NFT market's untold story

March 25, 2024

Reading time: 5 minutes

Global easing cycle and BlackRock's tokenization move spark crypto market boom

Key points:

  • BlackRock's foray into tokenized assets through its BUIDL fund is being seen as a positive sign for the crypto market.

  • Central banks like the Swiss National Bank and Bank of Mexico cutting rates signal a potential liquidity boost for cryptocurrencies.

News - The cryptocurrency market experienced a surge, fueled by positive news and anticipation of a global easing cycle by central banks. Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency, climbed 2.37% in 24 hours, surpassing $67,000. ETH followed suit, rising 1.74% and breaching the $3,400 mark. Analysts attribute this rally to BlackRock's recent announcement of a fund targeting tokenized products on Ethereum. Thus, signifying growing institutional interest in the sector.

How did the derivatives market perform? The positive sentiment squeezed short sellers who had bet against Bitcoin and ETH. Data shows over $100 million in short positions were liquidated within 24 hours, highlighting the market's bullish momentum. Furthermore, a slowdown in selling pressure from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) is being seen as another factor contributing to Bitcoin's rise.

Moreover, central banks like the Swiss National Bank and the Bank of Mexico implementing rate cuts point towards a potential global easing cycle. Experts believe this could benefit various asset classes, including cryptocurrencies, by increasing liquidity.

In conclusion - Despite the price increase, real economic activity on the Bitcoin blockchain remains subdued. Research suggests investors are holding onto their crypto assets, with on-chain transaction volume significantly lower compared to the 2021 bull market peak.

Binance announces end of TRC-20 USDC deposits and withdrawals

Key points:

  • Stablecoin issuer Circle discontinued support for TRC-20 USDC on the Tron blockchain, citing risk management concerns.

  • Crypto investors on Binance have until 5 April to convert, transfer, or cash out their TRC-20 USDC holdings.

News - The cryptocurrency world witnessed a shakeup as Binance, the leading crypto exchange, announced it would cease support for deposits and withdrawals of USD Coin (USDC) tokens based on the Tron blockchain. This move follows a similar decision by Circle, the issuer of USDC, to discontinue support for the Stablecoin on Tron.

The domino effect of Circle's decision impacted Binance, prompting them to halt TRC-20 USDC transactions. This gives Binance users a 12-day window to convert, transfer, or cash out their Tron-based USDC holdings. USDC trading on other supported blockchains within Binance remains unaffected.

What’s up with TRON though? Meanwhile, Tron is looking towards the future. The blockchain is exploring a layer-2 solution for Bitcoin that could potentially support a "wrapped" version of Tether (USDT). This integration aims to establish a direct link between Tron and Bitcoin, potentially injecting liquidity into the Bitcoin network.

With Binance delisting TRC-20 USDC and Tron exploring alternative solutions, the crypto market continues to evolve. While the full impact of these changes remains to be seen, they highlight the dynamic nature of the industry and the importance of risk management for all stakeholders.

Solana outshines Ethereum in capital efficiency, boosting DeFi adoption

Key points:

  • Solana's popularity is surging due to its capital efficiency, a crucial factor in the DeFi space.

  • While the price of SOL experienced volatility, the number of daily active addresses and transactions on the Solana network continued to grow.

News - Solana has been on a tear in recent weeks, experiencing a price surge fueled by rising network popularity. A key factor driving this popularity is Solana's superior capital efficiency, a critical concept in the Decentralized Finance space.

Capital efficiency, a cornerstone of traditional finance, reflects an entity's ability to optimize its use of financial resources. In DeFi, it translates to maximizing returns and minimizing locked-up capital. This translates into several benefits, including a competitive edge, enhanced liquidity, reduced risk, and fostering innovation.

What’s more? A recent analysis by Reflexivity Research compared capital efficiency on Solana and Ethereum, the leading DeFi platform. The results were clear: Solana emerged as the more efficient network.

Ultimately, Solana's capital efficiency advantage positions it not only to compete with established DeFi players like Ethereum, but potentially outperform them. While the price of SOL experienced some volatility, dropping 20% recently after reaching a high of $209, network activity remains strong.

