Polygon to Implement EIP-1559 Upgrade, MATIC Rises
  The latest moves in crypto markets, in context Edited by Omkar Godbole December 14, 2021 Sponsored by  Bitcoin (BTC) See the latest price here Ether (ETH) See the latest price here If you were forwarded this newsletter and would like to receive it, sign up here.
Good morning, and welcome to First Mover. Here's what's happening this morning:
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– Omkar
Market Moves by Omkar Godbole While bitcoin held the 200-day average support early Tuesday, caution ahead of Wednesday's Fed meeting kept gains under check.
Action in derivatives was consistent with the dour mood in the market with the one and three-month futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, a proxy for institutional demand, slipping into backwardation for the first time since May. Options market saw call selling at $50,000, $60,000 and $70,000 strikes.
Ether CME futures also slipped into backwardation, a situation where contracts trade at a discount to the spot price, hinting at a weak buying pressure from sophisticated investors.
MATIC Burn?
Scaling solution Polygon's MATIC token rose nearly 3% as the core development team announced a testnet implementation of Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP)-1559 to introduce a mechanism to burn MATIC.
According to official estimates, the number of coins burned annually will represent 0.27% of MATIC's total fixed supply of 10 billion. "Deflationary pressure will benefit both validators and delegators because their rewards for processing transactions are denominated in MATIC," the official blog said.
Ethereum's blockchain has burned more than one million ether since the activation of EIP-1559 on Aug. 5 and has brought a store of value appeal to the cryptocurrency.
Dogecoin rallies
Joke cryptocurrency DOGE surged over 20% after Tesla's CEO Elon Musk said the electric carmaker would accept dogecoins as payment for its merchandise. Musk, a long-time dogecoin, said Monday that the meme coin is better than bitcoin as a transactional currency.
"Fundamentally, bitcoin is not a good substitute for transactional currency," Musk told Time Magazine after being named Time Magazine's 2021 Person of the Year. "Even though it was created as a silly joke, dogecoin is better suited for transactions."
A few weeks ago, Musk perhaps made a similar pitch for dogecoin being a cheaper payments currency in a tweet response to CoinDesk's article about high Ethereum fees restricting retail investors from accessing decentralized finance.
The broader crypto market was a sea of red, with layer 1 coins AVAX and ATOM ranking high on the list of biggest losers. Crypto's inability to follow last week's equity market rally perhaps indicates the asset class is at the far end of the risk curve and relatively more sensitive to prospects of Fed tightening.  The dollar index's (DXY) ascent looks to have stalled; a sign the market may be done pricing in Fed's impending hawkish announcement. As such, the cryptocurrencies could see a relief rally. Read the full story here: Bitcoin CME Futures Slip Into 'Backwardation' as Bearish Sentiment Grips Market
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Biggest Movers These are the biggest movers in the CoinDesk 20 over the past 24 hours:
Top Gainers: Top Losers: The CoinDesk 20 are 20 digital assets filtered from the larger universe of thousands of cryptocurrencies and constitute roughly 99% of the market by volume at eight of the largest and most trustworthy exchanges.
Technician's Take by Omkar Godbole  Ether Holds Bullish Trendline  Ether's daily chart (Source: TradingView)
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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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