Daily News | Dovish Powell Speech Gave Way To Wall Street Optimism, Crypto Surged With Equity Indices

Crypto Daily Digest: Powell Sidesteps Financial Conditions, Boosts Market Confidence, Crypto Surged

Good morning, fellow traders. It’s Thursday and it’s going to be yet another great day. Let’s get after it relentlessly.

The US equity market rose after Fed Chair Powell said the central bank has made progress in fighting inflation, but additional rate hikes are likely needed. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 increased by 1% and 2% respectively. Powell sidestepped a question on easing financial conditions, which was seen as dovish but warned of more rate hikes.

The Fed is now near the end of its tightening cycle and may wait for economic data to catch up. However, some market analysts believe the market is too optimistic about the future of rates.

Meanwhile, after markets closed, equity futures continued to rise as Meta Platforms reported better sales which boosted tech investors’ confidence, which is poised to extend gains well into Asian session.

Onto crypto, Bitcoin and Ether rose 3% and 4%, respectively, following optimism from main street. However, the majority of the crypto sector traded flat before the Fed statement which demonstrates the impact TradFi has over DeFi. The most notable changes among the top 20 coins include Cosmos (ATOM) and Avalanche (AVAX), both skyrocketing 12% while Polygon (MATIC) surged 9%.

The total crypto market cap, per Tradingview data, now stands at $1.032T, the highest since Sep. 2022. Meanwhile, CVI (Crypto Volatility Index) is at 63.5, which is only up slightly from yesterday. Any number within 0-85 is considered low volatility. On a technical level, if the CVI is able to close above 64.3 then it would effectively establish a “higher-high” formation, which would likely boost volatility drastically and more coins will see higher intraday changes.

Thursday, the BoE (Bank of England) and ECB (European Central Bank) are set to announce their respective rate hikes. Friday, the US will be releasing the most anticipated economic data - NFP (Non-Farm Payroll) and Unemployment Rate. Traders beware.

Topic of the Day: Wormhole vs LayerZero, Who Will Cross the Finish Line in Uniswap’s Bridge Race

Uniswap community’s recent vote for the cross-chain bridge to be used for its third iteration was won by Wormhole, however, the outcome may change as a result of an ongoing disagreement between two venture capital firms, a16z and Jump, who have different preferred options.

a16z was unable to participate in the temperature check due to its tokens’ custodial setup. The disagreement between the two bridges is partly about security, as cross-chain bridges have been the target of attacks, and partly about the financial aspect, as the winning bridge could secure a large amount of staked assets.

LayerZero emphasized that the goal of the temperature check was to gauge the will of the governance and both options should be included in the final on-chain vote.

Uniswap (UNI) $6.9645 (+2.36%) - Bullish Outlook

Overview:

• Closest daily support zone: 6.495 - 6.152
• Closest daily resistance zone: 6.922 - 7.248
• Key Level: 6.800 (Weekly High of Jan. 4 - 11, 2021)

20EMA crossed 50EMA on Jan. 13 and 100EMA on Jan. 19. Between this period, UNI rose a measly 7.9% though it has risen nearly 31% in the month of Jan. As of now, UNI is trapped between two trendlines and has been trading sideways for a little more than a week. On a side note, the 50EMA just crossed the 100EMA, further boosting UNI’s bullish outlook.

Daily Resistance zones

1. 6.922 - 7.248
2. 7.333 - 7.607
3. 7.784 - 8.076

Daily Support zones

1. 6.495 - 6.152
2. 6.012 - 5.867
3. 5.642 - 5.495