Spot trading isn’t the only cryptocurrency trading method that has seen recent success.
Written by: Kadeem Clarke
Compiled by: TechFlow TechFlow
Cryptocurrencies are waking up again and the biggest bull run ever seems to be coming. In this comprehensive analysis, we take a deep dive into the key developments, market trends, and promising opportunities currently shaping this momentous event.
After a long and challenging period, the cryptocurrency space appears to be coming back to life. Due to ETF expectations, we may see prices rise to $40,000 or more.
During the recent market rally, NFTs experienced a significant increase in trading activity and price increases. However, they still significantly lag overall market performance.
The cryptocurrency market is currently experiencing significant growth, with major projects like Solana, Injective, and Rollbit seeing gains of 76%, 75%, and 65% respectively. This suggests that capital is flowing into projects that are seen as high risk but have the potential for high returns.
Spot trading isn’t the only cryptocurrency trading method that has seen recent success. Derivatives, particularly Bitcoin options, are also heating up. Total open interest in Bitcoin options across exchanges reached a record $15.37 billion.
Stablecoins have stopped falling and have not hit new lows in more than three months, suggesting a possible reversal in market sentiment.
The DeFi market has rebounded significantly, reaching its highest level in three months, with the total locked-up value reaching $42 billion. This recovery comes after the lowest point in February 2021, when total locked value was only $35.8 billion.
Narrative of the week: How will the year end?
The currency of financial markets is probability, and the key is to stack these probabilities together, combined with effective risk management. From this perspective, let’s look at the probabilities for the near future. First, let’s focus on the life of the party: spot Bitcoin ETFs, which have made significant progress recently.
In addition to Blackrock, Ark, and Van Eck, Valkyrie also recently updated their spot Bitcoin ETF.
Bernstein Research, the research arm of Alliancebernstein, believes that the probability of the SEC approving the first spot Bitcoin ETF before January 10 is very high, because the SEC has been actively involved in and responded to modifications and comments on ETF applications.
Anticipation of this approval was partly affected by the SEC not appealing Grayscale’s decision requiring a re-evaluation of its application to convert its Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into a spot Bitcoin ETF.
SEC Chairman Gary Gensler revealed that the SEC is evaluating 8 to 10 spot ETF applications, and public records show that there are 12 pending applications, including Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment Management, Blackrock, Bitwise, Wisdomtree, Fidelity, Vaneck and Invesco, etc. Well-known companies.
ETFs are coming, an event that has been highly anticipated for years and now is finally here. It remains to be seen how investors will react to the news following the announcement. Will this lead to a “sell on the news” event, or push prices to new all-time highs? It is highly likely that investors will take positions in the market ahead of this event, leading Bitcoin to its recent all-time highs.
Furthermore, the chart tells us that significant changes are taking place. Bitcoin’s market share has risen to 54%, indicating that people prefer Bitcoin over other Altcoin, ahead of the ETF approval. Interestingly, the current rise in Bitcoin market share is similar to the rise observed in 2018 and 2019, paving the way for a bull run in 2021.
Capital inflows: Investment products related to digital assets have recorded massive inflows, totaling $326 million, which is the largest weekly inflow since July 2022. Bitcoin led the influx, accounting for the lion's share with $296 million, while the recent rise in Bitcoin's value also attracted an additional $15 million invested in investment products that short Bitcoin.
The growing optimism in the market further catalyzed large-scale investment in Solana, attracting a total of US$24 million in inflows. However, this optimism did not extend to Ethereum as it saw $6 million in outflows, bucking the broader market trend.
Judging from the monitoring data of capital inflows, capital appears to be flowing back into the cryptocurrency space. The main focus has been on Bitcoin, while Ethereum has surprisingly underperformed. However, with the announcement of the ETF, this trend may be reversed. Typically, capital flows from Bitcoin to Ethereum and then to Altcoin, which is what happens after Bitcoin becomes dominant and hits relative or all-time highs.
Derivatives and Open Interest: Spot trading is not the only cryptocurrency trading method that has seen success in recent times. Derivatives, particularly Bitcoin options, are also on fire. Total open interest in Bitcoin options across exchanges has reached a record high of $15.37 billion. Open interest on OKX in particular surged to over $1 billion. A similar trend is occurring on Deribit. Similar to the growth in spot trading volume, the surge in Bitcoin options activity is likely due to increased market participation. Monthly Bitcoin options trading volume across exchanges is also near all-time highs.
