Crypto Bulls Lose $217M Amid Grayscale Sales Impacting Bitcoin
Significant crypto liquidations, Bitcoin's rise in ETF rankings, Manta Network's airdrop causes stir, and dYdX leads in DEX trading volume.
Welcome to this week’s closing edition of Datawallet Daily! Here are the key stories that are shaping the crypto landscape over the last 24 hours:
- Crypto Bulls Lose $217M Amid Grayscale Sales Impacting Bitcoin
- Bitcoin Rises to Second Largest U.S. ETF Commodity
- DeFi Community Upset Over MANTA Airdrod
- dYdX Overtakes Uniswap in Trading Volume as Largest DEX
Crypto Bulls Lose $217M Amid Grayscale Sales Impacting Bitcoin
The crypto market recently saw a significant downturn, resulting in $217 million in liquidations among futures traders. This was partly due to fears that Grayscale might sell its Bitcoin holdings. Grayscale moved over $400 million worth of Bitcoin, likely in preparation for sales, causing GBTC shares to flip to a 0.9% discount amid selling pressure.
Bitcoin’s price fell below $42,000, contributing to broader market declines with Ethereum, Solana, and Cardano also experiencing losses. In contrast, Binance’s BNB slightly increased in value. Analysts now predict the crypto market might remain range-bound in the near term.
This is interesting, the Newborn Nine actually saw a 34% jump in volume today vs yesterday. Normally with a hyped up launch you see volume steadily decrease each day post-launch, rare to see it reverse back up. All but one saw jump too but GBTC change flat so wasn't a volatility… pic.twitter.com/f6xOsLRWjr
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) January 18, 2024
Bitcoin Rises to Second Largest U.S. ETF Commodity
Bitcoin has recently overtaken silver, becoming the second-largest ETF commodity in terms of assets under management (AUM) in the U.S. In just a week of trading, Bitcoin ETFs surpassed silver ETFs in size, driven by significant market interest and pent-up demand for Bitcoin. Silver, previously second in AUM, now ranks third with approximately $11.5 billion across five ETFs, while U.S. gold funds lead with $96.3 billion across 19 ETFs.
This development reflects growing investor interest in cryptocurrency ETFs, suggesting a potential trend towards more crypto-based investment products, including those for other digital assets like Ethereum.
Bitcoin surpasses silver to become second largest ETF commodity in the US https://t.co/OybMlkZ3NR
— The Block (@TheBlock__) January 18, 2024
DeFi Community Upset Over MANTA Airdrop
The Manta Network, Ethereum’s third-largest Layer 2 platform, recently launched its MANTA token, stirring disappointment among the DeFi community. Despite its $885M total value locked and a $2.1B valuation, the airdrop of 30M tokens to early users resulted in smaller than expected allocations, leading to discontent.
Users voiced frustration over receiving minimal returns for their contributions. The airdrop was based on a points system, a method increasingly used in the industry, but it led to unforeseen outcomes. Despite its success, Manta Network’s transaction speed trails behind other Layer 2 platforms like Arbitrum and zkSync Era.
Manta New Paradigm is the most disappointing airdrop of the year. I deposited 1 ETH and my team deposited 2.5 ETH total n all I get is 26 $MANTA currently valued at $65 😕
— JayXBT 🥷 (@jayxbt2012) January 17, 2024
This was a marketing ploy by Manta and big influencers to milk everyone else 🥛🍼
I propose we boycot… pic.twitter.com/NLFiCBJvB4
dYdX Overtakes Uniswap in Trading Volume as Largest DEX
dYdX, a decentralized cryptocurrency exchange, has recently overtaken Uniswap v3 on Ethereum to become the largest DEX by daily trading volume. This surge in volume, amounting to $542.5 million in a day, followed dYdX’s strategic move from Ethereum to Cosmos, marking a notable shift in the DeFi landscape.
The exchange’s success reflects a broader trend where decentralized platforms on non-Ethereum blockchains, are increasingly dominating the space. While dYdX’s token price shows some retracement, technical indicators point to potential bullish trends, though mixed signals suggest traders should proceed with caution.
Cosmos DeFi exchange dYdX has topped Uniswap v3 on Ethereum for DEX volume, and the dYdX token is beating the market amid the upswing. Click below for analysis: https://t.co/08EMtkqGYb
— Decrypt (@decryptmedia) January 18, 2024
Other breaking news
- SEC Delays Decision on Fidelity’s Ethereum ETF to March
- ONDO Token Hits $1B Market Cap Milestone in Just a Day
- Tether’s Bitcoin Holdings Reach $2.8B with $380M Recent Purchase
- Solana’s Memecoin WIF Reaches Record High Following Binance Listing
- BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF Reaches $1 Billion AUM in a Week
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