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Bitcoin ETFs start on a good note in the first week after halving

Key points:

• Bitcoin ETFs had a net positive day to begin the week.

• Strong institutional demand lifted BTC to $67,000 temporarily.

News - The first week after the pivotal halving event started on a good note for Bitcoin. U.S.-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which track the spot prices of the world’s largest digital asset, attracted net inflows worth $62 million on the first trading day of the week.

The net positive day came after heavy bleeding last week, during which the ETFs witnessed total outflows of more than $200 million. The market reacted enthusiastically to this development, causing Bitcoin to break above $67,000 during the early Asia hours on Tuesday.

Grayscale looks to reclaim dominance - World’s largest digital asset fund, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), continued to drain, seeing nearly $35 million in outflows. GBTC has seen around $16.77 billion in outflows since transitioning to an ETF early January.

However, Grayscale looks to win back customers with a miniature, cheaper version called Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust (BTC), which will have the lowest fees among all new ETFs, according to a recent filing with the SEC.

Venezuela is utilizing crypto to evade U.S. oil sanctions: Report

Key points:

• Venezuela was using dollar-pegged stablecoin USDT for its oil exports.

• Trades have been happening through middlemen to evade sanctions.

News - Venezuela was turning to cryptocurrencies to circumvent the growing U.S. sanctions on its oil exports, according to a Reuters report.

The state-owned oil company PDVSA was increasingly using Tether [USDT], the world’s largest Stablecoin whose value is tethered to $1 - as a payment method in the global oil market.

What caused the pivot to cryptos? The U.S. reintroduced oil sanctions on Venezuela, as a means to pressurize the South American nation to make electoral reforms.

According to the report, the U.S. Treasury did not review a general license and asked PDVSA to end its operations by the 31 May.

The report added that the trades have been happening through middlemen to evade sanctions. However, due to this, a lesser portion of oil proceeds was reaching the state’s coffers.

Shiba Inu fails to rally on big news surrounding its layer-3 chain

Key points:

• SHIB failed to capitalize on a development around layer-3 blockchain.

• The upcoming layer-3 solution will be built atop layer-2 chain Shibarium.

News - The second-largest meme coin Shiba Inu traded 1.6% lower as of this writing, despite a key development in the ecosystem.

The Shiba Inu ecosystem talked about its progress regarding a new layer-3 blockchain for which it managed to secure $12 million in a fundraising round.

After L2s, here comes L3 - The new layer-3 solution would be built on top of Shibarium, Shiba Inu’s existing layer-2 blockchain, which in turn is built atop Ethereum.

A token called TREAT would serve as both a utility and governance token for the new layer-3 blockchain. In fact, the funding amount was raised through the sale of these upcoming TREAT tokens.

The announcement bolstered SHIB’s social activity, leading to a spike in the number of mentions on popular crypto-focused social channels.

While the coin surged to $0.00002712 in the hours following the announcement, it corrected soon after, falling to $0.00002686, as of this writing.

Ripple dismisses SEC's request of nearly $2 billion penalty in final judgement

Key points:

• Ripple argued for a civil penalty of not more than $10 million.

• Ripple termed SEC's ask of a nearly $2 billion fine as intimidation.

News - Ripple filed its opposition against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) request to impose a nearly $2 billion fine against the blockhain-based payments company.

Ripple argued that the civil penalty, regarding legacy institutional sales of XRP, should not exceed $10 million.

The background - The watershed judgement by District Court Judge Analisa Torres ruled that the sale of XRP to the general public was not to be considered as a security

However, the court found institutional sales of XRP to be violating federal securities law. The SEC in its motion, asked the court for injunctive relief, civil penalties, and disgorgement of profits, amounting to nearly $2 billion.

Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty termed SEC’s demand as more evidence of its “ongoing intimidation” against crypto in the U.S. He said the company was hopeful of fair treatment from the Judge.

More stories from the crypto ecosystem

• XRP reclaims $0.5: Altcoin’s recent rally, explained

• Solana NFTs beat Ethereum and Polygon: What’s going on?

• Cardano [ADA] repeats 2020 rally: Should you prepare for $1?

• Bitcoin halving aftermath: LTC, LINK emerge as investor favorites

• Polkadot alert: DOT approaches a key level, will you buy or sell?

Did you know?

• Whistleblowing service Wikileaks turned to Bitcoin donations to circumvent the banking blockade by U.S. payment giants in 2010. In a tongue-in-cheek remark later, founder Julian Assange thanked the U.S. government for letting them invest in Bitcoin which gave 50000% returns.

• Just like anybody can open a bank account, or start a new business, anybody, sitting anywhere (with a stable internet connection), can create a cryptocurrency.

• The United States has almost 90% of all the world’s crypto ATMs, totaling around 28.500 as of January 2024.

Top 3 coins of the day

Pepe (PEPE)

Key points:

• PEPE was up nearly 34% over the week.

• There were evidences of a surge in upside volatility in the short term.

What you should know - PEPE carried on the positive momentum from last week, rising by 5.74% in the 24-hour period. The frog-themed token was up nearly 34% over the week. The Bollinger Bands (BB) started to separate, indicating a potential surge in volatility and a further move up. Moreover, the price bounced from the lower band and crossed above the moving average, suggesting that the upper band level, around $0.0000080, could act as a profit target. The On Balance Volume (OBV) has been on an uptrend over the past week, strengthening the bullish cause.

Shiba Inu (SHIB)

Key points:

• SHIB made lower highs and lower lows pattern over the last month and a half.

• A bounce above 0.00002750 could reignite bullish signs for SHIB.

What you should know - After hitting yearly peaks in March, SHIB has sharply corrected, making lower highs and lower lows. The meme coin has lost 27% of its value since then, suggesting that bears have had the upper hand. That being said, the $0.00002750 remained a key area of interest, a bounce above which could strengthen a bullish narrative for the meme coin. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) hovered above the neutral 50 level, indicating favorable conditions for a rally.

Toncoin (TON)

Key points:

• TON retraced 25% since hitting $7.6.

• MACD indicator supported a short-term bearish action for TON.

What you should know - TON faced heavy resistance at $7.6 on the 11 April, and corrected 25% since. It appeared that $5 could hold as a reliable support level for the coin, after which an upward bounce could be seen. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) also supported this short-term bearish action, as the MACD line continued to fall below the signal line, highlighting potential period of consolidation or uncertainty in the market.