First Mover Americas: Bitcoin Hovers Around $59K to End Week

This article originally appeared in First Mover, CoinDesk’s daily newsletter, putting the latest moves in crypto markets in context. Subscribe to get it in your inbox every day.

Bitcoin tested a return to $60,000 during the Asian morning on Friday before retreating to trade around $59,000. BTC has gained about 2% in the last 24 hours as it continues its recovery from a midweek rout that saw it sink below $57,000 following a drop of 16% in April, the worst month since June 2022. JPMorgan said in a report yesterday that retail investors played a bigger part in the sell-off than institutional investors. The bank is opting for a cautious stance on crypto markets in the near term due to a lack of positive catalysts. The wider crypto market has risen 1.7% in 24 hours as measured by the CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20).

Coinbase had a blowout first quarter thanks to improving crypto market conditions and business diversification such as its layer-2 blockchain Base, broker JMP said in a report today. Coinbase reported income of $1.2 billion and diluted EPS of $4.40. JMP reiterated its outperform rating for COIN and a $320 price target. Canaccord Genuity raised its target from $240 to $280, while KBW lifted it to $280 from $240. “While we believe investors must remain level-headed around the ebbs and flows of enthusiasm into the industry, which often coincide with fluctuations in price, we see a number of underlying trends supporting our positive thesis that Coinbase will be a relevant player in virtually all aspects of the crypto economy,” JMP analysts led by Devin Ryan wrote.

Friend.Tech's native token tanked to $2.50 having risen as high as $169 immediately following its debut. Decentralized social platform Friend.Tech airdropped FRIEND on Friday while unveiling version 2 of the platform. "It looks like the price dump has been driven by liquidity issues," Hitesh Malviya, founder of crypto analytics platform DYOR, told CoinDesk. Several users also seemed to have issues claiming their airdrop. Malviya said the distribution was a "concentrated airdrop," in which leading creators took the most supply. Following its launch in August last year, assets locked in Friend.Tech reached as high as $52 million in October, but are now more than 40% lower at $29.8 million.

- Omkar Godbole