Alameda's CEO fired back at CZ, offering to take Binance's FTT allocation at $22 each.
The latest moves in crypto markets, in context By Jamie Crawley, CoinDesk Reporter Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up here. |
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Welcome to a new week. Here's what matters in the crypto world today. |
- Bitcoin miner Hive Blockchain isn't doing as badly as many of its peers.
- Paxos eyes a major hiring spree in Singapore.
- Crypto exchange Binance plans to sell all of its remaining FTT tokens.
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Binance CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao said the exchange plans to sell of all its FTT tokens after a CoinDesk report revealed the potentially parlous state of trading firm and FTX sister company Alameda Research. Zhao tweeted that Binance will sell all the remaining FTT (FTX's native token) that it received last year as part of its exit from FTX equity. Although Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison offered to buy back Binance's entire FTT allocation, the token declined from over $25 to under $22 and is down 1.6% on the day. |
Canadian bitcoin miner Hive Blockchain appears to be in better shape than many of its mining peers. The firm has 3,311 BTC worth $68.8 million, and, unlike several rivals, it has no debt-servicing payments related to digital assets or its mining equipment. The crypto market slump in recent months has hit mining firms hard, with share prices tanking and companies seeking means to manage liquidity and debt. Stablecoin issuer Paxos is eyeing a major hiring push in Singapore, where it last week received a license to offer crypto products and services. The firm plans to add more than 130 employees to its current staff of 20 over the next three years, making the city-state its hub for growth outside its U.S. home. Paxos is one of the few crypto companies that are bucking the trend of the wider story in the digital assets industry, which has been dominated by layoffs as a result of the market downturn. |
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Market Insight: Bears Come Out for FTT |
The Binance-Alameda standoff on Twitter (see Top Stories above) prompted traders to hedge against a slide in FTT, with open interest more than doubling from $87.56 million to $203 million to reach a 12-month high. Meanwhile, the cost of holding bullish long positions or bearish short positions has dropped to an annualized –36%, pointing toward bears being willing to pay bulls to keep their options open. FTX sister firm Alameda Research owns over 50% of all tokens, according to crypto exchange Phemex. Therefore, should bearish sentiment continue, Alameda would be the default buyer for tokens being sold. The prospect of a major crypto player getting caught up in a slide in its native token will prompt uncomfortable reminders of the Terra debacle earlier this year when its LUNA token crashed, taking billions of dollars of investor's money with it. FTT is down 1.54% on the day, at $22.54, at the time of writing, according to CoinDesk data. Read the full story by Omkar Godbole. |
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| Chart of the Day: BTC Futures Volume Down |
- The chart shows the bitcoin futures market volume and the cryptocurrency's spot price since December 2021. Futures trading volume has dropped sharply in recent weeks, indicating a spot-driven market.
- "The reduced traded volume in the futures market reinforced the thesis of a lack of speculation to the up and downside as the spot market continued to drive the price action," Glassnode's co-founders Yann Allemann and Jan Happel wrote in the latest edition of their "Uncharted" newsletter.
- "Increased spot volume suggests an agreement that bitcoin is where it needs to be," the newsletter added.
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Disclaimer: The information presented in this message is intended as a news item that provides a brief summary of various events and developments that affect, or that might in the future affect, the value of one or more of the cryptocurrencies described above. The information contained in this message, and any information liked through the items contained herein, is not intended to provide sufficient information to form the basis for an investment decision. The information presented herein is accurate only as of its date, and it was not prepared by a research analyst or other investment professional. You should seek additional information regarding the merits and risks of investing in any cryptocurrency before deciding to purchase or sell any such instruments. |
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