Coinbase’s Nasdaq debut powers retail crypto trading frenzy
On April 1, crypto exchange Coinbase announced that its Class A common stock would begin trading on Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “COIN” on April 14.
However, data from CryptoCompare suggests that the pre-listing rally in the crypto markets did not really start until one week before the listing date. On April 7, Bitcoin and Ether were trading as low as $55,467 and $1,931 respectively.
The rally that started on April 7 took Bitcoin to a new all-time high of $64,859 on April 14.
Another heavily-traded coin that managed to set a new all-time high on this day was XRP, which was helped by the Wanchain team announcing on April 12 that now “XRP token holders can put their XRP to work and engage with the world’s many DeFi applications”.
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Bitcoin skyrockets past US$64,000, hits another all-time high
Ahead of Coinbase’s Nasdaq listing, Bitcoin surged to new highs in Asian trading hours. Ether, ADA and DOGE also reached new ATHs as altcoins soared.
Image: Envato Elements
Ahead of U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase’s direct listing on Nasdaq starting today, Bitcoin (BTC) reached another all-time high of $64,787.65 during Asian trading hours earlier in the day, according to CoinGecko data.
As of publishing time, Bitcoin’s total market value now stands at US$1.2 trillion, 52% of the total cryptocurrency market of US$2.3 trillion. Bitcoin’s 24-hour trading volume was US$73 billion and its 24-hour price range was US$$62,593.30 to US$64,787.65.
Bitcoin s (CRYPTO: BTC) struggle to breach $60,000 has proved that the price is a crucial resistance level in the current bull run.
What Happened: However, the cryptocurrency has also found strong support at $50,000 and an even stronger price floor at $40,000, according to research from Chainalysis. According to the firm’s chief economist, Philip Gradwell, recent data indicates “strong support for high prices.”
Gradwell finds that 3.1 million Bitcoins have been acquired at a cost of more than $40,000 and continue to be held, while 1.6 million Bitcoins have been bought and held at above $50,000.
Buyers reportedly spent $88 billion to acquire the 1.6 million Bitcoin at an average cost of over $50,000, according to Chainalysis data.
At first, it appeared like a regular profit-taking exercise among western day-traders against overvaluation risks. Nevertheless, blockchain analytics platform CryptoQuant noted that the sell-off appeared out of South Korea-based crypto exchange Upbit Global. It happened after a so-called “Kimchi Premium” indicator reached its three-year peak.
What is Kimichi Premium?
In retrospect, Kimchi Premium a metric which represents the difference in the bitcoin prices on South Korean exchanges and other global trading avenues. Arcnae Research analysts note that when the indicator peaks, it somewhat ends up blowing up the bitcoin bullish bubbles. The metric reached 47 percent in January 2018 and 63 percent in 2017, and followed up with vast price corrections in the global bitcoin market.
Coinbase would have earned $2B just buying Bitcoin with its seed money The largest cryptocurrency’s 200% CAGR presents a serious challenge to even the most successful crypto business strategies. 9661 Total views Markets News
The United States’ biggest crypto exchange would have made more money by simply buying and holding Bitcoin (BTC) in 2013.
Data circulating on social media reveals that despite Coinbase’s $800-million profits in Q1, the company would still be richer had it used its seed funding cash to buy BTC.
Coinbase profits lose out to 2013 hodlers
Ahead of its initial public offering on April 14, Coinbase reported bumper revenue this week. At $1.8 billion, Q1 outperformed the entirety of 2020.