Key ideas:
- It was a mixed Saturday session for the top ten crypto, with BTC and DOGE challenging a downtrend.
- Increased scrutiny of the crypto market left the broader crypto market in the red, with the White House Administration and the SEC in the crosshairs.
- The crypto market capitalization fell $6.76 billion to end the day at $999.42 billion.
It was a mixed session for the crypto top ten on Saturday. ADA led the way down, while BTC Y DOGE defied the downtrend. BTC closed the day at $23,000 for the fourth session in a row.
There were no external market forces to guide investors on Saturday. Softer US inflation numbers and a drop in personal spending were not enough to spark a second bullish session.
Increased scrutiny of cryptocurrencies weighed on investor sentiment
From the crypto market, increased scrutiny of the crypto market by the US administration and the SEC tested the appetite of buyers. The release of the Administration's Roadmap to Mitigate Cryptocurrency Risks continued to reverberate on Saturday.
The roadmap called for greater efforts to regulate cryptocurrencies, stating,
โCongress also needs to step up its efforts. For example, Congress should expand the powers of regulators to prevent the misuse of client assets, which hurts investors and distorts prices, and to mitigate conflicts of interest."
The statement added,
โLast year, the limited exposure of traditional financial institutions to cryptocurrencies prevented the cryptocurrency turmoil from infecting the broader financial system. It would be a serious mistake to enact legislation that reverses course and deepens the ties between cryptocurrencies and the broader financial system.โ
The roadmap followed the release of FTX's 116-page creditor list that included publicly traded US corporations and financial institutions, including Goldman Sachs (SG).
Notably, the roadmap also stated:
"We encourage regulators to continue these efforts, including those designed to address and limit financial institutions' exposure to the risks of digital assets."
On Friday, Gary Gensler also caught the attention of investors, exchange a discussion with Commissioner Carline Crenshaw about the risks associated with investing in cryptocurrency.
The SEC chairman did not hold back, saying:
โThere is a higher risk when you invest in these novel, speculative and volatile investments that really lack basic protections and regulations.โ
Gensler's comments and the roadmap signaled a likely increase in activity to subject the crypto market to more stringent regulations. Significantly, the roadmap may also give the SEC more leeway to regulate via enforcement and a green light to target financial institutions exposed to cryptocurrency.
the day ahead
Today, investors should continue to monitor the crypto news wires. FTX and Genesis bankruptcy proceedings and crypto regulatory talk will need to be noted. In the final hour, the NASDAQ mini could also provide direction.
Investors' attention will be on the Fed this week, with markets betting on a 25 basis point rate hike and a less aggressive interest rate path to bring inflation to target.
Crypto Market Sees Red in Increased Regulatory Scrutiny
It was a mixed session on Saturday. A bullish start to the day saw the crypto market cap rally to an early high of $1.016 billion before pulling back. The reversal saw the crypto market capitalization drop to a low of $989.69 billion in the early afternoon. However, an afternoon rally left the market capitalization at $999.42 billion, marking a loss of $6.76 billion on the day.
The top ten crypto market movers and shakers and beyond
It was a mixed session for the top ten crypto.
ADA it fell 2.05% to lead the way lower. bnb (-0.58%), ETH (-1.62%), SUN (-1.68%), and XRP (-1.11%) also saw red.
Nevertheless, BTC (+0.27%) and DOGE (+0.92%) broke the trend of the top ten.
From the CoinMarketCap top 100, it was a mixed session.
UN (United Nations) and convex finance (CLC) led the way, climbing 8.53% and 8.85%, respectively, with gala (GALA) ending the day with a rise of 7.60%.
However, lido DAO (I DO) fell 6.29%, with DAO token curve (CRV) and optimism (OP) with losses of 5.27 % and 4.21 %, respectively.
24-hour sell-offs slide in the range-limited Saturday session
Over 24 hours, cryptocurrency selloffs fell further below normal levels in a relatively limited Saturday session. Long positions had the highest proportion of liquidations, representing 74.71% of total liquidations. At the time of writing, 24-hour settlements stood at $59.34 million, up from $110.08 million on Saturday morning.
Traders liquidated in the last 24 hours were also lower. At the time of writing this report, traders settled stood at 24,888 compared to 30,628 on Saturday morning. Crypto liquidations were lowest for 12 and four hours and over an hour.
According to purse, 12-hour settlements stood at $30.11 million, down from $58.03 million on Saturday, with four-hour settlements down from $32.95 million to $8.52 million. One-hour settlements decreased from $2.33 million to $1.48 million.
The following chart shows the market conditions throughout the session.
