Gains and volatility for cryptos, pending Powell´s speech and FTX´s contagion effect
Cryptocurrencies maintain their upward trend despite market turbulence. Bitcoin (BTC) aims for $17,000 and rises almost 3% in the last 24 hours, while Ethereum (ETH) soars more than 5.5% and is close to reconquering the $1,300 it lost in the days prior to FTX´s collapse.
"If the price strengthens in the upward direction, we could see more bulls entering the market and pushing BTC above the $17,000 level soon. Likewise, bulls are likely to push ETH above the $1,300 level today," stated Edul Patel, CEO and co-founder of crypto investment platform Mudrex.
The market continues to advance despite the prevailing high uncertainty after FTX´s bankruptcy, which also dragged down BlockFi and threatens to claim some more victims, like, for example, Genesis. 'Bloomberg' published on Tuesday that Genesis creditors are organizing with restructuring lawyers to avoid insolvency. BlockFi sued Sam Bankman-Fried and blamed his companies for causing the platform's bankruptcy.
"Bitcoin has reversed Monday's losses and has remained volatile after another drop following FTX´s collapse and now trades at more than 75% of its highs of just over a year ago. Even now it remains vulnerable as we continue to discover what the full contagion effect will be and what else will be uncovered," explained Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda.
"People are nervous now," commented John Peurifoy, co-founder and CEO of crypto-exchange firm Floating Point Group, "They're nervous about where the contagion is going, what counterparties they're working with. Can they put the money in different places? Are they going to lose it? So people are cautious."
Markets will be listening nervously to the remarks from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, who is scheduled to speak on Wednesday at the Hutchins Center for Fiscal and Monetary Policy. Fed officials have recently suggested an openness to more dovish rate hikes, even reiterating their commitment to reducing inflation through monetary tightening.
Unlike other investors with more pessimistic forecasts, Peurifoy has been cautious about predicting how far Bitcoin prices will go in the current bearish environment. "How many more pieces will fall? How many people will have to sell crypto to get liquidity? People are avoiding selling if they don't need to, but, at the same time, some people are having to because of their economic situation," he indicated, "We are in a pause period. I call it the depression".
In other market news, there have been widespread gains for the major 'cryptos'. Ripple (XRP), Dogecoin (DOGE), Cardano (ADA), Polygon (MATIC) and Polkadot (DOT) rise between 1% and 3%. Solana (SOL), meanwhile, trades virtually flat and continues to suffer from the effects of FTX´s bankruptcy.