The Nigerian securities regulator warned residents against investing in a meme coin linked to singer and celebrity Davido. The regulator described the meme coin as a highly risky investment, saying investors who invest in it do so at their own risk. The Commission will continue to monitor the ecosystem and will exercise its authority if […]
Bitcoin News
Bitcoin Price Linked To Binance Vs Coinbase Battle, Quant Reveals
A quant has explained how there appears to be a relationship between Coinbase’s spot volume dominance vs. Binance’s and the Bitcoin price.
Bitcoin Has Been Reacting To Binance/Coinbase Volume Changes
In a CryptoQuant Quicktake post, an analyst discussed the dynamics in the cryptocurrency market that arise out of the battle happening between Binance and Coinbase for spot volume dominance.
The quant shared a chart below that shows how this war for dominance has played out over the past decade.
As the graph shows, Binance has been the much more dominant of the two platforms when considering the spot volume. The exchange is hosting five times as much volume as Coinbase.
The analyst notes that the difference between the two would be even higher when considering the BTC-FDUSD pair, which isn’t included in the data depicted in the above chart.
Despite the much lower spot volume, Coinbase still hasn’t been irrelevant in the market. For example, the platform is the custodian for Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) like BlackRock’s IBIT and Grayscale’s GBTC.
There also appears to be an interesting pattern between the dominance of the American exchange and the Bitcoin spot price. The quant has highlighted this trend in the graph.
There have been a few instances where a rise in the spot trading volume of Coinbase against Binance has preceded surges in the value of cryptocurrency. Similarly, declines in the platform’s dominance have seemingly led to drawdowns in the Bitcoin price.
The analyst has also discussed the trend in the volumes of the two exchanges more closely, using the spot volume ratio for them, as shown below.
The chart shows that the spot volume ratio between Binance and Coinbase had spiked to very high levels in 2023, with the former’s volume being 53 times the latter’s. The reason behind this was the zero-fee scheme that Binance had introduced for the Bitcoin trading pairs.
However, Coinbase’s volume has recently risen, although the ratio remains notably in favor of Binance. This shift in the market emerged as the Bitcoin spot ETF-related news started to intensify.
The quant concludes:
The dynamics between these exchanges are complex, but the graphs show that each exchange’s dominance at specific times has a direct impact on the price of Bitcoin. It’s a true battle between the market’s biggest players, where competition is constant, and the outcome is reflected in cryptocurrency movements.
BTC Price
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at around ,800, down 3% over the past week.
Venezuelan Probe Unveils Crypto Money Laundering Scheme Linked to Oil Sale Embezzlement; Kraken Involved
The Venezuelan Attorney General, Tarek William Saab, unveiled the second wave of detentions linked to a crypto money laundering scheme derived from unregistered oil sales paid in different currencies and crypto. The former president of the state-owned oil company PDVSA, Tareck El Aissami, the former Economy Minister Simon Alejandro Zerpa, and entrepreneur Samark Lopez were […]
Bitcoin News
Leaked Personal Info of Over 5 Million Salvadorans Apparently Linked to Chivo Wallet
A database with the personal information of over 5 million Salvadorans was recently leaked in a data breach forum. The database, which has been around since August and has recently been linked to Chivo, El Salvador’s national cryptocurrency wallet, has 144GB of data, including the full name, unique identity number, date of birth, address, and […]
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Asia’s Bitcoin Volatility Linked To Algos Tracking ETF Flows
Recent Bitcoin price volatility in Asia has been closely linked to automated trading algorithms that monitor flows in US exchange-traded funds (ETFs). According to Bloomberg, this algorithmic trading response to daily US ETF flow data is causing pronounced swings in Bitcoin prices during Asian trading hours.
Trading Algos Spoil The Bitcoin Price
The trigger for Bitcoin’s steep decline, marking its worst drop in a month, was observed on Tuesday morning in Asia. This downturn coincided with the release of US ETF flows data, which indicated a net withdrawal of investments.
