Major cryptocurrencies traded mixed on Thursday evening as U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF) began trading amidst high anticipation.
| Cryptocurrency | Gains +/- | Price (Recorded 9:30 p.m. EST) |
| Bitcoin BTC/USD | -0.90% | $46,195 |
| Ethereum ETH/USD | +0.55% | $2,596 |
| Dogecoin DOGE/USD | -0.08% | $0.083 |
What Happened: Bitcoin briefly surged to over $49,000 on Thursday, marking its first time reaching that level since December 2021. The cryptocurrency, which is the largest by market capitalization, began the day below $46,000, then swiftly rose above $47,000 before peaking at $49,042 during the early U.S. trading session. However, it subsequently relinquished all its gains and is now trading above the $46,000 mark.
In the last 24 hours, data from CoinGlass reveals that a staggering 81,413 traders faced liquidation, resulting in a total amount of $231.96 million in liquidations. The largest single liquidation order, valued at $6.61 million, occurred on Binance for the BTC-USDT pair.
During this period, a nearly equal number of short and long positions were liquidated, reflecting a scenario where both FOMO (fear of missing out) and selling frenzy were at play. Notably, BTC longs worth $43.49 million and shorts valued at $39.86 million were liquidated.
Top Gainer (24 Hour)
| Cryptocurrency | Gains +/- | Price (Recorded 9:30 p.m. EDT) |
| Ethereum Name ServiceENS/USD | +25.88% | $22.75 |
| Sui SUI/USD | +21.58% | $1.08 |
| Tezos XTZ/USD | +14.42% | $1.10 |
The global cryptocurrency market cap now stands at $1.75 trillion, showing a 2.21% increase in the past 24 hours.
Stocks ended Thursday with little change, as new inflation data showed an increase in consumer prices for December. The Nasdaq Composite finished the day nearly unchanged at 14,970.19, while the S&P 500 dipped slightly to close at 4,780.24. At one point during the session, the S&P 500 briefly surpassed its record closing high of 4,796.56.
The report for December’s consumer price index revealed a 0.3% rise in consumer prices for the month, bringing the annual rate to 3.4%. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had anticipated a 0.2% increase in the CPI for December and a 3.2% rise on a year-over-year basis.
The core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, met expectations, indicating persistent but slightly easing inflation pressures. Thursday’s data suggests that future interest rate cuts may occur at a slower pace.
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Analyst Notes: Cryptocurrency analyst Michael Van de Poppe said that the Bitcoin ETF has been approved and is now live. The previous rally can be attributed to the ‘buy the rumor, sell the news’ phenomenon. "Now, reality kicks in and Bitcoin stabilizes, consolidates and opens the gates for Ethereum to run to $3,000-3,500 and altcoins to run heavily. After that: correction in March."
Pseudonymous analyst, Daan Crypto Trades, commented on Bitcoin reaching a crucial high timeframe region at approximately $48,000. "We’re now trading at a similar point relative to where last cycle’s momentum came to a halt. This is also the main target of this leg up by many. Let’s see how it reacts."
Santiment, a firm specializing in on-chain analytics, has reported that the recent approval of Bitcoin ETF’s may lead to a modest decrease in the number of active wallets on Bitcoin’s blockchain. "Though this likely won’t impact price, a portion of traders may vacate their existing BTC wallets in favor of ETF exposure to #crypto instead. Many on chain metrics are expected to take new shape, and we are truly in a new era!"
Photo by Fernando Cortes on Shutterstock
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