Blue chip cryptocurrency markets are under pressure on Thursday, with Bitcoin (BTC) having dropped more than 2% to the mid-$26,000s and Ether (ETH) down 2.5% under $1,600.
Reports that long-defunct cryptocurrency exchange MtGox will delay repayments for another year to 2024 have failed to boost sentiment, likely given that macro has been acting as a headwind since Wednesday’s Fed meeting.
While the US central bank held interest rates as expected, it kept more hikes on the table for the remainder of 2023, and signaled less rate cuts in 2024 amid a significantly more optimistic economic outlook, boosting the US Dollar Index (DXY) to fresh six month highs and the US 2-year government bond yield to a fresh 22-year high.
Higher yields on US debt (considered a risk-free asset) and a stronger dollar generally tend to hurt crypto prices, given that 1) a higher risk-free rate reduces the incentive to hold riskier assets (like crypto) and 2) a stronger dollar makes dollar-denominated cryptocurrencies more expensive for the holders of foreign currencies.
While major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ether are down, they remain locked well within recent ranges.
Traders thus continue to turn to shitcoin and meme coin markets in the hunt for a better prospect of near-term gains.
Here are some of the top-performing low-cap coins, as per DEXTools.
A new shitcoin called GOLD ($GOLD) has exploded onto the scene since its Wednesday launch.
$GOLD is up nearly 26,000% in the past 24 hours, making it far and away the best-performing shitcoin on Thursday.
As per DEXTools, the token last had a market cap of $3.6 million, amid over $4.6 million in trading volumes in the past 24 hours.
$GOLD has $225,000 in unlocked liquidity, which means a rug pull
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