Crypto Today: Bhutan sells $33M BTC, McDonald’s launches NFTs, PEPE, SUI emerge top gainers

Crypto market analysis today: 

• The aggregate cryptocurrency market capitalization shrank by 1.45% on November 14, reflecting a $42.6 billion dip. 
• In the last 24 hours, 170,878 traders were liquidated to the tune of $485.13 million, per Coinglass data
• With $360 million long positions liquidated, bull traders have booked over 61% of the daily timeframe losses on Thursday. 

Altcoin market updates: XRP, PEPE, SUI emerge top gainers 

• Ripple (XRP) rose by 16% on November 14, usurping Dogecoin (DOGE) as the the top performing asset in the top ten ranked crypto assets. 

XRP price action, November 14, 2024

XRP's rally on Thursday was initially triggered by its recent listing on Robinhood.

However, Gary Gensler’s impending exit from the US SEC leadership further propelled the XRP price rally towards $0.80 by mid-day EST. 
With trading volumes on Binance approaching the $1 billion mark, bulls could set sights on another leg-up towards the next resistance at $0.85.

• PEPE also delivered an eye-catching 22% price rally on Thursday, hitting new all time highs of $0.000026. 

PEPE price action, November 14 2024 | TradingView

Over the last 48-hours, PEPE price increased by 46.5%, moving from its closing price of $0.000014 on November 12 to hit a new peak at $0.0000026 within the daily timeframe on November 14.

Why is PEPE price going up? 

Notably, PEPE was the only megacap memecoin listed by Robinhood on November 13,  alongside major altcoins like XRP, Solana (SOL) and Cardano (ADA). 

While Robinhood listing introduces PEPE’s to a broader US retail market, another Korean-based exchange Upbit also listed the memecoin on Thursday. 

As fresh liquidity trickles into the market, it could provide a buffer for PEPE to sustain relatively high levels as bulls seek to extend the price discovery phase. 

• SUI is another token that reached a new all time high on Thursday, amid bullish tailwinds from VanEck's SUI ETN filing.  

SUI price crossed the $3.5 milestone for the first time since its launch in May 2023, bringing its market capitalization to $9.5 billion.   

Chart of the day: NFTs flashing comeback signals as McDonald's announces Doodle partnership 

Global fast food giant McDonald’s is collaborating with web-3 native brand, Doodles, to launch coffee-themed NFT collectibles as part of its holiday-season campaigns. 
After McDonald's confirmed the partnership in an X post on November 14, the global NFT market witnessed a significant surge in demand. 

Global NFT sector performance | November 14 2024 | Source: Coingecko

The Coingecko chart above shows the cumulative trading performance of all listed NFT projects. The global NFT trading volume reached $17.6 million on Thursday, reflecting a 4.1% increase over the last 24 hours, while the sector valuation also grew by 1.1% to reach $5.3 billion. 

Notably, Doodle’s floor price instantly rose 12.3% following the McDonald’s NFT collectibles announcement. But as depicted above, the bullish tailwinds spread towards other prominent NFT projects, as the likes of LaserCat and Milady Maker also recorded 51.4% and 15% in gains, respectively. 

Crypto news updates: 

• Recent statements from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman, Gary Gensler, have heightened his exit rumors. 

Speaking at the Practicing Law Institute's 56th Annual on Securities Regulation, Gensler hinted at his imminent exit, expressing pride and gratitude for service in the outgoing Biden administration. 

"It’s been a great honor to serve with them, doing the people’s work, and ensuring that our capital markets remain the best in the world.

I’ve been proud to serve with my colleagues at the SEC who, day in and day out, work to protect American families on the highways of finance,"

- US SEC Chairman, Gary Gensler, November 14, 2024 

President-elect Donald Trump is reportedly considering more crypto-friendly candidates to replace Gensler in the coming months.

This has triggered intense speculative demand for prominent altcoins like XRP, Cardano and Solana, which were labeled ‘unregistered securities’ in several SEC lawsuits over the last four years. 

• The Royal Government of Bhutan was spotted depositing 365 BTC (worth $33.3 million) into a Binance wallet address, with Bitcoin price trading above $91,000 in the early hours of Thursday.  

According to Blockchain analytics provider Arkham, the transfer occurred at 12:06 a.m. UTC, just weeks after an initial move of 929 BTC (valued at $66.1 million) to Binance on October 29, indicating that Bhutan may have offloaded close to $100 million in Bitcoin during the recent price rally. 

While the exact purpose of the Bhutan government’s latest transactions remain unclear, such large deposits into exchanges during a price rally typically point toward strategic profit-taking. 

• After 3 months of investigation, Indian authorities have officially detained a suspect linked to WazirX’s $230 million crypto hack, which occurred back in July 2024. 

According to local news sources, the arrested suspect had allegedly opened an account under a fake name, before selling it to an accomplice, who then proceeded to hack the exchange.