The past week has been wild altogether and not just in the cryptocurrency market. A major bank in the US – Silicon Valley Bank – experienced what was essentially a bank run and was forced to shut down by authorities to prevent further panic.
The government, in the face of the Federal Reserve and the Treasury, as well as the FDIC, were quick to come up with a rescue plan, but at the same time, also shut down Signature Bank – the last one of the three crypto-facing financial institutions in the US.
The crypto market has also been on the rise, with CoinMarketCap showing that the total market cap has reclaimed the $1 trillion mark and currently stands at $1.03 trillion. This increase of 7.31% in the past 36 hours has been particularly beneficial for BTC, the crypto market leader, whose price has risen by 9.14% to reach $22,468.86. Additionally, the weekly performance for BTC has turned positive, currently at +0.42%. BTC’s dominance in the crypto market has also risen by 0.49% to reach 42.24%.
ETH, the altcoin leader, has also experienced a 24-hour price increase of 8.38%. The altcoin’s weekly performance has also turned positive and stands at +2.88%. As a result, ETH’s price currently stands at $1,604.68. Binance’s native crypto token, BNB, has also seen an 8.82% price boost over the last 24 hours, changing hands at $304.87. The altcoin’s weekly performance has also turned positive, with its price up 6.61% over the last 7 days.
The announcement by Ju and Binance’s decision to convert the remaining $1 billion Industry Recovery Initiative funds to BTC, ETH, and BNB have further solidified the position of these cryptocurrencies in the market. The crypto market’s recent bullish run is expected to continue in the coming weeks, with many analysts predicting further price increases for BTC, ETH, and BNB.
“Given the changes in stablecoins and banks, Binance will convert the remaining of the 1 billion Industry Recovery Initiative funds from BUSD to native crypto, including BTC, BNB, and ETH,” Zhao wrote. The crypto exchange launched its Industry Recovery Initiative in November after FTX, another crypto exchange, filed for bankruptcy. The goal was to help projects that “are otherwise strong but in a liquidity crisis,” Zhao had tweeted in November.
The move comes after the crypto industry faced another setback when regulators in the U.S. shut down crypto-focused Signature Bank. Last week, Silvergate closed, and the venture-capital-oriented Silicon Valley Bank collapsed on Friday. Bitcoin BTCUSD is trading at $22,192, up 8.05% in the last 24 hours, according to CoinDesk data. Ether ETHE is up 8.15%, trading at $1,558, over the last 24 hours, according to CoinDesk data.
