The latest moves in crypto markets, in context March 28, 2022 Supported by |
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Good morning, and welcome to First Mover. Here's what's happening this morning: - Market Moves: Bitcoin jumps to $47,000, confirming a bullish breakout. Ether taps 2.5-month highs as popular interest in Etheneum's impending proof-of-stake upgrade surges.
- Featured stories: A section of the U.S. Treasury yield curve inverts, signaling economic recession ahead.
Today's newsletter was edited by Omkar Godbole and produced by Parikshit Mishra. And check out the CoinDesk TV show "First Mover," hosted by Christine Lee, Emily Parker and Lawrence Lewitinn at 9:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern time. - Bill Barhydt, CEO, Abra
- David Ripley, COO, Kraken
- Dyma Budorin, co-founder and CEO, Hacken
- Samir Kerbage, chief technology officer, Hashdex
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Cryptocurrencies gained ground early Monday, shrugging off the cautious mood in traditional markets. Bitcoin jumped above $47,000, triggering over $300 million in short liquidations, per data provided by Swiss-based crypto derivatives tracking platform Laevitas. According to observers, continued purchases by the Luna Foundation Guard, a non-profit organization focused on stablecoin UST, helped the cryptocurrency break out of its two-month triangular consolidation. "Increased holding by long-term investors backs the recent rise in the cryptocurrency's price. As BTC surpasses $47,000 again, the balance held by hodlers - addresses holding >1year, is currently at ATH [all-time high]," blockchain analytics firm IntoTheBlock tweeted. "Hodlers increased their positions by 17% since late November. These addresses remained unfazed and accumulated throughout Q1 of 2022." Ether (ETH), the native token of Ethereum's blockchain, tapped 2.5-month highs near $3,350. "FOMO [fear of missing out] is kicking for ETH pre-merge," Ilan Solot, a partner at the Tagus Capital Multi-Strategy Fund, said in an email. Google Trends, a widely used tool to gauge general or retail interest in trending topics, recently showed a peak value of 100 for the worldwide search query "Ethereum Merge" for the past 12 months. Google Trends provides access to a mostly unfiltered sample of actual search requests made to Google and scales their searches on a range of 0 to 100, according to the company. The search value represents the search interest relative to the highest point on the chart for the selected region and time. "There's been an increasing amount of mainstream coverage about the Ethereum merge, particularly around how it will lead to ETH's supply decreasing," Lucas Outumuro, head of research at IntoTheBlock, said in a weekly newsletter published Sunday. "Additionally, the reduced environmental impact coming from the transition to proof of stake has also began making news." |
Google search interest in the impending Ethereum Merge. (IntoTheBlock, Google Trends.) |
Peak popular interest does not necessarily imply an increase in actual buying pressure from retail investors as people often search for information but don't act. That said, investors could step in this time, given ether is fast gaining ground and analysts are making bullish predictions on the second-largest cryptocurrency. Tokens associated with smart contract blockchains like Polkadot, Solana registered double-digit gains on a 24-hour basis. Web 3 heavweights FIL, THETA and GRT rose 27%, 15% and 12%, respectively. The regulatory risk was back on the table with the European Union likely to vote on stricter rules for private wallets as part of anti-money laundering checks, including scrapping the €1,000 limit for reporting transfers, Solot said. |
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The following are the biggest movers in the CoinDesk 20 digital assets over the past 24 hours: |
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There are no losers in CoinDesk 20 today. |
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Sector classifications are provided via the Digital Asset Classification Standard (DACS), developed by CoinDesk Indices to provide a reliable, comprehensive, and standardized classification system for digital assets. The CoinDesk 20 is a ranking of the largest digital assets by volume on trusted exchanges. |
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U.S. Yield Curve Inverts By Omkar Godbole |
Data tracked by charting platform TradingView shows that a section of the Treasury yield curve inverted early on Monday. The spread between yields on the 30- and 5-year government bonds fell under zero for the first time since 2006 – a year before the great financial crisis of 2007-2008. The spread between the 10- and two-year yields, another widely-tracked section of the yield curve, was 12 basis points short of inversion at press time. An inverted yield curve is widely read as a sign of impending economic recession, a significant decline in economic activity that lasts for months or even years. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of San Fransisco, the yield curve has inverted before each recession since 1955, with the economy taking a hit between six and 24 months following the inversion. The recession hint provided by the latest curve inversion could have bearish implications for bitcoin. While the cryptocurrency is yet to develop strong links to economic activity, it has evolved as a macro asset since the coronavirus crash of March 2020 and tends to move in line with risk assets, mainly technology stocks, which are sensitive to economic cycles. Read the Full Story Here: Recession Signals Light Up as Section of US 'Yield Curve' Inverts |
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Introducing Market Wrap, our daily newsletter that explains what happened today in the crypto markets — and why. Sign up to get the first edition in your inbox on April 4. |
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Disclaimer: The information presented in this message is intended as a news item that provides a brief summary of various events and developments that affect, or that might in the future affect, the value of one or more of the cryptocurrencies described above. The information contained in this message, and any information liked through the items contained herein, is not intended to provide sufficient information to form the basis for an investment decision. The information presented herein is accurate only as of its date, and it was not prepared by a research analyst or other investment professional. You should seek additional information regarding the merits and risks of investing in any cryptocurrency before deciding to purchase or sell any such instruments. |
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Ether Hits 2.5-Month High as Google Search Shows Peak Interest in 'Ethereum Merge'