Bitcoin Flash Crash & Altcoin Liquidations, ETF approval still next week?
Also Included: Your Ultimate Guide to Maximizing Injective Airdrop Rewards
Happy New Year! I hope you had an amazing 2023. Bitcoin sure did! Let’s dive into Bitcoin’s performance in '23 as we head into a year that could be even more historic for adoption and price action of the greatest returning asset of all time.
All in all, Bitcoin ended the year with around a 158% return. Bitcoin is the greatest returning asset of 2023, of the past decade, and of all time, so far. I’d say the future also looks pretty bright. With an ETF launch around the corner, further institutional adoption, and Bitcoin’s next venture into $100,000+ per BTC.
First Liquidations of 2024:
However, as I always say, Bitcoin never goes up in a straight line during a bull market, and there are often 10-20% pullbacks on its way up to the next leg. Today marked the first significant liquidation event of 2024, and the largest liquidation the crypto market has seen since late August, prior to the Bitcoin run-up.
Over $540 million in crypto liquidations occurred over a 4-hour period on the morning of January. From the very top, Bitcoin experienced roughly a 10% decline; however, it's now sitting at -5% after recovery. With potential ETF approval around the corner and months since there's been a major red day, these flash crashes were bound to happen.
During the crash, Bitcoin continued to hold support above $40,000, a positive sign for the strength of the price action, and it is already back above $43,000.
Why did BTC crash?
The dip in the market is partly attributed to a report from Matrixport, stating that no Bitcoin ETFs would be approved in January. Most analysts have agreed that the ETF will be approved by January 10th, though it's possible that the 3rd decision on ETFs is rejected, leaving the final deadlines for approval in mid-March, one month before the Bitcoin halving.
The market always looks to come up with a reason or some piece of news that dips the market; however, most traders understand that the crypto market moves like this to shake out the weak hands. Bitcoin had just broken above $45,000 for the first time, and many large traders opened significant Bitcoin positions, expecting BTC to continue its bull market momentum moving into the ETF approval. However, this greed manifested in many open interest positions and highly leveraged bets on the next move, providing market makers with a good opportunity to liquidate over $540 million in traders' funds.
January 3rd: Bitcoin’s Genesis & Not Your Keys, Not Your Coins Day.
All of this ETF preparation and today's liquidations slightly overshadowed this historic cryptocurrency anniversary. January 3rd, 2009, was the day that Satoshi Nakamoto mined the first-ever block of Bitcoin, the Genesis Block, starting the legacy of the greatest financial asset ever created.
Normally, we commemorate this day by reminding people to pull their Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies off exchanges and move them into cold storage for multiple reasons. Firstly, to verify that cryptocurrency exchanges are holding 100% reserves of your coins and that you can withdraw them. Secondly, and most importantly, to keep your coins stored the way Satoshi does, in a non-custodial wallet that only you control. It’s the only way to know that your Bitcoin is truly safe. With the many exchange hacks over the years, thousands of people have lost Bitcoin that they could have withdrawn to cold storage, but they decided to trust a third party with holding their assets.
How can you protect your Bitcoin?
If you haven’t already, I highly recommend using Trezor to store your Bitcoin/Crypto. The newer generation Trezor One is one of the most secure hardware wallets in the industry and can be purchased here.
Leveraged DEX trading, Forex, and Commodities with Bitcoin?
If you read my newsletter last week, I discussed the imminent growth of the Cosmos ecosystem, how Osmosis has become the number one DEX on the ecosystem, and how Sunny Aggarwal's plan is to build more Bitcoin utility into other blockchains. Cosmos is especially known for its blockchain interoperability and provides an ideal environment to foster further Bitcoin functionality with more exotic types of financial instruments.
This week I spoke with Levana Protocol, a perpetual swaps platform built on top of Osmosis Chain and Cosmos. Levana can also be used with the Injective network, which I delve into deeply in our airdrop guide this week below. Levana allows you to deposit crypto and leverage trade up to 30X, fully collateralized. They are also looking to introduce Forex trading and Commodities trading in the near future. It's one of the earlier apps to launch on Osmosis Chain, and in the coming weeks, there will be more big announcements. So, watch our video and keep an eye on it!
For those who want to learn more about the Cosmos and Osmosis ecosystems overall, I highly suggest watching our interview from last week with Sunny Aggarwal. He is one of the top minds in crypto, having built Osmosis Chain and the leading DEX on Cosmos, upon which Levana Protocol is built.
If you understand what Sunny is saying here, you'll comprehend that Osmosis is evolving into its own layer 1 blockchain and is no longer just a DEX. Projects like Levana are launching directly on top of Osmosis Chain, putting it in competition with some of the biggest Layer 1 protocols in the market. Watch OSMO very closely as it could outperform ATOM this year.
