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A 3% jump in crypto’s total market cap signaled broad market gains, with Bitcoin weathering reduced sell pressure from Grayscale GBTC ETF outflows.
Bitcoin’s (BTC) charge above $41,000 on Jan. 26 bolstered market sentiment, triggering price appreciations for hundreds of cryptocurrencies. According to CoinMarketCap, some 10 tokens saw double-digit price increases in the last 24 hours.
Tokens include Bitcoin BRC-20 token 1000SATS (SATS) with a 21% jump. Conflux (CFX), the so-called ‘China’s Ethereum’ gained over 15% in second, while Ethereum Name Service (ENS) followed closely, increasing by 14%.
Conflux announced a Bitcoin L2 expected by mid-year. ENS received plaudits from Ethereum co-creator Vitalik Buterin in early January.
Akash Network (AKT), Optimism (OP), Near Protocol (NEAR), Bonk (BONK), ORDI, Chiliz (CHZ), and OKB also featured among the day’s top gainers.
Top gainers on Jan. 26 | Source: CoinMarketCapBitcoin sell-off over?
Consecutive negative net flows for Grayscale’s GBTC exchange-traded fund may be slowing down crypto.news reported, citing analysts at JPMorgan. The data suggests that profit-taking, most likely from arbitrageurs trading GBTC’s net asset value discount, has already occurred around $3 billion in outflows.
spot Bitcoin ETF flows | Source: BloombergThe FTX estate under CEO John J. Ray III also offloaded $1 billion or so in Grayscale converted Bitcoin ETF, accounting for over $4 billion shed by GBTC in just over two weeks. Bloomberg expert Eric Balchunas predicted a 25% drop in Grayscale’s BTC ETF market cap. GBTC holds over $20 billion in value and Bitcoin.
Rotation into ETFs with lower fees may have occurred as well. Grayscale charges an industry-high 1.5% fee; the competition offers much lower fees, around 0.21% to 0.35% after fee waivers.
FWIW @JSeyff and I are both in the 25% range but this is not something i'd be a sushi lunch over, too many unknowns
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) January 23, 2024