Bitcoin’s meteoric rally liquidated about $172 million in short positions in the last 24 hours, data from coinglass.com shows. The currency led a crypto market recovery from one-month lows as U.S. President Joe Biden held off on completely blocking Russia from the global financial system.

Bitcoin price jumps 10% in last 24 hrs

The world’s largest cryptocurrency jumped 10% in the last 24 hours, coming close to $40,000 after concerns over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine knocked it below key support levels. Most altcoins logged double-digit gains.

The growth dynamics were relatively modest, which indicates the caution of buyers. It is likely that these are long-term holders rather than short-term speculators, as markets generally remain wary.

-Alex Kuptsikevich, a senior financial analyst at FxPro.

Data showed overall positioning on BTC was largely short this month.

OKX had the highest ratio of short positions, at about 90% with $35 million worth of shorts. Binance had the second-highest number of shorts, while 59% of positions on FTX were long over the past 24 hours.

The single largest liquidation order happened on Bitmex, and was worth nearly $8 million. Overall, traders who were short against the crypto market lost a whopping $402 million over the past 24 hours.

The move harkens back to the GameStop short squeeze last year, where increased retail and social media interest drove the company’s highly-shorted share price from single digits to nearly $500 in a few days. The spike had cost short positions on the stock as much as $20 billion.

Cryptocurrencies had tracked a broader rally in financial markets. U.S. stocks had surged more than 1% on hopes that the latest bout of U.S. sanctions would not be as economically damaging as feared.

But in crypto, safe-haven trades still dominated volumes. Stablecoin Tether accounted for more than half of the market’s volumes in the last 24 hours, at nearly $63 billion- more than those of Bitcoin and Ethereum combined.

With inflation rising sharply in the United States, analysts are predicting at least six hikes in the Federal Reserve’s key rate to 1.50%. The move will bring an end to pandemic-era policies that had flushed the market with cash and spurred a near two-year rally in risk-driven assets.

Higher inflation drives up the cost of living, which in turn could affect the investing potential of  retail investors, who were a key player in crypto’s astronomical rally last year.

Crypto has also struggled to act as an effective inflation hedge this year. U.S. consumer price inflation surged 7.5% at an annual rate in January, while Bitcoin, a bellwether for the market, shed 18%.

“Rising interest rates and the depletion of private savings will play against the cryptocurrency market, setting the “crypto winter” up again along the lines of what we saw in 2018,” says Alex Kuptsikevich, a senior financial analyst at FxPro.

But Kuptsikevich noted that this was a more mature market than last time- one with “periods of more measured growth,” but also “fewer deep declines.”

Crypto Winter Alike 2018; Vitalik Buterin Welcomes Downslide

In 2018, after rallying to nearly $800 billion in value, the crypto market saw a sharp decline, and stayed below $400 billion until early-2021.

Currently, the market is at about $1.8 trillion in value, a full $1 trillion down from a lifetime high hit in November. Earlier this year, Swiss bank UBS had also warned of a sharp fall in crypto markets this year, adding that volatility in the market made it unappealing to investors.

In an interview with CNBC, Huobi CEO Du Jun had said he did not expect a Bitcoin bull run until at least late-2024 or early-2025, adding that the currency was likely in a process of halving its price.

FxPro’s Kuptsikevich said that a dip towards $20-25,000 could help in attracting more investors to the market, although a fall to $30,000 seemed more likely.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said he welcomed the prospect of a crypto winter this year, stating that blockchain developers would likely benefit from lower volatility in the market.

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Cryptocurrencies were under pressure Wednesday amid plans in India to make most digital assets illegal.

The Indian government wants to ban most cryptocurrencies as part of its plan to introduce a digital currency regulated by its central bank, and has introduced a bill to that effect to be considered in the parliamentary session beginning Nov. 29.

The bill “seeks to prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in India, however, it allows for certain exceptions to promote the underlying technology of cryptocurrency and its uses,” according to a bulletin posted Tuesday on the parliamentary website.

The news sent a shock wave through India’s cryptocurrency markets.

Bitcoin,
the leading cryptocurrency with a market capitalization north of $1 trillion, tumbled nearly 15% relative to the Indian rupee on WazirX, an Indian digital asset exchange, before settling around 10% lower Wednesday.

Ether,
the second largest crypto, was also almost 10% lower in India.

India’s crypto regulation plans were also felt in global digital asset markets, though the impact was less pronounced. Bitcoin fell around 3% Wednesday from highs reached Tuesday, and was trading hands around $56,100, according to data from CoinDesk. Ether was down 4% from Tuesday highs.

Smaller cryptos—called altcoins—bore the brunt of the pressure, with Dogecoin down 7% from its Tuesday highs. Shiba Inu, which is widely viewed as a parody of the more popular, similarly dog-themed Dogecoin, tumbled 12%. Dogecoin has a market cap of nearly $29 billion, compared with Shiba Inu’s $21 billion.

“India’s plan to ban cryptocurrencies has not wrought the same damage on the Bitcoin price as China’s summer crackdown, but it nonetheless marks yet another stumbling block in crypto’s advancement as an economic force in the real world,” said Laith Khalaf, an analyst at broker AJ Bell.

Khalaf noted that the wording of the government bill suggests some digital assets will be spared to protect blockchain technology—though it was unclear which would be safe.

“There may be some question of how the government can prohibit the trading of cryptocurrency on private computers across international exchanges,” Khalaf added. “But a ban would at least prevent advertising and marketing activities, which should limit activity.”

