March 21, 2023

After surpassing $28,000 for the first time in nine months, bitcoin has been trading in a tight range between $27,300 and $28,350 over the past 24 hours, as investors await a decision by the Federal Reserve on interest rates on Wednesday. Traders are predicting a 25 basis point increase. The world’s largest cryptocurrency appears to be stalling at about $28,000. SwissBlock insights wrote in a report that the market appears to be betting on a 0.25 percentage point rate hike. “If the Fed proceeds to raise rates, the market shouldn’t react as aggressively. If the Fed pauses, however, we will see a strong move to the upside,” the report stated. “We expect volume to decrease and bitcoin’s price action to lose some steam going into the meeting.” Altcoins were down, with most losing 5% over the past 24 hours. 

Bitcoin's 24-hour price chart

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in its first-ever crypto-related case on Tuesday, when lawyers for crypto exchange Coinbase will attempt to convince the nine justices to pause a pair of class-action lawsuits against it. Though the case involves crypto, it isn't about crypto itself. Instead, the case is a fairly esoteric, procedural argument over whether a lawsuit can proceed in federal court while one party – in this case, Coinbase – is attempting to send the dispute to arbitration.

Arbitrum (ARB) token derivative markets are popping up on centralized and decentralized exchanges ahead of Thursday’s claim event. Decentralized marketplace Clober is letting traders purchase puts on ARB with strike prices of 50 cents, $1, $2, $4, $8 and $16. The options have cumulatively seen over $50,000 in trading volume in the past 24 hours after issuance. Put options are a type of option that increases in value as the price of the underlying asset, such as a token or stock, falls. “$ARB $2 put options are sold for 54 cents,” Clober said Tuesday. “By paying 54 cents, you can buy the right to sell your $ARB tokens for $2 at any time within 24 hours of claiming your $ARB airdrop.” “That guarantees $1.46 of profit per $ARB on claim day,” Clober added.

Matrixport

The recent bank failures in the U.S. have exposed the fractional reserve banking system’s core limitations and strengthened the case for investing in bitcoin.

Analysis by crypto-services provider Matrixport shows that American buyers are leading the safe-haven bid for the cryptocurrency. Bitcoin has rallied by over 40% in 10 days, reaching a nine-month high above $28,000, CoinDesk data shows.

"Since the dip on March 10, Bitcoin has rallied by +44%. +31% of the rally was driven during the U.S. trading hours, and an indicator that Americans are buying bitcoins with both hands," Markus Thielen, head of research and strategy at Matrixport, said in a note to clients, adding that the stress in the banking sector isn't over.

Chart of the Day

– Omkar Godbole

We know that the recent events with the U.S. banking system have put many in the crypto and Web3 community in a challenging situation. That’s why we have decided to extend our current prices for Consensus 2023. This means that you have a few more days to take advantage of these savings on your registration for the most important event in crypto and Web3. 

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