We're excited to announce our new format "Crypto Daybook Americas" will replace "First Mover" on Feb. 24. "Crypto Daybook Americas" is your new morning briefing on what happened in crypto markets overnight to equip you with what you'll need to know about during the coming day. It will arrive in your inbox at 7 a.m. ET to kickstart your morning with comprehensive insights and analysis. If you want a preview, "Crypto Daybook Americas" is already being published on the CoinDesk website, so hop over and take a look. You don't need to do anything to sign up, you'll start receiving "Crypto Daybook Americas" automatically when it starts coming out.

CoinDesk 20 Index: 3,250.68 +1.67%
Bitcoin (BTC): $97,300.67 +1.09%
Ether (ETH): $2,738.90 +0.51%
S&P 500: 6,144.15 +0.24%
Gold: $2,950,84 +0.60%
Nikkei 225: 38,678.04 -1.24%

A message from Hex Trust

Bitcoin is churning around $97,000 as traders deleverage amid a market cooldown. BTC has gained 0.9% over the past 24 hours, while the broad-market benchmark CoinDesk 20 Index added 1.5%, led by SUI and NEAR. Digital asset markets are still in consolidation mode, with open interest for BTC futures declining by more than $10 billion since late January as traders pared exposure in the absence of any macroeconomic catalyst. The FOMC minutes published Wednesday showed that policymakers are in no rush to cut interest rates. However, they weighed suspending the quantitative tightening program to stave off any market turbulence until a debt ceiling resolution is reached. "The net takeaway is that the crypto market has actually been quite resilient in the face of macro headwinds," Joel Kruger, a market strategist at LMAX Group said. "Any setbacks continue to be well supported on dips by medium and longer-term players."

The LIBRA memecoin fiasco destroyed $251 million in investor wealth, according to analytics firm Nansen. Some 86% of traders lost money on the token. Winners secured just $180 million in total profits, meaning that it was a "net-negative wealth-generating" event that potentially sucked out liquidity from the market, the report said. The token launch roiled the crypto community and even Argentine domestic politics, as industry figures spell the end of the memecoin craze.

Crypto options exchange Deribit is still in talks to be acquired by Kraken, contrary to previous reports. Coinbase is also considering Deribit as an acquisition target, a source said. Deribit is an appealing takeover target because it’s the overwhelming market-leading exchange for digital asset options trading. The marketplace could be valued at around $5 billion or even more, an earlier report said.

Bitcoin (BTC) quickly rebounded from Tuesday's dip to $93,000, but downside pressure still persists and risks a deeper pullback to $86,000, CryptoQuant analysts said.

Waning demand, faltering blockchain activity and a lack of liquidity inflows to crypto are among the factors that could drag BTC lower, the report said.

Demand for bitcoin, which picked up in late 2024 amid optimism over easing regulatory headwinds on Trump's election victory, is retreating. CryptoQuant data shows that demand growth slumped to 70,000 BTC recently from the 279,000 BTC peak on Dec. 4. Inflows to spot BTC exchange-traded funds (ETF), a typical occurrence during bitcoin’s previous rallies, have disappeared, with the funds booking regular net outflows over the past two weeks after seeing as much as 18,000 BTC in daily purchases in November and December.

Stablecoin growth, a key fuel during crypto market rallies, also lost momentum. Although the total stablecoin market cap recently rose to an all-time high above $200 billion, the pace of the expansion has slowed significantly. The 60-day average change in the market capitalization of USDT, the largest stablecoin, has plunged by over 90% since mid-December, dropping to $1.5 billion from over $20 billion. With stablecoins often used to buy crypto assets on exchanges, the slowdown indicates a lack of fresh capital entering the market.

Muted blockchain activity on the Bitcoin network flashes further warning signs, CryptoQuant analysts said. Bitcoin’s network activity has slumped to its lowest level in a year, according to the firm's Bitcoin Network Activity Index. The metric is down 17% from its November 2024 peak and fell below its 365-day moving average for the first time since July 2021, when China banned BTC mining. Fewer transactions indicate declining investor engagement and waning speculative interest.

- Jacob Joseph