The latest moves in crypto markets, in context By Jamie Crawley, CoinDesk news reporter Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up here. |
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Happy Friday! Here’s what you need to know today in crypto: |
- Bitcoin holds near $59,000, testing a return to $60,000.
- Coinbase had a blowout first quarter, analysts say.
- Friend.Tech token tanks after airdrop.
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CoinDesk 20 Index: 2,091 +0.5%
Bitcoin (BTC): $59,073 +1.5%
Ether (ETC): $2,972 −0.4%
S&P 500: 5,064.20 +0.9%
Gold: $2,308 +0.4%
Nikkei 225: $2,308 +0.4% |
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Bitcoin tested a return to $60,000 during the Asian morning on Friday before retreating to trade around $59,000. BTC has gained about 2% in the last 24 hours as it continues its recovery from a midweek rout that saw it sink below $57,000 following a drop of 16% in April, the worst month since June 2022. JPMorgan said in a report yesterday that retail investors played a bigger part in the sell-off than institutional investors. The bank is opting for a cautious stance on crypto markets in the near term due to a lack of positive catalysts. The wider crypto market has risen 1.7% in 24 hours as measured by the CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20). |
Coinbase had a blowout first quarter thanks to improving crypto market conditions and business diversification such as its layer-2 blockchain Base, broker JMP said in a report today. Coinbase reported income of $1.2 billion and diluted EPS of $4.40. JMP reiterated its outperform rating for COIN and a $320 price target. Canaccord Genuity raised its target from $240 to $280, while KBW lifted it to $280 from $240. “While we believe investors must remain level-headed around the ebbs and flows of enthusiasm into the industry, which often coincide with fluctuations in price, we see a number of underlying trends supporting our positive thesis that Coinbase will be a relevant player in virtually all aspects of the crypto economy,” JMP analysts led by Devin Ryan wrote. Friend.Tech's native token tanked to $2.50 having risen as high as $169 immediately following its debut. Decentralized social platform Friend.Tech airdropped FRIEND on Friday while unveiling version 2 of the platform. "It looks like the price dump has been driven by liquidity issues," Hitesh Malviya, founder of crypto analytics platform DYOR, told CoinDesk. Several users also seemed to have issues claiming their airdrop. Malviya said the distribution was a "concentrated airdrop," in which leading creators took the most supply. Following its launch in August last year, assets locked in Friend.Tech reached as high as $52 million in October, but are now more than 40% lower at $29.8 million. |
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Market Insight: Retail Investors Led April's Crypto Sell-Off |
Retail investors played a more significant role in April's crypto sell-off than institutional investors, with significant profit taking occurring, JPMorgan said in a report. The bank has highlighted three headwinds – elevated positioning, high bitcoin prices versus gold and versus the estimated bitcoin production cost, and subdued crypto VC funding – as factors in retail investors selling both cryptocurrency and ETF shares. With regards to institutional investors, “it has been mostly momentum traders such as commodity trading advisors (CTAs) or other quantitative funds taking profit on previous extreme long positions in both bitcoin and gold,” analysts led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou wrote. Still, analysis of the futures market suggests a “more limited position reduction by other institutional investors outside quantitative funds and CTAs,” the authors wrote. |
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- The chart shows the most traded bitcoin options on the crypto exchange Deribit in the past 24 hours.
- High volume in bitcoin calls at $90,000 and $100,000 strikes expiring in September suggests market participations maintain a bullish outlook on the cryptocurrency.
- A call option gives the purchaser the right but not the obligation to buy the underlying asset at a predetermined price at a later date. A call buyer is implicitly bullish on the market.
- Source: Velo Data
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Disclaimer: The information presented in this message is intended as a news item that provides a brief summary of various events and developments that affect, or that might in the future affect, the value of one or more of the cryptocurrencies described above. The information contained in this message, and any information liked through the items contained herein, is not intended to provide sufficient information to form the basis for an investment decision. The information presented herein is accurate only as of its date, and it was not prepared by a research analyst or other investment professional. You should seek additional information regarding the merits and risks of investing in any cryptocurrency before deciding to purchase or sell any such instruments. |
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