A U.S. market demand has Bitcoin back on track after a brief pause that saw the coin dip to $90,000 and later $87,000. The king of crypto rose by over $4,000 in 24 hours of trading to surpass $91,000 at the time of writing.
The world’s leading cryptocurrency in market cap had an impressive week last week when it breached the $93,000 mark on Wednesday, November 13, briefly overtaking Saudi Arabia’s state-owned Saudi Aramco in valuation at $1.83 trillion. The news of the BTC rally overshadowed a legal battle between FTX and Binance, where the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange sued the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trade volume, Binance, and its former CEO, Changpeng Zhao (CZ).
Spot Bitcoin ETFs Add Appeal to the Market
The leap that put Bitcoin back on track happened concurrent with the opening of the US markets, meaning there was every chance that American investors would be the key catalysts for the new surge. According to the Coinbase Premium Index, the market experienced a 0.2 surge, being the highest recorded level since April 2024. While the number may look insignificant, it’s a clear indication that U-based buyers are jumping into the market at a premium, showing a strong local demand.
Most importantly, the hot trading that brought an additional $1.2 billion in trading volume within one hour of trading shows that there’s more than individual involvement in the market. Particularly, the popularly listed BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), which was responsible for most of the inflows, went on to become the most traded ETF in the market.
Market analysts believe it is this kind of trading from big market players that is responsible for bringing Bitcoin back on track as the asset’s Appeal remains alive in the US market.
Bitcoin Back on Track, Thanks to Actual Bitcoin Purchases
Compared to previous Bitcoin rallies that the futures markets have driven, the current BTC price surge is driven primarily by actual Bitcoin purchases. According to analysts, there’s a cumulative volume delta (CVD) flowing from the spot ETF markets, which is a sign of considerable buying pressure. This means that the crypto rally results from actual buying as opposed to market players betting on future prices. The current trend is positive sentiment pointing to a potential sustained upward movement since spot ETF-driven markets habitually provide stronger foundations than futures-based rallies.
In the meantime, the estate of the bankrupted cryptocurrency exchange has filed a fresh FTX vs. Binance suit where it has included Binance’s former CEO Changpeng Zhao for approximately $1.8 billion in what it calls a “fraudulent” share deal. The November 10 filing in a Delaware court surrounds a 2021 deal where FTX claims CZ and others sold their 20% stakes on the exchange and a further 18.4% stake on the FTX-owned West Realm Shires on the exchange as they exited their investments.
Binance Denies Allegations in the FTX vs. Binance Suit
According to the FTX vs. Binance suit, FTX’s Alameda Research funded the repurchasing of the said shares by combining the company’s and Binance’s exchange tokens in addition to Binance’s dollar-pegged stablecoin. The suit claims that “Alameda was insolvent at the time of the share repurchase and could not afford to fund the transaction.” This, according to the court papers, was a “constructive fraudulent transfer” surrounding a deal agreed between Changpeng Zhao and FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who is currently serving a 25-year sentence over fraud that led to the downfall of his exchange.
Responding via an email statement, cryptocurrency exchange Binance has denied all the allegations contained in the FTX vs Binance suit, stating that “the claims are meritless, and we will vigorously defend ourselves.” The filing of the suit shows growing tensions between two of the leading market players within the cryptocurrency sphere after the groundbreaking rise and fall of FTX that led to the infamous 2022 crypto winter. The $32 billion crypto empire founded by Sam Bankman-Fried collapsed after failing to deliver on a torrent of customer withdrawal requests, which finally plunged the entire crypto market.
Conclusion
With Bitcoin back on track, catalyzed by growing US demand and large trading volumes associated with spot Bitcoin ETF inflows, the Bulls seem to be taking charge, giving the market an intriguing outlook. Should the inflows associated with spot Bitcoin ETFs continue unabated, Bitcoin could be setting itself up for an upward surge that will push it towards $100,000 by the end of 2024. However, only time will tell since unpredictability is part and parcel of this game.
