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As the global bank crisis spreads, Credit Suisse Group AG, a Switzerland-based global investment bank and financial services firm, seems to have been caught in the contagion, which could lead to more gains for Bitcoin and the crypto market. The banks shares CS dropped by nearly 25% over the week.

This plummet comes after the banks largest shareholder Saudi National Bank (SNB), reportedly disclosed that it could not provide further support for Credit Suisse. According to Reuters, citing an SNB statement, the bank stated it would no longer buy more shares in the Swiss bank on regulatory grounds.

Saudi National Banks latest withdrawal of support to the struggling Credit Suisse has raised several speculations on whether this could eventually lead to the downfall of the struggling bank. SNB currently holds a large stake in Credit Suisse of up to 9.88%. SNB chairman Ammar Al Khudairy told Reuters the bank could not go further than 10% due to regulatory concerns.

After the announcement, Credit Suisse shares plummeted 24% on Wednesday, March 15. Credit Suisse shares have since been on a downtrend following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank; itsrecent plummet due to SNB support withdrawal has made it hit a new record low with a value of $2.10 at the time of writing.

As of last year, after its 10% stock acquisition, SNB committed a $1.5 billion investment in Credit Suisse. The struggling banks latest major dump came just months after publishing its 2022 annual report, resulting in a massive withdrawal of funds from the financial institution.

While the company has continued to seek financial assistance after seeing a decline in customer activity, experts have suggested the bank could eventually fall, given the recent collapse of three major banks in the United States in the past week.

With the previous Bitcoin (BTC) rally attributed to the collapse of prominent banks, speculations have been raised around the crypto community on whether another significant bank fall, such as Credit Suisse, could again lead to the cryptocurrency extending its bullish trend.

Over the past week, since the fall of three major US banks Silvergate, Signature bank, and Silicon Valley, many investors in the financial sector have sought an alternative way as a store of value. So far, crypto assets such as Bitcoin have shown to be the best option. The latter has been reflected in their prices.

This has made Bitcoin and the rest of the market go into a bullish period over a short period. Furthermore, the BTC price chart indicates another potential upcoming surge after the previous rally.

Recent events hint at bad news for the global economy, but the crypto market and Bitcoin, in particular, have benefited. The continuous downfall of banks could gear BTC and the rest of the crypto market for another spike as the store of value narrative re-gains momentum as an appealing alternative to the fiat system.

Featured image from Unsplash, Chart from TradingView.

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Credit Suisse Shares Drop Nearly 25%, Is Bitcoin Gearing For Another Rally? - NewsBTC

Image Credits: Yuichiro Chino / Getty Images

The value of major cryptocurrencies rose Monday in the wake of U.S. government plans to protect Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank depositors.

The Federal Reserve issued a pair of statements on Sunday with one clear message: Silicon Valley Banks depositors, both insured and uninsured, will receive help in a manner that will fully protect their deposits.

The risk of a banking contagion was lower at the start of the week than last Friday, but not zero.

Following a rally in the price of bitcoin and other crypto assets, the overall crypto market surpassed $1 trillion in value on Monday, up about 14% day over day.

In the past 24 hours, bitcoin rose 18.4% to over $24,000, while ether rose 15% to about $1,700, CoinMarketCap data showed. The two cryptocurrencies, which are the largest by market capitalization, are trading in parallel with one another.

USDC, the second largest stablecoin, also recovered about 4% in the past 24 hours following the news that deposits would be protected, CoinMarketCap data showed.

The alleged stablecoin depegged from its $1 peg for three days, going as low as 88 cents, after uncertainty circulated around the $40 billion USDC empire and the company shared that $3.3 billion, or about 8.2%, of its total supply of reserves were held in SVB.

Circle announced the reserve risk was removed since the funds became available on Monday morning.

Trust, safety and 1:1 redeemability of all USDC in circulation is of paramount importance to Circle, even in the face of bank contagion affecting crypto markets, Jeremy Allaire, co-founder and CEO of Circle, said in a statement. We are heartened to see the U.S. government and financial regulators take crucial steps to mitigate risks extending from the banking system.

