Share this article
First Mover Americas: BTC Reclaims $72K; Meme Coins Rally
The latest price moves in crypto markets in context for April 8, 2024.
Apr 8, 2024, 12:01 p.m.
Make us preferred on Google
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
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
Top Stories
U.S. crypto-related stocks looked set to start the week on a positive note after bitcoin climbed through $72,000 for the first time since mid-March as its reward halving draws closer. Coinbase (COIN), the only U.S. traded crypto exchange, gained 4.9% in pre-market trading, MicroStrategy (MSTR), the largest corporate holder of bitcoin, rose 10% and BlackRock’s bitcoin exchange-traded fund (IBIT), added around 6.5%. Bitcoin advanced 4.4% over 24 hours while the CoinDesk 20 Index, a measure of the broader crypto market, rose 4.1%. Other tokens rising on Monday included meme coins dogwifhat, which gained 18%, and pepe, which rose 10%. According to trader Michaël van de Poppe, there is still a lot of momentum to be gained for altcoins as bitcoin dominance continues to peak pre-halving. “They [altcoins] are super undervalued,” van de Poppe said in a post on X.
Bitcoin could soon rally to new record highs after breaking through a so-called triangle resistance, according to technical analysis by 10x Research. On its way to $72,000, BTC passed through a triangular consolidation pattern identified by a resistance line connecting March 15 and March 27 highs and a support line connecting March 20 and April 3 lows. "If the breakout is bullish, which we suspect, bitcoin could climb above 80,000 during the next few weeks – if not earlier. Buying at $69,280 and setting a stop loss at $65,000 appears appropriate," Markus Thielen, founder of 10X Research, said in a note sent to clients early Monday.
BlackRock (BLK) added five authorized participants (APs) to the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), bringing the total number to nine as the exchange-traded fund continues to attract billions of dollars from investors. The new APs include Wall Street banking giants Goldman Sachs, Citadel Securities, Citigroup and UBS alongside clearing house ABN AMRO, according to a prospectus filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). They join Jane Street Capital, JPMorgan, Masquarie and Virtu Americas. CoinDesk reported in January that Goldman Sachs was looking to play a key role for the bitcoin ETFs and was in talks with issuers about becoming an AP.
Chart of the Day
- The chart shows the ratio between bitcoin and gold's dollar-denominated prices.
- While bitcoin recently set new record highs in fiat currency terms, it is yet to do so against gold. The bitcoin-to-gold ratio stays below the 2021 high.
- Gold's price has risen nearly 5% this month, thanks to the massive buying spree by top Asian central banks. Bitcoin, meanwhile, has gained just 1%.
- Source: TradingView
Trending Posts
- TokenFi Developers Propose New Program to Boost Benefits for TOKEN Holders
- HashKey’s Crypto Exchange Goes Live After Winning License in Bermuda
- Genesis Completes Redemption of GBTC Shares, Buys 32K Bitcoins with Proceeds
More For You
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.
More For You
Here's what bitcoin bulls are saying as price remains stuck during global rally
It's about a lot more than "zooming out." Supply overhangs and investor "muscle memory" regarding gold help explain bitcoin's poor absolute and relative performance.
What to know:
- Bitcoin has failed so far to act as an inflation hedge or safe-haven asset, lagging badly behind gold, which has surged amid high inflation, wars, and interest rate uncertainty.
- Crypto advocates argue that bitcoin’s weakness reflects a temporary supply overhang, investor “muscle memory” favoring familiar precious metals and its correlation with risk assets, rather than a collapse in long-term demand.
- Many bitcoin proponents still see BTC as a superior long-term store of value and “digital gold,” predicting that, once traditional hard assets are overbought, capital will rotate into bitcoin, allowing it to “catch up” to gold.
Top Stories
