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First Mover Americas: Bitcoin Holds Below $60K Before U.S. Jobs Data Revision
The latest price moves in crypto markets in context for Aug. 21, 2024.
Updated Aug 21, 2024, 12:06 p.m. Published Aug 21, 2024, 12:06 p.m.
This article originally appeared in First Mover, CoinDesk’s daily newsletter, putting the latest moves in crypto markets in context. Subscribe to get it in your inbox every day.
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Bitcoin traded little changed below $60,000 during much of the Asian and European mornings. BTC had retreated from its brief rally to $61,000 on Tuesday, trading at around $59,350, a fall of nearly 2.5% over 24 hours. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is set to publish a data revision that some observers expect to show job growth in the year to March was slower than previously estimated. Mt. Gox-related selling pressure may also be rearing its head after a wallet associated with the defunct exchange moved $784 million worth of BTC early on Wednesday, according to data tracking platform Arkham Intelligence.
Bitcoin metrics indicate weak demand, reflecting increased selling amid weeks of muted price action. CryptoQuant's demand indicator, which tracks the difference between the daily total bitcoin block rewards and the daily change in the number of bitcoin, has not moved in a year or more. Inflows to spot bitcoin ETFs have also waned from a monthly pace of 6% in March to just 1% now, CryptoQuant has said. Still, a few metrics have remained strong. Long-term holders – or wallets that hold the for more than six months – have continued accumulating bitcoin at “unprecedented levels,” with the total balance reaching a record-high monthly rate of 391,000 BTC earlier this week.
The aggregate number of institutional investors holding bitcoin ETFs in the second quarter rose 14% from the first quarter, according to Bitwise. These investors' share of total assets under management (AUM) of bitcoin ETFs grew to 21.15% from 18.74%, Bitwise said, adding that institutions ended the quarter holding $11 billion in BTC ETFs. This took place amid a 12% slide in the price of bitcoin during the quarter. Bitwise noted criticism that bitcoin ETFs are predominantly owned by retail investors, an assertion it says is simply untrue. It observed that these ETFs have been adopted by institutions "at the fastest rate of any ETF in history."
Chart of the Day
- The chart shows the combined market capitalization of the top two stablecoins, tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC), has increased nearly 3% to a record $152 billion this month.
- The increase in the so-called dry powder often breeds bullish trends in the broader market.
- Source: TradingView
- Omkar Godbole
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Jamie Crawley
Jamie joined CoinDesk as a news reporter in February 2021 after writing widely about crypto and blockchain for two years in other roles. Away from crypto, Jamie runs a lot and loves all things sport. He holds small amounts of BTC, ETH, ADA and LTC.
Omkar Godbole
Omkar Godbole is a Co-Managing Editor on CoinDesk's Markets team based in Mumbai, holds a masters degree in Finance and a Chartered Market Technician (CMT) member. Omkar previously worked at FXStreet, writing research on currency markets and as fundamental analyst at currency and commodities desk at Mumbai-based brokerage houses. Omkar holds small amounts of bitcoin, ether, BitTorrent, tron and dot.
