Daily Market Update: 9/23

September 23, 2022

BTC is currently trading around $19,000 and ETH around $1,300. Notable gainers in the last 24 hours are CRO, XCN, and XRP. The global crypto market cap is ~$970B, down 0.2% over the last day. DeFi Total Value Locked is ~$70b and BTC dominance is around 41%.

Risk markets are continuing their downward slide on minimal new information. Markets are seemingly still digesting the backdrop of tighter monetary conditions as the U.S. 10Yr yield brushed up on its highest level in a decade. Goldman Sachs cut its year-end S&P 500 price target by ~16%, arguing that equity valuations still need to incorporate this harsher reality. 

On the regulatory front, the CFTC announced it had filed and settled charges against the founders of the decentralized trading platform bZeroX. Previously, the founders transferred bZeroX over to Ooki DAO in an attempt to bypass regulatory uncertainty. Beyond the founders, however, the CFTC sparked immense backlash for issuing a civil enforcement action against Ooki DAO and its members, which it alleges violated the same laws as the founders did by operating the same software protocol. CFTC commissioner Mersinger’s dissent aligned with many of the criticisms made by those supporting the crypto industry, stating she “cannot agree with the Commission’s approach of determining liability for DAO token holders based on their participation in governance voting…. This approach constitutes blatant ‘regulation by enforcement’ by setting policy based on new definitions and standards never before articulated by the Commission or its staff, nor put out for public comment.” This action brings new precedent for DAOs that will likely be argued heavily in the months to come. 

Notable news includes: the IRS was granted a ‘John Doe’ summons to M.Y. Safra Bank, permitting the agency to obtain data on customers of the bank’s crypto prime broker partner, SFOX; Congressman Warren Davidson indicated that a U.S. stablecoin bill is a long shot for approval in 2022; Cardano implemented its Vasil hard fork; Bitcoin mining firm Compute North filed for bankruptcy; Galaxy Digital’s co-head of trading departed to Brevan Howard Digital; August’s blockchain VC funding fell to a 12-month low; and, the New England Patriots inked a sponsorship deal with crypto firm Chain. 

Authors:
Matt Kunke, Junior Strategist | TwitterTelegramLinkedIn
Brian Rudick, Senior Strategist | TelegramLinkedIn

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