Cameron Winklevoss, the co-founder of Gemini crypto exchange, gave a soft ultimatum to Digital Currency Group (DCG) CEO Barry Silbert to work on repaying Genesis by January 8.
In the first week of 2023, the crypto market showed a small recovery. From $790 billion on December 31, the crypto market cap surged to $814 billion, based on data acquired from CoinMarketCap. Bitcoin was up a small 1.82% to trade at $16,801, and Ethereum was up almost 5% to trade at around $1,250.
The CTO and co-founder of crypto investment platform Mudrex, Alankar Saxena, stated:
“The broader crypto market picked up momentum mid-week due to the holiday season. Bitcoin traded at the $16,584 level in the earlier days, and now it trades above the $16,800 level. Bitcoin had been trading within a narrow range between $16,256 and $17,061 over the past few days. Bitcoin started consolidating above the $16,800 level on Thursday as market volatility remained high following the recent FOMC’s minutes.”
The recently released minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) December 13 and 14 meetings showed that the rates might continue to remain significantly high as:
“Unwarranted easing in financial conditions, especially if driven by a misperception by the public of the committee’s reaction function, would complicate the committee’s effort to restore price stability”.
The crypto sector is now expecting a pivot in 2023 but it might continue to face intense pressure of inflation and unemployment data. The founder of the crypto asset management company Kunji, Anurag Dixit, commented:
“While the market for this year expects a pivot, multiple data streams such as wage inflation, unemployment data, and consumer inflation numbers will continue to dominate Fed’s movement this year.”
Another notable event in the crypto space was when Cameron Winklevoss, co-founder of the Gemini crypto exchange, issued a soft ultimatum to Digital Currency Group (DCG) CEO Barry Silbert to collaborate in “good faith”.
Gemini used to offer 8% interest to investors on various digital assets under its Earn program. The trading platform Genesis was a contributor to this program. But, Gemini was also an investor in FTX. When FTX crumbled, Genesis was faced with intense financial stress. Based on a report by The Wall Street Journal, it plans to lay off 30% of its workforce and may even consider bankruptcy.
For now, due to a cash crunch, the withdrawals from Gemini have been suspended for more than 50 days. DCG owes $1.675 billion to Genesis and now Cameron has asked Silbert to repay it by January 8.
Dixit stated:
“With varied allegations and statements coming out for Genesis and DCG’s previous shady moves, it’s becoming very evident that huge liquidation…is highly probable.”
What Happens Next?
Based on a statement by Saxena, Bitcoin’s support seems to be forming at $16,800. On the other hand, there is a resistance at around $16,900 and then $17,000. If the biggest crypto manages to break these levels sustainably, a move toward $18,000 is highly likely.
For Ethereum, “sentiment remains somewhat bullish” as it “continues to trade above the $1,250 level”. If the bulls intensify their activity, a move toward $1,320 is possible.
