Bitcoin Tops $70,000, Binance Exits Nigeria

The crypto market experienced an uptrend this week that saw Bitcoin (BTC) hit a new high above $70,000 amid continued spot BTC ETF inflows. Worldcoin (WLD) saw similar price increases despite global regulatory issues.

Meanwhile, Binance left Nigeria while Montenegro agreed to extradite Do Kwon to South Korea.

Bitcoin hits record highs

• The crypto market’s ongoing bullish trend extended this week. As more market participants joined, the volume increased significantly. crypto.news reported on March 5 that BTC's 24-hour volume reached $40 billion for the first time since May 2021.

• Finally, on March 5, Bitcoin reached a new all-time high of $69,170. This growth was reflected across the crypto ecosystem, with DeFi TVL shooting to a two-year high of $101.3 billion.

• Shortly after BTC hit the ATH of $69,170, traders closed their positions amid growing volatility. However, some who held on to their trades recorded $1.05 billion worth of total liquidations across the market in 24 hours.

• The resulting volatility caused BTC to crash from the high of $69,170 as the asset fell below $60,000 on March 5. Bitcoin eventually recovered from this slump and in the process revived the broader crypto market.

BTC surpasses $70,000

• As Bitcoin embarked on a recovery path from the March 5 plunge, the rest of the market followed suit. Interestingly, meme coins resumed their upswing, with Dogwifhat (WIF) surging by 50% sometime on March 6 following Binance's listing.

• Floki (FLOKI) and Shiba Inu (SHIB) also took advantage of the meme coin mania to recoup some of the previous day's losses, with SHIB posting an impressive 216% increase in seven days.

• Floki's resurgence gained momentum on March 8 when the meme coin topped the gainers list with a 70% increase. The increase in the price of Floki coincided with the time that resulted in a massive burn of 2% of the asset's circulating supply by the project team.

• Meanwhile, Ethereum (ETH), the largest altcoin, was not left out of the market's upward trend. On March 8, the asset finally recovered and reclaimed the crucial psychological threshold of $4,000 for the first time since December 2021.

• Given the prevailing bullish market sentiment, Bitcoin's recovery from March 5's losses culminated in a surge to over $70,000 as the asset broke through the recent ATH. BTC rose to $70,330, a new all-time high, on March 8 as it entered the price discovery phase.

• Coinbase stock responded positively to these bullish market developments, exceeding its initial listing price on March 8 for the first time in two years. Goldman Sachs subsequently updated its outlook for Coinbase from “Sell” to “Neutral” and set a new target of $282.

Sustained inflows into spot BTC ETF products

• The market's bullish trend has been fueled by continued demand from investors, particularly institutions looking to gain exposure through spot BTC ETF products. These investment vehicles saw more inflows this week.

• On the first day of the week, spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded massive inflows of $562 million, although Grayscale's GBTC maintained its trend of steady outflows. Notably, GBTC's Bitcoin holdings are down 33% as of March 5, with a total of $9.26 billion in outflows since January 11.

• Meanwhile, BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) continued to lead inflows, hitting a daily record of $788 million on March 5. Given the positive results, reports suggest that BlackRock is planning to purchase more Bitcoin ETFs.

• BlackRock also wants to ensure the inclusion of spot Bitcoin ETFs in its global allocation fund MALOX. Additionally, the state of Arizona has passed a bill that would push its pension systems to explore including spot Bitcoin ETFs in their products.

• As the US market has seen success with its spot Bitcoin ETF bet, other countries have also turned their attention to the product. This week, the head of South Korea's Financial Regulatory Service announced that the possibility of approving the product was being discussed.

SEC delays decision on spot ETF options for ETH

• Despite the success of spot Bitcoin ETF products, the US Securities and Exchange Commission still maintains a cautious stance towards spot Ethereum ETFs. This week the agency pushed back on a decision on BlackRock and Fidelity's filings.

• Interestingly, Nasdaq previously filed with the SEC to allow options trading on BlackRock's IBIT Bitcoin ETF. The SEC also postponed a decision on that filing and set a new deadline of April 24.

Despite all the problems, Worldcoin is reaching a new high

• WLD also saw a price increase this week, but not for the same reasons as the broader market. The token largely underperformed earlier in the week due to global regulatory issues faced by the Worldcoin project.

• Reports on March 4 revealed that South Korean authorities had launched an investigation into Worldcoin's activities for possible data breaches. Additionally, Spain imposed a temporary ban on Worldcoin’s activities due to privacy concerns.

• Despite these setbacks, WLD ended the week with a better performance than the broader crypto market. Notably, OpenAI, the company behind the project, announced new board members on March 8, including CEO Sam Altman.

• Shortly after reports of the event emerged, WLD rose over 50% on March 9th. The asset broke through the highly coveted $10 price and entered a price discovery phase as it reached a new ATH above $11.

Binance is leaving Nigeria

• Meanwhile, the battle between Binance and Nigerian authorities continued into this week. Recall that Nigeria arrested two Binance executives last week over complaints that the exchange was involved in the devaluation of the naira, which has fallen by 45% against the dollar this year.

• The confrontation intensified when reports of a $10 billion fine were imposed on Binance. However, Binance denied any knowledge of such a fine. The exchange eventually removed NGN from its P2P platform and finally delisted all NGN pairs this week, essentially leaving the country.

Make Kwon's extradition to South Korea

• The Terra case also made headlines this week, with Do Kwon, the founder of the collapsed Terra ecosystem, taking center stage. An appeals court in Montenegro overturned the decision to extradite Do Kwon to the United States

• Instead, a high court in the Montenegrin city of Podgorica approved Do Kwon's extradition to South Korea. However, the US Department of Justice noted that there are plans to appeal this decision.

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