BTC is currently trading around $23,200 and ETH around $1,600. Notable gainers in the last 24 hours are FTM, APT, and XEC. The global crypto market cap is ~$1.09T, up ~2.7% over the last day. DeFi Total Value Locked is ~$48b and BTC dominance is around 44%.
Risk assets are reversing yesterday’s weakness behind positive U.S. growth data. U.S. Q4 GDP beat expectations due to strong consumer spending in the first part of the quarter, coming in at 2.9% versus the 2.6% expected. While growth still decelerated from 3.2% in Q3, the release adds some credence to the potential of a soft landing. New unemployment claims also came in better than expected. Global bond yields are modestly higher, equities are up as much as 1.25%, and crypto is up 2.7%.
On the monetary policy front, the Bank of Canada hiked rates by a consensus 25 bps yesterday, but it became the first major central bank to signal a pause to the hiking cycle, stating it expects this to be “the final rate hike of the cycle.” Next week is particularly busy for interest rate policy, with the Fed, ECB, and BoE on the docket. While markets are pricing a 25 bp hike from the Fed as a near certainty, the path forward at the March and May meetings remains far less certain.
Notable news includes: crypto options exchange Deribit is reportedly planning a move to Dubai; Mango Markets is suing its exploiter for $47m in damages; data analytics firm Arkham Intelligence revealed it would add support for Polygon in Q1; Alchemy released a transaction simulation product on Ethereum, Polygon, and Arbitrum; Optimism’s on-chain activity dropped after the end of its NFT incentive program; Lido proposed a plan for supporting staked ETH withdrawals; SushiSwap revealed plans to launch a perpetuals DEX on the Sei Network; dYdX rallied ~18% after a token unlock was pushed back ~10 months; Robinhood’s Twitter was hacked and used to promote a fraudulent crypto project; Moonbirds creator Kevin Rose lost more than $1m in NFTs after falling victim to a phishing scam; Doodles announced its new NFT project Doodles 2 is coming to the Flow blockchain at the end of the month; Pudgy Penguins announced that its using Layer Zero to launch its cross-chain bridge; Nike’s web3 platform .SWOOSH will reward creators for virtual sneaker design; Injective launched a $150m ecosystem fund to accelerate interoperable infrastructure and DeFi adoption in the Cosmos ecosystem with backing from Jump and Pantera; and, Celsius’s bankruptcy judge denied another motion from a Celsius claimant arguing that her interest-bearing ‘Earn’ assets were not property of the bankruptcy estate.
Authors:
Matt Kunke, Junior Strategist | Twitter, Telegram, LinkedIn
Brian Rudick, Senior Strategist | Twitter, Telegram, LinkedIn
This material is provided by GSR (the “Firm”) solely for informational purposes, is intended only for sophisticated, institutional investors and does not constitute an offer or commitment, a solicitation of an offer or commitment, or any advice or recommendation, to enter into or conclude any transaction (whether on the terms shown or otherwise), or to provide investment services in any state or country where such an offer or solicitation or provision would be illegal. The Firm is not and does not act as an advisor or fiduciary in providing this material.
This material is not a research report, and not subject to any of the independence and disclosure standards applicable to research reports prepared pursuant to FINRA or CFTC research rules. This material is not independent of the Firm’s proprietary interests, which may conflict with the interests of any counterparty of the Firm. The Firm trades instruments discussed in this material for its own account, may trade contrary to the views expressed in this material, and may have positions in other related instruments.
Information contained herein is based on sources considered to be reliable, but is not guaranteed to be accurate or complete. Any opinions or estimates expressed herein reflect a judgment made by the author(s) as of the date of publication, and are subject to change without notice. Trading and investing in digital assets involves significant risks including price volatility and illiquidity and may not be suitable for all investors. The Firm is not liable whatsoever for any direct or consequential loss arising from the use of this material. Copyright of this material belongs to GSR. Neither this material nor any copy thereof may be taken, reproduced or redistributed, directly or indirectly, without prior written permission of GSR.
