Monday Market Report | March 20th - 26th, 2023

📢 Weekly TL;DR

Every Monday morning, we cover the latest developments and trends in the dynamic and ever-evolving world of cryptocurrency. From price movements, industry news and our favorite resources, we strive to provide our readers with a comprehensive overview of the crypto landscape.

All eyes stayed on central banks this week to see how Fed Chair Jerome Powell (and the BoE) would proceed with monetary policy in light of recent bank failures.

The week was also characterized by widespread regulatory crackdowns across the sector, raising questions about the future of crypto in (North) America.

Finally, the community has been all atwitter about a bold Bitcoin price prediction/bet made by industry veteran—technologist, author and investor--Balaji Srinivasan (whom you may recognize as the author of The Network State featured in past issues of this newsletter’s Education Section).

📈 Weekly Moves

Market Summary:

• The global cryptocurrency market has reached a total market capitalization of CAD $1.5 trillion.
• DeFi TVL (Total Value Locked) is at $68.68B, down 2.60% in the last 24 hours. And the stablecoin market cap fell slightly by 0.59% to reach $183.75B.
• Bitcoin continues to lead the market with a dominance of 46.4%, with Ethereum behind at 18.6%.

Performance:

• Bitcoin is currently the top trading pair on NDAX, followed by XRP, Ether, Shiba Inu, Fantom and Litecoin.
  
  
• Over the past 7 days, the value of Bitcoin (BTC) has increased by 2.05% and is currently being traded at $38,048. Ethereum (ETH) is up 0.62% during the same period and is now being traded at $2,409.
  
  
• Other notable coin(s) include:
• XRP (XRP) with an increase of 18.85% in the past week.
• Litecoin (LTC) with an increase of 12.83% in the past week.
  
• Stellar (XLM) with an increase of 4.73% in the past week.
• Cardano (ADA) with an increase of 4.08% in the past week.

Market Trends:

• Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell raised the benchmark lending rate by a quarter percentage point (25bps). Considering continued economic strength opposing his mission to lower inflation, why not raise rates higher?
• To paraphrase: Jerome Powell believes recent bank failures would themselves act as an economic brake, so it was unnecessary to risk overusing the tools at his disposal (rate hikes) to achieve the same goal.
• So why raise rates at all? Ostensibly to reinforce the Fed’s message to markets that their priority remains fighting stubbornly high inflation.
• The BoE is expected to follow suit
  
  
• Central Bank Swap lines were opened between the Fed and the major central banks of the G8 to ensure free flowing US Dollar liquidity in case of continued stress:
• Swap lines already existed but are now settled daily instead of weekly.

As of 03/26/2023 12:00 AM EST, values in CAD.

Keep an eye on the market here 👉 Cryptocurrency Prices

📰 Community News

In the cryptocurrency community, there's always something going on. Here are a few events and happenings that you might be interested in:

• The week in markets: Crypto rally meets headwinds as Fed roils markets The Block
  
• How Crypto Has Stayed in the Green During Banking Crisis Blockworks
• $4 Billion in Crypto Deposits Not Included in Flagstar Signature Deal Unchained
• NASDAQ EYEING Q2 ’23 RELEASE FOR BITCOIN AND CRYPTO CUSTODY PLATFORM w/ Fidelity, BNY Mellon Bitcoin Mag
• Bitcoin Edges Below $28K as Investors Weigh Deutsche Bank Contagion Fears Coindesk
• USDC depeg will hinder stablecoins’ growth, increase regulatory scrutiny — Moody’s Cointelegraph
• Montenegro Arrests Do Kwon, While New York Prosecutors Charge Him With Fraud Bloomberg
• Balaji Srinivasan Hypothesizes Hyperinflation, Bets $1 Million Twitter
• A Sudden Onset of Hyperinflation: What Will Happen to Bitcoin? Coindesk

📅 Upcoming Events

Mark your calendars!

• Mar 31 - CME Expiry

📖 Educational Resources

Looking to learn more about cryptocurrency and blockchain? Here are a few resources that we recommend:

• Banks down, bitcoin up and, boom, a narrative is born. – Coindesk’s The Breakdown w/ NLW: Safe Haven From Banks? Bitcoin’s New Narrative Comes Into View
  
  
• Preston talks with Security Intelligence Director, Mathew Pines about Bitcoin and global macro impacts happening around the world. They also discuss the importance of stable coins and the US ensuring a CBDC doesn’t jeopardize trust in the USD. – The Investors Podcast’s Bitcoin Fundamentals w/ Preston Pysh: BTC122: THE US TREASURY MAY NEED PRIVATE STABLE COINS W/ Matthew Pines  
  
  
• As some of the cryptocurrency industry’s go-to banks failed, Bitcoin’s importance was on display while it’s on and off ramps suffered. – Bitcoin Magazine: HOW WILL BITCOIN ADAPT TO BANKING UNCERTAINTY?

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Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide investment, legal, accounting, tax or any other advice and should not be relied on in that or any other regard. The information contained herein is for information purposes only and is not to be construed as an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of cryptocurrencies or otherwise.