Crypto Market Daily Highlights – XRP Leads the Top Ten Breakout

Key Insights:

• It was a bullish Wednesday session for the crypto top ten, with XRP leading the way.
• Market sentiment towards inflation and the Fed continued supporting riskier assets, with FTX updates also providing support.
• The crypto market cap rose by $21.86 billion to end the day at $838.02 billion.

It was a bullish session for the crypto top ten on Wednesday. XRP enjoyed a breakout session. BTC also found support, wrapping up the day at $17,000 for the fourth time since December 15.

Investor hopes of US inflation easing continued driving demand for riskier assets on Wednesday. A softer US CPI Report would support the market bets of a 25-basis point Fed interest rate hike in February. While the Fed maintains a hawkish stance on interest rates, investors expect a less aggressive Fed interest rate trajectory to deliver a soft landing.

Mid-week, the NASDAQ Composite Index rallied by 1.76%, with the S&P 500 gaining 1.28%.

While sentiment toward the Fed continues to influence, updates on the FTX bankruptcy were also crypto market positive. FTX lawyer Andy Dietderich reportedly told US bankruptcy judge John Dorsey that they located more than $5 billion in cash and cash equivalents. The FTX lawyer also announced plans to sell nonstrategic investments valued at $4.6 billion.

While a forced sale of nonstrategic assets may not reach $4.6 billion, creditors face less significant losses than initially feared, easing contagion risk.

Adding further support was news of Voyager Digital getting the green light to proceed with the sale to Binance US.

The US economic calendar will likely take center stage today, with the US CPI Report and jobless claims in focus. The numbers could decide the quantum of the Fed’s next rate hike.

A hotter-than-expected CPI report and jobless claims at sub-200k could refuel bets of a 50-basis point interest rate hike that would weigh on riskier assets. FOMC member chatter will also need monitoring.

Crypto Market Extends Winning Streak to Four Sessions

It was a choppy Wednesday session. The crypto market cap fell to a late afternoon low of $806.37 billion. However, a late rally saw the crypto market cap hit a final-hour high of $842.46 billion before easing back. Despite the pullback, the crypto market cap ended the session at $838.02 billion, marking a $21.86 billion gain for the day.

Notably, the crypto market cap ended the session at $800 billion for the third time since December 15 and extended its winning streak to four sessions.

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

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

XRP rallied by 6.33% to lead the way, with ETH (+4.02%) and MATIC (+4.03%) also making solid gains.

However, ADA (+0.31%), BNB (+2.70%), BTC (+2.91%), and DOGE (+0.26%) trailed the front-runners.

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

Avalanche (AVAX) surged by 24.49% to lead the way, with near protocol (NEAR) and mina (MINA) seeing gains of 10.70% and 5.87%, respectively.

However, bitcoin SV (BSV) slid by 5.63%, with lido DAO (LDO) and aptos (APT) seeing losses of 1.72% and 3.11%, respectively.

24-Hour Liquidations Surge as Short Investors Get Hit by Late Rally

Over 24 hours, crypto liquidations rebounded mid-week, with a bullish afternoon session catching investors holding short positions. At the time of writing, 24-hour liquidations stood at $134.15 million versus $59.37 million on Wednesday morning.

Liquidated traders over the last 24 hours were also higher. At the time of writing, liquidated traders stood at 31,423 versus 20,293 on Wednesday morning. Crypto liquidations were higher over 12 and four hours and over one hour.

According to Coinglass, 12-hour liquidations stood at $121.19 million, up from $34.37 million on Wednesday, with four-hour liquidations up from $9.09 million to $90.80 million. One-hour liquidations stood at $73.85 million versus $0.290 million on Wednesday morning.

The chart below shows market conditions throughout the session.