What Happened in Crypto Today: What’s Going on in the Market?
11/04/2024 20:56Here is a 4-minute breakdown of everything important that happened in crypto today.
The crypto community is watching the clock tick down to tomorrow's U.S. election - and the tension is hard to miss.
Markets don't like uncertainty, and right now there's plenty to go around.
With Harris and Trump neck-and-neck in the polls, even the most experienced traders are confused.
And it shows in the numbers. Bitcoin's price swings this week tell a story of their own - we've seen it touch $73,500 before stepping back to $68,700.
But here's what's really interesting: Bitcoin's market dominance just hit 60.7% - the highest we've seen all year. While everyone's debating election odds, Bitcoin's quietly become the safety net of choice.
The altcoin market? It's telling the same story from a different angle. The CMC Altcoin Season Index is down at 23, which means investors are sticking to what they know best right now: good old Bitcoin.
Maybe it's the election jitters, maybe it's just market cycles doing their thing. But one thing's clear - we're in for an interesting ride this week.
Here's your TLDR for today's top crypto stories:
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Bitcoin options markets are going wild with 74.4% volatility expectations as election anxiety peaks. So is it a good thing? A bad thing? What should be your move? 🙃
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Banking giant UBS just launched their first tokenized fund on Ethereum, managing $5.7T in assets. How is it different from regular ETH ETFs? 🤔
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A mystery French trader named "Theo" just bet $30M on election outcomes. What are his bets? How can they be tracked? 🎲
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A dead squirrel, an Elon tweet, and $130M in crypto craze - PNUT token goes nuts on Solana. How high did it go? Was it a rug or a legit token? 🐿️
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Political prediction markets show Harris surging from 33% to 44% while Trump slips. But overall, who seems to be winning the elections? 📈
Before diving in, here’s a quick market analysis!
The crypto industry is about to face one of its most eventful weeks yet, with both the US Presidential Election and Fed rate decision coming up.
Bitcoin's been ranging between $67,000 and $73,500, showing some serious market volitality.
The order books are telling us an interesting story - there's strong buying support at $65-67K and selling pressure above $73K. This kind of clear liquidity setup wasn't something we saw during the previous bull runs.
The timing is particularly interesting when we look back at January 2024's spot Bitcoin ETF approval. That event marked a significant shift in how institutional money flows into crypto.
Speaking of institutions, Ethereum's following a similar path - though at a different pace. The spot Ethereum ETFs launched in 2024 have seen slower adoption compared to their Bitcoin counterparts, pulling in just 9% of the comparative flows in their first 90 days.
A key development worth noting is how TradFi is increasingly embracing Ethereum's infrastructure. BlackRock has already tokenized over $533 million in money market funds on the network, while UBS recently dived in with their own tokenized fund. This institutional adoption mirrors what we saw with Bitcoin post-ETF approval, just at a different scale.
The network metrics are painting an equally compelling picture. Bitcoin's mining difficulty is about to cross 100 trillion for the first time, while its market dominance recently pushed past 60% - something we haven't seen in ages
Given the upcoming high-impact events, it's crucial to understand your personal risk tolerance. Keep an eye on both the election results and Fed announcement as these events have historically brought significant market movements.
Consider spreading out any planned trades rather than making large single entries, especially during this period of heightened volatility. Most importantly, make sure to double-check all liquidity levels and avoid making emotional decisions during what's likely to be a volatile week.
Now let’s dive into today’s top stories!
The Bitcoin options market is speaking loud and clear: traders are getting ready for what could be an intense ride through the U.S. presidential election season.
For the first time since July, Bitcoin's expected price swings have shot through the roof - a 63% volatility forecast for the next month.
But here's where it gets really interesting. The short-term outlook? Even spicier.
Seven-day predictions are showing a 74.4% volatility expectation. That's almost double the actual price movement we've seen this week.
So is it a good thing? A bad thing? What should be your move? Read the full story!
Banking powerhouse UBS just made a move that's giving ETH maxis some hopes.
They've launched their first tokenized fund on Ethereum, and the implications are bigger than you might realize.
Meet uMINT - UBS's new USD Money Market Investment Fund Token. Coming from an institution that manages $5.7 trillion, it's a calculated step into the future of finance.
The interesting part? They've built their own tokenization platform called UBS Tokenize, aimed at transforming traditional financial instruments into their digital counterparts.
So how much are they expecting from this fund? How is it different from regular ETH ETFs? Read the full story!
Someone just made one of the biggest political prediction bets ever recorded, and the story behind it is fascinating. We're talking about a $30 million bet that could turn into $80 million.
What’s happening? "Theo" - a French trader just bet $30 million on the elections purely based on mathematics and market psychology at play (as he believes). (NFA)
What makes this particularly intriguing is Theo's betting strategy. He's focusing on something many might overlook: the historical pattern of how traditional polls have consistently underestimated certain electoral outcomes, especially in 2016 and 2020.
Theo has bet most of his liquid assets across multiple election scenarios - from the presidential race itself to specific swing state outcomes in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan.
What are his bets? How can they be tracked? Read the full story!
A squirrel, a tweet, and $130 million.
Sometimes crypto make absolutely no sense, and this story proves it perfectly.
Peanut the Squirrel - not the real one that sparked outrage after its tragic death in New York's Department of Environmental Conservation custody - but its namesake token on Solana that just went absolutely nuts (pun intended).
When Elon Musk decided to weigh in on this unusual story with his characteristically blunt comment about government overreach, something incredible happened in the crypto markets.
Within hours of his tweet, early investors started pouring money into the PNUT token.
How high did it go? Was it a rug or a legit token? Read the full story!
The political prediction markets are heating up, and they're telling a fascinating story about the upcoming presidential election.
Vice President Harris has surged from 33% to 44% odds in just two weeks on Polymarket. Meanwhile, Trump's position has slipped to its lowest point in 14 days, sitting at 56%.
Over on Kalshi, a regulated U.S. betting platform, the gap is even tighter - we're talking about a mere two percentage points separating the candidates.
But here's where it gets really interesting: Iowa, which Trump claimed in both 2016 and 2020, is showing some unexpected movement. Harris is leading 47% to 44%, with female voters playing a crucial role in this shift.
So overall, who seems to be winning the elections? Read the full story!