LUNC Spikes 25% Weekly on Do Kwon’s Claims, BTC Rejected at $20K: This Week’s Recap

Unlike the previous week, which was full of volatility, the past seven days were quite more stagnant in the cryptocurrency space. Bitcoin, for one, had calmed around $19,000 after the most recent price drops and spent the weekend as well as Monday at that level.

The situation changed on Tuesday when it initiated an impressive leg up, resulting in a price surge to over $20,000 for the first time in 12 days. However, the bears tightened their grip on the market and pushed the asset south. In a matter of hours, BTC had dropped below $18,500. Nevertheless, it bounced off and has returned to a familiar trading range between $19,000 and $20,000.

It’s worth noting, though, that bitcoin’s dominance over the altcoins took a breather this week. The metric had fallen to 37.5% last Friday, but it touched 40% yesterday before declining slightly to about 39.5%.

ETH continues to underperform. In the two weeks since the Merge took place, the second-largest crypto lost over $400 at one point. The past seven days saw a push to $1,400, which was halted in its tracks, and ETH is back down to around $1,300.

Ripple, on the other hand, is once again making headlines. The blockchain company’s lawsuit against the US Securities and Exchange Commission took another positive turn, and the native token reacted with a double-digit price surge today.

Solana, OKB, Uniswap, and Chainlink (after its most recent product launch) have seen impressive weekly increases of up to 10%. QNT, though, is in a league of its own in terms of weekly price actions, being up by over 30%.

One of the few mid- or lower-cap alts that can challenge QNT is LUNC. The asset has added about 25% to its USD valuation in a week, as it seems it reacts immediately to news regarding the Do Kwon saga.

Market Data

Market Cap: $945B | 24H Vol: $70B | BTC Dominance: 39.6%

BTC: $19,528 (1.66%) | ETH: $1,332 (0.7%) | BNB: $287 (4%)

$160M Wintermute Security Exploit Could Have Been an Insider Job: Report – The project’s CEO revealed the massive exploit last week, informing that the amount stolen is just north of $160 million. New data from earlier this week, though, suggested that it could have been an insider job all along.

CEO of Struggling Crypto Lender Celsius Tenders Resignation Letter – The cryptocurrency lender has been struggling for months, and the latest blow came when Alex Mashinsky turned in his letter of resignation from his role as a Chief Executive Officer.

Do Kwon Refutes 3,313 BTC Transfer Allegations, Terra Whistleblower Backs Founder – Some reports alleged Do Kwon and his related entities had transferred millions of dollars worth of bitcoin to two exchanges after the Terra collapse. However, the exec denied them, saying he had no access to the funds.

Investment Behemoth BlackRock Introduces Blockchain ETF in Europe (Report) – The world’s largest asset manager continues with its pro-crypto and blockchain initiatives by launching an exchange-traded fund in Europe focusing on companies from the industry.

Russian Authorities Draft Crypto Mining Law, But There’s a Catch (Report) – Russia has had a complicated history with the crypto industry, and the latest bill is no exception. It allows cryptocurrency mining, but only in certain regions that are known for vast supplies of energy.

Another Win for Ripple: Judge Orders SEC to Hand Over Hinman Speech Documents – The aforementioned win for Ripple was a big one. New York judge Analisa Torres ordered the SEC to turn over documents related to Ethereum’s legal status in the US.