Here’s what happened in crypto today

Today in crypto, Bitcoin price crosses $85,000 boosted by investors’ sentiment, FTX bankruptcy estate filed a $1.8 billion lawsuit against Binance and CryptoQuant boss Ki Young Ju thinks Bitcoin could end 2024 under $59,000 despite it hitting new highs.

Bitcoin hits new $85K high, with just 17% left for BTC $100K record

Bitcoin recently surged to an all-time high of $85,000, placing it within 17% of the $100,000 milestone. Analysts attribute this rally to favorable market dynamics, including heightened volatility in derivatives and significant inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs. These conditions, combined with optimism around potential regulatory support, could push Bitcoin past $100,000 by the end of 2024. 

Market participants remain optimistic, viewing the recent trends as a sign of growing institutional interest and confidence in the crypto space.

The Bitcoin mania drove Coinbase’s shares (COIN) above 20% on Nov. 11, pushing the stock past $300 for the first time since 2021.

Investors expect cryptocurrency’s bull run to continue into 2025 and peak in the second half of the year, according to Web3 investing firm MV Global.

FTX bankruptcy estate files $1.8 billion lawsuit against Binance, CZ

The FTX bankruptcy estate is continuing its pursuit of lawsuits against cryptocurrency companies as part of its ongoing proceedings, with the latest filing targeting Binance.

A group of firms involved in the FTX bankruptcy proceedings have initiated a lawsuit against cryptocurrency exchange Binance, seeking to recover $1.8 billion, according to a complaint filed on Nov. 10.

In the filing, the plaintiffs argued that Binance, its former CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao and other Binance executives received at least $1.76 billion worth of cryptocurrency in a fraudulent transfer from FTX.

The FTX estate claims the fraudulent transaction stems from a July 2021 repurchase deal with Sam Bankman-Fried, the FTX co-founder who is now serving a 25-year prison term.

Bankman-Fried sold approximately 20% of FTX International and 18.4% of FTX US, also known as West Realm Shires Services.

According to the filing, Bankman-Fried paid for the stock repurchase using a mix of FTX’s FTX Token (FTT) and Binance-operated BNB (BNB) and Binance USD (BUSD), valued at $1.76 billion at the time.

The filing further claims that FTX and its sister firm, Alameda Research, were insolvent by early 2021, making the share repurchase deal fraudulent.

Bitcoin futures “overheated,” could end year at $58,000 — CryptoQuant

CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju believes Bitcoin could end the year at just under $59,000 as he thinks the cryptocurrency’s futures market is overheated.

“I expected corrections as BTC futures market indicators overheated, but we’re entering price discovery, and the market is heating up even more,” he said. “If correction and consolidation occur, the bull run may extend; however, a strong year-end rally could set up 2025 for a bear market, [in my opinion].”

CoinGlass data shows Bitcoin has a record level of open interest — a measure of how many active positions are open on Bitcoin derivatives like futures and options — at nearly $50 billion.

Collective Shift CEO Ben Simpson told Cointelegraph that a pullback to $58,000 was possible, but he believed it was “very unlikely” to happen by the end of this year pointing to Donald Trump’s election win, possible interest rate drops and consistent Bitcoin exchange-traded fund volumes.

Bitcoin has continued to climb since Trump’s win on Nov. 5, hitting its current all-time high of $81,943 on Nov. 11 on Coinbase.