Crypto News: Bear Market Guides to Bitcoin Market Suddenly in Vogue

June 29, 2022

What happened today in crypto markets – and why

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Welcome to Market Wrap! I'm Bradley Keoun, here to take you through the latest news and insights on crypto markets.

In today's newsletter:

Bitcoin (BTC) fell for a fourth straight day, just barely holding above the psychologically crucial $20,000 mark.
Bankless newsletter publishes mental-health guide to surviving crypto bear market.
Bybit to settle options trades in the stablecoin USDC, Jimmy He reports.

Today's Market Wrap newsletter was produced by Jimmy He.

Bitcoin (BTC) fell for a fourth straight day, just barely holding above the psychologically crucial $20,000 mark.

And so it seems fitting that the decentralized finance (DeFi) newsletter Bankless sent an edition on Wednesday under the title, "7 Mental Health Tips for This Bear Market."

"Unless you're a crypto mega whale hoovering up capitulation plankton, chances are number-go-down for a while," Jem Khawaja wrote in the newsletter.

Among altcoins, Polkadot's DOT was the biggest loser in the CoinDesk 20, falling 3.7% over the past 24 hours. Ether (ETH), the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain and the second biggest overall, fell 3.5%. Dogecoin (DOGE) rose 6%, and shiba inu (SHIB) rallied 3.6%.

In traditional markets, stocks edged lower as top officials at the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank spoke about the economy and inflation at a forum.

The day's highlight came when Fed Chairman Jerome Powell acknowledged that "we now understand better how little we understand about inflation." Consumer prices have been climbing at their fastest pace in four decades.

Latest prices

●Bitcoin (BTC): $20,179 −0.4%

●Ether (ETH): $1,107 −4.6%

●S&P 500 daily close: 3,818.83 −0.1%

●Gold: $1,820 per troy ounce +0.1%

●Ten-year Treasury yield daily close: 3.09% −0.1

Bitcoin, ether and gold prices are taken at approximately 4pm New York time. Bitcoin is the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index (XBX); Ether is the CoinDesk Ether Price Index (ETX); Gold is the COMEX spot price. Information about CoinDesk Indices can be found at coindesk.com/indices.

Crypto Derivatives Exchange Bybit to Settle Options Contracts in USDC

By Jimmy He

Crypto derivatives exchange Bybit said it is offering options contract settlement using USD coin (USDC).

The exchange said in a press release that USDC, a stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar and the second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization, will enable stable prices for the duration of each contract.

Bybit's choice to use USDC for contracts because of its stability unfolds despite increasing doubts about stablecoins. In May, Terra's UST, then the third-largest stablecoin by market cap, crashed to nearly zero from its dollar peg. Tether (USDT), the largest stablecoin, lost $10 billion in market capitalization the same month when investors started to redeem the tokens.

Amid the general crypto market volatility, USDC is being seen as a more reliable and transparent option, according to analysts.

Read the full story here.

Biggest Gainers

Asset	Ticker	Returns	DACS Sector
Terra	LUNA	+29.5%	Smart Contract Platform
Dogecoin	DOGE	+4.5%	Currency
Shiba Inu	SHIB	+2.1%	Currency

Biggest Losers

Asset	Ticker	Returns	DACS Sector
Solana	SOL	−5.7%	Smart Contract Platform
Polkadot	DOT	−5.2%	Smart Contract Platform
Ethereum	ETH	−4.6%	Smart Contract Platform

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Altcoin Roundup

Chainlink protocols go live on Fantom: Two protocols, Keepers and Verifiable Random Function (VRF), will allow developers to deploy more sophisticated DeFi applications on the Fantom network. Read more here.
Bybit settles options contracts in USDC: The crypto derivatives exchange will be offering options contract settlement using USD coin. The exchange said in a press release that it would enable stable prices for the duration of each contract. Read more here.
Polygon Deploys 'Avail': The custom blockchain scaling system allows developers to launch application-specific blockchains on the Polygon network and access blockchain data "off-chain," meaning they wouldn't need to continually check data from the network for an application deployed on Polygon. Read more here.

Relevant insight

Nansen Casts Blame for stETH 'De-Peg' on Terra: The report from the blockchain analytics firm also explains how Celsius Network and Three Arrows Capital helped foment their own declines.
EU Finalizes Crypto Money Laundering Rules: A Wednesday meeting secured a final deal on anti-money-laundering legislation for crypto transfers, which the industry warns could prove harmful for innovation and privacy.
Crypto Miners Face Margin Calls, Defaults as Debt Comes Due in Bear Market: Private and publicly listed crypto miners owe up to $4 billion in debt used to finance the construction of gargantuan facilities across North America, according to industry participants and data compiled by CoinDesk.
Polkadot Chief Gavin Wood Announces Blockchain Governance Upgrade: The platform's "Gov2" is set to launch on Kusama "imminently," following a final professional audit of its code, he said.
Citi Flags Crypto-Backed Real Estate Mortgages Amid Falling Market Conditions: The bank points to the rise of crypto-backed mortgages and financing of digital property purchases.
Bitcoin Dips Under $20K on Blunted Growth Sentiment as Spain Fuels Inflation Concerns: Traders assessed revived concerns of rampant inflation and growth for the coming months.
Deutsche Bank: Crypto Free Fall Could Continue Because of the System's Complexity: As bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are speculative, high-risk assets, they are disproportionately affected by central bank tightening, the bank said.

Disclaimer: The information presented in this message is intended as a news item that provides a brief summary of various events and developments that affect, or that might in the future affect, the value of one or more of the cryptocurrencies described above. The information contained in this message, and any information liked through the items contained herein, is not intended to provide sufficient information to form the basis for an investment decision. The information presented herein is accurate only as of its date, and it was not prepared by a research analyst or other investment professional. You should seek additional information regarding the merits and risks of investing in any cryptocurrency before deciding to purchase or sell any such instruments.