Five Things to Know in Crypto Today: BTC ATH, MSTR Rally, and FLOKI Breakout

BTC-Spot ETF Market: Net Inflows and Fed Rate Cut Bets

BTC was up 8.23% to $68,334 from Monday (March 4) to Saturday (March 9). Significantly, BTC struck a Friday (March 8) all-time high of $70,066 before easing back to sub-$70,000.

BTC-spot ETF market flow data and bets on an H1 2024 Fed rate cut drove buyer demand for BTC.

From Monday (March 4) to Thursday (March 7), the BTC-spot ETF market saw total net inflows of $2,016.1 million despite Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) seeing weekly total net outflows climb higher.

iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) saw weekly net outflows trend lower (Monday to Thursday). In contrast, Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) contributed to an upward trend in total net inflows.

Nonetheless, IBIT retained the number one spot by total weekly net inflows based on figures for Monday to Thursday.

BTC-spot ETF market trading volumes reflected increased activity in the ETF space. Bloomberg Intelligence Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas had this to say about trading volumes,

“Here’s a look at the weekly volume for the ten, already crushed record set last week w $30b traded and prob will add another $6b to this week when dust settles at 4pm.”

On Friday, the US Jobs Report supported bets on an H1 2024 Fed rate cut. The US unemployment rate increased from 3.7% to 3.9%. Average hourly earnings declined from 4.4% year-on-year to 4.3% year-on-year in February. Investors brushed aside a larger-than-expected increase in nonfarm payrolls. BTC responded to the Jobs Report, striking the ATH of $70,066.

Coinbase and SEC Meet on Grayscale Ethereum Trust

On Wednesday, March 6, Coinbase (COIN) met with the SEC to discuss the proposed rule change for the Grayscale Ethereum Trust. Hopes of progress toward an ETH-spot ETF market sent ETH to $4,000 on Friday, March 8. ETH last held onto the $4,000 in December 2021.

Bloomberg Intelligence Senior ETF Analyst Balchunas shared his views on the meeting, saying,

“Normally I’d say this was good sign but as far as I know the Staff has not given any comments yet to the issuers, which is not a good sign as we past when they gave comments on btc ETFs. Further, there’s no court loss hovering over. And the correlations bt futures and spot isn’t as strong = not nearly as optimistic here vs btc ETF. We will update as new info presents itself tho.”

In contrast, Grayscale won its case against the SEC on appeal, paving the way for the conversion of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust into a BTC-spot ETF. The victory opened the door to the BTC-spot ETF market.

Despite the lack of comments from the SEC, ETH was up 12.63% to $3,931 (Monday to Saturday).

MicroStrategy Outperforms Bitcoin on Fund-Raising Plans

On Monday (March 4), news hit the crypto wires of MicroStrategy (MSTR) plans to raise $600 million. Founder and Chairman Michael Saylor shared the news on X (formerly Twitter), saying,

“MicroStrategy Announces Proposed Private Offering of $600 Million of Convertible Senior Notes.”

In addition to using the funds to purchase BTC, MicroStrategy will also use the funds for general corporate purposes.

In the week ending March 8, MicroStrategy shares rallied 32.07% to $1,425.59.

The Meme Coin Revival: SHIB and FLOKI March Higher

Meme coins continued to draw investor interest in the week ending March 10. Shiba inu coin (SHIB) and floki inu (FLOKI) enjoyed impressive gains Monday through Saturday. FLOKI was up 69% to $0.000248, with SHIB up 60% to $0.00003610.

The fear of missing out drove buyer demand after FLOKI and SHIB saw gains of 299% and 133%, respectively, in the week ending March 3.

Dogecoin (DOGE) trailed the pair, rising by a more modest 10.32% to $0.17 from Monday to Saturday. In the week ending March 3, DOGE gained 79%.

Upward trends in active addresses contributed to DOGE and SHIB gains. Exchange listings drove buyer demand for FLOKI.

SEC v Ripple: SEC Appeal Threat Leaves XRP Trailing the Market

XRP bucked the broader market trend Monday through Saturday, declining by 0.43% to $0.6250.

Uncertainty about the outcome of the ongoing SEC v Ripple case continued to limit the upside. The SEC and Ripple are preparing remedy-related briefs to argue for and against a punitive penalty for XRP sales to institutional investors. Judge Analisa Torres could decide on a penalty this summer.

After the penalty stage, investors expect the SEC to appeal against the Programmatic Sales of XRP ruling. SEC plans to appeal may delay an XRP-spot ETF application until after any appeal. An appeal against the Programmatic Sales ruling could extend the SEC v Ripple case into 2025. In July 2023, Judge Torres ruled programmatic sales of XRP do not satisfy the third prong of the Howey Test.