With the new week today, cryptocurrency prices have remained in the red.
Among tokens, Dogecoin’s price was trading about 7.80% lower at $0.05685, whereas Shiba Inu plunged more than 10% to $0.0000107. Multiple tokens have also declined, including XRP, Uniswap, Solana, Polygon, Avalanche, Binance USD, Polkadot, Litecoin, Apecoin, Cardano, Stellar, Chainlink, Tron, among others.
Coins like XRP, Polkadot and other smaller tokens posted heavier losses and were deeper in the red.
XRP token has also suffered a heavy decline. The token affiliated with Ripple Labs Inc. shed as much as 13.5% amid an ongoing court case. According to Bloomberg, the decline came along as the firm and the SEC preferred an immediate ruling in a court case over whether Ripple was “reckless” in claiming XRP is not regulated security.
Over the past 24 hours, the market value of digital tokens has gone down more than &70 billion to $941 billion. In 2021, the market value was at $3 trillion, according to data from CoinGecko.
The declines of the major crypto values are still subject to overall economic metrics—ranging from the disappointing Consumer Price Index, the benchmark S&P 500 falls, to the prospect of a global wave of monetary tightening this week.
Investors are bracing for volatility as the Federal Reserve this week is expected to announce interest-rate hikes to fight price pressures.
The recent rise and fall of the Bitcoin price in the last few days is in line with market participants’ expectations. Cryptocurrency markets are likely to be volatile until the macroeconomic situation settles down to a more predictable pace.
With the new week today, cryptocurrency prices have remained in the red.
Among tokens, Dogecoin’s price was trading about 7.80% lower at $0.05685, whereas Shiba Inu plunged more than 10% to $0.0000107. Multiple tokens have also declined, including XRP, Uniswap, Solana, Polygon, Avalanche, Binance USD, Polkadot, Litecoin, Apecoin, Cardano, Stellar, Chainlink, Tron, among others.
The declines of the major crypto values are still subject to overall economic metrics—ranging from the disappointing Consumer Price Index, the benchmark S&P 500 falls, to the prospect of a global wave of monetary tightening this week.
Investors are bracing for volatility as the Federal Reserve this week is expected to announce interest-rate hikes to fight price pressures.
The recent rise and fall of the Bitcoin price in the last few days is in line with market participants’ expectations. Cryptocurrency markets are likely to be volatile until the macroeconomic situation settles down to a more predictable pace.
Bankrupt crypto lender Celsius Network on Thursday filed a request for bankruptcy court permission to sell its stablecoin holdings to fund its Chapter 11 cases, according to a court document.
The New Jersey-based firm intends to sell its current and any future stablecoins it may receive, as needed, to generate liquidity to fund its operations.
Celsius filed the request with the US Bankruptcy Court Southern District Of New York. A hearing is scheduled on October 6 to discuss the proposed sale.
Celsius filed for bankruptcy in July, after it suspended withdrawals, citing “extreme” market conditions. The case is currently before the court.
The firm disclosed that $23 million worth of stablecoins is held by three of its corporate entities. While the company currently owns 11 different forms of stablecoins, it did not disclose which ones.
If the presiding Judge Martin Glenn, the chief U.S. bankruptcy judge, approves the motion, then the proceedings of the sale would go primarily pay for the operations of Celsius Network.
Recovery Efforts Continuing
Celsius’ spending has been under scrutiny in bankruptcy court after it filed for Chapter 11 in July in the wake of its decision to freeze customer accounts.
The company’s business model, like that of other crypto lenders, came under scrutiny after a sharp selloff in the crypto market triggered by the collapse of major tokens TerraUSD and Luna in May.
Celsius’ bankruptcy proceedings have shown that the company has misrepresented many of its assets with deep complexities in its operations.
On Wednesday, the US bankruptcy judge in the Southern District of New York approved the need for a neutral third party to examine the company’s finances, following a request from the Justice Department, securities regulators, and representatives of creditors.
Last week, state securities regulators from Texas, Vermont, and Wisconsin pushed for greater transparency in the bankruptcy of Celsius Network.
The regulators joined the U.S. Department of Justice’s call for a court-appointed examiner to ensure that Celsius is providing creditors with accurate information.
Regulators supported the appointment of an examiner in court filings in U.S. bankruptcy court, noting that they were concerned about protecting retail investors who may have deposited retirement accounts or college funds with Celsius based on false promises.
The DOJ argued that an examiner could provide an impartial review of Celsius’ actions and finances, helping to dispel widespread confusion and distrust surrounding the crypto lender’s bankruptcy.