Shiliang Tang, president of Arbelos Markets, highlighted the impact of algorithmic trading on these market movements. “From an algorithmic trading perspective, bots can basically auto-scrape this data and buy and sell based on this,” Tang explained. “It seems that’s basically what is happening.”
The introduction of several Bitcoin ETFs in the United States on January 11 has since attracted a net billion in investments. These ETFs experienced a surge in inflows, especially in the first half of March, propelling Bitcoin to a record high of ,798. However, the premier cryptocurrency has seen a decline of up to 17.6% from this peak, amidst fluctuating inflows and outflows within the sector.
This pattern of flows has notably impacted the Asian market’s returns, with February and early March witnessing particularly strong performance, which diminished later in the month. The influence of algorithmic protocols on Bitcoin’s price not only affects the spot market but extends to derivatives as well, with Coinglass reporting about 7 million in bullish crypto bets being liquidated on Tuesday alone.
Charlie Morris, Chief Investment Officer at ByteTree Asset Management, pointed out the significance of ETF flows for Bitcoin compared to gold, noting that 5.5% of Bitcoin is held in ETFs, against 1% for gold. This makes ETF flows a more critical factor for Bitcoin’s market movements.
Market participants like Jakob Kronbichler, co-founder of Clearpool Finance, emphasize the market’s responsiveness to ETF flow data and suggest the recent correction as a natural pause for the market to “take a bit of a breather” amidst widespread excitement.
Spot ETFs Rake In Million
Yesterday, all spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced an inflow totaling .3 million, primarily due to Blackrock’s significant contribution of 0.5 million, which played a crucial role in boosting the market. On the contrary, ARK faced a challenging day with .9 million in outflows, despite having 0 million inflows the previous week. Grayscale’s GBTC saw rather low outflows, amounting to .9 million.
Renowned analyst WhalePanda commented: “Maybe profit taking after Q1? Speculation though. […] Mondays always seem to have the most outflows and wondering if end of Q1 had something to do with it as I suspect. Price crashed further on US government moving/selling some of the BTC from Silk Road. Better to sell here than at 0k or 0k. 17 days until halving.”
At press time, BTC traded at ,398.
Unveiling ‘Mr. 100’ — The Mystery Bitcoin Wallet Linked to Upbit’s Cold Storage
In the last two months, the crypto community has been buzzing about a wallet affectionately named ‘Mr. 100.’ This moniker originates from its pattern of receiving 100 bitcoin deposits every few days, leading to speculation that it might belong to a wealthy individual from the Middle East. However, onchain analysts from Arkham Intelligence suspect that […]
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Marathon Mines Record-Breaking 4 MB Bitcoin Block Linked to Runestone Airdrop
During bitcoin’s extraordinary price peaks in March, this week saw the mining of the biggest block by byte size, with Marathon’s mining pool producing a 3.99 megabyte (MB) block. This block, labeled as 832,849, carried a message linked to the Runestone airdrop. Bitcoin Blockchain Witnesses Unprecedented 4 MB Block Over the recent weekend, Marathon, a […]
Bitcoin News
Zimbabwe to Launch ‘Structured Currency’ Linked to Gold, Says Finance Minister
The Zimbabwean government plans to launch what it calls a “structured currency.” Some commentators and social media users have expressed skepticism over the government’s latest currency plans. Zimbabwe’s Structured Currency The Zimbabwean Finance Minister, Mtuli Ncube, has said his government plans to halt the local currency’s freefall by linking it to gold and establishing a […]
Bitcoin News
Arkham Reveals Onchain Addresses Linked to 4 Major Bitcoin ETFs, Boosting Market Transparency
On Jan. 23, Arkham, a firm specializing in onchain intelligence, announced the identification of four lists of connected addresses linked to four new spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). These groups of addresses are reportedly associated with fund managers including Blackrock, Fidelity, Bitwise, and Franklin Templeton.
4 ETFs Identified Onchain
According to an X post by Arkham Intelligence on Tuesday, the firm has pinpointed four out of ten spot bitcoin ETFs. Previously, the firm had uncovered the holdings of GBTC, and with this latest revelation, Arkham has now identified half of the ETFs in the U.S. market. “Arkham has identified the onchain location of four of the bitcoin ETFs,” the company said on Tuesday. “We are the first to publicly identify these addresses.”
