Crypto markets face upside resistance as traders seek the next trigger for price action
Crypto markets came under selling pressure over the course of last week, with the overall crypto market capitalization staying around $1.2 trillion. Bitcoin (BTC) prices remained volatile over the week, witnessing profit booking around the $30,000 level, and have since been trading in the $28k range, almost flat over the week.
Ethereum (ETH), too, is trading around $1800, slightly lower in price than last week, even as several reports have cited an increasing institutional interest in ETH staking. BTC’s market cap dominance seems to be on the rise again, reaching June 2020 levels, even though liquidity continues to be a challenge.
Last Updated 01:00 pm, 02nd May 2023
The US Banking system came under further stress as First Republic Bank, with over $229 billion in assets, collapsed, and banking giant JP Morgan swooped in to rescue the failing bank. This resulted in an immediate rally in BTC, further strengthening its narrative of being a hedge against TradFi's failure. But most gains were pared over the course of the week.
Macro developments will continue to dominate price action in the short run. This week, investors will closely follow the announcements about interest rates from tomorrow's US Federal Reserve meeting.
Overall the markets were a volatile mixed bag as there was a lot of token-specific action but no major directional moves! The clear outlier was a new entrant to the Top 100 market cap tokens list: PEPE, a meme coin that has been pumping for the last few days and has surged a massive ~350% in prices last week, sending its total market cap to over $560 mn!
Without any strong fundamentals but avid support from a meme-loving community, PEPE’s token's price ascent is a clear sign of market exuberance and should be approached with caution. Touted to be the next SHIB, the meme coin has minted several token millionaires in days, and it'll be interesting to see if these "large bag-holders" book profits and crash prices. DYOR and steer clear of pump and dump schemes!
Before we conclude, here’s a quick look at other important news updates from last week's crypto world.
Franklin Templeton expands money market fund onto the Polygon network
Financial giant Franklin Templeton has expanded its money market fund onto the Polygon network to leverage faster and cheaper transactions. The move aims to attract investors seeking higher yields in the growing decentralized finance (DeFi) market. Polygon's Layer 2 scaling solution enables the fund to overcome Ethereum's limitations, such as high transaction costs and slow processing times, making it an attractive option for large-scale financial operations. (Source: Coindesk)
Bitcoin Hits Record Daily Transactions Amid US Bank Buyout
Bitcoin set a new record for daily transactions on the same day the US government discreetly orchestrated a bank buyout. This milestone underscores the growing adoption of digital assets in mainstream finance. While the bank buyout was meant to prevent a financial crisis, it also highlights the traditional financial system's vulnerabilities. As Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies continue to gain traction, they offer a more decentralized and secure alternative to the existing banking infrastructure. (Source: Coindesk)
Sotheby's Introduces On-Chain NFT Marketplace for Secondary Sales
Sotheby's, the world-renowned auction house, has launched an on-chain secondary marketplace for non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The new platform, named Sotheby's Metaverse, aims to provide a secure and efficient space for NFT resales, benefiting from the auction house's expertise and reputation. The marketplace will initially focus on digital art and collectibles, with plans to expand into other NFT categories in the future. (Source: Coindesk)
PayPal Enables On-Chain Transfers from Venmo Accounts
PayPal will now allow on-chain transfers from Venmo accounts, including to on-chain wallets, further strengthening its presence in the cryptocurrency market. With this move, users can hold, buy, sell, and transfer cryptocurrencies directly from their Venmo accounts. This update also includes the addition of two new cryptocurrencies to the Venmo platform – Algorand (ALGO) and Chainlink (LINK). PayPal's integration with on-chain transfers aims to simplify transactions and improve user experience in the digital asset space. (Source: Coindesk)
That’s it for now. Thanks for sticking around.
See you later, folks! 👋
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