Crypto Market Daily Highlights: XRP Led a Choppy Top Ten Session

Key Insights:

• It was a mixed Wednesday session for the crypto top ten, with XRP, MATIC, DOGE, and BNB bucking a bearish trend.
• Crypto news and the Fed delivered a mixed mid-week session.
• The crypto market cap fell by $9.50 billion, ending the day at $1,055 billion.

It was a mixed session for the crypto top ten on Wednesday. XRP led the way, with BNB, DOGE, and MATIC bucking the bearish trend. The mixed session left BTC short of the $25,000 handle for the second time in seven sessions.

On Wednesday, the heavily anticipated FOMC meeting minutes drew plenty of interest. Less hawkish than expected, the broader crypto market cap responded to the minutes with a late partial recovery.

There were no surprises, with the minutes noting that inflation remained well above the Fed target and that labor market conditions are still very tight, contributing to the upward trend in wages and prices.

However, the markets were mindful of the shift in sentiment toward the US economy, labor market conditions, and inflation since the last FOMC meeting. The US unemployment rate fell to 3.4%, spending rebounded, service sector activity surged, and inflation remained sticky, questioning Fed Chair Powell’s disinflation view.

Mixed sentiment toward the minutes left the Dow and the S&P 500 with losses of 0.26% and 0.16%, respectively, while the NASDAQ Composite rose by 0.13%.

It was also a busier session on the crypto news wires. New York Attorney General filed charges against CoinEx for failing to register as a securities and commodities broker-dealer. NFTs were in the spotlight, with a Federal Judge ruling that NBA Top Shot NFTs could be unregistered securities.

The Day Ahead

In the afternoon session, US economic indicators and the NASDAQ Index will likely provide direction. Initial jobless claims and Q4 GDP numbers will be in the spotlight. An unexpected fall in jobless claims and a hotter-than-expected US economy could fuel Fed Fear.

Investors should also monitor Fed chatter. FOMC member Bostic speaks today. Following the FOMC meeting minutes, investors may need more up-to-date guidance on where the Fed stands vis-à-vis inflation, the economic outlook, and interest rates.

However, the crypto news wires also need tracking for events that could move the dial. Binance will remain a focal point, with FTX, Genesis, and Silvergate Bank updates needing consideration. However, regulatory activity and US lawmaker chatter will remain the key drivers.

The NASDAQ mini was up 69.5 points this morning, supporting the crypto market in the final hour.

Crypto Market Sees Red on Fed Policy Outlook

It was a bearish Wednesday session. A mixed start to the day saw the crypto market cap rise to an early morning high of $1,070 billion before hitting reverse. The reversal saw the crypto market cap slide to a late low of $1,028 billion.

However, finding late support, the crypto market cap ended the day at $1,055 billion, marking a $9.50 billion loss on Wednesday.

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

It is a mixed session for the crypto top ten.

XRP led the way, rising by 0.94%, with BNB (+0.29%), DOGE (+0.12%), and MATIC (+0.64%) also finding support.

However, ADA (-1.02%), BTC (-1.12%), and ETH (-1.01%) joined the broader crypto market in the red.

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

Stacks (STX) and tezos (XTZ) led the way, with gains of 13.79% and 17.69%, respectively. Ankr (ANKR) was also a front-runner, rising by 5.70%.

However, conflux (CFX) slid by 14.01%, with 1inch network (1INCH) and flow (FLOW) seeing losses of 7.35% and 4.79%, respectively.

24-Hour Liquidations Hold Steady on a Mixed Mid-Week Session

Over 24 hours, crypto liquidations remained at above-normal levels. Long positions had a higher share of liquidations, accounting for 77.46% of total crypto liquidations. This morning, 24-hour liquidations stood at $125.29 million versus $123.54 million on Wednesday morning (UTC).

Liquidated traders over the last 24 hours were lower. This morning, liquidated traders stood at 49,712 versus 51,085 on Wednesday morning. Crypto liquidations were lower over 12 and four hours while higher over one hour.

According to Coinglass, 12-hour liquidations stood at $63.13 million, down from $72.53 million on Wednesday morning, with four-hour liquidations falling from $30.55 million to $8.76 million. However, one-hour liquidations increased from $0.652 million to $5.31 million.

The chart below shows market conditions throughout the session.