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☆ Bitcoin's Wild Price Booms and Busts Are Going to Continue Forever
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Emily Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The main explanation for the recent gain in bitcoin's price is the Securities and Exchange Commission's begrudged blessing of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds, investment vehicles that track bitcoin's price. As bitcoin ETF providers have to invest in the underlying assets — bitcoins — demand for those assets increases. "The speed of the come-up is much faster than I thought," he said, adding that he was specifically surprised at retail-trader activity in the bitcoin ETFs. (Also, not everyone agrees it will be good for bitcoin's price.) Or maybe, just maybe, the latest run will cement bitcoin's future as a more stable part of people's investment portfolios.

Persons: Bitcoin's, bitcoin, David Yermack, University's, who've, BlackRock's, Eric Balchunas, James Butterfill, it's, Butterfill, shiba inu, Nic Carter, Carter, Bitcoin, Yermack, Emily Stewart Organizations: bitcoin, University's Stern School of Business, Securities, Exchange, SEC, Wall, Fidelity, University's Stern School of, Bloomberg Intelligence, Federal Reserve, New York Community Bancorp, Castle, Ventures, Business Locations: New, bitcoin, BlackRock, David Yermack , New

Meanwhile, there is growing excitement that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will approve the first ever bitcoin ETF, after years of opposition. With all of this excitement comes some quite bold predictions about bitcoin's price. "No rationale for that prediction," Mobius said, except that a bitcoin ETF looks likely and "that has heightened interest" in the cryptocurrency. Yang attributes the anticipated price rise to a bitcoin ETF being approved, leading to higher institutional investment in bitcoin, as well as May 2024's bitcoin halving, which would result in the bitcoin supply being constrained. Alexander told CNBC that during the first quarter of 2024, bitcoin will trade within the $40,000 to $55,000 range, owing to "professional traders creating volatility."

Persons: Filip Radwanski, Bitcoin, bitcoin, FTX, Sam Bankman, Fried, Binance's Changpeng Zhao, Mark Mobius, Mobius, Yang, Luna, James Butterfill, Butterfill, Antoni Trenchev, Trenchev, Carol Alexander, Alexander, Coinbase, Matrixport Organizations: Getty, CNBC, Department of Justice, U.S, U.S . Securities, Exchange, Chartered, University of Sussex, Exchange Commission, SEC, Fidelity, Blackrock, Federal Reserve Locations: U.S, bitcoin, Blackrock

☆ Cryptocurrencies dip as investors digest regulatory updates from industry heavyweights Binance, Kraken
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Founder and CEO of Binance Changpeng Zhao, commonly known as "CZ", attends the "CZ meets Italy" at Palazzo Brancaccio on May 10, 2022 in Rome, Italy. The move weighed on the rest of the crypto market. Earlier in the day the coin rose as much as 5% with hopeful investors eager to see the multi-year investigation into the world's largest crypto exchange resolved. Cryptocurrencies were slightly lower Tuesday, as investors weighed a batch of regulatory updates from Washington involving some of the biggest names in crypto: Binance, Kraken and Tether. Investors were all weighing news from another major crypto exchange: Kraken.

Persons: Zhao, Palazzo Brancaccio, Ripple's XRP, Solana, Uniswap, bitcoin, Changpeng Zhao, James Butterfill Organizations: CZ, U.S . Department of Justice, Binance, SEC, Securities and Exchange Commission Locations: Italy, Palazzo, Rome, Washington, Southeast Asia

Sept 19 (Reuters) - Bitcoin isn't the only asset experiencing a late summer slump. It has shrunk by almost a tenth this year, standing at $124.4 billion as of Sept. 14. A jump in the dollar index on interest rate hikes last year was accompanied by a big rise in stablecoin volumes, he added. Yet all is not equal: Dollar-pegged Tether, the biggest stablecoin, is bucking the losing trend. Reporting by Hannah Lang in Washington; Editing by Michelle Price and Pravin CharOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: James Butterfill, CoinGecko, Paolo Ardoino, Paxos, USDC, TerraUSD, Dante Disparte, it's, Hannah Lang, Michelle Price Organizations: U.S ., New York Department of Financial Services, U.S, Silicon, Bank —, Thomson, Reuters Locations: South America, Central Asia, U.S, Washington

Hands hold the biometric imaging device, the Orb, of the identity and financial public utility Worldcoin, which aims to create a World ID digital passport, with a tradeable cryptocurrency, in Berlin, Germany August 1, 2023. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File PhotoAug 8 (Reuters) - Worldcoin has no problem attracting eyeballs. More than 2.2 million people have signed up, getting their irises scanned in exchange for a digital ID and, in some countries, free crypto. The new project from ChatGPT founder Sam Altman aims to create a blockchain-based "identity and financial network". PitchBook analyst Robert Le said there were several startups trying to build blockchain-based digital identity systems, but none on Worldcoin's scale.

Persons: Annegret, Sam Altman, WLD, Gordon Grant, Andreessen Horowitz, Robert Le, James Butterfill, Worldcoin, It's, Riyad Carey, Elizabeth Howcroft, Pravin Organizations: REUTERS, Genesis, Reuters Graphics, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Pravin Char, Thomson, Reuters Locations: Berlin, Germany, Kenya

☆ Crypto sees fifth consecutive week of outflows, with negative sentiment focused on bitcoin
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Crypto investment products are coming off their fifth consecutive week of outflows while trading volumes on trusted exchanges hit their lowest level since late 2020, according to CoinShares. Outflows in popular electronic trading products, mutual funds and OTC trusts referencing bitcoin , ether and other crypto assets totaled $32 million for the week ending May 19, CoinShares said in a weekly report Monday. "This was another down week for crypto and, interestingly, a week of divergence with upbeat equity markets," Bernstein analyst Gautam Chhugani said in a note Monday. The market saw $32.7 million in bitcoin outflows, followed by $1 million in ether. Any sign of dislocation in U.S. banks/the U.S. Dollar/the U.S. debt crisis could trigger crypto markets to catch a bid amidst the chaos."

