Expected volatility events and industry collapses take their toll on the crypto markets.
With events like the US midterm elections, the CPI release scheduled for this week, and unexpected happenings in the crypto industry, it is unsurprising to see high volatility in the crypto and equity markets.
The crypto markets continue to print losses after a day packed with surprises for most crypto market participants, including veteran traders. On Tuesday, it was confirmed that the popular crypto exchange FTX was insolvent. Notably, the market had already been under significant pressure from the US midterms and rumors of FTX’s insolvency, plus an envisioned battle between FTX and Binance, as Chanpeng Zhao, CEO of the latter, had disclosed that the exchange was planning to dump all its FTX Tokens (FTT), triggering a run on the bank.
It bears mentioning that the confirmation of FTX’s insolvency comes less than 48 hours after FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried came out to assure users that everything is fine. However, on Tuesday, moments after on-chain data confirmed that the exchange had stopped processing withdrawals, SBF, in a tweet, came out with a shocking announcement that Binance had entered a “strategic” agreement to buy FTX, citing a “liquidity crunch.”
While the announcement surprised many, it also sent the crypto markets surging and saw Bitcoin reclaim the $20k price point. However, the excitement was short-lived, as statements from Binance chief CZ revealed that the agreement was non-binding.
Unsurprisingly, the nerves returned to the market leading to massive dumps. As a result, BTC is trading below the $19k price point for the first time in over two weeks after forming a new low in the current bear market cycle at around $17,100. Meanwhile, FTX’s native token, FTT, looks set for a LUNA-esque crash, down nearly 73% in the last 24 hours and trading around the $4 price point for the first time since December 2020.
The FTX collapse has taken many by surprise, with many describing it as the biggest crypto blow-up since Terra in May and possibly the most unexpected, as the exchange was going around trying to bail out others while operating a shady balance sheet.
Cobie, the host of UpOnly TV, disclosed that yesterday’s events are yet to sink in, expressing the sentiment in a recent Twitter thread.
“In my decade of crypto, think this exchange rug is by far the worst ever,” Cobie wrote. “Almost no time to react and lots of long-term and smart crypto ppl impacted by it.”
Notably, Solana has dropped out of the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap, no doubt receiving heat for its strong support from SBF. It is printing the most losses among the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market cap, down 20% in the last 24 hours. Meanwhile, Binance coin BNB is the least volatile in the top 10 aside from stablecoins, down only 0.18%.
As for the stock markets, it has not been a smooth ride either. IncomeSharks sharing the Home Depot chart on Tuesday highlighted that the stock markets had shown a lot of volatility within the day, swinging wildly and almost evening out at the end of the day.
Notably, the S&P 500 is up 0.56% today, while the Nasdaq is up 0.49%.
We are currently seeing a decoupling of the stock markets from the crypto markets but probably not in the way crypto enthusiasts would have hoped.
Disclaimer: This content is informational and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed in this article may include the author's personal opinions and do not reflect The Crypto Basic’s opinion. Readers are encouraged to do thorough research before making any investment decisions. The Crypto Basic is not responsible for any financial losses.
-Advertisement-
