First Mover Americas: Bitcoin Buckles the Day Before U.S. Jobs Report

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Bitcoin is showing signs of weakness ahead of a long Easter weekend in many countries and the release of the U.S. jobs report for March on Friday. The world’s largest cryptocurrency by market value dropped 2% in the past 24 hours to below $27,800, after reaching as high as $28,800 earlier this week. U.S. stock markets will be closed on Friday for Good Friday. Bitcoin, of course, always trades. It is estimated that U.S. employers added 238,000 jobs in March, with the unemployment rate set to hold steady at 3.6%, according to data from Trading Economics. Traders watch the report for signs of inflation, which affects the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate policy and in turn prices of risky assets like bitcoin. The dollar edged up slightly on Thursday, and the price of gold extended its gains.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission  has cancelled Binance Australia's derivatives license, according to a press release on Thursday. Binance Australia, an arm of the world's largest crypto exchange by trading volume, has been ordered by the regulator to close all of its customers’ open derivatives positions by April 21. ASIC has been reviewing of Binance's businesses, the press release said. Binance found itself in hot water with regulators last week, when the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission sued the exchange for selling unregistered derivatives products in the U.S.

Binance recently turned down an offer to acquire Tron blockchain founder Justin Sun’s ownership stake in rival exchange Huobi, according to a person familiar with the matter. Binance wasn’t interested because of rumors that Huobi has ties to mainland China, which the exchange wants nothing to do with, according to the person, who requested anonymity. In an interview last month with CoinDesk TV, Sun said Huobi wants to attain a license in Hong Kong and launch a new exchange there called Huobi Hong Kong. The scope of Sun’s involvement with Huobi has been cloaked in secrecy.

Chart of the Day

• The chart shows the ratio between trading volumes in bitcoin and ether's spot markets since June 2021.
• The ratio has recently declined sharply, reaching its lowest point since late 2021.
• Historically, such sharp declines have portended bitcoin price pullbacks.

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