Crypto Market Daily Highlights: SEC and US Senators Weigh

Key Insights:

• It was a bearish Thursday session for the crypto top ten, with ADA leading the losses.
• Economic indicators from the US and regulatory risk jitters overshadowed dovish Fed chatter to leave the broader crypto market in the red.
• The crypto market cap fell by $8.71 billion, ending the day at $1,032 billion.

It was a bearish session for the crypto top ten on Thursday. ADA led the top ten into the red. The bearish session left BTC short of the $24,000 handle for the fifth time in six sessions.

The US economic calendar drew plenty of interest on Thursday, with the US labor market in the spotlight. Unit labor costs jumped by 3.2% in Q4, up from 2.0% in Q3, with initial jobless claims falling from 192k to 190k. The latest labor market numbers supported the more hawkish Fed interest rate trajectory to bring inflation to target.

Crypto investors responded to the stats, with the crypto market cap falling to a session low before finding support from the Fed. FOMC Member Bostic favored a 25-basis point rate hike, driving demand for riskier assets.

The NASDAQ Composite Index rose by 0.73% on Thursday. This morning, the NASDAQ mini was down 25 points.

Crypto Market Scrutiny Tests Buyer Appetite

However, the crypto market news wires led to the crypto market decoupling from the NASDAQ Composite Index.

The renewed fear of a Silvergate Bank collapse tested investor sentiment. Hopes of an end to the crypto winter have waned in the wake of the FTX bankruptcy. This week, the crypto-friendly bank delayed the release of its annual report.

Regulatory and US lawmaker scrutiny added to the bearish mood. On Thursday, SEC Chair Gary Gensler took the opportunity to target the crypto market during an SEC Investor Advisory Committee Meeting. The SEC Chair focused on custody issues and the comingling of customer assets and losses for investors.

US lawmakers added to the somber mood. A letter from US Senators from both sides of the aisle to Binance drew plenty of interest.

Addressed to Binance CEO CZ, US Senators called on Binance to share ‘information regarding growing concerns over the finances, risk management, and regulatory compliance of Binance, Binance.US, and other related entities.’

The letter went on to say,

“Meanwhile, what little information about Binance’s finances is available to the public suggests that the exchange is a hotbed of illegal financial activity that has facilitated over $10 billion in payments to criminals and sanctions evaders.”

The Day Ahead

Investors should continue to monitor the crypto news wires for regulatory activity and US lawmaker chatter. Binance and FTX updates need consideration together with news from the ongoing SEC v Ripple case.

Economic indicators will also draw interest. The US services sector and Fed chatter will influence the afternoon session. ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI numbers for February will deliver to the NASDAQ Composite Index and the crypto market direction.

However, Fed chatter will also influence, with FOMC Members Logan, Bostic, and Bowman speaking today.

Crypto Market Came Under Pressure on SEC and Lawmaker Chatter

It was a bearish Thursday session. A bullish start to the day saw the crypto market cap rise to an early high of $1,051 billion. However, US economic indicators, the SEC, and US Senators sent the crypto market cap to a session low of $1,028 billion.

A partial recovery left the crypto market down $8.71 billion to $1,032 billion.

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

It was a bearish session for the crypto top ten.

ADA slid by 2.50% to lead the way down, with DOGE (-1.34%), ETH (-1.04%), MATIC (-1.76%), and XRP (-1.62%) struggling.

BTC (-0.74%) and BNB (-0.96%) saw relatively modest losses.

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

Threshold (T) rallied by 13.54% to lead the way, with casper (CSPR) and XDC network (XDC) seeing gains of 8.47% and 3.89%, respectively.

However, frax shares (FXS) and immutableX (IMX) fell by 7.25% and 7.29%, respectively, with klaytn (KLAY) ending the day with a 7.12% loss.

24-Hour Liquidations Slide in a Choppy Thursday Session

Over 24 hours, crypto liquidations fell further below normal levels. Long positions had a higher share of liquidations, accounting for 70.91% of total crypto liquidations. This morning, 24-hour liquidations stood at $53.04 million, down from $70.98 million on Thursday morning (UTC).

However, liquidated traders over the last 24 hours were higher. This morning, liquidated traders stood at 24,027 versus 20,915 on Thursday morning. Crypto liquidations were lower over 12 and four hours and over one hour.

According to Coinglass, 12-hour liquidations stood at $26.99 million, down from $34.10 million on Thursday morning, with four-hour liquidations falling from $11.28 million to $3.74 million. One-hour liquidations declined from $2.86 million to $0.415 million.

The chart below shows market conditions throughout the session.