M3TA Recap: March 06 – March 12, 2023
BAM! 3 banks collapsed in a row. Interestingly, they’re all related to crypto. Is this 2008-lite or fiat darkness is really upon us? Read on!
Top performers (7D)
Access Protocol - $ACS: +184%
Price as of time of writing: ACS/USD - $0.01077446
Access Protocol offers a unique monetization solution for digital content creators. By integrating the protocol on their website, creators can monetize and provide exclusive content to supporters. Though witnessing a 7D loss 2 weeks ago, Access Protocol has made a comeback for this week. The reason?
After being listed on multiple exchange platforms, there is speculation that the recent price increase of $ACS may be due to whale accumulation, as they aim to drive up the price.
Reflexer Ungovernance - $FLX: +100%
Price as of time of writing: FLX/USD - $22.33
Reflexer is a platform where anyone can use their crypto collateral to mint RAI. RAI is a novel type of algorithmic stablecoin referred to as a "non-pegged stablecoin." Unlike traditional cryptocurrencies, it aims to avoid being tied to any particular fiat currency, resulting in lower volatility. RAI is run with a managed float regime, stabilizing price through constant devalue or re-valuing of redemption price.
The instability of the stablecoin market reported last week has led users to search for more optimal investment solutions, resulting in an increase in the FLX token.
Kava - $KAVA: +32%
Price as of time of writing: KAVA/USD - $1.03
The Kava Network is a groundbreaking Layer-1 blockchain that merges the scalability and speed of Cosmos SDK with the developer backing of Ethereum. This fusion will grant developers the ability to create applications for Web3 and future blockchain technologies utilizing its exceptional co-chain architecture.
The recent price movements of Kava can be attributed to the newly introduced validator incentives. As more validators operate their nodes on the Kava blockchain, the ecosystem funds have effectively propelled the token's value upward.
Level - $LVL: +29%
Price as of time of writing: LVL/USD - $6.56
Level Finance is a new DEX built on the BNB Chain, offering spot trading and perpetual contracts with leverage up to 30x.
Perpy Finance is a decentralized social trading app, which is a platform that enables traders to learn and emulate the strategies of seasoned crypto traders by copying the trades of more experienced traders.
The price increase may be a result of Level Finance and Perpy Finance partnering to create a decentralized social and copy trading platform on BNB Chain.
Ampleforth - $AMPL: +21%
Price as of time of writing: AMPL/USD - $1.39
Ampleforth operates on the Ethereum blockchain and aims to maintain a stable valuation of its crypto asset that is pegged to the US dollar, without relying on traditional deposit methods or debt issuance. Through a process known as "rebasing," the supply of the AMPL cryptocurrency is programmatically adjusted every 24 hours. If the demand for AMPL tokens is high and the price exceeds $1, the supply will increase to meet the demand. Conversely, if demand is low, the supply will decrease accordingly.
Last week's instability in the stablecoin market has prompted users to seek out better investment alternatives other than stablecoins, possibly one that does not get affected by the general downturned market. The technology behind the AMPL token must have been in the bullseye, causing it to gain popularity and increase in value.
Top losers (7D)
OrbCity - $ORB: -48%
Price as of time of writing: ORB/USD - $0.096154
OrbCity is a Korean-developed LANDFI METAVERSE, based on exploring, scavenging and trading. OrbCity is the first official metaverse land project built on Polygon.
UniDex - $UNIDX: -43%
Price as of time of writing: UNIDX/USD - $6.17
UniDex is a decentralized exchange committed to providing a top-notch and dependable platform for trading DeFi tokens, capitalizing on the rapid expansion of the sector.
RSK Infrastructure Framework - $RIF: -34.2%
Price as of time of writing: RIF/USD - $0.116217
The RSK Infrastructure Framework (RIF) provides open-source, decentralized tools and technologies that simplify the creation of secure and accessible DeFi products backed by Bitcoin (BTC).
Bytom - $BTM: -34%
Price as of time of writing: BTM/USD - $0.02033168
Bytom is an open-source, blockchain-based value-exchange protocol designed to enable the tokenization of real-world assets like securities, dividends, bonds, and warrants. With the Bytom blockchain, users can create and circulate assets without any limitations, opening up new possibilities for the exchange of value.
Gamium - $GMM: -28%
Price as of time of writing: GMM/USD - $1.39
Gamium is a leading technology firm that focuses on the metaverse, and has developed the world's first interlinked metaverse.
The recent decline in the value of some tokens may be nothing more than a normal correction following an extended period of market expansion and strong performance, and should not cause undue concern among investors.
Macro
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)
The FOMC - one of the most important governmental financial agencies of the US - holds meetings eight times each year. At these meetings, the Committee reviews economic and financial conditions, determines the appropriate stance of monetary policy, and assesses the risks to its long-run goals of price stability and sustainable economic growth. Open market operations (OMOs) - the purchase and sale of securities in the open market by a central bank - is managed by the FOMC.
311,000 non-farm payroll jobs (which measures the change in the number of people employed during the previous month, excluding the farming industry, non-profit organizations and active military) were added to the US economy in February, exceeding expectations.
February's report also showed a rise in the unemployment rate (percentage of unemployed individuals in an economy among individuals currently in the labor force) from 3.4% in January to 3.6% in February.
Labor force participation picked up while the rise in the unemployment rate continued to be rampant.
