The total crypto market capitalization has been trending slightly upwards for the past 3 months and the $1.75 trillion support was last tested on April 27 when Bitcoin (BTC) rebounded to $38,000 and Ether (ETH) to $2,800 on April 27.
The aggregate crypto market cap showed a 3.5% decline over the past 7 days with notable losers being an 18.8% loss from XRP, a 10.2% loss from Cardano (ADA), and a 9.7% drop in Polkadot price. (DOT).
Analysis of a broader range of altcoins provides a more balanced picture, including 25% gains from some Metaverse and gaming projects in the same time frame.
Apecoin (APE) rallied 44% due to the upcoming Otherside metaverse land auction scheduled for April 30. The Otherside is being developed by Yuga Labs, Animoca Brands and Bored Ape Yacht Club’s NFT team and NFT investors have high expectations for the project.
Native lifestyle app Move-to-Earn tokens STEPN (GMT) surged 28% after US-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase announced plans to list the token on the exchange.
Nexo gained 15% after cryptocurrency and derivatives exchange Binance announced its listing on April 29 and Nexo also revealed plans to issue a credit card that accepts cryptocurrencies as collateral instead of selling holders’ assets.
The price of Zilliqa (ZIL) has been adjusting after the token surged 380% in late March and this follows the project’s March 25 announcement of a metaverse service that will use Nvidia’s technology.
Meanwhile, data from DappRadar shows play-to-earn unicorn Axie Infinity (AXS) slumped to its lowest level in 9 months after the number of users and transactions dropped 15% in the last 30.
OKX Tether (USDT) premium measures China-based retail demand and measures the difference between China-based peer-to-peer transactions and the US dollar.
Excessive buying demand places the indicator above fair value at 100%. On the other hand, Tether’s market supply is flooded during bear markets, causing a discount of 4% or more.
OKX Tether’s premium peaked at 2% on April 28, its highest level in 2022. The move coincided with Bitcoin breaking above $40,000, but its price reversed later that day. Tether premium is currently at 0%, indicating a neutral sentiment from retail traders.
Futures markets show mixed sentiment
Perpetual contracts, also known as reverse swaps, have a built-in rate that is typically charged every eight hours. Exchanges use this fee to avoid currency risk imbalances.
A positive funding rate indicates that long buyers require more leverage. However, the opposite situation occurs when short sellers require additional leverage, causing the funding rate to turn negative.
As shown above, the seven-day cumulative funding rate is slightly positive for Bitcoin and Ether. The data indicates slightly higher demand from buyers, but nothing to force traders to close their positions. For example, Luna’s 0.15% positive weekly rate equates to 0.6% monthly, which should not concern most futures traders.
The absence of a Tether premium in Asia and flat perpetual premiums indicate a lack of demand from retail traders just as the total crypto market capitalization struggles to hold the $1.75 trillion support.
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