The DOJ claimed that Celsius has not provided clear information about the type and value of the cryptocurrency it holds, where its assets are held, and its lending and investment activity.
CoinSmart Financial Inc., a crypto asset trading platform based in Toronto, Canada, announced on Wednesday that it is on the hunt to buy crypto startups in Canad6a, Europe, and the US, according to Bloomberg.
In an interview, CoinSmart Chief Executive Officer Justin Hartzman said that the crypto-asset trading platform is sifting through distressed assets, custodial-services companies, and other exchanges and payment platforms.
“M&A is an interesting thing, something that I spend a lot of time on. The high cost of regulation — or lack of regulation — allows the firm to jump in and find some properties or some targets that are really advantageous to our growth there,” the executive stated.
Hartzman said the ongoing turmoil times have allowed CoinSmart to reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of the company. “Across the board, over 56% of volume retail dropped internationally across all platforms,” he said. “We’re closer to a 30% reduction in volume.”
From the look, CoinSmart is using this market correction to buy distressed assets for cents on the dollar to revamp its business or initiatives it is planning on building for the next few years.
By leveraging its cash and corporate balance sheets to execute distressed asset purchases, CoinSmart is coming up with new and creative ways to expand its portfolio across the crypto ecosystem.
The Toronto-based firm has not been immune to the market plunge that has pushed some lenders and hedge funds, such as Celsius Networks, Voyager Digital, and Three Arrows Capital, among others, into bankruptcy.
According to Hartzman, CoinSmart’s shares have lost about three-quarters of their value this year, shrinking its market capitalization to just C$14 million ($11 million).
So far, the FTX cryptocurrency exchange, founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, has appeared to be the greatest survivor of the recent chaos.
Earlier last month, FTX signed a deal to bailout crypto lending platform BlockFi and announced it was open to considering buying other troubled crypto firms to stem potential credit contagion amid the prolonged bear market.
Bankman-Fried has acted as a lender of last resort during the recent crypto meltdown, with his trading company, Alameda Research, providing a revolving credit facility to Voyager Digital.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), a US investment banking giant, issued a report on Thursday stating that demand among retail investors in the crypto market is improving. The report further said that the ‘intense phase’ of deleveraging appears to have passed.
In the report, the bank stated: “The extreme phase of backwardation seen in May and June, the most extreme since 2018, appears to be behind us.”
The prices of Bitcoin and Ethereum have increased 30.82% ($23,143.38) and 72.86% ($1,585.38) since plunging to record lows of $17,600 and $876 in June. These improvements have come as investors grow more optimistic that inflation could slow down and consumer spending remains healthy.
JPMorgan further disclosed that the recovery in asset prices is not witnessed in the crypto fund or futures space. This indicates that retail investors drive the demand, the bank explained. JPMorgan noted: “smaller wallets have seen an increase in ether or bitcoin balances since the end of June at the expense of larger holders.”
According to the bank’s report, in recent weeks, crypto markets have recovered as investors anticipate a software update known as the Ethereum “Merge,” which sets the transition of the blockchain from the proof-of-work to a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism expected to take place on September 19.
As a result, Ethereum network activity has risen alongside increased investor sentiment, JPMorgan stated.
The bank also said the recovery in staked ether (stETH) is a good indication of how the deleveraging event devastated firms like Terra, Celsius, and Three Arrows Capital is now over.
Staked ether (stETH) is a token (from Lido decentralised finance and staking protocol) that is supposed to be worth the same as Ether (ETH). Just like the collapse of TerraUSD, in the past few months, stETH had been trading at a widening discount to the second-largest cryptocurrency and thus caused the flames of a liquidity crisis in the crypto market.
But now things have positively changed as stETH slowly repegs with Ether (ETH) as total staking assets rose on DeFi liquidity giant Lido. stETH-ETH peg has improved to 0.9778, with the stETH price trading closer to Ether (ETH) price at $1,463.83 and $1,593, respectively.
Last month, the Lido’s staked Ethereum depeg caused massive crypto selloffs and market crashes. With the stETH-ETH peg improving further, the possibility of market recovery appears in sight.
Over the previous two years, a boom in crypto prices minted a generation of millionaires and billionaires. Some industry executives and even regular investors acquired extraordinary wealth out of cryptocurrency trading.
But of late, the crypto market has crashed. Last week, central bank interest rates tightening reports, inflation concerns, and the collapse of the algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD and its LUNA token, helped ignite a wider meltdown, plunging Bitcoin price and wiping $300 billion in value from the wider crypto economy. The recent crypto market crisis has not only hurt investors but also erased billions of dollars from their fortunes.
