Crypto Markets Today: Crypto Broker Genesis Asks for Clients’ Patience

The interim CEO of Genesis Global Trading, the cryptocurrency brokerage and lender forced to halt withdrawals in November, said it needs more time to sort out its tricky position.

This article originally appeared in Crypto Markets Today, CoinDesk’s daily newsletter diving into what happened in today's crypto markets. Subscribe to get it in your inbox every day.

• "While we are committed to moving as quickly as possible, this is a very complex process that will take some additional time," Derar Islim wrote in a letter sent to clients on Wednesday.
• Following the FTX collapse in November, Genesis locked up $900 million of funds from clients of retail crypto brokerage Gemini.
• Amid reports of an imminent solution or even a bankruptcy filing, Genesis in early December said some sort of resolution would likely be a matter of "weeks" rather than days. Genesis and CoinDesk share the same parent company, Digital Currency Group (DCG).
• Stakes were upped a bit more on Monday of this week, when Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss blasted DCG CEO Barry Silbert for "bad faith stall tactics." In an open letter posted to Twitter, it alleges Gemini has awaited word on a repayment agreement for six weeks to no avail.

Token Roundup

Bitcoin (BTC): The largest cryptocurrency by market value was recently trading at the $16,800 level, up 0.8% over the past 24 hours. Equities closed up as traders considered minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee’s last meeting in December and potential inflation-taming, interest rate hikes in 2023. The S&P 500 closed up 0.7%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) rose 0.6% and 0.4%, respectively.

Ether (ETH): The second-largest cryptocurrency recently climbed 3.3% to trade around $1,252. The ether-bitcoin (ETH/BTC) ratio could rally toward a two-month high, according to Lewis Harland, a portfolio manager at Decentral Park Capital. "It may be we see a 'bears in disbelief' rally for ETH over the coming weeks," he said. Harland said that the Ethereum network's upcoming Shanghai upgrade, which will open withdrawals of staked ether and reduce users’ rollup fees after the implementation of EIP4844, will serve as bullish catalysts for the cryptocurrency.

Bonk (BONK): The Shiba Inu-themed token that was issued on Dec. 25 has returned 2,220% to traders in the past week with a 150% rise at one point Wednesday before it settled at a more recent 95% gain, according to CoinGecko data.. The token was airdropped to Solana non-fungible token (NFT) communities and creators, which led to quick hype and massive trading volumes for the token, as CoinDesk reported Tuesday.

Latest Prices

Crypto Market Analysis: Bitcoin, Ether Respond Positively to Falling Economic Data

By Glenn Williams Jr.

During the hour following the release of the two reports (15:00 UTC: 10AM ET), a brief tug of war occurred between BTC buyers and sellers. Applying Bollinger Bands to BTC's hourly chart shows a reduced price from its 20-period moving average, before reversing course into the following hour.

Volume spiked during the hour, implying that trading activity was prodded at least partly by the economic news, and underscoring its relevance. Volume subsequently subsided in the following hour. Applying Bollinger Bands to BTC's daily chart, shows prices settling in above the 20-day moving average and approaching the upper range of the bands. The price range between daily high and low also expanded to its highest point in nearly 14 trading sessions.

A break above the higher Bollinger Band would be a bullish signal, but would likely need a stronger push of momentum. At the moment, this does not appear to be imminent.

Read the full technical take here.

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