Prices of the ORDI token tied to the Bitcoin Ordinals protocol surged 50% in 24 hours after it was listed on the crypto exchange Binance as an emerging project under the “seed” tag. “ORDI is a relatively new token that poses a higher-than-normal risk, and as such will likely be subject to high price volatility,” Binance said in a Tuesday announcement. “Please ensure that you exercise sufficient risk management, have done your own research in regard to ORDI’s fundamentals, and fully understand the project before opting to trade the token.” The exchange added the Seed Tag, representing innovative projects that may exhibit higher volatility and risks compared to other listed tokens, will be applied to ORDI.

ORDI Price Chart (CoinGeko)

Silicon Valley investment firm Proof Group, part of the Fahrenheit consortium that successfully bid for bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Celsius, is in the running to relaunch FTX, according to two people familiar with the plans. FTX, at the time one of the largest crypto exchanges, collapsed almost a year ago, sending shockwaves through the industry. Since then, the bankrupt exchange has received multiple bids for a potential restart, now narrowed down to a shortlist of three, according to Perella Weinberg Partners, an investment bank involved in the process. Other options being considered include selling the entire exchange and its valuable 9 million-strong customer list or bringing in a partner. A decision should be made by mid-December, said Kevin Cofsky, a partner at Perella Weinberg last month. Proof Group is a venture capital investor in crypto projects such as Aptos, Lightspark and Sui.

Crypto funds had their best run of inflows since the 2021 crypto bull market as investors kept piling into the market, digital asset management firm CoinShares said in a report on Monday. Investment vehicles holding cryptocurrencies saw $261 million of net inflows last week, recording six consecutive weeks of positive influx totaling $767 million, according to CoinShares data. "This run of inflows now matches the July 2023 run of inflows and is the largest since the end of the bull market in December 2021," CoinShares head of research James Butterfill noted.

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Bitcoin (BTC) futures, offered by global derivatives giant Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), are widely known to aid price discovery in the spot market tied to the leading cryptocurrency. New research by McClellan Financial Publication shows sudden spikes in open interest, or the number of active contracts, in these cash-settled futures, hint at trend changes in bitcoin’s price.

Open interest in CME’s standard BTC futures, also known as large futures, has increased by 35% to 19,603 ($3.4 billion) in four weeks, according to CFTC’s Commitment of Traders report. The standard contract is sized at 5 BTC ($173,000) and is considered a bellwether for institutional activity.

The double-digit rise in open interest in a short period means bitcoin’s current rally could soon run out of steam, paving the way for a price pullback. The cryptocurrency has gained over 25% in four weeks to trade near $35,000.

- Omkar Godbole