• Bitcoin has surged beyond $26,000 as interest rate expectations flip
• The shutdown of three crypto banks will hurt industry, while there has been nothing but bearish developments since the start of the year
• The decoupling from other risk assets is also unusual and has not been seen to the upside since 2021
Bitcoin has surged beyond $26,000 as interest rate expectations flip. With the sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) last week and its implications for USDC, the second biggest stablecoin on the market, investors have moved to betting that the Fed is more or less done with interest rate hikes. This shift in market expectation has helped propel Bitcoin prices higher.
The shutdown of three crypto banks will hurt industry, while there has been nothing but bearish developments since the start of the year. The disruption caused by these events could cause further downward pressure on prices in coming weeks and months.
The decoupling from other risk assets is also unusual and has not been seen to this extent since 2021. This suggests that a large part of this rally may be due to speculation rather than fundamentals driving demand. This could mean that any future price rises may be short-lived unless there are significant changes in sentiment towards cryptocurrency investing overall.
While it appears that this latest surge in Bitcoin prices is largely driven by speculation, it cannot be denied that there are some fundamental factors at play as well. It remains to be seen if this rally can maintain its upward momentum or if it will be quickly reversed when investors decide that they have had enough of putting their money into cryptocurrencies without seeing any tangible returns yet.
As always with investments such as cryptocurrencies, caution should be exercised when making decisions on where to invest your money. While it might seem like an exciting prospect to get involved with a new asset class with potentially lucrative returns, it also carries a high degree of risk and should only be considered after careful research and consideration of all available options before investing any funds into cryptocurrency markets or projects.
• Web3 startup nealthy raises $1.3M in pre-seed funding round
• Funds to be used to boost NFT and crypto investing space
• Investors include web3, celebrity crypto investor ‚DonGeraldo‘
Web3 startup nealthy has secured $1.3 million in a pre-seed funding round backed by several top investors across the investment space. Prominent Web3 investors who backed it include celebrity crypto investor ‚DonGeraldo.‘ The Dubai incorporated platform will use the capital injection to grow its team, hire new talent and seek greater adoption.
nealthy provides diversified exposure to NFTs and cryptocurrency investing via index tokens, which are investment assets that replicate traditional exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Investors can leverage the index tokens to invest across the Web3 space – easily and quickly – as the product allows for on-chain storage of digital assets, with the portfolio seamlessly diversified in the event of sudden market shifts. An example of an index token is nealthy’s $NFTS, which like other offerings, has value that is pegged nearly 1:1 to given blue-chip NFTs.
Ludwig Schroedl, CEO of nealthy noted in a statement that interest in diversification within the crypto sector is rising, especially with the massive growth witnessed in the NFT trading markets. He added that „A blue-chip index token, like $NFTS, can provide superior investment opportunities at a reduced level of risk.“
nealthy is looking to expand its reach with the release of multiple products targeting different asset classes such as decentralized finance (DeFi), nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and cryptocurrencies generally. These products will enable users to create portfolios according to their own risk appetite and goals more easily than ever before.
nealthy’s pre-seed funding round demonstrates just how much potential there is for investors looking for diversification options within both cryptocurrency and nonfungible token markets. With its experienced team and innovative range of products tailored for different investor types, neALTHY looks set to make a big impact on Web 3 investing going forward.
• Visa and Mastercard have reportedly paused their crypto-related products, citing uncertain market and regulatory conditions.
• The payment giants are however still focusing on blockchain technology, sources said.
• Both companies have struck numerous partnerships with projects and services across the digital assets space.
Visa and Mastercard, two of the world’s leading payment card companies, have reportedly put brakes on their respective crypto-related products due to recent turmoil in crypto markets as well as a fresh regulatory cloud that currently hangs over the broader sector. Sources say that both companies are pausing new partnerships until these conditions change but will continue to focus on blockchain technology.
Over the past two years, increased adoption of cryptocurrencies in the payments sector has seen Visa and Mastercard take an aggressive approach towards integrating crypto into their services. The US-based companies have indeed struck numerous partnerships with projects and services across the digital assets space including Crypto.com, Nexo, and most recently Wirex. However, due to current market uncertainty they are now pushing back on plans for new partnerships until further notice.
Despite this setback, both Visa and Mastercard are not scrapping their crypto strategies just yet according to sources. Instead they will continue to focus on exploring blockchain technology which could offer solutions for payments processing in the future. A spokesperson for Mastercard commented that this is where their focus lies at present irrespective of any other circumstances surrounding cryptocurrency assets.
The uncertain regulatory landscape is one of the main factors causing Visa and Mastercard to pause plans for new crypto product partnerships for now according to sources close to developments at both companies. It remains unclear when or if certain regulations may be relaxed or changed which would pave way for further integration of cryptocurrency into mainstream payments systems such as those offered by Visa or Mastercard but they remain hopeful that these changes may come soon enough so that they can resume work on these initiatives once again in future.
It appears that although Visa and Mastercard have hit pause on some of their plans regarding integration of cryptocurrency into payments systems at present due to uncertain market conditions, they still remain focused on exploring potential applications of blockchain technology which could enhance existing methods in this space going forward – a sentiment echoed by a spokesperson from one company who noted that this is where their focus currently lies regardless of the circumstances surrounding cryptocurrency assets right now.