The DeGen Bible to Financial Freedom - Vol.29

Market recovery has topped & been looking for the next narrative to keep it going until the next halving. CEXs to support BRC20, but are they just interested in curbing the fees you trade?

The DeGen Bible to Financial Freedom - Vol.29
SEAN Times VOL.29 24 April 2023 to 30 April 2023

Week 21 Apr -  30 Apr 2023


One year to halving 2024 - Mars Captain

🧠 Observations

  • Market recovery has topped & been looking for the next narrative to keep it going until the next halving. Landscape has been not been moving anywhere. Echoes Captain's view in the last 6 weeks. Now, we are looking at another FOMC and First Republic Bank failure.
  • Now we need to reason on the blue chip Layer 1 gentrification narrative. The thesis was that Ethereum's high gas and slow speed will create this overflow effect on other blockchain ecosystems, as if it is too expensive to live in the Switzerland, you might as well go live in Thailand for cheaper costs and same/higher living standard. The Layer 2 landscape + Etheruem's continuous successful upgrades is unthroning the smaller kings. Are Avalanche, Polkadot, Cosmos, Near, Solana, etc. NGMI in the next bull?
  • Sigh, where are the NFTs heading towards? Are people still believing in their JPEG communities?
  • Is BRC-20 really a thing? TL:DR, Satoshis are fungible until the ordinal theory, but again, are you sure the CEXs are in this to support or to curb the fees you trade? If it indeed becomes a success, what are all these Ethereum JPEGs gonna do?

💵 Stablecoin & Market Landscape

  • Stablecoin market share remains high in reference to the total crypto market capitalization. 10.85% of stablecoin (131.3B) on 1.21T crypto market.

Reminder: Mid-NOV 2021, this percentage was around 4ish% with a 3T total MC. Now we are at 10ish% with a 1ishT total MC.

  • Now at 1.22T.  Still hanging around on the 1T level. Going steady.

Reminder, June and Nov 2022 witnessed a bottom of 800ish B MC vis-a-vis the market’s top in NOV 2021 at 3T.

Infographics

One year to Halving
Opensea trading volume declines drastically
  • NFTs bring more value as a technology rather than a speculative asset, in Captain's opinion, though I wish that I had a BAYC or Punk, so to speak.
  • If we think NFTs were assets and crypto tokens were currencies in the different kingdoms of web3, assets don't attract attention when the currencies are trading against themselves like FX. NFTs have become a parallel market to the crypto tokens, when the tokens are flying up, why shall you be in NFTs, that makes total sense? (Look at $PEPE and $AIDOGE, for examples.)
India CEX an outliner throughout the deepest of the bear market
  • Turkey, the UK, Argentina, if you bother to learn every geopolitical-monetary stuff. (Wait, the UK, are you serious? Wen has the Grace descended to the underdeveloped peoples? Brexit? Russo-Ukrainian war? Well, why should you have confidence in a "developed" country from Boris to Rishi in just several months. Isn't that a sign of political instability as what the "international world" thinks on the "poor south"? Poor UK, arrivedierci.)
Zksync Era Era coming
  • I mean, if you keep looking for speculative opportunities, here is one. Ethereum has no more narrative apart from cheaper and faster, given that you are still in crypto playing DeFi stuff and flipping NFTs.
  • (Captain would be interested in what's next after zksync, PM the Starfish team if you are doing anything beyond cheaper and faster.)
Arcane bearish on AVAX
  • OK, this one I didn't think of, I will quote K33's original statement: "The amount of AVAX in free-floating circulation will rise sharply from the unlocking of AVAX tokens to early investors/contributors and team members."
  • "Any sound investor would realize profits by partly selling their unlocks. The substantial and consistent unlocking of AVAX over the next two years will likely create additional sell pressure on AVAX compared to many other coins."

🔢 Index

Fear Index at 60 30 April 2023
  • Very high prices vis-a-vis the fear index.
CBBI at 27 30 April 2023
  • CBBI remains stable. That's the sign of a stable market.

