Market picture
The crypto market is up 0.25% in 24 hours to $1.16 trillion. Bitcoin is up 0.48%, Ethereum is down 0.1%, and altcoins are mixed, ranging from down 1.4% (Dogecoin) to up 0.7% (Solana). The Fear and Greed Index remains in neutral territory at 54.
Bitcoin closed slightly higher on the last three daily candles but barely above the $29.2K level. It has yet to confirm a return to growth after a prolonged correction. Bitcoin has been trading within a local downtrend for the past three weeks, with a series of lower highs and lower lows. Late last month, the 50-day moving average turned from support to resistance, reinforcing the medium-term bearish outlook.
According to data from CoinShares, crypto fund investments fell by a record $107 million last week, a record $107 million in the past five months, as outflows continued for a third week. Bitcoin investments fell by $111 million, and Ethereum investments by $6 million. Investments in altcoins are partially offsetting withdrawals from the major cryptocurrencies.
News background
According to Glassnode, the volume of bitcoins held by long-term holders has reached a record high. Holders control 14.599 million BTC or 75% of the cryptocurrency’s total supply.
Michael van de Poppe, the Eight founder, urged accumulating positions. He says, “Big institutions are getting into the game, and the smartest thing to do is to follow them”.
According to Swiss investment firm 21e6 Capital, investors who held bitcoins made 69 per cent more than most cryptocurrency hedge funds in 2023.
The Huobi exchange experienced a major outflow of funds over the weekend amid rumours of the arrest of exchange officials in China. The platform’s stablecoin reserves fell by 30%. A Huobi spokesperson denied the reports.
Bloomberg reports that payment system PayPal is launching its own PayPal USD (PYUSD) stablecoin for money transfers and payments. The issuer is the infrastructure company Paxos.
