Bitcoin Soars to $19K, Ethereum Liquid Staking Coins Surge, FTX Locates $5B Worth of Assets: Weekly Recap

The past seven days saw the cryptocurrency market explode in terms of price action, and the total market capitalization is currently sitting at around $950 billion, up over $100 billion during this period. The market reacted favorably to the release of the CPI numbers, which were in line with expectations.

This came on the back of many cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, which increased by a whopping 14.3% during the past seven days. At the time of this writing, BTC is hovering above $19,000, having added over 5.5% throughout the past 24 hours alone. This is an impressive performance, and it shows.

Bitcoin’s dominance, which is commonly used to gauge its share relative to that of the rest of the market, sits at just shy of 39%, up significantly in the past seven days. This signals that BTC has managed to outperform the altcoin market over the period. Speaking of the latter, ETH also increased by about 13.6%, BNB added 12%, and so did DOGE. Cardano and Solana performed better, as they both charted gains upwards of 20%.

While we’re still on the subject of altcoins, it’s impossible not to mention Ethereum liquid staking protocols, such as Lido (LDO), Frax (FXS), Stafi (FIS), StakeWise (SWISE), and others. Most of these cryptocurrencies gained over 70% in the past week, as the long-anticipated Shanghai upgrade for Ethereum is slated to take place somewhere in March. It will allow stakers to withdraw their ETH from the Beacon Depositor Contract, and the narrative seems to be that platforms that allow liquid staking of ETH will benefit.

Meanwhile, price-related developments aside, there’s more news on the FTX front. It appears that the exchange has been able to “locate” some $5 billion worth of liquid assets and more in assets that they admitted would be hard to liquidate. This gives some hope to the million creditors of the bankrupt exchange.

Sam Bankman-Fried also published a blog on the matter of the exchange’s (in)solvency but failed to reveal anything that he or the liquidators hadn’t disclosed before.

All in all, the market seems to be on a path to recovery, and it’s exciting to see if it will continue in the coming days and weeks.

Market Data

Market Cap: $950B | 24H Vol: 74B | BTC Dominance: 38.9%

BTC: $19,230 (+14.3%) | ETH: $1,420 (+13.6%) | BNB: $288 (12.5%)

This Week’s Crypto Headlines You Better Not Miss

Binance Secures Regulatory Approval in Sweden. The world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange by means of users and trading volume – Binance – has secured Swedish approval to operate as a financial institution for management and trading in virtual currency. Sweden becomes the seventh EU jurisdiction to greenlight Binance.

Coinbase Dismisses 950 People Citing Current Economic Climate. US-based crypto exchange Coinbase continues to let people go, this time dismissing 950 of its employees. CEO Brian Armstrong said part of the reasons include the current economic climate and their efforts to optimize operational expenses.

Ethereum’s Shanghai Public Testnet to Hit the Floor in February End. The much-anticipated Shanghai upgrade seems to be just around the corner. Developers eye March as a release date. It will enable ETH stakers to withdraw their tokens from the Beacon Depositor Contract.

FTX Locates $5 Billion in Assets, Attorney Says: Report. Earlier this week, a bankruptcy attorney revealed that FTX has managed to locate over $5 billion worth of assets. This doesn’t include the $450 million that the Securities Commission of the Bahamas is safeguarding.

NEXO Bulgarian Offices Reportedly Raided by Authorities. Popular cryptocurrency lender Nexo saw its Bulgarian offices raided by local authorities. Prosecutors have filed pre-trial proceedings, investigating the company for money laundering, tax fraud, computer fraud, and others.

Enhanced Bitcoin Volatility as US CPI Numbers Clock in at 6.5%. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics released the CPI numbers for December, and they are in line with the expected 6.5%. This is the metric most commonly used to gauge the levels of inflation in the country.

Charts

This week we have a chart analysis of Ethereum, Ripple, Cardano, Binance Coin, and Solana – click here for the complete price analysis.