Bitcoin jumped as much as 9.6% to $26,533, its highest since June 2022, in its fourth straight days of gains. Major cryptocurrencies have been buoyed in recent days by U.S. authorities announcing plans to limit the fallout from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). U.S. authorities' action helped stabilise the major USDC stablecoin, whose issuer Circle had deposits of $3.3 billion at SVB. The widely anticipated reading may lead the Federal Reserve to slow or even pause hiking interest rates next week. Reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft and Tom Wilson, editing by Sinead Cruise and Susan FentonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

LONDON, March 9 (Reuters) - Bitcoin steadied on Thursday near its lowest since mid-February, after U.S. crypto-focused bank Silvergate said it would voluntarily liquidate, the latest in a series of high-profile crypto collapses triggered by the collapse of the FTX exchange. Silvergate Capital Corp (SI.N) said on Wednesday it planned to close and voluntarily liquidate, after warning last week that it was evaluating its ability to operate as a going concern. Bitcoin was last down 0.4% at $21,624 , having fallen 2.2% on Wednesday to a 3-1/2 week low of $21,590. Multiple partners of the bank, including major crypto exchange Coinbase Global Inc (COIN.O), severed ties with Silvergate last week. Others, including Binance, said they did not have any asset losses at Silvergate.

MarketVector's Smart Contract Leaders Index (.MVSCLE), which tracks major tokens of this kind - including ether, dot and solana - is up 36% in 2023, outpacing even bitcoin's 33% rise. Bundeep Rangar, CEO of crypto-focused asset manager Fineqia, said he expected the biggest crypto returns to come from smart contract tokens on platforms that support decentralized finance (DeFi) apps. Around seven of the top 20 biggest crypto assets are smart contract tokens, including ether and dot , solana and cardano . BofA analysts also pointed to smart contract tokens and the blockchain-based applications they power as similar to growth stocks in the equities world, typically technology shares. They caution, though, that the global macro outlook and central bank policy could hit the growth of crypto projects and their associated tokens.

☆ New Year, new rally: Why bitcoin is up 26% this month after a tumultuous 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

"The most important macro data investors are focussing on is the weak services PMI and the trending down of employment and wage data. 'Whales' buying BTCLarger purchasers of digital coins known as "whales" may be leading the latest rally in bitcoin, according to Kaiko. Several bitcoin miners have been flushed out by the drop in prices. Bitcoin miners, who use power-intensive machines to verify transactions and mint new tokens, have been squeezed by the slump in prices and rising energy costs. That's historically a good sign for bitcoin, according to Ayyar.

☆ FTX's collapse could be crypto's dot-com crash moment – with the industry struggling to ever regain investors' trust
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The collapse of FTX could weigh on cryptocurrencies for years, experts told Insider. And the dot-com crash shows that there could be further pain ahead. "In a very crude way, this isn't that different to the dot-com crash," Morningstar Investment Management CIO Dan Kemp told Insider. Just 48% of internet companies even survived the dot-com crash, and it took Amazon a decade to regain its peak share price of $113. Whether cryptocurrencies can bounce back as some tech stocks did 20 years ago remains to be seen.

☆ Cryptocurrencies posted strong gains in October. Here’s why investors are optimistic on the rest of the year
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Things are looking up for crypto after bitcoin and ether finally climbed enough to post gains for October. Prices were unusually flat for most of the month, but several investors have interpreted that as stability and resilience. Still, investors say that while it may be too early to call a bottom, recovery is in sight. McClurg also a highlighted a recent move of $940 million in bitcoin investors removed from exchanges, calling it a typically bullish signal and an indicator that people are saving their bitcoin rather than selling it. While the central bank continues to dominate investors' attention, the case for bitcoin continues develop for other market participants.

☆ Bitcoin falls to start the week as investors look ahead to inflation data
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Bitcoin fell to its lowest level in over a week on Monday as investors continued to digest strong jobs data from Friday that pushed risk assets including cryptocurrencies even deeper into the red. I also expect significant volatility on Thursday, with a move up or down depending on the inflation figure." Investors watch these updates closely for clues about the Federal Reserve's next move in its fight to bring down inflation. "Key data points to watch out for this week will be the CPI data beat/miss on Wednesday and the FOMC minutes, a whiff of dovishness is likely to be supportive for crypto assets." Despite the anxiety hanging over investors, cryptocurrencies' volatility has been uncharacteristically low in recent weeks, though its correlation with stocks remains positive.

The pound fell to a record low against the dollar on Monday, having plunged the previous Friday after the UK government announced unfunded tax cuts . "There is a high correlation to bitcoin volume growth and political/monetary instability," he said. read moreVersus the dollar, bitcoin is down around 58% so far this year, while the British pound is down 20%. Bitcoin was trading around $19,515 on Wednesday and at 17,940 versus the British pound . The cryptocurrency hit a two-week high against the British pound on Tuesday.

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