The Nigerian fintech firm Flutterwave claimed on May 16 that it had foiled an attempt to breach its payments platform. Flutterwave asserted that the “unauthorized activities inconsistent with usual customer behavior” did not compromise users’ funds or data confidentiality. According to one report, over million was siphoned from Flutterwave following a cyberattack in April. […]
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Michael Saylor Foresees U.S. Pension Funds’ Bitcoin Adoption
Michael Saylor, co-founder of Microstrategy and a prominent Bitcoin advocate, recently suggested in a social media post that U.S. pension funds, which collectively manage approximately trillion in assets, will need to incorporate bitcoin into their portfolios. He stated, “There are thousands of pension funds in the United States managing ~ trillion in assets. They […]
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Coinbase Faces System Wide Outage, Affirms Funds Are Safe
Coinbase, one of the largest U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchanges, reported a system-wide outage in its services, affecting customers’ crypto operations. On its status site, Coinbase stated that it was aware that “some users may experience failures when sending crypto or withdrawing fiat,” and declared it was working to fix this issue. Later, the exchange recognized experiencing […]
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EU Regulator Considers Crypto Inclusion in €12 Trillion UCITS Funds
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has initiated a call for evidence to explore the potential inclusion of new assets, including cryptocurrencies, in UCITS funds, which represent a major share of EU retail investments. UCITS, an acronym for Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities, is a regulatory framework of the European Union that […]
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Mixed Fortunes for US Bitcoin Funds as GBTC Losses Offset Other Gains
Following two days of positive inflows, U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) experienced a decline, with .7 million exiting on Tuesday. Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) saw million leave during the day’s trading sessions, overshadowing the break-even and positive reports from the other spot bitcoin funds. Fidelity, Ark Invest, Invesco Report Gains While GBTC Struggles […]
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Crypto Funds Mark 3rd Consecutive Weeks Of Outflows With $435 Million In Withdrawals
Crypto investment products are now going through rough times, as shown by inflow and outflow data. The crypto market is known for its volatile market cycles of ups and downs. Investment products are now struggling, and confidence in the space seems shaken. Crypto funds have now seen outflows for three straight weeks, with investors pulling 5 million from digital asset funds last week, according to CoinShares data. The recent stretch of outflows highlights the souring investor sentiment around some digital assets after a bull run earlier this year.
The Third Consecutive Week Of Crypto Withdrawals
CoinShares’ recent weekly report on digital asset fund flows has revealed the current sentiment among institutional investors. According to the report, investment funds witnessed 5 million in outflows last week to mark the biggest outflow since March. This comes on top of the 6 million and 6 million pulled out in the previous two weeks. Unsurprisingly, the majority of outflows came from Bitcoin funds. Of the total 5 million outflows, 3 million came from Bitcoin funds. Notably, a bulk of Bitcoin’s outflows (8 million) came from Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the US.
A look into previous crypto fund flow data since the beginning of the year shows that the majority of the inflows recorded in January, February, and March can be attributed to the Spot Bitcoin ETFs. These ETFs recorded so much inflow of funds that investment products were able to record their best year on record in less than three months.
However, inflows into these ETFs have declined in the past few weeks, and the largest digital asset is now failing to attract inflows amidst interest rate stagnation in the US market. Grayscale’s GBTC, in particular, continued its run of withdrawals, recording 0 million in outflows. At the same time, the other ETFs failed to attract inflows during the week in order to offset these withdrawals. BlackRock’s IBIT, for instance, failed to register inflows for three days straight last week, bringing its 71-day run of inflows to an end.
Ethereum, the altcoin king, also witnessed .4 million in outflows last week to offset inflows into other altcoins. Inflow data shows investors pouring .9 million worth of inflows into multi-coin investment products. Solana, Litecoin, XRP, Cardano, and Polkadot witnessed .1 million, .1 million, .4 million, .4 million, and .5 million in inflows, respectively. Short Bitcoin products also witnessed .3 million in inflows, showcasing a glimpse into investors’ sentiment.
What’s Next?
Investor sentiment can shift quickly in the fast-moving crypto space and the coming weeks may provide more clarity on the direction of crypto fund flows. Six Spot Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are set to launch in Hong Kong today April 30. Their entry into the Asian market has been long anticipated and is expected to surpass the first-day inflow record set by their counterparts in the US.
Hedge Funds Fall For The Memecoin Frenzy: “Mind-Boggling” Returns Tempt Financial Giants
In a recent Bloomberg report, it has come to light that the hedge fund industry is increasingly drawn to the allure of the memecoin sector, given the recent price increases and substantial profits that surpass those of Bitcoin (BTC) or the largest altcoins in the market.
Memecoin Mania
One example of the appeal of memecoins to traditional finance institutions is Newport Beach-based Stratos, which launched a liquid fund with the Dogwifhat token in December.
The Solana-based memecoin Dogwifhat, known for its mascot – a beanie-wearing dog – became a major player in the crypto world, with its price increasing more than 300 times.
