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First Mover Americas: Bitcoin Rises to $57K as ETFs End Losing Streak

This article originally appeared in First Mover, CoinDesk’s daily newsletter, putting the latest moves in crypto markets in context. Subscribe to get it in your inbox every day.

CoinDesk 20 Index: 1,817.62  +2.4% Bitcoin (BTC): $57,160  +3.54%Ether (ETH): $2,349.98  +1.54% S&P 500: 5,471.05  +1.16%Gold:  $2,504.83  −0.07%Nikkei 225: 36,159.16  −0.16%

Bitcoin fluctuated around $57,000 during the European morning having gained about 3% in the last 24 hours. Still, it remains around 3% lower in September and more than 20% below the all-time high of $73,000 in March. The broader digital asset market has risen about 2.35%, as measured by the CoinDesk 20 Index. Bitcoin ETFs registered net inflows for the first time in over a week on Monday, gaining $28.7 million. Despite the rally, NYDIG has noted that bitcoin’s “near-term catalysts … are sparse.” The firm wrote on Monday that September is a notoriously weak month for bitcoin prices but, on the bright side, October is generally one of the strongest.

BTC and ETH options trading on derivatives exchange Deribit shows a bias for bearish puts over bullish calls, suggesting traders remain concerned about crypto price weakness in the short term. “Given the velocity of last week’s dip, the market is still very cautious about downside risk,” QCP’s market insights team said in a Telegram broadcast. “Risk reversals until October are still skewed towards puts in both BTC and ETH.” The cautious sentiment perhaps stems from historical data, which shows recessions and risk aversion tend to follow the start of a Fed rate-cutting cycle. The central bank is widely expected to cut rates by 25 basis points next week. Price rallies could, therefore, be fleeting until the Fed meeting.

Blockchain data provider Nansen bought staking platform StakeWithUs as CEO Alex Svanevik looks to expand beyond data provision into offering investment services for institutions and retail traders. While the purchase price was not disclosed, a spokesperson for the company said it was a seven-figure sum. StakeWithUs, which is backed by the Singapore government’s innovation project SGinnovate, provides staking across multiple blockchains. Following its integration, Nansen will offer non-custodial staking for over 20 assets, including SOL, SUI, OSMO and ATOM. “By enabling staking within Nansen, we are not only expanding our service offerings but also enhancing our support for the blockchain ecosystems we integrate with,” Svanevik said in a statement.

(Velo Data)

The chart shows ether’s session-wise price performance over the past four weeks.

Ether has dropped over 12% in one month, with most losses happening during the U.S. trading hours.

The Asia-Pacific hours have been a source of bullish pressures for the cryptocurrency.

Source: Velo Data

– Omkar Godbole

Edited by Sheldon Reback.