Bitcoin posted a sizable advance on Wednesday, rising nearly 5% at one point to just shy of $26,800 alongside a rally in traditional markets as interest rates retreated. Institutional cryptocurrency exchange LMAX Digital noted that trading volume has been trending up over the week but saw a significant increase on Wednesday. “Bitcoin volumes printed $173 million, 59% above 30-day average volume and ether volumes printed $92 million, 70% above 30-day average volume,” the exchange said in a morning note. The uptick for bitcoin’s price and trading volumes stems from traditional markets, said LMAX, “with stocks rallying and the U.S. dollar selling off, cryptocurrencies were able to benefit.”
Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX wants to start selling, staking and hedging its sizable crypto holdings, and is seeking to hire Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital as an advisor, according to courtfilings made late Wednesday evening. FTX, which collapsed in November 2022, wants to return funds to creditors in fiat currency rather than bitcoin or ether and hopes careful trading can avoid denting the value of its more than $3 billion in crypto holdings. “Hedging bitcoin and ether will allow the Debtors [FTX] to limit potential downside risk prior to the sale of such bitcoin or ether,” the filing by the FTX lawyers said. “Staking certain digital assets… will inure to the benefit of the estates — and, ultimately, creditors — by generating low risk returns on their otherwise idle digital assets.”
Binance is discontinuing its crypto-backed debit card in Latin America and the Middle East, according to a post on X (formerly Twitter) by its customer support team on Thursday. No reason was provided for the decision, though the cryptocurrency exchange went on to say that less than 1% of its users in the regions would be affected. The card has been in use in Latin America for one year, having been rolled out in Argentina last August and in Brazil in January. The debit card allows customers to use their crypto assets to make transactions in shops or online as they would with a debit card issued by their bank. Discontinuation of the Binance Card in Latin America and the Middle East will take effect on Sept. 21, according to the post.
Market Insight: Maximum Pain Levels
While bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) have chalked out decent gains in the past 24 hours, prices remain well below levels that are likely to inflict “maximum pain” on buyers of August expiry option contracts.
On Friday, Deribit, the world’s leading crypto options exchange by open interest and volume, will settle 72,000 BTC August options contracts worth $1.9 billion and 535,000 ETH options contracts valued at $893 million.
The max pain levels for BTC and ETH settlements are currently at $28,000 and $1,800.
The chart shows growth in the total value locked in the decentralized finance protocols that involve real world assets (RWA).
The TVL has surged to $1.2 billion from $100 million at the start of the year, according to data tracked by Matrixport.
“Smart traders increasingly use those RWA as the equivalent of safe-haven assets as holders collect the yield while waiting for the crypto downside volatility to subside,” Matrixport said in a market note on Thursday.
It is now more important than ever to set industry standards and align on practical short-term and long-term objectives through pointed conversations with the best legal minds and Washington D.C.’s most important decision makers.
Join us at State of Crypto: Policy and Regulation on October 24 in Washington D.C. for an unprecedented opportunity to evaluate, dissect and ultimately shape crypto regulatory frameworks that support a vibrant, secure and healthy future for the digital economy.
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.
