Stocks near ATH even as Bitcoin battles September blues

Hola folks!

Fasten your seatbelts as we embark on yet another ride to the cryptosphere. The past week has been a rollercoaster for the global crypto market as it lost most of the gains from the week before. 

The crypto market cap also sits at a $2-trillion dollar support mark, which could easily cause another 10% dip in Bitcoin prices before the next support line is found. The expected price volatility in the crypto market is keeping traders on the edge.

Read on to learn more about how crypto assets and traditional assets are witnessing a divergence in the global market and what can impact the crypto market in the coming week.

The financial markets show a striking divergence as the Dow and S&P 500 neared their all-time highs, driven by positive initial jobless claims and US PCE (personal consumption expenditure) data, and a potential interest rate cut by the Fed in September. Meanwhile, Bitcoin closed at a six-month low, raising concerns about whether equities are overvalued or if Bitcoin is currently undervalued. 

Historically, September has been a bearish month for Bitcoin, with negative returns in six of the past seven years, yet being in a halving year brings hope for a strong Q4 rally. While major US BTC ETFs like Fidelity, Bitwise, and Ark reduced their holdings, BlackRock's $200 million purchase this week underscores their confidence in Bitcoin's long-term potential. Adding to the mix, central banks continue buying gold at record levels, highlighting the contrast between traditional and digital assets.

Bitcoin miners also faced headwinds, recording their lowest revenue since September 2023, with August earnings down 10.5% from July. The 57% drop from the March 2024 peak, when Bitcoin hit its all-time high of over $73,500, underscores the current challenges. However, Bitcoin whales are increasingly active, with wallets holding 100+ BTC reaching a 17-month high, suggesting strategic accumulation amid the volatility. As the market navigates these mixed signals, Bitcoin's resilience and strategic accumulation by larger players could set the stage for a pivotal Q4, especially in a halving year.

August was challenging for the crypto sector, with hackers stealing over $313 million in cyberattacks, raising doubts about the asset class's security. Phishing attacks alone accounted for $293.4 million in losses, with two major incidents draining $238 million worth of Bitcoin and Dai. 

In response to the rising security threats, an elite unit of ethical hackers led by Paradigm’s Samczsun has been formed, addressing over 900 hack-related tickets since August 2023, signaling the urgent need for stronger industry defenses.

Meme coins like Shiba Inu and Wif have plummeted, both down over 70% from their 52-week highs. Recently listed Telegram’s popular new coin, DOGS was among the highly volatile coins, losing more than 14% in the last 24 hours. While TON has been trading at a discount reeling from the impact of network outages and the news of the arrest of the Telegram founder in France. 

• BTC $57,991 ⏬ 8.89%

• SHIB $0.00001331 ⏬ 11.12% 

• WIF $1.41 ⏬ 25.15%

• DOGS $0.001105 ⏬ 33.86%

(All data here is as of 3.00 p.m., 2 September 2024)

Before we conclude, here’s a quick look at some important news from around the crypto world.

• Cardano, launched in 2017, is pushing toward its biggest upgrade in two years, with major changes to the structure of its main network, introducing mechanisms for users to participate in on-chain governance. The upgrade, known as the “Chang hard fork,” is a major milestone in Cardano’s roadmap, punctuated by the much-awaited addition of smart contracts functionality in 2021. Read more here. 

• Toncoin (TON), the native token of the TON blockchain, has resumed producing new blocks after a nearly six-hour outage caused by a surge in network traffic. Read more here. 

That’s it for now. Thanks for sticking around.

See you later, folks! 👋

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