The new week in the cryptocurrency markets will be quite busy due to both company earnings reports and critical macroeconomic data. Financial results from Bitcoin miners, the US employment report, and geopolitical developments in the Middle East could be decisive in crypto pricing.
One of the week's highlights will be the earnings report of Riot Platforms, the fourth-largest Bitcoin miner by market capitalization. The company's performance, particularly in the face of increased operational costs and volatility in the Bitcoin price recently, will be closely watched. According to FactSet data, Riot is expected to report a loss of $0.32 per share.
Similarly, Core Scientific, the sixth-largest player in the sector, will also share its financial results. Core Scientific has taken significant steps to diversify its business model in recent months; leveraging its experience in operating large data centers and its strength in energy supply agreements, it has begun to expand into the field of artificial intelligence. The limited coverage of digital asset mining on the company's homepage is noteworthy. This week will reveal more clearly how much of its revenue still comes from crypto mining. On the macro front, eyes will be on the US employment data. Non-farm payrolls for February are expected to increase by 60,000, compared to a 130,000 increase the previous month. The unemployment rate and average hourly earnings are also on investors' radar. Wage increases, in particular, are critical for the inflation outlook and the Fed's interest rate path. Weak employment data could boost risk appetite; a strong picture, however, could postpone expectations of interest rate cuts, putting pressure on the crypto market.
Throughout the week, the US will release ISM manufacturing and services PMI data, ADP private sector employment change, weekly jobless claims, and the Fed's Beige Book report. Manufacturing PMI and inflation rate data from China, and preliminary inflation data for February from the Eurozone, will shape global risk perception. Weak data from China, in particular, could increase global growth concerns and trigger volatility in risky assets like cryptocurrencies.
Geopolitical developments also influence market direction. The escalating tensions in the Middle East following US and Israeli attacks on Iran and Iranian retaliations are causing investors to remain cautious. While statements suggest the conflict could last for weeks, a possible early ceasefire could revive risk appetite in global markets.
The crypto ecosystem is also active
There are many developments in the crypto ecosystem, both technical and governance-focused.
- SuperRare will release artist Xer0x’s new NFT collection, Delirium, on March 2.
- MANTRA will upgrade its chain from v6 to v7, with the OM token transitioning to MANTRA following a 1:4 coin split.
- Qubic will begin testing parallel Dogecoin mining alongside AI training.
- SolCex will launch its mobile application on Google Play and Apple’s App Store.
- Uniswap DAO is voting to expand v2 and v3 protocol fees to eight layer-2 networks and introduce a new tiered fee structure.
- ENS DAO is voting to replace DNSSEC oracle algorithms to address a critical RSA signature forgery vulnerability.
- GMX DAO is considering a transition to a defined leadership model, including hiring a CEO with performance-based compensation.
- Ethena will unlock 2.24% of its circulating supply, worth approximately $18.35 million in ENA tokens.
- Hyperliquid will unlock HYPE tokens valued at roughly $288.7 million.
