Unlike the historic weekend crypto negative sentiments, the crypto markets have started to recover into the weekend. Earlier in the week, Bitcoin tanked below $60K for the first time in a month. This has been an investor’s cry since the crypto market needs a positive weekend to avoid a fifth consecutive weekly loss.
Crypto and the US job data
During the week of April 29 to May 4, BTC experienced a slight increase of 0.01% and reached a value of $63,173. Remarkably, BTC experienced a drop to a low of $56,551 on May 1 before recovering and reaching the $63,000 mark.
Many in the crypto market observed how the FOMC press conference and US Jobs Report influenced the market, causing fluctuations in the US BTC-spot ETF market flow trends and affecting the buyer demand for BTC.
In the week ending May 3, the US BTC-spot ETF market experienced a significant decrease in net inflows, with a total of $433 million being withdrawn. Interestingly, BTC-spot ETFs in the US experienced net outflows for the fourth week in a row.
Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) experienced a decrease in net outflows, with a total of $277.2 million, compared to the previous week’s $454.1 million.
iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) experienced a significant decrease in total net inflows of $24.2 million during the week ending May 3, marking the first instance of outflows since its launch.
The Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) experienced a significant decrease in total net inflows, amounting to $130.7 million. FBTC experienced a weekly outflow, which is a notable event since its launch on January 11, 2024.
ARK The 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) experienced a significant decrease in net inflows, with a total of $84.4 million withdrawn during the week ending May 3.
Franklin Bitcoin ETF (EZBC), Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF (BITCO), Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund (BRRR), and VanEck Bitcoin Trust (HODL) saw an increase in net inflows during the week ending May 3.
Jack Dorsey and everything that is happening with Bloc, Inc.
Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter, stated that his fintech company Block, Inc. will invest 10% of its monthly total profit from Bitcoin products into Bitcoin purchases.
“Going forward, each month we will be investing 10% of our gross profit from Bitcoin products into Bitcoin purchases,” Dorsey wrote in a shareholder letter dated May 2 that also detailed the company’s better-than-anticipated first-quarter results.
He continued, “We were one of the first public companies to put Bitcoin on our balance sheet.” Block acquired BTC for $220 million during the fourth quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2021.
“Our investment in Bitcoin transcends technology; it is an investment in a future where economic empowerment is the norm.” Block’s Bitcoin gross profit from customer sales of its Cash App business increased by nearly 60% year-over-year to $80.1 million in the first quarter of 2024.
The FOMC press conference vs. the US Jobs report
Investors responded to the FOMC press conference on May 1, causing the total crypto market cap to drop to a Wednesday (May 1) low of $2,129 billion. Fed Chair Powell expressed concern about the lack of progress in achieving the 2% inflation target.
The cautionary note bolstered waning investor expectations of several interest rate reductions by the Federal Reserve in 2024. Nevertheless, the Fed Chair dampened speculation regarding a potential Fed interest rate hike.
On Friday (May 3), the US Jobs Report sparked increased interest in riskier assets among buyers. The overall crypto market cap experienced a significant rally of 5.35%, effectively overturning the previous day’s loss of 4.95% on Wednesday (May 1).
MicroStrategy and Coinbase carry the week
MicroStrategy (MSTR) released its earnings results on Monday (April 29), which resulted in a decline in the share price for the week. MicroStrategy’s reported earnings per share was -$8.26, significantly lower than the consensus EPS of -$0.55. The sales experienced a decline of 5.2% compared to the previous year, resulting in a revenue of $115.25 million.
On the other hand, Coinbase (COIN) unveiled its impressive quarterly earnings results. Coinbase’s reported EPS of $4.40 greatly exceeded the consensus EPS of $1.28, resulting in a significant upside surprise of 244.83%. With the launch of the US BTC-spot ETF on January 11, buyer demand for cryptocurrencies surged, resulting in a remarkable 72% increase in total revenue to $1.6 billion compared to the previous quarter.
The SEC and Ripple won’t give the crypto market a break!!
XRP gained 4.08% to $0.5309 between Monday (April 29) and Saturday (May 4), outperforming the broader crypto market. Investors paid heed to SEC v. Ripple-related activity while Ripple and the SEC navigated the remedy-related portion of the case.
The SEC filed an opposition brief to Ripple’s Motion to Strike on Monday (April 29). The Motion to Strike testimony of SEC enforcement accountant Andrea Fox was filed by Ripple. The SEC’s opening brief concerning remedies included exhibits and testimony (the Fox Declaration).
Notably, the SEC supported its claim for an injunction and an almost $2 billion penalty with the testimony and exhibits. Fox’s status as an expert or summary witness, as well as whether the Fox Declaration introduced new evidence, must be determined by the court.
Ripple has contended that the SEC was unable to depose her because her identity and testimony were not furnished during the discovery. Andrea Fox, according to the SEC, was a summary witness who failed to disclose any new information.
