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5 Things to Know in Crypto Today

Key Points

  • Cryptocurrency prices are under pressure on Wednesday after recent US/Eurozone data highlights growing recession risks as consumer confidence tumbles.

  • Bitcoin was last trading just above the key $20K mark and Ethereum around $1,130.

  • “Blockchain technology and the digital asset ecosystem are here to stay”, concluded BofA in a report released on Tuesday.

Crypto Drops As Recession Fears Bubble

Ugly consumer confidence data out of both the US and Eurozone in the past few days has brought recession fears back into investor focus at a time when central bankers continue to sound very hawkish and as inflation remains very high. The US Conference Board’s measure of US Consumer Confidence in June fell to its weakest since early 2021, but Fed policymakers have been doubling down this week on the need for a continued rapid pace of rate hikes to tackle rampant US inflation.

US Core PCE inflation figures out on Thursday will be in focus next following remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell at the ECB’s annual Sintra event later on Wednesday. Speaking of the ECB, policymakers there are also doubling down on the need for significant monetary tightening amid scorching inflation rates. Preliminary June inflation estimates out of Spain were just released and saw the YoY headline hit a new record high of 10%.

Unsurprisingly, against this backdrop, risk assets have once again come under pressure. The S&P 500 dropped around 2.0% on Tuesday and is trading slightly in the red on Wednesday as investors question whether stock valuations have sufficiently taken into account recession risks. This has weighed on crypto. Total cryptocurrency market cap was last around $880 billion, on course to have fallen for a fourth day in a row and now about 9.0% below last week’s highs.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency by market cap Bitcoin was last trading slightly above the psychologically important $20,000 level and down about 4.5% in the last 24 hours as per CoinMarketCap. Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, was last trading lower by just over 7.0% in the last 24 hours in the $1,130s per token.

Most other major altcoins are experiencing losses of a similar magnitude. Binance’s BNB was last down about 7.5% near-$220 per token, while Cardano’s ADA, Ripple’s XRP, Solana’s SOL, Dogecoin and Polkadot’s DOT were each down between 3-9%.

Post-Robinhoob Listing Upside in Chainlink (LINK) Short-Lived

The native token on the Chainlink blockchain LINK spiked higher on Tuesday after popular retail trading/investing platform Robinhood announced that it had listed the token. Shortly after the listing, LINK/USD was trading as much as 10% higher on the day in the $7.25 per token area.

However, Chainlink was unable to hold onto these gains amid broader selling pressure in crypto markets. LINK/USD ended Tuesday’s session around $6.30 and with losses of nearly 4%, though has since bounced about 2.5% on Wednesday to trade closer to $6.50 once again.

That leaves Chainlink near the mid-point of the $5.50-$7.50ish ranges that have been in play since mid-June. The cryptocurrency is currently on course to end the month with losses of about 15% and the quarter with losses of over 60%.

“Crypto Winter” Hasn’t Dented Investor Interest – BofA Survey

Conversations with 160 clients who attended Bank of America (BofA)’s “Web3 & Digital Assets Day” conference last week have revealed that “blockchain technology and the digital asset ecosystem are here to stay”, BofA said in a report released on Tuesday. The report said that many survey participants were of the opinion that crypto downturns are “likely healthy for the ecosystem’s development over the long term”.

“Client engagement continues to grow and focus remains on the rapid development and disruptive nature of blockchain technology, despite falling token prices and headlines suggesting the ecosystem’s demise has arrived,” BofA said in the report.

Elsewhere, a separate report released earlier this week by investment firm Alto revealed that more Millenials are investing in crypto than mutual funds, with the proportion of those investing in crypto now nearly as high as stocks. The report highlighted that most millennials either already own digital assets, or are considering buying them, though that economic difficulties are making investment challenging.

“In a world of conspicuous consumption, soaring living costs, and mounting student loan debt, millennials find it difficult to invest for the future because they are struggling to afford the present,” Alto CEO Eric Satz said.

Miner Struggles

75% of Marathon Digital Holdings Bitcoin mining capability has been knocked offline since a storm hit the town of Hardin, Montana on 11 June. According to a statement issued by the Bitcoin mining company on Tuesday, the storm damaged the power generating facilities that supply mining operations. “Initial electrical tests have found that the majority of the Company’s miners were not materially damaged by the storm,” the company said.

In further mining-related news, Bitcoin mining, hosting and brokerage service provider Compass Mining has seen both its CEO and CFO resign, according to an email sent out to customers on Tuesday. The resignations come after Dynamics Mining last week terminated its contract to host Compass Mining rigs, accusing them of owing $600,000 in unpaid bills.

Looking through the noise, according to Blockchain.com, the Bitcoin network’s hashrate is currently around 208 million terahashes per second (th/s). That’s down from a record high above 230 million th/s seen earlier this month, but still very strong by historical comparison. This time last year, for example, the network’s hashrate was about half of that.

Huobi Confirms Layoffs, OKX Bucks Trend

Major global crypto exchange Huobi on Tuesday confirmed leaked reports from earlier in the week that it is going to lay off 30% of its staff amid a drop in revenue associated with the loss of Chinese users since the crypto ban there. This is in fitting with the broader trend of crypto firms letting go of employees as the industry contracts. Other high-profile firms to have let go of workers include Coinbase, Crypto.com, Gemini and Bitpanda.

But crypto exchange OKX is bucking the trend. It announced on Tuesday that it wants to increase its headcount by 30% to around 5,000 as it becomes more “internationalized”. Only a few other crypto exchanges have been moving to expand amid the current downturn (Binance and FTX being the most notable).

This article was originally posted on FX Empire

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