Crypto markets remained largely flat last week. But as for which way the market turning this week, our top stories and trends will have you covered.

Crypto Market in a Holding Pattern

The last week saw a holding pattern emerge with top crypto assets neither rising nor falling dramatically. The price of Bitcoin hovered around $60,000 (AUD), while Ethereum stayed around the $3000 (AUD) mark (dropping to $2900 in the last day at the time of writing). Investors are looking keenly for news or movements that indicate which way the market will turn.

One such indicator is the recent reports by the United States government about a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine. The news had investors ready for a market dip. On cue when the further confirmation of the possible invasion came out on Friday, Bitcoin dropped 5% and Ethereum 7% alongside the general stock market. But as prices have now stabilised, it appears that this news is no more than a short-term weight on prices.

A more likely indicator appears to be the decoupling of crypto market prices from the broader equity markets in February. Singapore QCP Capital is predicting a bullish month for crypto markets in February and point to the rise in crypto prices since the start of the month compared to the downward trend of equity markets like the NASDAQ. This suggests that crypto markets are starting to react differently to the general market headwinds like inflation and may continue to be driven up by specific demand by cryptocurrency investors.

Crypto Continues Institutionalisation Trend

The world largest asset manager, BlackRock, is reportedly gearing up to offer cryptocurrency trading services to its clients. BlackRock has previously shown an affinity to crypto through its planes to launch the iShares Blockchain and Tech ETG.

The news is important for investors as it continues the ongoing trend of institutional investors entering the crypto market. At its simplest, more interested parties in the market drives up demand and creates an upward trajectory for prices. This is particularly so when the market entrants have a lot of cash and assets at their disposal. This is an area where Blackrock excels, as they manage over $10 trillion in assets for institutional investors like public pension schemes, university endowments, and sovereign wealth funds.

Expect markets to move if further news follows that BlackRock clients are taking positions in cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin Market Dominance

Within the crypto markets there is a clear demarcation between Bitcoin as the most popular cryptocurrency, followed by Ethereum and then everything else. But even while Bitcoin retains the top spot its popularity waxes and wanes.

At the end of 2019, Bitcoin accounted for about 70% of the crypto market capitalisation, whereas it now sits around 40%. Analysts are predicting that this might rise back to 2019 levels as crypto investors tend to move away from speculative altcoins to the relatively lower risk investment of Bitcoin. During the 2018 cryptocurrency bear market, Bitcoin market dominance shot up from a low of 35% to 72%.

If a similar trend occurs during this downturn, then Bitcoin may be the best cryptocurrency asset to ride out a general crypto market bear market. In other words: if 2021 was the year of altcoins, 2022 may again be the year of Bitcoin.

Upcoming Initial Coin Offerings

An initial coin offering (ICO) is the cryptocurrency equivalent to an initial public offering (IPO). During an ICO, cryptocurrency projects will raise interest in their project and sell an initial allocation of coins to investors to raise funds.

Here a list of the latest ICOs that are about to drop:

CoinICO End DateMultiversePad17 Feb 2022NYM17 Feb 2022Legion Network18 Feb 2022MetaFlokiRush25 Feb 2022

[Source: Coin Market Cap]