Daily Market Update: October 4, 2023

October 4, 2023

BTC is currently trading around $27,400 and ETH around $1,650. Notable gainers in the last 24 hours are MINA, XRP, and RLB. The global crypto market cap is ~$1.12T, down 0.8% over the last day. DeFi Total Value Locked is ~$38b and BTC dominance is around 50%.

Crypto and equity markets are mostly unchanged overall, but growthier/interest rate-sensitive segments, like the Nasdaq, are moving higher as treasury yields have come in this morning. The weak ADP jobs release is likely the largest contributor to the plunge in yields, but we’ll gain a more holistic view on jobs over the coming days as nonfarm payrolls, unemployment, and average hourly earnings are scheduled for release on Friday.

Yesterday was also a big day for Ripple as Judge Torres denied the SEC’s motion for an interlocutory appeal. According to lawyers at Paradigm and Consensys, the practical implications of the denial are that Judge Torres’ earlier decision cannot be appealed or overturned until a trial on the remaining issues is complete, meaning the ruling cannot be overturned before the end of 2024. Turning to politics, Kevin McCarthy become the first Speaker of the House to be ousted after a vote was pushed by a further-right faction of Republicans. McCarthy has been replaced by crypto friendly Republican Patrick McHenry until a new speaker is chosen.

Notable news includes: The Bank of Korea revealed its launch of a CBDC infrastructure project; The SEC filed a 40-page opposition motion requesting that the court deny Coinbase’s motion to dismiss its case; the Yield Protocol project shutdown after citing minimal demand for fixed-rate borrowing in crypto markets currently; Jump Trading reportedly lost $300m during the FTX collapse according to Michael Lewis’s latest book; Binance collaborated with the Royal Thai Police to help seize ~$277m; Optimism launched its new fault-proof system on testnet; Vitalik’s latest blog post ponders the implications of enshrining a zkEVM and other features directly on Ethereum mainnet; former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky’s criminal trial is slated for September 2024; and, a jury is still being finalized in SBF’s trial as more than three potential jurors recused themselves after losing money in crypto.

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

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