Crypto SWOT: Bitcoin is up nearly 40% since the start of 2023.

Strengths

Of the cryptocurrencies tracked by CoinMarketCap, the best performer for the week was Threshold, rising 115.40%.

Philip Hammond, the United Kingdom’s former chancellor, was appointed chairman of crypto custodian Copper Technologies. Hammond, who had been a senior adviser to the London-based firm since 2021, starts the role with immediate effect, writes Bloomberg.

Moody’s Corp. is working on a scoring system for stablecoins, the crypto sector’s most traded tokens, as the asset class grows and faces increased scrutiny from regulators and investors. The system will include an analysis of up to 20 stablecoins based on the quality of attestations on the reserves backing them, writes Bloomberg.

Weaknesses

Of the cryptocurrencies tracked by CoinMarketCap, the worst performing for the week was Casper, down 4.41%.

Genesis’s chapter 11 filing last week showed that it owes its top 50 creditors more than $3 billion. The VanEck New Finance Income fund is among the top 10 known largest with a claim of $53 million, writes Bloomberg.

BlackRock and Apollo Global Management are among a group of creditors that lent around $500 million to bankrupt Bitcoin miner Core Scientific by purchasing convertible notes. The disclosures reveal how traditional finance firms helped to bankroll the crypto-mining industry firms, reports Bloomberg, but a plunge in price of Bitcoin has slashed the profit margins of miners threatening the companies with insolvency.

Opportunities

Donald Trump NFT sales are up 158% following the news that Meta restored his Facebook and Instagram accounts. According to OpenSea, the sales of Trump digital trading cards reached 312 and volume reached 109 Ethereum, writes Bloomberg.

Bitcoin has had an incredible start to the year; the cryptocurrency has been up, at one point 40%, for the month of January.

The Floki Inu price soared 14% following a DAP proposal to burn $55 million in tokens. The governance proposal would see 4.97 trillion floki token burnt, worth around $55 million, writes Bloomberg.

Threats

Binance Holdings acknowledged that it mistakenly keeps collateral for some of the tokens it issues in the same wallet as exchange-customer funds. Reserves for almost half of the 94 coins that Binance issues are currently stored in a single wallet called “Binance 8” which also holds customer assets, Bloomberg explains. That wallet contains significantly more tokens in reserve than would be required for the number of B-tokens that Binance has issued, indicating that collateral is being mixed with customers’ coins rather than being stored separately.

Not long before FTX collapsed in November, its founder Sam Bankman-Fried sent $400 million to an obscure cryptocurrency trading firm called Modulo Capital. The fledgling firm which was founded in March and operated out of the same Bahamian compound where SBF lived, had no track record of public profile according to an article published by Bloomberg.

The Dutch Central Bank fined crypto exchange Coinbase for providing digital-asset services in the country prior to its local registration in September. The central bank said it’s imposing an admirative fine of $3.63 million for operating in the country without registration writes Bloomberg.

To learn more and get the Crypto SWOT directly to your inbox, subscribe to the Investor Alert newsletter for FREE by clicking here.

Frank E. Holmes

Frank Holmes is CEO and chief investment officer of U.S. Global Investors, Inc., a boutique investment advisory firm based in San Antonio that manages domestic and offshore funds specializing in the natural resources and emerging markets sectors. The company’s no-load mutual funds include the Global Resources Fund (ticker PSPFX), the World Precious Minerals Fund (UNWPX) and the Gold Shares Fund (USERX).

Please consider carefully the fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. For this and other important information, obtain a fund prospectus by visiting www.usfunds.com or by calling 1-800-US-FUNDS (1-800-873-8637). Read it carefully before investing. Distributed by U.S. Global Brokerage, Inc.

All opinions expressed and data provided are subject to change without notice. Some of these opinions may not be appropriate to every investor. Foreign and emerging market investing involves special risks such as currency fluctuation and less public disclosure, as well as economic and political risk.

The S&P/TSX Global Gold Index is an international benchmark tracking the world's leading gold companies with the intent to provide an investable representative index of publicly-traded international gold companies. The FTSE Gold Mines Index Series encompasses all gold mining companies that have a sustainable and attributable gold production of at least 300,000 ounces a year, and that derive 75% or more of their revenue from mined gold.

Holdings as a percentage of net assets as of 6/30/07: Jiangxi Copper (China Region Opportunity Fund 1.74%); Silvercorp Metals Inc. (World Precious Minerals Fund 2.78%, Global Resources Fund 0.89%, China Region Opportunity Fund 2.42%); Gold Fields Ltd. (Gold Shares Fund 6.05%, World Precious Minerals Fund 2.58%, Global Resources Fund 0.39%); Sino Gold Mining Ltd. (Gold Shares Fund 1.03%, World Precious Minerals Fund 0.58%, China Region Opportunity Fund 0.27%); Anglogold Ashanti (0.0%); Dynasty Gold (0.0%).

Tags:

Frank Holmes

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.

opinion

Crypto SWOT: Bitcoin is up nearly 40% since the start of 2023.

By Frank E. Holmes

Kitco Commentaries
Opinions, Ideas and Markets Talk

Frank E. Holmes

Tags:

Gold/silver cross poised for upward breakout toward 100 – Mike McGlone

Gold between $2,700 to $3,000 - World Gold Council's Joe Cavatoni says a lot of the market expects metal to rise

Gold’s downside risk mean it’s a buy at $2,300, platinum prices have found a floor, copper headed lower still – TD Securities’ Ghali

Gold to hit $2,700 in early 2025 amid softening cyclical environment – Goldman Sachs

$3.50/lb copper is possible before 2024 ends, warns Scott Pollan

opinion

Crypto SWOT: Bitcoin is up nearly 40% since the start of 2023.

By Frank E. Holmes

Kitco CommentariesOpinions, Ideas and Markets Talk

Frank E. Holmes

Tags:

Kitco Commentaries
Opinions, Ideas and Markets Talk