Crypto Market Daily Highlights: Fed Fear and Regulatory Jitters Weigh

Key Insights:

• It was a mixed session for the crypto top ten on Monday, with MATIC leading the losses, while XRP bucked the top-ten trend.
• Fed Fear and regulatory risk jitters continued to test buyer appetite, with Binance news adding to the bearish sentiment.
• The crypto market cap fell by $3.04 billion, ending the day at $1,032 billion.

It was a mixed session for the crypto top ten on Monday. MATIC led the top ten into the red, while XRP bucked the bearish trend. The bearish session left BTC short of $24,000 for the third consecutive session.

US economic indicators and the NASDAQ Composite Index delivered brief early afternoon support. US core durable goods orders increased by 0.7% in January, reversing a 0.4% decline from December. Economists forecast a 0.1% rise. The Fed’s preferred Goods Orders Non-Defense Ex Air increased by 0.8%, reversing a 0.3% fall from December.

However, the latest numbers from the US are yet more positive economic indicators, supporting a more aggressive Fed interest rate trajectory to return inflation to target.

Regulatory risk jitters continued to weigh on buyer appetite, with the plans to introduce a global crypto regulatory framework delivering regulatory uncertainty. News from the G20 and post-G20 comments gave investors a taste of what to expect.

Amidst intense regulatory and lawmaker scrutiny, a Forbes report of Binance transferring $1.8 billion of user assets to hedge funds tested sentiment on Monday. At the time of writing, Binance CEO CZ had yet to respond to the report.

The Day Ahead

Investors should continue to monitor the crypto news wires for regulatory activity and US lawmaker chatter. Binance and FTX updates need consideration together with news from the ongoing SEC v Ripple case.

US economic indicators and the NASDAQ Composite Index will influence the afternoon session. US consumer confidence figures for February will draw plenty of interest. A pickup in consumer confidence would give the Fed comfort in delivering more aggressive moves to curb inflation.

On Monday, the NASDAQ Composite Index rose by 0.63%, with dip buyers delivering much-needed support. The NASDAQ mini was up 9 points this morning.

Crypto Market Resumes Pullback on Fed Fear and Regulatory Risk Jitters

It was a choppy Monday session. After a range-bound morning, the total crypto market cap jumped to a mid-afternoon high of $1,050 billion before hitting reverse. The reversal saw the crypto market cap slide to a low of $1,015 billion before steadying. A late partial recovery left the crypto market cap at $1,032 billion, marking a $3.04 billion loss on Monday.

With one February trading session to go, the crypto market cap remains on target for a second consecutive monthly gain. The crypto market last enjoyed a two-month winning streak in February and March of 2022.

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

It was a mixed session for the crypto top ten.

MATIC slid by 3.56% to lead the way down, with ADA (-1.08%), BNB (-1.26%), and DOGE (-0.85%) struggling.

BTC (-0.25%) and ETH (-0.50%) saw relatively modest losses, while XRP bucked the trend, rising by 0.20%.

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

NEM (XEM) surged by 19.29% to lead the way, with stacks (STX) and ssv.network (SSV) seeing gains of 16.29% and 9.51%, respectively.

However, bone shibaswap (BONE) fell by 7.57%, with conflux (CFX) and klaytn (KLAY) seeing losses of 4.42% and 6.85%, respectively.

24-Hour Liquidations Rise on Bearish Monday Session

Over 24 hours, crypto liquidations remained below-normal levels. Long positions had a higher share of liquidations, accounting for 63.52% of total crypto liquidations. This morning, 24-hour liquidations stood at $81.97 million, up from $44.16 million on Monday morning (UTC).

Liquidated traders over the last 24 hours were also higher. This morning, liquidated traders stood at 26,357 versus 14,509 on Monday morning. Crypto liquidations were higher over 12, while lower over four hours and one hour.

According to Coinglass, 12-hour liquidations stood at $62.38 million, up from $35.44 million on Monday morning. However, four-hour liquidations fell from $15.69 million to $8.47 million, with one-hour liquidations declining from $1.54 million to $0.347 million.

The chart below shows market conditions throughout the session.