatility within a few days.
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Bitcoin surged to $64,500 on May 4 during after-hours trading, marking fresh gains in its price trajectory.
According to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView, Bitstamp recorded a new local high of $64,522, setting a new peak for May.
The momentum, fueled by positive United States employment data, continued to build until the daily close.
This was further supported by promising signs of recovery in the crypto market, notably with the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) witnessing its first inflows in nearly three months.
As of the time of reporting, BTC/USD had seen a 5% increase month-to-date, as per CoinGlass data, contrasting with the 15% losses experienced in April.
In response to the market movement, popular trader Daan Crypto Trades expressed cautious optimism, stating,
“Had a great push into the market close yesterday.”
However, he emphasized patience, refraining from adding positions during the weekend until further clarity emerged.
Analysts noted a noticeable deviation between the latest CME Group Bitcoin futures closing price and BTC/USD, suggesting a potential future correction to fill the gap.
Despite the weekend’s impressive performance, concerns lingered regarding the market’s resilience without traditional financial participants.
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Keith Alan, co-founder of trading resource Material Indicators, highlighted the risk of a correction due to thin order book liquidity.
Meanwhile, trader and commentator Credible Crypto suggested that shorting BTC might be favorable below the “main resistance” level around $69,000.
He outlined two potential scenarios for BTC price action, indicating that current levels lacked sufficient liquidity.
Credible Crypto also noted that long positions in BTC would be attractive if BTC/USD dipped below $56,000, suggesting a strategic entry point for investors.
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Bitcoin is currently struggling to surpass the $60,000 mark, facing significant resistance that is hindering its price rebound, despite recovering up to 6.2% from the week’s lows.
Analysis from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView highlights that BTC/USD has yet to breach crucial trendlines.
The cryptocurrency has seen a 23% decline from its peak, with recovery prospects appearing slim through April and May.
Former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes has predicted that Bitcoin will continue to trade within a range below $70,000 until August, emphasizing the importance of first reclaiming the $60,000 level.
However, this mark remains well-defended by existing trendlines.
Particularly challenging for Bitcoin is its 100-day moving average (MA), which, as of May 3, stands at $59,930.
Historically, this trendline has supported the market since October 2023 and helped sustain prices during the early 2023 bull market phase.
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Yet, recent patterns show Bitcoin closing full daily candles beneath this average, indicating a downward shift.
Material Indicators, a trading resource, observed that this average is presenting strong technical resistance.
They noted, “Reclaiming the 100-Day Moving Average would be a big deal for Bitcoin Bulls that could lead to a short squeeze,” as stated by co-founder Keith Alan on the social platform X.
Another significant obstacle is the short-term holder realized price (STH-RP), which reflects the average cost basis for Bitcoin holders who have held their positions for 155 days or less.
This metric has repeatedly acted as a robust support during recent weeks and throughout much of the bull market since early 2023.
As of May 1, STH-RP was recorded at $59,684, closely aligning with the critical $60,000 resistance zone.
Caleb Franzen, CEO of Cubic Analysts, also pointed out the significance of this resistance level in his commentary on X.
He mentioned that for a ‘risk-on’ scenario, a daily closure above $61,000 is crucial.
“Lots of work to do,” he concluded, underscoring the challenges that lie ahead for Bitcoin to regain its upward momentum.
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On April 23, the Bitcoin network achieved a new record with the highest number of confirmed daily transactions, just three days after entering a new halving cycle that started on April 20.
This surge brought the total to over 1.6 million unique transactions processed between various senders and receivers.
Data comparisons from sources such as Blockchain.com and Glassnode have linked the spike in transactions to the launch of Bitcoin Runes.
This new offering serves as an alternative to the existing Bitcoin Ordinals and the BRC-20 protocol on the Bitcoin blockchain, capturing a significant portion of the daily transaction volume.
Notably, Runes accounted for 81.3% of all Bitcoin transactions on the day of the record.
Despite this initial dominance by Runes, Bitcoin (BTC) transactions regained their majority status over the network by April 29, with BTC transactions making up 77.8% of the total, while Runes transactions had decreased to 18.8%.
