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Crypto Market Daily Highlights – FTX Focus Weighs on Sentiment

By:
Bob Mason
Updated: Dec 22, 2022, 07:52 UTC

It was a bearish Wednesday session. Profit taking likely left the crypto market in negative territory as US lawmakers prepare to drag SBF over the coals.

Crypto News - FX Empire

In this article:

Key Insights:

  • It was a bearish Wednesday session for the crypto top ten. BNB and ADA led the top ten into negative territory.
  • While fears of a Binance liquidity crunch eased, FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried’s extradition to the US made investors nervous, leading to decoupling from the NASDAQ Index.
  • The crypto market cap fell by $4.68 billion to end the day at $769.24 billion.

It was a bearish Wednesday session for the crypto top ten. BNB and ADA led the way down. Notably, BTC failed to revisit $17,000 for the fourth time in five sessions.

US economic indicators and corporate earnings took a back seat on Wednesday. Investor focus returned to FTX and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. The extradition to the US brings uncertainty, with SBF likely to disclose information that could spook investors and increase US lawmaker scrutiny.

One area of government interest will likely be the relationship between FTX and Binance and whether Binance was responsible for the collapse of FTX.

SBF may also provide a list of other platforms at risk of collapse from the fallout, which would place further pressure on the crypto market.

The bearish Wednesday session came despite the NASDAQ Index gaining 1.54% on better-than-expected US consumer confidence numbers and upbeat Nike (NKE) and FedEx (FDX) quarterly earnings.

Today, FTX updates will remain a focal point, with US economic indicators likely to draw interest. Barring a revision to Q3 GDP numbers, the weekly jobless claims could move the dial. This morning, the NASDAQ mini was up 9.75 points, providing early support.

NASDAQ correlation
Total Market Cap – NASDAQ – 221222 5 Minute Chart

Crypto Market Inch Higher as Market Focus Returns to FTX

A mixed start to the day saw the crypto market cap rise to an early morning high of $776.37 billion. However, a bearish morning saw the crypto market cap fall to a mid-morning low of $763.50 billion before steadying.

A range-bound afternoon session left the crypto market cap down by $4.68 billion to $769.24 billion for the day.

Crypto market cap dips.
Total Market Cap 221222 Daily Chart

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

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

ADA (-2.32%) and BNB (-2.11%) fell by 2.32% and 2.11%, respectively, to lead the way down, with DOGE (-1.47%), MATIC (-1.02%), and XRP (-1.12%) struggling.

However, BTC (-0.47%) and ETH (-0.25%) saw modest losses.

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

Helium (HNT) led the way, rallying by 32.29%. Toncoin (TON) and ethereum classic (ETC) were also among the front-runners, rising by 6.79% and 4.40%, respectively.

However, chain (XCN) led the way down, sliding by 18.33%, with trust wallet token (TWT) and lido DAO (LDO) seeing losses of 6.21% and 5.18%, respectively.

24-Hour Liquidations Slide as Investor Caution Sinks Trading Volumes

Over 24 hours, crypto liquidations tumbled as investor caution over FTX led trading volumes lower.

At the time of writing, 24-hour liquidations stood at $14.77 million versus $40.76 million on Wednesday morning.

Liquidated traders over the last 24 hours also decreased. At the time of writing, liquidated traders stood at 8,388 versus 10,661 on Wednesday morning. Crypto liquidations decreased over 12 hours while rising over four hours and one hour.

Crypto liquidations slide.
Total Crypto Liquidations 221222

According to Coinglass, 12-hour liquidations fell from $16.77 million to $6.88 million. However, four-hour liquidations rose from $1.09 million to $2.45 million, with one-hour liquidations up from $0.399 million to $0.471 million.

The chart below shows market conditions throughout the session.

Crypto market range-bound late in the session.
Total Market Cap 221222 Hourly Chart

About the Author

Bob Masonauthor

With over 20 years of experience in the finance industry, Bob has been managing regional teams across Europe and Asia and focusing on analytics across both corporate and financial institutions. Currently he is covering developments relating to the financial markets, including currencies, commodities, alternative asset classes, and global equities.

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