Crypto market update: Cryptos struggling after UST storm
Investors are waiting for more clarity on crypto regulations, claims analyst
The crypto market turned red again while bitcoin (BTC) struggled to rebound after midday on Wednesday 18 May 2022 as investors waited for more clarity on crypto regulations.
“Bitcoin’s rebound is underperforming as investors remain unsure of the regulatory gauntlet that could cripple large parts of the cryptoverse,” said Ed Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda. “A weaker dollar is welcome news for crypto investors, but this might only mean a stabilisation for bitcoin prices.
“Stablecoins will continue to get all the attention until Wall Street is convinced all the major ones will be able to handle any future stresses. Guidelines for how stablecoins are backed and better transparency on how they apply their pricing mechanisms will be required.
“The fallout from TerraUSD (UST) is still being digested, but what is surprising is that prices haven’t fallen much further. UST trades around $0.11, but it is hard to imagine this so-called stablecoin will have a chance of surviving.”
BTC testing the $30k resistance
According to Currency.com, bitcoin (BTC), the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation, ended yesterday at $30,415, up 1.94%, and was trading at $30,384 earlier today.
Over the past 24 hours, BTC was trading 7.8% higher, but 14.9% lower over the previous seven days, according to CoinMarketCap. Bitcoin’s market cap was $580.6bn, representing around 44.4% of the crypto market capitalisation, while the lead crypto’s trading volume was around 40% lower at $52.9bn over the past 24 hours.
The digital oil, ether (ETH), according to Currency.com, ended yesterday at $2.088, up 3.38%. ETH was trading at $2,095.
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The total crypto market capitalisation has fallen by $19bn from $1.303trn to $1.284trn in the past 24 hours.
Top gainers and losers
According to CoinMarketCap, of the top 100 coins and tokens, Gala (GALA), the utility token of the Gala Games blockchain, witnessed more than a 58% increase over the past 24 hours and was changing hands at $0.09928.
In contrast, TerraUSD (UST), the algorithmic stablecoin that caused the current crypto turmoil after depegging from US dollar, recorded more than a 68% decrease over the last 24 hours and was trading at $0.1631.
Among the crypto coins and tokens with more than a $50,000 24h-volume that have gained or lost the most in the past 24 hours, Bitball Treasure (BTRS) witnessed a 710% increase and was trading at $19.54, while Yieldly, (YLDY), was down 99% at $0.001453.
All cryptocurrency prices are correct as of 12:45 BST (UTC +1).
