The crypto markets continue to look strong. Despite the small pullback yesterday, the total crypto market cap at $1.3T is within 3% of its 2023 highs and hasn't shown any meaningful signs of slowing down. Some alts, notably ARB, are already in price discovery, while others like GMX look ready to follow along. The wealth effects from the ARB airdrop may be felt for months to come, and the native Arbitrum dapps will likely continue to be the main beneficiaries. As the timeless crypto saying goes - "new coins are better than old coins", and this continues to be the case. A testament as old as time, and Bitcoin itself.
What is crypto in 2023 without talking about regulatory headwinds? Yesterday, the SEC charged crypto exchange Bittrex with operating an unregistered securities exchange. For many in the US, Bittrex was the go-to exchange for exotic alts in 2017 for a while until Binance came in and ate everyone's lunch.
Bittrex is an extremely small player today, so while this may seem like a non-event, the issue is these cases going after small fish may create precedent to go after the titans of the industry. In the filing, the SEC explicitly called ALGO, DASH, and OMG securities. Interestingly enough, a video circulated showing Goldman Gary himself touting Algorand as "great technology." This doesn't explicitly undermine the SEC's actions, but it definitely doesn't look good.
Due to increased regulatory scrutiny, COIN continues to lag against the broader crypto market. There is even talk of Coinbase relocating outside of the US due to these regulatory issues. This would be a fatal blow to any future where the US maintains some crypto dominance, and I sincerely hope this doesn't happen. It will be interesting to see how the overall crypto markets and COIN react to Gensler's meeting today with Congress where he will be grilled on his stance on crypto and the broader financial markets. You can watch the stream of the testimony here.
- EffortCapital
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