First Mover Americas: Bitcoin Busts Through $26K

The latest price moves in crypto markets in context for March 17, 2023.

AccessTimeIconMar 17, 2023 at 12:10 p.m. UTC
Updated Mar 17, 2023 at 8:07 p.m. UTC
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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.

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Price Chart 03/17/2023

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Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, is back trading above $26,000 for the second time this week, up 7.5% in the last 24 hours. The coin has been trading between $24,000 and $26,700 over the past week. Investors who went away for a while are back and adding bitcoin, according to Alex Thorn, head of firmwide research at Galaxy Digital. “We expect to see significant demand as bitcoin moves further past $25,000,” Thorn wrote in a note. Ether is up 5.1% in the past 24 hours and up 20% over the last seven days.

Bankrupt lender Genesis has requested a May 22 deadline for creditors to say how much they are owed by the company and June 27 for an auction, according to bankruptcy court filings dated Thursday. Bidders considering buying Genesis would have to show interest by May 5. The sale would comprise lenders Genesis Global Capital and Genesis Asia Pacific, as well as Genesis Global Trading, the last of which hasn't filed for bankruptcy. All three fall under the umbrella of Digital Currency Group, a crypto conglomerate that also owns CoinDesk.

Tokens related to artificial intelligence have had a strong week with the Graph’s GRT up 30% and SingularityNET (AGIX) up 45%. AI-related tokens have rallied following ChatGPT’s release of its latest version of the technology that powers the popular chatbot tool. OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, announced the release in a blog post on Tuesday, stating the latest version can pass a simulated bar exam with a score at around the top 10% of test takers. SingularityNET is a decentralized AI marketplace running on blockchain, and The Graph is an open-sourced indexing platform used to collect, process and store data from various blockchain applications.

Chart of the Day

(Source: TradingView)
(Source: TradingView)
  • The chart shows ether's bitcoin denominated price (ETH/BTC) has declined to its lowest level since last July.
  • Traders seem to be worried that Ethereum's impending Shanghai upgrade, which is set to open withdrawals of staked ether, could potentially create a significant supply overhang.
  • These fears are likely to keep sentiment in the ether market weak ahead of the upgrade, Bernstein said early this month, adding that the actual increase in supply after the upgrade is likely to be negligible on a daily basis.

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CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.

Lyllah Ledesma

Lyllah Ledesma is a CoinDesk Markets reporter currently based in Europe. She holds bitcoin, ether and small amounts of other crypto assets.

Omkar Godbole

Omkar Godbole is a Co-Managing Editor on CoinDesk's Markets team.


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