Although just a vanity number, we have to admit that it's still nice to see: $1,000,000,000,000.
Yes, Bitcoin's market cap has once again eclipsed $1 trillion. Although it's not the first time we reached this level (it bounced around $1 trillion between February and May of this year), we can cross our fingers that it will be the last.
Perhaps what's more impressive, though, is the fact that BTC continues to decouple itself from the S&P. According to Skew, BTC-S&P shared an upwards correlation of 50% back in November 2020, which has dropped to under 20%.
Considering today's flatlining stock market and ugly economic backdrop (inflation, a rising 10-yr, Fed scandals, CA oil spill, natural gas crisis, supply chain bottlenecks, rising rates, debt ceiling, China, Pandora Papers - sheesh!)… the prospect/trend of Bitcoin turning into a more of a Risk-OFF asset is pretty darn exciting.
Fun Fact: October is historically a great month for traders.
BTC has seen October gains more than 77% of the time since 2013. Around this time last year, for example, crypto began its greatest bull run ever, with BTC racing from less than $11,000 to more than $60,000 in just five months.
Will history repeat itself? Who knows. But it's safe to say that Q4 is off to a hot start.
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San Jose to Fund Low-Income Internet Access With Helium Crypto Mining
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In the latest crypto-isn't-all-just-speculative-nonsense news, Helium (HNT) has partnered with the City of San Jose to help fund internet access for low-income households.
What's Helium?
Helium is a crypto startup with an inventive approach to wireless connectivity: Rather than rely on major wireless carriers, it uses a network of user-operated nodes distributed around the world to power Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
That kind of out-of-the-box thinking is now being used to fund a public-benefit project as well.
How It Works:
San Jose has deployed 20 Helium nodes around the city, and they’re being operated by volunteers and small businesses.
By sharing wireless connectivity with nearby devices, each node “mines” or earns Helium’s HNT reward tokens, which can be swapped for other cryptocurrencies at an exchange. Those funds will fuel payments made to eligible low-income households.
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Cryptocurrency in your 401(k)? Now you can – and why you should
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How much of your cryptocurrency profits will be eaten up by capital gains taxes? Probably too much! Cryptocurrency – in a 401(k) – can change that. Why? The 401(k) has rules around how and when you can withdraw money without taxes and penalties. These rules – plus making after-tax (Roth) contributions – make it possible to eliminate capital gains taxes on your cryptocurrency profits – forever.* That can mean a big boost for your retirement.
The Alt401(k), from ForUsAll and Coinbase Institutional, adds alternative investment options to the traditional line-up of stocks and bonds, giving everyone the power of choice.
Learn more about the Alt401(k), and how it can work for you.
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*To be fully tax exempt and subject to withdrawal without penalty, you must meet the 5 year rule for the initial Roth deferral and you must be at least 59 1/2 years old. ForUsAll does not provide tax advice and the tax laws could change in the future. Consult your retirement plan provider or your accountant for details.
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Compound Finance, an interest rate DeFi protocol, had a bit of "unusual activity" recently.
And if by "unusual activity," you mean accidentally distributing nearly $150M to users then we agree.
It all started when a new proposal was written to update how COMP is distributed. We won't bore you with the details, but simply put, there was a bug and millions of dollars of COMP became vulnerable.
Shortly after, the founder of Compound, Robert Lesner, pleaded with the community to return the COMP. Any that did could keep 10%... any others would be reported to the IRS.
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As we enter a new quarter, let's take some time to reflect on all that happened over the last three months. Which trends are heating up? What's the latest on institutional adoption? What sparked Q3's price rebound?
We've got you covered.
