Crypto Market Daily Highlights: MATIC and XRP Avoid the Red

Key Insights:

• It was a mixed Friday session for the crypto top ten, with MATIC and XRP bucking a bearish trend.
• Regulatory risk and the NASDAQ Index left the broader crypto market in the red for a third consecutive session.
• The crypto market cap declined by $6.78 billion to end the day at $962.34 billion.

It was a mixed session for the crypto top ten on Friday. MATIC and XRP bucked a bearish top-ten trend. BTC ended the day at sub-$22,000 for the second time since January 19.

On Friday, US economic indicators weighed on investor sentiment during the afternoon session. The Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index rose from 64.9 to 66.4 in February, according to prelim figures. Significantly, the Michigan Inflation Expectations Index increased from 3.9% to 4.2%, fueling fears of a more hawkish Fed policy stance.

The NASDAQ Index fell by 0.61%, with hawkish central bank chatter and the latest stats supporting a more aggressive Fed interest rate trajectory to bring inflation to target.

Regulatory Risk to Remain Stumbling Block for the Bulls

Following the news of Kraken settling with the SEC and ceasing US crypto staking services, regulatory risk will remain a headwind over the near term. Increased regulatory scrutiny and the threat of a US ban on crypto staking will test investor appetite.

On Friday, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler spoke on CNBC about the Kraken case, saying,

“The problem was they were not disclosing to the investing public the risks that the investing public was entering into. And we have a basic bargain in the United States since the 1930s. You can take whatever risks you want. Companies like Kraken can offer investment contracts and investment schemes, but they have to have full, fair, and truthful disclosure.”

On Friday, Coinbase (COIN) shares declined by 4.26% to $57.09. COIN had slid by 14.13% on Thursday as investors responded to the Kraken news.

The Day Ahead

There are no external market forces for investors to consider today, leaving the crypto news wires to provide direction.

Investors should continue monitoring the crypto news wires for FTX, Genesis, and Silvergate Bank updates. Regulatory chatter and SEC v Ripple news will also provide direction.

Crypto Market Falls for a Third Consecutive Session

It was a bearish Friday session. The crypto market rose to a late morning high of $980.83 billion before hitting reverse. The reversal saw the crypto market cap slide to a late low of $950.29 billion. However, finding late support, the crypto market cap ended the day at $962.34 billion, marking a $6.78 billion loss for the day.

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

It was a mixed session for the crypto top ten.

MATIC and XRP bucked a bearish session, rising by 0.10% and 0.14%, respectively.

However, ETH fell by 2.10% to lead the way down, with ADA (-1.10%), BNB (-0.10%), BTC (-0.73%), and DOGE (-0.49%) also seeing red.

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

Mina (MINA) rallied by 20.60% to lead the way, with loopring (LRC) and singularityNET (AGIX) seeing gains of 15.65% and 12.16%, respectively.

However, frax shares (FXS) and lido DAO (LDO) slid by 17.45% and 13.43%, respectively, with rocket pool (RPL) falling by 9.36%.

24-Hour Liquidations Slide Despite Bearish Crypto Session

Over 24 hours, crypto liquidations returned to below-normal levels. Long positions had a higher share of liquidations, accounting for 59.22% of total liquidations. At the time of writing, 24-hour liquidations stood at $95.07 million versus $278.53 million on Friday morning.

Liquidated traders over the last 24 hours were also lower. At the time of writing, liquidated traders stood at 35,945 versus 107,037 on Friday morning. Crypto liquidations were lower over 12 and four hours and over one hour.

According to Coinglass, 12-hour liquidations stood at $73.50 million versus $203.06 million on Friday, with four-hour liquidations down from $75.29 million to $15.51 million. One-hour liquidations declined from $1.56 million to $0.855 million.

The chart below shows market conditions throughout the session.