Mastering Crypto Finance: Bitcoin, DEXs, Self-Custody, and Important Web3 Updates
Timing the BTC pump, Hedera HBAR Insights, and Crucial Interviews with Industry Innovators from this week.
Welcome to this week's newsletter! We have a jam-packed edition for you, covering topics such as capitalizing on the market during turbulent times, the implications of USDC's depegging, and the importance of self-custody in crypto. We'll also dive into the Hedera ecosystem and discuss my recent interviews with key players in the space. Additionally, we'll explore the growing trend of decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and share insights from my conversations with some noteworthy DEXs. Get ready for an informative and exciting read
Navigating the Changing Landscape:
Fiat banking system's 0% fractional reserve contributes to USDC stablecoin depegging.
Bitcoin is designed for when banks fail, and has seen significant growth during this time.
Shifting towards decentralized exchanges (DEXs) as trust in centralized exchanges declines.
Importance of self-custody for securing crypto assets in an uncertain market.
Capitalizing on the market:
Buy the fear: Smart traders bought Bitcoin when USDC depegged and fear spiked; Bitcoin then pumped 30% over three days.
Time market moves: Be prepared for volatility, such as when Bitcoin moved more in one weekend than in the previous 1.5 months. This happens especially during times in high fear or high greed.
Now is a more important time than ever to be focused on protecting your capital from complete loss. Whether it is from Banks or centralized crypto exchanges, giving custody of your funds to others often leads to them capitalizing on it instead of you, and the potential for them to mishandle it or not have it in full reserves and losing access to your funds.
In my recent newsletter, I highlighted the Hedera ecosystem as a major protocol player. Don't miss my interviews with Hedera's co-CEO Leemon Baird, who discussed the protocol surpassing 4 billion transactions, and the HBAR Foundation's CEO Shayne Higdon, who are driving adoption in the Hedera blockchain ecosystem.
This week, I spoke with Citadel Wallet, the first hardware wallet designed specifically for Hedera. This is a significant development for the secure, self-custody storage of HBAR, Hedera NFTs, and tokens (like $CLXY).
The wallet launches in Q4, but the pre-sale NFT launch (including the hardware wallet and more) happens tomorrow.
Watch my interview with Andy Kulikyan, the Engineer and Founder of Citadel Wallet to learn more and secure one (I have!)
After securing your self-custody wallet storage (ie. Trezor, Ledger, Citadel, or others), consider exploring DEXs (decentralized exchanges) instead of just centralized exchanges like Coinbase and Binance. I've talked to a few DEXs recently, gaining insights on DeFi and DEX growth in the crypto finance world. Here are some insights.
Firstly I spoke with ApeX Protocol, who launched just after the crash of FTX and have seen significant immediate growth with almost $5 Billion in volume since then. Impressive growth for a non-KYC DEX and has the ability to both long & short as a derivatives exchange.
Trading is likely to shift towards DEXs in the future, as people recall issues like the FTX crash and other events in 2022 that resulted in lost customer funds. On DEXs like ApeX, no third party controls your private keys, eliminating counterparty risk. Try out ApeX’s DEX using CCS’s link for 5% off of the trading fees.
I also spoke with RoseonX, a DEX launching on the Arbitrum ecosystem with over two years in the space. I first interviewed them in 2021 when their focus was on DeFi and farming. Now, they're expanding into trading on Arbitrum, coinciding with the ARB airdrop and a growing Layer 2 ecosystem. The highly anticipated launch has seen the ROSN token (undergoing a token swap to the new Arbitrum token this week) rise 10x in value since its December '22 lows.
Or maybe you’re interested in my interviews on Blockchain node RPC’s with Lava Network, Web3 cloud storage solutions like Swarm from Gregor Zavcer, who spoke like a true genius and OG (getting in crypto much before Ethereum), or dive into the 16+ products Hyperledger Foundation is working on with institutions, enterprises and governments of most countries.
Despite the market's sideways movement, this week has been filled with insightful interviews and discussions, highlighting the continuous innovation and collaboration happening in the blockchain and Web3 space.
