Aug. 16, 2024

CoinDesk 20 Index: 1,888  −0.3% 
Bitcoin (BTC): $58,376  −0.7% 
Ether (ETC): $2,614  −1.0% 
S&P 500: 5,543.22  +1.6% 
Gold: $2,504  +2.1% 
Nikkei 225: 38,062.67  +3.64% 

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The crypto market was in quiet mode during the Asian and European mornings to end the week, with bitcoin 0.45% lower over 24 hours near $58,500. ETH lost 0.7%, while SOL led gains, adding 0.44%. The broader digital asset market, as measured by the CoinDesk 20 Index, is about 0.39% higher. Bitcoin capitulated to under $57,000 late Thursday, a drop for which there was no obvious catalyst, given that both the Nasdaq and S&P 500 were ticking upward at the time.

South Korea's National Pension Service has bought almost $34 million worth of MicroStrategy shares. Following the software company's 10:1 stock split earlier this month, the pension fund now owns 245,000 MSTR shares valued at $32.32 million, based on Thursday's closing price of $131.93. The purchase can be seen as an indirect investment in bitcoin because MicroStrategy is the largest corporate holder of the largest cryptocurrency. Earlier this month, Wall Street broker Benchmark raised its price target on the Michael Saylor-led firm to $2,150 from $1,875. Benchmark raised the target even though MicroStrategy missed its second-quarter revenue target. NPS also holds over $45 million worth of Coinbase shares. 

The New York Stock Exchange scrubbed plans to list bitcoin ETF options, according to an SEC filing. The SEC extended its review period multiple times after publishing the NYSE proposal for public comment in February, eventually initiating formal proceedings in April. The proposal was withdrawn by the exchange before a final decision was made. CBOE, where a number of the bitcoin ETFs are traded, also withdrew its application, but has since refiled with a much more extensive proposal, according to documents spotted by Bloomberg's James Seyffart. The SEC hasn't provided public comment or feedback on the issue.

A steep drop in fees paid to transact on Ethereum could spell a bullish sign for the network’s underlying ether tokens, one analyst said, citing historical data.

“Every time ETH gas fees drop to rock bottom has often signaled a price bottom in the mid-term,” Ryan Lee, chief analyst at Bitget Research, said in note to CoinDesk.

"ETH prices tend to strongly rebound after this cycle, and when this moment coincides with an interest rate cut cycle, the market's wealth effect is full of possibilities.”

Fees dipped to as low as 0.6 gwei (a unit of gas) earlier this week with low-priority transactions costing only 1 gwei or less – a rare occurrence in recent years. The fees represent a more than 95% drop from the 83.1 gwei levels in March.

Lack of demand for Ethereum block space and a preference for using applications on other blockchains probably led to the decline, Lee said.

"The drop in Ethereum’s gas fee prices to a five-year low can be attributed to the migration of meme season and DApp interactions to other faster and cheaper blockchains like Solana and Layer 2."

- Jamie Crawley