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Main Takeaway: Markets Get Blitzed On Higher Than Expected CPI
As soon as the monthly US inflation numbers were released at 8:30 AM, US equities and cryptos experienced a rapid selloff, with US stocks dropping by over 5% and cryptos falling by over 6%. Many of the largest cryptos such as Bitcoin and Ethereum are down over 8%, with other L1s such as Solana down 10%. This is bad news heading into the highly anticipated Ethereum network upgrade.
The main takeaway is the market is driven by macro and the economy, and blockchain-specific news and adoption stories are having little impact on moving prices. So the markets will likely stay relatively muted until the economy shows signs of strength, in particular, with continually falling inflation figures.
Since the US numbers came in at 8.3%, versus the expected 8.1%, it means inflation is falling at a slow rate, especially considering the numbers for oil and gas are being falsely affected by the release of the US’s Strategic Petroleum Reserves. Production cuts from OPEC+ will likely mean energy prices won’t be dropping anytime soon.
Key Stories: Crypto Adoption Blitz Starting With Starbucks
Despite knocking back on more lows because of macro, crypto adoption had a blitz of positive news starting with Starbucks partnering with Polygon to build out its Web3 experience (rewards program and loyalty program). This speaks volumes that many of the world’s top companies continue to move into the Web3 space, including Starbucks, Walmart, and Disney. Polygon has also been a frontrunner in this space in extending partnerships to many Fortune 500 companies.
Today’s Top Gainers
The top five performing coins on Phemex d-o-d are Pundi X (PUNDI/USDT), Drep (DREP/USDT), Terra Luna Classic (LUNC/USDT), Victoria VR (VR/USDT), and Ethereum PoW (ETHW/USDT).
