Crypto Weekly: Market Faces $500 Billion Wipeout and Major ETF Moves – August 12, 2024
Crypto Weekly: $500 Billion Wipeout & Major ETF Moves
🌟 Crypto Market Chaos: $500B Wipeout, Key Settlements & Strategic Insights for the Week Ahead 🌟
This week has been nothing short of eventful in the world of crypto and global markets. From a significant market wipeout to notable legal settlements, and strategic moves in the ETF space, we’ve seen a whirlwind of activity. As we navigate these developments, the focus shifts to understanding market dynamics, evaluating entry points, and keeping a close watch on upcoming economic reports. Let’s dive into the key highlights and what they mean for the crypto landscape.
🌟 Weekly Crypto & Market Review 🌟
📰 Market Wipeout: $500 Billion Gone in Just Three Days!
The crypto market faced a major hit this week, with a staggering $500 billion wiped out as Bitcoin briefly dropped below $50k. This massive sell-off coincided with one of the worst trading Mondays since 1987, as Wall Street’s volatility index, VIX, recorded its third-largest spike in history. 📉
🔍 Key Highlights:
- 💥 FTX & Alameda: Reached a $12.7 billion settlement with the CFTC.
- 🐋 Bitcoin Whales: On-chain data shows whales have been accumulating heavily, with $23 billion flowing into permanent holder addresses.
- 📊 NYSE & Ether: The New York Stock Exchange has requested SEC approval to list options on three Ether ETFs.
- 🌎 Solana ETF: Brazil’s SEC approves the world’s first Solana Spot ETF.
- 📈 Ripple (XRP) & SEC: Ripple is ordered to pay $125 million in penalties, officially ending the years-long lawsuit.
- 🏦 US Economy: Weekly jobless claims dropped lower than expected, easing recession fears, while Australia’s RBA governor hints at potential rate hikes if needed.
📈 Market Insights:
Last week, I mentioned that I was the most bullish I’ve been this year on BTC, especially after the political developments at the Nashville Bitcoin conference. It seems the market agreed, as we saw a convincing bounce back into the range. However, the downside persists, with BTC bouncing off the $58,000 support level.
Japanese equities have taken a hit due to the JPY carry trade unwind, and this might not be over yet. We are dealing with a massive $20 trillion trade accumulated over two decades across banks, hedge funds, and investors. Even if the Bank of Japan hikes rates, Japan’s rates are still low compared to other central banks. The real question is how much unhedged short JPY exposure exists in the system – a tough one to answer due to market complexities. 💹
💡 Crypto Strategy:
From a crypto perspective, the question is whether these are good entry points. Our view is that BTC, followed by ETH and then SOL, are wise choices, given institutional adoption via ETFs and the political momentum in the US.
- 💪 BTC: With the US election possibly bringing a Strategic Reserve bill into play, we remain short-biased on ETHBTC.
- 📈 ETH: Bounced at the $2,100 level and moved back up to key resistance at $2,800. However, we’re cautious, as the dynamics of risk allocation could change with the potential launch of a staking ETF.
- 📊 Futures: BTC’s 3-month annualized futures basis stayed steady around 8%, while ETH saw a decline to 6.65%. This further supports a short ETHBTC bias.
Consider a long BTC futures vs. ETH futures 3-month shorts as an interesting spread trade – essentially getting paid for leverage if the relative value plays out in your favor.
🔭 What to Watch Next Week:
- 🇬🇧 UK Unemployment Claims & 🇺🇸 US PPI Report – Tuesday
- 🇬🇧 UK & 🇺🇸 US CPI Reports – Wednesday
- 🇬🇧 UK Monthly GDP Report & 🇺🇸 US Unemployment Claims – Thursday
📚 Also Read:
- UK Gambling Commission’s Latest Report 🎰
- Is a US Recession Imminent? How Crypto Markets Could React 🔮
- First Gambling Survey for Great Britain Annual Report Published 📝
- Full House Resorts Sees Casino-Fueled Revenue Surge Despite Rising Costs 🏨
Stay tuned for more updates next week, and keep an eye on the market as we navigate these turbulent times! 🌍💼
- Follow US on LinkedIN