Newsletter 74

17th May 2024

THE MARKET THIS WEEK

Bitcoin Has Best Day in 2 Months as Markets Anticipate a ‘Summer of Easing’ The net percent of global central banks cutting rates is increasing in a positive sign for risk assets, including cryptocurrencies. According to data sources TradingView and CoinDesk, the leading cryptocurrency by market value rose over 7.5% to $66,250, the largest percentage rise since March 20. Like other risk assets, BTC is sensitive to expected changes in the monetary policy stance of major central banks and rallies when the cost of borrowing fiat money is forecast to decline.

As a Pension Embraces Bitcoin, Hope Grows for Cryptocurrency’s Long-Term Prospects Even Among Conservative Pros Wisconsin’s state pension put $160 million into BlackRock and Grayscale’s Bitcoin ETFs, showing even risk-averse investors are able to embrace crypto and possibly presaging a “slowly building wave of demand. Pensions are generally conservative with their investments and slow to embrace new things, and Wisconsin is not usually the land of flashy purchases. But if bitcoin is making inroads there — posting some of the investment industry’s highest returns over the past decade no doubt helps — then there might be good reason to suspect the original cryptocurrency can keep expanding its investor base.

SHIB to Get More Scarce as Key Exchange Expands to Shibarium Increased transactions on the Shibarium blockchain will lead to a higher burn rate for the SHIB token, reducing its circulating supply. Users can now float new liquidity pools (LPs) on Shibarium, allowing traders to swap tokens on the network and earn a cut of trading fees for providing liquidity.

Forget memecoins, Bitcoin is driving the bull run — NBX Warsaw The success of Bitcoin ETFs and the influence of the Bitcoin halving is having a significant impact on cryptocurrency markets. Bitcoin, not memecoins, will continue to be a pivotal driving force in this bull run courtesy of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and the influence of the halving. This was a key takeaway from day one of the Next Block Expo in Warsaw as prominent industry insiders unpacked major trends of the current market cycle.

‘We’re just scratching the surface’ of crypto and AI — Microsoft exec The symbiotic relationship between AI and crypto is still in its nascent stages, according to tech execs. In a panel discussion titled “Crypto x AI,” Rhodes’ views were further probed by moderator Alex Lin, “There’s already a massive amount of interesting stuff going on” in crypto, including in the open source community.

KEY METRICS

Total Crypto Market Cap : $2.65T

Bitcoin Market Cap : $ 1.32T

Ethereum Market Cap : $ 421.48B

ETH/BTC Ratio : 0.05

Ethereum Gas Price : 7 gwei

DeFi TVL : $169.27b

Fear and Greed Index : 70 (Extreme Greed)

Federal Reserve Balance Sheet : $7.35 T

BATTLE OF THE BULL AND BEAR

Bitcoin analysis sees $74K next as BTC price tries to hold 7.5% gains BTC price action has its doubters after swiftly jumping to new May highs, but some see Bitcoin continuing upward momentum into price discovery.

Ether-Bitcoin Ratio Slides to Lowest Since April 2021. “Ether is a ‘lightning rod’ for negative sentiment from crypto native and external players and has several weak spots,” one observer said. ETH/BTC slipped to 0.04563 on crypto exchange Binance soon before press time, reaching the lowest since April 2021, according to charting platform TradingView. This year, the ratio has declined nearly 16%, indicating a bias for bitcoin or the leading cryptocurrency by market value. The slide to three-year lows follows reduced demand for exchange-traded products (ETPs) tied to ether.

Bitcoin Hits $66K as Soft Inflation Data Sparks Crypto Rally Sluggish U.S. retail sales and softer inflation reports have opened the way for the next leg up in the crypto rally “Investors consider this as a bullish regime shift, as it marks the first decrease in CPI inflation over the last three months,” Bitfinex analysts said in a market update. This, together with the Federal Reserve previously announcing its intention to taper the central bank’s balance sheet run-off, “is seen as a favorable print for risk assets,” Bitfinex added.

Crypto trader turns $3K into $46M in one month as PEPE price soars The savvy cryptocurrency trader is up over 15,000 fold on his initial $3,000 Pepe investment in just one month. The unknown wallet bought 4.9 trillion PEPE for $3,000 on April 15, which is currently worth over $56 million. The trader sold 1.41 trillion PEPE for $7.4 million and is currently sitting on 3.5 trillion PEPE, worth $38.9 million, according to Lookonchain’s May 15 X post.

BTC, ETH, BNB, SOL, XRP, TON, DOGE, ADA, AVAX, SHIB Risky assets, including Bitcoin and altcoins, received a boost following today’s CPI report. The failure of the bears to sink Bitcoin below $60,000 seems to have attracted buyers. CoinShares’ “Digital Asset Fund Flows Weekly” report showed inflows of $130 million into digital asset investment products this past week, the first such occurrence in five weeks.

WEEKLY REVIEW OF IC15

The global cryptocurrency market jumped after the US CPI data showed lower inflation, which fuels potential rate cut expectations. The IC15 Index surged 3,773 points to 81,735 at 4 p.m., led by Solana, which was up by 12.70%, followed by Shiba Inu, Chainlink, and Bitcoin in the 5–6% range, while Toncoin and Tron were the only losers, with 5.52% and 0.78% down, respectively.

Switzerland’s highest authority launched a public consultation for its plans to introduce global crypto tax reporting standards to ensure equal treatment as regular assets. The Federal Council will implement the CryptoAsset Reporting Framework (CARF) to improve tax transparency. The governor of Oklahoma has signed a landmark bill into law to regulate crypto and blockchain in the state. The bill will protect miners and owners of crypto and attract more crypto players to the state.

CME Group plans to launch Bitcoin trading for Wall Street fund managers amid the burgeoning crypto market. This move will attract Wall Street giants to the crypto space

Indonesia’s commodities regulator, the Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency, formed a dedicated committee with government, regulators, and industry representatives to monitor the crypto industry’s operation and compliance. Likewise, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) also formed a working group to develop standards for its tokenization market, focusing on wholesale CBDC

WEEKLY SPOTLIGHT

As a result of the US CPI data showing lower inflation, which feeds hopes of a rate decrease, the worldwide cryptocurrency market surged. As of 4 p.m., the IC15 Index had risen 3,773 points to 81,735; the only losses were Tron and Toncoin, which were down 0.78% and 5.52%, respectively. Solana led the rally, rising by 12.70%, and Shiba Inu, Chainlink, and Bitcoin followed in the 5–6% range.

In order to guarantee equal treatment with ordinary assets, the highest authority in Switzerland has opened public consultation on its plans to adopt worldwide crypto tax reporting rules. To increase tax transparency, the Federal Council will put the CryptoAsset Reporting Framework (CARF) into effect. A historic bill governing blockchain technology and cryptocurrency in Oklahoma has been signed into law by the governor. The bill will safeguard cryptocurrency miners and owners while drawing further participants to the state.

In the midst of the growing cryptocurrency sector, CME Group intends to introduce Wall Street fund managers to Bitcoin trading. Wall Street titans will be drawn to the cryptocurrency market by this action.

The Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency, Indonesia’s commodities regulator, established a special committee of government, regulators, and business representatives to oversee the functioning and adherence of the cryptocurrency sector. Similar to this, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) established a working group with a focus on wholesale CBDC to create guidelines for its tokenization market.