Crypto markets experienced a broad pullback on Wednesday, with the CoinDesk Market Index (CMI) dropping 1.1% and Bitcoin (BTC) falling 0.9%. Ethereum (ETH) was the only major crypto asset to post a gain, rising 0.2%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 futures and FTSE 100 both rose 0.5% and 0.2%, respectively, while the Treasury Yield 10 Years remained unchanged.
Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest has added more than 213,000 Coinbase (COIN) shares worth about $13 million to its ARK Innovation (ARRK) and Next Generation (ARKW) exchange-traded funds. Coinbase reported quarterly earnings that beat expectations, but its stock slipped 1.4% on Wednesday. The crypto exchange’s stock is up 82% year to date to $61.18, but down from its closing-day peak of $342 in November 2021.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has said a $1.02 billion deal by Binance’s U.S. wing to purchase assets of bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital may be unlawful. Specifically, the redistribution of crypto assets to account holders – particularly Voyager’s VGX token – could amount to the sale of unregistered securities, according to the SEC. The sale of Voyager to Binance.US received almost universal approval from creditors on Wednesday, with 97% of them voting in favor of the deal.
Spotify is piloting “token-enabled playlists,” allowing holders of non-fungible tokens to connect their wallets and listen to curated music. Spotify is offering this exclusively to token holders in the Fluf, Moonbirds, Kingship and Overlord communities for a three-month testing period.
Traders are now pricing in a 26% chance of a 50 basis point rate hike in March by the Federal Reserve, and a 28% chance of rates rising as high as 5.75% in July from the current 4.75%. Aggressive repricing of continued Fed rate hikes might put pressure on risky assets, including cryptocurrencies.
Overall, crypto markets experienced a broad pullback on Wednesday, with the exception of Ethereum, while traders are pricing in a higher chance of a rate hike by the Federal Reserve. Meanwhile, Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest has added more than 213,000 Coinbase shares to its ETFs, and Spotify is piloting “token-enabled playlists” for holders of non-fungible tokens.