Bitcoin briefly surged above $62,000 in the early Asian session before retreating to $61,400, influenced by significant on-chain activities involving the German government’s Bitcoin holdings. According to blockchain analysis by Lookonchain, Germany, the largest economy in the eurozone, transferred 750 BTC—worth over $46 million—with 250 BTC sent to crypto exchanges Bitstamp and Kraken, suggesting potential preparations for selling these assets. This move, part of the divestment of BTC seized from a privacy website, contributed to bearish sentiment in the market. Currently, the government holds more than 45,000 BTC.
Following Bitcoin’s lead, Ether also declined from $3,425 to $3,375, while the CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20) retreated by approximately 0.14%.
Meanwhile, alternative cryptocurrencies have seen a more significant liquidity drain compared to Bitcoin and Ether recently. Notional open interest tied to altcoin futures contracts has dropped by 34% to $12 billion since Bitcoin’s peak above $70,000 on June 7, according to Coinalyze. This contrasts with a 13% decrease in cumulative open interest for Bitcoin and Ether futures, now standing at $29.3 billion. Jeff Dorman, Chief Investment Officer at Arca, noted, “This one-way flow quickly turns reflexive to the downside and exacerbates underperformance relative to majors.”
In a separate development, the Cardano blockchain successfully defended against a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack aimed at stealing staked tokens on Tuesday. Philip Disarro, founder of Cardano development firm Anastasia, reported that the attack was neutralized by deregistering the attacker’s stake credentials, ensuring no disruption to network operations. Despite this resilience, Cardano’s ADA token mirrored broader market sentiment, holding steady before a slight decline to under 39 cents.
These developments underscore ongoing volatility and regulatory challenges impacting the cryptocurrency market, influencing investor sentiment and market dynamics.
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