Top 3 Trending Coins: MATIC Surges on Disney Accelerator Program Selection, AAVE & UNI also Gain

Key Points

• Major cryptocurrency prices have risen in the last 24 hours despite hot US CPI data and renewed Fed tightening bets.
• Polygon was an outperformer and last up nearly 16% in 24 hours after being selected for Disney’s 2022 Accelerator Programme.
• AAVE and UNI have also posted solid gains in the last 24 hours.

Market Update: Crypto Resilient to Hot US CPI and Hawkish Fed Bets

Cryptocurrency prices have for the most part advanced over the last 24 hours, even though US Consumer Price Index (CPI) data showed price pressures were much higher than initially thought last month. Bitcoin was last trading higher by about 1.3% over that time period, according to CoinMarketCap, and close to $20,000, with the 21-Day Moving Average at $20,400 for now acting as resistance.

Ethereum, meanwhile, was last close to 3.0% higher over the last 24 hours and trading close to $1,100, having seen a firm bounce from the key $1,000 level on Wednesday. The latest US inflation data triggered a build-up of hawkish Fed bets. Markets now suspect the Fed will increase rates by 100 bps later this month, taking total rate hikes this year to 250 bps. Markets are also pushing up their expectations for how high the Fed’s terminal rate will be in 2023.

The resilience of the cryptocurrency market to such developments is surprising. Back in June, when the May CPI data surprised to the upside and resulted in a build-up of Fed tightening bets, crypto and other risk assets like stocks puked. Indeed, though crypto prices have proven resilient for now, bulls should not declare victory yet.

The latest inflation figures dealt a blow to the idea that US price pressures have peaked. Uncertainty about when inflation will begin what will probably be a long and slow journey back to the Fed’s 2.0% target remains elevated. And that means uncertainty about how high the Fed will ultimately need to raise interest rates remained elevated. Traders should be distrustful of anyone who proclaims with absolute confidence that the Fed will definitely be cutting interest rates in late 2023, even if that is what US money markets are currently betting on.

Here is a list of the top three trending coins of the day.

Polygon (MATIC)

According to a statement made by Disney on Wednesday, Polygon, an Ethereum scaling tool, has been selected as one of six companies to participate in its 2022 Accelerator program. The business development program is designed to support the growth of innovative companies, Disney says.

Disney hopes the program will spur the development of augmented reality, Non-fungible Tokens (NFTs) and artificial intelligence. According to its statement, Disney will offer guidance to each of the six companies from its senior leadership team and will assign each a dedicated executive-level mentor.

The announcement sent Polygon’s native token MATIC surging. According to CoinMarketCap, it is the best performing cryptocurrency in the top 50 by market cap with gains of nearly 16% in the last 24 hours. The latest rally has seen MATIC/USD break out to its highest levels since early June in the mid-$6.0s.

The latest rally also has technical significance and could signal a near-term improvement in the cryptocurrency’s fortunes. MATIC/USD had formerly been struggling to get above a downtrend that had been capping the price action going all the way back to mid-May. The latest push above this downtrend thus opens the door for further upside towards $7.50.

The latest rally also confirms that MATIC’s uptrned from its mid-June lows in the low-$3.0 area remains intact. Wednesday also saw the 21DMA move back above the 50DMA for the first time since mid-April, another potential indicator of a positive shift in near-term momentum.

Aave (AAVE)

AAVE, the native token to the Aave Decentralized Finance (DeFi) liquidity protocol, is the second-best performing cryptocurrency in the top 50 by market cap in the last 24 hours according to CoinMarketCap. Over this time period, the cryptocurrency has gained nearly 12%, though was last trading around $79.0 having just fallen short of testing last Friday’s highs in the $83.0s.

However, AAVE’s short-term technical outlook is upbeat. The latest rally from this week’s sub-$70 lows, where AAVE/USD found support at its 21DMA (at $67), has taken it above its 50DMA (at $77). If AAVE can close at current levels, that would mark only the second close above its 50DMA since late April.

Technicians also note that AAVE/USD has been trending higher in recent weeks within an upwards trend channel. If this trend channel holds, a test of the $100 level some time in August seems likely.

Uniswap (UNI)

UNI, the native token to the largest Decentralised Exchange (DEX) Uniswap, is the third best-performing cryptocurrency in the top 50 by market cap in the last 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap. Over this time period, the cryptocurrency has also gained about 12%.

UNI/USD has now bounced nearly 20% from its Wednesday lows near $5.20 after it found support from Monday’s low and the 21DMA at $5.50, but at current levels around $6.30, it is yet to probe last Friday’s highs above $6.50. Technicians think a convincing break above $6.50 resistance could open the door to a move higher to resistance in the $8.0 area.

The technical outlook for Uniswap’s UNI took a significant turn for the better at the end of June when the cryptocurrency broke out above a downtrend that had been capping the price action for most of H1 2022.