While the broader market is showing early signs of a rebound, most cryptocurrencies have a long way to go before they are even close to scratching their previous all-time highs. Leading tokens are still trending sideways, while a handful of altcoins have been able to fend off bears.
Bitcoin Edges Past $20,000
Following a diabolical weekend where bitcoin (BTC-USD) prices dropped below $18,000, sparking losses to the tune of $7.3 billion, BTC bounced back sharply and is currently holding firm above the $20,000 mark.
That said, over the past seven sessions, BTC has shown a promising reversal, with its seven-day loss sitting at 2% – the lowest since the last few weeks. The latest crash over the weekend happened primarily because of significant sell-offs.
Amid market uncertainty, BTC whales are continuously reducing their exposure to BTC. According to Glassnode’s latest report, whale accounts deposited around 50,000 BTC across exchanges between June 20 and 21. Data from Arcane Research highlights that bitcoin miners and publicly-listed mining companies are liquidating their BTC holdings to cut losses amid the downturn, adding more downward pressure on prices.
Altcoins Try to Hold Their Ground
Fresh from the bloodbath of previous weeks, the majority of altcoins have been able to fend off bearish selling pressure. Ethereum (ETH-USD) is roughly flat over the past seven sessions, rising from lows of $900 to finally consolidate around the $1,100 mark. However, Ethereum’s decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem remains in tumult, as efforts to unwind positions and deleverage have erased $124 billion worth of value in the past six weeks alone.
Other altcoins from the top ten list, such as Binance Coin (BNB), Cardano (ADA), and Ripple (XRP), are gradually recovering from earlier losses. Still, Cardano’s upcoming Vasil upgrade has been delayed by a month, potentially capping any further near-term gains.
XRP, on the other hand, is possibly poised for further upside, according to some expert claims, as the organization gains the upper hand in its ongoing SEC battle. Adding to its positive momentum, the payment settlement platform has just announced its partnership with Lotus Cars to help the automotive company foray into the world of NFTs and Web3.
Green Shoots Emerge from Select Outperformers
While many prominent tokens are contending with the wrath of bears, low-cap altcoins are putting up (and winning) their biggest fights. Several altcoins have registered promising gains over the past seven sessions, including Solana (SOL), Dogecoin (DOGE) Shiba Inu (SHIB), Polygon (MATIC), Litecoin (LTC), Uniswap (UNI), Elrond (EGLD), Waves (WAVES), and many more.
One of the biggest gainers of the week was Synthetix (SNX). Ranked 90th by market capitalization, the SNX token registered nearly 70% gains over the past seven sessions.
Synthetix’s layer-2 scaling solution recently partnered with Curve Finance to add Curve pools to its offerings, allowing investors to convert their staked Ethereum tokens (stETH) into Ethereum (ETH) at more reasonable rates. The development resulted in a surge in user activity that consequently drove the value of SNX to new heights.
Meanwhile, Polygon (MATIC) has jumped by almost 23% this week amid strong whale accumulation. According to on-chain data firm Santiment, MATIC investors have been on an accumulation spree for the past few weeks. Holders with 10,000 to 10 million MATIC tokens cumulatively added an extra 8.7% MATIC tokens to their wallets.
Another catalyst behind the upside in MATIC’s price was the Polygon network’s recent partnership with KlimaDAO to offset its carbon emissions as part of its initiative to become carbon negative.
After a punishing run, Memecoin Shiba Inu (SHIB) managed to reverse some of its recent losses after jumping nearly 24% this week. The rally was primarily attributed to Elon Musk’s recent comment at the Qatar Economic Forum, where he reiterated his support for another memecoin, DOGE.
Another reason behind the sudden gains of SHIB is the platform’s confirmation that Swiss luxury watchmaker Hublot is accepting SHIB as payment for its limited-edition watches.
Fresh Crypto Licenses, CBDCs, and Tether’s New Stablecoin
As Singapore ramps up its drive to become a welcoming destination for blockchain innovation, The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has “provisionally” approved licenses for three crypto firms – Crypto.com, Sparrow, and Genesis – to offer payment services in the country.
Underscoring Increased government interest in crypto, the Qatar Central Bank (QCB) Governor Sheikh Bandar bin Mohammed bin Saoud Al Thani revealed that the central bank is currently in “the foundation stage” of issuing its CBDC.
In adoption developments, Shopify has launched a new program, “tokengate”, which empowers merchants to connect with their customers and drive more sales by offering exclusive merchandise for token holders as part of its new connect-to-consumer initiative.
Finally, despite all the stablecoin chaos, Tether has expanded its stablecoin offerings with a new coin pegged 1:1 with GBP (British Pound Sterling). The Tether team clarified that this new stablecoin called GBPT is initially set for rollout in early July on the Ethereum blockchain.
