The global crypto market cap for cryptocurrency dropped over 7% in Monday evening trade in Asia, nearing US$900 billion. Bitcoin fell to a 24-hour low of US$18,390.32 at 5 pm Hong Kong time, while Cardano led losses within the crypto top 10 by market capitalization, followed by Ethereum. 

See related article: Markets: Bitcoin back below US$20,000 while Ether leads losses in crypto top 10

Fast facts

• Bitcoin recovered slightly in late Asian trading from levels last seen in June this year. At 5 p.m. Hong Kong time, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization was down 8% from the same time yesterday to trade at US$18,448.84, off a 24-hour low of US$18,390.32 which were levels last seen for the coin in June.

• Ethereum (ETH) was down 11% at US$1,295.40, registering a seven-day loss of more than 26%, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Post “The Merge” on Thursday,  Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler said that cryptocurrencies that use proof-of-stake might be classified and regulated as securities. 
• The market is waiting to see how the Merge will further affect the daily operation, and particularly the security, of the Ethereum Network, Henry Liu, chief executive officer (CEO) of BTSE, a cryptocurrency exchange, told Forkast in an email. “Uncertainty is anathema to investors… if we don’t see any major hitches in the immediate aftermath of the Merge, we can likely expect a rebound in the ETH price.” 

• Top alt coins Solana, XRP, Cardano, and Polkadot were all down over 10%. The Helium NHT token was one of the major altcoin up on the day, gaining 3% after reports of Binance accidentally paying out millions of the token to some users due to an accounting error.
• US Federal Reserve officials are widely expected to raise the fed funds rate by at least 75-basis-points for the third consecutive time after a two-day meeting that commences Tuesday. Stocks in Shanghai and Hong Kong closed down 0.4% and 1% while the Nikkei 225 index closed 1.1%

See related article: As “The Merge” succeeds, rival ETHPoW fork falters

Executives of Ripple Labs and the US Securities and Exchange Commission have agreed to prolong the timeline of their lawsuit and postpone court proceedings until the end of 2022, implying that their legal standoff would likely last well into next year.

Both parties jointly requested the extension in a letter to Judge Sarah Netburn, who has been presiding over the case. Judge Netburn granted approval of the revised schedule.

Suggested Reading | Ripple Welcomes More Than 4,000 Artists Into Its New NFT Platform

How Case Vs. Ripple Began

Between 2013 and 2020, Ripple Labs raised $1.3 billion in capital through the sale of XRP tokens.

When the SEC filed a complaint against Ripple near the end of 2020, there were no indications from the SEC that Ripple was under scrutiny.

And Ripple was already trading on over 200 exchanges at the time.

The SEC, on the other hand, concluded that Christian Larsen, Ripple’s co-founder, and Bradley Garlinghouse, Ripple’s current CEO, illegally raised cash because XRP was not a registered securities but was offered to investors around the world.

Legal Showdown Until Before Christmas

The joint letter’s new provisions require the defense to file statements and any motions against expert witnesses by August 2, while objections must be filed by November 2. Additionally, any resistance must be responded to by December 20.

The revised timeline follows the SEC’s request for an extension to file an objection to Judge Netburn’s decision on the Motion for Reconsideration of the DPP Ruling. This was the regulator’s second request for an extension in the matter.

XRP total market cap at $31.56 billion on the daily chart | Source: TradingView.com

Defense attorney James Filan shared a tweet from Ripple defense lawyer Stuart Alderoty, who said:

“To all that have been following the case thus far – thank you. Know that Ripple is working hard (and the Court is pushing hard) to resolve the case as soon as possible, despite the SEC time and again doing everything they can to delay.”

XRP Price Analysis

Meanwhile, XRP was up 0.26 percent to $0.7073 at the time of writing. The crypto declined 1.70 percent on Saturday and ended the day at $0.7055, down 2.06 percent from Friday’s close.

On April 24, Ripple’s XRP fell for the fourth consecutive day, and the latest update had no discernible effect on the price.

XRP must break over the pivot point of $0.7117 in order to reach the first major resistance level at $0.7204. To break out of the $0.7150 range, XRP would require wide crypto market support.

Suggested Reading | Ripple Getting Bullish, Positive Trends Point To A Solid Year For XRP

The cryptocurrency is now trading at 82% of its all-time high of $3.84194.

Through the week, XRP trailed the broader crypto market, which was weighed down by market risk aversion.

XRP has also been pushed down by news updates on the Ripple vs. SEC case, which has challenged support at $0.70.

Featured image from Times Tabloid, chart from TradingView.com

Bitcoin prices declined for the sixth day in a row Tuesday, falling about 12% from the same time last week.

BTC/USD fell to a low of $37,358.00 to begin the trading week after reaching a high of $39,394.44 on Sunday.

BTC fell to its lowest level since February 4 as it approached its long-term support of $37,200. The crypto’s price strength is now fully oversold, with the 14-day RSI tracking at 39, its lowest level in more than three weeks.

The most recent BTC drop on February 21 brought the world’s leading cryptoasset close to $37,000, but a surprise bounce in the late hours Monday saw BTC trade at $38,607.

Related Article | TA: Bitcoin Resumes Slide, Why BTC Bears Aim $35K

According to market statistics, Bitcoin is presently seeing a “tepid” demand, with the asset’s price fluctuating around $38,000, down 44.97% from its all-time high.

There were about 275K daily active entities on the Bitcoin network as Tuesday. This activity level was significantly lower than its bull market highs, indicating decreasing demand from new customers.

Sustained Liquidations Deal Heavy Blow On Bitcoin Prices

However, Bitcoin’s long liquidations continued, with more than $30 million drained in just one hour, the second-highest hourly amount in four days and the third-highest hourly amount in nearly a month.

The Bitcoin price drop appeared to shake up the market and market players; nevertheless, the coin seemed to make some attempts at recovery.

BTC is trading at $37,792.12, down 1.57% Tuesday. On the upside, the price could run across resistance near $37,800. The next significant resistance is near $38,200, above which the price might rise to $39,500.

BTC total market cap at $713.045 billion in the daily chart | Source: TradingView.com 

Related Article | Stifel says Three Macro Factors Could Drop Bitcoin Price To $10,000

Bearish Week For Ethereum

Similar to Bitcoin, Ethereum prices were down to start the week, with the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency trading over 9% lower than it was on Monday.

ETH/USD hit an intraday low of $2,585.95, its lowest level since February 3. The impending fall cross of the 10-day and 25-day moving averages, which only recently gave vital signs of more rising momentum, has been delayed by this minor bounce.

If a recovery wave occurs, the market may encounter resistance near $2,680. The following central resistance zone is at $2,750, above which the price might reach $2,880.

Fear Grips Crypto As Ukraine-Russia Tensions Escalate

Uncertainty and increasing tension between Russia and Ukraine sank the global crypto market to its lowest level this week, resulting in massive losses for investors.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has given the go-signal Tuesday for Russian forces to take two Ukraine regions reportedly held by the rebels, drawing the ire of the West.

Meanwhile, investors continued to avoid risky assets in the face of geopolitical tensions, putting downward pressure on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

The crypto community was prompted to unload their “risky” digital assets to safeguard their portfolios from additional price losses.

Featured image from Moneycontrol, chart from TradingView.com