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This Week’s Summary

• The crypto market looks to end the week at a total market capitalization of $1,028 trillion.
• Bitcoin moved down by over 3% after a disappointing week.
• Ethereum decreased by almost 2% over the past seven days.
• XRP lost more than 1% in value this week.
• Almost all altcoins have been trading in the red, with almost no exception.
• The DeFi sector decreased the total value of protocols (TVL) to around $48 billion.

Cryptocurrency Trends for the Week of Feb. 27 - March 5, 2023: Market Analysis and Performance

The cryptocurrency market had another disappointing week as the bulls did not bother to reenact January’s run. Most assets have dropped in value, albeit not by much, as the industry witnessed another fear-inducing SEC event.

This time, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) claimed Binance’s coin, BUSD, is an unregistered security. This affirmation pushed BUSD’s market cap on a slippery slope. Most cryptos started trading in the red shortly after, and the market capitalization dropped by around $30 billion. Fortunately, it has still remained above the $1 trillion mark.

Bitcoin was close to targeting the $25,000 level only two weeks ago. Recently, however, it has been struggling to remain above $22,000. Moreover, the 3% value drop this week did not help it recover. Since January, the king crypto has enjoyed a spectacular return to popularity and demand. We may have to wait a bit more for one of its historical bull runs.

Ethereum has not been faring any better. The second crypto in command dropped points for the third week in a row. This time, it only went 2% under, enough to keep it trading above $1,500. However, it may soon lose that hard-gained position in this rhythm, too. Next week’s long-scheduled ETH Shanghai hard fork should also impact ETH’s price.

Altcoins & DeFi

The SEC-BUSD debacle caused most altcoins to lose support in the crypto market. As a result, they started trading in the red almost unanimously. For example, BNB moved down by over 3%, XRP by 1%, and Cardano by 6%. Meanwhile, Polygon decreased by 9%, Dogecoin by 7%, and Solana by 6%. Elsewhere, Polkadot moved down by 8%, Shiba Inu by 10%, Litecoin by 2%, TRON by 3%, and Avalanche by 10%.

The Metaverse sector has been in the same boat as the rest of the crypto market. For instance, Theta Network moved down by 14%, Axie Infinity by 10%, and Decentraland by 11%. Meanwhile, ApeCoin decreased by 4%, ICP by almost 11%, and The Sandbox by 12%.

The DeFi sector lost over $3 billion to the total value in locked protocols (TVL), now at nearly $48.09 billion.

What’s in the News?

• Yuga Labs, the developer of Bored Apes Yacht Club (BAYC), announced the imminent release of a new collection via the Ordinals protocol on Bitcoin.
• Crypto-oriented financial institution Silvergate Bank has revealed operational issues, causing its shares to drop by over 30%.
• Binance is attempting to become operational in Singapore again after applying for a license in the city-state.

Next Week’s Crypto Market Forecast

The crypto market has had an underwhelming start to March. Most assets are far from what the industry’s optimistic voices predicted. On the other hand, the imminent downfall that many pessimists anticipated has not occurred either. For now, external forces, such as the SEC’s regulatory crackdown on cryptocurrencies, continue to impact the market’s evolution. Therefore, traders and investors are walking on eggshells until things become clearer.

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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