Bitcoin holds steady at $61K as whales buy despite geopolitical tension

Key Takeaways

Bitcoin remains stable above $61,100 with significant whale buying activity.
XRP’s value drops over 10% amid SEC’s appeal against a regulatory ruling.

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Bitcoin (BTC) has managed to maintain its position above $61,100 despite ongoing geopolitical tensions, while Ethereum (ETH) experienced a 4% drop to $2,390. The crypto market continues to grapple with the aftermath of Iranian airstrikes on Israel, which has dampened enthusiasm for risk assets.

Despite the overall market downturn, significant whale accumulation of Bitcoin suggests anticipation of a future bull run. CryptoQuant founder Ki Young-Ju highlighted this trend, noting that influential entities are making sizeable purchases despite the challenging macro environment.

The broader crypto market saw a decline of over 3% as investors continued to sell off major cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin ETFs experienced outflows of $91.76 million during Wednesday’s US trading session, while Ethereum ETFs bucked the trend with inflows of $14.45 million, breaking a two-day streak of outflows.

XRP faced a significant setback, plunging more than 10% in the past 24 hours following the SEC decision to appeal a court ruling that had restricted its ability to regulate crypto markets. The SEC will ask the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to review the July 2023 decision that determined XRP tokens sold on public exchanges did not meet the legal definition of a security.

In the meme coin sector, MOG, the second-largest cat-themed token behind POPCAT, saw little price movement despite being mentioned on Republican candidate Donald Trump’s social media account. A Polymarket prediction market tracking Trump’s mention of “mog” or related terms before December 31 remained unchanged at 13% probability.

Lido’s native token, LDO, experienced a nearly 9% decline, following Ethereum’s downward trajectory. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence tokens showed minimal movement, despite OpenAI’s announcement of a $6.6 billion funding round at a $157 billion valuation. The AI token category, which includes NEAR, TAO, and ICP, saw a modest 1.8% decline according to CoinGecko data.

Worldcoin, founded by OpenAI’s Sam Altman but operating independently, also felt the market pressure with a 4% drop. The overall market sentiment remains cautious as investors navigate the complex interplay of geopolitical events, regulatory developments, and sector-specific news in the crypto space.

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