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Bybit, third largest crypto exchange in terms of volume, has shared insights on trading trends in crypto based upon the platform's own data. The report "Navigating Bull and Bear Markets - A Dive into User's Allocation" gives a general overview of the strategies used by institutional, VIP and retail investors between December 2022 and September 2023.

The main finding is that institutional investors (INS) have increased their Bitcoin holdings by over two-fold. This group's transition to BTC accelerated in 2023's third quarter. INS allocated about half their portfolio to Bitcoin and Ether at the end of September. The graphs below show that this pattern is quite different from the other two cohorts included in the report.

Retail and VIP traders are moving their money away from leading cryptos and into stablecoins. INS, on the other hand has been deploying stablecoins for BTC in Q3 of 2023. Bybit's report states that retail crypto traders tend to decrease their stablecoin investment during bull markets, and increase them during bear markets or calm periods. This suggests a risk-aversion. INS holders also show good timing when they switch stablecoins into leading cryptos during a downmarket.

Retail investors, who make up all three cohorts, have shown a cautious attitude towards altcoins. However, in July they experienced a sudden shift in mood, and increased the share of altcoins in their wallets to over 40%. Investors from institutions consistently have little faith in the performance of altcoins, with a clear downward trend - except for a small spike in July.

Bitcoin's value surged after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell addressed Spelman College, Atlanta, Georgia. Powell stressed the Fed's commitment in reducing inflation to just 2%. Powell's cautious tone was accompanied by a positive outlook for the U.S. and its progress in reducing inflation, which boosted risk assets sentiment. Some financial commentators, like The Kobeissi Letter remained cautious regarding the Fed's actions in the future. Bitcoin benefited from the positive sentiment by breaking through resistance levels. Market analysts expect further gains, with price targets exceeding $39,000 by the time of the next Federal Open Market Committee meeting in mid-December.

James Seyffart, an ETF analyst, revealed that the recent Bitcoin surge was also tied to a window of official approval for a Bitcoin ETF. The window is set between January 5 and 10. The announcement of a spot Bitcoin ETF has sparked excitement among the cryptocurrency community. Potential approval orders are expected to be issued on Jan. 8, 9 or 10. Seyffart speculated about Gary Gensler, the chair of the committee. He suggested that there was a small chance for a delay. This is also attributed to increased institutional demand. Influential investors and changing economic conditions are fueling the optimism. The combination of this with the expected rate cut creates favorable conditions to see another bull run on the cryptocurrency market.

Bitcoin Bulls Surge As Fed Chair Jerome Powell Maintains Caution

The cryptocurrency markets reacted to Jerome Powell's appearance at Spelman College. He spoke with a wide range of people about the U.S. economic situation and inflation. Bitcoin, which was already strong, has managed to overcome resistance and rise higher than expected.

Powell's Cautious Tones

Powell's speech was cautious, highlighting the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) commitment of reducing inflation at the target rate to 2%. Powell said, "It is premature to conclude that we are at a restrictive enough stance or speculate when policy may ease." His remarks, while measured, appeared to boost the risk asset sentiment.

Market Reactions vary

The Kobeissi Letter is a financial commentary resource that offers a sober outlook on the Fed's actions in the future. It noted that this narrative has remained constant since last year. The Kobeissi Letter, which is a financial commentary resource, offered a sober perspective on the Fed's future actions, noting that their narrative had remained consistent since last year.

Bitcoin capitalizes on sentiment

Bitcoin, however, took advantage of the opportunity that Powell's remarks presented, as opposed to its previous muted response to the U.S. macroeconomic release data released earlier in the week. Bitcoin's reaction was quick, but it also showed resilience and bullish momentum.

Meeting of the FOMC to be held soon

The Federal Reserve is expected to announce changes in interest rates at the next FOMC meeting, scheduled for mid-December. CME Group's FedWatch Tool data shows that market expectations as of December 1st were strongly in favor of a pause on interest rate increases.

BTC price targets soar

Daan Crypto Trades, a popular trader in the Bitcoin market, revealed the volume of liquidity experienced by the sell-side during Bitcoin's short ascent to 39,000 dollars. Keith Alan, cofounder of trading resource Material Indicators and a snapshot BTC/USDT liquidity after Powell's address, was able to share a snapshot. Notably, $39,000, $39,200, and $38,000 were significant resistance levels. There was also substantial support from buyers at these levels.

Market analysts and traders remain optimistic about Bitcoin's future. BitQuant predicted a strong signal with a close of the day above $38,000. Crypto Ed, founder and CEO of trading group CryptoTA, forecast Bitcoin's potential upside, which could reach at least $39200.

