Bitcoin starts week below US$26,000; Ether dips after hack on Vitalik Buterin’s X account; more rate hike worries on Wall Street – Crypto News

There was red ink across the crypto market Monday morning in Asia as Bitcoin dipped below the resistance level of US$26,000. Ether also fell to near the US$16,000 mark after a hack on the X account of Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin. Other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies logged losses. Solana’s SOL led the losers with a 24-hour slide of over 6%. Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX could soon get the greenlight to liquidate its US$3.4 billion in crypto holdings, adding to selling pressure in the market. U.S. stock futures traded higher after Wall Street logged weekly losses Friday. Investors now look ahead to the release of more U.S. inflation data later in the week for clues on upcoming interest rate policy.

Latest FTX news depresses crypto market

Bitcoin dipped 0.25% in the last 24 hours to US$25,831.97 as of 07:50 a.m. in Hong Kong. It lost 0.53% for the week, according to CoinMarketCap data. The world’s leading cryptocurrency briefly traded above US$26,000 last Friday. But it soon lost that support level and remained range bound over the weekend at around US$25,900.

Ether, the Ethereum blockchain’s native token, fell 1.12% to US$1,616.79, and dropped 1.18% over the past seven days. 

Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin’s account on X, formerly Twitter, was hacked Sunday, leading to losses totalling around US$691,000 for some of Buterin’s followers, according to blockchain investigator ZachXBT. Hackers posted links to a scam non-fungible token (NFT) project on Buterin’s Twitter page, advising users to connect their crypto wallets before withdrawing the funds.

Buterin’s father confirmed in a tweet Sunday that his son had been hacked and was restoring his X account. The alleged scam post has now been removed from the account. Buterin himself is yet to comment on the hack.

All other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies posted losses in the past 24 hours. Solana led the losers, falling 6.17% to US$18.25 for a weekly loss of 6.80%.

On Sunday, a Wall Street Journal report predicted a September pause in the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate hiking cycle. The report “probably had many investors re-thinking their valuations — not just for crypto but for risk assets in general,” said Justin d’Anethan, head of Asia-Pacific business development at Belgium-based crypto market maker Keyrock.

The market is also facing downward pressure from the latest FTX news. The collapsed cryptocurrency exchange is likely to receive approval on Sept.13 to start liquidating its crypto holdings, according to a tweet Saturday from blockchain analysts Whale Alert.

After filing for bankruptcy in November 2022, the exchange still holds an estimated US$3.4 billion worth of crypto assets. Part of the bankruptcy plan set up for the firm allows for the sale of up to US$100 million in crypto assets per week, which can be extended to US$200 million under certain circumstances.

Crypto analysts suggest the news could weigh on the market after gains earlier in the summer. Blockchain research firm IntoTheBlock tweeted Sunday that “despite positive news about Visa and a potential spot ETH ETF, FTX’s impending US$3 billion liquidation could be dictating market movement.”

The selling pressure from FTX will cause altcoins to underperform Bitcoin throughout the remainder of the year, Markus Thielen, head of research & strategy at digital asset service platform Matrixport, said in a Sunday LinkedIn post.

The potential selling of FTX’s crypto holdings could hit Solana particularly hard, according to Rachael Lucas, crypto technical analyst at Australia-based crypto exchange BTC Markets. The token “forms a substantial portion of these assets, with an estimated value of approximately $685 million. This impending event has heightened the sense of uncertainty among SOL investors.”

Meanwhile, Bitcoin is on the verge of a “death cross” — where the token’s short-term, 50-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) moves below its long-term, 200-day SMA. That could signal a coming slide in Bitcoin prices, Lucas said.

As of 09:50 a.m. in Hong Kong, Bitcoin’s 50-day SMA sat at US$27,658.19, with a 200-day SMA of US$27,608.57. Following the previous Bitcoin death cross on Jan.14, 2022, the token’s price dropped over 10% within seven days. 

“The looming question that occupies the minds of market participants pertains to whether Bitcoin will chart a similar course in response to this bearish technical pattern or has the market already priced in this event?” Lucas said. 

“This uncertainty is exacerbated by the forthcoming release of U.S. inflation figures, with technical indicators currently signalling the potential for further downside,” she added.

The total crypto market capitalization dropped 0.74% in the past 24 hours to US$1.04 trillion. Trading volume rose 50.61% to US$20.25 billion.