Cryptocurrencies, Market Analysis
All eyes are back on COVID with new cases both in Florida and California. The mayor of Los Angeles has stated that the city is extremely close to shutting down again, a clear sign that the need for trade-offs between public health and economic recovery remains pronounced. In addition to continued earnings reports, this week will also be marked by some of the major vaccine producers testifying before Congress. US and Asian markets were virtually flat as the three main US indices results ranged from -23 to +28 basis points, while HSI, Nikkei, and Shanghai Composite ranged from -32 to +47 basis points
Cryptocurrency
The lack of volatility in traditional markets is nothing new in the digital asset space. BTC is still trading in an even narrower band of less than $100 after rejections above the $9,200 zone and renewed support in the 9,100s. If BTC’s monthly candle were to close as it is right now, it would be one of its narrowest in Bitcoin history. With Bollinger Bands this tight, traders and investors are expecting a strong movement sooner rather than later.
Asia
- For the fourth session in a row, sell-side pressure in BTC held steady and hearty while buyers were truant. Since Monday, altcoin flows have been desolate.
- The week isn’t over yet and gross trading volumes are already at a 5-week high, ~98% of which can be explained by BTC sellers.
Europe
- Other than sizable buy-side demand for BTC and XTZ from a handful of market participants, we saw persistent, chunky BTC selling all day long.
- Thursday marked our busiest session since June 2nd, largely thanks to BTC buyers – whom made up ~57% of all trading.
Americas
- After a poor showing from BTC buyers in the first half of the week, the tables have turned with BTC buyers outpacing sellers by nearly 3x and buy-side demand leaping to a 1-week high. Sell-side interest was somewhat lively, but at half the size observed earlier in the week.
- While Altcoin interest continues to dwindle, the desk did infield abnormal buy-side demand for LINK, SC, and XTZ.
Ethereum transactions highest since 2018
The second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, ether (ETH), was up Friday, trading around $233 and climbing 0.33% in 24 hours as of 20:00 UTC (4:00 p.m. EDT). This week, the Ethereum network experienced the most transactions in over two and a half years. On Monday, total transactions reached 1,151,834, the first time it has been that high since Jan. 18, 2018, according to data from aggregator Etherscan.
Ethereum transactions since the network launched in 2015. Source: Etherscan
With decentralized exchanges now around $60 million in volume per day, tokens on the Ethereum network, often referred to as altcoins, are giving traders new ideas to profit within the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
“I don’t see bitcoin as a clear trading opportunity right now, however there are some opportunities with altcoins that have performed really well lately.”
said Alessandro Andreotti, an Italy-based bitcoin over-the-counter trader.
- Source/Reference: Kraken, OSL, coindesk, CoinMarketCap
