Major altcoins like ETH, Solana's SOL, BNB and XRP, dropped as bitcoin's struggle to move past $60K.
Tron's TRX and Cardano's ADA showed gains, with TRX particularly benefiting from increased network activity due to a new memecoin generator.
Donald Trump crossed Kamala Harris as the most likely winner of the U.S. elections on Polymarket.
Bitcoin {{BTC}} reversed Tuesday’s gains as prices slid to just over $59,000 during the Asian morning hours Wednesday, continuing a spell of sideways price action.
BTC fell 2.6%, leading losses among major tokens. Solana’s SOL, BNB Chain’s BNB and XRP fell 2% each, while ether {{ETH}} fell more than 3.5% The broad-based CoinDesk 20 (CD20), a liquid index tracking the largest tokens by market capitalization, minus stablecoins, dropped 2.27%.
On Polymarket, bettors are putting money on future price stability. Solana’s SOL, currently trading for $143, according to CoinDesk Indices data, has a 68% chance of staying above $140 by the end of the week bettors predict. Ether is also going to stay above $2500, they say, and is currently trading above $2600.
Meme coins PEPE and BRETT were recently listed on major South Korean exchange Upbit, while new token DOGS was listed on the Binance Launchpool.
Traders said that bitcoin would need to break above the $61,000 level and stay above it if sentiment were to change among market participants.
“Selling pressure has been building near this level since early August. Bitcoin, having added 3.2% since the start of the day and around 4.5% in 24 hours, has once again come close to testing its 50-day moving average, trading just below $61K,” Alex Kuptsikevich, FxPro senior market analyst, told CoinDesk in an email.
“Overcoming this resistance from where bitcoin has been selling off since August 9 would take it to a test of its 200-day MA near $62.7K. A consolidation above these levels could dramatically improve sentiment in the entire cryptocurrency market and inspire more active buying,” he added.
Tron’s TRX and Cardano’s ADA were the only major tokens showing gains for traders. ADA rose 3%, while TRX jumped more than 10% on increased network activity following last week’s release of a memecoin generator backed by Tron founder Justin Sun.
Called Sunpump - similar to the first mover Pump.Fun on Solana - the generator allows anyone to issue memecoins on Tron, and the tokens are automatically listed on a decentralized exchange once they reach a specific market capitalization.
sunpump active users reached an ATH. sunpump newly created tokens reached an ATH. sunpump trading volume reached an ATH. sunpump revenue reached an ATH. sunpump new dev reached an ATH.TO THE SUN🌞https://t.co/F2C0OsNHhj is only 8 days old. What’s next?
— H.E. Justin Sun 孙宇晨(hiring) (@justinsuntron) August 19, 2024
Demand for stablecoins may have increased on the Tron network, with over $1 billion worth of tether (USDT) tokens issued on Tuesday that will likely circulate within the ecosystem.
TODAY: $1B USDT minted on TRONThey paid $0.00 in fees.Wow pic.twitter.com/NuNYRuj1Yc
— Arkham (@ArkhamIntel) August 20, 2024
Meanwhile, in the world of politics, Donald Trump is once again in the lead on Polymarket’s election winner contract, with his odds of beating Kamala Harris now standing at 52-47.
Despite this widening gap, the market is still pricing in a very close race, especially in the swing states: a contact that asks if Trump will win every swing state only gives it a 16% chance of happening, while a contract asking if Harris will do the same only has a 28% chance of occurring.
While all swing states capture the attention of political analysts, two in particular are standing out this cycle: North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Of interest to analysts are the state’s shifting demographics – North Carolina's growing urban areas and Pennsylvania's suburban regions – and Black and Hispanic voters have evolving views on key issues like the economy, healthcare, and immigration.
Right now, Republicans are leading in North Carolina with odds of 61-40, according to Polymarket, while Trump has edged up in Pennsylvania by 1 percentage point and now leads 51-50.
Does any of this matter for bitcoin’s price, however? Probably not. Analysts still say that other factors like U.S. monetary policy and supply concerns influencing BTC more significantly, CoinDesk recently reported.
