Crypto Market

BTC and ETH Market Insight

Regulatory actions, geopolitical tensions, and other external factors have increased market volatility, resulting in a sudden price downturn. In Q1 2024, GDP growth decreased to 1.6% from the previous quarter's 3.4%, while the US Core PCE Price Index increased sharply from 2.0% to 3.7%. Biden's 2025 budget plan aims to introduce a 45% tax on capital gains and eliminate crypto tax loopholes. The SEC has postponed its decision on Grayscale and Franklin Templeton's spot Ethereum ETF proposals. Investors are reevaluating the markets post-halving.

Options Market

The market shaked off from the nerve of the geopolitical risk. Spot recovered from the dip and has since consolidated in an uptrend channel but in a narrower price range. Realised volatility plummeted due to the choppiness of the market - 7D BTC realised volatility fell below to 37 and ETH to 49 respectively. Implied volatility decreased in tandem with RV. Skew drifted back to favour calls for BTC and cooled off towards neutrality for ETH.

Altcoins and Blockchain News

• The Total Value Locked of the EigenLayer protocol for liquidity repledge has surpassed $16 billion, reaching a new all-time high.

• The U.S. Department of Justice rejected the motion to dismiss the criminal charges filed against Roman Storm, co-founder of Tornado Cash, on Friday. The department stated that the submitted documents by the defendant raised disputed facts that the jury should consider.

• BlackRock's IBIT recorded a net inflow/outflow of 0 on the previous Friday, marking the third consecutive day of such occurrence.

• NFT lending protocol NFTfi Foundation announced that the NFTFI airdrop claim portal will open on April 30th at 20:30 Beijing time and will remain open for 41 days until June 10th.

• Venture capital firm Pantera Capital plans to raise over $1 billion for its new cryptocurrency fund, Pantera Fund V, which will provide investors with exposure to blockchain assets.

• According to a report by CoinGecko, the trading volume in the NFT collateralized lending market exceeded $2 billion in Q1, representing a 44% increase compared to the previous quarter and setting a new record. In January alone, the total NFT loans reached a record-breaking $900 million, surpassing the previous monthly high of $850 million set in June 2023.

• Game development studio InfiniGods has completed an $8 million Series A financing round, with exclusive investment from Pantera Capital. The funds raised will be used to develop their mobile game, King Of Destiny.

• Several virtual currency ETFs, including Bosera and Hua Xia, have received approval from the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong and will be listed at the end of the month.

Macro

The equity market rebounded after three consecutive weeks of losses: the DJIA added +0.7%, the S&P 500 +2.7%, and the NASDAQ +4.2%. The debate about rates-cutting continues, while the Fed intended to move with slow progress. The decision for rate cuts might possibly begin in September.