Newsletter Volume 71
26th April 2024
THE MARKET THIS WEEK
The European Central Bank is too preoccupied with targeting Bitcoin to be concerned about the plethora of legitimate frauds being carried out by con artists in the sector. Scammers using cryptocurrency (or the platforms they operate on) are being discovered and prosecuted more frequently. As a result of cryptocurrency’s broad appeal, people are aware that coins, tokens, or platforms that appear “too good to be true” are just that — too good to be true. Regretfully, more frauds will surface as cryptocurrencies gain popularity again.
Based on a survey of 64 investors with a total of $600 billion in assets under management, the head of research at the asset manager, James Butterfill, said in a report dated April 24 that “investors are more optimistic for Solana.” In January, CoinShares conducted a survey and found that none of the participants had any investments in SOL. This is a considerable increase from the 0% of respondents who stated they had invested in the altcoin in January.
Bitfinex Projects That Demand for Bitcoin Will Be Five Times Higher Than Supply After Halving. According to Bitfinex, the amount of fresh Bitcoin supplied to the market might only be $30 million every day. The 6.25 BTC per block reward that miners received was halved to 3.125 BTC. The theoretical value of all new coins supplied to the supply every day could decrease to $30 million as a result of Bitfinex’s reward halving. That is five times less than the average daily demand for the U.S. spot ETFs, which is a notable decline.
The Crypto Industry Benefits from the FTC’s Non-Compete Ban
The open-source culture of an innovative sector is at odds with employment contracts that restrict labor mobility, according to Linda Jeng, CEO of Digital Self Labs, a Web3 advisory firm. Their arguments had no legal substance. Due to its excessive breadth, the non-compete agreement was most likely voidable in court. The markets and products of the two companies were very different, and I worked as a lawyer instead of a software developer, a field not often subject to non-compete agreements.
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 : 5 gwei
DeFi TVL : $172.87b
Fear and Greed Index : 70 (Extreme Greed)
Federal Reserve Balance Sheet : $7.40 T
BATTLE OF THE BULL AND BEAR
‘Epic’ First Post-Halving Sat Sold by Bitcoin Mining Pool ViaBTC for $2.13M Following the halving last week, the pool mined the first block and earned a “epic” seat in the process. The only thing that was up for grabs in the prior three halvings was bragging rights for mining the first block. But with the introduction of the Ordinals protocol, sats — the lowest unit of currency in bitcoin, or 0.00000001 BTC — could now be recognized and exchanged as distinct tokens.
Hedera’s HBAR Doubles and Drops 25% as the Market Misunderstands BlackRock’s Tokenization Involvement When it became apparent that BlackRock was not actively participating in the tokenization on Hedera’s blockchain, the market relinquished some of its early gains.
The 200-Day Average of Bitcoin Is Getting Close to a Record High: Why It Matters One of the most extensively used measures of the long-term trend of bitcoin is the 200-day simple moving average. In October, the price of bitcoin entered a bull market as it broke over the 200-day SMA and reached all-time highs above $73,000 last month. As a key indicator of long-term trends, the average is currently increasing quickly, indicating a strong bullish momentum, and it looks likely to surpass its previous top of $49,452 in February 2022. Bitcoin was trading at $66,200 at the time of publication, while the 200-day average was $47,909.
$510M long positions are at risk if Ether’s volatility from last weekend returns. Over $500 million in long Ether positions might be liquidated this weekend with even a modest 2.25% decrease.
Miner of Bitcoins Marathon raises the goal for 2024 hash rate to 50 EH/s. Marathon’s hash rate has increased by more than 100% since the beginning of 2024 if it meets its 50 EH/s goal. We currently think that we could double the size of Marathon’s mining operations in 2024 given the capacity we have available as a result of our recent acquisitions and the hash rate.
WEEKLY REVIEW OF IC15
The global cryptocurrency market slipped amid rising geopolitical tension in the Middle East and slowed ETF inflows. The IC15 Index was down 4,078 points to 79,428 at 4 p.m. Avalanche, Toncoin, Shiba Inu, and Polkadot slipped in the 9–11% range, while Tron, the only gainer in the Index, rose 1.01%.
Stablecoins are growing very fast, as the number of addresses holding them has increased by 15% this year to a record high of more than 93.6 million. Similarly, the NFT lending market is soaring, as it hit a record $2.13 billion in the first quarter, up by 43.6% quarter-on-quarter.
EU is tightening its AML rules for crypto-assets service providers and gambling services. It has passed a law to improve identity verification that requires firms to spot suspicious operations to counter money laundering. The US state of Arkansas Senate passed two crypto bills to regulate crypto mining activities that would restrict foreign ownership and grant local government authorities the right to form ordinances for mining.
US presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wants to put the entire US budget on the blockchain to make it more transparent and available for every American citizen. According to Bitget Research, crypto adoption in the Middle East surged 166% YoY, led by UAE, with 72% of crypto users invested in Bitcoin due to favourable frameworks.
Weekly Spotlight
As ETF inflows slowed and geopolitical tension in the Middle East increased, the global bitcoin market fell. At 4 p.m., the IC15 Index had dropped 4,078 points to 79,428. Tron, the lone index gainer, increased by 1.01%, while Avalanche, Toncoin, Shiba Inu, and Polkadot fell in the 9–11% range. The amount of addresses holding stablecoins has climbed by 15% this year to a record high of around 93.6 million, indicating how quickly they are expanding. In a similar vein, the NFT lending market is expanding rapidly; in the first quarter, it reached a record $2.13 billion, up 43.6% from the previous quarter.
EU is making its AML regulations more stringent for companies who offer gambling and cryptocurrency services. A law aimed at enhancing identity verification has been passed, requiring businesses to identify questionable activities in order to prevent money laundering. Two crypto-related legislation that would limit foreign ownership and give local governments the authority to create mining regulations were approved by the US state of Arkansas’s Senate.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a contender for US president, wants to make the US budget more accessible and transparent for all citizens by placing it entirely on the blockchain. Bitget Research reports that due to favorable frameworks, 72% of cryptocurrency users in the Middle East invested in Bitcoin, with the UAE leading the way in the region’s 166% YoY increase in crypto usage.
