Cryptos Muted Amidst SBF Verdict

Cryptocurrencies slipped close to 3 percent in the past 24 hours as markets digested the ‘guilty’ verdict to Sam Bankman Fried in the FTX fraud trial. The Securities and Exchange Commission’s subpoena against PayPal also weighed on sentiment, limiting the relief triggered by the Fed’s dovish stance on Wednesday.

Sam Bankman Fried, who was till a year ago considered the poster boy of crypto was held guilty on all the seven counts of fraud, conspiracy and money laundering in the FTX fraud trial. The sentencing date is fixed for March 2024. The verdict comes within just 12 months of a stunning revelation on the financial position of the FTX empire that eventually led to its abrupt bankruptcy. SBF is reportedly planning to challenge the verdict.

Caution ahead of the job market update also weighed on sentiment. The U.S. economy is expected to have added 180 thousand jobs in the month of October as compared to the whopping 336 thousand jobs added in the previous month. The unemployment rate is expected to be steady at 3.8 percent. Average Hourly earnings is seen falling on a year-on-year basis to 4 percent from 4.2 percent in the previous month.

The Fed had in its recent FOMC statement noted that job gains have moderated since earlier in the year but acknowledged the strength of the job market and the low unemployment rate. The market anxiety is attributed to the fact that the strength of the labor market is often perceived as an important determinant of the headroom available to the Fed to raise interest rates. The Fed’s next review is due in the middle of December. Despite hinting at a prolonged pause, the high inflation continues to be a worry for the Fed.

Payment giant PayPal has informed that it has on November 1, received a subpoena from the U.S. SEC’s Division of Enforcement relating to the PayPal USD stablecoin. The subpoena requests the production of documents, and the company has said it is cooperating with the SEC in connection with the request.

The PayPalUSD (PYUSD) stablecoin is currently ranked 239th overall, 13th among the stablecoins and 9th among asset-backed stablecoins in the rankings published by coinmarketcap.com. The stablecoin currently commands a market capitalization of $159 million.

The easing in bond yields across tenors and regions also failed to bolster crypto market sentiment. Ten-year U.S. bond yields had declined 0.53 percent overnight to 4.65 percent. The Dollar Index too has dropped 0.18 percent to 105.93.

Overall crypto market capitalization is currently at $1.27 trillion versus $1.3 trillion a day earlier. The 24-hour trading volume slipped 23 percent to $47 billion.

Bitcoin slipped 3.3 percent overnight to $34,196.51. BTC is however holding on to weekly gains of 0.5 percent and year-to-date gains of 107 percent.

Ethereum erased 2.7 percent in the past 24 hours to trade at $1,786.35. Ether is also holding on to weekly gains of quarter percent and year-to-date gains of 49 percent.

72nd ranked Trust Wallet Token (TWT) withstood the market turbulence to rise close to 7 percent in the past 24 hours.

33rd ranked Cronos (CRO) rallied 3.3 percent. 36th ranked NEAR Protocol (NEAR), 8th ranked Cardano (ADA) and 21st ranked UNUS SED LEO (LEO) have all added more than 2 percent in the past 24 hours.

Solana (SOL), which recorded brilliant gains over the past week is the biggest laggard in the past 24 hours with a decline of close to 12 percent.

73rd ranked Conflux (CFX) slipped 11.4 percent, followed by 52nd ranked Render (RNDR) that slipped 10 percent. 69th ranked Flow (FLOW) and 84th ranked Pepe (PEPE), both declined more than 9 percent.

For More Cryptocurrency News, visit rttnews.com

Source: Read Full Article