Write to Jack Denton at jack.denton@dowjones.com

Geoff Lewis, the co-founder and managing partner of Bedrock Capital, compared the meme-based cryptocurrency Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) to electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian Automotive Inc (NASDAQ:RIVN).

What Happened: In a tweet on Friday, Lewis stated that Rivian and Shiba Inu are more alike than they are different.

Rivian and Shiba Inu are more alike than they are different.

Symptoms of an inverted economy where abstract narratives of the future supersede economic reality today.

— Geoff Lewis (@GeoffLewisOrg) November 12, 2021

 

The managing partner of the New York-based venture capital firm said the similarities between the Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) rivals stems from the fact that they have both grown into assets with massive market capitalizations without the fundamental value to match.

Rivian went public Nov. 10 with a valuation of $65 billion. Only five days later, the company is valued at over $110 billion, as shares rose nearly 50% to a price of $149.36 on Monday.

Despite being more valuable than automotive giants such as Ferrari N.V. (NYSE:RACE) and Honda Motor Co. Ltd (NYSE:HMC), Rivian had only delivered 156 R1Ts as of Oct. 30 and has yet to roll out a number of the products in its pipeline.

Similarly, critics of Shiba Inu believed the cryptocurrency’s rise to a $50-billion market cap in October was unjustified given the relative lack of utility compared to other blockchains.  

Price Action: At the time of writing, SHIB was trading at $0.00004987, down 7.38% in the last 24 hours.

Rivian shares were trading 6.19% higher at $158.60 Tuesday morning. 

AMC Entertainment Holdings

Ticker: AMC

Price per share: $35.37

Market cap: $18.16 billion

Notes: AMC, which has been around since 1920, is the largest movie theater chain in the US.

AMC, which not long ago was flirting with bankruptcy, saw its stock price skyrocket this year as part of the meme stock buying spree among retail traders. Its shares have risen 1,568% this year so far.

The crypto-friendly cinema chain has said it plans to accept bitcoin, ethereum, and litecoin for some payments, and announced it will take dogecoin for gift card payments after a Twitter poll was overwhelmingly in favor.

AMC may even issue its own digital coin, its CEO Adam Aron said.

Yum! Brands

Ticker: YUM 

Price per share: $124.94

Market cap: $36.94 billion

US fast-food group Yum Brands is the owner of iconic brands like KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, which it operates worldwide.

Based in Louisville, Kentucky, it has more than 50,000 restaurants in over 150 countries.

Recently, Yum Brands snapped up an AI-powered platform to improve food prep and optimize delivery, part of a tech buying spree. 

Its shares are up 15% in 2021 so far.

Robinhood Markets

Ticker: HOOD

Price per share: $34.97

Market cap: $30.06 billion

Robinhood is a US trading app and platform used by retail investors. It has built a roster of cryptocurrencies — such as bitcoin, ether and dogecoin — since it was established in 2013.

Fans of shiba inu have called on Robinhood to add the coin to its crypto list, but its CEO Vlad Tenev has said the company is waiting for regulators to clarify the situation. 

Robinhood angered many customers earlier this year when it halted buying of GameStop, AMC and other meme stocks during an epic rally.

Influential investor Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest purchased $79.4 million worth of Robinhood shares this week, after the company reported disappointing earnings. Its stock has fallen more than 10% below its July IPO price of $38 per share.

General Mills

Ticker: GIS

Price per share: $61.80

Market cap: $37.43 billion

Minneapolis-based General Mills, which traces its history back to 1856, is known for US household favorites like Cheerios, Progresso soup, Betty Crocker and Old El Paso. 

The packaged-food company has 100 brands across the world, including Jus-Rol in the UK and Latina pasta in Australia.

Its products performed well during the pandemic, as people stuck at home stocked up. But its prospects were less clear as restrictions lifted and out-of-home dining came back, and as commodity costs rose.

In spite of that, General Mills posted solid earnings in September, saying people are still baking like they did during lockdowns. Its stock is up 5.1% for the year so far.

GameStop

Ticker: GME

Price per share: $183.51

Market cap: $14.04 billion

Set up in 1984, GameStop is a video game retailer with stores across the US that became the focus of a retail-trading frenzy in January.

Activist members of the Reddit forum WallStreetBets piled into the stock to try to drive its price higher and put a squeeze on institutional short sellers. GameStop’s price skyrocketed more than 1,000% in just a few weeks. For the year so far, the stock is up 874%.

Since the Reddit-fueled rally, GameStop management has made a push to become the Amazon of gaming with the help of Chewy cofounder Ryan Cohen.

Warner Music Group

Ticker: WMG

Price per share: $49.49

Market cap: $25.46 billion

Multinational label conglomerate Warner Music Group counts Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars, Nigerian singer and rapper Burna Boy, and rapper Lizzo among its artists. It is the world’s third-largest company of its kind and has labels Warner Records, Atlantic and Parlophone on its roster.

Stock in the music and entertainment group, founded in 1958, started trading on the Nasdaq exchange in June last year. Warner Music initially planned to go public in the first quarter of 2021, but pulled its IPO after the coronavirus outbreak slammed financial markets.

The pandemic caused other problems for Warner Music. It caused supply problems, and its retail stores were closed. Concerts and video shoots were delayed.

But analysts now expect the company to perform well, and its stock price rose after its earnings report Thursday. Its shares are up 30% for the year so far.