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First Mover Americas: Bitcoin Battered as Markets Spiral
The latest price moves in crypto markets in context for March 10, 2023.
Updated Mar 10, 2023, 7:11 p.m. Published Mar 10, 2023, 1:18 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.
Latest Prices
CoinDesk Market Index (CMI): 924 −8.9%
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Ether (ETC): $1,392 −9.0%
S&P 500 futures: 3,916.25 −0.1%
FTSE 100: 7,751.62 −1.6%
Treasury Yield 10 Years: 3.92% −0.1
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Investors sold stocks, especially shares of banks, and other risky assets ahead of the U.S. jobs report on Friday. Bitcoin has lost 9% over the last 24 hours, dropping below $20,000, a level the cryptocurrency hasn’t fallen below since mid-January. On Thursday, $250 million in long positions in bitcoin was liquidated, according to data from Coinglass. The wider crypto market also fell on Friday, after a week of interest-rate fears and the collapse of crypto-focused Silvergate Bank.
Crypto exchange Huobi has created a $100 million liquidity fund to protect against precipitous drops in its HT token, in response to the token suddenly falling 93% on Thursday. Justin Sun, founder of the Tron blockchain and a large HT holder, confirmed a transfer of $100 million. The rapid drop and then rebound was caused by "leveraged liquidation on the market caused by a few users," according to a tweet by Sun.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James sued KuCoin on Thursday, alleging the Seychelles-based crypto exchange is violating securities laws by offering tokens – including ether – that meet the definition of a security without registering with the attorney general’s office. The suit is the first time a regulator has claimed in court that ether is a security.
Chart of the Day
- The chart shows the momentum of most measures of the U.S. Consumer Price Index has weakened since August 2022.
- The market has recently raised its forecast for the peak Federal Reserve rate to 6.5%. A continued loss of inflation momentum would test those hawkish expectations, bringing relief to risky assets.
- The February CPI, which is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, is likely to show a 0.2% increase, translating into 6.2% annual growth.
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KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.
What to know:
- KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
- This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
- Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
- Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
- Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
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Lighter trading platform sees $250 million withdrawn 24 hours after airdrop
Bubblemaps CEO says outflows seen on Lighter on Dec. 31 are not uncommon as users rebalance hedging positions and move on to the next farming opportunity.
What to know:
- Approximately $250 million was withdrawn from Lighter after its $675 million LIT token airdrop.
- The withdrawals represent about 20% of Lighter's total value locked, according to Bubblemaps CEO Nicolas Vaiman.
- Large withdrawals post-token generation events are common as early participants exit, says CertiK's Natalie Newson.
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