Today in crypto, CZ denies ties to Trump, said pardon was a ‘surprise,’ Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest added $2 million in BitMine shares across its ETFs. Meanwhile, Bitcoin retail investors and whales are moving in opposite directions.
CZ says pardon was a ‘surprise’
Binance co-founder CZ said the pardon from United States President Donald Trump came as a surprise and that the two have never met, spoken personally, or had close ties.
The only interaction CZ has had with the Trump family was talking to Eric Trump at the Bitcoin Middle East and North Africa (MENA) conference in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), CZ told Fox News. He also said he was unaware of how the pardon would develop throughout the process:
“I did not know when or if it was going to happen. I believe my lawyers submitted the petition in April, and it took a few months. I didn’t know the progress. There was no indication of how far it went along, etc. Then, it happened one day.”
The pardon drew a divide between crypto industry executives, who celebrated the move, and US lawmakers in the Democratic Party, who were critical of the pardon and argued that it was financially motivated.
Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest adds BitMine shares as it offloads $30M in Tesla stock
Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest has increased its exposure to Tom Lee’s Ether treasury firm BitMine while reducing its position in Tesla.
According to the firm’s daily trading disclosures dated Friday, ARK purchased a combined 48,454 shares of BitMine (worth around $2 million) across three of its exchange-traded funds (ETFs), including the ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK), the ARK Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF) and the ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW).
Wood’s investment funds have been increasing their exposure to BitMine since it started accumulating Ether (ETH) as a treasury asset in April.
BitMine shares were up 7.65% on the day to reach $40.23 in after-hours trading, according to Google Finance. The stock has gained a whopping 415% since the beginning of the year.
Bitcoin whale and retail ‘major divergence’ is a warning sign: Santiment
Bitcoin retail investors are snapping up Bitcoin as whales sell off, a pattern that could signal trouble for the asset’s price if history is any guide, according to sentiment platform Santiment.
However, other crypto analysts are divided on how the coming weeks will unfold for Bitcoin.
“Historically, prices tend to follow the direction of the whales, not retail,” Santiment said in a markets report on Saturday.
Santiment pointed out that since Oct. 12, Bitcoin whales — wallets holding between 10 and 10,000 BTC — have sold approximately 32,500 Bitcoin. However, Santiment added that “small retail wallets have been aggressively buying the dip.”
