CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 82.67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money

Crypto market wrap: Bitcoin surpasses $24,000 – for a while

By Monte Stewart


Updated

Photo of coin
Bitcoin surpassed $24,000 for a while on Wednesday.as investors let recent good times roll. - Photo: Shutterstock

Bitcoin surpassed $24,000 (£19,165) on Wednesday – for a while.

Investors let the good times roll on following positive gains on Tuesday and kept buying the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency.

But then Elon Musk’s Tesla revealed that it had sold 75% of its bitcoin (BTC) holdings and the coin’s value sank.

What is your sentiment on BTC/USD?

97074.20
Bullish
or
Bearish
Vote to see Traders sentiment!

BTC to USD

Altcoin prices also fall

Bitcoin’s decline sent altcoins down with it. Most altcoins were well in the red after being well in the green on Monday and Tuesday along with bitcoin.

According to CoinMarketData, polygon (MATIC), arweave (AR) and basic attention token (BAT) were among the hardest hit. However, they declined less than 10% and most other coins’ losses were relatively modest.

MATIC to USD

Tesla suffers ‘bitcoin impairment’

Tesla revealed in its second-quarter earnings report that it sold most of its bitcoin for $936m. The sell-off, described as a “bitcoin impairment,” hurt the electric-vehicle maker’s profitability during the period.

Tesla’s earnings report was released after stock markets closed.

The company revealed in US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing in February 2021 that it had purchased $1.5bn worth of bitcoin. (Tesla then sold 10% of that stake in April 2021.)

However, bitcoin is down almost 50% from the $43,000 then-record price achieved in February 2021 after Tesla’s purchase was revealed. So Tesla’s sale of 75% of its bitcoin holdings represents a significant loss on the company’s investment.

XLM/USD

0.54 Price
+0.400% 1D Chg, %
Long position overnight fee -0.0616%
Short position overnight fee 0.0137%
Overnight fee time 22:00 (UTC)
Spread 0.00216

BTC/USD

97,074.20 Price
+0.150% 1D Chg, %
Long position overnight fee -0.0616%
Short position overnight fee 0.0137%
Overnight fee time 22:00 (UTC)
Spread 106.00

XRP/USD

2.13 Price
+10.310% 1D Chg, %
Long position overnight fee -0.0616%
Short position overnight fee 0.0137%
Overnight fee time 22:00 (UTC)
Spread 0.01168

DOGE/USD

0.44 Price
+1.860% 1D Chg, %
Long position overnight fee -0.0616%
Short position overnight fee 0.0137%
Overnight fee time 22:00 (UTC)
Spread 0.0012872

AR to USD

Not a verdict

But Musk said Wednesday on Tesla’s earnings conference call that the sell-off should not be regarded as “some verdict on bitcoin.” He said the coins were sold to maximize Tesla’s cash holdings due to uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 shutdowns.

Bitcoin and ethereum (ETH) managed to get back in the green during Wednesday night trading hours in North America, indicating that traders were buying the dip.

Once again, bitcoin appeared to disprove outspoken economic commentator Peter Schiff’s recent claim that the world’s top digital asset is dead.

Despite the hit caused by the news of Tesla’s sell-off, bitcoin had a relatively good day as it stayed above $23,000 for most of the day. Until Tuesday, that level had been elusive as the market dealt with the crypto winter brought on by a meltdown and the financial strife of lenders Celsius Network and Voyager Digital, and hedge fund operator Three Arrows Capital, which have filed for bankruptcy.

Investors have more clarity

Photo of womanDiana Biggs, Valour chief strategy officer (Courtesy of Diana Biggs)

 

Celsius coin in the green

Ironically, the Celsius Network coin (CEL), stayed in the green throughout the day.

The coin has experienced considerable volatility at times lately. Last week, CEL was down 58% at one point as its investors struggled to maintain their short squeeze, which is designed to foil large players looking to profit from short-term returns.

Markets in this article

BTC/USD
Bitcoin / USD
97074.20 USD
149.2 +0.150%
BAT/USD
Basic Attention Token / USD
0.32243 USD
-0.00972 -3.000%
MATIC/USD
POL/USD
0.61072 USD
-0.016 -2.640%

Rate this article

Related reading

The difference between trading assets and CFDs
The main difference between CFD trading and trading assets, such as commodities and stocks, is that you don’t own the underlying asset when you trade on a CFD.
You can still benefit if the market moves in your favour, or make a loss if it moves against you. However, with traditional trading you enter a contract to exchange the legal ownership of the individual shares or the commodities for money, and you own this until you sell it again.
CFDs are leveraged products, which means that you only need to deposit a percentage of the full value of the CFD trade in order to open a position. But with traditional trading, you buy the assets for the full amount. In the UK, there is no stamp duty on CFD trading, but there is when you buy stocks, for example.
CFDs attract overnight costs to hold the trades (unless you use 1-1 leverage), which makes them more suited to short-term trading opportunities. Stocks and commodities are more normally bought and held for longer. You might also pay a broker commission or fees when buying and selling assets direct and you’d need somewhere to store them safely.
Capital Com is an execution-only service provider. The material provided in this article is for information purposes only and should not be understood as investment advice. Any opinion that may be provided on this page does not constitute a recommendation by Capital Com or its agents and has not been prepared in accordance with the legal requirements designed to promote investment research independence. While the information in this communication, or on which this communication is based, has been obtained from sources that Capital.com believes to be reliable and accurate, it has not undergone independent verification. No representation or warranty, whether expressed or implied, is made as to the accuracy or completeness of any information obtained from third parties. If you rely on the information on this page, then you do so entirely at your own risk.

Still looking for a broker you can trust?

Join the 660,000+ traders worldwide that chose to trade with Capital.com

1. Create & verify your account 2. Make your first deposit 3. You’re all set. Start trading