Cryptocurrencies rise as shares of Block and Silvergate decline with traditional markets

Quick Take

  • Bitcoin rose 0.3% to $17,087, while ether was up 0.5% to $1,266.
  • The U.S. Dollar Index has whipsawed over the past few days, trading to its lowest since August. 
  • Coinbase, Block, Silvergate and MicroStrategy all fell in line with U.S. stock indices. 

Crypto prices were in the green on Monday while stocks declined across the board. Grayscale's ether trust hit a new low. 

Bitcoin has been trading above $17,000 since about noon EST on Sunday, according to TradingView. The leading cryptocurrency by market cap was up 0.3% to $17,087 at 10:45 a.m. EST today. The price of bitcoin began to show weakness shortly after 10:00 a.m. EST, dropping below $17,200.

Ether ticked higher by over 0.5%, trading at $1,266. Elsewhere, Binance's BNB was up 0.5%, and Ripple's XRP rose by 0.2%. Litecoin experienced more significant gains, tacking on over 7% in the past 24 hours. 

The U.S. Dollar Index was trading at 104.83, its lowest level since August; bitcoin's price in dollars tends to move higher when the dollar weakens. The U.S. dollar has shed over 50% of its gains made this year as traders bet on the Fed slowing the pace of its interest rate hikes. The probability, based on Fed funds futures pricing data, of a 50 basis point increase on Dec. 14 is now 77%, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool.

Crypto stocks and structured products

The S&P 500 fell by 0.8%, and the Nasdaq 100 dipped by 0.7%.

RELATED INDICES

Coinbase shares were trading around $47, down 0.9% at 10:45 a.m. EST, according to Nasdaq data. Silvergate shares sank 5.2% shortly after the open in New York. 

Block was also down, dipping 4.7% to $64.92, while MicroStrategy shed over 5% to $195. Michael Saylor's firm opened the week above $200.

Grayscale's closed-end bitcoin fund, GBTC, was trading at a discount of 42.3%. The discount on the asset manager's ETHE product fell to a new all-time low of 45.7%.

Both of the funds trade at a discount to the net asset value (NAV), as shares in the fund don't grant the holder access to the underlying assets. Shares had traded at a premium until early 2021.

The daily average volume of GBTC increased by 17% to $36 million in October from the previous month, according to The Block Research. 


© 2023 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

About Author

Adam Morgan is a reporter covering cryptocurrency, financial markets, and economics – anything from price movements, earnings reports, and inflation to the U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate decisions and everything in between. Adam is based in London.

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