Crypto Tumbles as Kraken Suspends Staking

Tumbles in crypto values have followed the decision of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken to suspend staking.

On 9 February, major coins were in the red, causing a drop in the cryptocurrency market capitalization by 5.45% to $1.02 trillion. Bitcoin fell below $22,000, while Ethereum dropped to $1,549. Doge went down by 10.07% at $0.081.

Meanwhile, US stocks took a hit and erased previous gains, as concerns about potential decisions from the Federal Reserve overshadowed positive reactions to the latest round of corporate earnings reports. The S&P 500 saw a decline of 0.9% and closed at 4,081.50, while the Nasdaq Composite Index experienced a drop of 1.02% and fell at 11,789.58.

Kraken made a settlement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. As part of the settlement, Kraken agreed to suspend its cryptocurrency staking operations and immediately discontinue its crypto staking-as-a-service platform for US customers. The SEC charged Kraken for offering unregistered securities and has asked it to pay a $30 million penalty.

Investors witnessed crypto tumbles across markets in the aftermath of the Kraken suspending staking operations

Almost $200 million worth of long and short crypto was liquidated in the past 24 hours. More than 43% of liquidations worth $100M took place on Binance. Of the total liquidations, $53M worth of BTC was liquidated, ETH liquidation stood at $52M, and Doge liquidation totalled around $5M.

Crypto analyst advice to traders after crypto tumbles

Crypto analyst Rekt Capital has sounded the alarm on Bitcoin's impending losses. According to the analyst, the BTC must close above $22,692 to maintain its technical uptrend.

The analyst has cautioned traders about the dangers of making trades based on "fear of missing out" (FOMO) and instead suggests, "if you must FOMO, choose a red day".

Another crypto analyst, Kaleo, views the recent retest of the high-timeframe trend breakout as a supportive factor for Bitcoin. Kaleo believes that the market has yet to experience a significant breakout, which presents an opportunity for investors to accumulate more BTC. Although it may take some time, Kaleo believes that the $30,000 level remains a target for the cryptocurrency.