Author: Coindesk

Nearly $2 billion worth of forfeited bitcoin (BTC) linked to the Silk Road website were moved to crypto exchange Coinbase Prime on Monday.A wallet tagged as “U.S. Government: Silk Road DOJ Confiscated Funds” transferred 19,800 bitcoin on Monday to a fresh address with no prior history of transactions, blockchain data by Arkham Intelligence showed. The funds were then deposited to Coinbase Prime.The transfer likely indicates that the government is preparing to sell or has already sold the assets. Earlier instances of government selling this year sparked sizable selloffs in bitcoin, but the action today — so far — has been…

Until last week, the issue of de-banking remained largely an open secret, something known primarily to insiders like myself. As I work to protect people and entities affected by de-banking both in the U.S. and globally, I have witnessed firsthand the devastating economic and social impact this has had on businesspeople, nonprofit organizations and “politically exposed persons.”This situation changed as millions of people became familiar with the concept of de-banking after venture capitalist Marc Andreessen appeared on the Joe Rogan podcast. Andreessen discussed the exclusion of politically disfavored individuals and entities from the financial system, focusing specifically on the crypto-assets…

A Solana-based memecoin themed on viral Thai zoo hippo Moo Deng surged by more than 67% after it was listed on cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase on Monday.Its market cap is now pushing back towards $500 million after a two-week lull that saw the token’s price drop from $0.67 to $0.30. It is currently trading at $0.49 following Monday’s rise, with daily trading volume rising by 151% to $330 million.The listing provided a much-needed boost to the wider memecoin ecosystem, with GOAT experiencing a 9% move to the upside, while PNUT rose by 6% during a 10-minute period following the listing.It’s worth…

The so-called $100,000 sell wall for bitcoin (BTC} is becoming a hard nut to crack, with $384 million available for sale between the current price and that six-figure milestone. A look at the supply data, though, suggests building pressure for an upward move.”Illiquid supply” refers to the amount of bitcoin that is owned by long-term holders (LTHs) that is not actively traded. According to Glassnode data, illiquid supply has risen by more than 185,000 tokens over the past 30 days and hit an all-time high of 14.8 million BTC, or 75% of the total circulating supply of just under 20…

Disclaimer: The analyst who wrote this piece owns shares of MicroStrategy (MSTR).Bitcoin Development Company MicroStrategy (MSTR) is now the owner of nearly 2% of all the bitcoin (BTC) that will ever be created after again adding to its holdings of the token.The firm Monday morning disclosed the purchase of 15,400 bitcoin over the week ended Dec. 1 for $15.4 billion, or an average price of $95,976 each. That brings its holdings to 402,100 tokens worth $38.2 billion at bitcoin’s current price of $95,000. The company’s overall average purchase price is $58,263.This most recent buy was funded with share sales under…

(All times ET unless indicated otherwise)By Omkar GodboleBitcoin is starting the week on a despondent note, trading 2% lower at $95,000 amid risk-off sentiment in traditional markets. European stocks are falling and the euro is diving against the dollar as concern the French government is on the verge of collapse pushes its bond yields to levels matching those of debt-ridden Greece.BTC’s decline follows a failed attempt to break through the multimillion-dollar wall of sell orders near $100,000 over the weekend and MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor’s bitcoin presentation to Microsoft. Still, bulls shouldn’t lose hope just yet, because the supply scarcity is…

Ether (ETH) has underperformed rivals bitcoin (BTC) and solana (SOL) year-to-date, but ETH exchange-traded fund (ETF) inflows have inflected suggesting this period of underperformance may be over, broker Bernstein said in a research report Monday.The broker noted that on Friday Blackrock’s spot ether ETF saw inflows of $250 million, versus only $137 million of inflows for the asset manager’s larger spot bitcoin ETF.”This creates favorable demand-supply dynamics for ETH,” analysts led by Gautam Chhugani wrote.Ether staking yields could be another tailwind for the cryptocurrency. Bernstein noted that initial ether spot ETF applications did not include yields due to regulatory limitations.…

XRP (XRP) is on a tear as bitcoin (BTC) struggles to approach $100,000 amid talk of a large “sell wall” near the six-digit price mark.XRP, the payments-focused cryptocurrency, has skyrocketed 375% to $2.40 in 30 days. The price has surged more than 20% in the past 24 hours alone, CoinDesk data show.The meteoric rise has lifted the cryptocurrency’s market capitalization to $139 billion, replacing the leading dollar-pegged stablecoin, Tether’s USDT, as the world’s third-largest digital asset.”This [XRP] comeback is making waves across the market, potentially signalling the return of retail traders and investors to the crypto market,” Mena Theodorou, co-founder…

Japanese crypto exchange DMM Bitcoin will shut down and transfer its accounts and assets to trading platform SBI VC Trade in March next year, it said in a statement on Dec. 2.The decision was made after the exchange suffered a hack in May. Hackers siphoned off over 4502.9 bitcoin (BTC), worth nearly $305 million at the time.DMM Bitcoin had restricted its services such as withdrawals and the acceptance of purchase orders for spot crypto assets since the loss of the funds, but acknowledged that allowing the situation to continue would impair its customers. “We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused…

Ethereum has recently been making waves for the right reasons, providing bullish cues to its native token, ether (ETH). Now, the cryptocurrency’s price chart reveals a compelling pattern reminiscent of the set-up in bitcoin (BTC) before it chalked out a record rally last month.Ether’s three-line break chart, which filters out day-to-day noise and erratic price movements, shows the cryptocurrency’s eight-month corrective trend, characterized by lower highs and lower lows, has ended and the broader uptrend from the October 2023 lows near $1,500 has resumed.Such breakouts often trigger a bullish cascading effect on price by attracting new buyers and forcing out…