The latest moves in crypto markets, in context Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up here. |
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Good morning, and welcome to First Mover. We're Bradley Keoun and Shaurya Malwa, here to take you through the latest in crypto markets, news and insights. (First Mover lead author Lyllah Ledesma is in Paris for the EthCC conference. Her dispatch from the conference on Wednesday is here. Spoiler alert: Ethereum's Vitalik Buterin was overheard ordering a hot water during one of Europe's worst heat waves in recent memory.) - Price Point: Crypto analysts were racing to assess the impact of Tesla's bitcoin sales as well as Thursday's decision by the European Central Bank to move to hike interest rates at an accelerated pace.
- Market Moves: As crypto analysts scramble to assess whether the market bottom is in, Wall Street's JPMorgan is now weighing in. Oliver Knight reports.
- JUST IN: The European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday raised borrowing costs for the first time in 11 years, exiting the six-year-long era of the negative interest rate policy (NIRP). The ECB's exit from the NIRP is pivotal, since the unorthodox practice of setting borrowing costs below zero was considered by many as a sign of cracks in the traditional financial regime – a common theme among cryptocurrency analysts. Read Omkar Godbole's breaking story here.
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Cryptocurrencies reversed Wednesday's price gains as traders took profits after days of an uptrend, causing bitcoin to slip below $23,000 and majors taking hits of as much as 10% in the past 24 hours. Solana's SOL slid 8.8% to lead losses among majors. Cardano's ADA fell 8%, dogecoin dropped 7%, while XRP and BNB fell nearly 5%. Ether dipped but continued to trade above the $1,500 level. A drop in bitcoin prices came as electric carmaker Tesla said in an earnings report on Wednesday that it sold $936 million worth of bitcoin, or 75% of its holdings, in the second quarter. CEO Elon Musk cited "the uncertainty of the COVID lockdowns in China" as a crucial reason for its decision. Musk added the company did not trim its dogecoin holdings. However, Musk said Tesla is open to increasing its bitcoin holdings again in the future and noted that the second-quarter sale "should not be taken as some verdict on Bitcoin." Analysts said retail investors should not take the bitcoin sale as a caution sign. "Having the billionaire's company sell a majority of its BTC holdings shouldn't necessarily be taken as a statement or reflection of Elon Musk's position towards Bitcoin," said Claudiu Minea, CEO of crowdfunding platform SeedOn in a Telegram chat. "This is likely more of a need for liquidity for the company as their profitability for Q2 has suffered due to the current downward trend for bitcoin's price." "Therefore, the decision to sell might be due to the need for cash on the balance sheet, rather than not seeing bitcoin as a valuable asset anymore," Minea said. |
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Market Moves
By Oliver Knight |
Wall Street analysts are signing on to a market thesis suggested by the sudden rally in digital-asset markets over the past week: That the worst of this year's price crash in cryptocurrencies might now be over. Crypto analysts and traders warn that there might still be another price drop on the way. But the signals are turning more bullish. Demand among retail investors in the crypto market is improving, and the "intense phase" of deleveraging appears to be over, the big Wall Street bank JPMorgan wrote Thursday in a report. "The extreme phase of backwardation seen in May and June, the most extreme since 2018, appears to be behind us," the bank said. Crypto markets have bounced back in recent weeks as investors anticipate the Ethereum merge that is set to commence on September 19. Ethereum network activity has increased alongside an uptick in investor sentiment, JPMorgan said. Read the full story here: JPMorgan Sees Crypto Retail Demand Improving, End of 'Intense' Deleveraging Phase |
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With more than a decade-long track record of being the world's largest digital currency asset manager, Grayscale is an industry leader for secure and regulated exposure to crypto. Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund (Symbol: GDLC) is designed to capture the market capitalization weighted performance of some of the largest and most liquid digital assets. As with all of Grayscale's publicly-traded funds, investors can access the fund directly through brokerage or retirement accounts they already have - the same way they would for other asset classes like stocks and bonds. Simply type GDLC into an investment account, such as in Fidelity or Robinhood, to get started today. Learn more about Grayscale's publicly-traded products here. Investing involves risks and the possible loss of principal. Investing involves risks and the possible loss of principal. GFOF is distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC and Grayscale Advisors, LLC is the adviser. For a copy of the latest prospectus, head to the GFOF landing page. Risks: Future of Finance companies rely heavily on the success of the digital currency industry, and other developing technologies that seek to disrupt or displace established financial institutions. |
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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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Biggest Gainers Biggest Losers |
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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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Where innovators, changemakers, investors and leaders present their best ideas for investing in the future of the Web 3, digital assets, blockchain and crypto ecosystems. Register now. |
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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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