Dapp Industry Report: Q3 2021 Overview (Download Here)
- The blockchain industry grew 25% quarter-over-quarter QoQ and 509% YoY in terms of Unique Active Wallets (UAW), reaching 1.54M daily UAW on average during Q3
- The DeFi space gets competitive as Terra, Solana and Avalanche consolidate as DeFi players. The TVL (the most popular metric in DeFi) in the industry rose 53.45% QoQ reaching $178.12B
- Splinterlands became one of the most played Dapps in the industry; increasing usage by 1,376% QoQ
- Axie Infinity keeps shattering records, becoming the most traded NFT collection ever, surpassing $2B in volume
The State of the Network Q3 2021 Wrap-Up
- BTC and ETH finished the quarter in the green, up 32.55% and 43.82% respectively
- Ethereum has seen an incredible 406K ETH burnt during Q3 ($1.35B) since #EIP1559 was introduced. It even caused the network to be deflationary for 3 days so far
Digital Asset Fund Manager Survey (Download Here)
- 42% of investors see ETH as having the most compelling growth outlook
- 35% of investors see their investments into digital assets as predominantly speculative. Although, 25% see it as a diversification tool
- Of the survey respondents who said they had not invested, regulation (21%) was cited as the main reason for not investing
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a16z Leads $152M Series B in Axie Infinity
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We first covered Axie Infinity back in July in issue #178. Since then it has achieved 1.8M daily active users logging into the platform, $33M in daily transactions, and a total volume of over $2B.
Now, Sky Mavis, the creator of Axie, can add another highlight to it's reel with $152M raised at a more than $3B valuation.
Related: Indian crypto exchange CoinSwitch Kuber raises $260M in Series C funding from a16z and others
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Update: The Fed & SEC Are Still Confused
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There’s been a lot of FUD on the regulation side as of late...
Last month, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler turned to the crypto markets with a darker tone, claiming it was like the "Wild West" that's "rife with fraud, scames, and abuse." This – tied with the Coinbase/SEC debate and news of China banning crypto entirely – rightfully so, had spooked some investors out.
This week, however, it seems like there’s (maybe) some newfound regulatory relief. Recently Gensler stated that he supports Bitcoin futures. Also, Fed chairman Jerome Powell came out and said that he has no plans to ban cryptocurrencies... as "that would be up to Congress."
So good news, bad news... or what? We don't really know. Nobody does.
So far, Gensler and Powell have pretty much said, "Hey, the way you were driving last week might have been illegal. We arent totally sure. But its not up to us, its up to those people [Congress]"
At the end of the day, it all sounds like more political speak and undecided gibberish. And we all know just how amazing the stout and gallant souls, who stride the marbled hallways of the United States Congress, are when it comes to making decisions. 👎
What is clear, however, is that the SEC continues to reiterate that stablecoins raise “financial stability issues” and that many tokens “meet the test of being an investment contract, or note, or some other form of security” that would bring them under SEC rules and enforcement.
Case in point: This week the SEC subpoenas USDC Stablecoin Backer Circle
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New Fed Paper: Digital Currencies Could 'Reduce Reliance on the U.S. Dollar'
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Why might the Fed (or any government for that matter) be worried about digital currencies? They could challenge the dollar's dominance.
In modern history, there has been only one instance of a predominant currency switching—the replacement of the British pound by the dollar when the dollar rose to prominence after the financial crisis associated with World War I.
However, over a longer horizon, there is more risk of a challenge to the dollar's international status. Some recent developments have the potential to boost the international usage of other currencies according to the Fed: The European Union, an ascendant China and digital currency.
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Here's What A Market Top Feels Like
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There are still some reasons to be bullish today, but the biggest risks are the ones you don't see coming.
With a 'bubble' upon us and the bear market inching ever closer, one thing is clear: A massive correction is looming.
Returns for stocks and bonds are going to be horrible for the next seven to ten years. They may even be negative by as much as 5% per year.
That's what we call a wealth killer… especially if you are blindly following the herd by owning only the most popular investments.
Your money... your retirement... your future – everything could be at risk.
With all the hysteria going on in today’s “bull market,” a plan for protection is more important now than ever before. It's time to prepare.
This is what I'm doing to protect my family and my finances - I recommend you do the same.
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Other Content You Might Enjoy
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- MiamiCoin has made the city $7 million so far, a potential game-changer for revenue collection
- Telegram founder says over 70M new users joined during Facebook outage
- The Top Universities for Blockchain by CoinDesk 2021
- Twitch Hacked. Source Code Leaked
- Visa develops interoperability concept for central bank digital currency payments
- How to Send Bitcoin Tips on Twitter
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