Here’s what happened in crypto today
The price of Bitcoin (BTC) reached an all-time high, rallying past $69,000 for the first time since 2021. Meanwhile, regulatory scrutiny has brought an end to Binance’s presence in Nigeria, with the exchange announcing it is withdrawing entirely from the market. Elsewhere, Grayscale’s GBTC Bitcoin holdings are now down 33% from when it converted to a spot Bitcoin ETF.
Bitcoin briefly hits all-time high
Bitcoin briefly traded above $69,200 on March 5, its highest-ever price and capping off a stellar two months of gains following the approval of spot exchange-traded funds.
The largest cryptocurrency reached an all-time high exactly 846 days from its previous peak in 2021. The BTC rally also marked a 348% gain from its bottom near $15,400. It was also the first time that Bitcoin set new highs before the quadrennial halving, which has been a major historical price catalyst for the digital asset.
Despite the euphoria, Bitcoin’s price quickly reversed course on March 5, tumbling all the way down to the sub-$64,000 level.
Dear noobs,
Bitcoin is NOT naturally going down. It is being pushed down via whales placing spoofy sell orders on exchanges to make noobs and risk managers sell to “buy back lower”. They are stealing your bags and will make you buy back at a higher price.
— Hsaka (@HsakaTrades) March 5, 2024
“Large sellers use the anticipation of the moment to dump into a high liquidity moment. Importantly the psychological wall is broken and true price discovery will eventually begin,” said Vijay Boyapati, a crypto author and educator.
Binance to cease all Nigerian naira transactions
Major global cryptocurrency exchange Binance is exiting the Nigerian market, announcing the full discontinuation of all services in the local fiat currency, the Nigerian naira (NGN).
Binance officially announced on March 5 that the platform will suspend NGN withdrawals after March 8. From March 8, any remaining NGN balances in users’ Binance accounts will be automatically converted to the Tether (USDT) stablecoin, the announcement said.
The news of the complete removal of the Nigerian naira from Binance comes amid the company facing significant regulatory scrutiny in the country.
Grayscale’s GBTC Bitcoin holdings have fallen 33% since its conversion
The world’s largest crypto asset manager, Grayscale, has now seen nearly 33% of its Bitcoin holdings on GBTC removed since it converted into an ETF in mid-January.
On March 4, GBTC saw its 36th day of straight outflows, with 5,450 BTC or $368 million leaving the trust and bringing the total outflow since its conversion to $9.26 billion, according to BitMEX Research.
Before it converted the fund to an ETF, Grayscale held around 620,000 BTC, according to Coinglass.
But the launch of Grayscale’s spot Bitcoin ETF allowed investors to finally do something that wasn’t allowed in the previous structure — redeeming their shares for Bitcoin. It also hasn’t helped that GBTC has higher fees than some of the other ETFs, such as BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC.
The GBTC fund now holds 420,682 BTC worth an estimated $28.8 billion at current prices, according to its website and portfolio.
Despite the continued outflows, Bitcoin has continued to rally and is nearing its all-time high of $68,990 on Coinbase.
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.
Additional reporting by Geraint Price, Sam Bourgi and Felix Ng.
