After July’s green candles, August 2022 resumed a downward trend for cryptoassets across the board. Bitcoin, Ethereum and the rest of the crypto market saw negative returns for the month. Prices of BTC (-14%) and ETH (-8%) decreased after July’s gains. Metaverse (-23%) and DeFi (-21%) led sectors to the downside.
NFT market activity also slowed last month, with average daily users and average daily transactions falling -13.5% and -13.4% MoM, respectively. NFT volume also fell with average daily volume dropping -7.7%.
The crypto industry made headlines on August 8, as the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Tornado Cash, an Ethereum coin-mixing tool that privatizes transactions on the network. Four days later, the Netherlands’ financial crimes investigation unit arrested an alleged Tornado Cash developer.
Are we in for more pain in the coming months? Find out in our latest market recap and outlook report as the team takes a close look at what happened in August and what lies ahead.
ETH whales are back in action
Whale activity for ETH was higher than whale activity for BTC. Ethereum saw a significant increase in the number of whales but a slight decrease in the total amount of ETH they held. The number of Bitcoin whales inched higher while their total BTC holdings decreased slightly.
Big names made waves
August’s downturn didn’t deter big names in the space as they continued to make headlines.
BlackRock launched its first private trust offering that gives investors direct exposure to the price of BTC. Wall Street giant Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. (DTCC) started live-testing private blockchain technology to aid in clearing and settling transactions. DTCC clears almost all trades carried out on the $40T U.S. stock market. CoinFund Ventures launched its first fund of $300M to invest in companies in the crypto sector showing commercial traction.
Over the same period, Ethereum developers successfully executed the third and final test Merge on the Goerli network in preparation for the long-awaited Ethereum 2.0 update, the Merge. Shortly after, the Ethereum Foundation announced that the Merge is on track for rollout sometime between September 10-20, 2022.
We’ll continue to ride it out
Cryptoassets underperformed in August compared to previous months as the industry faces headwinds such as the Tornado Cash sanctions. Inflation fears also continued to linger in August, further impacting crypto performance. However, these events have not prevented TradFi institutions from further exploring crypto and branching out into the industry, nor have they stopped fundraising efforts and investment in NFTs and GameFi applications.
ETH whale activity increased in August, likely in anticipation of the Merge.
Want to learn more about what went down and what’s ahead? Read the Kraken Intelligence report, Ride Out, to understand what’s moving the crypto market.
These materials are for general information purposes only and are not investment advice or a recommendation or solicitation to buy, sell or hold any digital asset or to engage in any specific trading strategy. Some crypto products and markets are unregulated, and you may not be protected by government compensation and/or regulatory protection schemes. The unpredictable nature of the cryptoasset markets can lead to loss of funds. Tax may be payable on any return and/or on any increase in the value of your cryptoassets and you should seek independent advice on your taxation position.
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