The crypto market is buzzing with excitement as Bitcoin hits an 18-month peak, causing optimism to spread throughout the industry. The surge in price led to $50 million in short liquidations in just 4 hours, further boosting Bitcoin’s price, which has already gained 120% this year. Altcoins also rallied, with the top 100 digital assets index up 16%. Bitcoin dominance now holds at 49%, indicating a growing risk appetite in the market.
In other news, there is a possibility of defunct crypto exchanges being revived. SEC Chair Gary Gensler hinted at the potential revival of FTX under new leadership, emphasizing the importance of transparency and investor trust. Reports suggest that Tom Farley, ex-president of NYSE, is among the potential buyers for the bankrupt exchange. Additionally, the judge overseeing Celsius Network’s bankruptcy case is urging the SEC to expedite its decision on whether to allow Celsius to transform into a crypto mining firm to partially repay its customers.
Meanwhile, American trading platform Robinhood is expanding its crypto trading services into the European Union and launching brokerage operations in the UK in the coming weeks. This expansion comes as some crypto firms are suspending services for UK customers due to new promotion rules implemented in October.
Binance has also made headlines with the launch of a new crypto wallet accessible through the Binance mobile app. CEO Changpeng Zhao highlighted the importance of Web3 wallets in empowering individuals with self-sovereign finance. The wallet utilizes multiparty computation to enhance security and mitigate the risk of compromise.
Optimism is also spreading in the market following news that the US Securities and Exchange Commission is in talks with Grayscale to convert its GBTC trust into a spot bitcoin ETF. Additionally, BlackRock has registered the iShares Ethereum Trust, signaling a possible Ether ETF and fueling a rally in Ether’s price.
Ripple’s XRP briefly surpassed Binance’s BNB as the fourth-largest token by market cap after announcing a collaboration with Onafriq for remittance expansion in Africa, the Gulf States, the UK, and Australia. This partnership opens new blockchain-based payment corridors, serving over 400 million mobile wallets.
On the flip side, Elon Musk’s new AI, Grok, has spawned over 400 scam tokens, amassing over $10 million in market cap. Despite Musk’s declaration that his companies won’t create cryptocurrencies, at least 10 Grok tokens resulted in rug-pulls, causing $1 million in losses. However, a new report shows a decrease in the pace of altcoin creation due to decreased funding for blockchain projects.
In a surprising turn of events, academic researchers from two Greek universities have endorsed an AI model that can outperform the hodl strategy by nearly 300% in simulated crypto portfolios. This model, based on the efficient market hypothesis for Bitcoin trading, enables investors to achieve higher profits than with a traditional buy-and-hold strategy, at least in theory.
That’s the latest in the world of crypto this week. Stay tuned for more updates next week.
