Crypto Market Daily Highlights – XRP Rallies While ETH Sees Red

Key Insights:

• It was a mixed Friday session for the crypto top ten. XRP led the way, while ETH continued to struggle post-Merge.
• Resurfacing market jitters of a US recession pegged the crypto market back, with the NASDAQ 100 falling by 0.90% to end the week deep in negative territory.
• The total crypto market cap rose by a modest $0.626 billion to $925.34 billion.

It was a mixed Friday session for the crypto top ten. ETH led the way down, as investors continued to jump ship in the wake of the Ethereum Merge. However, XRP led the top ten, while (BTC) fell short of $20,000 for the first time since September 8, despite ending the day in positive territory.

Market reaction to the Ethereum Merge continued to weigh, with ETC and RVN continuing to slide. However, investors brushed aside recession fears, which weighed on the NASDAQ 100.

On Friday, the NASDAQ 100 fell by 0.90%. Bearish sentiment hit following the release of FedEx (FDX) earnings and news of FedEx withdrawing its financial forecasts on expectations of weakening economic conditions. FedEx shares tumbled by 21.44% on Friday.

Crypto Market Avoids the Red Despite Continued Ethereum Merge Fallout

On Friday, the crypto market cap rose to a late morning high of $936.6 billion before falling to a low of $903.7 billion. Downward pressure came as jitters over a US recession resurfaced, and investors responded further to the Ethereum Merge.

Better-than-expected consumer sentiment figures failed to deliver support. According to prelim figures, the Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index rose from 58.2 to 59.5 in September.

However, the expectation of a one percentage point Fed rate hike was crypto-positive. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, the chance of a 75-basis point rate hike rose from 77% to 82% in the last 24 hours. The chances of a percentage point hike fell from 23% to 18%.

Following Thursday’s Ethereum Merge-fueled sell-off, the crypto market cap increased by $0.626 billion to $925.34 billion. For the current week, the market cap is down $101 billion.

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

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

XRP rallied by 9.23%, with DOGE gaining 3.17% to return to the crypto top ten. ADA (+1.93%), BNB (+1.44%), BTC (+0.50%) also avoided the red.

However, ETH and SOL bucked the trend, falling by 2.64% and 2.47%, respectively.

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

Terra Classic (LUNC) and Terra (LUNA) bounced back, with gains of 15.56% and 17.36%, respectively. Cosmos (ATOM) rallied by 11.42%, supported by plans to launch liquid staking.

On the bearish side, Celsius (CEL) and Ravencoin (RVN) led the way down, sliding by 11.77% and 8.79%, respectively. Kyber Network (KNC) was also among the worst performers, falling by 5.61%.

24-HourCrypto Liquidations Fell to Normal Levels in a Mixed Session

Over 24 hours, total liquidations returned to normal as market tensions eased following Thursday’s Ethereum Merge sell-off. At the time of writing, 24-hour liquidations stood at $130.21 million, down from $287.54 million on Friday morning.

Liquidated traders over the last 24 hours also declined. At the time of writing, liquidated traders stood at 50,469 versus 79,750 on Friday morning. Liquidations over twelve hours, four hours, and one hour also fell.

According to Coinglass, 12-hour liquidations stood at $93.63 million, down from $164.90 million on Friday morning, with 4-hour liquidations down from $21.56 million to $11.27 million. One-hour liquidations declined from $7.22 million to $2.24 million. The chart below shows market conditions throughout the session.