Bitcoin Stirs Up Market: US Government's $922m Move, Coinbase Glitch, and Record ETF Volume
Summary:
The US government moved $922m in Bitcoin, obtained from a 2016 Bitfinex seizure, coinciding with Bitcoin surpassing $60,000. In the same day, volumes for US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds hit a record high of $7.69 billion, with BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin ETF accounting for 43.5%. Amidst this, a technical issue at Coinbase caused account balances to temporarily read zero. Despite the glitch, Coinbase reported strong earnings and remains poised to take advantage of the flourishing crypto market.
The United States government recently relocated Bitcoin funds worth $922 million, formerly obtained in a 2016 seizure from Bitfinex. This move coincided with a day of extraordinary Bitcoin (BTC) activity, as it exceeded a $60,000 value mark for the first time in the past two years, on February 28. The originally seized funds resulted from a Bitfinex hack where nearly 119,754 BTC equivalent to more than $7.4 billion at its current rate were stolen in 2016. The BTC movement follows hacker Ilya Lichtenstein's court appearance, as he detailed his successful theft and laundering of Bitcoin funds over $4.5 billion from Bitfinex.
On the same day, spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the U.S hit an all-time high for daily trading volume, exceeding the former record by nearly 1.5 times. The collective ETFs traded reached a staggering $7.69 billion, according to Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart’s findings. A substantial percentage of that volume, 43.5%, was covered by BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) at $3.35 billion, setting a new high for its daily record. After this enormous trading session, records later showed the biggest inflow day for U.S spot Bitcoin ETFs.
With Bitcoin values shooting up over 10% and topping the $64,000 mark, a technical glitch at the popular exchange, Coinbase, spooked several users. Their account balances temporarily read zero during Bitcoin's peak value surge. Despite this alarming occurrence, Coinbase promptly affirmed the security of user assets and identified the discrepancy. Once this issue was resolved, users reclaimed full access to their correct account balances. As the thriving crypto market heats up, Coinbase remains set to leverage these trends, despite sporadic technical glitches. The company reported a fourth-quarter net income of $273 million on Feb. 15, marking its first profitable quarter since the 2021 bull market.
Investment and trading always come with an element of risk, and each reader is urged to do their research before making decisions. Reporters Geraint Price, Sam Bourgi, and Felix Ng provided additional insights into this news story.
Published At
2/29/2024 4:11:00 PM
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