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| By Marija Matic |
The past several days, since the Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell announced the latest interest rate cuts, have been wild.
Bitcoin (BTC, “A-”) surged to $117,000 ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting last week.
Many saw this as a sign that a breakout would follow the anticipated rate cut announcement.
Well, we got the rate cut. But, as Juan Villaverde confirmed on Friday, this was a “sell the news” event.
The rally quickly lost steam, and prices slipped back below $114,000 as selling pressure picked up.
At the time of writing, BTC is trading near $112,700.
But BTC notably continues to hold key support levels. Rather, it’s the altcoins that are taking the hardest hits and amplifying the market’s downside.
The question on my mind — and I’m sure yours as well — is, “What’s driving these moves, and what comes next?”
Fortunately, on-chain data and technical analysis reveal a lot is bubbling beneath the surface.
The Fed Effect: Relief Without Euphoria
In the end, the Fed’s move was largely priced in. And talk of future cuts was cautious, with the Fed emphasizing that any additional easing would depend on economic data.
As such, the market reacted with subtle profit-taking and the unwinding of leveraged positions, which pushed rising sell pressure for futures and options.
In fact, over $1 billion in long positions were wiped out in just one hour today. Altcoins, being more sensitive to swings, naturally bore the brunt.
Price action is now shaped more by short-term sentiment, leverage and technicals. That translates to a choppy but navigable market in the near term.
The navigation part may feel tricky. But the key is to understand that this market isn’t simply “weak” or “strong.” It’s processing leverage, sentiment and positioning while testing key technical and behavioral thresholds.
By understanding these underlying dynamics, you become better equipped to anticipate where the market might stabilize or pivot.
Hidden Opportunities: Activity Behind the Scenes
The ripple effects are clear: While risk assets and altcoins absorb the brunt of short-term swings, safe-haven demand for the dollar is keeping upward pressure on yields.
This means we have a crypto market where both optimism and caution coexist.
To navigate it, you’ll want to ditch the headlines and focus more on selective flows and technical data to find the opportunities hidden behind the scenes.
Because they do exist: Derivatives and on-chain activity are thriving!
Take trading volumes on derivatives platforms, for example.
August saw a record $765 billion in perp exchange volume, and September (still in progress) has already reached $468 billion.
This signals strong engagement from sophisticated, native traders and indicates there is plenty of yield to capture for participants savvy enough to find it.
That also translates to select capital gains opportunities for related projects if yield hunting isn’t your go-to strategy.
Aster (ASTER, Not Yet Rated) is a new perpetual decentralized exchange launched by a Binance-related team. Its token surged 1,260% in just five days, and the platform quickly rose in the rankings to reach the top 10 platforms by revenue.
ASTER’s price action over the past 7 days.
(Next Crypto Superstar members had the chance to 2x their investment after Mark sent an alert to buy ASTER last week on a pullback!)
Its rapid adoption points to yield opportunities and evolving trading strategies.
And it’s not just new projects stealing the spotlight. Activity on networks built specifically for exchanges is growing.
Orderly Network (ORDER, “D-”) has surpassed Arbitrum (ARB, “B-”) in perp trading volume over the past 30 days: $20.22 billion versus $16.42 billion. Orderly also offers solid yields for non-U.S. residents through its vaults.
Other opportunities in this market may be harder to spot. Fortunately, that’s why you keep up with us here at Weiss Crypto Daily: We know where to look.
For example, projects are likely to try to capitalize on the typically bullish Q4 with airdrops. Speculation is already spreading for wallets that have announced the launch of their own tokens, like Rabby and MetaMask.
These developments show that even amid a market pullback, innovation and activity in DeFi are accelerating.
By tracking these metrics and emerging platforms, you can uncover opportunities that aren’t immediately visible in the spot price action of coins.
Bottom Line
The FOMC’s cautious approach has added uncertainty to the market. And that has caused waves in the near term.
But the market is actively digesting leverage, sentiment and positioning.
While the ride may not feel fun, liquidations like the ones we’ve seen over the past few days and today have reset risk and can create cleaner market conditions for the next run.
And in the meantime, derivatives volumes, new DEXs and innovative token developments continue to grow behind the scenes.
For those in the know, these are tangible DeFi opportunities to explore.
Traders who understand the deeper mechanics of the market are best positioned to navigate volatility and capitalize on emerging trends … before the crowd catches on.
Best,
Marija Matić
