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This Week’s Summary

• The cryptocurrency market looks to end the week at a total market capitalization of $948 billion.
• Bitcoin moved down by over 8% after a disappointing week.
• Ethereum decreased by almost 7% over the past seven days.
• XRP lost more than 4% in value this week.
• Almost all altcoins have been trading in the red, with virtually no exception.
• The DeFi sector decreased the total value of protocols (TVL) to around $43 billion.

Cryptocurrency Trends for the Week of March 6-12, 2023: Market Analysis and Performance

The cryptocurrency market has struggled to enjoy a consistent revival, albeit it’s not always the one at fault. This week’s sudden dip followed the spectacular and unexpected collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank, which rippled through all financial markets.

The SV Bank was the 16th-largest bank in the US until March 10, when it claimed insolvency. Furthermore, it was the largest bank by deposits in Silicon Valley and held $3.3 billion worth of USDC.

SVB’s bankruptcy came only a week after another financial institution, Silvergate Bank, announced severe operational issues. Both were favorite institutions for crypto heavyweights, using their operations frequently. Unsurprisingly, the crypto market and all its assets took a turn for the worse, dropping significant value. Moreover, the market capitalization dropped below the $1 trillion mark for the first time in over a month.

Bitcoin was the first indicator that the crypto market would lament the SVB collapse. The king crypto traded above $22,000 when the American bank announced the dire news. Almost immediately, it dropped to around $19,000 and required nearly two days to trade in the green again. Recently, it has been grappling by the skin of its teeth to stay above the $20,000 mark.

Ethereum followed BTC’s steps and dropped significantly when the market started falling. The second crypto in command lost the precious $1,500 level following a dip of over 10%. It managed to regain some of the losses. Recently, ETH has been seen trading at around $1,470.

Altcoins & DeFi

Almost all the altcoins have been bleeding heavily following this week’s events. For example, BNB moved down by over 5%, XRP by 4%, and Cardano by 9%. Meanwhile, Polygon decreased by 5%, Dogecoin by 12%, and Solana by 15%. Elsewhere, Polkadot moved down by 10%, Shiba Inu by 9%, Litecoin by 24%, TRON by 12%, and Avalanche by 11%.

The Metaverse sector has been in the same boat as the rest of the crypto market. For instance, Theta Network moved down by 11%, Axie Infinity by 19%, and Decentraland by 11%. Meanwhile, ApeCoin decreased by 20%, ICP by almost 13%, and The Sandbox by 16%.

The DeFi sector lost over $5 billion to the total value of locked protocols (TVL), now at nearly $43.43 billion.

What’s in the News?

• US President Joe Biden announced new tax changes, including an increase to the capital gains tax, targeting crypto investors as well.
• Gary Gensler, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman, increased pressure on the crypto market, announcing imminent stricter regulations.
• The co-founder and former CEO of BitMEX, Arthur Haye, proposed the creation of a Bitcoin-pegged stablecoin, NakaDollar.

Next Week’s Crypto Market Forecast

The cryptocurrency market ended one of the worse weeks of 2023, seemingly under attack from every direction. Firstly, important financial institutions in the crypto industry are crumbling. Next, regulators and politicians are cracking down on cryptocurrency enthusiasts and their gains. Evidently, it’s not the best of times for the crypto space. Hopefully, the trend will reverse soon.

About the Author

Born and raised in Romania, and currently living in Spain, the author discovered a knack for writing from a tender age, and even won some minor awards for fiction that didn't pay much.

Iulian became a content writer in 2011, and he is still doing it to some degree of success today. He is currently specialized in cryptocurrencies, technology, online marketing, and social media. In his free time, Iulian likes reading, traveling, and watching sports. His dream is to see Bitcoin reach $100,000 just so he can tell his friends “I told you so!”

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