USDCs market capitalization is about $40.5 billion, with $10.9 billion in daily traded volume, down 1% in the past 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap data. At the time of publication, USDC was millicents away from its $1 peg at $0.993, up 3.9% in the past 24 hours.

The crypto market, alongside other major industries, had a volatile week after Silvergate Capital, one of the largest banks to provide services to crypto companies, shared it was winding down operations and liquidating its banking division.

Shortly after, Silicon Valley Bank collapsed on Friday, and Signature Bank, a major crypto lender, was shut down by regulators on Sunday.

This market turmoil has seemingly propped up the crypto market, however, as traders responded positively to the news and the overall market cap rose on Monday.

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Bitcoin rallies over 18% in 24-hour span in wake of SVB crisis - TechCrunch

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Its a common question: Is bitcoin (BTC) a store of value? While proponents say, Yes without hesitation, skeptics note its historically large drawdowns. And thats fair. Not long ago, in November 2021, bitcoin reached nearly $70,000 but is now around $20,000. That said, BTC also used to trade below 1 cent so, using just prices, the answer to the initial question is, Its hard to tell.

For an asset in its speculative, price-discovery phase, volatility should be expected. New opportunities and technologies often capture the attention of speculators and traders, often resulting in wild fluctuations as participants seek to determine true value.

Youre reading Crypto Long & Short, our weekly newsletter featuring insights, news and analysis for the professional investor. Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Wednesday.

Pair growing interest with the skepticism, controversy and industry speed bumps experienced thus far, and the roller coaster of highs and lows makes sense at just 14 years of age.

While the asset exhibits qualities of sound money (its durable, portable, scarce, uniform and divisible), acceptance is the final uncertainty.

Through the following on-chain metrics, I aim to prove that bitcoins users believe its a store of value (SoV), despite the volatility.

Realized capitalization

One measure of bitcoins use as an SoV is its realized capitalization. Different from traditional market cap, this alternative considers the last transfer price of each bitcoin rather than the current market price.

In doing so, realized capitalization is an aggregate cost basis of bitcoins on-chain users. The total realized cap is the amount of money that has been stored in the network over time.

To me, this is a proxy for inflows. Realized capitalization rises when transfers are made at higher prices than before and declines when transfers are made at lower prices.

Story continues

According to Glassnode data, bitcoin stores a total of about $380 billion in value, down from a peak of $460 billion. But, importantly, this is four times more than in December 2017 when bitcoin was priced around where it is today. So, money has flowed into the network to store value.

(Joe Orsini, Glassnode)

Holding trends

Not only that, but bitcoins users also are holding the asset for longer and longer. Just last week, the percentage of supply that has been held for long periods has hit all-time highs despite the drop in prices since late 2021. As of March 7, according to Glassnode data:

% Supply Held for 1+ Years: 67.7%

% Supply Held for 2+ Years: 51.4%

% Supply Held for 3+ Years: 39.2%

% Supply Held for 5+ Years: 28.3%

(Joe Orsini, Glassnode)

Conclusion

There is a saying that perception is reality. Remember, bitcoin has essentially been willed into existence. Despite the noise and skepticism, money continues to flow into the network and its users are holding their assets for longer periods of time.

The next time somebody questions bitcoins use as a store of value, show them these charts. As Satoshi Nakamoto wrote, If enough people think the same way, that becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

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Evaluating Bitcoin as a Store of Value - Yahoo Finance

Bitcoin's Return to January Days

Bitcoin returned to January levels on Thursday, plunging below $20,000.

The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization was recently trading at $20,067, down 7.7% over the past 24 hours as nervous investors stewed over ongoing inflationary pressure, fallout from the implosion of crypto-friendly Silvergate Bank and, most recently, a New York state lawsuit that alleges ether and other cryptos are securities. BTC has now erased about half its gains from a vibrant first six weeks of the year when hopeful investors sent the crypto up about 40% and past $25,000 in mid-February.

"There's a lot of people that are scared that maybe the domino effect is just starting," Eddy Gifford, a wealth adviser for investment adviser Tactive. "There's FTX, now Silvergate, who's next? We also had news out of the Fed where [Federal Reserve Chair Jerome] Powell was very hawkish on raising interest rates likely higher than anyone wanted to even expect and potentially keeping those rates higher for longer. In those situations, risk assets in general tend to decline, because valuations are a function of the ability to meet estimates and interest rate environment."

He added: "So if the interest rate environment remains elevated for longer, that's going to push prices down."

Ether roughly matched bitcoin's plunge to change hands at about $1,430, its lowest level since mid-January. Other major cryptocurrencies were firmly in the red with CRO, the token of exchange Crypto.com, off 7.6% and popular meme coins DOGE and SHIB both dropping more than 8%. The CoinDesk Market Index, a measure of the broader crypto market's performance, was down 7.5%.

The sour mood in crypto markets also manifested itself in crypto traders' some $307 million in liquidations over the past 24 hours, according to Coinglass data. Bitcoin (BTC) traders suffered the heaviest losses, some $112 million, while ether (ETH) liquidations surpassed $73 million. Of the liquidated trading positions, some $282 million were longs, betting on higher prices.

Meanwhile, equity markets stumbled amid a massive sell-off of bank stocks that sent JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America down more than 5% and 6%, respectively. The tech-focused Nasdaq tumbled 2.1%, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell 1.8% and 1.7%, respectively. The downturn came even as jobless claims ticked up slightly, a mildly encouraging sign given the tight job market that has pressured prices upward.

Tactive's Gifford said that if bitcoin breaks with $20,000, "we could get to $15,000 pretty fast," and if we break through $15,000 we go to $10,000 fast. But he noted bitcoin's staying power and halving next year. "That typically has been a spark for bull markets in bitcoin," he said.

He added: "We'll see a few more companies fall, but that's just going to make the ones that are left on the back end that much stronger. And I think that builds a case for we start actually seeing some more widespread adoption of digital assets in general."

Futures Contract Holders Remain Unbowed

The average funding rate for perpetual futures contracts in both bitcoin and ether remains positive, despite recent concerns of turmoil in markets. Funding rates are set by exchanges and regulate the price of futures contracts relative to the market value of the asset.

Positive funding rates indicate bullish sentiment, as holders of long positions are paying shorts. The opposite is the case when funding rates are negative.

Funding rates for BTC have been positive since Feb. 13, with the exception of a negative dip on March 5.

Crypto-friendly Silvergate Bank will "voluntarily liquidate" its assets and wind down operations, its holding company, Silvergate Capital Corp., said Wednesday. Bianco Research, LLC President and macro strategist Jim Bianco and Opimas, LLC CEO and founder Octavio Marenzi weighed in on the latest developments. Plus, "Crypto Critics' Corner" co-host Bennett Tomlin discussed the recent Wall Street Journal report that the company behind the world's largest stablecoin accessed bank accounts by way of falsified documents and intermediaries.

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First Mover Asia: Bitcoin Plunges to Mid-January Levels - CoinDesk

Alex Dovbnya

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has suggested that the next big trend in the crypto industry could be tokenization

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BlackRockCEO Larry Fink's annual letter to investors suggests that tokenization might be the next big trend in crypto.

According to the head of the $10 trillion asset management behemoth, Bitcoin has caught headlines as a mere distraction, with the media's "obsession" obscuring other interesting developments happening in the cryptocurrencyspace.

Fink draws attention to the dramatic advances in digital payments taking place in emerging markets such asBraziland parts of Africa. Hecontrasts them with the sluggish pace of innovation in developed markets like the US, where the cost of payments remains high.

In his view, the fragmentation of asset categories into tokens presents a highly encouraging prospect.

He has confirmedthat Blackrock is actively delving into the realm of digital assets with an emphasis on permissionedblockchains and the conversion of stocks and bonds into tokens.

However, Fink acknowledges that while the industry is maturing, there is still no regulatory clarity.He hasassuredinvestors that they will apply the same standards and controls to cryptothat they do across their business.

As reported by U.Today,Fink predicted that most cryptocurrency companies would failduring his recent appearance at a summit. The BlackRock bossalso revealed that BlackRock put $24 million into the defunctFTX exchange, but it was then forced to mark thatsum down to zero.

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Forget Bitcoin: BlackRock CEO Touts Next Big Thing in Crypto - U.Today