Weekly Market Update (Week 1, 3/1/2022 – 9/1/2022)

Bitcoin ($BTC) tumbles to $40,600. Chainlink soars in bear market conditions

Key Takeaways

• About USD 230 billion left the cryptocurrency market in the first week of 2022 ended Friday, as the sector continues to experience heightened volatility. Over the past weekend, Bitcoin (BTC) took another big hit as it tumbled from $42,000 to around $40,600, while Ethereum (ETH) also plummeted to just above $3,000. 
• Kazakhstan’s nationwide internet blackout amid protests caused the Bitcoin network hash rate to tumble by 13.4%, and the government resigned. No timeline exists as to when the internet will switch back on in the second-biggest Bitcoin mining country in the world.
• The general price index was negative at -13.74%, while the volume and volatility indices were positive at +36.79% and +20.69%, respectively.

Highlights

• U.S. Bitcoin mining global market share hits 35% growing 8x in two years
• Bitcoin, Ethereum and stock prices fall as Fed readies interest rate hike
• Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Terra, SHIB see sluggish start to New Year
• Bitcoin hashrate reaches a new record peak of 203.5 exahashes per second
• PayPal reportedly confirms plans to explore the launch of a stablecoin
• Samsung announces an NFT platform for smart TVs
• Over half a billion dollars in crypto liquidations as BTC traders prepare for the worst
• Ethereum NFT market soars in first days of 2022 after OpenSea marks another $3B month
• Social Media giant WeChat to support China’s CBDC, platform expected to boost adoption rate
• Leading VC Andreessen Horowitz raises another $9B
• Oracle tokens turn bullish as blockchain projects focus on interoperability
• LCX loses $6.8M in a hot wallet compromise over Ethereum blockchain

Market Index Tokens

Notable Events

• Bitcoin (BTC) slipped below $44,000 shortly after notes from the Federal Reserve’s December Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) session re-confirmed plans to hike interest rates in 2022. (ref)
• Over the past 24 hours, some whales on the top 1,000 ETH list have purchased large amounts of Chainlink (LINK), Polygon (MATIC) and FTX (FTX), continuing to bet on these coins while the declining BTC is pushing the whole market to the south. (ref)

DeFi Tokens

Notable Events

• Popular oracle network Chainlink (LINK) had soared by 33.4% in the week ended Friday. Much of the rise has been attributed to the utility that this oracle network provides for the crypto sector in general. (ref) (ref)
• Aave (AAVE) has launched its institutional product, Aave Arc, which will initially be open to 30 institutions that have been whitelisted by Fireblocks. (ref)

Other Tokens

Notable Events

• Shiba Inu (SHIB) has launched a Beta version of DAO to give users more authority over crypto projects. The Dogecoin rival aims to provide its users with more control over crypto projects and pairs on the ShibaSwap platform. (ref)
• While the market itself is on the decline, two crypto whales acquired more than 6.5 billion SHIB tokens within one hour on Sunday. (ref)