2024-09-23 04:11
The Democratic nominee promises she'll be a tech-friendly president in remarks to donors. Democratic nominee Kamala Harris has made her first remarks on crypto to donors in NYC during a fundraising dinner. Prediction market Polymarket is giving Harris a significant lead over Donald Trump with over $980 million bet on the platform. Uniswap's Hayden Adams endorsed Harris' remarks in a thread on X. Vice President and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris made her first remarks on crypto before donors in New York City, according to a report from Bloomberg. "To build that opportunity economy, I will bring together labor, small business, founders and innovators, and major companies. We will partner together to invest in America's competitiveness, to invest in America's future," Bloomberg quoted Harris as saying. "We will encourage innovative technologies like AI and digital assets while protecting consumers and investors. We will create a safe business environment with consistent and transparent rules of the road." Uniswap Labs CEO Hayden Adams appeared to endorse Harris following her remarks. "Yes, Biden has been bad for crypto, and actions will speak louder than words, but progress is progress; it needs to start somewhere and should be encouraged," he wrote on X. "She is signaling her admin will approach it differently / be more pro-innovation." In April, Uniswap received a Wells Notice, a memo that the Securities and Exchange Commission is considering enforcement action. Harris' remarks come after Republican nominee Donald Trump purchased burgers with bitcoin (BTC) at a crypto-themed bar called PubKey in New York. Trump and his family are also promoting a Decentralized Finance (DeFi) project called World Liberty Financial on the campaign trail. Trump recently appeared on Rug Radio, a crypto media platform, to promote the project and discuss crypto policy. Recently, Anthony Scaramucci, founder and managing partner of SkyBridge Capital, who also had a brief tenure as White House communications director under then-President Donald Trump, said during Token 2049 in Singapore that he is working with the Harris campaign to develop crypto policy. In July, Scaramucci said on CoinDeskTV that the Democrats made a "horrific mistake" on crypto crackdowns, and largely mishandled crypto policy. Currently, Polymarket is giving Harris a 52%-47% lead with over $980 million bet on the election. https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/09/23/harris-says-her-white-house-will-invest-in-americas-future-which-includes-digital-assets/
2024-09-20 18:39
The market cap of altcoins rose 5.7% after the central bank announced it would lower interest rates by 50 basis points. Bitcoin’s market cap rose only 4.4%. Altcoins were the better performer after the Fed's decision to lower rates on Wednesday. Cryptocurrencies excluding ether and bitcoin have risen 5.7% since the decision was announced while bitcoin is up 4.4%. Experts say this divergence isn't unusual, given altcoin's poorer liquidity and higher beta. Bitcoin (BTC) may have outperformed stocks in the aftermath of the Federal Reserve’s decision to lower interest rates on Wednesday, but the true winners in the crypto universe are altcoins. Total3, an index that tracks the market capitalization of the top 125 cryptocurrencies, excluding bitcoin and ether (ETH), was trading 5.68% higher since the central bank’s announcement that it would slash the Federal Funds rate by 50 basis points, according to data on TradingView. Bitcoin’s market cap, by contrast, rose only 4.4%. This isn’t unusual, said Bob Wallden, head of trading at investment firm Abra. “Altcoins are higher beta than bitcoin and ether, so think of them as a leveraged play on the broader crypto market similar to tech stocks outperforming the S&P 500 (SPX) in time of green shoots,” he said. The asset class, which includes all crypto assets besides bitcoin and ether, might have also benefited from a recent period of overselling, which Wallden said is adding velocity to their bounce back. The relatively low liquidity levels of altcoins means they tend to move with greater volatility, said Bohan Jiang, Head of OTC options trading at Abra. “Altcoins are at the fringes of the liquidity spectrum, and so will always be convex in performance when risk assets perform well and liquidity is abundant, which seems to be the case post-FOMC,” he said. “They also perform as a function of liquidity and positioning: liquidity in alts is substantially poorer, causing outsized moves both ways. Extended short positioning building up over the past few months can therefore cause short-squeeze-like outperformance higher.” The Federal Reserve’s decision to lower interest rates pushed bitcoin above $64,000 on Thursday, a price last seen on Aug. 26. It later bounced back and is currently trading at $62,898. Kris Sandor contributed to the story https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/09/20/altcoins-outperform-bitcoin-and-ether-following-fed-meeting/
2024-09-20 18:26
