2024-09-12 07:18

Bargain hunters are active on Kraken and Coinbase, snapping up coins at perceived discounts as selling pressure from other exchanges keeps prices under pressure. Buy-sell ratios point to bargain hunting over Kraken and Coinbase. The average trade size indicates that dip-demand stems from large traders. Bitcoin (BTC) bargain hunters are active on Kraken and Coinbase (COIN), snapping up coins at perceived discounts as selling pressure from other exchanges the leading cryptocurrency under pressure. Data tracked by London-based CCData show the buy-sell ratio, which compares the volume of buy-to-sell orders on Kraken and Coinbase, has averaged 250% and 123%, respectively, this month. A ratio above 100% indicates more buys than sells, suggesting net bullish pressure. Bitcoin's price began the month on a negative note, falling from $60,000 to nearly $52,500 before recovering to $58,000 this week, CoinDesk data shows. Still, prices are down over 7% for the third quarter. "The average buy-sell ratio suggests stronger buying pressure on Kraken and Coinbase, with ratios of 250% and 123%, respectively, compared to near-parity on Bybit and Binance, which have ratios of 99% and 97%," Hosam Mahmoud, research analyst at CCData told CoinDesk in an interview. "Although these observations don't lead to a definitive conclusion, they imply that Kraken and Coinbase have recently been the preferred venues for accumulation," Mahmoud added. Instant or day traders over Bybit and Binance are likely retail investors, while bargain hunting over Kraken and Coinbase likely stems from large investors. That's because this month's average trade size for bitcoin-tether (BTC/USDT) spot pairs is $898 on Bybit and $747 on Binance. That's notably lower than the average size of $2,148 and $1,321 on Kraken and Coinbase, according to CCData. "This indicates that in this timeframe, Kraken and Coinbase tend to attract larger trades, likely from institutional or long-term investors, while Bybit and Binance appear to cater more to smaller, frequent trades," Mahmoud said. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/09/12/bitcoin-bargain-hunters-active-on-kraken-and-coinbase-ccdata-shows/

2024-09-12 06:10

SUI outperformed the market, rising over 16%, possibly due to Grayscale's new Sui Trust announcement. Bitcoin surpassed $58,000 during Asian trading hours, influenced by a rally in U.S. tech stocks and positive movements in Asian equities. Despite the bitcoin price increase, U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs experienced outflows, with Ark Invest’s ARKB seeing a notable $54 million outflow. AI tokens posted modest gains amid reports that OpenAI is planning to raise $6.5 billion at a $150 billion valuation. Bitcoin (BTC) rose above $58,000 during the Asian morning hours on Thursday on the back of a rally in U.S. technology stocks and gains in the Asian equity market. However, spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the U.S. slipped back to outflows on Wednesday, after a two-day inflow streak - losing $43 million led by a $54 million outflow from Ark Invest’s ARKB product. U.S. inflation data for August supported bets for a Federal Reserve rate cut in coming weeks as core inflation rose faster than expected to more than 0.3%. Chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA) ended the day up 8.2%, while major stocks Microsoft (MSFT), Google (GOOGL) and Apple (APPL) jumped as high as 2.13%. Gains spread to Asia on Thursday as stock indices in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan surged. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index broke out of a seven-day losing streak as the yen slightly retreated after a record high on Tuesday against U.S. dollars. Meanwhile, layer-1 blockchain Sui (SUI) made waves on Thursday as the token beat the market, up over 16% according to CoinDesk Indices data, versus a 1.67% rise in the broader CoinDesk 20 (CD20) index. SUI is likely outperforming the market because of Grayscale’s recent announcement about opening the Grayscale Sui Trust. According to a public information page from Grayscale, the NAV per share of the Trust is $13.50, while each share has 14.95 SUI tokens in it, putting the value of each Sui token in the trust at 90 cents. Considering Sui’s current value of just over $1, the market seems to be setting up for a Grayscale discount. Elsewhere, AI tokens posted modest gains as Bloomberg reported that OpenAI is planning to raise $6.5 billion at a valuation of $150 billion. NEAR Protocol’s (NEAR) token is up 6%, while the Artificial Superintelligence Alliance’s FET token is up 9% and trading above $1.40. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/09/12/bitcoin-jumps-over-58k-amid-tech-stock-rally-sui-outperforms/

