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First Mover Americas: Bitcoin Hovers Around $59K to End Week
The latest price moves in crypto markets in context for May 3, 2024.
Updated May 3, 2024, 12:06 p.m. Published May 3, 2024, 12:06 p.m.
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.
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Bitcoin tested a return to $60,000 during the Asian morning on Friday before retreating to trade around $59,000. BTC has gained about 2% in the last 24 hours as it continues its recovery from a midweek rout that saw it sink below $57,000 following a drop of 16% in April, the worst month since June 2022. JPMorgan said in a report yesterday that retail investors played a bigger part in the sell-off than institutional investors. The bank is opting for a cautious stance on crypto markets in the near term due to a lack of positive catalysts. The wider crypto market has risen 1.7% in 24 hours as measured by the CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20).
Coinbase had a blowout first quarter thanks to improving crypto market conditions and business diversification such as its layer-2 blockchain Base, broker JMP said in a report today. Coinbase reported income of $1.2 billion and diluted EPS of $4.40. JMP reiterated its outperform rating for COIN and a $320 price target. Canaccord Genuity raised its target from $240 to $280, while KBW lifted it to $280 from $240. “While we believe investors must remain level-headed around the ebbs and flows of enthusiasm into the industry, which often coincide with fluctuations in price, we see a number of underlying trends supporting our positive thesis that Coinbase will be a relevant player in virtually all aspects of the crypto economy,” JMP analysts led by Devin Ryan wrote.
Friend.Tech's native token tanked to $2.50 having risen as high as $169 immediately following its debut. Decentralized social platform Friend.Tech airdropped FRIEND on Friday while unveiling version 2 of the platform. "It looks like the price dump has been driven by liquidity issues," Hitesh Malviya, founder of crypto analytics platform DYOR, told CoinDesk. Several users also seemed to have issues claiming their airdrop. Malviya said the distribution was a "concentrated airdrop," in which leading creators took the most supply. Following its launch in August last year, assets locked in Friend.Tech reached as high as $52 million in October, but are now more than 40% lower at $29.8 million.
Chart of the Day
- The chart shows the most traded bitcoin options on the crypto exchange Deribit in the past 24 hours.
- High volume in bitcoin calls at $90,000 and $100,000 strikes expiring in September suggests market participations maintain a bullish outlook on the cryptocurrency.
- A call option gives the purchaser the right but not the obligation to buy the underlying asset at a predetermined price at a later date. A call buyer is implicitly bullish on the market.
- Source: Velo Data
- Omkar Godbole
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- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
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XRP Faces Downside Risk as Social Sentiment Turns Wildly Negative
The turn in crowd mood comes after a two-month slide of roughly 31%, leaving the token vulnerable to further downside if risk appetite weakens across majors.
What to know:
- XRP's price approached the $2 mark as social sentiment around the token turned sharply negative, according to Santiment data.
- The token has experienced a 31% decline over two months, making it vulnerable to further losses if market risk appetite weakens.
- Santiment's sentiment model indicates XRP is in a 'fear zone,' where negative commentary significantly outweighs positive talk, potentially influencing market positioning.
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