In addition, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange has quickly emerged as the second largest Bitcoin futures exchange in terms of open interest, with open interest reaching $3.54 billion. This significant rise highlights the growing influence of traditional financial institutions in the cryptocurrency space and also highlights CME’s important role in the cryptocurrency derivatives market. The CME’s growth in open interest, particularly in cash-settled futures contracts, reflects strong institutional interest in Bitcoin futures and comes amid a rise in Bitcoin prices this month, which has risen 27%.
Stablecoins: One of the hopeful signs is that stablecoins have stopped falling and have not hit new lows in more than three months, suggesting a possible reversal in market sentiment.
Where is DeFi?
The DeFi market has rebounded significantly, reaching its highest point in three months, with the total locked-up value reaching $42 billion. This recovery comes after the lowest point in February 2021, when total locked value was only $35.8 billion.
The recovery of the DeFi market can be attributed to two key factors. First, asset prices increased, including a significant increase in the price of Ethereum. Over the past two weeks, Ethereum’s price has risen from $1,590 to approximately $1,873, contributing to the market’s recovery. As mentioned earlier, new inflows of money seeking yield through staking and lending also played a role in the market recovery.
Trading volume within DeFi protocols has reached its highest point since March, with trading volume in October reaching $4.4 billion.
Solana’s well-known lending protocol Marinade has experienced significant lock-in value growth this month, rising by 120%. This growth is attributed to Marinade’s launch of a native staking product with competitive returns. During the same period, rival protocol Jito also experienced significant growth of 190%, reaching a locked-up value of $168 million.
On the Ethereum network, capital inflows into platforms such as Enzyme Finance, Spark and Stader increased by 37% to 55%. These inflows outpaced increases in asset prices, indicating increased participation in DeFi activity.
All in all, the recovery in the DeFi market has been driven by a combination of rising asset prices, increased trading volumes, and new capital inflows, with significant growth observed across various blockchain protocols.
Summary: It seems life is returning to the crypto space after a long and challenging period. We are expected to see prices rise to over $40,000, and ETF approval is expected to aid this trend. Furthermore, the Bitcoin halving, although its impact is gradually waning, is still the next big event that many people are focusing on. Time will ultimately reveal how the market reacts in the medium to long term, but in the short term, conditions appear to be very favorable.
Project Focus: Marinade Finance
Solana has undeniably stood out during the recent cryptocurrency rally. So, let’s explore the options available to SOL holders in staking their tokens to earn attractive returns. Previously, the popular choice among users was Lido. However, with the end of Sol staking on Lido, users now have the opportunity to take advantage of protocols like Marinade Finance. It should be noted that Marinade has restricted access to its service to UK users due to regulatory concerns.
Marinade Finance has remained steadfast on its development path during the bear market and has introduced noteworthy upgrades and features, including liquid staking. As the Solana ecosystem continues to expand and solidify its importance in the upcoming bull run, understanding protocols like Marinade will hopefully lead to lucrative opportunities.
mSOL: Liquid Staking Token
Staking: Marinade enables users to stake SOL tokens and in return receive “marinated SOL” tokens (mSOL), representing their share of staked SOL and providing access to the broader DeFi ecosystem.
Versatile Utility: mSOL serves as a liquid staking token given to users when interacting with the Marinade protocol. It is a confirmation of its staked SOL tokens, allowing conversion back to staked SOL at any time and collecting accumulated rewards at any time. Crucially, these tokens remain fully fungible within the DeFi space while appreciating as SOL staking rewards increase.
Value appreciation: The value of mSOL increases steadily every cycle, which is due to the SOL staking rewards within the protocol. Holding mSOL for one year can bring amazing value appreciation, providing an attractive avenue for passive income.
Benefits of staking SOL with Marinade
The protocol operates as a non-custodial solution, ensuring users have full control over their assets and associated accounts.
The protocol allows users to freely stake and delay unstaking without incurring additional fees.
Marinade’s governance framework prioritizes active community participation and contribution.
