Rate Hike Fears Keep Bitcoin Under Pressure

The latest moves in crypto markets, in context

Edited by Omkar Godbole

November 12, 2021

Sponsored by

Bitcoin (BTC)

-1.5% $63,900

Ether (ETH)

-2% $4,605

(Price data as of November 12 @ 12:50 UTC)

If you were forwarded this newsletter and would like to receive it, sign up here.

Good morning, and welcome to First Mover. Here's what's happening this morning:

Market Moves: Rate hike fears weigh over cryptocurrencies

Technician's Take: Nasdaq looks south, signaling downside risk for bitcoin

And check out the CoinDesk TV show "First Mover," hosted by Christine Lee, Emily Parker and Lawrence Lewitinn at 9:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern time.

– Omkar

Biggest Movers

These are the biggest movers in the CoinDesk 20 over the past 24 hours:

Top Gainers:

Algorand (ALGO): +9.2%

Top Losers:

Chainlink (LINK): -6%

Polkadot (DOT): -5%

The CoinDesk 20 are 20 digital assets filtered from the larger universe of thousands of cryptocurrencies and constitute roughly 99% of the market by volume at eight of the largest and most trustworthy exchanges.

A message from Bybit

Not part of the Bybit community yet? From now until Nov. 18, 2021, 10AM UTC, join us and get a 10 USDT coupon when you make your first ever deposit. You'll also get additional bonuses of up to $3,000 when you deposit at least $500 worth of eligible assets. T&Cs apply.
More than three million traders have experienced Next Level Trading. What about you?

Market Moves

by Omkar Godbole

The crypto market was a sea of red early Friday, with major coins like bitcoin and ether nursing moderate losses, as fears of earlier Federal Reserve interest rate hikes overshadowed the impending Taproot upgrade. Markets now foresee a first rate hike by July and another by December.

"Bitcoin's Taproot upgrade comes timely as development on the bitcoin blockchain has been accelerating quickly this year," Paolo Ardoino, CTO at Bitfinex, told CoinDesk in an email. "Taproot will deliver more scalability, privacy and smart contract functionality on the bitcoin blockchain and greatly expands upon what has been possible so far. We can expect Taproot to unlock the power of Lightning Network to bring true scalability to the bitcoin blockchain, readying it for use in more complex operations."

Analysts told CoinDesk last month that investors may have already baked in the long-awaited implementation touted by some as revolutionary. The cryptocurrency dropped to $62,800 on Wednesday and was last seen trading near $63,600.

"We wouldn't rule out further downside at these levels in the short term. With equities markets on shaky grounds, the correlation with crypto is strengthening," said Matthew Dibb, co-founder, and COO of Stack Funds. "In saying this, the recent pullback has been much needed as bitcoin was beginning to show signs of becoming overheated when looking at open interest and funding rates.

"Next support on the downside is 60,000, which we expect to get bid if it falls. For the upside, a break of the previous high will likely send it to 75,000; however, we believe that 'choppiness' is the more likely outcome," Dibb added.

Ether appeared due for a correction with critical indicators like trading volumes and active addresses signaling a bearish divergence. OMG token tanked more than 25% as centralized exchanges registered a record net inflow of 5.7 million OMG tokens early Friday.

In traditional markets, the dollar index, which tracks the greenback's value against majors, was headed for its best weekly performance in five months. The futures tied to the S&P 500 signaled a positive start to trade later Friday with a 0.25% gain.

Also read:

Bitcoin’s Taproot Upgrade Might Already Be Priced In

Technician's Take

by Bradley Keoun

Nasdaq Under Pressure

Chart shows a bearish divergence of relative strength index (Source: TradingView)

Nasdaq's weekly chart relative strength index has produced lower highs, decoupling from higher highs on the price chart. The bearish divergence represents uptrend fatigue and often precedes price pullbacks.

A decline in Nasdaq may bring downside in bitcoin. While the cryptocurrency is widely perceived as digital gold, it is also a risk asset.

"Bitcoin is both, and the weight of each narrative will vary depending on the market mood, often producing strong intra-day swings like we saw yesterday," Noelle Acheson, head of market insights, said in a LinkedIn post.

"Is it a risk-on asset like tech equity? With the Taproot upgrade around the corner, investors are reminded that Bitcoin is a new technology with as-yet-undeveloped use cases and the potential adoption growth that implies," Acheson added.

A Message from Chainalysis

Looking for your ticket #ToTheMoon? 🚀

Market Intel by Chainalysis - the blockchain data platform - arms you with the most complete on-chain dataset for crypto research and investment decisions.

Whether you’re an Asset Manager searching for a signal...

A Quant Analyst interested in spotting market trends...

Or a VC looking to fund the next emerging crypto player...

Market Intel will help you reach your goals, utilizing 53 metrics across 10 categories—like whales, exchanges, liquidity, and supply.

To get started, head to markets.chainalysis.com.

BOLO

Be on the lookout for the following events today:

ICYMI

In case you missed it, here are the most recent episodes of "First Mover" on CoinDesk TV:

What’s Behind the Market Pullback? Miami Mayor Francis Suarez on the Race to Become the Next Bitcoin Hub as New York City Gets Its Own Coin and More

"First Mover" hosts speak to Miami Mayor Francis Suarez for details on his plan to take the next paycheck in bitcoin, as well as the city's plan to become the next bitcoin hub. Community Lead for CityCoins Patrick Stanley shares the newly-launched New York City Coin, which many see as a rivalry to the Miami Coin. Plus, market insights from Co-founder & President of GSR Markets Rich Rosenblum.

A Message from CoinDesk

CoinDesk’s “Most Influential” recognizes individuals who’ve had a big impact on the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry in a calendar year. Chosen by readers and editorial staff, the list features 50 people from across the space, including entrepreneurs, traders, coders, regulators, celebrities and the odd surprise. To have your say on who should make this year’s list, check out the form here. The results will be announced on Dec. 6, 2021.

Latest Headlines

Binance users say that the crypto exchange is not allowing them to make any withdrawals until they return the DOGE.

Analysts expect further upside despite short-term price swings.

The crypto exchange could face industry headwinds amid the wider adoption of cryptocurrency, Mizuho told clients.

Pavel Skazkin, aka “Papasweeds,” found a creative outlet, a sense of purpose and a source of income to supplement his meager inmate’s salary, thanks to the NFT market explosion.

AMC Theatres To Accept Bitcoin, Ether for Online Payments

CEO Adam Aron said dogecoin will be next.

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.

First Mover

A newsletter from CoinDesk

Copyright © 2021 CoinDesk, All rights reserved.

250 Park Avenue South New York, NY 10003, USA

Manage your newsletter subscriptions | Unsubscribe from all CoinDesk email