There were a lot of big changes in the cryptocurrency world in the second week of June 2024. There were big price changes, regulatory changes, and strategic predictions. Check out the top 10 news stories that changed the crypto market during this time.
Bitcoin Price (BTC) Tumbles to $69K, Leading to $450M in Liquidations
Bitcoin almost hit an all-time high on Thursday and then fell to $69,000 on Friday, a 2.5% drop in 24 hours. The selloff was bigger in the cryptocurrency market as a whole, with the CoinDesk 20 Index going down 5%. The prices of Ether (ETH), Tezos (XTX), and EOS (EXOS) all dropped by 10%. The prices of Solana (SOL) also dropped by 7%.
The drop came after a good report on jobs in the U.S., which dashed hopes for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut. The market also went down because Roaring Kitty’s YouTube livestream wasn’t very interesting. The selling caused liquidations worth $450 million, the most since the middle of April.
Crypto Mainstream Adoption Has Increased in Recent Months, Canaccord Says
With a buy rating, Canaccord Genuity raised its price target for Galaxy Digital (GLXY) from C$17 to C$23. Because of things like the SEC’s surprise approval of eight ether spot ETFs, the company is in a good position to benefit from the widespread use of digital assets.
Galaxy Digital has a lot of institutional exposure and works with big names in the ETF market, like Inveco, DWS, and Itau, which is good for its future. Also, the value of the company’s Helios mining facility in Texas could go up if AI companies that need a lot of energy keep looking for ways to work with bitcoin miners.
AI-Linked Crypto Tokens Underperform as Apple’s Event Fails to Impress Traders
Cryptocurrencies that are linked to AI fell because Apple’s annual developer event didn’t live up to traders’ hopes. A lot of tokens, like Render (RNDR), Fetch.ai (FET), and SingularityNET (AGIX), went down between 3 and 5 percent. Bittensor’s TAO went down almost 6 percent.
The AI-related tokens in the CoinDesk Computing Index went down 2.5%, which was less than both Bitcoin (BTC) and the CoinDesk 20 Index as a whole.
Apple’s event revealed its AI plans, such as Apple Intelligence and a partnership with OpenAI. However, after the news came out, Apple shares dropped almost 2%, showing that the market was disappointed, even though key U.S. equity indexes went up.
The Federal Reserve Should Cut the U.S. Interest Rate as Restrictive Stance Is Adding to Inflation, Democrats Say
Three Democrats, Elizabeth Warren, Jacky Rosen, and John Hickenlooper, have asked the Federal Reserve to lower the federal funds rate from 5.5%, which is the highest level in 20 years.
They say that keeping interest rates high for a long time is slowing down the economy and not doing anything about the main causes of inflation. The senators want to move away from the 2% inflation target because high rates make things like housing, construction, and auto insurance more expensive, which could cause a recession.
They point out that rates have already been lowered by the European Central Bank and the Bank of Canada, and they say the Fed should do the same.
Will Trump Trounce Biden? Polymarket Traders Are Betting on it.
Prediction markets on Polymarket show that Donald Trump has a 56% chance of beating Joe Biden to become president of the United States in 2024. FiveThirtyEight’s polling average, on the other hand, shows a much smaller margin.
Non-American users of Polymarket may favor Trump because they are required to by a settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Trump supports cryptocurrency. But trends from the past show that these markets often reward those who are ahead of the competition.
Traders on Polymarket also don’t think Trump will be convicted of another felony before the election; they think it’s only 14% likely.
Crypto and Artificial Intelligence Could be a $20 Trillion Megatrend, Bitwise Says
An asset manager called Bitwise said in a report that artificial intelligence (AI) and cryptocurrency could add $20 trillion to the world economy by 2030. The resources that bitcoin miners have, like powerful chips and advanced cooling systems, are a good match for AI’s needs for data centers, chips, and electricity.
The report talks about partnerships like CoreWeave’s deal with Core Scientific for AI services worth $3.5 billion. AI and crypto could work together in areas other than mining, like verifying information and making virtual assistants. This means that both industries have a lot of room to grow.