This substantial spike reportedly helped Stratos achieve a staggering 137% return in the first quarter of 2024, outperforming gains in the broader crypto market. However, Dogwifhat has since retraced more than 35% from its March 31 all-time high (ATH) of .83 and is currently trading at .09.
Interestingly, Stratos is not alone in venturing into memecoins; other hedge funds are also doing so.
Asset manager Brevan Howard, for instance, has reportedly made a “tiny” investment in memecoins. Pantera Capital, a crypto fund, recently emphasized the staying power of memecoins and the “enormous” trading opportunities they present.
Is It Just Gambling?
Despite the enthusiasm from some hedge funds, the report notes that many crypto participants remain skeptical of memecoins.
Quinn Thompson, the founder of Lekker Capital, a hedge fund experimenting with trading memecoins, likened the current frenzy to the speculative fervor seen in traditional markets with stocks like GameStop.
In addition, Thompson described memecoins as the “tip of the spear for speculation” and emphasized the “gambling-like” nature of their trading.
Still, Cosmo Jiang, a portfolio manager at Pantera Capital, noted the evolution of memecoins beyond mere jokes, calling some “culture coins” that symbolize membership in a particular group or belief system.
The report notes that the ease of creating and launching memecoins has increased with the availability of apps like Pump.fun, which allow users to mint coins in minutes. Blockchains like Solana and Coinbase’s Base, which offer low trading fees, have been flooded with these tokens.
In light of these developments, Josh de Vos, research lead at CCData, highlighted the improved infrastructure supporting memecoins, including increased liquidity and the development of advanced futures markets on centralized exchanges (CEX).
As more hedge funds take memecoins seriously, Rennick Palley of Stratos anticipates a growing focus on these crypto assets.
Drawing parallels to the initial skepticism surrounding cryptocurrencies, Palley suggests that meme-only funds may emerge, mirroring the creation of non-fungible token (NFT) funds.
To further demonstrate the interest and adoption of these emerging tokens, in the first quarter of 2024, memecoins emerged as the most profitable crypto narrative, delivering massive average returns of 1312.6% across its top tokens, according to a recent study conducted by CoinGecko.
Currently, the largest memecoin on the market, Dogecoin (DOGE), is trading at .1616, up 5% in the last seven days. It has a market cap of billion.
Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com
History Favors Bitcoin Bulls Despite Crypto Hedge Funds Increasing Shorts
Bitcoin may be dripping lower at spot rates. Still, one analyst is unfazed, expecting the coin to reverse recent losses and snap up firmly before peaking in December 2024. At spot rates, BTC is down roughly 11% from 2024 peaks and struggling to generate sufficient buying pressure, looking at the formation in the daily chart.
Will History Support Bitcoin And Rally To Fresh Highs?
Taking to X, the analyst highlights historical price patterns using the 2-week Fisher Transform indicator, a tool for picking out potential reversal zones like double tops or bottoms. Though the technical indicator lags, it has accurately picked out peaks in the past.
In 2021, when Bitcoin soared to over ,000, the Fisher Transfer indicator printed a signal, highlighting potential peaks. In the coming weeks following this signal, prices crashed.
By the end of 2022, Bitcoin had fallen to as low as ,000, accelerated by the collapse of FTX and the bankruptcy of several other popular crypto hedge funds, including Three Arrow Capital (3AC).
The analyst also emphasizes the importance of the indicator in differentiating between a double top, mirroring 2017 and 2021, and a potential single peak later this year.
Presently, the trader said prices are approaching 2017 levels. Then, prices created what the analyst described as a “more subtle initial rise” before peaking six months later at over ,000.
If this leads, and the indicator “pauses” where it is, Bitcoin will likely record a “single top.” However, only time will tell where this top will be at.
Hedge Funds Were Selling At Tops?
This prediction comes amid significant bearish bets by leveraged hedge funds. Data from the United States Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) reveals that these funds held record “short” positions in Bitcoin futures contracts by last week.
Observers note this was the largest short position since 2017, at over 16,000 contracts. By shorting, they expected prices to dump, which is precisely what’s happening at spot rates.
However, even as hedge funds short, another analyst, responding to the trend, said the futures premium remained high. This is a development that some of these crypto hedge funds are taking advantage of.
The number of shorts could increase in the days ahead as United States Federal Reserve officials appeared to be hawkish and upbeat economic data started pouring in. Being a data-driven central bank, the Federal Reserve might not slash rates as fast as initially projected.
Defi Platforms Lose More Than $336 Million in Digital Funds in Q1 of 2024, Study Finds
In the first quarter of 2024, more than 6 million in digital assets were stolen from decentralized finance platforms across 61 incidents of hacking and fraud. During this period, criminals made off with digital assets valued at 4.48 million in two major hacking incidents. In contrast, centralized finance platforms reported no incidents of hacking or […]
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$62 Million Munchables Hack: Rogue Developer Returns All Funds, No Ransom Demanded
Web3 gaming app, Munchables, announced on March 27 that an individual who exploited the system agreed to return the stolen funds without a ransom demand. This announcement came just hours after a former developer siphoned off more than 17,400 ethereum coins by gaining access to the Munchables lock contract. Distribution of Blast Rewards Set to […]
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