Bitcoin retests $64k as spot BTC ETFs hit record volumes, Nigeria fines Binance $10b, Musk sues OpenAI’s Sam Altman | Weekly Recap

Last week saw a major price uptick that led to Bitcoin (BTC) retesting $64,000 as spot BTC ETFs recorded all-time high volumes. Meanwhile, Nigeria fined Binance $10 billion over allegations of currency manipulation and Elon Musk sued OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

Spot BTC ETFs see record volumes amid $64k retest

• Bitcoin began the week on favorable grounds, eventually breaching the $56,000 threshold on Feb. 27 amid an uptick in buying pressure. This upsurge rekindled bullish optimism, with futures traders betting on a more substantial price rally.

• The asset rode on this bullish momentum to reclaim the $59,000 mark on Feb. 28, with whale transactions seeing an observable surge. Social volume also skyrocketed, as bullish discussions picked up. 

• Data from Santiment confirmed that spot BTC ETFs have continued to command increased interest among market participants, recording two consecutive ATH volumes on Feb. 25 and 26.

• BTC continued its bullish momentum, pushing above the pivotal psychological resistance levels from $61,000 through $63,000, as it retested the $64,000 zone on Feb. 28. 

• Data suggested that the rally was driven by a confluence of reduced supply and increased demand, as spot BTC ETFs procured more BTC tokens than what was released by miners. 

• On March 1, Custodia Bank CEO Caitlin Long also confirmed that the Feb. 28 surge was primarily driven by dried-up supply. She disclosed that at the time OTC desks only had about 40 BTC tokens to sell amid a surge in demand. 

• Moreover, Bitwise CIO Matt Hogan, while speaking on a CNBC interview, suggested that Bitcoin is seeing too much demand and not enough supply. According to him, spot BTC ETFs would witness an increase in institutional investments.

• On Feb. 29, Bank of America and Wells Fargo revealed plans to support spot Bitcoin ETFs for their clients amid the increased demand and the Bitcoin upsurge.

Coinbase crashes; MicroStrategy adds to its stash

• The massive price uptrend triggered a substantial increase in social interest, as market participants aimed to jump on the moving train. American exchange recorded a surge in activity, leading to a momentary crash, seeing their balances reduced to $0 amid other issues. 

• Before the monumental price surge, MicroStrategy Chairman and Bitcoin bull Michael Saylor confirmed that the company had again augmented its BTC stash. 

• Saylor disclosed on Feb. 26 that MicroStrategy purchased 3,000 BTC tokens for $155 million between Feb. 5 and 25. The latest purchase brought its total holdings to 193,000 BTC procured with a total of $6.09 billion.

Meme coin rally: SHIB, PEPE, WIF, DOGE and FLOKI record gains

• Amid the market resurgence, meme coins saw an impressive awakening toward the end of the week, recording massive price surges. 

• As a result, the top 5 weekly gainers, as identified by CoinMarketCap, are all meme coins. Newcomer Dogwifhat (WIF) is atop the list with a 439% surge in the past week, while Pepe (PEPE) secures second, having rallied 314%.

• Floki (FLOKI) has also surged 310% amid the decision to burn 2% of its circulating supply. Also, Shiba Inu (SHIB) and BONK (BONK) are up 126% and 112%, respectively.

Nigeria fines Binance $10b

• While the global crypto market recorded substantial price gains, the Nigerian naira continued to collapse against the dollar, with the dollar hitting a high of 1,900 naira last week, its highest point since July 2021.

• Olayemi Cardoso, the new governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, imposed several emergency policies to cushion the free fall, including a crackdown on local bureau de change (currency exchange) operators in the country’s capital city Abuja.

• However, these measures proved futile, as the dollar held up quite well against the naira despite retracing from the 1,900 naira high. The CBN’s next target was crypto P2P traders, with a focus on Binance, which facilitates the largest P2P volume in the country.

• Financial Times reported on Feb. 29 that the country’s National Security Adviser (NSA) office had arrested two Binance executives after inviting them to the country to discuss ways to address the devaluation of the naira. 

• Shortly after this, Nigeria’s special adviser Bayo Onanuga confirmed that the country had placed a fine of $10 billion on Binance, alleging a role in the naira’s collapse through its facilitation of P2P trades. Binance officials later denied knowledge of any fines.

Elon Musk sues OpenAI’s Sam Altman

• Amid the drama this week, X owner and billionaire Elon Musk came for Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI. Recall that Musk and Altman served as OpenAI’s initial board members upon its launch in 2015.
• The organization was originally intended to be a non-profit dedicated to AI research. However, it has since pivoted into a for-profit firm. This week, Musk filed a lawsuit against Altman and OpenAI for this switch. Following the lawsuit, OpenAI’s Worldcoin token slumped 5%.