Good morning. What is happening:
Prices: Bitcoin decisively crossed $17,000 and broke out of a three-week range. In the week ahead, traders will be watching for continued speculation on Digital Currency Group, Tron, Huobi and Solana.
Informations: A fresh news report has reignited speculation about whether dominant cryptocurrency exchange Binance is facing an investigation into its anti-money laundering controls.
Prices
CoinDesk Market Index (CMI)
833.42
+23.6 ▲ 2.9%
Bitcoin (BTC)
$17,177
+249.5 ▲ 1.5%
Ethereum (ETH)
1294 dollars
+32.0 ▲ 2.5%
The S&P 500 closes daily
3,895.08
+87.0 ▲ 2.3%
Gold
1879 dollars
+14.3 ▲ 0.8%
Treasury income 10 years
3.57%
▼ 0.2
BTC/ETH quotes for CoinDesk Indices; gold is the COMEX spot price. Prices as of 4:00 p.m
Bitcoin exceeds $17,000; Focus on Fed, DCG, Solana, Tron next week
By Bradley Keown
Bitcoin (BTC) resolutely breached $17,000 on Sunday, breaking through its recent price range to hit a three-week high.
The biggest cryptocurrency briefly topped $17,000 on Friday after data showed a slowdown in U.S. service businesses — seen by traders in both digital assets and traditional markets as a sign that the Federal Reserve may soon ease its financial tightening efforts. conditions. But it took a few more days for bitcoin to break through the threshold, effectively capping any rallies since mid-December.
Coinbase Institutional’s David Duong wrote in a report that breaking the $17,100 mark could take bitcoin towards the next technical level around $17,800, but analysts noted that the price charts are still bearish.
According to FundStrat’s Sean Farrell, blockchain data suggests there are plenty of ready buyers with “an appetite to buy BTC at $16,00-$17,200.”
“This creates an incredible picture of a strong buying wall at current market prices and suggests a strong bottom is forming,” Farrell wrote in his report.
At press time, the largest cryptocurrency was trading around $17,150, up 1.3% over the past 24 hours.
In the week ahead, bitcoin traders will be watching for a key US inflation report – theoretically an input to the Federal Reserve’s calculations. Last week’s central bank monetary tightening was a big factor in bitcoin’s 64% price drop last year, its worst annual performance in four years.
Elsewhere in digital asset markets, traders will continue to monitor speculation about the future of crypto conglomerate (and CoinDesk owner) Digital Currency Group and its subsidiary Genesis. Another topic is related to the prospects for a resurgence in Solana’s SOL token – one of the biggest “Sam coins” that suffered huge losses due to the explosion of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX exchange last year. There are also persistent downside concerns about Tron’s TRX token and Huobi’s HT, linked to crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun.
Concepts
US Investigators Summon Hedge Funds in Binance Money Laundering Probe: Report
By Elizabeth Napolitano
Federal prosecutors are investigating ties between Binance and US-based hedge funds as part of a broader investigation into the cryptocurrency exchange’s use of money-laundering safeguards, according to a Washington Post report.
The investigation is being led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington in Seattle, which in recent months has sent subpoenas to firms seeking records of their dealings with Binance, the Post reported, citing two people who reviewed one of the subpoenas. .
The challenges come as Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by daily trading volume, faces intense media and regulatory scrutiny over its business practices and finances. That investigation boiled over late last year after a multibillion-dollar blowout that shook FTX’s confidence in the increasingly volatile and troubled cryptocurrency market.
While the subpoenas do not automatically mean authorities will file charges against Binance or its founder and CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the Post notes that federal authorities are still discussing a potential settlement with Binance and that they have enough evidence to bring assesses whether charges.
Recently, Binance has made efforts to increase its commitment to compliance by increasing its security and compliance staff by 500% in 2022. In addition, last fall the company assembled a global advisory board chaired by former Montana Democratic Sen. Max Baucus. Meanwhile, the exchange is eager to improve its relationship with the US government, recently becoming active in crypto lobbying in Washington.
Also read: ‘Binance Effect’ Means 41% Price Increase for Newly Listed Tokens
Important events.
9:00 HKT/SGT (1:00 UTC) Unemployment rate in Europe (November)
22:30 HKT/SGT (14:30 UTC) Tokyo Consumer Price Index (YY/Dec)
6:00 a.m. HKT/SGT (10:00 p.m. UTC) China Foreign Direct Investment (YY/Dec)
CoinDesk TV
In case you missed it, here’s the latest episode of First Mover on CoinDesk TV:
Bitcoin Outlook as US Economy Adds 223K Jobs in December; Highlights of CES 2023
The U.S. added 223,000 jobs in December, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That was down from a revised 256,000 jobs in November (initially reported at 263,000) and beat economists’ forecasts of 200,000. What does this mean for crypto? eToro Crypto Advisor Glen Goodman shared his analysis. Plus, CoinDesk TV continued its on-site coverage of CES in Las Vegas with Block Bitcoin Wallet Lead Max Guise and HYPERVSN’s Ala Dziamidava.
Titles
The US added 223,000 jobs in December, the unemployment rate fell to 3.5%: Bitcoin held steady at $16,750 immediately after the report.
SEC Investigates Due Diligence of FTX Investors, Reuters: The securities regulator is investigating whether financiers did their homework before investing in a cryptocurrency exchange that has since been accused of mismanagement.
Crypto Exchange Huobi Experiences $60 Million Token Inflow In One Day, Nansen: On-chain data shows that more than $100 million worth of tokens have exited the exchange this week, most of it in the last 24 hours, while stablecoin stocks are down 9.5% for the week.
Tron price sinks 8% on Huobi Crypto Exchange linked to Justin Sun, USDD depegs: Community sentiment soured after Huobi, advised by Tron founder Sun, said it would cut hundreds of jobs in the coming weeks.
Bonk Inu Developers Burn All Team Tokens As Solana Ecosystem Frenzy Continues: About 5% of the bonk token supply has been burned as prices have fallen by 40% in the last 24 hours.