• The crypto markets have been on a roller coaster ride since the beginning of 2023, witnessing a massive jump before bulls drained heavily and the bears regained control.
• This weekend, multiple factors could keep the crypto space consolidated. This includes Mt. Gox’s 142,000 BTC unlock, Ethereum withdrawals-Shanghai upgrade, Silvergate Collapse and macroeconomic shift.
• These events may cause a plunge in the crypto market this weekend.
Current Crypto Market Status
The crypto markets have been on a roller coaster ride since the beginning of 2023, as the price has varied largely. The first two weeks witnessed a massive jump that raised the price by more than 40%.Following which, the bulls seemed to have drained heavily, and the bears regained control and kept the markets under their control including a couple of pullbacks.With the recent drop, it appeared that the price would resume with a fine recovery but multiple factors could keep the crypto space consolidated over this weekend.
Factors That May Lead To A Plunge
It is well known that different external factors can affect cryptocurrency prices and cause them to surge or fall at any given time. Global market cap fell more than 5.3% over this weekend as extreme selling pressure mounted across all cryptocurrencies in general. However, these events are expected to keep causing consolidation in this sector:
Mt Gox’s 142K BTC Unlock
Nearly 142K BTC are set to be released this year with creditors expecting to receive their holdings on 10th March 2021 with a deadline of 10th September 2021 for repayment processes to end completely. Although many creditors may not sell off all or part of their original holdings due to fear of liquidation there is still an increase in selling pressure in anticipation for these coins being unlocked from Mt Gox wallets soon enough
Ethereum Withdrawals-Shanghai Upgrade
The Shanghai upgrade allows validators to withdraw staked ETH from Beacon chain which was initially scheduled for March but now delayed till April 2021 . This upgrade though beneficial for ETH staking sector will also lead to increased selling pressure on other cryptos when investors start withdrawing their funds from it into other coins
Silvergate Collapse
Silvergate Bank who primarily deals in crypto transactions operated Silver Gate Exchange Network (SEN) which enabled exchanges offer ability to trade fiat currency however recently exposed FTX collapse led it suffer loss of $1 billion resulting withdrawal support leading reverse impact on entire crypto space
Macroeconomic Shift
Microeconomic data such as CPI & PPI results have shifted drastically causing investors take back profits made during recent bull run leading further dip in prices