BAYC NFT, once owned by Kevin Hart, sells for $46,200 on Blur

Key points:

  • Comedian Kevin Hart's BAYC recently sold for $46,200, significantly lower than the $200,000 he paid for it in 2022.

  • The significant price drop of Hart's Ape raises questions about the long-term viability of the NFT market.

News - Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT, previously owned by American comedian Kevin Hart, recently exchanged hands for approximately 13.26 ether, equivalent to $46,200, on Blur, a non-fungible token exchange.

The sale took place on 25 March after the NFT had been traded multiple times over the weekend. Remarkably, the final sale price represents a significant decrease compared to Hart's initial purchase.

When did Hart acquire BAYC? According to Blur's trading page, Hart acquired the Bored Ape, depicted wearing a vibrant propeller hat, in January 2022 for over $200,000 at the time. His purchase was facilitated by crypto startup firm MoonPay, which reportedly assisted various celebrities, including Justin Bieber, Madonna, and Jimmy Fallon, in acquiring Bored Ape NFTs.

Despite the Bored Ape Yacht Club's status as a symbol of the NFT market since its launch in 2021, the collection has witnessed a gradual decline in floor price. CoinGecko data indicates that the floor price, representing the value of the cheapest available NFT in the collection, peaked at over 150 ether in May 2022 but has since fallen to around 14 ether as of 25 March.

Did you know?

  • Ethereum fees are referred to as gas. When you do things on Ethereum, like sending money, you need to pay for gas. It covers the computer work needed to finish the task.

  • Elon Musk has a lot of pull when it comes to cryptocurrency prices, especially Dogecoin. But of late, DOGE's prices to Musk's comments haven't been reacting the way it did a few years back.

  • Mining dominance in Bitcoin shows how much a country or area contributes to the computer power of the network. It helps see where miners are and their impact on security.

Top 3 coins of the day

Dogecoin (DOGE)

Key points:

  • Dogecoin Open Interest (OI) has increased considerably after 24 February 2024.

  • In the past 24-hours, shorts liquidation dominated the longs.

What you should know - In the past 7-days, DOGE noted a surge of 27.64% and was trading at $0.1827 during press time. Bullish forces were in command, if demand continues to increase gradually, DOGE will be able to turn its near-term resistance (at around $0.2000) into support. On the contrary, if market events turn the forces around, DOGE will fall back to its support of $0.1200. It’s worth noting that DOGE hit a breakout point only on 28 February, before which it was, basically, trading within a tight range. Well, given the macro-economic factors, DOGE might continue its upward trajectory in the weeks ahead. This could also be concluded by the reading of RSI, which was at 63-level facing northward.

Toncoin (TON)

Key points:

  • At press time, TON exchanged hands at $5.58 with a positive change over the last day.

  • Technical indicators were in the overbought territory, signaling an upcoming trend reversal.

What you should know - In a significant surge in the last month, TON the cryptocurrency linked to the popular messaging app Telegram, has soared to its highest value since February 2022. During the intraday trading session on 25 March, its price increased by 13.35% over the last day. Apart from the growth in demand for TON by already-existing addresses, there has been a higher volume of new demand for the altcoin in the past few days. Well, the increased trading activity in the past two days has pushed the token’s key momentum indicators to overbought highs - consider Awesome Oscillators’ (AO) reading, for instance. Anyway, the token’s high liquidity zone appeared near the $3.62, at press time.

Bitcoin Cash (BCH)

Key points:

  • BCH has faced quite an unprecedented volatility in the past month.

  • It was trading at $502.03 with an 28.71% increase over the last week, at press time.

What you should know - BCH saw an influx of huge demand on 2 March, following which there were a lot of long bets placed. However, the coin didn’t continue its uptrend, instead, it started trading sideways. And, in fact, it fell considerably in the second week of March. But thanks to the buyers’ strength, the bullish momentum has picked up of late. However, the widening gap in the Bollinger Bands (BB) does indicate that another round of volatility can be expected soon - something that the reading of RSI also ascertained.

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