Market Analysis:
Will Bitcoin and Altcoins end March on a high note?
On the 12-hour chart, Bitcoin still shows a buy signal, but it has been losing strength over the past two weeks following an incredible 35% rally. Analysts anticipate a drop down to 26k or 25k in the near term before the next leg up; however, due to the popular consensus that a downward move is next, Bitcoin could experience upside volatility to liquidate leveraged short positions and continue its upward trajectory. We shall see!
Despite all the FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt) this week, including banks' ongoing issues, Coinbase and Binance facing lawsuits, and Do Kwon's arrest, Bitcoin has barely reacted to this short-term negative news, which is a positive sign.
Regardless of whether there's a dip, Bitcoin appears poised for a strong April, with positive trends on the 1-day chart and longer timeframes. If BTC does break above $28,900, reaching 30k+ on the same day is entirely possible.
Bitcoin Dominance / Altseason:
BTC dominance is also peaking after the last Bitcoin run and could be heading back down. This means if Bitcoin continues to move sideways, altcoins may have another leg up. With excitement in the industry following the Arbitrum airdrop, altcoins could see significant gains in the coming weeks. Ideally altcoins will rise if BTC drops back towards 43% dominance.
Other Crypto News:
inflation falls to 6%, under expectation which allowed the market to continue.
The CFTC has filed a lawsuit against Binance in federal court in Chicago, alleging that the company failed to fulfill its obligations by not properly registering with the Commission. CZ is coming back with his legal team saying they did nothing wrong.
Crypto exchange KuCoin is also being sued by New York’s Attorney General.
In France prosecutors raided 5 of the biggest banks including Société Generale, BNP Paribas and HSBC. They face +$1 billion in penalties from tax fraud and money laundering.
CEO of Silicon Valley Bank sold $3.57 million of stock within the last two weeks before the crash, now being investigated by the securities department.
The US has accused Sam Bankman-Fried of authorizing the payment of $40 million to one or more Chinese government officials (and apparently $70 million to democrats/American politics).
The Ethereum Foundation has announced that staking withdrawals will be permitted on April 12.
Cirus Foundation opens its waitlist for its free wallet that earns you crypto as you browse the web.
Venezuela regulator closing down crypto exchanges and mining farms.
Ferrum network releases huge updates to their impending mainnet launch.
Apple is blocking Uniswap from launching a self-custodial wallet.
MetaMask has fixed a privacy issue where all accounts got linked together when interacting with crypto applications.
There is a potential Metamask Airdrop being talked about for those who use the exchange, swap, and bridge functions of MetaMask.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis calls to ban central bank digital currencies (CBDC).
MicroStrategy acquired 6,455 Bitcoins for approximately $150.0 million, at an average price of $23,238 per Bitcoin.
Crypto exchange OKX has announced that it will no longer be serving users or accepting new account requests from Canada.
Kenya signs deal with Saudi Arabia and UAE to buy oil with Kenyan shillings instead of US dollars.
Arthur Hayes has proposed a new stablecoin, NakaDollar, that would be backed by $1 of BTC and a 1x short on BTC.
Jason P Lowry releases SOFTWAR: A theory presented to OPOTUS, OSECDEF, & the Joint Chiefs about the national strategic significance of Bitcoin
Stay vigilant with banks and traditional finance. Despite reassurances from Jerome Powell and Janet Yellen, I think the global bank runs and failures are far from over, and the situation is more complex than it appears.
Keep in mind, your bank could be the next to falter (like First Republic Bank stock). Volatility isn't exclusive to crypto; in fact, 2023 has shown the opposite trend so far.
Well, that's all for this week. We've explored market timing strategies, the impact of USDC's depegging, the growth of DEXs, and various interviews shedding light on the Web3. Remember, now more than ever, it's crucial stay informed in this rapidly evolving landscape.
Ashton Addison
-CEO, Crypto Coin Show
Mastering Crypto Finance: Bitcoin, DEXs, Self-Custody, and Important Web3 Updates
Listening to your podcast now! Great info again!