📰 Current affairs

Starfish Finance:

Prediction Market — The First Game of Starfish’s Entertainment-Fi
Play to earn?
Prediction Market — The First Game of Starfish Entertainment-Fi
Starfish Finance II - Attack of the (Dapp) Clones
Far beyond Earth and millions of miles past the moon, there’s a planet where Decentralized Finance (DeFi) and NFT-Fi meet on an interoperable network. First observed in 2022, the world known as “Starfish Planet” is home to degens, hodlers, frens and a starfish named Sean.
Starfish Finance II - Attack of the (Dapp) Clones
Starfish Finance: A cross-chain DeFi, NFT-finance platform on Astar Network, a Polkadot parachain
Starfish Finance is a pioneer project in the Astar incubation project and the first decentralized finance (DeFi) and nonfungible token (NFT) finance platform on Astar Network.
Starfish Finance: A cross-chain DeFi, NFT-finance platform on Astar Network, a Polkadot parachain

BTC

Bitcoin White Paper to Be Removed in Next Apple MacBook Update: Report
The “Easter egg” went viral earlier this year, but won’t remain on Apple for long.
Bitcoin White Paper to Be Removed in Next Apple MacBook Update: Report
What You Need to Know About the Bitcoin ‘Privacy War’ - Decrypt
Samourai and Wasabi Wallet are at it again. Here’s what’s going on, and why it matters for Bitcoin privacy.
What You Need to Know About the Bitcoin 'Privacy War'
Lightning Labs Aims to Help ‘Bring Bitcoin to Billions’ With Latest Upgrade - Decrypt
The tech startup and one of the main developers of the Bitcoin Lightning Network has ambitious goals with its latest upgrade.
Lightning Labs Aims to Help 'Bring Bitcoin to Billions' With Latest Upgrade

ETH

Binance launches liquid staking token, joins growing market after Ethereum’s latest upgrade
Binance has rebranded its Ethereum staking product, adding a liquid staking token to boot.
Binance launches liquid staking token, joins growing market after Ethereum's latest upgrade

Layer 1s/ Major DeFi

Telegram wallet users can now buy, withdraw and exchange Bitcoin
Telegram is expanding its reach in the world of cryptocurrency by introducing a new feature for peer-to-peer trading Bitcoin (BTC).
Telegram wallet users can now buy, withdraw and exchange Bitcoin
Crypto Research, Data, and Tools
Gain an edge over the crypto market with professional grade data, tools, and research.
State of Solana Q1 2023
Ethereum DEXs attract most traders since 2021 as memecoins go wild
Ethereum-based decentralized exchanges witnessed a significant surge in trading activity last week as memecoins gained traction among crypto enthusiasts.
Ethereum DEXs attract most traders since 2021 as memecoin popularity soars
Circle Unveils New Method for Moving USDC Between Blockchains
The cross-chain transfer protocol seeks to improve liquidity of the major crypto payments rail.
Circle Unveils New Method for Moving USDC Between Blockchains
PancakeSwap’s DAO Voting for ‘Aggressive Reduction’ of CAKE Token Inflation
So far, 70% of the community votes have been in favor of reducing block rewards drastically over the next few months.
PancakeSwap's DAO Voting for 'Aggressive Reduction' of CAKE Token Inflation
Solana Labs Preps ChatGPT Plugin for Real-Time Blockchain Analysis - Decrypt
The new tool will make it easier to interact with the Solana blockchain, including checking balances and enabling NFT purchases.
Solana Labs Preps ChatGPT Plugin for Real-Time Blockchain Analysis
PayPal brings crypto transfers to 60 million Venmo users
PayPal, which has been offering crypto transfer services to customers for almost a year, now will allow Venmo users the same courtesy.
PayPal extending crypto transfers to more than 60 million Venmo customers

Twitter

Punk6529 talks about art collection
114 meme coin scams in 1.5 months

NFTs

NFT Marketplaces Sales, Users Drop to Lows Not Seen Since 2021, Dune Data Shows
According to multiple dashboards compiled by researchers on analytics platform Dune, OpenSea and Blur are experiencing notable losses in both daily users and sales.
NFT Marketplaces Sales, Users Drop to Lows Not Seen Since 2021, Dune Data Shows
‘OpenSea is in big trouble’ as Tiger Global cuts valuation by 76%
Tech-focused venture firm Tiger Global has marked down its OpenSea equity from $126.8 million to $30.2 million — a 76% drawdown.

