Market picture
Crypto market capitalisation fell 2.5% in 24 hours to $1.39 trillion, partially recovering from $1.35 trillion. The pressure on the market is due to the resignation of Binance’s CEO, who has been the face of the industry for the past year following the collapse of FTX. The market movement does not yet suggest a dramatic change in the long-term view of the industry.
Bitcoin briefly touched $35.6K but found buyers again in more liquid trading at the start of the European session. So far, the top cryptocurrency has managed to stay within the uptrend of the last four weeks.
Solana and Ethereum have retreated to support 61.8% of the rally from last month’s lows. Continued buying in the sector today could signal the correction’s end and buyers’ return. An intensification of the sell-off from current levels would signal a move to a deeper drawdown, breaking the uptrend of the past few months.
News background
Binance, the world’s largest exchange, has settled the case with US authorities, agreeing to pay more than $4.3 billion in compensation for violating some laws.
The exchange’s chief executive, Changpeng Zhao, resigned after pleading guilty and agreeing to pay $50 million personally. Richard Teng, former head of regional markets, became the new CEO.
Meanwhile, the SEC accused Kraken of trading in unregistered securities and failing to register as an exchange, broker, dealer, and clearing agency. The SEC also alleges Kraken commingles customer funds with its assets and uses customer accounts to pay operating expenses. The exchange has denied the SEC’s allegations and intends to defend its position in court. Kraken co-founder Jesse Powell has called for all cryptocurrency companies to leave the US.
Popular blockchain analyst and researcher Willie Wu said that Bitcoin will never go below $30K again. According to him, whenever BTC has experienced a bear market or a halving, “the price has never come back”.
The number of bitcoins with “paper” profits has reached 83.6 per cent of all coins in circulation – the highest since November 2021 – but the average value of those profits remains insufficient to create a wave of holders closing positions, Glassnode said.
According to The Block, the average fee on the first cryptocurrency’s blockchain has surpassed the corresponding figure for Ethereum amid renewed interest in Ordinals Wallet. Over the past seven days, the average transaction value on the Bitcoin network has risen 49 per cent, from $8.59 to $12.75. Ether’s figure is $7.55.
