Trading in the cryptocurrency market took a turn for the worse in the middle of the weekend, with most cryptos falling. There was little news, but liquidity may be a little tighter than usual during a long holiday weekend, causing prices to fluctuate wildly.
As of Monday, Bitcoin (BTC) was down 4.4% in the last 24 hours, Ethereum (ETH) was down 4.2%, and Dogecoin (DOGE) was down 2.6%.
Meanwhile, Seesaw Protocol (SSW) has catapulted over 1300% in its first presale phase. The new utility cryptocurrency will bridge popular blockchains in an attempt to fill an important gap in the market.
Crypto prices began to fall on Saturday after UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said financial sanctions against Russian firms should be stepped up. The US appears to concur, as Johnson stated that firms will be unable to trade in “pounds and dollars.” The growing tensions between Russia and Ukraine have had an effect on the market as a whole in recent weeks, and with crypto trading available 24/7, this is the first place for investors to react.
It didn’t help that Opensea, Ethereum’s largest NFT trading marketplace, suffered a hack or phishing attack that drained hundreds of thousands of dollars from customers’ crypto wallets. While the situation is still unfolding, it represents another setback for some of the industry’s most visible projects.
According to coinglass.com, the decline in cryptocurrency values resulted in the liquidation of $208 million in crypto assets over the last 24 hours. Bitcoin was the most heavily liquidated at $80.3 million, followed by Ethereum at $54.9 million.
Weekend volatility has been exceptionally high in cryptocurrencies, in part because traders are taking time away from the market. Additionally, because this is a holiday weekend in the United States, there may be more absences than usual, adding to the volatility.
On a broad scale, I believe we’re seeing investors selling risky assets in response to fears of conflict erupting in Eastern Europe, and cryptocurrency is the first place they can withdraw funds. While an armed conflict does not appear to be particularly likely, markets dislike any form of uncertainty.
Meanwhile, Seesaw Protocol (SSW) has jumped 1300% in just the first few weeks of its presale. Seesaw Protocol is a cryptocurrency that will act as a bridge between Ethereum (ETH), Polygon (MATIC) and Binance Smart Chain (BNB) – allowing holders to send and receive value across them in quickly and relatively inexpensively. This is achieved by utilising the most efficient blockchain at the optimal time (based on congestion) to find the quickest and cheapest transaction.