Collective Shift

Join Matt and Nick as they cover the Federal Reserve's plan to cut rates, the arrest of Telegram’s co-founder and what it means for TON, Marathon becoming a new buyer of Bitcoin (BTC), and more.

Key Takeaways

• Crypto rallied after the U.S. central bank all but confirmed it’d cut rates in September. It remains unclear whether the cuts will be 25 basis points or 50 basis points.
• Telegram’s co-founder and CEO, Pavel Durov, was reportedly arrested by French authorities, crashing the price of TON. While Telegram has not been involved in TON for a few years, the market still treats TON as if it is Telegram’s cryptocurrency. This is unlikely to change any time soon. Therefore, events related to Durov may affect price in the short term.
• September will feature a number of key events, including the first presidential debate between Trump and Harris (Sep. 10) and the Fed’s rate cut (Sep. 18).
• Among the altcoin updates covered: Solana ETF application setback and ARB staking vote goes live.

Join Matt and Nick as they break down crypto’s chaotic week. They also discuss Ethereum vs Solana, the Ethereum ETFs, the SEC vs Ripple Labs court ruling, and more.

Key Takeaways 

• The market bounced strongly off last week’s lows of less than $50,000 for BTC. For now, it appears the technical reasons for the flash crash have passed.
• Kamala Harris overtook Donald Trump in U.S. election prediction markets for the first time. This likely contributed to last week’s sell-off, given that a would-be Trump win would likely bolster risk assets.
• Solana is catching Ethereum across a number of key adoption metrics. There is a strong argument that both can do well in the long term.
• Among the altcoin updates covered: XRP soars after SEC vs Ripple Labs judgment and Arbitrum to be used by Franklin Templeton.

Join Matt and Nick as they break down why Bitcoin and the broader cryptocurrency market have sold off heavily, exploring potential reasons such as growing recessionary fears, changing election odds, and the strengthening Japanese yen.

Key Takeaways 

• Crypto prices have tumbled amid broader selling of risk-off assets caused by several reasons.
• These reasons include growing fears of a U.S. recession, a tightening of the election race, and heightened uncertainty surrounding Japan’s economy.
• Among the altcoin updates covered: Avalanche used by the Californian DMV and Lido’s institutional offering.

Join Matt and Nick as they cover Donald Trump’s speech at the Bitcoin 2024 conference, the launch of the Ethereum ETF launch in the U.S., and plenty more in what was one of the most important weeks for crypto so far this year.

Key Takeaways

• BTC and SOL continued climbing while ETH underperformed yet again. Notably, this price action unfolded despite stock markets around the world putting in another week to forget.
• The spot Ethereum ETFs went live in the U.S. and has $342M of net outflows after three days of trading. This was mainly due to holders selling Grayscale’s ETHE, which was expected. Once ETHE outflows subside, assessing the level of demand for these ETFs will get easier.
• U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump said that, if elected, his administration would make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the planet” and “keep 100% of all the bitcoin the U.S. government currently holds or acquires into the future.” He also promised to remove SEC Chair Gary Gensler.
• Trump headlined a particularly eventful Bitcoin 2024 conference, which featured several announcements, including Senator Cynthia Lummis introducing a bill for the U.S. to buy one million BTC.
• Among the altcoin updates covered: Jito’s expansion into Solana restaking and Aave’s push to drive more value to the AAVE token.

Join Matt and Nick as they break down the strong bounceback in crypto prices after a week that involved BlackRock CEO Larry Fink touting Bitcoin, Trump naming a pro-crypto vice presidential nominee, and more. They also preview a week that is likely to feature the launch of spot Ethereum ETFs in the U.S. and presidential candidate Donald Trump speaking at the world’s largest Bitcoin conference.

Key Takeaways

• BTC, ETH and SOL all hit their highest prices in at least five weeks. Notably, this coincided with stock markets suffering one of their worst weeks of the year.
• BlackRock CEO Larry Fink shared his bull case for BTC. Given his power and influence, it’s hard to understate how significant it is to now have Fink flying the flag for Bitcoin.
• The spot Ethereum ETFs are widely expected to launch this week in the U.S. Don’t expect ‘the Grayscale factor’ to be as relevant as when the Bitcoin ETFs launched in January.
• It is extremely difficult to predict the initial level of demand for these ETFs. However, it does feel as though the market is not pricing in a rather tempered launch. If this is true, the ETFs would have to seriously flop in order for ETH’s price to fall.
• The Mt. Gox trustees started sending BTC to exchanges, who will then distribute it to individual creditors. Within the next few months, expect the vast majority of these redistributions to have been completed.
• U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump will speak at Bitcoin 2024, the world’s largest conference on all things Bitcoin.
• Among the altcoin updates covered: Polygon’s upcoming token migration and Grayscale’s decentralised AI fund.

