opinion

Crypto SWOT: The creators behind Bored Ape Yacht Club are launching their first collection of Bitcoin NFTs

Kitco Media
By Frank E Holmes
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Strengths

  • Of the cryptocurrencies tracked by CoinMarketCap, the best performer for the week was Maker, rising 30%.

  • Goldman Sachs’ digital asset team signaled it’s open to bolstering staff strength and flagged the potential for blockchain technology to improve the functioning of markets such as private equity, explains a Bloomberg article.

  • Crypto investors are scooping up call options betting on a Bitcoin rebound to $30,000 even as momentum in the digital asset market stalls, reports Bloomberg. Bitcoin options open interest rose in February to $9 billion. The last time it was at this level the coin had been trading around $45,000, whereas it is currently hovering around $23,700 and is seeing the largest 14-day rate of change in its history, the article continues.

Weaknesses

  • Of the cryptocurrencies tracked by CoinMarketCap, the worst performing for the week was Conflux, down 24%.

  • Bitcoin’s two-month rally contains a warning for investors if history is any guide, reports Bloomberg. The February jump in the largest digital token has withered to about 2% compared to the 39% seen in January. When Bitcoin has climbed over two straight months, but with smaller gains in the

  • The superior court of the District of Columbia rejected a motion by MicroStrategy to dismiss a lawsuit that he failed to pay income taxes despite living in the district for more than a decade. In addition, the court dismissed a claim by Washington DC alleging that Saylor and MicroStrategy conspired to violate the districts False Claims Act, writes Bloomberg.

Opportunities

  • The creators behind Bored Ape Yacht Club are launching their first collection of Bitcoin NFTs. Yuga Labs plans to auction a collection of 300 generative pieces on the Bitcoin blockchain called TwelveFold in what could be the kind of event Bitcoin purists say will slow down the network, writes Bloomberg.  

  • Jack Dorsey’s digital payment company Block Inc. said it will be using its own Bitcoin reserves to provide liquidity to Bitcoin’s Lighting Network, a protocol meant to make transactions on the blockchain more efficient, writes Bloomberg.  

  • A crypto hedge fund overseeing $400 million is looking to Swiss banks to help plug the gap created by the unraveling of a key payments network operated by ailing U.S. lender Silvergate Capital, reports Bloomberg.

Threats

  • The SEC has proposed a custody rule to include digital assets and could make it harder for crypto platforms to hold customer assets, reports Bloomberg. The proposal written would make it almost impossible for some crypto platforms (those that aren’t considered qualified custodians) to accept and hold clients’ digital assets, the article continues.  

  • Founders of BlockFi Inc. should be held liable for digital assets lost while in BlockFi investment accounts, a class suit says. Founders Zac Prince and Flori Marquez allegedly made misleading statements about how the platform worked, falsely assuring investors that their cryptocurrency wouldn’t transfer to BlockFi, writes Bloomberg.

  • Silvergate Capital fell 58%, to its largest drop in in its history, as crypto players abandon the crypto bank, according to an article published by Bloomberg.
Kitco Media

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).

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Frank Holmes
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