Crypto Market Madness: Bitcoin and Ethereum Surge Amid Banking Turmoil and Anticipation for Arbitrum Airdrop
Bitcoin and Ethereum surge despite ongoing turmoil in the banking industry, with the Federal Reserve expected to hike interest rates by 25 basis points, and a highly anticipated airdrop by Arbitrum set to take place a day after the interest rate decision.
The crypto world has been experiencing a surge in Bitcoin and Ethereum, with both currencies rising by 35% and 25% respectively, even as the banking industry faces ongoing turmoil. While depositors of both Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank have been assured they will be made whole, other regional banks face similar challenges, such as First Republic whose shares fell by over 30% this week. The KBW Nasdaq bank index ended the week down by 11%. Meanwhile, Switzerland is using emergency measures to fast-track the takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS, in the hopes of minimizing the impact on the market.
Despite the turmoil in the banking industry, the Federal Reserve is expected to hike interest rates by 25 basis points. Crypto trading firm QCP Capital stated that it expects the Bank Term Funding Program will be enough to stem further bank runs and at least quell market volatility until next week's Federal Open Markets Committee meeting.
A highly anticipated airdrop will take place a day after the interest rate decision. Layer 2 scaling solution Arbitrum will airdrop its token on Thursday, with 12.75% of its total token supply being airdropped to the community. Offchain Labs worked with Nansen to design the criteria designating who should receive the airdrop, but has not communicated with any centralized exchanges to list the Arbitrum token.
Crypto VCs have recently revealed that at least half of their portfolio companies were holding back token launches amid headwinds around exchange fees and regulatory concerns. In recent weeks, several high-profile projects such as Arbtitrum and Blur have announced airdrops.
In summary, the recent market madness in the crypto world has caused Bitcoin and Ethereum to surge, even as the banking industry faces ongoing turmoil. While depositors have been assured they will be made whole, regional banks are still facing challenges. The Federal Reserve is expected to hike interest rates despite the turbulence, and a highly anticipated airdrop will take place a day after the interest rate decision. Meanwhile, crypto VCs are holding back token launches due to regulatory concerns and exchange fees.
