Bitcoin, ether tick higher as Silvergate stock dips, GBTC discount widens

Cryptocurrencies traded higher, while some crypto-related stocks dipped over contagion fears. 

Bitcoin rose 1.6% from yesterday, trading at $16,448 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, according to CoinGecko. Ether was changing hands for $1,213, climbing over 3.6%.

Altcoins dogecoin and litecoin jumped by 9.3% and 5.8%, respectively. Elsewhere, XRP added 3.4%, and ADA rose 2%. 

GBTC’s discount to NAV is widening again, now at 40.5%. The discount to NAV of Grayscale’s other structured product, ETHE, has widened to 43.7%.

Meanwhile, BlockFi became the latest crypto lender to declare bankruptcy on Monday. The bankruptcy petition noted more than 100,000 creditors and between $1 billion and $10 billion in assets and liabilities.

The lender’s Chapter 11 filing underscores “significant asset contagion risks associated with the crypto ecosystem, and, potentially, deficient risk management processes,” said Monsur Hussain, senior director of financial institutions at Fitch Ratings.

“Restructuring processes can be notoriously lengthy – Mt Gox’s creditors are only getting closer to being paid eight years after the operation failed,” he said.

Crypto stocks

U.S. stock index futures were flat, with S&P 500 futures unchanged and Nasdaq 100 futures ticking up 0.15%.

Silvergate dipped 2.3% pre-market, trading around $25, according to Nasdaq data. Shares in the crypto bank plummeted on Monday, dropping over 11%. 

The La Jolla-based firm said it has less than $20 million of its total deposits from crypto customers come from BlockFi, adding that it has “minimal” exposure to the company now in bankruptcy proceedings.

Coinbase gained 1.2% to trade around $43 pre-market. Block was up 1%, and MicroStrategy was unchanged, having closed down 3% on Monday.

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