The crypto market is stuck in a rut, with coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum experiencing substantial value declines in recent weeks.
Various reasons have been given for the ongoing bearish momentum – yet some traders now believe that things are about to change, setting the stage for a summer bear market.
This article explores five reasons crypto prices are crashing before highlighting two tokens defying the bear market and garnering huge interest from the trading community.
1. SEC Lawsuits
The first (and most prominent) reason crypto prices have experienced a downturn is the SEC’s decision to sue Binance and Coinbase – two of the largest global crypto exchanges.
The SEC has cracked down on these exchanges, alleging that they have been selling unregistered securities, leading to tremendous uncertainty throughout the market.
It will likely be a while before these lawsuits make their way through the US court system. Still, crypto investors have been treading carefully to avoid being overexposed to potentially disastrous news stories related to the ongoing litigation.
2. FED Interest Rate Decisions
Another reason crypto prices have been dropping is the worries surrounding the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decisions, which have a significant impact on crypto prices.
On Wednesday, the Fed opted to leave rates unchanged – yet hinted that there could be two small rate increases before the end of the year.
This was viewed bearishly by many in the crypto market since higher interest rates tend to make cryptocurrencies less appealing from an investment perspective.
3. Lingering Worries from FTX Collapse
Crypto prices are also still being affected by the lingering fear stemming from FTX’s collapse in late 2022.
Although many believe the FTX debacle is now a thing of the past, some investors have completely altered their trading strategies to insulate themselves in case a similar situation occurs with another exchange.
These worries have been heightened recently, thanks to the aforementioned actions by the SEC – so many investors are opting to minimize their exposure to specific cryptos, thereby causing a lack of positive price momentum.
4. USDT De-Peg Concerns
At the time of writing, the price of the stablecoin Tether ($USDT) has deviated slightly from its US Dollar peg – prompting concern that it could completely de-peg.
This slight price deviation was caused by an imbalance in Curve’s “3pool”, which saw the weightage of $USDT rise far above what it should be, which usually indicates enormous selling pressure from crypto holders.
Tether’s CTO, Paolo Ardoino, reassured investors that a $USDT de-peg event is not a concern; however, many in the crypto community were spooked, leading to widespread uncertainty in the market.
5. Lack of Regulatory Clarity
Finally, crypto prices are also being hampered by a lack of regulatory clarity throughout the US, which has put the handbrakes on innovation.
US lawmakers recently introduced a bill to address the prevailing uncertainty, hoping that the SEC will implement a framework allowing crypto-focused firms to operate effectively while protecting investors.
However, there has yet to be any movement on that front – and with many crypto companies opting to set up shop overseas, this is making the situation much more challenging for retail investors.
What Tokens Are Defying the Bear Market?
All of the reasons above combine to create an air of uncertainty throughout the crypto market, hurting the price of hundreds of coins and tokens.
However, some cryptos are defying the bearish sentiment – and are instead thriving.
With that in mind, below are two of the most talked-about crypto projects that could be a good hedge against the wider bear market:
Wall Street Memes Weathers the Storm & Raises $7.1 Million
First up is Wall Street Memes ($WSM) – a community-driven meme coin that’s backed by the power of over one million “degens.”
As its name implies, Wall Street Memes draws inspiration from the WallStreetBets subreddit, which is now firmly ingrained in the crypto trading culture.
After achieving tremendous success in 2021 following the release of the Wall St Bulls NFT collection, Wall Street Memes’ team is now turning their attention to the crypto market through the release of $WSM.
This token is designed to allow community members to gain financial exposure to the growth and evolution of the Wall Street Memes community, which receives over 40 million monthly impressions across various social media platforms.
Wall Street Memes’ presale kicked off just a few short weeks ago, yet has already raised a tremendous $7.1 million from eager investors.
The presale’s success has caught the eye of several prominent crypto influencers, with YouTuber Michael Wrubel discussing his optimism about the project.
At the time of writing, the Wall Street Memes presale is in Stage 14 of 30, meaning nearly half of the total allocation of $WSM has already been snapped up.
Investors can buy $WSM right now for $0.0289 – 16% lower than the final stage price.
AiDoge Gears Up for CEX Listings After Hitting Presale Hard Cap
Another crypto defying the bearish market wave is AiDoge ($AI) – a brand-new, AI-powered meme coin.
AiDoge has garnered huge attention from retail traders thanks to its innovative meme generator powered by advanced AI algorithms.
Using this meme generator, social media users can easily create hilarious memes and then upload them to sites like Twitter and Reddit – simply by using text-based prompts.
This unique feature, combined with AiDoge’s meme coin aesthetic, led to enormous demand for $AI during the project’s presale – which helped raise a staggering $14.9 million in funding.
The $AI token is set to debut on a major CEX next week, although investors who missed out on the presale still have a limited window to acquire tokens at the listing price before they go live.
With over 20,000 people in the project’s Telegram channel and the hype around AiDoge.com continuing to grow, the coming launch of $AI undoubtedly looks set to make headlines.