2024-09-11 12:42

The price of bitcoin initially slipped following Wednesday morning's report. U.S. headline CPI matched forecasts for August, but the core rate rose more than anticipated Bitcoin added a bit to early losses following the news The data has likely locked in the Fed cutting rates by just 25 basis points next week While the headline U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) came in as expected last month, the core rate rose more than economist forecasts, likely sealing the deal for the Federal Reserve to cut its benchmark lending rate by just 25 basis points next week. The CPI rose 0.2% in August versus economist forecasts for 0.2% and 0.2% in July. On a year-over-year basis, CPI was higher by 2.5% against expectations for 2.6% and 2.9% in July. Core CPI – which excludes food and energy costs – rose 0.3% in August, faster than a forecast 0.2% and 0.2% in July. The core rate year-over-year was 3.2% against an anticipated 3.2% and 3.2% in July. Down marginally for the day coming into the inflation print, the price of bitcoin (BTC) fell a bit more in the minutes following the news, now lower by 1.5% over the past 24 hours to $56,500. In traditional markets, U.S. stock index futures have added a bit to losses, with the both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq down 0.5%. The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield has gained 3 basis points to 3.68% and the dollar index has risen 0.15%. The price of gold has dipped 0.45% to $2,532 per ounce. Ahead of the data, investors had priced in a 71% chance the Fed would trim its benchmark fed funds rate range by 25 basis points to 5%-5.25% when it meets next week, with a 29% chance the central bank cuts by 50 basis points to 4.75%-5%, according to CME FedWatch. The stubborn persistence of core inflation reflected in this morning's report – which monetary policymakers often prefer versus the headline number – is likely to solidify expectations of the Fed moving by the lower amount. Indeed, 15 minutes following the CPI release, the chances of the Fed cutting by 25 next week has jumped to 85%. A check of months further out finds the odds that the Fed slashes rates by just 75 basis points by year-end has risen to 14% versus 9% one day ago. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/09/11/us-core-inflation-rose-03-in-august-faster-than-anticipated/

2024-09-11 09:22

The iPhone maker's "It's Glowtime" event on Monday focused on bringing AI capabilities to the smartphone. AI tokens rallied even as macroeconomic and political developments weighed on the broader crypto market. On Monday, Apple announced "Apple Intelligence," foraying into the artificial intelligence sector. Native cryptocurrencies of blockchain endeavors supposedly involved with artificial intelligence (AI) outshone the broader market after iPhone maker Apple (AAPL) showcased its efforts to bring the technology to its smartphones. AI-focused decentralized blockchain platform Internet Computer Protocol's ICP token is about 10% higher on a 24-hour basis, the best-performing token among the 100 biggest cryptocurrencies by market value, according to data source Coingecko. Artificial Superintelligence Alliance's (formerly Fetch.AI) FET ranked fifth, adding 5%. Smaller tokens posted double-digit gains, with ChartAI's EYE leading the pack with a 50% surge. Meanwhile, market leaders bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) and other prominent cryptocurrencies nursed losses after pro-crypto U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump's poor showing during a debate with rival Kamala Harris. The CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20), a measure of the broader crypto market, lost 0.7% in the same period. Apple's "It's Glowtime" event on Monday focused on bringing AI capabilities to the smartphone. The Nasdaq-listed company said it would introduce AI features including writing tools, smarter Siri responses and advanced photo and video editing facilities under the banner of Apple Intelligence. The features will be available in the iOS 18.1 update and beyond. The key feature of Apple Intelligence is that it will be a software development kit (SDK), allowing developers to build apps using on-device generative models while enjoying security and privacy features in Private Cloud Compute. The event did not mention crypto or blockchain. Still, market participants are confident Apple Intelligence will have a positive effect on all things AI, including blockchain projects. "Just like everyone's buzzing about Apple Intelligence in phones now, soon it'll be all about crypto," Pranav Maheshwari, an engineer at the Graph Protocol, said on X. "People will want blockchain and crypto payments baked into their phones. Watch the shift happen. Slowly, then suddenly." https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/09/11/ai-tokens-icp-fet-buck-crypto-market-drop-as-apple-flags-artificial-intelligence-foray/