The SEC’s Approval of ETH ETFs Paves the Way for Ethereum’s Dominance
Ethereum (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) were recently approved by the SEC. This could have a bigger effect on Ethereum than on Bitcoin. Bitcoin will always be a safe way to store value, but Ethereum has a lot of competition from other smart contract platforms.
The SEC’s approval should make regulations clearer, which will attract institutional investors and strengthen Ethereum’s position as the leader in the blockchain space. Ethereum is still the most popular place for developers to work, and it’s home to big projects like EigenLayer, Ethena, and BlackRock’s BUIDL.
If the price of ETH goes up, it could boost the Ethereum DeFi economy even more. This could make Ethereum the “Amazon” of the digital asset economy.
Bitcoin Price (BTC) Gives Back Gains on Hawkish Fed Outlook
The Federal Reserve kept its key fed funds rate steady at 5.25% to 5.50% and said they would only cut rates by 25 basis points this year, down from their original prediction of three cuts. Even though there has been some progress toward the 2% inflation target, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell stressed that inflation is still too high.
Inflation slowed down in May, according to the U.S. Consumer Price Index report. This initially helped the cryptocurrency and stock markets. But the Fed’s “hawkish” outlook tamed these rallies. As the market closed, Bitcoin (BTC) fell back to $67,300, wiping out earlier gains. U.S. stocks and bonds also gained, but not as much as they had been.
MicroStrategy (MSTR) Is Building the World’s Biggest Bitcoin (BTC) Company, Bernstein Says
Bernstein thinks that Bitcoin could reach $1 million by 2033 and be worth $200,000 at its peak in 2025. The company started to cover MicroStrategy, which is the biggest company that owns Bitcoin. They gave the stock an outperform rating and a price target of $2,890. The 214,400 bitcoins that MicroStrategy owns are worth about $14.5 billion. Since 2020, the company has used bitcoin as a reserve asset.
Michael Saylor, who started the company, has made MicroStrategy a top Bitcoin company. Bernstein thinks that Bitcoin will be worth $500,000 by 2029 because of high demand from spot ETFs and a limited supply.
Nigeria Drops Tax Charges Against Binance Execs Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla: Family Spokesperson
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) of Nigeria dropped tax charges against Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, two executives at Binance. The charges were changed to only name Binance through its local representative.
Even so, the two executives are still being named in a case of money laundering. Gambaryan, who is in charge of preventing financial crime at Binance, is still being held and is having serious health problems. There will be another court date for the money-laundering case on June 19.
Gambaryan’s family wants the U.S. government to help get him released right away because his health is getting worse.
Key Takeaways
- Bitcoin falls to $69K: After a good U.S. employment report, Bitcoin fell to $69,000, which caused $450 million in liquidations.
- More people are using cryptocurrencies: Canaccord raised Galaxy Digital’s price target to C$23, citing strong partnerships with institutions.
- Tokens linked to AI, like Render and Fetch, don’t do well. When Apple had a bad event, AI dropped by 3–5%.
- Democrats Want the Federal Reserve to Lower Interest Rates: Senators asked the Federal Reserve to lower rates from 5.5%, saying that high rates slow down the economy.
- Prediction Markets Put Trump Ahead: Polymarket gives Trump a 56% chance of winning the 2024 election, which is a lot more than most polls say.
- A big trend in crypto and AI is that they could add $20 trillion to the world economy by 2030, according to Bitwise.
- Ethereum ETF Approval Effects: If the SEC approves Ethereum ETFs, it could give Ethereum a big boost in the market.
- The Federal Reserve kept interest rates the same and said they would only cut rates once this year, which had an effect on the price of Bitcoin.
- Bitcoin Bet by MicroStrategy: Bernstein thinks Bitcoin could reach $1 million by 2033, which shows MicroStrategy’s plan.
- There were tax charges against executives of Binance in Nigeria, but those charges were dropped. However, the executives are still being investigated for money laundering.