Tomorrow Minterest launches on Mantle Network for #MNT and #MINTY rewards!
Minterest is the first decentralized money market protocol designed with both self-sustaining tokenomics and the ability to deliver the highest long-term yields for suppliers and the lowest borrowing costs, enabling users to capture up to 5X greater fees distributed 100% back to them. Learn more about them and watch for our updates prior to their Public Launch in Q1 2024.
Minterest is launching their platform on the Mantle blockchain on January 4th and running quests through the #MantleMoonshot campaign on Galxe.
There will be: 66,000 $MINTY rewards and Bonus $MNT yield for deposits.
Follow along for the upcoming launch on the Minterest X and their app.
Other Crypto News:
Funds registered as securities already trading on the NASDAQ are ammending their prospectuses that they can now expose 15-50% of their AUM to Bitcoin, through the Spot Bitcoin ETFs. Michael Saylor called this as going to happen.
Matrixport’s latest report released a rare view that the SEC will reject all Bitcoin spot ETFs in January, and final approval may be achieved in the Q2. It also predicts that the price of Bitcoin will fall to 36,000 to 38,000, and recommended that investors buy put options or even directly short Bitcoin.
The SEC is holding meetings today with securities exchanges (Nasdaq, CBOE, NYSE) to finalize comments on the 19b-4s submitted by the BTC Spot ETF issuers.
Airdrop Guide: Injective Network $INJ
Injective is a rapidly expanding Layer 1 blockchain project featuring a growing DeFi and DEX ecosystems. The INJ network token has surged from $1.00 at the beginning of 2023 to nearly $40 as of the start of 2024. However, considerable growth potential remains, drawing parallels to Solana's remarkable journey from $1 to $240 within a year. Additionally, there are confirmed airdrops on the Injective network that we may explore and potentially collect from today.
To participate in the upcoming airdrops, you need to have INJ tokens on the INJ network. Since Injective operates on its own blockchain, there are several ways to transfer INJ onto the network.
Firstly, visit The Injective Bridge and log in with Metamask/Rabby Wallet to find your corresponding INJ address. This enables you to manage your INJ through Metamask for staking confirmation.
The simplest method to add INJ to your wallet is by purchasing it on Binance or Kucoin and then withdrawing it to your corresponding INJ address on the INJ Network. If you acquired INJ on a DEX, you can also bridge from Metamask, or through the Cosmos ecosystem if that's where you made the purchase. However, Binance is the most straightforward option.
The exact amount of INJ needed to qualify for airdrops is unknown, but having more staked INJ likely increases the potential airdrop value. A general threshold for airdrop qualification is $100 in INJ for each of the two potential airdrop delegators we'll be staking into (so a suggested minimum of $200 in total).
Once you have INJ in your Injective Hub Wallet, go to the staking tab. You'll find a list of delegators, and the two projects confirmed for future airdrops for stakers are "Black Panther" and "Talis Protocol." Stake your INJ accordingly.
By staking INJ, you'll receive an approximate 15% Annual Percentage Rate (APR) for staking, in addition to any potential appreciation of INJ during the staking period. It's important to note that when staking INJ to a delegator, there is a 21-day unbonding period during which your INJ will be frozen and cannot be withdrawn. This is a standard feature in most staking protocols.
Black Panther: Black Panther has confirmed that staking INJ in their delegator will reward stakers with an airdrop. To enhance your potential airdrop, visit the Black Panther platform and add liquidity to their INJ/USDT vault. Utilize the "Swap" function on their site to increase your points for the airdrop. There is an airdrop tab that might display accumulated points, although it won't track your staking on the Injective Hub immediately. Keep in mind there could be a delay in showing results after using the vault/swap function. Rest assured, staking INJ alone ensures you some BLACK tokens upon release, and additional actions may increase your BLACK token allocation.
Talis Protocol: Talis Protocol stands out as one of the premier NFT trading platforms on the Injective Network. They have also confirmed an airdrop for individuals staking into their delegator through the Injective Network staking portal.
If you're aiming for a higher potential airdrop from Talis, consider boosting your chances by generating NFT trading volume on the exchange and holding NFTs from key collections on Injective, such as Ninjas, etc. However, staking INJ into the Talis delegator should suffice.
Moreover, explore other emerging projects on Injective. As the ecosystem expands, some of these platforms may grow significantly, potentially evolving into Unicorns, especially those labeled as "Featured Apps" and "Apps and Tooling" below. Additionally, there are meme coins available for trading, providing a more speculative option, such as $NINJA, which is named after the founder's cat
Thanks for reading!
-Ashton Addison, CEO of Crypto Coin Show