DeFi, L1s and L2s
information
VanEck predicts Solana will rise to $3,000
ProShares launches first short ETH futures ETF
Unibot exploited
Taho Wallet opens waitlist for beta
Avalaunch terminates cooperation with Starsarena
Fuse launches Solana’s first smart wallet
Solana partners with Amazon Web Services
Arkham introduces chat rooms
Andreessen Horowitz plans to raise $3.4 billion in next early-stage funding round
Neo plans to launch Ethereum-compatible sidechain for N3 mainnet interoperability
Solana adds incubator to boost growth, attract founders from rival chains
Shuffle for airdrop
Renzo announces the introduction of a re-staking mechanism for everyone via Eigenlayer
Layer N launches Nord, Layer N’s first rollup for exchanges, and will soon launch a testnet
Floki is venturing into the trillion-dollar RWA market with the launch of TokenFi, positioning itself as a serious DeFi player
Starknet will distribute 50 million tokens
Goldman Sachs sees Ethereum’s Dencun upgrade, expected in the first quarter of 2024, as an important step in transforming the blockchain into a scalable settlement layer
Polygon’s POL token upgrade is now live on Ethereum mainnet
Astrid Finance was exploited and will refund users
Snowtrace will cease operations due to Ether scan fees
UK Treasury releases final proposals for crypto asset regulation
Stars Arena CEO resigns
Blockchain startup Etherfuse launches Mexican tokenized bond for retail investors
BNB launches BNB Safe wallet
Stelo Labs is going out of business
Timeless launches their V2
Nym will launch NymVpn
Argent will prioritize the development of Starknet and discontinue the zkSync Era.
Despite the recent cryptocurrency rally, Binance’s market share has dropped significantly, from 74% in December 2022 to 50% in the current month. A variety of factors, including executive departures, regulatory challenges, and legal accusations, have contributed to Binance’s decline in market share.
The number of currency delistings on crypto exchage is rising: more than 3,400 tokens have been delisted this year, setting a record for the speed of delisting. Major exchanges such as Coinbase and Binance have been actively delisting tokens, with Coinbase delisting 80 trading pairs in October, the highest number of delistings since at least 2021.
Increased activity: On the Layer 2 network (L2), weekly active wallets continue to hit all-time highs. This indicates that most protocols are migrating or deploying their products to L2 and user activity is increasing.
Blue Chip Overview
The cryptocurrency market is currently experiencing significant growth, with large projects such as Solana, Injective and Rollbit increasing by 76%, 75% and 65% respectively. This suggests capital is flowing into projects that are seen as high risk but have the potential for high returns.
Additionally, other tokens like CANTO, MINA, and NEAR continue to outperform, while gains in others like RLB, PEPE, and MANA indicate that investors are willing to take on more risk in search of higher returns.
In addition, the total value locked (TVL) of the multi-chain RWA project Hashnote increased by 373.51%, indicating that the new bull market cycle may see the emergence of some new important and blue-chip protocols for already established large-scale projects such as Maker, Compound and Aave. fierce competition.
Revisiting Protocol Revenue: An important indicator of a protocol's vitality is the fees it generates, especially if this is its intended revenue model. As expected, Ethereum is in the lead, but it is worth highlighting the emergence of Tron and OpenSea in this context.
ETH/BTC: Ethereum continues to trade lower against Bitcoin. A full-blown Altcoin season is unlikely until this trend reverses.
SocialFi Update: Friendtech and Starsarena have been key protocols in the social finance space in recent months. However, it looks like this narrative and trend is waning, with user activity and transaction volume experiencing a sharp decline.
Token Degen Observation
Many recently launched tokens, including Aardvark, CAESAR, MOG, BITCOIN, CRESO, MLP and REKT, have accumulated significant degen smart money holdings.
Although old memecoins like Floki and Pepe have witnessed significant price increases recently, they are still well below their all-time highs. This recovery signals renewed interest in these highly speculative assets.
Ether.fi is introducing native Ethereum restaking through EigenLayer. Users can earn points by staking eETH, participating in the protocol, and completing tasks. EigenLayer will distribute points to native stakers, and all proceeds will be distributed to eETH stakers at 100%, without deductions.
Aevo, a second-tier application chain for options and perpetual trading, has merged with Ribbon and been approved by a DAO vote. $RBN token holders can convert to $AEVO, which will function as a governance token. The token generation event is planned for January 2024, and holding $AEVO for three months will receive benefits such as discounts, reward multiplication, and early access.
