Top 3 Trending Coins: SHIB, APE, SAND the Worst Performers of Top 50 Cryptos

Key Points

• Cryptocurrencies have been under pressure recently as data shows consumer confidence falling in the US and Eurozone.
• This is bringing recession fears back in focus, with Bitcoin probing $20,000 once again.
• ApeCoin, The Sandbox and Shiba Inu are amongst the worst performing cryptocurrencies on Wednesday.

Cryptocurrency markets have been under pressure this week as data coming out of the US and Eurozone points to a continued deterioration of consumer confidence, a classic leading indicator of recession. Perhaps this wouldn’t be so bad if central banks were able to save the day by easing their monetary policy settings to support growth and lending, but continued high inflation ensures that this is not the case.

In fact, policymakers from both the Fed and ECB have doubled down on the need for significant near-term rate hikes this week. Expect more of the same from Fed Chair Jerome Powell, ECB President Christine Lagarde and BoE Governor Andrew Bailey when they give remarks at the ECB’s annual Sintra gathering later in the day on Wednesday.

Bitcoin was last trading lower by about 4.5% in the last 24 hours just above $20,000, according to CoinMarketCap. Ethereum was last down about 7.5% over the same time period in the $1,120s per token. Total crypto market capitalization, meanwhile, was last around $875 billion, down nearly 10% from last weekend’s highs of around $966 billion.

Here are the top three trending altcoins.

ApeCoin (APE)

According to CoinMarketCap, ApeCoin is the worst-performing top 50 crypto over the last 24 hours, having shed around 10.5% of its value. APE/USD was last changing hands around $4.75 per token, having now reversed nearly 15% lower versus Tuesday’s multi-week highs in the $5.50s.

As the end of the month draws closer, APE/USD looks on course to have shed about 30%, though is still up an impressive more than 55% from earlier monthly lows near $3.0. The pair’s short-term technicals aren’t looking too good, however, with APE/USD having seemingly broken to the south of an upwards trend channel in play since mid-June.

That might open the door to a drop back towards the 21-Day Moving Average in the $4.30s.

The Sandbox (SAND)

SAND, the native token of The Sandbox’s metaverse, was last trading lower by about 10% over the last 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap data. That makes the cryptocurrency the second-worst performer in the crypto top 50. The bears are now eyeing an imminent test of the 21DMA just above $1.0 per token, with SAND/USD having reversed around 23% lower versus last week’s multi-week highs in the $1.35 area.

SAND’s failure to hold above its 50DMA in recent sessions is likely to be seen as a negative technical signal in the short term. A break back below $1.0 per token could reignite a cascade of selling pressure that could easily see SAND/USD fall swiftly back to test its recent annual lows under $0.75.

Shiba Inu (SHIB)

Shiba Inu is another one of the worst-performing cryptocurrencies in the top 50 over the last 24 hours, as per CoinMarketCap. SHIB/USD fell back below the psychologically important $0.000010 level on Wednesday and at current levels in the $0.000009s, is trading with losses of around 10% in the last 24 hours.

The dog-inspired memecoin is considered to be one of the most speculative/risky cryptocurrencies to invest in, given its lack of clear utility other than as a collector’s item, but also the propensity to experience rapid rallies. SHIB/USD is currently testing its 21DMA (at $0.0000095), having now pulled back about 20% from last week’s highs as short-term speculative buyers take profit.

The pair continues to trade higher versus earlier monthly lows by about 35%. But SHIB holders fear that if the worrying macro backdrop of slowing growth, hot inflation and hawkish central banks continues to pressure the crypto space, Shiba Inu might hit fresh annual lows in the weeks ahead under $0.000007.