Crypto Market Update: Bitcoin Shows Little Movement As Us Macro Data Suggested Further Interest Rate Hikes From The Fed

Written by Van - Perfected by ChatGPT

In March, the US job market showed resilience as it recorded the addition of 236,000 jobs, slightly below economists’ predictions of 239,000. The Bureau of Labor Statistics also reported a decrease in the unemployment rate from 3.6% to 3.5%, beating expectations. The number of jobs added in February was revised higher from 311,000 to 326,000. US nonfarm payrolls figures came in slightly below expectations, which raised market expectations that the Federal Reserve would persist in raising interest rates to combat inflation.

The US dollar managed to bounce back above the 102 mark, hitting its highest levels in several days following the report. Meanwhile, Bitcoin posted a -0.6% drop throughout the day, sliding from \(28,165 to \)27,965 at the time of writing.

Crypto Market Rally Faces Headwinds as Central Banks Keep Liquidity Tight, Warns Bloomberg Intelligence

It comes while Bloomberg Intelligence warns that the ongoing crypto market rally may be facing headwinds due to central banks keeping liquidity tight, which is impacting risk assets, including cryptocurrencies. Despite Bitcoin gaining 70% in Q1, Bloomberg Intelligence notes the close relationship between crypto performance and global central bank liquidity levels. As inflation bites, banks have been withdrawing liquidity from the economy, and the US Federal Reserve’s quantitative tightening coincided with Bitcoin’s all-time high.

Bloomberg Intelligence noted that liquidity continues to be squeezed due to plunging M2 money supply and bank deposits, which may mean it is illogical to expect stock markets, crude oil, copper, or the Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index (BGCI) to sustain recent bounces. “Our take is Bitcoin faces headwinds but will eventually transition to trade more like gold and Treasury bonds,” they said.

Mt Gox Repayment Process Begins as Deadline for Creditor Information Passes

The deadline for Mt Gox creditors to provide their repayment information has passed, and repayments can now be made until Oct. 31, 2023. The Mt Gox trustee will make preparations to distribute payments to creditors in a mix of bitcoin, bitcoin cash, and fiat money, with the first 200,000 yen paid in yen. The repayment process is expected to take some time, and the deadline for repayments could be subject to change. The trustee will coordinate with financial institutions, including crypto exchanges, to distribute the payments.

US Treasury Warns About Criminal Use of DeFi Protocols, Ethereum Suffers Slight Decline

Ethereum has seen a -0.86% decline over the past 24 hours whereas the broader crypto market is turning red. Amid investors’ anticipation towards the Shanghai upgrade, the US Department of the Treasury warned about criminals using decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols to transfer and launder their illicit proceeds, but added that most money laundering, proliferation financing, and terrorist financing still occur through fiat currencies rather than virtual assets.

The Treasury Department has admitted that DeFi apps have been exploited by crooks and that many such apps fail to comply with America’s anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism rules. They has also been working on improving its anti-money laundering framework in the crypto world and supporting responsible innovation in the DeFi space.

Dogecoin Drops 8.6% as Twitter Abandons Logo, Rally Fueled by Elon Musk’s Tweets Comes to an End

The price of Dogecoin dropped 8.6% after Twitter reverted back to its normal logo, abandoning the Dogecoin meme that had been featured since Monday. The short-lived rally in DOGE’s price had been driven by CEO Elon Musk’s tweets and the lack of depth in the coin’s market, with only 14% of volume based on DOGE/USDT trading on Binance.

Summary of Market Events and Price Action

As a summary of today’s events and price action in the market, it is crucial to note the following key points:

• BTC barely moves despite the worrying US macro data and Mt Gox repayment update  
• ETH stays calm amid the US Department of the Treasury’s warnings about criminals using DeFi  
• DOGE loses momentum after Twitter came back to its original logo  
• Logan Paul and the CryptoZoo Controversy: A Cautionary Tale for Crypto Investors

Top Altcoin Gainers and Losers

Gainers:  

Enjin Coin ENJ (+17.62%)

Radix XRD (+7.28%)

Filecoin FIL (+4.81%)

Losers:

Dogecoin DOGE (-8.77%)

Trust Wallet Token TWT (-6.01%)

Tezos XTZ (-5.28%)

NFT Market Map

Azuki sees a surge of +402.28% in trading volume as the community has been hyped following its tweet hinted at an upcoming event in Las Vegas this June, although there’s not much information to be revealed today.

Koda, as mentioned in our previous Coin360 Daily Dispatch issue, records a rise of +149.89% in trading volume while its sister collection, Vessel, sees a pullback of -42.80% after Koda Decoupling & Vessel claim went live on April 6.