Crypto Market Daily Highlights – ETH Led Top Ten Ahead of the Merge

Key Insights:

• It was a bullish Wednesday session for the crypto top ten, with ethereum (ETH) leading the way ahead of the Merge.
• US wholesale inflation figures and the NASDAQ 100 delivered support through the US session.
• The total crypto market cap increased by $12.46 billion to $963.88 billion.

It was a bullish Wednesday session for the crypto top ten. ETH and ADA led the way in anticipation of the Merge and the Vasil hard fork. Bitcoin (BTC) failed to shine after Tuesday’s 9.9% slump, with a fall to a low of $19,624 before ending the day at $20,234.

Market anticipation of the Merge delivered a bullish ETH session, with ADA benefitting from the focus on network updates.

From the US, economic indicators were crypto-friendly. In August, the annual wholesale inflation rate softened from 9.8% to 8.7%, with the core wholesale inflation rate down from 7.7% to 7.3%. The softer numbers eased bets of a percentage point Fed rate hike, supporting riskier assets.

On Wednesday, the NASDAQ 100 rose by 0.74%. This morning, the markets have priced in a 76% chance of a 75-basis point rate hike and a 24% chance of a percentage point hike. Ahead of the wholesale inflation numbers, there was a 31% chance of a percentage point move.

Today, US retail sales, jobless claims, and Philly Fed Manufacturing numbers are due. However, with the Fed’s commitment to bring inflation to target at any cost, the numbers would need to be dire to influence.

Crypto Market Resumes Upward Trend Ahead of the Merge

On Wednesday, the crypto market cap fell to a late afternoon low of $933.4 billion before rising to a late high of $975.6 billion. Softer US wholesale inflation figures provided modest support.

Despite falling bets of a percentage point Fed rate hike, the crypto market cap rose by just $12.5 billion to $963.9 billion. The upside was modest compared with Tuesday’s $78.9 billion slump.

The Crypto Market Movers and Shakers from the Top Ten and Beyond

It was a bullish Wednesday session for the crypto top ten.

ETH led the way, rallying by 4.09%, with ADA (+3.66%), SOL (+3.46%), and XRP (+2.80%) close behind.

BNB (+0.72%), BTC (+0.29%), and DOT (+1.84%) trailed the front runners.

From the CoinMarketCap top 100, it is a mixed session.

Celsius (CEL) led the way, surging by 28.97%, as investors responded to news of plans to restructure the business. Ravencoin (RVN) and Ethereum Classic (ETC) saw gains of 17.44% and 11.23%, respectively, as the crypto market focused on the Merge.

However, Terra (LUNA), Terra Classic (LUNC), and TerraClassicUSD (USTC) led the way down. LUNA and LUNC slid by 16.10% and 23.34%, respectively, with USTC tumbling by 27.97%. News of South Korea issuing an arrest warrant for founder Do Kwon and several others weighed.

24-HourCrypto Liquidations Fall as Crypto Market Steadies

Over 24 hours, total liquidations decreased as investors reacted to the softer US wholesale inflation numbers and a bullish NASDAQ 100 session. At the time of writing, 24-hour liquidations stood at $164.33 million, down from $353.74 million on Wednesday morning.

Liquidated traders over the last 24 hours also declined. At the time of writing, liquidated traders stood at 65,683 versus 99,381 on Wednesday morning.

Liquidations over twelve and four hours were down. However, one-hour liquidations inched higher as the crypto market turned bearish early in the Thursday session.

According to Coinglass, 12-hour liquidations stood at $93.39 million, down from $296.84 million on Wednesday morning, with four-hour liquidations down from $54.37 million to $25.46 million. However, one-hour liquidations were up from $2.88 million to $5.19 million. The chart below shows market conditions throughout the session.