First Mover Americas: Bitcoin Hits $27K for First Time in Two Weeks

The latest price moves in crypto markets in context for Sept. 19, 2023.

AccessTimeIconSep 19, 2023 at 1:40 p.m. UTC

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Bitcoin held just above $27,000 after rising to the highest since Aug. 31 as U.S. rates traders penciled in greater odds of the Federal Reserve keeping borrowing costs unchanged later this week and through the rest of the year. The leading cryptocurrency by market value jumped to $27,220 Monday, having climbed almost 8% since the ominous-sounding death cross pattern appeared on its daily price chart a week ago. The advance since that bearish crossover of the 50-day simple moving average (SMA) below the 200-day moving average reinforces the measure's reputation as an unreliable standalone indicator. Bitcoin has retreated slightly since, trading at around $27,100. Solana’s SOL gained 3% on Tuesday and ether was up slightly at $1,643.

Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX has sued founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried's parents, Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, to "recover millions of dollars in fraudulently transferred and misappropriated funds," the company said in a Monday court filing. The filing, redacted in parts, asks the court to award the FTX estate damages, the return of any property given or payment made to the parents by FTX, and punitive damages resulting from "conscious, willful, wanton, and malicious conduct." According to the filing,"FTX Trading paid $18,914,327.82, inclusive of taxes, fees, and costs, for Blue Water, to which Bankman and Fried received title, as well as various expenses related to Blue Water totaling more than $90,000," as one example. The filing also alleged that "Bankman’s command of tax law and unique understanding of the FTX Group’s muddled corporate structure allowed him to facilitate the transfer of a cash gift totaling $10 million to himself and Fried consisting of Alameda Ltd. funds."

Alums from some well-known names in crypto and fintech are starting a new $60 million fund called Oak Grove Ventures, which focuses on the intersection of Web3, artificial intelligence and biotech. The Singapore-based team includes some notable figures including Sally Wang, formerly of Sino Global Capital (now Ryze Labs), Ethan Wang, former tech lead of Libra, Shawn Shi, co-founder of Alchemy Pay, as well as Michael Li, a former VP of Coinbase. “We understand that the journey of building groundbreaking technologies is not just about capital; it's about fostering a community of visionaries, pioneers, and founders who share our passion for innovation. With this fund, our strategy is simple yet profound: to raise funds for the founders,” Sally Wang, the fund’s head of investments, said in a statement to CoinDesk.

Chart of the Day

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  • Chainlink's LINK token has climbed 14% over the past 7 days.
  • LINK climbed to $6.83 on Monday, gaining just over 10% on the day, outperforming the wider crypto market.
  • On-chain data from spotonchain shows that four Chainlink wallets unlocked and transferred out 18.75 million LINK (worth around $117 million) over the weekend.
  • Lookonchain noted that the Chainlink wallet has been depositing LINK to Binance every three months since August 2022, totalling over 71 million LINK (worth around $446 million).

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Lyllah Ledesma

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