Synopsis
- UK Inflation numbers published last week created significant selling pressure across the crypto market. The forecasted figure was 9.8%, and the actuals were much higher at 10.1%. It implies that the central bank might be inclined to raise interest rates.
- Memecoins are back. A new project, $PEPE, reached a market capitalization of more than $100 million in less than one week. Due to the massive trading of the memecoin on decentralized exchanges, the gas prices, measured in Gwei, for a single transaction went as high as $30 at one point this week.
- In March and April 2023, the number of unique users across NFT marketplaces has fallen from ~28k to ~5k, a drop of -85%.
- The total crypto market cap lost around $104 Billion over the past week and stood 8% lower than the previous week.
Key observations
Immediately following the publication of the inflation figures in the UK, the crypto market dropped over 10% over three successive days. Following this sharp decline, the market seems to have settled down and is exhibiting a range-bound movement.
Analysis
The forecasted inflation figure for the UK was around 9.8%. The figure released this week showed that inflation stood at 10.1%. Financial markets do not enjoy surprises, which was evident in this case.
- The US Consumer Price Index data released just a week prior was in line with expectations. With this in mind, the market anticipated a similar story for the UK statistics. And with such dismal numbers, the market expressed its discomfort.
- The Bank of England will decide the interest rates shortly. Higher inflation could impact the committee in raising the interest rates.
Memecoins are back in action, yet again. And these are not to be taken lightly. Here’s why:
- These were the primary drivers behind the rise of transaction fees or gas prices. At one point, the gas fees on Ethereum reached around 150 Gwei this past week. The average gas fees just a week prior hovered around 35 Gwei.
- One of the earliest buyers of $PEPE turned a 0.125 ETH purchase into nearly $2 million on-chain. However, since this individual owns 1.4% of the total supply, they will not be able to realize these returns without significantly impacting the market.
The battle between NFT marketplaces such as Blur, Opensea, Looks, and others has been a hotly contested topic over the last few quarters. In roughly two months, from March 1st to April 24th, unique users have fallen from ~28.000 to ~5000, a drop of -85%.
The NFT marketplaces must implement new and practical use cases rather than marginal features.
It has been a relatively slow week for the major cryptocurrencies. However, the market dominance of stablecoins increased significantly. USDT jumped by almost 1% week-on-week.
Deep dive into the top gainer and loser
We closely analyze the performance of top 50 coins by market capitalization, and take a closer look at the best and the worst performers of the week.
Tron (TRX) up by 1% ⬆️
When the highest gainer of the week went up by only 1%, it highlights the fact that the market went into a caution mode.
Opinion: Tron has decent and consistent trading volumes. The price action suggests that it is moving close to two major zones. If it manages to break the upper trendline, we might expect a rapid move higher. However, if the volumes remain steady and there is no massive external change, we can expect a range-bound movement.
HEX down by 20% ⬇️
HEX is an altcoin that was distributed to Bitcoin holders in December 2019. Since HEX has a close-knit association with Bitcoin, the rise and fall in BTC play a significant role in the price action of HEX.
Opinion: The technical analysis of HEX shows the possibility of a further price drop. The Money Flow Index highlights the amount of money flowing into the project and is dropping steeply downwards. Moreover, HEX dropped rapidly following the trendline breakdown. If the current support level breaks, the next support level is another 14.23% lower.
Conclusion
The UK inflation figures significantly impacted the market, leading to a sharp decline, followed by a range-bound movement. Memecoins, such as $PEPE, have come back, causing a surge in gas prices. However, the NFT marketplaces have experienced a sharp drop in unique users, highlighting the need for more practical use cases. Tron has the potential to break out of its range, while HEX could face further price drops.
