Crypto Market Loses 1.7%; Bitcoin Slumps Further

The global crypto market flashed red on Thursday amidst Bitcoin's (BTC) muted liveliness, losing 1.7 per cent to close at $1.32T as of 9 am IST. The overall market seemed to be in a dormant state, though with a modest increase of 3.3 per cent in its trade volume.

The current slump in BTC prices is attributed to the weak holding patterns prevalent in the market and the record-high inflation in the US. BTC registered a decline of 2.3 per cent to close at $31,950. Earlier, it steadily lost its ground and hovered close to the first support level at $30,900. BTC market trade volume saw an increase of 7 per cent, signalling receding selling pressures from the whales. The current pattern of BTC pricing points to a bearish rectangle, with a possible further downtrend. BTC may soon be testing its significant support level of $30,350. BTC failed to test any resistance levels today. 

Ethereum (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, has failed to test its first resistance level at $2,014 and closed the day at $1,950. If the downturn persists, ETH might go a leg lower to trigger the $1,800 support levels. 

Major altcoins, except Binance Coin (BNB) and Stellar (XLM), registered a 2 to 7 per cent decline over the day. BNB and XLM tokens grew by 4 and 5 per cent, respectively. 

BTC continued to dominate the market cap with a 45.5 per cent share. The silver lining for BTC lies in miners' return accompanied by on-chain metrics denoting 29 per cent of reclaimed hash power. This development might help BTC to gain momentum in the coming days. BTC continuing to remain resilient above the critical $30,000 levels is key for broader market recovery. 

Top Gainers today:

1. NEM (XEM): 20.3%
2. BakeryToken (BAKE): 13.1%
3. Kusama (KSM): 8.7%

Top Losers today:

1. Telcoin (TEL): -14.8%
2. THORChain (RUNE): -12.8%
3. Decentraland (MANA): -10.4%

The analysis includes the top 100 coins only as of 9am IST

Source: CoinMarketCap

Crypto News at a Glance:

1. Paypal, in a bid to make the process of buying cryptocurrencies more flexible, announced that its users will now be able to purchase upto $100,000 worth of crypto assets every week, a five-fold increase in limits.
2. Mobile payments company Square, founded by Jack Dorsey, announced that it will be launching a platform for developers to create non-custodial, permissionless, and decentralized financial services using Bitcoin. 
3. France called for an EU-wide cryptocurrency regulation that would lend greater power and direct control to Paris-based European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) to regulate the growing crypto market in the region.
4. According to Google Trends, a tool to gauge interest on general topics, the number of searches related to Bitcoin around the world is at a seven-month low. This marks a significant decline from the peak reached in May this year. 

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