Bitcoin's performance is closely tied to global economic developments, which makes it a focal part of the changing financial landscape. Market participants are eagerly awaiting the December FOMC Meeting, where new insights into the Federal Reserve’s policy stance could shape Bitcoin’s trajectory in weeks to come.

BTC's soaring rally coincides with the anticipation of spot Bitcoin ETF approval

BTC is soaring to new heights as the world of cryptocurrency buzzes with excitement. This coincides with the eagerly awaited official approval window for an ETF that tracks Bitcoin. This long-awaited event could be a milestone for the crypto industry and has caught the attention of investors and analysts.

The Approval Window for Bitcoin ETFs has been Revealed

James Seyffart, an ETF analyst who has been a part of the crypto community for many years, recently shared some important information on the X social network. Seyffart claims that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) official approval window has been set from Jan. 5 to Jan. 10. Seyffart said that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has set a window of approval for a spot Bitcoin ETF between Jan. 5 and Jan. 10.

Seyffart said that while the crypto community is eagerly awaiting this historic decision, there's a 10% chance or less of a possible delay, if Gary Gensler takes an unconventional approach.

Seyffart proposed an alternative scenario where the SEC might not be fully prepared for such a significant step. In this case, the SEC could have been in talks with companies like ARK Invest or 21Shares about withdrawing their filing. They may have offered future assurances, or explored an alternative course of action.

Bitcoin's Surge: Factors behind its remarkable growth

Bitcoin's meteoric rise since 2023 is a result of several factors. These have all contributed to the renewed vigor in Bitcoin and its bullish sentiment. The optimistic outlook of influential investors, as well as the changing economic conditions are key factors.

This surge in price is largely due to the expectation of increased institutional demand. Experts in the industry have believed for a long time that increased Bitcoin adoption by financial titans such as BlackRock and Fidelity would propel the cryptocurrency price to greater heights. The growing institutional interest in Bitcoin, combined with the expectation of rate cuts, creates a perfect storm for a new bullish run.

Investors and crypto enthusiasts are watching these developments closely, as an approval of a Bitcoin ETF could lead to a flood new capital into the cryptocurrency market. As regulators and participants in the market await the SEC decision, the coming days of January could potentially change the future of Bitcoin.

Price Overview

Chart for BTC/USDT daily (Source: TradingView).

BTC was trading over the $38K key resistance level as of press time, following a slight gain of 0.21% throughout the last 24 hours. This slight gain was part and parcel of BTC’s positive trend it has been on for the past four weeks.

If the bullish momentum continues, the market leader may soon reach the resistance level of $40,000. If traders start to take profits, the cryptocurrency could retrace towards the immediate support at $38,000. Continued selling pressure may bring the value of the cryptocurrency down to the next support level, which is $36,880.

HSBC has teamed with Metaco, a Swiss digital asset custody firm that was recently acquired by Ripple. This is a major development in the world of digital assets and blockchain. The "XRP Army" of Ripple, a passionate XRP group that is often referred as a community of XRP enthusiasts, has taken note of this partnership. They see it as indicating broader adoption for Ripple’s blockchain technology and XRP token. This collaboration was not a one-off, as Metaco courted HSBC over a period of ten months before Ripple acquired them.

Ripple Labs has released one billion XRP from its escrow accounts. This strategic move, which was tracked and reported by crypto monitoring platform Whale Alert aims to boost XRP’s liquidity in the cryptocurrency market. Since early 2018, these regular releases, which take place on the 1st of every month, have become a recurring tradition. This release is a large amount of XRP but it's part of Ripple’s broader strategy for ensuring the stability and access to its native cryptocurrency.

HSBC Partners With Ripple’s Custody Firm Metaco in a Move That Excites the XRP Community

The news of HSBC’s collaboration with Metaco - the Swiss digital asset custody firm that Ripple acquired earlier this year - has sent waves of excitement throughout the cryptocurrency community, especially amongst the diehard enthusiasts of Ripple’s XRP, also known as the “XRP Army.” The partnership has sparked optimism that major financial organizations are about to adopt Ripple's XRP token and blockchain technology.

The "XRP Army," a group of ardent XRP advocates, sees HSBC's choice to work with Metaco, as a sign that XRPL and the XRP Ledger are gaining traction in the traditional banking industry. The enthusiasm should, however, be balanced with some reality. Adoption is more complicated than it seems.

Adrien Treccani is the CEO of Metaco. He stressed that the partnership between Metaco & HSBC didn't happen overnight. Metaco was in talks with the bank over 18 months prior to the Ripple acquisition. This shows the careful planning and consideration that goes into forming such partnerships within the financial sector.

