Crypto Market Daily Highlights – Powell and the NASDAQ Fuel a Breakout

Key Insights:

• It was a bullish Wednesday session for the crypto top ten. MATIC led the way, with ETH revisiting $1,300.
• Investor sentiment toward China’s zero-COVID policy, FTX contagion risk, and market reaction to Fed Chair Powell’s speech supported a breakout session.
• The crypto market cap jumped by $31.4 billion to end the day at $820.9 billion.

It was a bullish Wednesday session for the crypto top ten. MATIC led the way, with DOGE and ETH also making bullish moves. BTC wrapped up the day at $17,000 for the first time in nineteen sessions.

Investor sentiment towards China’s zero-COVID policy and easing FTX contagion risk delivered early support.

However, Fed Chair Powell delivered a late rally. Following mixed US labor market numbers, the Fed Chair supported the market bets of a December Fed pivot. On Wednesday, the Fed Chair talked of moderating the pace of interest rate increases, reportedly saying,

“It makes sense to moderate the pace of our rate increases as we approach the level of restraint that will be sufficient to bring inflation down. The time for moderating the pace of rate increases may come as soon as the December meeting.”

During the speech, investor reaction was evident, with the crypto market cap jumping by $16.5 billion. US economic indicators had delivered mixed reactions ahead of Powell’s speech.

The NASDAQ Composite Index also responded to the Powell speech, rallying 4.41% to end November on a high.

Later today, US inflation and personal spending figures will provide further direction along with FOMC member chatter. A spike in inflation and spending and hawkish Fed chatter would test buyer appetite.

Crypto Market Returns to $800bn on China COVID Policy and Powell

On Wednesday, the crypto market cap rose from an early low of $787.2 billion to a late high of $827.6 billion. While hopes of China easing lockdown measures supported a bullish start to the day, Fed Chair Powell delivered the session high.

The $31.4 billion surge on Wednesday left the market cap down $151.1 billion to $820.9 billion for November.

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

It was a bullish Wednesday session for the crypto top ten.

MATIC led the way, surging by 11.41%, with DOGE and ETH seeing gains of 5.13% and 6.49%, respectively.

However, ADA (+3.24%), BNB (+1.79%), BTC (+4.42%), and XRP (+2.43%) trailed the front runners.

From the CoinMarketCap top 100, it was a bullish session.

GMX (GMX) led the way, surging by 18.24%, with fantom (FTM) and polygon (MATIC) seeing gains of 12.52% and 11.41%, respectively.

However, huobi token (HT) led the way down, falling by 2.23%, with celo (CELO) ending the day with a 0.49% loss.

24-Hour Liquidations Inch Higher in a Powell-Fueled Breakout

Over 24 hours, total liquidations climbed as investors raised bets of China easing lockdown measures and reacted to Fed Chair Powell’s speech.

At the time of writing, 24-hour liquidations stood at $86.43 million, up from $73.29 million on Wednesday morning.

Liquidated traders over the last 24 hours also increased. At the time of writing, liquidated traders stood at 25,085 versus 19,696 on Wednesday morning. However, liquidations were down over 12 and four hours and over one hour.

According to Coinglass, 12-hour liquidations fell from $49.01 million to $32,75 million, with four-hour liquidations down from $37.42 million to $8.52 million. One-hour liquidations slid from $36.06 million to $2.13 million.

The chart below shows market conditions throughout the session.