Crypto Alpha Recap

24.04.2023: Citadel Securities is planning an expansion. HashKey launches CEX in Q2. Aleph Zero introduces a $50M ecosystem fund. Bancor launches Carbon AMM. Crypto VC funding is down 82%.

Apr 24, 2023

Last week's events faded into the background as uncertainty crept back into the market. Previous bullishness has dissipated, and we saw $650M in longs liquidated (the biggest so far this year in a day). There could be fluctuations and numerous false signals, yet I anticipate that every level will present a "buy the dip" situation. However, be aware that this is an echo bubble. Keep in mind that liquidity is restricted. While a rising tide raises all boats, in this instance, it elevates some boats more significantly than others.
Macro: U.K. inflation came in higher than expected at 10.1%. This is the highest in the G7 and now 2x the U.S. inflation rate. Meanwhile, China's economy expanded by 4.5% in Q1, comfortably beating the 4% growth rate expected by economists. Data suggest China will meet or exceed its 5% GDP growth target for 2023. Increased infrastructure investment, strong exports, rising property prices, and a gain in retail sales led to the rebound. Weakness remains in real estate construction, private investments, and wage growth.
A Bloomberg survey of professional investors reveals that 87% of participants anticipate a Fed funds rate of 3% or lower. These investors also predict the ongoing weakening of the U.S. dollar. Besides domestic issues, many respondents view the appreciation of the Yen or Yuan as the primary factor contributing to the greenback's depreciation.

Meme of the Day:

General:

Citadel Securities is planning an expansion into crypto following the fall of FTX.
UAE securities regulator to start accepting applications from crypto firms.
Grayscale Solana Trust is now trading on OTC markets.
HashKey Group plans to introduce a regulated exchange in Q2 for professional investors—plans to welcome retail users in the coming months.
CME Group expands its Bitcoin and Ethereum derivatives product suite.
Hong Kong banks are attracting new crypto customers in a new push to be an innovation hub.
Aleph Zero introduces a $50M ecosystem funding program.
Core DAO partners with Bitget and MEXC to launch a $200M ecosystem fund.
Berachain, a Cosmos L1, has raised $42m in its Series A round at a $420.69m valuation.
Polygon research lead quits to join its spin-off blockchain project Avail. The move saw Polygon co-founder Anurag Arjun departing and acquiring Avail.
Andre Cronje is working on a crypto on-ramp solution available by the end of 2023.
Starbucks NFT collection (4,579 NFTs out of 5,000) fails to sell out.
Crypto VC funding is down 82% compared to 2022.

DeFi:

Arbitrum will begin distributing the ARB airdrop supply's initial 1.13% token allocation to DAOs.
1inch, the decentralized exchange (DEX) aggregator, is launching a version of its platform onto zkSync Era.
Jumper introduces Bridge Insurance.
Bancor launches the Carbon AMM. Carbon offers irreversible Range Orders and automated Recurring Strategies and is MEV-resistant.
Maverick, a dynamic distribution AMM focusing on capital efficiency, is now live on zkSync Era.
SUI mainnet launching May 3rd.
Flashbots announce SUAVE the future of MEV.
A16z introduces Magi, a new rollup client built on Optimism.

Sidenotes:

DefiLama launches NFT & governance dashboard.
Binance Labs 12 innovative projects that are finalists in the MVB program.
Obol Labs alpha release phase.
DeFi dashboard provider EnsoFinance introduces V2.
Array introduces a new project on Abitrum and zkSync.
Deribit launched zero-fee spot trading.

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