Welcome to Crypto Daily.
Yesterday, all investor eyes were on the FOMC meeting on interest rates. While the focus on rate updates isn’t as pronounced in crypto discussions now as during the 2022 bear market, the correlation between digital and traditional markets remains an important indicator.
Top Story
BlackRock, the world’s leading investment manager, has unveiled its USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund. This partnership with Securitize is expected to focus on Real-World Assets (RWA) tokenization. There will be a $100k minimum investment.
Assets in the RWA category saw up to a +48.84% price increase following the news. Source: Messari.
The announcement has sparked anticipation of a boom in RWA adoption and has instantly influenced market movements. Blockchain enthusiasts have noticed a significant transaction of $100M in Circle’s USDC stablecoin on the Ethereum network, likely linked to BlackRock.
Market Updates
Saylor Stacks Bitcoin While Grayscale Sells Amid FOMC Meeting
It has been a rollercoaster 24 hours for Bitcoin.
Bitcoin’s price on the day of the FOMC meeting on Mar 20. Source: TradingView
Bitcoin briefly dipped below $61k in the morning and struggled to maintain its position above $63k ahead of the FOMC meeting. BTC’s price reacted positively to the announcement that the rate target would remain at a range of 5.25% to 5.5% (a 23-year-high) and gently rose to the $68k level in the following hours.
In the midst of recent market fluctuations, two types of players have emerged. On one hand, we have the likes of Michael Saylor, who continues to stack BTC regardless of its price. With its recent purchase of 9,245 BTC on Mar 18, MicroStrategy now officially owns 1% of Bitcoin, surpassing both China and the U.S. in holdings.
On the other hand, we have Grayscale, who have been steadily selling off their BTC holdings. This week marked their biggest ETF outflow day yet, with an additional sale of $645.5M in BTC. Analysts are projecting that at this rate, Grayscale could be completely out of Bitcoin in just 4 months.
So, which camp do you find yourself in — The Saylor Stackers or the Grayscale Sellers?
Ethereum L2s Surge In Volume Despite Regulatory Issues
It’s been a week since the Ethereum Dencun Upgrade.
Activity on Ethereum’s Layer 2 networks has doubled on average. Source: L2Beat
This technical milestone, which developers had been ‘dreaming of’, has slashed the costs of Layer 2 (L2) protocols by up to 99%. As a result, daily transaction volumes on Optimism and Arbitrum have more than doubled while Starknet and Base have seen their volume almost triple.
Gas fees across these networks have remained at unprecedented lows, averaging one cent or less, despite critical predictions that transaction costs will likely rise with increasing network traffic.
However, it’s not all smooth sailing for Ethereum. The platform was hit with some FUD today as the SEC once again wants to classify Ethereum as a security. Shortly before the official announcement, it was just rumored that the Ethereum Foundation was under investigation by a state authority.
Solana: The Main Character Of The Early Alt Season
Solana has been making waves in the DeFi world. According to ZachXBT, the hero keeping DeFi safe from scams and rugs, over $149.2M were raised for Solana presales (33 in total), further solidifying Solana as the main character of this early alt season.
While Solana is often criticized for being ‘just a network for NFTs and scam coins, its lower transaction fees and meme-coin use cases have propelled the Solana network to the forefront in several categories. In fact, its DEXs have surpassed those of Ethereum by volume, and as a result, have generated more revenue from fees than other top protocols.
Teaser for tomorrow’s market roundup: A fan-favorite L1 blockchain from 2021/2022 seems to be regaining momentum as assets are rotating into its ecosystem. Can you guess which one it is👻?
MORE BITE-SIZED STACKS
Scam alerts
> Trezor X Account Hacked, Shills Fake Crypto
> Ongoing Fake AI Livestream Scam on YouTube
Memecoin plays
> Insider Allegations as Memecoin Trader Nets $8.9M Profit in an Hour
> Trader Loses $784,000 FOMO-Buying The Latest Hyped Meme Coin\
Airdrop opportunities
> TON Blockchain Launches $115M Community Incentive Program
> Starknet Fixes Token Airdrop Issues For Immutable X and ETH Stakers
Crypto courtroom
> Do Kwon’s Extradition to South Korea Finalized by Montenegro Court
> Alexey Pertsev Accused Of Laundering $1.2Bn At Tornado Cash
Tweets For Thought
DISCLAIMER: This content is for informational purposes only. It is not intended as financial advice or any form of recommendation for investment strategies. The information provided should not be relied upon in making any financial decisions. Always conduct your own research and exercise caution when dealing with financial matters.