Macro econ/ Regulations

Chinese City To Pay Government Staff in CBDC
China continues to roll out its digital yuan CBDC, this time in Changshu, a city with a population of around 1 million.
Chinese City To Pay Government Staff in CBDC
Bitcoin price headed for $100,000 with crypto winter over: Standard Chartered
The bank’s convinced the cryptocurrency will rally next year, and said the banking crisis in the U.S. helped its use case.
'Winter is over' and bitcoin may hit $100,000 next year, says Standard Chartered
Google Pushes Forward in Web3 With Cloud Startup Program
Web3 startups will get access to Google Cloud technology and perks such as enrollment in Alchemy University.
Google Pushes Forward in Web3 With Cloud Startup Program
Tetro Tiles Is an Easy-to-Play, But Tough-to-Master Puzzler With Bitcoin Rewards - Decrypt
REVIEW: Free-to-play mobile puzzle game Tetro Tiles on iOS and Android rewards you with small amounts of Bitcoin.
Tetro Tiles Is an Easy-to-Play, But Tough-to-Master Puzzler With Bitcoin Rewards
Hong Kong’s Crypto Licensing Regime Expected to Launch Next Month - Decrypt
The licensing regime for crypto firms is expected to launch in May, with access to retail traders slated for June 1, per Hong Kong’s finance regulator.
Hong Kong's Crypto Licensing Regime Expected to Launch Next Month
Coinbase and Gemini Join Bidding for Celsius Assets: Report
The two crypto exchanges are among the new groups of firms that will aim to outbid NovaWulf for Celsius Network’s digital assets.
Coinbase and Gemini Join Bidding for Celsius Assets: Report
FTX Debtors Announce Agreement with an Affiliate of Miami International Holdings for the Sale of LedgerX
/PRNewswire/ -- FTX Trading Ltd. (d.b.a. FTX.com) and its affiliated debtors (together, the “FTX Debtors”) today announced that, following a comprehensive sale…
FTX Debtors Announce Agreement with an Affiliate of Miami International Holdings for the Sale of LedgerX

Research reports/videos (DYOR)

How to Copy Michael Saylor and Create Your Own Bitcoin Lightning Email Address - Decrypt
Wanna know how Michael Saylor was able to start sending Bitcoin Lightning payments to his email address? Just follow these easy steps.
How to Copy Michael Saylor and Create Your Own Bitcoin Lightning Email Address
Most DeFi Protocols Fade After They’re Hacked, Analysis Shows - The Defiant
TVL of hacked DeFi protocols dives by over 90% and fails to recover.
Most DeFi Protocols Fade After They’re Hacked, Analysis Shows
Comparing the top 5 chains by economic activity
In crypto, you’ll often find absurd “metrics” to chest thump about how one chain is better than other. I’d argue economic activity is the most important metric to judge the economic value of a blockchain. And yes, economic activity correlates far more to the value of the chain’s underlying asset. To…
Comparing the top 5 chains by economic activity
Hong Kong Reflections: What The East and West Can Learn From Each Other
Crypto spans the globe. So how can we take the strengths from our respective cultures in order to increase resiliency and further adoption?
Hong Kong Reflections: What The East and West Can Learn From Each Other
Crypto is perfect for Argentina’s currency nightmare. So why isn’t it everywhere?
Argentina’s inflation rate surpassed 100% and the currency weakens by the day. It makes for the perfect scenario for crypto.
Crypto should be perfect for Argentina's currency nightmare. So why aren't more people using it?
The Execution Layer Landscape | Stratos Blog
execution layer market map rollup market map blockchain market map scaling market map
The Execution Layer Landscape
Derivatives Trading for Dummies
Disclaimer: this article was made possible thanks to the support of Bybit. If you like it and would like to try the exchange, get an…
Derivatives Trading for Dummies