Lost opportunities
Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, is one of the heavyweight investors who faced the wrath. After Ethereum’s price surpassed $3,000 and hit a high of over $4,800 in November last year, Vitalik possessed a digital wallet whose ETH contents were valued at about $1.5 billion.
But on Friday last week, Buterin revealed on social media that he is no longer a billionaire. Due to the ongoing market sell-off, Ether has lost 60 % of its value, trading at around $2,028 during the intraday on Monday Asia section, according to Coinmarketcap.
Changpeng Zhao, founder of Binance – the world’s largest crypto exchange – also has seen more than $80 billion, or 84% of his wealth, evaporate this year.
On Monday last week, Zhao mentioned that Binance held 15 million Luna tokens. In early April, Binance’s Luna holdings were worth $1.6 billion when the token hit its peak price. But its recent crash saw that value fall to about $2,200 the previous week.
Managing a down cycle
There are many ways for crypto investors to prepare for a market crash. The golden rule of investing in a risky asset class like crypto is to only invest money that an investor can afford to lose. It is advisable to ensure that crypto only represents a small percentage of overall investments. High-risk investments like cryptocurrency should only make up a small portion of a total portfolio.
There are various ways an investor can calculate how much he or she wants to allocate, depending on their risk tolerance, crypto knowledge, and the degree to which they believe cryptocurrency could outperform stocks. The crucial thing is diversification.
Investing in cryptocurrencies with long-term potential is a great way to guard against panic selling when prices fall. Research can help identify crypto coins with the best chance of long-term survival.
LUNA has left crypto enthusiasts’ mouths agape because they could never imagine in their wildest dreams that one of the top ten cryptocurrencies could collapse to near-zero overnight.
LUNA and TerraUSD (UST) are the native tokens of the Terra blockchain network developed by South Korean fintech firm Terraform Labs.
LUNA sent shockwaves to the crypto market because it nearly lost 100% of its value by hitting an all-time low of $0.027 on May 12 from the all-time high (ATH) price of $119.18 recorded nearly a month ago on April 5, according to CoinGecko.
Source: TradingView
As one of the top ten cryptocurrencies, LUNA’s market capitalisation had surpassed $40 billion, but the present crash drove it to lows of $349,000.
The algorithmic UST stablecoin on the Terra network was not spared either because it nosedived to historic lows of $0.29 on May 11. The stablecoin’s ATH was recorded on January 11, 2021, when the price soared to $1.09, according to CoinGecko.
What caused the crash?
Things started going south when UST’s price experienced a free fall to the extent that leading crypto exchange Binance temporarily halted its withdrawals together with that of LUNA.
Anshul Dhir, the co-founder and COO of EasyFi Network, opined:
“Terra’s fall could be attributed to large scale selloffs of the LUNA tokens owing to the reported “de-peg ” of the algorithmic stable coin. This selloff must have also got exacerbated with the market already being in a largely bearish mode.”
The algorithmic nature of UST could have triggered the crash because its value is not directly pegged to the US dollar, according to Ransu Salovaara, the CEO of decentralised finance platform Likvidi. He added:
“It’s important now to acknowledge that Terra is a so-called algorithmic stablecoin, not directly backed by USD. The most popular stable coins like Tether (USDT) and USDC are actually backed by USD in the bank and both of those survived the market sell-off well.”
Therefore, the current crash shows the problems associated with algorithmic-based stablecoins because they are at the experimental stage.
Dhir pointed out:
“Experimental algorithmic stable coins are volatile and it is believed that it will take some time to find a good algorithmic stable coin. Over a period of time such programmable money should be possible which ultimately is the end goal of decentralized finance.”
Explaining the current fiasco, Do Kwon, the founder of Terraforms Labs, took to Twitter and tweeted:
“The price stabilization mechanism is absorbing UST supply (over 10% of total supply), but the cost of absorbing so much stablecoins at the same time has stretched out the on-chain swap spread to 40%, and Luna price has diminished dramatically absorbing the arbs.”
Was Do Kwon the face behind the failed algorithmic Basis Cash stablecoin?
Former Terra employees claimed that Do Kwon, the company’s CEO behind the Terra network, was one of the pseudonymous co-founders of the failed algorithmic Basis Cash (BAC) stablecoin.
Hyungsuk Kang, a former Terraform Labs engineer, noted that BAC was a side project. He added:
“Basis Cash wasn’t tested at the moment, and we weren’t even sure it would work. Kwon wanted to just test it out. He said that this was a pilot project for doing that.”
Launched in late 2020 on the Ethereum (ETH) network, Basis Cash was deemed a game-changer that could revive the decentralised finance (DeFi) Sector.