Be sure to mint the latest free NFT on Scroll to increase your chances of qualifying for future airdrops.
Hyperliquid's points program starts on November 1st.
Nerbbot has introduced a useful feature that can effectively track the movements of large players in any coin.
Real Smurf Cat has experienced inflows and outflows of funds, with a large number of degen smart money holding projects.
JOE hit an all-time high and is considered a favorite of degen smart money.
SPX has become one of the new meme trio, along with JOE and Real Smurf Cat, attracting degen smart money buying and a lot of attention.
Banana Gun Bot continues to climb in terms of usage, transaction volume, and fees generated. Many expect this Telegram bot to overtake its competitors in the market. Many people are accumulating this coin in hopes of a significant price increase.
NFTs and games
news
Frame announces they will be powered by Arbiturm’s Nitro Stack
Opensea launches Shipyard, a collection of Solidity smart contracts for NFT creators
Sup comic in store, Bitmap: Fragments of the Machine
Steve Aoki to release Stepn digital sneakers
Axie Infinity’s Sky Smash has integrated Axie Experience Points
ArcadeDao has been launched
Chain of Alliance’s Alpha 3.0 game update redefines blockchain RPG gaming with season-based leaderboards and exciting new additions
Async Art is winding down
NFT Paris launches loyalty token
Acolytes, an Oxmons spin-off, coming soon
Animoca Brands acquires Azarus to bring live streaming to Web3 games
In Asia, blockchain will become standard for gaming: Bandai Namco executive
Innovative game NFT Gaul launched public testing this week
NEOM Investment Fund proposes $50 million investment in Animoca Brands
GameShift beta is now online
Nearcon23 will be held from the 7th to the 10th.
NFT status quo
The recent market rally has seen NFTs experience a significant increase in trading activity and price increases. However, they still significantly lag overall market performance. Many projects and companies appear to be revisiting their strategies and long-term goals in anticipation of the next bull market. The concept of traditional NFTs and their practical applications are expected to undergo significant expansion to provide enhanced benefits to users. One prominent emerging trend is the integration of traditional NFTs into the gaming industry.
Trading Volume: Weekly trading volume for art and collectibles NFTs on Ethereum has been rising since early October, coinciding with Ethereum price gains and indicating some renewed interest. However, weekly trading volumes are still not significantly higher than in late August, suggesting that NFTs have primarily benefited from an increase in the value of the assets they are priced into, rather than a significant resurgence in activity.
Minting: In line with the recent uptick in volume and trading, the number of NFT mintings on Ethereum has increased.
It’s worth noting some notable sales this month: It’s clear that blue-chip collectibles still hold a lot of value for NFT collectors.
Project Highlight: Wreck League
Wreck League presents a unique concept where players can use NFT minted parts to build mechas for use in real-time player versus player fighting game competitions. Unlike predefined characters, each mech is crafted and owned by its creator, allowing for over 1.5 quadrillion mecha combinations.
Players can freely assemble, disassemble and customize the mecha using 10 unique NFT parts. This customization will give mechs a unique look and play style during various in-game events and competitions, enhancing their in-game performance.
The first season of Wreck League has partnered with Yuga Labs to integrate Bored Ape Yacht Club, Mutant Ape Yacht Club, Bored Ape Kennel Club and Kodas into the game. Those who own these series can receive the Founder's Mecha for free.
Wreck League offers a AAA real-time PvP fighting game experience with cross-platform play on mobile devices and PC. Players can use their customized mechas to participate in various events and competitions for a chance to earn valuable on-chain rewards.
NFT Degen News
Embed Zora's casting page on your own website or platform to earn casting referral rewards.
ImgnAI, a crypto-based project that enables users to create AI-generated art, has entered Nvidia's Inception program. Following the announcement, the project’s native token, $IMGNAI, responded well, with its value surging by 34%.
Maison Margiela provides a free Web3 multiplayer casting game. Players can enter a code, confirm it and proceed with the game. They try to cast different numbers and start over after each successful casting.
The collectibles market is expected to reach a value of US$1 trillion by 2033, of which stamps account for 8%. On Thursday, Deutsche Post released its first stamp with a digital twin. Click on this post to learn how to get in on the trend.
Farcana is a blockchain-based gaming metaverse that allows players to earn Bitcoin through a unique game-fi format called Play to Hash (P2P).
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