Arkham unveiled the initial list of addresses, allegedly belonging to Blackrock and linked to the IBIT ETF. The identified addresses, however, contain 39,925 BTC, which is less than the 44,004 BTC reported by IBIT. Analysis shows IBIT’s funds are distributed over multiple addresses, each holding a maximum of 1,200 BTC. Additionally, Franklin Templeton’s EZBC ETF has been pinpointed, with its onchain holdings aligning with the asset manager’s reported figures.
Arkham’s investigation also uncovered the holdings of Fidelity’s Wise Origin spot bitcoin ETF, FBTC, revealing a possession of 34,127 BTC. This finding is consistent with Fidelity’s latest update as of January 23, 2024. The wallets for Bitwise’s BITB fund have been identified as well, holding 11,188 BTC. Furthermore, Bitwise manages additional crypto assets for the Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund, known as BITW.
Coinbase Custody oversees the assets of all the aforementioned exchange-traded funds (ETFs), with the exception of Fidelity’s. Fidelity, in contrast, utilizes its own custody services for managing its bitcoin (BTC) reserves. Among the transactions of the other three ETFs, Coinbase frequently emerges as the primary counterparty. The availability of onchain data regarding these new funds significantly enhances market transparency.
Transparency fosters trust among investors and enhances decision-making. By providing clear insights into fund operations and holdings, it strengthens the overall integrity and stability of the cryptocurrency market. This transparency is key to attracting more informed participation and investment in the burgeoning crypto economy. In the aftermath of FTX’s collapse, crypto exchanges holding significant balances started disclosing proof-of-reserve data, aiming to enhance transparency in the sector.
What do you think about Arkham identifying four of the new spot bitcoin ETF bitcoin holdings? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.
Bitcoin User Alleges Hack Linked to Erroneous 83.65 BTC Fee Incident
The crypto community was initially baffled by the massive fee of 83.65 BTC, originally attributed to a costly mistake. However, recent revelations paint a darker picture. According to a social media account on X called “@83_5BTC,” hackers stole the funds from the unnamed individual and immediately swept the bitcoin to a different wallet.
Alleged Hacking Incident Tied to Bitcoin’s Massive 83.65 BTC Fee Error
The alleged victim, @83_5BTC, revealed that after transferring 139 BTC to a new cold wallet, the funds were immediately swept to another wallet by the attackers. The transaction split the sum, sending 55.77 BTC to the hackers’ wallet, while the rest, a staggering 83.65 BTC, was paid as a transaction fee. This incident surpasses the previous high-fee record of 19.8 BTC.
Mononaut, the anonymous operator behind the mempool.space bitcoin explorer, weighed in on the incident. He suggested that “the most likely explanation is that the wallet was generated from bad entropy.” In layman’s terms, this means the wallet’s security was compromised due to weak randomization in its creation process. Mononaut’s insight provides a crucial understanding of the technical flaw that may have led to this unfortunate event.
Further complicating the issue is the method used for escalating the transaction’s priority, known as “replace-by-fee” (RBF). Mononaut speculates that if the wallet had low entropy, it might have been targeted by multiple attackers, each trying to outmaneuver the other. This competition could explain the unusually high transaction fee, as attackers might use high fees to prevent others from replacing their transactions.
@83_5BTC attempted to prove ownership of the affected wallet by sharing a signed message on social media. Mononaut verified the message but cautioned that since the wallet was compromised, it’s uncertain who actually signed the message — the victim or the hacker. This uncertainty further complicates the situation, especially regarding the potential return of the fees by Antpool.
As the crypto community grapples with this incident, the focus shifts to wallet security and the importance of proper entropy in wallet creation. Mononaut’s advice is clear: “Let this be a reminder not to take shortcuts with your entropy, and ideally to use multisig for very large sums.” This incident serves as a stark reminder of the risks tied to crypto ownership and the crucial need for heightened security measures.
What do you think about the alleged hack and the massive fee that was paid? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.