Bitcoin prices slipped further to around $19,000 per coin after many unsuccessful bullish attempts to push prices above the important support level at $21,600. Some time needs to pass in order for prices to go deeper and push through the psychologically important level of $19,000 that was the peak of the previous upside cycle.
Prices are striving to return within the divergent wedge that emerged in August. In other words, Bitcoin prices are looking for ways to slide to the next $14,000 support level, while keeping a downside momentum. So, it would be no wonder if Bitcoin slips to $10,000. But the technical picture on the chart is even more disturbing as it points to a possible decline below $5,000 per coin.
The widely expected Ethereum network merge has had a minor effect on the market since it had been expected for a long time and already priced in. According to ultrasound.money ETH emission slowed down to 3,500 coins after the network’s blockchain was moved to the Proof-of-Stake algorithm compared to the 64,000 ETH that is to be issued if the networked continues to run on the Proof-of-Work algorithm. So, this is seen to be a positive development.
Nevertheless, the network has not changed its model to the deflationary one as it was expected due to the low activity inside the network. The main “burners” of the network are OpenSea project that burns daily around 95 ETH and Uniswap with 75 ETH per day. But they are not in demand at the moment amid bold market corrections. It is worthwhile to remember that the staking premium will decrease as more coins are moved to the ETH 2.0 contract. Eventually the premium may drop to 1-2% per year, and this may not inspire investors to stake their coins. Staking was designed to remove coins from the market for a long-term period so network safety could be improved. More than 10% of the overall coins in circulation have already been moved to staking already.
The global crypto market maker WinterMute, was hacked for $160 million. What is more alarming is that the breach was found in the DeFi operational segment of the company while the CeFi and OTC segments survived. Wintermute’s founder and CEO Evgeny Gaevoy said in a statement that the project “solvent with twice over that amount in equity left”, so all associated entities should expect operations to befull restoration within the coming days. This is probably the only way to keep the project solvent in the crypto market while the security level of DeFi projects remains low.
According to Chainalysis’s 2022 Global Crypto Adoption Index emerging countries led the rating with 18 positons of the Top 20. Only the United States (5th place) and United Kingdom (17th place) were among the leaders of grassroots adoption. Vietnam, Philippines, and Ukraine are in the three first places. So, it could be noted that people within countries with vulnerable financial systems and weak banking sectors are the most willing to accept digital assets.