Join Matt and Nick as they discuss why crypto prices rallied after Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt. They also break down Germany’s heavy selling of nearly 50,000 Bitcoin; upcoming cash payments to some FTX creditors; Ethereum ETFs; altcoin updates; and more.

Key Takeaways 

• Cryptocurrency prices rallied after the attempted assassination of U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump. In the hours after this event, Trump’s odds of winning November’s election jumped from 60% to 70%, according to Polymarket.
• Speaking of Trump, last week he was confirmed as a speaker at Bitcoin’s largest annual conference, Bitcoin 2024. His 30-minute speech is scheduled for 2pm CT (7pm UTC) on July 27. This event will likely generate plenty of mainstream attention for crypto.
• The German government seemingly finished selling its stash of nearly 50,000 BTC it seized in late January. While it’s unknown how much BTC was actually sold—and how much is left to be sold—the market will likely stop caring about this story.
• Certain FTX creditors are set to receive $12B–$16B later this year. While this will create some short-term buy pressure, it’s unrealistic to expect all of this to go straight back into the crypto market.
• Among the altcoin updates covered: Solana’s progress on ‘Firedancer’ client and Starknet’s proposal to add a staking functionality to STRK.

Join Matt and Nick as they discuss the crypto market sell-off; Mt. Gox starting to redistribute Bitcoin; Germany selling more Bitcoin; Circle becoming the first compliant stablecoin issuer in the EU; Ethereum ETFs; key altcoins updates; and more.

Key Takeaways 

• Defunct exchange Mt. Gox started redistributing a portion of the ~142,000 BTC it owes creditors. The deadline for its rehabilitation creditor repayments is Oct. 31, 2024.
• German and U.S. authorities continued to move BTC to exchanges, presumably to sell. It is unclear how much they intend to sell and over what time frame. Long term, these sales are meaningless.
• The spot Ethereum ETFs are still tracking to launch in July. While estimates of the combined net inflows of these ETFs vary greatly, the long-term effect is undoubtedly positive for ETH.
• USDC stablecoin issuer Circle became the first compliant stablecoin issuer under the EU’s new crypto laws.
• Among the altcoin updates covered: Solana’s sliding stablecoin transfers; Polkdaot’s exorbitant marketing costs; and Bittensor’s blockchain issues.

Join Matt and Nick as they discuss the state of the market; Ethereum and Solana ETF updates; the SEC suing Consensys; the MegaETH funding round; altcoin updates; and more.

Key Takeaways 

• Mt. Gox will start incrementally distributing its ~142,000 BTC to creditors this month. While some BTC will be instantly sold by recipients, the amount of sell pressure will likely not be as large as some may expect.
• Spot Ethereum ETFs are expected to go live slightly later than most expected. Still highly likely they launch in July.
• The SEC sued Consensys, alleging that it violated federal securities laws because some of its offerings are brokers of ‘crypto-asset securities’. In the lawsuit, the SEC alleged that Lido (LDO) and Rocket Pool (RPL) were securities, causing a sell-off.
• Among the altcoin updates covered: BLAST valuation opens at less than market expectations and Solana introduces blockchain links, or blinks.

Join Matt and Nick as they discuss the SEC closing its investigation into the initial sales of ETH; Germany selling its large Bitcoin holdings; altcoin updates; and more.

Key Takeaways 

• Prices have continued falling amid market conditions with very few new buyers. These types of pullbacks are consistent with all past crypto bull markets, and we still expect prices to be much higher by year-end.
• Consensys said the SEC "would not bring charges alleging that sales of ETH are securities transactions." A significant concession by the SEC, potentially reflecting a shift in positioning towards crypto.
• The German government has been selling some of its BTC holdings. It still owns slightly less than 47,000 BTC (≈$2.9B). If the sales continue, it may drive BTC’s price lower in the short term. Long term, these sales are meaningless.
• Among the altcoin updates covered: LayerZero’s controversial token launch, Lens’ migration to ZKsync, and Jupiter’s proposed token supply decrease.

Matt breaks down why cryptocurrency prices slid after the U.S. central bank’s big update. He also covers how Donald Trump and Joe Biden are warming to crypto; MicroStrategy’s latest capital raise; Bitcoin ETFs in Australia; and altcoin updates.

Key Takeaways 

• Cryptocurrency prices after the U.S. Federal Reserve said it now anticipates just one rate cut in 2024, down from the three cuts estimated in March.
• Presidential candidates Donald Trump and Joe Biden continue to up their engagement with the crypto industry, a promising development given both have historically opposed crypto. However, time will tell whether it lead to any favourable outcomes after November’s election.
• Australia’s largest stock exchange, the ASX, approved its first spot Bitcoin ETF. This milestone should bring greater credibility to Bitcoin and crypto more broadly.
• Among the altcoin updates covered: Lido’s involvement with Symbiotic and Mellow Finance, and Polygon and Arbitrum announce well-funded growth initiatives.