First Mover Americas: Bitcoin Snaps Record Losing Streak, Climbs Above $31K

Good morning, and welcome to First Mover. I’m Bradley Keoun, here to take you through the latest in crypto markets, news and insights. (Lyllah Ledesma is off.)

Bitcoin (BTC) was higher Monday, after snapping a record nine-week losing streak.

As of press time bitcoin was up 6.2% over the past 24 hours, to about $31,500.

During the seven days through Sunday, the bitcoin price inched up 1.5% – barely mentionable for the notoriously volatile cryptocurrency except for the fact that it was the first weekly gain in 10 weeks. From late March through late May, a steady market erosion took bitcoin from about $48,000 to as low as $25,400.

Now analysts are wondering if the latest price bounce might mean the bottom is in.

“The new week is off to a promising start,” Alex Kuptsikevich, senior market analyst at FxPro, wrote in an email. “It is worth paying attention to the change in the trend.”

Cardano’s ADA token, Solana’s SOL and Polygon’s MATIC were all enjoying double-digit-percentage gains on Monday.

In traditional markets, U.S. stock futures were higher along with European indexes. Traders were awaiting a European Central Bank meeting later this week where officials led by President Christine Lagarde are expected to announce an end to bond purchases and signal rate increases ahead, likely in July – part of a campaign to head off surging inflation.

The big economic data point in the U.S. this week will be the Consumer Price Index report on Friday, June 4. The CPI report could provide clues as to how the economy is responding to the Federal Reserve’s campaign to slow inflation.

According to FactSet, economists estimate the CPI for May probably was probably 8.2% higher than 12 months ago, representing a decrease from April’s pace of 8.3% and March’s 8.5%.

Decentralized exchanges are winning on-chain flows, Cameron Thompson reports.

Decentralized exchanges (DEXs) are rising in popularity.

From April 2021 to April 2022, web 3 users sent $224 billion in on-chain value to DEXs, outstripping centralized exchanges like Coinbase which combined for $175 billion over the same period, according to Chainalysis.

Chainalysis Economist Ethan McMahon told CoinDesk that the move from centralized exchanges (CEXs) to DEXs began in 2020’s DeFi summer and carried through the NFT boom of 2021. DEXs first cleared 50% market share in September 2020, according to the report. In June 2021, the number hit its peak at 80%. Based on the latest report, the market share now stands around 55%.

If DEXs continue to increase in popularity, a regulatory crackdown might be on the way. “If [regulation] serves as a hindrance, it may actually reduce the market share,” said McMahon.

Read More: Decentralized Exchanges Beat Centralized Counterparts for On-Chain Flows: Chainalysis

Today’s newsletter was edited by Bradley Keoun and produced by Parikshit Mishra and Stephen Alpher.