|
Here’s what happened in blockchain and crypto this week. It has been another volatile week across global markets. Cryptoassets briefly tumbled on Thursday, with Bitcoin dropping to $18,370, amid a 40-year high in the U.S. core CPI reading. However, stocks and crypto staged a remarkable comeback later on in yesterday’s session, erasing most of the losses experienced earlier this week. After recovering by more than 4% from its Wednesday lows, the S&P 500’s choppy week continued on Friday, with US equities paring some of Thursday’s gains. Meanwhile, the ETH/BTC cross ratio continued to trend lower this week, hitting a multi-month low at 0.066 yesterday despite a reduction in ETH supply for the first time since the Merge. US core inflation, which excludes food and energy, rose by 6.6% yoy in September while headline inflation came in at a hot 8.2% yoy, slightly higher than expected. While the elevated levels of inflation are to a large extent attributable to the energy sector, US natural gas prices have now tumbled for eight consecutive weeks – the longest string of weekly losses since 2001 as mild weather and record production ease fears of a winter supply crunch. Elsewhere, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) slashed its global growth outlookto just 2.7% for 2023, warning the world economy is headed for “stormy waters”. Given the hot CPI readings, the market is now pricing in a near 100% probability of a 75 basis points rate hike by the Fed in Novemberwhile some market participants are also expecting to see another 75 basis points in December. Meanwhile, the 10-year US Treasury yield surpassed 4% for the first time since 2008 while the US 2-year note rose to 4.5%, its highest level since 2007. In the U.S. housing sector, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate is approaching 7% for the first time since 2002. Despite the smooth Ethereum Merge, the blockchain’s token has recently underperformed many other cryptoassets, with ETH shedding more than 20% in dollar terms following the highly anticipated event. This week, weekly ETH supply growth turned deflationary for first time ever (see also story below). A recent Coinbase report shed some light on staking rewards, supply growth and maximal extractable value (MEV). Staking rewards have increased from 4.5% APR to 5.8% after the Merge (for users running their own nodes) while the rate of ETH issuance has decreased post Merge from 4.5% yoy to just 0.45% yoy – or even 0.17% yoy after including burned ETH.Market Overview The global cryptoasset market capitalization currently amounts to $965 billion – down from $983 billion since Friday last week, with bitcoin accounting for 38.4%. Among the Top 30 cryptoassets by market cap, Quant (QNT) outperformed, gaining 21.6% over the week. During the same period, the price of bitcoin (BTC) decreased by 3.0% to $19,335 while the price of ether (ETH) dropped by 3.2% to $1,307. The total value locked (TVL) in DeFi sits at $53.8 billion – down from the $55 billion last week – with Ethereum accounting for about 57.8% of TVL.
This Week’s Headlines
Notable Deals and Fundraising
Manuel Trojovsky, Head of Crypto Investments & Research
Always be up to date on the market -> Subscribe here |
SPIRIT Blockchain – Weekly Wrap-up
Recent Insights
April 28, 2026
April 23, 2026
Infrastructure Is the Real Moat in Digital Finance
May 12, 2026In digital finance, visible innovation often captures attention. New platforms, user interfaces, and product features are easier to communicate and compare. However, these elements are rarely what create sustained competitive…
Read More ->