First Mover Americas: Ether's Breaking Out on Bullish Supply-Demand Picture

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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.

Ether (ETH) rallied 16% last week, registering its biggest weekly gain since July. It appears that the Ethereum blockchain's recent technological overhaul (aka the “Merge”) is beginning to have a bullish effect on the token price. ETH rose over 16% in the seven days up to Sunday, topping bitcoin's (BTC) 5% rise.

Furious dogecoin trading over the weekend saw the Shiba Inu-themed coin reach a market capitalization of over $10 billion, almost doubling its value over what it was a week ago and making it one of the most liquidated coins among futures that track major cryptocurrencies. Dogecoin futures racked up over $89 million in liquidations since Friday, the same day Elon Musk – the self-proclaimed “dogefather” – confirmed his purchase of social network Twitter (TWTR).

Hong Kong is warming up to digital assets, according to a statement the city’s Legislative Council released to kick off FinTech week. The government is “open to the possibility” of virtual-asset exchange traded funds as well as tokenized securities, the statement says, pledging to protect investors with the right regulatory framework. The government says it’s ready to engage with virtual-asset service providers and invite them to the city.

– Omkar Godbole