Bitcoin is showing signs of weakness ahead of a long Easter weekend in many countries and the release of the U.S. jobs report for March on Friday. The world’s largest cryptocurrency by market value dropped 2% in the past 24 hours to below $27,800, after reaching as high as $28,800 earlier this week. U.S. stock markets will be closed on Friday for Good Friday. Bitcoin, of course, always trades. It is estimated that U.S. employers added 238,000 jobs in March, with the unemployment rate set to hold steady at 3.6%, according to data from Trading Economics. Traders watch the report for signs of inflation, which affects the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate policy and in turn prices of risky assets like bitcoin. The dollar edged up slightly on Thursday, and the price of gold extended its gains.
Bitcoin’s 24-hour price chart
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has cancelled Binance Australia’s derivatives license, according to a press release on Thursday. Binance Australia, an arm of the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume, has been ordered by the regulator to close all of its customers’ open derivatives positions by April 21. ASIC has been reviewing of Binance’s businesses, the press release said. Binance found itself in hot water with regulators last week, when the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission sued the exchange for selling unregistered derivatives products in the U.S.
Bnance recently turned down an offer to acquire Tron blockchain founder Justin Sun’s ownership stake in rival exchange Huobi, according to a person familiar with the matter. Binance wasn’t interested because of rumors that Huobi has ties to mainland China, which the exchange wants nothing to do with, according to the person, who requested anonymity. In an interview last month with CoinDesk TV, Sun said Huobi wants to attain a license in Hong Kong and launch a new exchange there called Huobi Hong Kong. The scope of Sun’s involvement with Huobi has been cloaked in secrecy.
Market Insight: Memorable March for DEXs
Decentralized exchange total trading volume (DefiLlama)
Decentralized exchanges had a large jump in cryptocurrency trading volume in March as U.S. regulators cracked down on centralized trading platforms, including Kraken, Coinbase and Binance.
Volume on DEXs reached $133.1 billion in March for the third consecutive monthly increase and the highest monthly total since last May, according to DefiLlama data.
That came as the crypto industry faces possibly its strongest regulatory pressure yet, with centralized exchanges taking most of the heat so far. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ordered Kraken to shut down its staking service for U,S. customers and warned Coinbase that it may take an unspecified enforcement action against the exchange for selling what may be unregistered securities, while the Commodity Futures Trading Commission accused Binance of evading U.S. law.
The chart shows ratio between trading volumes in bitcoin and ether’s spot markets since June 2021.
The ratio has recently declined sharply, reaching its lowest since late 2021.
Historically, such sharp declines have portended bitcoin price pullbacks.
– Omkar Godbole
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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.
