Crypto Markets Analysis: Cryptos Upswing Stalls This Week Amid Fresh Regulatory Concerns

itcoin and ether momentum stalled this week as investors fretted first about vibrant jobs data and continued U.S. central bank hawkishness, and then about the potential for increased crypto regulation. Kraken’s agreement to sunset liquidity staking services for U.S. customers particularly darkened the market mood late Thursday.

Bitcoin and ether dropped 6.8% and 7.3% over the last seven days, respectively, losing a sizable chunk of their gains from the first five weeks of 2023. Both are now up about 30% year to date – spearheads in a wider crypto revival – although this week’s declines supported a number of analysts who have predicted that bitcoin support will sink to the $20,000 level.

The week also marked cryptos’ decoupling from traditional finance indexes, with the correlation between bitcoin and the S&P 500 falling more than 50%. Many leading digital assets spent much of the week in the red.

Top performers

Among the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins, only Polygon’s MATIC finished the week in positive territory. BTC and ETH ranked sixth and ninth, respectively.

Solana (SOL) and avalanche (AVAX) were the weekly laggards, with both down more than 15%. The large number of declining assets sharply contrasts to the prior week, when 16 of the 20 assets finished higher.

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