Key Insights:
- It was another week for the crypto markets to forget, with bitcoin (BTC) falling for a record ninth consecutive week.
- Central bank digital currencies were a hot topic of conversation on Capitol Hill.
- Cryptos drew greater focus at the 2022 World Economic Forum in Davos.
- The launch of LUNA 2.0 failed to deliver fireworks as lawmakers continued to investigate Terra Lab CEO, Do Kwon.
Crypto market conditions failed to improve following the collapse of TerraUSD (UST) and Terra LUNA. The fallout continued to weigh on bitcoin (BTC) and the broader market.
News of the launch of LUNA 2.0 failed to impress, reflecting investor sentiment towards Terra Labs and CEO Do Kwon.
Launched on Saturday, LUNA 2.0 hit a high of $19.53 before tumbling by 80% to $4.0, according to CoinMarketCap.
Bitcoin (BTC) Falls for a Record Ninth Consecutive Week
A bearish start to the week saw bitcoin (BTC) set the tone for the broader market, with investors unable to shake off the bearish sentiment following a record eighth weekly loss in the week prior.
Facing the prospect of five days in the red, bitcoin is down by 4.4% to $28,926 for the week ending May 29.
On Monday, bitcoin struck a week high of $30,635 before sliding to a Thursday week low of $28,061.
A bullish weekend limited the damage, with bitcoin revisiting $29,000 levels before easing back.
While investor sentiment towards inflation, monetary policy, and the fear of a recession tested support, regulatory uncertainty was a key driver. The uncertainty showed in the decoupling of bitcoin and the broader crypto market from the NASDAQ 100.
Monday through Friday, the NASDAQ 100 rose by 6.84%, while bitcoin fell by 5.51%.
The bitcoin decline came despite the Fear & Greed Index recovering from a Monday low of 10/100 to hit a Sunday high of 14/100. While avoiding a return to sub-10/100 levels, the Index remained deep within the “Extreme Fear” zone, reflecting investor fear of a bitcoin sell-off.
Things were not much better for the rest of the crypto top ten.
The Crypto Bears Took Full Control with the Top Ten Seeing Red
In the week ending May 29, SOL and ADA are heading for losses of 19% and 15%, respectively, with BNB (-5.9%), DOGE (-6.1%), ETH (-13.2%), and XRP (-9.5%) also on the way to weekly declines.
Binance coin had bucked the trend in the previous week, supported by the Binance exchange’s progress in obtaining licenses and news of Binance Chain offering a platform for developers and projects on the terra ecosystem.
The total crypto market cap rose to a Monday high of $1,307 billion before sliding to a Friday low of $1,147 billion. At the time of writing, the market cap stood at $1,186 billion.
Liquidations spiked in the week, with 24-hour liquidations hitting as high as $500 million, according to Coinglass.
Over the weekend, conditions improved, however. At the time of writing, total 24-hour crypto liquidations stood at $79.77 million.