However, BAC never saw the light of day because it dropped below the $1 peg and traded below the 1 cent mark on May 12 by hovering around $0.0059, according to CoinGecko.
Just like UST, Basis Cash had to maintain the $1 threshold through code and not collateral. Therefore, history seems to be repeating itself concerning LUNA and UST.
‘Cryptocurrencies that have stood the test of time’
On January 3, 2009, Bitcoin’s genesis block was mined, setting the ball rolling on what the crypto space would offer.
Thirteen years down the line, Bitcoin’s dominance in the crypto sector continues to be felt even though its journey has not been smooth sailing.
For instance, as the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continued to wreak havoc in early 2020, Bitcoin shed off more than 50% of its value in less than 48 hours on March 12, commonly called the ‘Black Thursday’ based on the global stock market crash.
As panic selling engulfed the market, Bitcoin’s price nosedived to $3,800 from around $8,000.
However, these scenes did not stop BTC from attaining the then all-time high (ATH) of $64,800 a year later in April 2021.
A month later, the leading cryptocurrency found itself on the receiving end after plummeting by more than 50% to hit lows of $30K based on Chinese authorities’ intensified crackdown on crypto mining.
Nevertheless, Bitcoin scaled the heights to set a new ATH of $69,000 in November 2021.
Despite the present bearish picture, Bitcoin has shown that it’s a hard nut to crack based on the ups and downs endured in its 13-year journey.
Veteran trader Peter Brandt believes Bitcoin is the face of crypto. He pointed out:
“This decline is just plain Lunatic LUNA. I have spoken open about my distrust of altcoins and that crypto is Bitcoin and Bitcoin is crypto. The problem is that distrust in that which is distrustful can spill over into that which is trustworthy (Bitcoin).”
Source: TradingView
Ethereum has also been in existence for close to seven years, and it is crafting a name for itself in the DeFi sector.
Therefore, the LUNA and UST crash might shift the narrative to more established cryptocurrencies that have stood the test of time.
The bitcoin downtrend has no doubt rocked investors to their core. This is evidenced by the decline of the Fear & Greed Index into the extreme fear territory, reaching as low as 11 on the scale. Investors, understandably, are wary of the market and what the next few weeks, and by extension, months, may hold for them. If this is the beginning of a bear market, then there could be another two-year wait to the next bull rally.
Anthony Scaramucci has however urged bitcoin investors not to despair during this time. Despite the market crash that sent the digital asset to six-month lows, Scaramucci, who is the CEO of Skybridge Capital, has told investors to look towards the long-term when investing in bitcoin.
The Bitcoin Crash Is Temporary
The CEO was on CNBC’s Squawk Box to talk about the crypto market. In this interview, Scaramucci shared some insight into how he viewed the market and the current crash, which he does not believe is a cause for alarm. He urged bitcoin buyers to take some time to cool off from the market, advising them to look toward long-term investing instead of what the market is doing right now.
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Holding bitcoin for the long-term has always been the mantra of bitcoin maximalists, who believe more in the future of the digital asset than what it is doing in the present. Scaramucci has resonated with this in his latest advice. The CEO explained that bitcoin investors need to buy the digital asset for the long-term, as well as other cryptocurrencies which he expects to do well in the future.
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BTC trading north of $37,000 | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com
Scaramucci pointed to the fact that a lot of investors say that they are invested in the long-term but yet are fazed by what happens in the short term. “Everyone is a long-term investor until you have short-term losses, and then you start freaking out,” said the CEO. “Take a chill pill, stay long bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies like Algorand and Ethereum, and I think you’re going to be very well-served long-term in those investments,” he advised investors.
Forget The Dollar, BTC Is BTC
Currently, the value of bitcoin is derived from how much it sells when compared to the dollar. This is how investors measure their holdings and how well they are doing in the market. However, Scaramucci rejects this idea of valuing bitcoin in terms of dollar figures and urges investors to just look at the digital asset for what it is; bitcoin. For the CEO, BTC is BTC and the dollar is the dollar.
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He revealed that he tells clients of his investment firm SkyBridge Capital to invest in cryptocurrencies as long as they size it appropriately. “I don’t want my clients to miss this. I’m telling them to size it appropriately — that’s a 1% to 3% allocation, 1% to 4% at cost.” This is because the CEO believes that cryptocurrencies like bitcoin are inevitably going to be a part of the future.
Scaramucci also advised investors who get overly excited when they are investing in the market. He supports the idea of putting a small percentage of an investment portfolio into cryptocurrencies but cautioned against trying to lever digital assets like bitcoin due to its high volatility and the uncertainty that still clouds the digital asset. “It would be like levering Amazon back in 1998, ’99 and 2000,” the CEO warned.
