The Crypto Market Decoupled from the NASDAQ 100 for a Second Session

On Friday, the total crypto market cap rose by a modest $1.16 billion to $905.6 billion. While modest, the crypto market brushed aside a bearish NASDAQ session, which fell by 1.80% to end the week down 8.38%.

The NASDAQ loss followed a 1.37% decline from Thursday, as the global financial markets responded further to Wednesday’s Fed policy move and FOMC projections.

On Thursday, the crypto market had surged by $42 billion as investors rotated out of stocks. Major FX pairings including, the GBP/USD and the EUR/USD, also took a hit.

On Friday, the GBP/USD tumbled by a whopping 3.57% to $1.08504, with the EUR/USD sliding by 1.50% to $0.96868. Dollar dominance could give investors a greater incentive to move into the crypto market. Investor sentiment towards the global economic outlook suggests no immediate recovery from decade lows.

Monday through Friday, the crypto market cap rose by 1.24%, supported by XRP and others that enjoyed particularly bullish weeks. A mixed Saturday morning session has reduced the gain, with profit taking likely contributing to the modest pullback to $901 billion.

Crypto Market Cap 240922 Weekly Chart

Investor Sentiment Toward the SEC v Ripple Case Drives XRP to $0.55

On Friday, XRP hit a day high of $0.5587. It was the first visit to $0.55 since May. Hopes of a favorable outcome to the SEC v Ripple case supported a bullish Monday to Friday. XRP surged by 41.8% to lead the top 100 and move into the number 6 spot by market cap.

Last weekend’s Motion for Summary Judgment filings and a shift in focus from William Hinman’s speech-related documents fueled the XRP resurgence.

The defendants filed their Motion for Summary Judgment before a Court decision on the SEC objection to the Court denying its motion to shield William Hinman’s speech-related documents under the attorney-client privilege.

The Motion for Summary judgment filing suggests an out-of-court agreement. The market consensus had been that the SEC would do whatever it could to prevent the documents from becoming public records, including a settlement.

While down through the Saturday morning session, the XRP bulls will target a return to $0.60 to bring $1.00 into view. Updates from the SEC v Ripple case need monitoring in the coming weeks.

XRPUSD 240922 Weekly Chart

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Makes Its Move

With the SEC under the watchful eye of lawmakers and embroiled in an ongoing battle with Ripple Lab, the CFTC came into the spotlight.

This week, the CFTC filed its first claim against a DAO. In addition, the CFTC fined bZeroX $250,000 for operating illegally and issued a cease-and-desist order.

More claims will likely follow as the CFTC shows its teeth in a bid to win the right to regulate the digital asset space. According to the CFTC press release, the CFTC also charged Ooki DAO for offering illegal off-exchange digital-asset trading, registration violations, and failing to comply with the bank secrecy act.

Dogecoin (DOGE) Leads the Crypto Top Ten on Saturday

This morning, dogecoin was up 3.71% to $0.06571. Heading for a third consecutive bullish session, DOGE Whale numbers suggest a bearish trend reversal and a DOGE return to $0.070. However, DOGE will need the support of the broader crypto market to avoid a reversal of the breakout from sub-$0.0560.

Numbers from intotheblock revealed increased Whale holdings, supporting the bullish week. While trailing XRP, DOGE is up 14% for the week, solidifying its #10 ranking.

Chalk and Cheese: Cardano Hard Fork Delivers ADA Price Support

For the current week, ADA is up 2.68% to $0.460. While down from a week high of $0.482, investors responded differently to the ADA hard fork than to the Ethereum Merge.

(Click on image to enlarge)

One likely reason is that the Vasil hard fork delivers network upgrades that should drive project migration to the Cardano ecosystem.

By contrast, ethereum (ETH) is down 0.55% to $1,328 for the current week. The shift to a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) protocol has yet to demonstrate a reason for an ETH breakout. On August 8, ETH had struck a high of $2,031 before sliding to a post-Merge low of $1,220.

More By This Author: