BTC is currently trading around $40,900 and ETH around $3,050. Notable gainers in the last 24 hours are NEAR, CETH, and ZEC. The global crypto market cap is $2.02T, down 2.5% over the last day. DeFi Total Value Locked is ~$227b and BTC dominance is around 41%.
BTC was flattish over the weekend after falling 4% on Friday. Friday’s US labor market report showed the unemployment rate falling to 3.9% in December from 4.2% the month prior, strengthening the case for the Fed to raise interest rates and furthering concerns around central bank policy accommodation removal. Goldman Sachs is now calling for four Fed rate hikes this year, up from three previously, while CME futures suggest a 72% change of a 25 bp hike and a 7% chance of a 50 bp hike at the March meeting.
Elsewhere, India’s central bank has created a dedicated department for fintech; UK lawmakers have formed a crypto advocacy group for parliament; Pakistan reportedly issued a formal notice to Binance to identify links to a crypto scam; the hashrate of major bitcoin mining pools has now nearly recovered as internet connectivity in Kazakhstan is largely restored; PayPal is planning to potentially launch its own stablecoin; German neobank N26 will launch crypto trading later this year; Disney has patented technology for a theme park metaverse; Binance.US is building an office in the Solana-based metaverse Portals; the ETH burn rate has increased 50% over the last seven days compared to the last month amid high volatility and high NFT sales; Ethereum layer two scaling solution Arbitrum went down yesterday; inter-dealer broker TP ICAP has started offering crypto-linked ETP trading to European clients; and, bitcoin miner Bitfarms purchased 1,000 BTC during the first week of January.
This material is a product of the GSR Sales and Trading Department. It is not a product of a Research Department, not a research report, and not subject to all 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 your interests. The Firm trades instruments discussed in this material for its own account. The author may have consulted with the Firm’s traders and other personnel, who may have already traded based on the views expressed in this material, may trade contrary to the views expressed in this material, and may have positions in other instruments discussed herein. This material is intended only for institutional investors. Solely for purposes of the CFTC’s rules and to the extent this material discusses derivatives, this material is a solicitation for entering into a derivatives transaction and should not be considered to be a derivatives research report.This material is provided solely for informational purposes, is intended for your use only and does not constitute an offer or commitment, a solicitation of an offer or comment (except as noted for CFTC purposes), or any advice or recommendation, to enter into or conclude any transaction (whether on the indicative 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. Information is based on sources considered to be reliable, but not guaranteed to be accurate or complete. Any opinions or estimates expressed herein reflect a judgment made 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. GSR will not be liable whatsoever for any direct or consequential loss arising from the use of this Information. Copyright of this Information belongs to GSR. Neither this Information nor any copy thereof may be taken or rented or redistributed, directly or indirectly, without prior written permission of GSR. Not a solicitation to U.S. Entities or individuals for securities in any form. If you are such an entity, you must close this page.