First Mover Americas: Bitcoin, Ether Slip as UK Inflation Hits 40-Year High

The latest price moves in crypto markets in context for Oct. 19, 2022.

AccessTimeIconOct 19, 2022 at 12:41 p.m. UTC
Updated Nov 7, 2022 at 5:08 p.m. UTC
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Price Point

Bitcoin (BTC) lost ground on Wednesday, trading down 2%, as U.S. stock futures inched up ahead of earnings reports from major companies. The British pound fell after the release of a report that showed U.K. inflation in September rose faster than what economists had expected and hit a new 40-year high.

Ether (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency by market value, was also down on the day by around 1.6%. Altcoins Aave’s AAVE and Uniswap’s UNI each rose about 5%, while the rest of the market was weaker.

After launching on mainnet on Monday, Aptos’ cryptocurrency has plunged in value. The highly anticipated layer 1 token was listed in the $9 range and is trading down 40% on the day, according to data from CoinGecko.

CoinDesk Market Index

Biggest Gainers

Asset Ticker Returns DACS Sector
Balancer BAL +3.99% DeFi
IDEX IDEX +3.38% DeFi
XYO XYO +2.69% Computing

Biggest Losers

Asset Ticker Returns DACS Sector
Ankr ANKR -9.88% Computing
Celsius CEL -6.84% Currency
Polymath POLY -6.59% DeFi

Sector classifications are provided via the Digital Asset Classification Standard (DACS), developed by CoinDesk Indices to provide a reliable, comprehensive and standardized classification system for digital assets. The CoinDesk Market Index (CMI) is a broad-based index designed to measure the market capitalization weighted performance of the digital asset market subject to minimum trading and exchange eligibility requirements.

Chart of the Day

Coinbase Registers Biggest Daily BTC Outflow Since June

By Omkar Godbole

More than 37,000 BTC worth $710 million left Coinbase on Tuesday, the biggest single-day outflow since June 17. (Source: Glassnode)
More than 37,000 BTC worth $710 million left Coinbase on Tuesday, the biggest single-day outflow since June 17. (Source: Glassnode)
  • A pickup in exchange outflows is often taken to represent renewed accumulation.
  • In the past, Coinbase has brokered institutional bitcoin investments.
  • That said, on-chain data has its limitations and drawing definite conclusions is difficult. The bitcoin net exchange flows metric doesn't adjust for internal reshuffling of coins into new wallets by an exchange.

Market Moves

Bitcoin Futures ‘Backwardation’ Could Signal Bullish Mood

By Lyllah Ledesma

CME bitcoin futures (Laevitas, via Luno)
CME bitcoin futures (Laevitas, via Luno)

Bitcoin futures listed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange slipped into prolonged backwardation during September, according to a weekly report from crypto platform Luno.

Backwardation is an unusual condition in futures markets when contracts for maturity or delivery many months in the future are trading at lower prices than near-term contracts.

This hasn't happened since May 2019, according to Luno.

“A steeper futures curve (i.e. a high next-month premium over front-month expiry) indicates bullish sentiment,” the report stated. “A flat futures curve or a downward trending curve implies the opposite – longs require compensation for the risk of exposure in further dated and less liquid BTC contracts.”

Laurent Kssis, a crypto trading adviser at CEC Capital, said the constant selling isn’t helping change this pattern in the near future. “As impetus for a rally and any further good news in crypto unlikely before next year, the best strategy is calendar spreads i.e. selling puts and buying calls,” he said.

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CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.

Lyllah Ledesma

Lyllah Ledesma is a CoinDesk Markets reporter currently based in Europe. She holds bitcoin, ether and small amounts of other crypto assets.

Omkar Godbole

Omkar Godbole is a Co-Managing Editor on CoinDesk's Markets team.


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