The State of the Crypto Market and What Investors Need to Know

08.16.2023

Market Overview: 

Embrace the Doldrums

Just as the great sailors of yore were occasionally caught on the high seas without a breath of wind to propel their mighty ships, so crypto sometimes finds itself stuck in the doldrums. We playfull refer to this as crab season, as prices resolutely march sideways, coiling under a certain threshold – currently $30k for BTC and $1,900 for ETH – before entering a new period of action. Bitcoin 30-day volatility reached a historic low at 17% this week, and the overall crypto market cap has been almost perfectly flat for the last two months. 

This is nothing new to those who have survived past cycles. The tumult of 2022 provoked panic and despair as prices careened downward, echoing the stupendous crashes in 2018. Who can forget the acute pain of a market meltdown, the awe of witnessing financial destruction on a massive scale, or the sudden relief when prices finally bottom out? But few remember the other despair, that of boredom and minimization. In 2019, when no one in tradfi wanted to hear the word crypto (indeed there was a short-lived movement to stop using the word), investors laughed you out of the room, and service providers wouldn’t take you seriously. This can often be harder to deal with, as the doldrums drag on for month after month, with no end in sight. This is where we are now in the cycle, the infamous “darkest before dawn” moment. But it’s not really that dark anymore. Perhaps a little perspective can be helpful:

The largest asset manager in the world, with $9 trillion in assets, is currently awaiting approval for a bitcoin ETF. 130 countries, representing 98% of global GDP, are currently exploring central bank digital currencies, including 19 of the G20. Real world assets, led by tokenized US Treasuries, are flooding onto the blockchain and opening the door to the next stage of DeFi expansion. Ethereum continues to reach new records in terms of active validators and ETH staked. The US Congress has a caucus specifically dedicated to promoting blockchain and crypto. Paypal launched its own stablecoin. Coinbase received CFTC approval to offer crypto futures trading. Bitgo, a crypto custodian, just raised $100 million at a $1.75 billion valuation despite the bear market. The first spot Bitcoin ETF went live in Europe.

This is hardly the picture of a dying ecosystem. Adoption comes in cycles, and the doldrums give us the wonderful (and soon to be missed) ability to focus and execute. Don’t lose sight of the bigger picture. And enjoy the lightly-attended conferences – in two years you’ll hardly be able to navigate them.

NFT Market News:

The Met X Roblox

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, known globally as The Met, has tapped into the digital frontier, forming a unique partnership with the widely-played online gaming platform, Roblox. This collaboration introduces “Replica”, an augmented reality quest that integrates The Met’s illustrious collection into the virtual realm. Participants can traverse the museum via the app, scanning select artworks, and subsequently acquiring digital renditions of these historic pieces—such as the renowned Van Gogh’s “Self-Portrait”—to adorn their Roblox avatars.

This venture underscores a broader trend of institutions harnessing digital platforms to enhance accessibility and engagement. By bridging the rich tapestry of traditional art with the dynamism of the digital universe, The Met is seeking to democratize art appreciation for a younger, tech-savvy audience and redefining how classic art can be interacted with in the modern age.

https://decrypt.co/152282/the-met-metropolitan-museum-roblox-replica-quest 

Latest News:

WELCOME FRIENDS: Hundreds of institutions and prominent individuals have invested directly in crypto, adopted the value thesis, or started building technology to support digital assets since Wave started tracking these developments in late 2020. Now the rise of the Metaverse, Decentralized Finance (DeFi), Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), and Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) is driving mainstream adoption of blockchain technologies everywhere we look. We’re continuing to keep track of it every week here:

• Aptos is leveraging Microsoft’s infrastructure to deploy new offerings that combine AI and blockchain technology, including a new chatbot called Aptos Assistant, which will answer user questions about the Aptos ecosystem and provide resources to developers who are building smart contracts and decentralized apps. The chatbot is powered by Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service.
• Visa is testing an innovative solution enabling on-chain gas fees to be paid using a Visa card.
• British digital bank Starling is planning its first expansion outside of Europe, targeting a move into Asia-Pacific. The digital lender, which is backed by Goldman Sachs, is in talks with an Asian bank about taking its Engine banking-as-a-service platform into a country in Asia.
• MetaMask is now offering an optimized Apple Pay option thanks to fiat-to-crypto onramp and fintech firm Banxa.

REGULATORY ROUNDUP: We’re living through the era of regulatory recognition of digital assets. The legislation, litigation, and regulation happening today will dictate the entire future of our industry, and we have a historic chance to shape those changes by staying informed and providing public commentary.

• The SEC has moved forward in seeking interlocutory  appeal of the recent judgment partially favoring Ripple in its protracted lawsuit. This legal dispute traces back to a July 13 order when the court determined in partial favor of the defendants, saying that its sales of XRP tokens on exchanges and through algorithmic procedures were not investment contracts. The SEC states: “With respect to the Programmatic and other sales, the SEC respectfully avers that Ripple conflicts with and adds baseless requirements to Howey and its progeny. Respectfully, those portions of Ripple were wrongly decided, and this Court should not follow them.” Drawing parallels, the SEC refers to a more recent, contrasting judgment in the SEC vs. Terraform Labs case. The stakes for the appeal are high, as a clearer understanding of the applicability of securities laws in the crypto arena could redefine the industry, affecting a vast expanse of transactions and investments.
• France has amended its registration requirements for crypto firms to better align with the European Union’s new regulations for the sector. The country’s financial regulator AMF has “enhanced” registration requirements for digital asset service providers set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2024.
• Singapore is among the world’s first to agree to stablecoin crypto regulation.

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