The cryptocurrency market has experienced a tumultuous week, with major events influencing digital assets’ performance. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have seen significant volatility in early February, failing to achieve the expected price surge. The week’s highlights included the latest US interest rate decision and a security breach affecting the wallet of Ripple‘s co-founder, as well as notable happenings in the DeFi sector.
DeFi Sector Buzzes with Jupiter’s WEN Coin Launch
The decentralized finance (DeFi) space was abuzz as Jupiter, a Solana-based protocol, launched its WEN Coin. The move generated high interest and discussion within the Solana ecosystem. In a noteworthy move, the WEN team destroyed unclaimed tokens from their airdrop, totaling 39% or $35 million of the initial drop. Jupiter also conducted its eagerly awaited airdrop, distributing tokens to around a million Solana wallet addresses, resulting in varying degrees of financial gain for recipients.
Controversial Figure Andrew Tate Considers Cryptocurrency Venture
Andrew Tate, a controversial figure facing human trafficking allegations, hinted at creating his own cryptocurrency. This comes after he had previously mocked the digital asset class. Tate’s announcement, conditioned on receiving 50,000 retweets, received significant backlash from the cryptocurrency community on social media platforms.
US Federal Reserve Clarifies Economic Stance
The Federal Reserve’s economic trajectory became clearer following its latest statements. The Fed indicated that unless there are significant changes in employment trends, interest rates would not likely increase by more than 75 basis points. Recent employment data, suggestive of persistent inflation due to wage hikes, has led to a shift in rate cut expectations; the possibility of a cut in March has evaporated, with only a 50% expectation for a reduction in May.
Market optimism has been tempered by the Fed’s stance, with recent predictions of a March rate cut drastically falling from 80% to 17%. This cautious approach is likely to influence the market’s outlook for the immediate future.