Crypto Chronicle - 02/04/24

Welcome to the 31st edition of the Crypto Chronicle, brought to you by Imperial Wealth.

You can listen to todays episode here.

News

BlackRock CEO, Larry Fink, ‘Very Bullish’ on Bitcoin as ETF Surpasses $17 Billion

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink expressed satisfaction with the rapid growth of the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), calling it the fastest-growing ETF in history. 

IBIT amassed $13.5 billion within 11 weeks, exceeding expectations. Fink praised the liquidity and transparency of the Bitcoin market, reaffirming his bullish outlook on Bitcoin’s long-term viability. 

Meanwhile, concerns loom over smaller ETF providers’ profitability amidst fierce competition. Hashdex became the 11th entrant into the spot Bitcoin ETF market on March 27.

Read more here: https://imperialwealth.com/news/blackrock-ceo-larry-fink-very-bullish-on-bitcoin-as-etf-surpasses-17-billion

Sam Bankman-Fried Receives 25-Year Prison Sentence

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for seven felony charges, following a hearing by Judge Lewis Kaplan in New York. 

The sentence includes time served and an $11 billion judgment. Despite Bankman-Fried’s apology, the judge emphasized the severity of the crimes. Witnesses recounted losses and criticised Bankman-Fried’s lack of accountability. 

The verdict, falling between defence and prosecution recommendations, surprised many. Other FTX associates have pleaded guilty, with Ryan Salame next for sentencing.

Read more here: https://imperialwealth.com/news/sam-bankman-fried-receives-25-year-prison-sentence

Bitwise Submits SEC Application for Spot Ethereum ETF Listing

Bitwise has applied to the SEC for a spot Ethereum ETF, filing on March 28. The timing coincides with debates over Ether’s classification as a security, which could impact future ETF approvals. 

Bitwise intends to list the ETH ETF on NYSE Arca, following its SEC approval for a spot Bitcoin ETF in January. The SEC’s deadline for the latest round of Ethereum ETF applications is May 23, with VanEck leading. 

While optimism initially prevailed for 2023 approvals, concerns linger for potential rejections extending into 2024. 

Companies like Fidelity, Hashdex, and ARK 21Shares await SEC decisions, as the agency began approving Ethereum futures-based investment products in October 2023.

Read more here: https://imperialwealth.com/news/bitwise-submits-sec-application-for-spot-ethereum-etf-listing

Bitcoin Exchanges Witness Nearly $10 Billion Decline in BTC Balances During 2024

Since the introduction of US spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs), Bitcoin exchanges have seen nearly $10 billion worth of BTC withdrawn, with over 136,000 BTC leaving since January 11. 

This bullish trend includes mass withdrawals this quarter, despite ETFs trading for less than three months. Glassnode data reveals a combined BTC balance at its lowest since April 2018, with over 22,000 BTC withdrawn on March 27 alone. 

Market analysts predict a supply squeeze as ETF purchases outpace daily mined BTC. 

Charles Edwards anticipates significant institutional demand post upcoming block subsidy halving in April, marking a pivotal moment for Bitcoin’s value.

Read more here: https://imperialwealth.com/news/bitcoin-exchanges-witness-nearly-10-billion-decline-in-btc-balances-during-2024

Base Achieves All-Time High DEX Volume, Exceeding $1 Billion

During 2024 Coinbase’s Ethereum layer-2 solution, Base, shattered DEX trading volume records, surpassing $1 billion on March 30.

The volume spiked 25% from the previous day, totalling $1.21 billion, with UniSwap dominating at 64.3%. Concurrently, daily active users surged by 12.4% to 172,000, with an average of 667,765 weekly users over six weeks.

Base’s growth sparks speculation within the crypto community, with predictions of becoming a hub for meme coins.

Trader Wizard of SoHo sees Base as an “early Solana,” envisioning billion-dollar meme coins.

Base contributor Jesse Pollak’s survey suggests it could become the largest non-Ethereum on-chain economy within three to twelve months.

Read more here: https://imperialwealth.com/news/base-achieves-all-time-high-dex-volume-exceeding-1-billion

Technical Analysis

Despite the dumping this morning from $69,000 to $66,000 – Bitcoin has held trend.

Please see the chart below:

As you can see, it continues to hold that trend beginning in February, bullish.

In any case, the first level of support that interests me is still the Golden Pocket at $65,000/USD.

Please see the chart below:

Under that comes $59k and then $48-$50k as shown in prior weeks.

These are the levels I will plan my buying around!

Resistance at the moment is $75-77,000/USD with the charts 123.7% extension coming in around $82k.

These are major upside targets.

As discussed in the Podcast at length, in the Trading Academy we employ new buys/dollar cost averaging to mitigate risk in the market and improve our profits.

We will be dollar-cost-averaging this week and next and getting some new buys out.

We’ll be back next week.

Thanks!