First Mover Americas: Bitcoin, Ether Slip Ahead of Fed

This article originally appeared in First Mover, CoinDesk’s daily newsletter putting the latest moves in crypto markets in context. Subscribe to get it in your inbox every day.

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.

Bitcoin and ether were both trading slightly down early Wednesday as markets brace themselves for the Federal Reserve’s announcement later in the day. The Fed is expected to raise interest rates by 75 basis points to a range of 3.75% to 4%, which would be the highest level since 2008. While U.S. stocks slipped in advance early Wednesday, one trader is recommending short-term options "straddles" in bitcoin and ether to benefit from potential price swings.

Crypto companies continue to lay off staff as crypto winter approaches the actual winter. Crypto venture-capital company Digital Currency Group cut 13% of its staff, Bloomberg reported (DCG is the parent company of CoinDesk), and cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX also reduced its workforce as it pivots to derivatives trading. While the extent of the layoffs wasn’t disclosed, BitMEX dismissed a report suggesting that it had let go 30% of its staff.

Ether is heading toward a deflationary future, according to Citigroup. In a research report, Citi noted the cryptocurrency’s volatility dropped to historic lows in the wake of the Merge, which moved the Ethereum blockchain to a more energy-efficient proof-of-stake consensus mechanism. That resulted in net issuance of ether falling close to zero, whereas before the Merge, annual inflation of supply was around 4.2%, the report said.

– Omkar Godbole