FTX exchange, specifically events around it, have been the biggest headline in the digital asset sector this past week. The exchange saw massive withdrawals earlier this week from users reacting to Binance's announcement of dumping the FTT token. Further unraveling and knock-off goings-on sent the cryptocurrency market tumbling before Thursday's October US CPI report brought a much-needed repose going into Friday.

No signs of slowing down

Things have worsened for FTX, at least its main international exchange entity. Various new outlets citing people in the know reported on Saturday (Nov 12) that the bankrupt exchange suffered a $400 million drain late on Friday. Reasonably so, the unrest and conceived risky market structure have unnerved many participants, including some pro money managers.

The digital assets space has also resumed its descent in the last few hours after a relatively calm Saturday. In the past few hours, selling pressure has soaked up yesterday's relief, flashing signs of more losses ahead of the weekly close. The total market capital is currently hovering at $839 billion at the time of reporting, as per CoinMarketCap data. Evidently, the storm at the micro level is yet to subside, at least at present, leaving the market vulnerable to more volatility.

“I don't think you should buy anything actively unless you know what you're doing but some altcoins are having a strong buyback. Most of these are narrative driven. $MATIC (Biz dev) $CHZ (world cup) $DYDX (dexes duh) $LINK (Chart looks good),” pseudonymous analyst Altcoin Sherpa said in a Nov 11 tweet.

The situation could get uglier but it is unlikely that prices will fail to recover after these recent steep declines.

“We have indeed seen a real black swan event, the FTX bankruptcy. The history of BTC is lined with such events and the market will recover from it as it did in the past.” Stockmoney Lizards remarked in a Saturday tweet.

The weekend presented a short-lived breather

The majority of widely-tracked cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, saw a dull entry into the weekend, with prices remaining nearly unchanged. The former traded tightly around $16,850 at the start of the weekend, while Ether coin maintained a convincing course above $1,250 for the better part of Saturday.

In contrast, Sunday has set off on a different tone.

Bitcoin and Ethereum price course in November. Source: TradingView

Mild losses have been observed in the altcoins markets except for Solana, which is down double-digits in the last 24 hours. Overall, trading activity across the markets has continued thinning. The 24-hr. trading volumes for most cryptocurrencies are down by double-digits – and more than 50% in some cases. Here is a look at the day's top performers and other crucial developments in the market.

To learn more, visit our Investing in Bitcoin or Investing in Ethereum guides.

Polygon (MATIC) loses $1.00 barely 24 hours after brushing off midweek losses

Polygon's native coin, MATIC, bounced nearly 30% from a 7-day low of $0.778 at the end of Wednesday, going on to solidify a reclaim of the dollar mark on Friday. In the gone 18 hours though, the MATIC/USD pair has slipped below $1.00, presenting a new entry opportunity to traders seeking a scoop below this range. The pair was last observed hovering unconvincingly around $0.90.

MATIC/USD trading chart

A negative theme appears to be slinking through the MATIC (and wider alts) market coming off the weekend. Nonetheless, the Polygon network is still unlocking new milestones, as observed over the last few months.

Unique addresses on the Polygon PoS chain

The number of unique addresses on the chain has grown by nearly 40 million in the second half of 2022, according to its blockchain explorer Polygonscan. This aggregates the total count of unique network addresses at over 188 million. Narrowing down, Dune Analytics shows that the biggest daily addition of these unique addresses over the last 60 days was 729,545 addresses on Oct 13. Notably, Polygon recorded a massive spike in transactions this week as a wave of volatility gave rise to unideal conditions for betting market participants. Polygon transactions grew to new 60-day highs, reaching 3,255,032 transactions on Nov 9 and an even greater 3,340,886 transactions on Nov 10.

To learn more, visit our Investing in Polygon guide.

Solana can't catch a break; FTX/Alameda contagion fears send SOL below $12 again

Solana has been one of the hardest alts not only today, this week, or this month but also throughout the majority of the year. The compounding FTX situation has dampened the prospects of its native token recovery. There is a case for optimistic SOL die-hard hodlers as the recent bleeding hasn't resulted from downgraded performance or flaws in its tech but rather collateral from entities dumping their SOL position because of an insolvency crisis.

The silence of the Solana Foundation in light of events that have unfolded is however damning than assuring. A demonstration of resilience to survive the chaotic scene it has been drawn into could potentially set it up for recovery but caution is advised for immediate lurkers.

“[SOL/USD] has recovered a considerable amount of [midweek] losses. This alone isn't enough to sustain a rally […]. We ideally want to see a break above the 0.5 Fib level (22.00) before buying into the rally. The obvious short-term target is the 1D MA50 (blue trend-line). A break above the 1D MA200 (orange trend-line), which is unbroken since Jan 20, can make a trend shift long-term to bullish,” trading signals provider TradingShot observed in a Nov 11 chart analysis.

The case for DYDX: Price up 30% in the last 24 hours

Since making an entry into the market in 2017, dydx has focused on delivering a unique decentralized exchange experience. Thanks to its distinctive technical structure, the community-powered derivatives DEX has gained the favor of thousands of users. Its associated cryptocurrency, DYDX, is trading favorably against top altcoins on Sunday, market data shows.

Another decentralized derivatives project charting an encouraging course over the weekend is Perpetual Protocol (PERP).

The network's utility token, PERP, has printed a steady uptrend in the market since Wednesday, adding 39% over the last week before Saturday's brief pause. Trading 16% in the green today, PERP remains high on many traders' watchlists on Sunday alongside Axie Infinity (AXS),  Coin 98 (C98) and Mango (MNGO), up 35%, 22% and 11%, respectively, over the same period.

To learn more, visit our Investing in DYDX and Investing in Perpetual Protocol guides.