This week in Crypto: Market falls after several weeks of rebound
After weeks of positive momentum for crypto prices and a market-wide pullback, Bitcoin (BTC-USD) rallied against strong resistance this week, pulling back from multi-month highs. Over the past seven sessions, BTC’s value fell by 4.6%, sending the ancient crypto below the key psychological level of $23,000.
This week’s reversal in BTC’s price action was primarily triggered by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warning that it will “take a long time” to bring inflation under control. However, despite this week’s reversal, BTC’s 30-day return has passed 30%.
Meanwhile, market analysts expect a renewed bull run in BTC, as the Stablecoin Supply Ratio (SSR), which measures the supply of BTC and stablecoins denominated in BTC, has breached its upper limit for the third time in five years. This indicator suggests that more users are redeeming their stablecoins for BTC instead of USD or another fiat currency.
Altcoin promise persists
As the broader market consolidates from weeks of gains, the popular meme coin Shiba Inu (SHIB) recorded a stellar performance this week. After weakening for several months and missing out on several market-wide rallies, the value of SHIB increased by nearly 9.6% over the past seven trading sessions.
Shiba Inu’s promising comeback stems from the hype surrounding the upcoming debut of the token’s own blockchain – Shibarium – which will run on top of Ethereum (ETH-USD) chain. Another key driver behind SHIB’s breakout performance is the recent listing of its new token, Bone Shibaswap (BONE), on the Bitget crypto exchange.
Beyond Shiba Inu, Lido DAO’s LDO token held its last week’s rally. The LDO token added another 19% to its previous gains, taking its 30-day return to nearly 35%. Much of this week’s upward momentum for the LDO token was tied to the increase in ETH staking volume on the Ethereum network.
That said, this week’s outperformers included lesser-known altcoins – The Graph (GRT) and SingularityNET (AGIX). The price of BRT increased by 87.30%, while AGIX registered a staggering 125.30% increase in valuation.
Big data and artificial intelligence-themed tokens have risen steadily since the beginning of 2023, much helped by the hype and frenzy surrounding AI chatbots such as ChatGPT, Microsoft’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) enhanced Bing + AI search engine, and Google’s upcoming AI-powered products.
Solana and Aptos face constant losses
In addition to a few notable performers, the majority of the leading altcoins, including Ethereum, Binance Coin (BNB), Cardano (ADA), Dogecoin (DOGE), and Ripple (XRP-USD), reacted sharply to reverse the market momentum.
Among the top 10 altcoins by market capitalization, Solana (SOL) proved to be the biggest underperformer, falling 8.30% over the past seven trading sessions. Despite several weeks of losing streak, however, investor interest in Solana is increasing. There are several reasons behind this, including the Chorus One protocol’s MEV integration and a recently unveiled partnership with the Brave browser to expand wallet support for Android and iOS.
Aptos (APT) also delivered an underwhelming performance this past week, with the layer-1 PoS blockchain struggling to attract investors since the third quarter of 2022. Investor interest in the ecosystem remains in a downward spiral, reflected by the falling valuation of APT- the token. Over the past seven sessions, APT tumbled around 20.40%, while its 24-hour trading volume plunged 30.35%.
UK Crypto Ads in Crosshairs, Fujitsu Acceleration and more
Amid tightening crypto regulations globally, the UK’s recently proposed advertising guidelines have emerged as another potential setback for crypto firms. If the proposal receives approval from the UK Financial Services Authority (FCA), executives from local and foreign crypto firms could face as much as two years in prison for failing to meet specific requirements relating to the marketing of “digital assets”.
Shifting gears, as Web3 technology evolves rapidly, mainstream brands and organizations are joining forces to promote education and awareness related to the technology.
In its latest iteration, prominent Japanese technology brand Fujitsu has launched a new Web3 acceleration platform to support startups, partner companies and Web3 entrepreneurs globally.
Meanwhile, New York University School of Professional Studies (NYU SPS) has partnered with the Near Foundation to launch its Web3 Learning Workshop for its students, faculty members and industry partners.
Finally, following the devastating earthquake in Turkey that has left a trail of destruction and loss, crypto exchange Binance has announced an airdrop of $100 worth of BNB tokens for its users living in the affected areas.
Mediation
