The crypto winter persists amid interest rate hikes and investor pessimism
Bitcoin is holding steady above critical support level
November began with Bitcoin (BTC-USD) faces an uphill battle to get past the $20,500 resistance level, with the flagship cryptocurrency down roughly 1.80% over the past seven sessions. Bitcoin reacted sharply to the downside after the US Federal Reserve unveiled a new 0.75% interest rate hike on Wednesday to curb inflation while hinting that more hikes are on the way.
Despite the sideways price action that defined the weekly price movement, BTC spot trading volume increased during the period, indicating that investors are moving around a lot of BTC across spot markets. According to Arcane Research, the 7-day average trading volume for Bitcoin spot rose by nearly 46%.
Meanwhile, CryptoQuant’s latest report shows that the number of BTC whale wallets holding 1,000 to 10,000 BTC is steadily increasing. The number had fallen sharply between June and September, but is now on the rise. This accumulation trend reflects similar conditions leading up to the 2021 bull run, suggesting that BTC is preparing for another upside.
Dogecoin capitalizes on Twitter transmission as Altcoins Advance
Hot on the heels of the Twitter handover, this week’s standout performer included Dogecoin (DOGE). Months of price stagnation quickly changed after “Dogefather” Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition, sending DOGE up 71.5%. Speculation that DOGE may be integrated as a means of payment on Twitter further fueled its value, helping the token reach a six-month high of $0.16 before retreating.
Besides Dogecoin’s spectacular rally, decentralized storage network Arweave (AR) soared higher amid several new developments. The value of the AR token surged over 44% after the team revealed a series of updates such as Warp EVM wallet support, EVM signature verification, plugins to improve user accessibility and other new features.
In addition, other altcoins clung to last week’s gains and outperformed the broader market. Among the top ten altcoins by market capitalization, the value of BNB increased by almost 14.9%. This higher speed comes as Binance Chain chose Boba Network’s layer-2 solution to improve scalability and reduce computational costs across the Binance network.
A few Altcoins are stuck in a downward spiral
After a big rally the previous week, Toncoin (TON) is resuming its rally, falling about 13.8% over the past seven sessions. Part of the move stems from investors limiting exposure to risky assets as prices rise, sending TON’s trading volume sharply lower. Apecoin (APE) mirrored the decline in momentum, falling about 9.5% as investors reduced riskier positions.
Another relatively new token, Aptos (APT), also experienced a sharp decline this week, losing almost 20.6% of its value. This comes amid Aptos-based DeFi project Arco Protocol facing heavy criticism for its recent IDO token sale that led to the loss of key partnership agreements with leading exchanges and DeFi protocols. Investor confidence followed suit, triggering heavy losses in the APT token.
Meanwhile, the troubles for Terra Classic (LUNC) show no sign of easing, especially as legal pressure on Terra co-founder Do Kwon mounts. In addition to the token’s recent losing streak, the value of LUNC fell another 10% over the past seven sessions. Despite the Terra community burning over 26 billion LUNC tokens by the end of October, Terra Classic’s freefall is enduring, with LUNC’s market cap dropping more than $130 million in the first two days of November.
Another crypto hack, BTC grocery payments and more
After a challenging October in which $718 million was stolen from the crypto ecosystem, crypto derivatives exchange Deribit emerged as the latest platform to fall victim to hackers. While the vulnerability that enabled the hack remains unclear, the platform lost around $28 million in crypto after its hot wallets were compromised. Withdrawals have since been temporarily halted, but the company claims reserves will cover client losses.
Shifting gears, crypto adoption continues to gather momentum across brick-and-mortar businesses. South African supermarket chain Pick n Pay now accepts BTC payments for goods in all its stores. The company has been experimenting with BTC payments for over five years across Cape Town and is currently rolling out this feature across the country.
In addition, traditional financial giant JP Morgan this week conducted its first DeFi trade on a public blockchain network. This trade event was organized by the Monetary Authority of Singapore as part of the pilot project to explore the potential of DeFi in wholesale finance markets.
Last but not least, stablecoin issuers Paxos and Circle have received approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore to offer digital token services, issue cryptocurrencies and facilitate cross-border and domestic transactions. The move was welcomed in crypto circles, given Singapore’s strict stance on approvals following the Terra stablecoin implosion that unfolded earlier this year.
Mediation