2024-09-11 09:10

September could be another difficult month for the miners as bitcoin remains under $60K and the network hashrate continues to rise, the report said. Bitcoin mining was notably less profitable in August than July, the report said. Jefferies said September could be another difficult month for the miners as bitcoin remains below $60K and the network hashrate continues to advance. Mining economics may be moving in the wrong direction but operational efficiency is improving, the bank said. Bitcoin (BTC) mining was much less profitable in August than July as the average bitcoin price fell over 4% and the average network hashrate rose about 2.7%, investment bank Jefferies said in a research report on Wednesday. Miner's average daily revenue per exahash fell by 11.8% from the month previous as a result, the report said. "September is shaping up to be another difficult month as BTC remains below $60K and the network hashrate continues to climb," analysts Jonathan Petersen and Joe Dickstein wrote. The Bitcoin hashrate is a proxy for competition in the industry and mining difficulty. Jefferies notes that there were less days of extreme heat this summer, which meant better uptime for the largest miners. The bitcoin mined by Marathon Digital (MARA) last month implies roughly 88% uptime, compared to 75% in August last year. For the ten largest bitcoin miners that the bank tracks, implied uptime last month was around 83% versus 76% a year ago and 79% in August 2022. "While mining economics may be moving in the wrong direction, operational efficiency is improving," the authors wrote. U.S.-listed mining companies mined a lower share of new bitcoin in August than the month prior, the bank said, and were 19.9% of the total network as the "public players brought on new capacity faster than the network hashrate increased." Marathon mined the most tokens last month, with 673 bitcoin, the report noted. CleanSpark (CLSK) was second with 478 BTC. Marathon's installed hashrate remains the largest of the group, followed by Riot Platforms (RIOT), the report added. Wall Street giant JPMorgan said mining profitability fell to all time lows in the first two weeks of August, the bank noted in a report last month. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/09/11/bitcoin-mining-was-significantly-less-profitable-in-august-jefferies-says/

2024-09-11 09:00

Huma's payment-finance platform aims to address the liquidity needs of trade financing using blockchain technology for faster settlement. The fundraising round consisted of $10 million equity investment and $28 million of investments in real-world assets on Huma's platform. Investors included Distributed Global with significant participation from Hashkey Capital, Folius Ventures, Stellar Development Foundation, and TIBAS Ventures. Huma merged with cross-border payments firm Arf earlier this year and the two are projected to hit a combined $10 billion in payments-financing transactions next year. Huma Finance closed a $38 million investment round to boost its payment-financing (PayFi) platform built on tokenized real-world assets (RWA). The round comprised $10 million of equity investment and $28 million in yield-bearing RWAs on the San Francisco-based company's platform. The equity component was led by venture capital firm Distributed Global, with significant participation from Hashkey Capital, Folius Ventures, Stellar Development Foundation and TIBAS Ventures, the venture arm of İşbank, Turkey's largest private bank. For the RWA component, Stellar Development Foundation was the largest participant, dedicating $10 million. The real-world assets were multitranche bonds of varying maturities wrapped into exchange-traded products issued by Switzerland-based Arf Capital under Swiss DLT laws, Erbil Karaman, co-founder of Huma, said in an email interview. The company said the investment will help expand the platform to the Solana blockchain and Stellar's Soroban smart-contract network in the coming months. Tokenized RWAs are among the fastest growing applications for blockchain technology, with global financial institutions and digital asset firms racing to bring traditional instruments such as bonds, credit and funds onto distributed ledgers. The process could bring operational efficiencies, faster settlement and increased transparency. The PayFi platform aims to address the liquidity needs of trade financing using blockchain technology, and claims to offer more efficient, more accessible services than traditional alternatives. Earlier this year, Huma Finance merged with Arf to focus on tokenization of RWAs, with both operating independently under a joint holding entity to offer a full-stack tokenized-asset platform. The two companies combined are projected to hit $10 billion in payments-financing transactions next year, Huma said. "Huma's PayFi network marks a paradigm shift in payment financing, bringing essential liquidity and interoperability to an industry long plagued by inefficiencies and limited access," said Chao Deng, CEO of Hashkey Capital, one of the investors in the company. https://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/09/11/tokenized-rwa-platform-huma-finance-gets-38m-investment-plans-expansion-to-solana-and-stellars-soroban/