Crypto Market Daily Highlights – ETH Led a Post-Merge Sell-Off

Key Insights:

• It was a bearish Thursday session for the crypto top ten, with ethereum (ETH) leading the way down.
• A seamless Ethereum transition to a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) sent the crypto market into negative territory. A bearish session for the NASDAQ 100 added to the market angst.
• The total crypto market cap tumbled by $38.3 billion to $925.6 billion.

It was a bearish Thursday session for the crypto top ten. ETH led the way down, with the Ethereum Merge failing to draw investors from the sidelines. Bitcoin (BTC) ended the day at sub-$20,000 for the first time since September 8.

The heavily anticipated Ethereum Merge took place on Thursday, with no reported hiccups to cause a sell-off. However, post-Merge uncertainty hit the crypto markets, with the NASDAQ 100 falling by 1.43%.

US economic indicators from Thursday supported a 75-basis point rate hike, removing any hopes of a less hawkish move. Currently, the split between a 75-basis point and percentage point rate hike is 80% to 20% in favor of a 75-basis point hike. Ahead of Thursday’s retail sales and Philly Fed numbers, the split had stood at 75% to 25% in favor of a 75% basis point hike.

Crypto Market Sinks Post-Merge to Leave the Bears in the Driving Seat

On Thursday, the crypto market cap rose to a mid-morning high of $971.8 billion before tumbling to a low of $914.05 billion.

The slide came despite falling bets of a 75-basis point Fed rate hike and the success of the Ethereum Merge.

Following a modest rise on Wednesday, the crypto market cap slid by $38.3 billion to $925.6 billion. For the current week, the market cap is down $101.8 billion.

The Crypto Market Movers and Shakers from the Top Ten and Beyond

It was a bearish Thursday session for the crypto top ten.

ETH led the way down, sliding by 10.16%.

ADA (-3.12%), BNB (-3.04%), BTC (-2.57%), DOT (-3.75%), SOL (-3.09%), and XRP (4.53%) also saw heavy losses.

From the CoinMarketCap top 100, it is a mixed session.

Cosmos (ATOM) led the way, rallying by 6.67%, with Quant (QNT), and Kyber Network (KNC) seeing gains of 4.96% and 3.16%, respectively.

However, Ravencoin (RVN) led the way down, sliding by 21.6% in response to the Ethereum Merge. Terra Classic (LUNC) and Terra (LUNA) saw losses of 12.5% and 13.6%, respectively. Investors responded further to news of South Korean authorities issuing an arrest warrant for Do Kwon.

24-HourCrypto Liquidations Rise in Response to the Merge

Over 24 hours, total liquidations increased as investors reacted to a bearish NASDAQ session and the Ethereum Merge.

At the time of writing, 24-hour liquidations stood at $287.54 million, up from $164.33 million on Thursday morning.

Liquidated traders over the last 24 hours also increased. At the time of writing, liquidated traders stood at 79,750 versus 65,683 on Thursday morning.

Liquidations over twelve hours and one hour also rose, while liquidations over four hours declined.

According to Coinglass, 12-hour liquidations stood at $164.90 million, up from $93.39 million on Thursday morning, with one-hour liquidations up from $5.19 million to $7.22 million. However, four-hour liquidations were down from $25.46 million to $21.56 million. The chart below shows market conditions throughout the session.