The global cryptocurrency market, after reaching an intra-day high of $1.42 trillion, tanked 3.7 per cent to close at $1.37 tn as of 9am IST today, triggered by fresh fears of the fast spread of the delta strain of Covid-19. The total crypto trading volume saw a modest growth by 2 per cent. Globally, multiple market indices showcased a daily decline, as investors sought safer investments with banks and treasuries.

A week into the second half of the year, the bears continued to reign in the market, as Bitcoin (BTC) slumped below the $33,000 level post midday, falling well short of the major resistance level at $35,000. The extended selling pressure continued to drive down the price further, before bouncing back from $32,000 support level to hover around $32,800 registering an overall 1.5 per cent dip from the previous day. BTC’s price looks poised to retest $30,000 levels as it broke out of a symmetrical triangle pattern which is essentially bearish. The total BTC trading volume, however, gained significantly by 8 per cent today.

Ethereum (ETH), after rallying on the back of its upcoming EIP-1559 blockchain update, registered a drop of more than 6 per cent, losing most of the previous week gains to close at $2,120 today. It failed to break through its first resistance level at $2,420.

Other major altcoins were also quick to observe bearish moves. Dogecoin (DOGE), Theta (THETA), Solana (SOL) and Polygon (MATIC) continued to shed previous gains with a 6-8 per cent drop. Terra (LUNA), a blockchain protocol that uses dollar-pegged stablecoins to power payment systems, was the only coin in green among the top 30 cryptocurrencies.

To lend momentum again to the broader market, the bulls need to step up in the upcoming days and drive BTC above the $34,000 levels.

Top gainers today:

1. Terra (LUNA): 7.3%
2. UNUS SED LEO (LEO): 5.8%
3. 0x (ZRX): 5.3%

Top Losers today:

1. Decentraland (MANA): -21.2%
2. Enjin Coin (ENJ): -16.0%
3. Axie Infinity (AXS): -15.4%

Analysis includes top 100 coins only as of 9am IST

Source: CoinMarketCap

Crypto news at a glance:

1. The London hard fork of Ethereum that includes the much-anticipated EIP-1559, is likely to launch on August 4, 2021 as it awaits approvals from client teams. It was earlier expected to go live around mid-July.

2. Global payments leader Visa revealed that over $1 billion worth of cryptocurrency transactions were made on its network in the first half of 2021, pointing to the strong adoption gained by cryptocurrencies this year.

3. Bank of America, after previously criticizing Bitcoin’s volatility and impracticality, is the latest among global banks to set up a research team for outlining plans to enter the crypto space.

4. Circle, the company behind the world’s second largest dollar-pegged coin USDC, has officially announced its plans to go public via a merger with Concord, a publicly traded Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC).

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