The total crypto market cap has maintained a slight upward trend over the past 3 months and the $1.75 trillion support was last tested on April 27 as Bitcoin (BTC) rebounded to 38,000 $ and Ether (ETH) at $2,800 on April 27.
Total crypto market capitalization, in billions of dollars. Source: Trading View
The overall crypto market capitalization showed a 3.5% decline in the past 7 days and notable losers were an 18.8% loss in XRP, a 10.2% loss in Cardano (ADA ) and a 9.7% drop in the price of Polkadot (DOT).
Analyzing a broader range of altcoins provides a more balanced picture, which includes 25% gains from some gaming projects and Metaverse over the same time period.
Weekly winners and losers among the top 80 coins. Source: Nomics
Apecoin (APE) rose 44% due to the upcoming Otherside metaverse land auction scheduled for April 30. The Otherside is being developed by Yuga Labs, Animoca Brands and the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT team and NFT investors have high expectations for the project.
Native tokens of step-to-earn lifestyle app STEPN (GMT) rose 28% after US-based crypto exchange Coinbase announced plans to list the token.
Nexo gained 15% after crypto and derivatives exchange Binance announced its listing on April 29 and Nexo also revealed plans to issue a credit card that accepts crypto as collateral rather than selling the assets of holders.
The price of Zilliqa (ZIL) adjusted after the token hit 380% in late March and this follows the March 25 project announcement of a metaverse service that will use Nvidia technology.
Meanwhile, data from DappRadar shows play-to-earn unicorn Axie Infinity (AXS) plunged to a 9-month low after user and transaction counts fell 15% over the of the last 30.
Tether premium shows lack of buyer demand
The OKX Tether (USDT) premium gauges China-based retail demand and measures the difference between China-based peer-to-peer exchanges and the US dollar.
Excessive buying demand puts the indicator above 100% fair value. On the other hand, the market supply of Tether is flooded during bear markets, leading to a discount of 4% or more.
Tether (USDT) peer-to-peer against USD/CNY. Source: OKX
The OKX Tether premium peaked at 2% on April 28, its highest level in 2022. The move coincided with Bitcoin breaking above $40,000, but its price recovered later that day. Currently, the Tether premium stands at 0%, signaling neutral sentiment from retail traders.
Futures markets show mixed sentiment
Perpetual contracts, also known as reverse swaps, have an embedded rate that is typically charged every eight hours. Exchanges use these fees to avoid currency risk imbalances.
A positive funding rate indicates that longs (buyers) require more leverage. However, the opposite situation occurs when the shorts (shorts) require additional leverage, causing the funding rate to become negative.
Cumulative 7-day perpetual futures funding rate on April 29. Source: Coinglass
As shown above, the seven-day cumulative funding rate is slightly positive for Bitcoin and Ether. The data points to slightly higher demand from longs (buyers), but nothing that would force traders to close their positions. For example, Luna’s positive weekly rate of 0.15% equals 0.6% per month, which shouldn’t worry most futures traders.
Lack of Tether premium in Asia and flat perpetual contract premiums signal lack of demand from retail traders as total crypto market capitalization struggles to hold support at $1.75 trillion .
The views and opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph. Every investment and trading move involves risk. You should conduct your own research when making a decision.
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