Treccani admits that there may not be a direct link between Ripple’s acquisition of Metaco, and HSBC’s decision. However, there is a indirect connection. The success of Ripple, as a business, ultimately contributes towards the broader adoption XRPL protocol as a blockchain. This reinforces the value of XRP token.

Ripple is actively courting banks, with an emphasis on streamlining processes like cross-border payment. XRPL is a leading example of a blockchain which combines both public and private uses cases, while also offering scalability benefits over its competitors such as Ethereum. It supports tokenized assets natively, reducing the reliance on smart contract, and facilitates trading on-chain with other blockchain-based platforms and automated market-makers (AMMs).

Metaco's collaboration with Ripple provides a comprehensive solution that includes both infrastructure and value-added service. The integrated approach allows banks to receive digital asset custody, tokenization capability, payment services and liquidity management all from one vendor.

The partnership between Metaco & Ripple is not without its challenges. Rumors emerged following the acquisition that Metaco's clients were looking at alternative solutions because of concerns about Ripple’s ongoing legal fight with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Treccani clarified some of the speculation, and that post-acquisition discussions were standard business practice. Most contracts with banks contain provisions for ownership changes.

Treccani said, "Yes, such discussions have taken place, and we've spent the last few months clarifying with banks the situation. I believe we've been successful. You will see more Tier One Bank Partnerships that we are soon going to announce in Europe, America, APAC and Africa."

HSBC, like many other major financial institutions is recognizing that tokenization, or the process of representing assets in the real world on blockchains, has great potential. It also recognizes the importance of robust technology for digital asset custody to facilitate this transition.

Treccani is driven by his dedication to cryptocurrency, and the principles that it represents. He will continue to serve banks as their needs change. He believes that many banks will eventually want to offer cryptocurrency-related services, and by building tokenization capabilities now, they will be well-prepared to embrace the world of cryptocurrency when the time comes.

Ripple releases one billion XRP as the Ripple-SEC case hints at resolution

Whale Alert, a popular crypto tracking platform reported that Ripple Labs in San Francisco, a fintech giant, had recently released one billion XRP through escrow. This move highlights Ripple’s commitment to support XRP’s liquidity in exchanges and the broader crypto market.

The crypto tracking platform identified three major transfers that each carried a significant amount of XRP. The transfers totaled one billion Ripple tokens, with 500,000,000, 300,000,000, and 200,000,000 of XRP. This is equivalent to $601.4 million in fiat currency. These withdrawals are regular and have occurred consistently since early 2018. They always occur on the first of every new month.

Ripple releases these XRP to the market as part of its strategy. Ripple Labs typically moves approximately 800,000,000 XRP back into escrow in the days that follow these withdrawals. This process is repeated every 30 days. These routine XRP releases don't seem to have a major impact on the XRP value.

Whale Alert, in addition to Ripple’s XRP movement, also detected a withdrawal from Binance of 27,000,000XRP, which is equivalent to $16,413,770USD. This purchase may seem unusual at first, and could be a violation of the trading maxim "buy low, sale high." On closer inspection, it was discovered that the wallet of the sender also belonged to Binance, which indicated this was an intra-exchange transfer.

Recent developments around Ripple sparked speculation in the XRP Community regarding the ongoing legal fight with the SEC. Since its inception in December 2020, this case has been a major fixture in the crypto-world.

The SEC has announced a closed meeting to be held in the near future, presumably for the purpose of discussing the Ripple lawsuit. This announcement has fueled optimism among the XRP community. Ripple won two important victories in court against the regulatory agency earlier this year.

In July, Federal judge Torres ruled XRP transfers from Ripple on the secondary market were not security sales. The price of XRP soared after this decision, reaching a high local value of $0.71. The price then began to decline.

In the fall, Ripple won a second victory when the SEC dropped all charges against Brad Garlinghouse (Ripple's CEO) and Chris Larsen (the company's cofounder). These developments have given XRP fans hope that a solution to the long-running Ripple/SEC case is on the horizon.

Ripple releases XRP strategically to maintain the currency's liquidity and stability.

Price Overview

Chart for the XRP/USDT pair (Source: TradingView).

After a 0.20% gain over the last 24 hours, XRP is approaching the major resistance at $0.6235. The remittance coin was trading at $0.6137 as of press time. If the cryptocurrency can break through the barrier within the next 24 hour, it may continue to climb to $0.6800. A rejection of the $0.6235 barrier could cause XRP to fall back to $0.5730.