September's counter-seasonal price trend has already started to show signs of this divergence trend helping BTC. The divergence between Bitcoin's hash rate and price could signal a potential rally in prices, according to historical data. September's counter-seasonal price trend has already started to show signs of this divergence trend playing out. Publicly traded miners have increased their market share post-halving by raising their computing power and started accumulating bitcoin, potentially reducing market supply and raising a chance of upside to the price. A divergence between bitcoin (BTC) price and its hashrate or network's total computing power could potentially point towards a rally in the price of the largest digital asset. Historically, these divergences have occurred only a few times in the past three years. In some cases, bitcoin prices have reached a local bottom during these events, followed by a rally as the market catches up with the rising hash rate. Bitcoin network's hashrates rise and fall depending on how many miners have their mining computers online to validate transactions. Consistent with this pattern, bitcoin has already shown signs of recovery, gaining about $9,000 since the local bottom on Sept. 6, representing a 15% increase in value. This divergence between bitcoin's (BTC) price and its hash rate started to shape up in July and then persisted into early September, when the computing power of the network reached an all-time high of 693 exahashes per second (EH/s) on a seven-day moving average, while bitcoin's price was near $54,000. A significant factor contributing to the recent surge in hash rate is the activity of publicly traded mining companies. Before the halving - where bitcoin rewards get cut in half - the hash rate peaked at 650 EH/s and dropped to 550 EH/s in June, as less efficient miners exited the network due to higher competition. It has now returned to pre-halving levels as publicly traded miners that are well-capitalized, have increased their market share by raising their computing power. In fact, data from the sixteen public companies show that they have almost reached a 23% market share in production, the highest since at least January 2023, according to the industry journal TheMinerMag. It is likely that publicly traded miners will continue to capture a larger share of the hash rate over time as they compete to stay profitable post-halving. Counter-seasonal trend September has historically been dubbed a bearish month for bitcoin, with historical data from Coinglass indicating an average price decline of 4%. However, this year has defied that trend, with bitcoin posting a 7% increase so far. This counter-seasonal trend could be indicating that due to the lower bitcoin price and rising hashrate, the price could be playing catch up with the hash rate, potentially setting up for another rally. Of course, there are other market factors such as interest rate decisions could also catalyze this price change. Additionally, the next difficulty adjustment, scheduled for Sept. 25 and projected to decrease by 5%, could also indicate that prices may be catching up. Blocks are currently being mined at an average of 10.5 minutes, according to mempool.space. This indicates a potential slowdown in the hash rate as price plays catch up. Miners accumulating Another factor that could signal a potential rise in price is what miners are doing with their mined bitcoin. Glassnode data indicates that from November 2023 to August 2024, miners consistently sold bitcoin to fund their operations due to the halving, marking one of the longest periods of sell pressure on record. However, in the past 30 days, miners began accumulating bitcoin in their wallets, suggesting that the financial strain from the halving is largely over. If miners are distributing less bitcoin, this reduces the supply entering the market, increasing the chance of potentially helping the price. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/09/20/bitcoin-price-and-hashrate-divergence-may-set-the-scene-for-a-potential-rally-historical-data-shows/
2024-09-20 12:57
The channel streams hearings of notable court cases but temporarily showed promotional videos of XRP and Ripple Labs before being taken down. A video titled "Brad Garlinghouse: Ripple Responds To The SEC's $2 Billion Fine! XRP PRICE PREDICTION" was uploaded and went live in the European morning hours. Following the breach, both the video and the channel were promptly taken down by YouTube. The YouTube channel of India’s Supreme Court was compromised on Friday in a first such incident for the judicial body. The channel, which otherwise streams court cases for viewers and the press, showed videos promoting XRP tokens. Its name was changed to “Ripple.live24.” A blank video titled "Brad Garlinghouse: Ripple Responds To The SEC's $2 Billion Fine! XRP PRICE PREDICTION" went live on the channel in the European morning hours. The video and the channel were taken down shortly afterward. “This is to inform all concerned that the YouTube channel of Supreme Court of India has been taken down. The services on YouTube channel of Supreme Court of India will be resumed shortly,” the Supreme Court said in a statement shared with local media companies. The compromise came ahead of several crucial cases scheduled for Friday, the Times of India reported. https://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/09/20/youtube-page-of-indias-supreme-court-hacked-to-promote-xrp/
2024-09-20 12:01
With both assets leading the market, here's a closer look at the factors driving their remarkable performance. Bitcoin has surged 7% in the past five days, breaking through $64,000 for the first time this month. Gold has hit all-time highs, surpassing $2,600 an ounce. These standout performances are linked to increased global liquidity, with expanding global central bank balance sheets and the Federal Reserve's recent rate cut stimulating investment and economic activity. In the past five days, bitcoin (BTC) has surged 7%, breaking through $64,000 for the first time since Aug. 26. Gold, for its part, has reached all-time highs on over 30 occasions this year, topping $2,600 an ounce. These remarkable performances mark the first time since bitcoin's inception in 2009 that both are the top-performing assets of the year, according to Charlie Bilello, the chief market strategist at Creative Planning, an investment management and financial planning firm. Year-to-date, gold has risen 