Market Wrap: BTC Settles at $20K as Voyager Files for Bankruptcy

Hi, I'm Jimmy He, here to take you through the day's crypto market highlights and news.

Bitcoin BTC$91,172.94 leveled off to around $20,000 in Wednesday trading, down 2% from its high of $20,720 the previous day. The first cryptocurrency has changed hands largely in the $18,000 to $21,000 range for most of the past month as investors gauge the impact of rising inflation and macroeconomic uncertainty.

The majority of altcoins were in the green on Wednesday with AVAX$13.91 leading the charts, up 6.4% in the last 24 hours. Ether ETH$3,144.21, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, was up 0.7%.

An Increasingly Correlated Asset

For much of its short history, bitcoin has been uncorrelated to traditional markets, which served as a desirable quality for recession-conscious investors. However, according to data from Coin Metrics, bitcoin’s correlation to U.S. equities, specifically the S&P 500, has strengthened since March 2020.

“The correlation hit a new all-time high in Q2 ‘22 with BTC and U.S. equities moving almost lock-step,” Coin Metrics wrote in a newsletter. “At the same time, BTC moved increasingly against risk indices like the VIX.”

The release of the June consumer price index next week may show whether the recent hawkish monetary policies of the U.S. central bank have been effective. If prices decline, and other economic indicators also continue their recent descent, investors may feel more confident that the U.S. is solving the dual problems of inflation and a steep economic contraction. If the CPI continues to increase, markets could be discouraged.

Latest prices

●Bitcoin (BTC): $20,527 +5.5%

●Ether (ETH): $1,157 +6.5%

●S&P 500 daily close: 3,831.39 +0.2%

●Gold: $1,768 per troy ounce +NaN%

●Ten-year Treasury yield daily close: 2.81% −0.08

Bitcoin, ether and gold prices are taken at approximately 4pm New York time. Bitcoin is the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index (XBX); Ether is the CoinDesk Ether Price Index (ETX); Gold is the COMEX spot price. Information about CoinDesk Indices can be found at coindesk.com/indices.

Voyager Is Next Crypto Lender to Fall

Today’s positive crypto market movements were overshadowed by crypto lender Voyager’s filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection late Tuesday.

Voyager’s decision is part of the domino effect of crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital’s liquidity problems. The Singapore-based firm filed for for Chapter 15 bankruptcy last Friday. According to writer Frances Coppola, nearly 50% of Voyager’s total assets were from its loan book, and nearly 60% of the loan book consisted of loans to Three Arrows Capital.

Crypto companies – and lenders in particular – have faced solvency issues in recent weeks, with several stopping customers from withdrawing their funds. Celsius kicked off this trend last month, announcing in mid-June that it would suspend withdrawals. CoinLoan, CoinFLEX and Voyager itself all announced restrictions or outright halts on withdrawals in recent days, Nikhilesh De and Danny Nelson reported today.

Voyager’s VGX token plummeted to a low of $0.20 hours after filing for bankruptcy and is now trading at around $0.21, 12% down in the last 24 hours.

Altcoin roundup

• Ethereum testnet transitions to proof-of-stake: Ethereum’s Sepolia proof-of-work chain successfully merged with its proof-of-stake chain on Wednesday, taking the platform one step closer to its own Merge moment. This is the penultimate test environment network (testnet) merge before Ethereum makes its long-awaited transition. Read more here.
• Bitmark launches NFT wallet: The blockchain startup is ramping up its non-fungible token (NFT) initiatives, raising $5.6 million on the heels of its NFT wallet launch. The wallet, named “Autonomy,” is looking to bridge the gap between mainstream art collectors and the world of NFTs. Read more here.
• Chingari Tokens Plunge: The Solana blockchain-based social network application Chingari (GARI) saw tokens drop 87% on Monday night, prompting rumors of exploits or wrongdoings within the community. The team denies all rumors. Read more here.

Relevant insight

• Listen 🎧: Today’s CoinDesk Markets Daily podcast discusses the latest market movements and takes a look at crypto job satisfaction.
• Voyager Digital Faces Delisting From Toronto Stock Exchange Following Bankruptcy Filing: The exchange has suspended trading of the stock as it looks at whether the shares meet its listing requirements.
• Binance Extends Zero-Fee Bitcoin Trading Globally: The crypto exchange is rolling out a program that started in the U.S. last month to its global client base.
• Is MakerDAO Becoming ‘a Company Run by Politics’?: A series of recent votes prompted the largest governance participation in Maker’s history, with VCs on one side and the founding team on the other.
• Riot Blockchain Starts Move Away From New York Hosting Site: The crypto miner continued to sell its bitcoin, along with peers feeling the squeeze of the bear market.
• UK to Introduce Legislation on Stablecoins by August: BoE’s Cunliffe: There’s been at least a bit of delay in the framework thanks to recent resignations from Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government.
• Polygon Joins Solana in Bringing Web3 to Smartphones: Tech startup Nothing has tapped the Polygon network to offer NFTs on its new phone.
• Hut 8 Has Added 5,800 Mining Rigs at Its Ontario Site: The company said it will hold all the bitcoin it mines, as other crypto miners sell their coins.
• Ethereum DeFi Service Porter Finance Shutters Bond Platform, Citing Lack of 'Lending Demand': The venture capital-backed firm said the lack of “institutional fixed income DeFi adoption” drove its decision.
• Belgium Regulator Ponders Crypto as a Security: The EU’s landmark crypto law won’t take effect for a couple of years, but existing stock-trading rules may still apply, financial regulator FSMA says.
• Here's What Still Needs to Happen Before the EU's MiCA Bill Becomes Law: CoinDesk looks at what EU crypto companies can expect after the bloc sealed deals on the political shape on anti-money-laundering and licensing laws.

Other markets

Biggest Gainers

Asset Ticker Returns DACS Sector Solana SOL +8.4% Smart Contract Platform Cosmos ATOM +7.4% Smart Contract Platform Polygon MATIC +7.2% Smart Contract Platform

Biggest Losers

There are no losers in CoinDesk 20 today.

Sector classifications are provided via the Digital Asset Classification Standard (DACS), developed by CoinDesk Indices to provide a reliable, comprehensive and standardized classification system for digital assets. The CoinDesk 20 is a ranking of the largest digital assets by volume on trusted exchanges.