Wage growth (the rise of wage adjusted for inflations) was moderated, rising 0.2% in February compared to 0.3% in January.
The Fed is likely to continue pushing interest rates higher despite the moderation in job growth.
However, with the consecutive fallout of three US major banks mentioned above, it seems that the rate hike is no longer a magic wand for the Fed to regulate the heavily scarred financial market.
Analysts from Goldman Sachs revealed a better alternative, which is to provide liquidity or an emergency fund for banks with outstanding outflows. This move can be costly, but it will for sure regain depositors' confidence in the market, rather than hammer the market with yet another strike on the head with a higher interest rate.
Micro
CoinTelegraph - March 09, 2023
President Biden proposes a 30% tax on electricity costs for US crypto miners to reduce mining activity.
The tax will be phased in over three years, reaching 30% by the third year.
Crypto miners must report the amount and the type of electricity used as well as the value of that electricity.
The tax also applies to miners who acquire electricity off-grid and must estimate electricity costs generated by any electricity-generating plant.
The tax is proposed due to negative environmental effects caused by crypto mining operations.
Bloomberg - March 09, 2023 at 12:29 AM UTC
Tokyo-based Mt. Gox was once the largest Bitcoin exchange but suddenly went bankrupt in 2014.
Mt. Gox Investment Fund claims that it won't sell Bitcoin that it received.
The fund chose an early payout of 90% of what's collectible, with 70% Bitcoin and 30% cash.
Mt. Gox creditors must decide by April 6 to choose the October payout or wait for a higher percentage.
The bankruptcy trustee held 141,686 Bitcoin and cash as of September 2019, valued at about $3.1 billion.
Crypto investors are worried about the implications of many tokens being sold as claims are resolved.
The trustee extended the deadline for creditors to register their details and repayment deadlines were changed from September 30 to October 31, 2023.
CryptoGPT Twitter - March 09, 2023 at 13:29 PM UTC
CryptoGPT is a zkRollup Ethereum layer-2 that distributes wealth of the AI Revolution to billions of users. The protocol has acquired a staggering 2M+ end users at launch, 100+ dev pipeline.
$GPT is used for transaction gas, staking yield, and cash flow from ecosystem apps.
Decrypt - March 10, 2023
NY Attorney General sues KuCoin for allegedly violating securities and commodities laws in the state. The accusation claims that Ethereum is a security, along with LUNA and UST.
Lawsuit targets KuCoin for falsely representing itself as an exchange instead of a securities and commodities broker-dealer without proper license.
Bloomberg - March 10, 2023 at 8:14 AM UTC
Huobi faced a flash crash of its native token, $HT, which halved in price before recovering some losses.
The downturn caused traders to question the solvency of the exchange, leading Justin Sun to tweet that the exchange and its crypto wallets are safe.
Sun announced that Huobi is creating a $100 million fund to enhance liquidity and the exchange will bear losses due to leverage-through positions caused by recent HT volatility.
News Highlight
CNBC - March 08, 2023 at 9:35 PM UTC
Silvergate Bank, the 18th largest bank in the US, is closing and returning deposits due to recent industry and regulatory developments.
The bank has been struggling with high-profile clients like FTX and Genesis, losing a billion dollars in one quarter after its customers withdrew $8.1 billion.
Concerns arise about whether crypto companies are turning to less regulated institutions for their banking needs.
Silvergate is liquidating in an orderly manner and considering how to preserve the residual value of its assets.
Companies like Coinbase and Crypto.com have already started moving away from the bank, and lawmakers are concerned about the crypto contagion affecting the traditional financial sector.
Techcrunch - March 11, 2023 at 12:12 AM UTC
Silicon Valley Bank has been closed by regulators and deposits are now under FDIC control, according to an FDIC release on Friday. Silicon Valley Bank was seized on Friday, marking the largest US banking failure since the 2008 financial crisis.
All insured depositors will have access to their deposits by March 13, 2023, and official checks will continue to clear. Uninsured depositors will receive an advanced dividend within the next week.
Future dividends could be made as FDIC sells SVB assets. It is unclear if depositors could receive more than the FDIC insurance limit of $250,000.
SVB announced on Wednesday that it lost $1.8 billion in the sale of U.S. treasuries and mortgage-backed securities it had invested in, owing to rising interest rates.
Panic ensued, leading to a share price drop of over 50% and a rush of withdrawals from founders advised by VCs to pull money or diversify out of the bank.
SVB CEO Greg Becker assured venture clients their assets are safe and asked them to "stay calm."
Circle, the issuer of the widely adopted stablecoin USDC, got caught in the middle as $3.3B reserve of the stablecoin was deposited at Silvergate. However, in the latest revelation by the CEO of Circle, it seems that they will be able to claim back the whole amount and cash can still be redeemed at 1:1 ratio.
CNBC - March 12, 2023 at 10:24 PM UTC
US regulators forced New-York-based Signature Bank, a major lender in the cryptocurrency industry, to close shop. to prevent a banking crisis from spreading.
Withdrawal access will be available for Signature Bank depositors soon, same as those with Silicon Valley Bank.
No losses will be borne by taxpayers, and all depositors will be made whole.
An emergency program was created by the Fed and Treasury to backstop deposits at both banks, using the Fed’s emergency lending authority, and the FDIC's deposit insurance fund will be used to cover depositors.
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