27%, surpassing its 2020 performance of 25%. The last time it did better was 2007. What is driving this impressive rise? Gold has historically been seen as a hedge against monetary debasement and global uncertainty, and current economic conditions suggest it is again fulfilling this role. The recent surge in gold prices can be attributed to these factors. Notably, gold began its rally before the significant monetary debasement triggered by the Covid pandemic in 2020, while bitcoin emerged as a star performer in late 2020 and into 2021. With bitcoin now just 14% away from its all-time high, is it playing catch-up once again? A closer examination reveals that bitcoin's price tends to move in line with the Federal Reserve's net liquidity metric. This measure, calculated by subtracting reverse repo and the Treasury General Account from the Fed's balance sheet, indicates that bitcoin tends to follow liquidity trends. Both bitcoin and net liquidity bottomed out toward the end of 2022, coinciding with the FTX collapse. Since then, bitcoin has steadily risen alongside an increase in net liquidity, which now exceeds $6 trillion. The Federal Reserve's balance sheet is currently at $7.1 trillion, and although it is still engaging in quantitative tightening, the pace has slowed. The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in March 2023 led to a $1.6 trillion reduction in the balance sheet, bringing it back to levels seen during the initial phases of quantitative easing in response to the pandemic. The draining of reverse repo balances, now just over $300 billion, releases liquidity back into the financial system. This is stimulative, increasing the availability of funds for lending, investment, and overall economic activity. Looking more broadly, the combined balance sheets of the world's 15 largest central banks – including the U.S., European Union, Japan and China – approach $31 trillion. While this number alone is not the focus, the trend shows a global resurgence in central bank balance sheets from about $30 trillion in July. This increase in liquidity is particularly stimulative for bitcoin, which tends to mirror liquidity trends. Adding to this, just Wednesday the Fed cut the interest rate by 50 basis points, further supporting the rise of bitcoin and gold. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/09/20/bitcoin-gold-may-be-sensing-monetary-debasement-as-records-beckon/
2024-09-20 11:38
Cat-themed tokens have emerged as a new cohort alongside dog-themed Dogecoin and Shiba Inu, among the biggest gainers in the 2020-2021 bull run. Tokens like POPCAT, MEW, MOG, and CAT have seen significant gains, up to 40% in a week, following a 50 basis point rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve, indicating a return of risk-on sentiment in the crypto market. POPCAT reached a $1 billion market cap, MOG has surged 70% in two weeks due to strong social media backing, and CAT, linked to Simon's Cat comics, saw $145 million in trading volume in the last 24 hours. Analysts predict continued growth in memecoins, fueled by anticipated liquidity increases and bullish market sentiment, potentially leading to a boom similar to previous cycles. Cat-themed memecoins aren’t just meowing but roaring back in an indication of risk-on sentiment starting to return to the broader crypto market. Tokens such as Solana-based POPCAT, cat in a dog’s world (MEW), Ethereum-based MOG, and BNB Chain-based Simon’s Cat (CAT) have climbed up to 40% in a one-week period, with a bulk of gains coming since Wednesday when the U.S. Federal Reserve cut rates by 50 basis points for the first time in four years - fuelling prices of risk assets, including bitcoin (BTC). Popcat, a token tied to a meme of a cat with its mouth popped open, is nearing $1 billion market cap. Culture coin mog has jumped 70% in the past two weeks amid its strong cult following on social platforms, where the community often replies to posts with “mogging” and “mogged” to improve its visibility. The newly released CAT has quickly climbed to become one of the biggest cat memes, seeing over $145 million in exchange bets in the past 24 hours. The token is officially tied to the Simon’s Cat comic series. Since early 2023, meme tokens have been increasingly seen as a leveraged way to bet on the growth of their underlying blockchains, and crypto traders refer to them as beta bets. Cat-themed tokens have emerged as a new cohort alongside dog-themed Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB), among the biggest gainers in the 2020-2021 bull run. Their relatively smaller total market capitalization makes cat memes a stronger attraction than their dog-themed counterparts: The dog memes sector tracked by CoinGecko shows a 4% average gain in the past 24 hours, compared to a 14% bump on cat tokens. Some market makers expect memecoins, alongside alternative tokens, to continue surging in the coming months. "Memecoins are experiencing a surge largely due to the anticipation of increased liquidity following the Federal Reserve's recent 0.5% interest rate cut,” Alex Andryunin, founder of Gotbit Hedge Fund, known for backing memecoinds, said in a message to CoinDesk. “Market expectations for lower rates have converged, and with the prospect of more liquidity entering the financial system, investors are adopting a bullish sentiment.” “We anticipate that the memecoin market could grow significantly over the next two months. The increased liquidity and a heightened appetite for risk may drive investors toward these high-risk, high-reward assets, potentially leading to a boom similar to previous cycles,” Andryunin added. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/09/20/cat-themed-memecoins-emerge-as-preferred-risk-on-bets-with-40-surge-in-a-week/
