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What happened today?

Markets have seen a strong rebound over the weekend as Bitcoin returns over $63,000 while the Chinese stock market has posted some of its best returns in history. Open Interest (which is a measurement of the overall leveraged positions in the market) continues to rise, which is not inherently a bad thing however as we’ve seen in recent weeks, built-up leverage can be unwound very quickly. This results in the knife-like price drops and pumps that are common around big world events like the Japan carry trade blowing up in early August, where Bitcoin dropped 15% in a single day.

While BTC now seems to be holding the $60,000 line which is an improvement over the price action through the Summer, we haven’t yet broken out of the same Summer channel. I’m not personally a believer in technical analysis, but seeing us get rejected from the same price range we’ve been rejected by 3 times this year already would likely have major negative repercussions on prices throughout the market. Best case scenario is this little pause we’re in is just a waiting period before we smash through towards new highs, which would bring with it the alt-coin run we’ve been talking about for months. Sentiment among traders is pretty split these days, which I find preferable to being heavily bullish as usually the market does the opposite of what people think.

Biggest Headlines

The Beluga intern has been hard at work gathering all the most important crypto news stories so you have them in one place!

The Majors

• MicroStrategy surges to 6-month high as Bitcoin wrestles with key moving average

• Ethereum proposal could increase throughput by 50%

Alt Coins

• Solana dominates token launches, accounting for over 87% of new tokens in 2024

• Ouster of Atom Accelerator’s co-founder amid 60% drop in token rocks Cosmos Hub

Popular Products

• Donald Trump sees highest Polymarket odds since Kamala Harris accepted Democratic Party’s nomination

New Launches

• Eigenoops - Rekt

Miscellaneous

• Delaware Judge approves FTX Estate’s bankruptcy plan

• Was Len Sassaman the real Satoshi? We asked his widow about new HBO exposé

Tweet of the Day

Rough times for crypto bros all around the world

Fun Fact of the Day

Kristoffer Koch, a college student bought $27 worth of Bitcoin in 2009 and forgot about it; years later, it was worth nearly $900,000.

Our Partners Fundstrat on CORE

One of our partners, Fundstrat, recently initiated coverage on the CORE token on Bitcoin for their institutional and retail subscribers. Read below for an excerpt from their report, and if you’re interested you can read more of their research on their website here.

Excerpt from FSI Initiating Coverage on CORE:

In Q4 2023, we took a bullish stance on Stacks, managed risk around that position, and we continue to hold a positive outlook, particularly as the much-anticipated Nakamoto upgrade nears completion. Still, Bitcoin DeFi remains small compared to the broader DeFi ecosystem, despite Bitcoin representing over 50% of the total crypto market.

Today, we are adding CORE to the Core Strategy portfolio, marking the introduction of a second Bitcoin scaling solution. CORE is the native token of Core Chain, a Bitcoin-aligned, EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain that integrates Bitcoin’s security with Ethereum’s programmability. Like other Bitcoin scaling solutions, Core Chain aims to assist Bitcoin’s transition from a store of value into a true medium of exchange.

The content on this site is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice. While Beluga strives to ensure the accuracy and timeliness of information, there may be discrepancies when comparing our data to that of financial institutions, service providers, or specific product websites. Always consult with a professional before making any financial decisions.

Will McKinnon is the Head of Content for Beluga and has spent every day for many years trading coins. For that reason there are too many to name, however his largest holdings by a significant margin are Ethereum and Bitcoin. NFA DYOR