This Week in Coins: Bitcoin, Ethereum Stable – Has the Worst of FTX Damage Passed?

Crypto prices were a mixed bag this week. But as of Saturday morning, only a couple of the top 20 coins by market capitalization have not been in the green for the past seven days. It begs the question: have the brutal effects of the recent FTX disaster abated?

Bitcoin (BTC) remains virtually unchanged since seven days ago. That’s down 0.30% from a week ago, according to CoinGecko data, and is currently trading at $16,592. Earlier in the week it decreased $15,649– the lowest level in two years.

Ethereum (ETH) fared about the same. The world’s second favorite digital asset is up 0.60% in the past week, currently trading at $1,219 at the start of the weekend, and is up 2.5% in the last 24 hours. Last Monday, that fell 7% as the attacker who drained FTX wallets dumped a significant portion of the stolen ETH for BTC.

Both market leaders got a little further Wednesday, when the Federal Reserve released the minutes of its November meeting. The good news is that the US central bank is reportedly planning to make smaller interest rate increases going forward. This signals the end of a cycle of hikes—three so far this year, each of 75 basis points – those were the steepest since 1994.

Solana (SOL) holders avoided another week of losses. The No. 14 coin (formerly a top ten) is no longer in freefall, having gained this week by 3.3% to $14.08. On Tuesday, Litecoin (LTC) turned around SUN.

Solana was the hardest hit by FTX’s collapse among the leading cryptocurrencies. Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was one of Solana’s earliest supporters and also owned a large stock of SOL through his other crypto company, Alameda Research. SOL was the second largest coin holding of the disgraced hedge fund.

Many leading cryptocurrencies had small losses, but several enjoyed significant rallies. Chainlink (LINK) added 9% and is trading at $6.80, Litecoin (LTC) added a whopping 20% ​​and is currently worth $75, and Binance Coin (BNB) grew 12% to $301.

Still, the good news for crypto fans may be short-lived. On Monday, crypto trading group CoinShares published a report which says that institutional players are shorting crypto in record numbers. According to the report, short product inflows represented 75% of total inflows – the largest on record.

Is Genesis the next bankruptcy?

Doomsayers’ eyes were on cryptobroker Genesis as possibly the next high-profile insolvency after FTX.

Last week, the company suspended all withdrawals due to the fact that Genesis’ derivatives business had 175 million dollars exposure to FTX. The company then unsuccessfully sought a $1 billion bailout after the FTX crisis led to a bank run on its lending arm.

On Monday, reports emerged that Genesis may risk going bankrupt.

A representative for the company told Decrypt at the time: “We have no plans to file for bankruptcy immediately. Our goal is to resolve the current situation by consensus without the need for any bankruptcy filing. Genesis continues to have constructive discussions with creditors.”

The news also affected the business of the popular crypto exchange Gemini. Last week, Gemini warned of long delays for users wanting to withdraw their money from the Earn product, which was partially serviced by funds borrowed from Genesis.

On Tuesdaythe exchange tweeted it continues “to work with Genesis and its parent company Digital Currency Group (DCG) to find a solution.” The announcement said affected customers are “highest priority,” Genesis and DCG “remain committed to exploring all possible options,” and all funds held on Gemini’s Exchange and Custody services are supported 1:1.

On the same day, Digital Currency Group assured investors that the conglomerate is facing no imminent threat despite owing Genesis $575 million.