Persistent macro headwinds could delay Bitcoin bull market

Several macroeconomic indicators suggest that bearish headwinds could strengthen during the remainder of 2023 and possibly negatively impact the crypto market.

It's been a whipsaw 2023 for investor sentiment, and even though equities markets have defied expectations, a recent report from ARK Invest highlights reasons why the remainder of 2023 could present several economic challenges.

Despite ARK’s bullish view on Bitcoin, which is supported by its research on how the fusion of Bitcoin and artificial intelligence could transform corporate operations by positively impacting productivity and costs, the investment firm doesn’t foresee a straightforward path for a Bitcoin bull run given the current macroeconomic conditions.

In the newsletter, ARK cites several reasons for its less-than-optimistic scenario for cryptocurrencies, including interest rates, gross domestic product (GDP) estimates, unemployment and inflation. One point is that the Federal Reserve is implementing a restrictive monetary policy for the first time since 2009, as indicated by the natural rate of interest.

The "natural rate of interest” is a theoretical rate at which the economy neither expands nor contracts. ARK explains that whenever this indicator exceeds the real federal funds policy rate, it puts pressure on lending and borrowing rates.

#crypto #news #economy

Report suggests 6 billionaire crypto traders earned their fortunes from Bitcoin

A report released by London-based investment migration consultancy firm Henley & Partners suggests there were more than 40,000 crypto millionaires in the world holding Bitcoin. The report suggested that of 182 individuals who held more than $100 million worth of crypto, 78 were Bitcoiners. In addition, six out of 22 crypto traders who held more than $1 billion “amassed their fortunes from trading Bitcoin.”

Fortunly reported there were roughly 56.1 million millionaires on Earth as of July 2023, suggesting less than 0.2% had significant crypto holdings. The CEO of Henley & Partners, Juerg Steffen, said the firm had received a spike in the number of crypto-related inquiries by millionaires in the last six months as part of efforts “to protect themselves against any potential future bans on the trading or use of cryptocurrencies in their countries” as well as “allay the risks of aggressive fiscal policies that tax digital assets at source.”

“The leadership of an increasing number of jurisdictions understand the legitimate nature of [crypto-based] wealth and have produced mechanisms for it to be stored securely, with soft infrastructure that renders it treated in the same manner as almost any other tangible or intangible asset class,” said cybersecurity specialist Ali Khan. “But there are still a number of jurisdictions that are yet to bite.”

#news #crypto #world

Report suggests 6 billionaire crypto traders earned their fortunes from Bitcoin

A report released by London-based investment migration consultancy firm Henley & Partners suggests there were more than 40,000 crypto millionaires in the world holding Bitcoin. The report suggested that of 182 individuals who held more than $100 million worth of crypto, 78 were Bitcoiners. In addition, six out of 22 crypto traders who held more than $1 billion “amassed their fortunes from trading Bitcoin.”

Fortunly reported there were roughly 56.1 million millionaires on Earth as of July 2023, suggesting less than 0.2% had significant crypto holdings. The CEO of Henley & Partners, Juerg Steffen, said the firm had received a spike in the number of crypto-related inquiries by millionaires in the last six months as part of efforts “to protect themselves against any potential future bans on the trading or use of cryptocurrencies in their countries” as well as “allay the risks of aggressive fiscal policies that tax digital assets at source.”

“The leadership of an increasing number of jurisdictions understand the legitimate nature of [crypto-based] wealth and have produced mechanisms for it to be stored securely, with soft infrastructure that renders it treated in the same manner as almost any other tangible or intangible asset class,” said cybersecurity specialist Ali Khan. “But there are still a number of jurisdictions that are yet to bite.”

#news #crypto #world

Former MAS chair who called crypto ‘highly risky’ wins Singapore’s presidential race

Tharman Shanmugaratnam, former chair of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, has won the election for the city-state’s presidency with more than 70% of the vote.

According to multiple reports from Sept. 2, Shanmugaratnam defeated presidential candidates Ng Kok Song and Tan Kin Lian to become the next president of Singapore. He will be sworn into office on Sept. 14, less than two weeks after the election.

In the lead-up to his presidential campaign, Shanmugaratnam resigned from his position in Singapore’s parliament and at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), where he served as chair from 2011 to 2023. He was also the country’s finance minister from 2007 to 2015. Under Shanmugaratnam, Singapore’s financial regulator witnessed the collapse of Three Arrows Capital and Terraform Labs amid the 2022 market crash.

The president-elect reportedly once called crypto assets “highly volatile” and “highly risky as investment products” in 2021 warnings to Singapore-based users in his role as MAS chair. The financial regulator granted Crypto.com an in-principle approval to operate in the city-state in June 2022, as well as exemptions for Bitstamp, Coinbase and Gemini Trust.

#news #singapore #crypto

Shibarium hits 1M wallets amid meteoric growth, SHIB yet to catch up

The total number of wallets on Shiba Inu’s newly launched layer-2 blockchain, the Shibarium network, has surpassed the one million mark in a meteoric rise since its relaunch.

The milestone — announced in a Sept. 3 blog post by the official Shibarium team — means there were at least 900,000 wallets added since Shibarium’s relaunch on Aug. 28, and only two weeks after the Shibarium network first went live — albeit with some technical hiccups.

According to data from the Shibarium blockchain explorer, nearly 100,000 transactions have occurred as of 5:04am UTC Sept. 3, with a peak activity of 132,000 transactions being set on Aug. 25.

While network activity has surged, the total value locked (TVL) on the Shibarium network has yet to surge in response. At the time of publication Shibarium’s TVL stands at just $1.06 million, suggesting that users are only deploying very small amounts of capital on the network.

#news #crypto #blockchain

Bitcoin traders wipe Grayscale gains after SEC delays spot ETF decisions

In less than a day, Bitcoin has shed nearly all the gains it made from Grayscale Investment's court victory against the United States Securities regulator.

On Aug. 29, Bitcoin popped to a two-week high after a judge ruled that the Securities and Exchange Commission was “arbitrary and capricious” when it rejected Grayscale’s spot Bitcoin ETF application.

However, the SEC’s Aug. 31 decision to delay seven pending spot Bitcoin ETF applications sent Bitcoin’s price downward — falling nearly 5% in the 24 hours to 12 am UTC Sep. 1.

Cointelegraph Markets Pro data showed Bitcoin’s price at around $26,000, falling steeply from around the $27,300 level it had been sustaining since the Grayscale win.

#news #US #crypto #btc #sec