Daily Market Update: June 16, 2023

June 16, 2023

BTC is currently trading around $25,500 and ETH around $1,650. Notable gainers in the last 24 hours are CHT, STX, and KCS. The global crypto market cap is ~$1.07T, up ~1.3% over the last day. DeFi Total Value Locked is ~$42b and BTC dominance is around 49%.

Positive risk sentiment returned led by tech sector exuberance despite rates inching higher across the curve. Markets seemingly don’t believe the expectations portrayed in the recently revised dot plot, and Fed Funds futures continue to price little chance of two more hikes occurring this year.

Bitcoin led crypto markets higher yesterday afternoon as BlackRock shocked markets and filed for a spot bitcoin ETF in the US. While spot bitcoin ETFs have been rejected by the SEC routinely over the years, a filing from the world’s largest asset manager provides a sense of optimism as they are not known for filing long-shot applications. In fact, BlackRock has only had a single ETF application denied across 576 applications historically.

Notable news includes: Celsius is seeking to convert altcoins into BTC and ETH beginning July 1st in its latest reorganization plan; Sotheby’s second auction of 3AC NFTs netted $10.9m, and the prized Goose NFT netted $6.2m alone; Frax Finance revealed it would launch an Ethereum L2 dubbed Fraxchain; the Blockchain Association filed a FOIA request with the SEC seeking records relevant to Prometheum after the unknown firm’s founder testified before the House Financial Services Committee earlier in the week; MakerDAO hiked the Dai savings rate to ~3.5%; Coinbase users can now earn 4% on their USDC despite SEC scrutiny; EigenLayer’s restaking contracts reached their max deposit limit just hours after deployment; Lens Protocol released its open governance framework; Binance exited the Netherlands after failing to obtain a VASP license from the local regulator; Binance is being investigated in France for aggravated money laundering; the FDIC targeted OKCoin over false insurance assertions; Jack Dorsey’s Bitcoin wallet opened its beta and announced Coinbase support; and, Avi Eisenberg’s criminal trial is set for December 4th pertaining to his exploit of Mango Markets.

Sign up to conveniently receive GSR crypto content in your inbox each morning.

Authors:
Matt Kunke, Research Analyst | TwitterTelegramLinkedIn
Brian Rudick, Senior Strategist | TwitterTelegramLinkedIn

This material is provided by GSR (the “Firm”) solely for informational purposes, is intended only for sophisticated, institutional investors and does not constitute an offer or commitment, a solicitation of an offer or commitment, or any advice or recommendation, to enter into or conclude any transaction (whether on the 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.  The Firm is not and does not act as an advisor or fiduciary in providing this material.

This material is not a research report, and not subject to any 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 the interests of any counterparty of the Firm. The Firm trades instruments discussed in this material for its own account, may trade contrary to the views expressed in this material, and may have positions in other related instruments. 

Information contained herein is based on sources considered to be reliable, but is not guaranteed to be accurate or complete. Any opinions or estimates expressed herein reflect a judgment made by the author(s) 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. The Firm is not liable whatsoever for any direct or consequential loss arising from the use of this material. Copyright of this material belongs to GSR. Neither this material nor any copy thereof may be taken, reproduced or redistributed, directly or indirectly, without prior written permission of GSR.