The remainder of the transaction volume was made up of ordinals at 1.2% and BRC-20 transactions at 2.3%.
The influx of Bitcoin Runes transactions has proven beneficial for the mining sector. Major U.S. mining firms such as Stronghold Digital Mining and Marathon have reported positive impacts from the Runes transactions, both financially and functionally, as communicated to Cointelegraph.
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Since the halving, Rune transactions have contributed over 1,200 BTC in transaction fees to miners.
Although the excitement surrounding Bitcoin Runes seems to be waning, Ignas, a pseudonymous decentralized finance (DeFi) researcher, sees continued potential in this market.
In a post dated April 17 on platform X, Ignas commented, “Runestone, RSIC, and PUPS are already pumping, promising holders shiny new Rune token airdrops.
And FOMO threads keep coming. But, like the NFT frenzy post-JPEG reveal, the market could soon cool off.”
Runes and BRC-20 tokens represent new fungible token standards designed to expand Bitcoin’s utility within the emerging sector of Bitcoin DeFi, or BTCFi.
This initiative marks a significant shift towards integrating more complex financial functions directly on the Bitcoin blockchain, illustrating a growing trend of innovation within the cryptocurrency landscape.
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The notable Bitcoin whale known as “Mr. 100” recently made a significant purchase of Bitcoin, marking his first buy since the Bitcoin halving event in April 2024.
As the Bitcoin price briefly dipped to $56,000, Mr. 100 added over 4,100 BTC to his holdings, purchased around the $58,000 level.
This acquisition, valued at approximately $242 million, was highlighted by the analysis of on-chain data from Bitinfocharts, brought to attention by user HODL15Capital.
This transaction comes after a hiatus since April 19, the day before the halving, during which the whale did not acquire any additional Bitcoin.
The “Mr. 100” wallet, which began receiving regular BTC deposits following the November 2022 collapse of FTX, had been consistently accumulating at least 100 BTC daily since mid-February, excluding the period right after the halving.
Currently, “Mr. 100” holds over 65,155 BTC, making him the 12th-largest Bitcoin holder. The value of his wallet now exceeds $3.86 billion, with unrealized profits of $1.4 billion, a 33% increase from the average purchase price of $36,572 per BTC.
Amid this buying activity, market analysts have been debating the trajectory of Bitcoin’s price.
Analyst Rekt Capital suggested in a May 2 video analysis that the current market conditions represented a prime buying opportunity, explaining, “Whenever we’d get close to a 20% downside, that was typically a fantastic buying opportunity before price reversals towards the upside.
So if we’re deeper than 20%, it is an even better opportunity than we had this cycle, because the deeper we go the closer we get to a bottoming in Bitcoin’s price action.”
Other experts, like Jag Kooner from Bitfinex, predict a short-term consolidation in Bitcoin prices.
Kooner anticipates a trading range with significant swings over the next couple of months, influenced by macroeconomic factors.
He told Cointelegraph, “We could see a one-to-two-month consolidation in Bitcoin prices, trading in a range with swings of $10,000 on either side.
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We expect the positive impact of the halving, which has brought about a reduction in Bitcoin supply, will be seen in later months.
At this point, the economy is also expected to be performing better, having achieved a soft landing and avoiding a recession, providing further impetus to crypto assets.”
The $52,000 mark is seen as a crucial support-resistance level on Bitcoin’s weekly chart. A close above this threshold would likely indicate potential for further gains, according to crypto trader Marco Johanning.
Further context about the “Mr. 100” address was provided by Crystal Intelligence to Cointelegraph, identifying the address as associated with the Upbit exchange.
The firm clarified, “We have found that the number and value of transactions associated with this wallet are indicative of a VASP-type service.
‘Additionally, we can confirm with high accuracy that the incoming transactions originate from Upbit, and these have maintained a consistent value since the collapse of FTX.”
This analysis was reinforced by the findings of Mai, an on-chain sleuth, who noted the operational similarities between Mr. 100’s transactions and Upbit’s typical activity with altcoins.
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