Crypto Market Daily Highlights – BTC and ETH Lead the Top Ten

Key Insights:

• It was a mixed Tuesday session for the crypto top ten. BTC and ETH led the way while BNB struggled.
• Softer-than-expected US inflation figures drove demand for riskier assets, with the NASDAQ Index and the crypto market benefiting from the inflation numbers.
• The crypto market rose by $19.94 billion to end the day at $827.21 billion.

It was a mixed Tuesday session for the crypto top ten. BTC and ETH led the way, while BNB bucked the trend. Notably, BTC visited $18,000 for the first time since November 10 while avoiding sub-$17,000.

BNB continued to struggle as investors responded to the news of US authorities planning to charge Binance with financial crimes.

However, US economic indicators delivered broader crypto market support. The heavily anticipated US CPI Report reported softer-than-expected inflation numbers, driving demand for riskier assets.

In November, the US annual inflation rate softened from 7.7% to 7.1% versus forecasts of a fall to 7.3%. In response to the numbers, the probability of a 75-basis point rate hike fell to just 17.0%, down from 26.5% on Monday.

The increasing bets of a December Fed pivot supported the NASDAQ Index and the S&P500, which saw gains of 1.01% and 0.73%, respectively. Sub-7% may have provided more substantial support and raised bets of a nearer-term pause on interest rate hikes.

Today, the focus will shift to the Fed interest rate decision, the FOMC economic projections, and the Fed Chair Powell press conference.

With the markets expecting a 50-basis point rate hike, the economic projections and press conference will likely have the most influence. Beyond the outlook for interest rates, investors will also consider the economic growth forecasts.

This morning, the NASDAQ mini was up 23.5 points.

Crypto Market Finds NASDAQ Index Support on US CPI Report

A bearish start to the Tuesday session saw the crypto market slide to a mid-morning low of $795.03 billion. However, softer-than-expected US inflation figures delivered a breakout afternoon session. The crypto market cap surged to an early afternoon high of $840.98 billion before easing back.

Despite the pullback, the crypto market cap rose by $19.94 billion to end the session at $827.21 billion.

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

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

BTC and ETH led the way, rallying 3.23% and 3.51%, respectively.

ADA (+2.28%), MATIC (+1.49%), and XRP (+2.21%) weren’t far behind, while DOGE trailed with a 1.11% gain.

BNB bucked the trend, falling by 1.48%.

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

Toncoin (TON) and OKB (OKB) led the way with gains of 9.09% and 8.47%, respectively. Fantom (FTM) was also a front-runner, rising by 6.57%.

However, GMX (GMX) led the way down, sliding by 8.90%, with apecoin (APE) and trust wallet token (TWT) seeing losses of 7.32% and 4.77%, respectively.

24-Hour Liquidations Increase on a Choppy but Bullish Session

Over 24 hours, crypto liquidations increased as the market responded to the heavily anticipated US CPI Report.

At the time of writing, 24-hour liquidations stood at $132.06 million versus $53.52 million on Tuesday morning.

Liquidated traders over the last 24 hours also increased. At the time of writing, liquidated traders stood at 31,207 versus 26,298 on Tuesday morning. Crypto liquidations over 12 hours and one hour increased while falling over four hours.

According to Coinglass, 12-hour liquidations jumped from $14.15 million to $93.61 million, with one-hour liquidations up from $0.723 million to $1.24 million. However, four-hour liquidations fell from $9.03 million to $2.33 million.

The chart below shows market conditions throughout the session.