Bitcoin Rockets Higher, ETH ETFs Log Record Inflows, and Dogecoin Continues to Pump on Musk’s Appointment

Takeaways

• Bitcoin’s price spike earlier this week triggered $700 million in liquidations from both bulls and bears: By Thursday afternoon, the price of the world's largest cryptocurrency had pulled back below the $90,000 mark but was still up more than 15% over the past week.
• FTX has filed a lawsuit against Binance and its founder Changpeng Zhao, seeking to recover $1.76 billion: The suit alleges that the funds were fraudulently transferred during a share repurchase in 2021.
• Tesla’s bitcoin holdings now exceed $1 billion, and its share price is rallying: The electric vehicle giant's stock has rallied more than 20% since election night despite a pullback late this week.
• US spot ether ETFs saw record daily inflows of $295.5 million, with total assets reaching $9.43 billion at the start of the week: Spot bitcoin ETFs also experienced $1.1 billion in inflows, with BlackRock’s IBIT leading the way at $756.5 million.
• President-elect Trump appoints Musk to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), promising transparency on federal spending: The announcement drove Dogecoin hype, pushing its price to around $0.38 by Thursday afternoon.

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Bitcoin Spikes Above $93K, Fueling High Liquidations Amid Extreme Volatility

Bitcoin (BTC) experienced a surge above $93,000 this week, hitting an all-time before pulling back $90,000 by Thursday afternoon. The upward price swing resulted in more than $700 million in futures liquidations, impacting both bullish and bearish traders. When bitcoin surpassed $90,000 earlier this week, it wiped $380 million from short positions and $290 million from long positions.

The trading volatility also hit altcoins like DOGE, BNB, and AVAX, which were lifted by excitement surrounding bitcoin. Futures liquidations impacted major tokens, with SOL and APT each recording over $25 million in losses as risk appetite returned to the market. Some analysts note that while Trump’s election win has driven bullish sentiment, there is correction risk as bitcoin approaches the $90,000 level, with predictions pointing to a slower climb in the last leg toward $100,000.

FTX Files $1.76 Billion Lawsuit Against Binance and CZ Over Alleged Fraudulent Transactions

FTX has initiated a lawsuit against Binance and its founder, Changpeng Zhao, seeking to recover $1.76 billion. The complaint claims the sum was fraudulently transferred during a 2021 share repurchase agreement between the two exchanges. According to the filing, Binance initially acquired a 20% stake in FTX in 2019 through a deal involving over one million BNB tokens. And in 2021, FTX agreed to repurchase this stake, paying Binance with $1.76 billion worth of tokens.

The lawsuit alleges that FTX’s sister company, Alameda Research, was already insolvent at the time of the repurchase and used customer funds to carry out the transaction. It also claims that Zhao issued “misleading” statements about FTX’s finances and claims it was the reason for the mass sell-off of tokens in November 2022. The event triggered a liquidity crisis at FTX and led to its eventual collapse.

This lawsuit is one of more than 20 recent claims filed by FTX against individuals and entities, including SkyBridge Capital’s Anthony Scaramucci and Deltec Bank chairman Jean Chalopin.

Tesla Stock Surges as Bitcoin Holdings Cross Back Over $1 Billion

Tesla’s investment in bitcoin has surpassed the $1 billion mark after the recent rally. The electric vehicle giant reportedly holds 11,509 bitcoin. Initially, Tesla invested $1.5 billion in bitcoin in early 2021. Since then, the company had carried out several sales which had pushed it below $1 billion in value. Now, the investment has crossed back into 10 figures due to bitcoin’s recent rally.

Bitcoin’s market cap has surged to over $1.75 trillion after the US election result. Tesla’s stock has jumped roughly 22% from its election night close, reflecting investor optimism despite a recent pullback despite an upcoming end to EV tax credits. The company has reportedly transferred $765 million in bitcoin to a number of new wallets.

US Spot ETH ETFs Record Largest Daily Inflows on Monday, AUM Inches Toward $10 billion

US spot ethereum ETFs achieved record-breaking daily net inflows of $295.5 million on Monday, doubling their prior peak of $106 million achieved their opening day of trading. Leading these inflows was Fidelity’s ether ETF with $115.5 million, followed by BlackRock’s ETHA at $101.1 million. Grayscale’s Mini Ethereum Trust and Bitwise’s ETHW also contributed, with net inflows of $63.3 million and $15.6 million, respectively.

Total assets under management for US spot ether ETFs inched closer to the $10 billion mark, reaching $9.43 billion at the start of the week. Some analysts have noted that an expected shift toward a more crypto-friendly regulatory environment has driven investor optimism in aspects of the Ethereum ecosystem with more uncertainty surrounding regulation in the DeFi world.

Spot bitcoin ETFs also showed strong performance on Monday, recording $1.1 billion in inflows, which marked the second billion-dollar day since Nov. 7. BlackRock’s IBIT led the inflows with $756.5 million, while Fidelity’s FBTC was the second best performer with $135 million.

DOGE Surges as Trump Appoints Musk to Lead "DOGE" Department

President-elect Donald Trump appointed Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a move that has sparked a notable rally for the DOGE token. Designed to tackle government waste, the DOGE initiative reportedly aims to bring transparency and accountability to federal spending.

Trump’s statement described Musk and Ramaswamy as instrumental to a vision of “dismantling government bureaucracy” and both will serve as external advisors to the initiative. To his supporters, Musk’s promises of publicly sharing the details of the department’s actions seem to have been met with enthusiasm.

The announcement bolstered the appeal of Dogecoin, with some market speculators setting ambitious long-term price targets of $1 for the token.

-The Gemini Team