Author: Coindesk

“A typical indicator is the implied probability distribution: whether it is MSTR, COIN or Deribit’s BTC options, the implied probability distribution of different expiration dates has shown a significant left shift,” Griffin Ardern, head of options trading and research at crypto financial platform BloFin, told CoinDesk in a Telegram chat. “It seems that traders have an implied consensus that the prices of BTC and altcoins are still high, and more pullbacks may be on the way.” Read the full article here

“In view of bitcoin’s impressive rally since the US election, our view is that $100,000 – $120,000 may not be too far off,” traders at QCP Capital said in a Telegram broadcast. “We believe that the underlying strength in BTC represents a systematic shift in the market in anticipation of Trump’s return to office” Read the full article here

In the week since his reelection, the former and now future president has named a number of individuals he intends to nominate to cabinet and other positions, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to the Department of Health and Human Services, Representative Matt Gaetz to be the U.S. Attorney General, Senator Marco Rubio to be Secretary of State and former Representative Tulsi Gabbard to be the Director of National Intelligence. Read the full article here

But despite their complexity, former founder and leader of cybercrime cartel Shadow Crew, Brett Johnson told CoinDesk last year that some of Lichtenstein’s laundering methods, such as using Coinbase accounts directly connected to him, “did not make sense” and suggested a lack of experience. “Ilya is a f***ing idiot. If you look at the way he was trying to launder money, he was doing absolutely everything wrong,” Johnson said at the time. Read the full article here

“I thought things were cooling off, but no, IBIT just saw $5b in volume today for first time ever. Only 3 ETFs and 8 stocks saw more action today. Up to $13b in 3 days this week. Its peers seeing heightened volume too but smaller scale. FBTC did $1b, biggest day since March”, Balchunas said. Read the full article here

Bitcoin traded either side of $91,000 after recovering from a dip to just above $89,000. BTC is 2% lower than its all-time high of $93,445, which it reached during the U.S. afternoon on Wednesday, but remains over 4% higher in the last 24 hours. Bitcoin ETFs recorded another $510 million of inflows Wednesday, taking the total for the last six days to $4.7 billion. “The Bitcoin ETFs are by far the majority driving force of bitcoin demand right now, soaking up almost all of the selling by Long-Term Holders. CME open interest is not growing meaningfully, reinforcing that this is…

A group of state attorneys general and the DeFi Education Fund filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and its five commissioners alleging the regulatory agency was overstepping its bounds in bringing enforcement actions against crypto exchanges. Read the full article here

The idea of the U.S. buying strategic assets isn’t new, reminded Saylor, pointing to the acquisition of Manhattan, the Louisiana Purchase and the buying of California and Alaska in the 19th century. All resulted in multi-trillion dollar returns for the county, he said. There have also been several other strategic purchases made in the history of the nation like gold, oil, grain and helium, noted Saylor. Read the full article here

While an incoming chairman appointed by Trump, a recent crypto convert, could effectively clear the decks of future enforcement actions, dealing with the many cases already being litigated is a stickier prospect. Turning the SEC ship could take several months into 2025 — maybe longer. And even then, the lawyers say, dramatic case dismissals might not even happen. Read the full article here

The price of bitcoin (BTC) fell about 1.5% to $88,300 in the minutes following Powell’s comments. The price at press time had dipped a bit further to $88,000, down 3.2% over the past 24 hours. Ether (ETH) is down by a similar amount. The broader CoinDesk 20 Index, however, is up 0.5% over the same time frame. It’s being led by a 13% advance for Ripple’s (XRP), perhaps cheered by remarks from Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler which could be interpreted as his planning to quietly exit his job in wake of the Trump victory. Read the full…