Featured image from Vanity Fair, chart from TradingView.com
Cryptocurrencies all across the market have been suffering major downside since the crash. The crypto market saw a couple of hundred billions shaved off its market cap following this. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and others have all seen their value decline significantly in the space of a week. However, in all of this, some digital assets have been hit harder than others. This report takes a look at those cryptocurrencies.
Metaverse Tokens Take A Hit
The crypto market’s recent decline has been characterized by bloody streets. As expected, bitcoin’s 52% decline from its all-time high has dragged down other digital assets with it. Ethereum, the second largest cryptocurrency by market cap, is down 54% from its own all-time high. While these cryptocurrencies have seen major downsides, others have managed even more dips since then.
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Metaverse tokens which made a big splash when social media giant Facebook announced it was rebranding to Meta and entering the metaverse space, have borne some of the largest weight from the crash. These tokens which rallied to multiple all-time highs in the last couple of months have declined as high as 68% from their all-time highs.
Metaverse tokens take some of the biggest hit | Source: Arcane Research
MANA, SAND, and AXIE are some of the most popular metaverse tokens and have grown a lot in price in accordance with their popularity. However, with the market crash, they have not been able to hold up well. All of these tokens have lost over 68% since they hit their all-time highs. All three met averse tokens are down, trading at $2.27, $3.27, and $52.66 respectively.
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What About Layer 1 Cryptocurrencies?
Layer 1 cryptocurrencies also took a major hit but have seen a more varied performance when compared to the metaverse tokens. Heavy hitter like Solana (SOL) and Cardano (ADA) were some of the hardest hit Layer 1 cryptocurrencies, both of them going the way of the metaverse tokens with over 68% losses since their various all-time highs. Other lesser known Layer 1 tokens have a different story though.
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FTM, ONE, ATOM, and Near, popularly referred to as the FOAN, made a splash while others were suffering. Each one of these cryptocurrencies have managed to outperform the market in a time where altcoins are dumping in response to bitcoin’s decline.
A look at decentralized finance (DeFi) paints a sadder story. This space that has brought finance products closer to the average investor saw some of the highest declines. Tokens from this space have recorded as high as 80% decline since their all-time highs.
The crypto market has managed to hold up against the crash but not before losing substantial value. In total, the crypto market is now down 50% from its all-time high. It now sits at $1.686 trillion at the time of this writing.
Crypto market cap crumbles to $1.6 trillion | Source: Crypto Total Market Cap on TradingView.com
Featured image from Bitcoin Magazine, charts from Arcane Research and TradingView.com
Cardano (ADA) has not been left out of the massive flash crash that just occurred throughout the market. What seemed to be a good day for bitcoin as El Salvador’s “Bitcoin Day” began has now turned to nothing short of a nightmarish market opening. The crash saw bitcoin drop $6K in only a matter of hours. While the general altcoin markets have recorded crashes as high as over 20% in the same timeframe.
With altcoins following bitcoin closely, the price of the ADA shows similar movement patterns to BTC following the flash crash. The number 1 crypto coin fell to the mid-$40K, taking the whole of the market down with it.
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The flash crash has taken the market by surprise, given that general sentiment is positive and the Fear & Greed Index putting the market in “Extreme Greed”. There’s currently no exact reason pinpointed for this crash. Although massive liquidations to the tune of almost $1 billion across the crypto market look to be the culprit. The liquidated positions being mostly long positions.
Crash Puts Cardano (ADA) In Chokehold
Struggling alongside the other cryptocurrencies is Cardano (ADA). The asset had long left behind the $2 price point since mid-August, with indicators pointing towards a pathway to $5 following upgrades. But with the current flash crash, the digital asset lost over 18% of its value. This set it on a downward trend that saw ADA hitting the low $2s for the first time in three weeks.
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Even though Cardano (ADA) has seen an upward correction that sent it towards mid-$2, the price is still maintaining a struggling pace. Trend lines in the asset show a sideways zig-zag, up and down pattern. Depicting numerous dips and recoveries in just the past hour alone. Starting the early hours of the morning was ADA at $2.75. A bit shaky but was holding on tight to this price point.
Flash crash sends ADA price to three-week lows | Source: ADAUSD on TradingView.com
At this junction, it is still too early to tell how much recovery ADA will make in the hours following the flash crash. It has so far recovered about 6% of value lost during the crash, with indicators pointing towards total recovery. As of the current time of writing, Cardano (ADA) is still trading low at a price of $2.45 according to Coinmarketcap, with a 24-hour price change of 13.46%.
Featured image from Currency.com, chart from TradingView.com
