Crypto Market Daily Highlights – FTX.US Bankruptcy Sends Market South

Key Insights:

• It was a bearish Friday session for the crypto top ten, with dogecoin (DOGE) leading the top ten into the red.
• News of FTX.US filing for bankruptcy and the first signs of contagion weighed on buyer appetite.
• The crypto market cap fell by $22.4 billion to end the day at $819.2 billion.

It was a bearish Friday session for the crypto top ten. DOGE and MATIC led the way down. BTC saw red for the fifth day in six sessions while wrapping up the day at $17,000.

FTX updates weighed on crypto investor appetite, with news of FTX.US filing for bankruptcy sending the broader crypto market deep into the red. FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried stepped down as CEO on filing for bankruptcy.

Adding to the downside was contagion risk, with BlockFi the first to announce the suspension of withdrawals. In response, the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) of the State of California issued a Notice of Intent (NOI) to suspend BlockFi’s California Financing Law license for 30-days pending investigation.

For investors looking for words of comfort, there were few. Binance CEO CZ reportedly said,

“With FTX going down, we will see cascading effects. Especially for those close to the FTX ecosystem, they will be negatively affected.”

In the wake of the FTX collapse, Voyager (VGX) reopened the bidding process for the company. According to the company announcement,

“Voyager has reopened the bidding process for the company and is in active discussions with alternative bidders. Voyager and the UCC are moving with all due care and deliberate speed to identify an alternative plan of reorganization consistent with the core objective throughout this process: maximizing the value returned to customers and other creditors.”

The statement added,

“It is important to note that Voyager did not transfer any assets to FTX.US in connection with the previously proposed transaction.”

News of Justin Sun ready to provide billions to FTX to plug the $9.4 billion hole provided little market comfort.

The crypto market mood was in stark contrast to another bullish day for the NASDAQ Composite Index. Following the inflation-fueled rally on Thursday, the NASDAQ rose by 1.88% on Friday.

Investor sentiment towards a Fed pivot continued to drive the NASDAQ higher at the end of the week. Adding to the upside was news of China planning to ease COVID-19 restrictions.

Today, there are no distractions from the US economic calendar. The markets will remain focused on FTX, bailout news, contagion, and US government and regulator chatter.

Crypto Market Hits Reverse on FTX.US Bankruptcy News and Contagion

It was a bearish Friday session. The crypto market rose to an early high of $848.2 billion before sliding to a low of $785.7 billion. However, finding late support, the crypto market revisited $817 billion before easing back.

The bearish session left the market down $22.4 billion to $819.2 billion for the session. For the week, the market is down $163 billion.

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

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

DOGE led the way down, sliding by 14.34%, with MATIC (-5.35%) also struggling.

However, there were no winners, with ADA (-3.80%), BNB (-4.68%), BTC (-3.06%), ETH (-0.78%), and XRP (-2.77%) seeing red.

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

Chain (XCN) led the way, rallying by 10.86%, with uniswap (UNI) and chiliz (CHZ) rising by 5.61% and 4.97%, respectively, to buck the broader market trend.

However, FTX token (FTT) led the way down, sliding by 25.80%. Nexo (NEXO) and helium (HT) were among the worst performers, falling by 16.66% and 4.50%, respectively.

24-Hour Crypto Liquidations Ease Back in Bearish Crypto Session

Over 24 hours, total liquidations eased further back despite a bearish session and news of the FTX.US bankruptcy filing. At the time of writing, 24-hour liquidations stood at $170.06 million, down from $365.35 million on Friday morning.

Liquidated traders over the last 24 hours also declined. At the time of writing, liquidated traders stood at 102,459 versus 187,194 on Friday morning. Liquidations were down over 12 and four hours while up over one hour.

According to Coinglass, 12-hour liquidations fell from $162.66 million to $113.78 million, with four-hour liquidations down from $26.07 million to $14.17 million. One-hour liquidations increased from $4.38 million to $6.75 million, reflecting choppy market conditions.

The chart below shows market conditions throughout the session.