Although it may seem like a dream, Bitcoin is finding buyers above $60,000, and this is happening for the first time since the 2021 ATH period. Bitcoin, which had fallen to $15,500, is now back at the peak, despite some claiming it was over and dead. Moreover, the halving hasn’t even happened yet, and the real peak is expected to be seen in 2025. So, what’s happening with cryptocurrencies these days?
What’s Happening in the Crypto Markets?
Bitcoin is currently at $62,900, and the U.S. government has moved approximately $1 billion worth of BTC that it seized from Bitfinex in 2016. We witnessed a historic day for spot Bitcoin ETF entries, with volumes doubling the previous peak.
U.S. BTC Sales
The U.S. government holds a massive accumulation of Bitcoin seized from criminals. Two wallets that held funds seized from Bitfinex in 2016 recently made transfers worth $922 million. The government had confiscated 119,754 BTC following the hack of Bitfinex in 2016, which are valued at $7.4 billion today.
Now, with prices at the peak, the government is moving a $922 million asset, and it is expected to sell again through Coinbase. These sales may not trigger a major downturn as they are conducted OTC and ETF demand continues to be strong.
ETF Volumes Break Records
Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart reported that yesterday’s cumulative trading volume reached $7.69 billion. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) accounted for 45% of this volume with $3.35 billion.
Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas also highlighted another record broken yesterday with half a million individual investor transactions. As we have discussed before, the introduction of ETFs has raised questions about whether FOMO driven by ETFs could abnormally increase entries. The best-case scenario is unfolding as prices rise on crypto exchanges and investors make more entries through ETF channels.
Coinbase and Binance Issues
Yesterday, as BTC was about to surge to $65,000, a sudden drop from $64,000 began, and the exchanges’ mobile applications experienced problems. Coinbase and Binance users encountered errors due to heavy traffic in the app. Investors who saw their balance as zero or could not open the buy/sell screen voiced their complaints on social media.
Soon after, the exchanges took the necessary steps to handle the heavy traffic, and the problem was resolved.
