Is This Another Great Crypto Thaw?

Crypto markets have seen a major bounce back this week after rallying to levels not seen since June. Santiago Velez, co-founder of Block Digital and veteran options trader and technical analyst, and Imran Lakha, Founder of Options Insight, join host Elaine Ly to discuss whether this is the “change in seasons” many investors have been waiting for.?

??? Gains in the market: Despite CNBC reporting that Bitcoin miners rapidly exited their positions last week, BTC prices soared at the beginning of this week. Prices jumped to nearly $24,000 – the highest in a month. Ethereum and Solana have also been on a rampage, up 50% and 33% in a week, respectively, before paring back.??

• However, Velez and Lakha both agreed that there could further fall?in the short-term. “Until we really think we’re getting a proper U-turn and pivot out of the Fed and this tightening of liquidity stops, we’re not going to see a long-term, durable bottom in this crypto market,” Lakha explained.?

?? Decoupling from traditional markets: The crypto-stock market decoupling hasn’t happened quite yet. Velez and Lakha explain what it will take to see the two markets move in separate directions.?

• “I feel in the future, as certain aspects of crypto start to define their role and what function they play – will dictate how decoupled they become from particular markets,” Velez explained. “If BTC matures into its store-value narrative and inflation remains an issue globally, then we could see a decoupling from that perspective. Investors start seeing it as an actual inflation hedge and retreat to it, especially as we see a lot of currency blowups around the world.”?
• Lakha explained that the inflation of actual goods is not a good thing for crypto. “A lot of people call Bitcoin a currency hedge, but I see it as a currency debasement hedge. We’re seeing really high inflation right now but we’re not seeing currency debasement – we’re seeing tightening from central banks. When central banks do a U-turn and they debase a currency, that’s when you’ll see things like Bitcoin and gold do well.”?

??? A look into Celsius: We’re learning a lot more about the troubles at Celsius. In court proceedings in New York, the crypto company revealed its recovery plans.?

• CoinDesk reported that Celsius has a $1.2 billion hole in its finances.?
• The court approved Celsius’ plan to spend $5 million on a Bitcoin mining restructuring plan as a way for the company to repay customers whose assets were frozen.?

??? The fall at Three Arrows Capital: Speaking of court proceedings, leaked court documents revealed some details outlining the troubles at Three Arrows Capital.?

• The failed crypto hedge fund owes nearly $3.5 billion to 27 companies??
• Separately, crypto broker Genesis filed a $1.2 billion claim against 3AC?

??? What to watch: From Dubai to the UK, we’re seeing some ambitious plans to expand the metaverse and growing utility of NFTs.??

• Dubai’s Crown Prince announced a ‘metaverse’ strategy that would create 40,000 virtual jobs and add over $4 billion to its economy in the next five years. The city has established itself as a crypto hub after attracting the regional headquarters of OKX, Crypto.com, FTX, and Binance in recent months.?
• Over in the UK, a judge?embraced the blockchain and approved the serving of legal documents via an NFT.?

Curious for more? Watch the full discussion ??