The news from Planet Ruby—Friday, May 31, 2024
- Signal: IBIT
- Noise: GBTC
It's been a quieter week, as major markets consolidate a little below their all-time highs. The DXY continues its intermediate downtrend, though has not yet broken support to give risk assets the push they need to achieve fresh highs.
Markets are still digesting the possibility (if not probability, yet) that there will be no interest rate cuts this year, and potentially even another rise. Despite this headwind, the trend is still firmly upwards across the board. Silver is showing particular strength, though has some way to go before hitting its 1980 ATH.
Crypto Market Action
Bitcoin has been ranging over the past two-and-a-half months, generally staying above $60k but putting in a series of lower highs on the daily chart since that March all-time high. This week saw a rejection from the $70k resistance, though bitcoin remains above the 50% support level, which is around $65k. In other words, the chop and grind continues.
Bitcoin ETF holdings have now surpassed 1 million BTC (aka one Nakamoto). The big news is that BlackRock has finally, and inevitably, flipped Grayscale as the largest ETF holder of BTC. IBIT is now positioned as the leader for the foreseeable future.
It’s official now. $IBIT is king of the category and prob will be for decades. The low fee + big boy liquidity + iShares brand name is just too powerful (altho there’s plenty of food for everyone). https://t.co/gfeicUz3Iy
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) May 29, 2024
All eyes were on ETH this week after the surprise ETF approval. Despite its 20% move up last week, ETH has failed so far to make fresh highs, remaining below $4,000.
The timeline for ETH ETFs is unclear, but may happen within weeks, with analysts pointing to the end of June or the beginning of July. However, there are concerns that Grayscale's product will see huge outflows, just as GBTC did.
In other news, Mt Gox administrators have been transferring billions of dollars of BTC, perhaps in readiness of making payouts. Nigeria's currency fell to the point where one Naira is now worth less than one Satoshi. And Ryan Salame, former co-CEO of FTX, has been sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison for offences connected with the collapse of the exchange in 2022.
What's New In The SKALEVERSE?
If you're at Consensus 2024, look out for the SKALE team, including the new CMO, Andrew Saunders!
The SKALE Labs team is gearing up for @consensus2024! 🎉
— SKALE (@SkaleNetwork) May 28, 2024
Keep your eyes peeled for @andrewsaunders and @DanteReminick rocking those sleek black SKALE hats.🧢
If you're lucky, you may walk away with a hat of your own. 😉 pic.twitter.com/n1RLQ9NnWs
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