MARKET WRAP

1. Stocks and Cryptos Tumble as the Fed Destroys All Risk Appetite

CoinDesk – September 25, 2022 at 9:18pm EST

Cryptos

Recently trading below $19K, $BTC and most other cryptos have underperformed given macroeconomic factors, such as the Fed’s interest rate hikes and less than ideal housing market performance. Ether ($ETH) fell even harder than last week, trading below $1300, which is multiple percentage points lower than its price before the Merge. Other major cryptos like Solana ($SOL), Terra ($LUNA), and Dogecoin ($DOGE) were down 2.8%, 7.3%, and 2.4% respectively.

Insights

This past week, the US dollar saw a recent surge, which indicates that risk-on assets like equities and cryptos will continue to scrape the bottom of their price ranges in the coming weeks. Since a dismal Consumer Price Index (CPI) reading earlier this month was released, a number of crypto indexes have underperformed, according to CoinDesk, including the Smart Contract Platform Index (SMT), which includes $ETH, $ADA, and $SOL, dropping nearly 20%, and the Culture and Entertainment Index (CNE), which comprises NFT and metaverse-related coins, dropping about 6.9%.

Equities

Stocks have dovetailed with cryptos and other assets this past week. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 both tumbled 1.8% and 1.7%, respectively, representing a week-by-week decrease over the past six weeks in a row. It is clear that stocks and cryptos are on full FUD alert.

Takeaways

The coming weeks are likely to demonstrate some dismal performance from both cryptos and stocks. However, some analysts point to Bitcoin’s $18K support level, which has been “sturdy” in spite of the market downturn. According to BitBull’s Joe DiPasquale,

“If $BTC doesn’t break down in the coming days, we could see upward movement in October with $24K and $26K being initial levels to watch.”

2. Nasdaq Announces New Crypto Custody Service for Institutional Clients

Bloomberg – September 20, 2022 at 7:30am EST

Nasdaq joins the likes of BlackRock this week by making its first major push into crypto. The stock exchange will be hosting a crypto custody service, in which it will hold onto institutional investors’ assets.

To head this new Nasdaq Digital Assets unit, Nasdaq has hired Ira Auerbach, a previous broker who worked at crypto exchange Gemini. While Nasdaq has no immediate plans to launch a true CEX, this new division places Nasdaq as a competitor among other crypto custodians like Coinbase, Anchorage Digital, and BitGo.

3. Coinbase Gains Legal Green Light to Open First Crypto Exchange in the Netherlands

Coinbase – September 22, 2022

According to an announcement on its blog, Coinbase has become the first major global crypto exchange to successfully register with the Dutch Central Bank (DNB).

This is the first institutional crypto partner of the country’s financial system and permits Coinbase to offer its full suite of retail, institutional, and ecosystemic products.

Nana Murugesan, Vice President of International and Business Development at Coinbase, added that this legal registration with the DNB is part of Coinbase’s ambition to create an environment that promotes innovation and trust among both users and policymakers. 

At the time of writing, Coinbase provides crypto services across 40 European countries and works with the governments of major markets to receive these licenses.

4. Apple Allows NFT In-App Purchases… At a Cost

Bitcoinist – September 25, 2022 at 4:43pm EST

Apple has announced that it will support NFT-based apps on the App Store. While this long-awaited feature will present great visibility to NFT creators within the iOS ecosystem, all NFT sales reportedly will have to be conducted via in-app purchases, meaning that Apple will get a 30% commission for all transactions. 

This distribution fee mechanism has been met with vocal opposition from many NFT firms who argue that the high fee will make it difficult to operate NFT-related products and services through the App Store. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney called the fee distribution structure by Apple a “grotesquely overpriced in-app payment service.” He added that Epic’s flagship video game title ‘Fornite’ was removed from the App Store due to the aforementioned fee structure. 

5. J-Pop Goes Crypto with IEO-Funded Idol Group Set to Debut in 2023

Cryptonews – September 19 2022 at 6:20am EST

Overse, a crypto J-Pop project, stated that it will be working with Yasushi Akimoto, the nation’s top pop music record producer and lyricist, on a project that is scheduled to launch next year. 

Interestingly, the project will be funded through an initial exchange offering (IEO). The same business claimed to have reached an arrangement with the local cryptocurrency startup Coinbook and domestic cryptocurrency exchange DMM Bitcoin. The IEO will be carried out by these two companies, and the transaction is likely to take place on DMM's platform.

6. Crypto Analytics Firm Messari Raises $35M in Funding Round Led by Brevan Howard Digital

Messari – September 21, 2022 at 9:30am EST

According to Messari, they have successfully closed a raise of $35 million in its Series B funding round which was led by Brevan Howard Digital. It is said that Messari will use the capital to grow its team and develop two new products - Protocol Metrics and Data Apps. Protocol Metrics will enable users to compare assets across multiple networks and analyze them according to the protocols to which they belong. Data Apps will serve as a marketplace by which users can explore customized data sets.