Crypto Market Daily Highlights – AAVE and ETH Lead Ahead of Powell Speech

Key Insights:

• It is a bullish Thursday session for the crypto top ten, with Ethereum (ETH) leading the way.
• The NASDAQ 100 provided support through the US session before a post-US closing bell pullback.
• The total crypto market cap is up $14.7 billion to $1,022 billion with 90 minutes of the session remaining.

It is a bullish Thursday session for the crypto top ten. Bitcoin (BTC) has avoided sub-$21,000 while falling short of $22,000 for a sixth consecutive session. ETH leads the top ten, with the rest of the crypto top ten also in positive territory.

Investor apprehension over Friday’s Fed Chair Powell speech tested support early in the session. However, positive US economic indicators delivered NASDAQ 100 support, which drove demand for cryptos.

The US economy contracted by less the previously thought in the second quarter, while labor market conditions remained robust.

In Q2, the economy contracted by 0.6% versus a previous estimate of 0.8%. Initial jobless claims slipped from 245k to 243k in the week ending August 19.

The NASDAQ 100 ended Thursday up 1.67%, while the NASDAQ 100 Mini is down 17 points this morning.

Following Thursday’s gain, Fed Chair Powell will dictate direction through the Friday session. However, US economic indicators will also influence, with personal spending and inflation on the docket.

The Total Crypto Market Cap Hits $1,034 Billion Before Another Reversal

On Thursday, the total crypto market cap fell to an early morning low of $1,004 billion before rising to a late morning high of $1,034 billion. However, a late pullback leaves the market cap back at $1,022 billion.

Up by $14.7 billion for the session, the total crypto market cap is down $40 billion for August.

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

It is a bullish Thursday session for the crypto top ten.

With 90 minutes of the Thursday session remaining (UTC), ETH is up 2.71% to lead the way.

ADA (1.97%), BNB (+2.09%), DOGE (+1.93%), and SOL (+1.89%) weren’t far behind, while BTC (1.19%) and XRP (+0.93%) trailed.

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

Aave (AAVE) leads the way, rising by 6.12%, with Shiba Inu Coin (SHIB) and yearn.finance (YFI) up by 5.51% and 4.69%, respectively.

However, Chiliz (CHZ) and Lido DAO (LDO) lead the way down, sliding by 7.10% and 7.56%, respectively, with Helium (HNT) falling by 3.12%.

Crypto Liquidations Fall as the Crypto Market Responds to the NASDAQ

Over 24 hours, total liquidations fell back as investors responded to better than forecasted US economic indicators and a rise in the NASDAQ 100.

At the time of writing, 24-hour liquidations stood at $89.10 million, down from $93.11 million on Thursday morning.

Liquidated traders also declined over the last 24 hours. At the time of writing, liquidated traders stood at 32,156 versus 37,316 on Thursday morning. Liquidations over 12 hours, 4 hours, and one hour were also down despite investor apprehension ahead of Fed Chair Powell’s speech on Friday.

According to Coinglass, 12-hour liquidations stood at $37.51 million, down from $60.77 million on Thursday morning. 4-hour liquidations have fallen from $15.34 million to $5.87 million, with one-hour liquidations down from $3.90 million to $0.721 million. The chart below shows market conditions throughout the session.