Big Mac With Bitcoin

Crypto Market Week in Review (07 October 2022)

Markets

The Bounce

This week the markets recovered after previous losses. Worse-than-expected US manufacturing data published on Monday and a lower-than-expected rate hike by the Reserve Bank of Australia ignited talk of the Fed's pivot to less restrictive monetary policy. US stocks staged a rally with S&P 500 soaring about 5% since the last Friday’s close.

However, the US Treasuries and Forex did not share stock market optimism and remained flat. Japanese yen, which is the best proxy of short-term rates and thus monetary policy, even reached a new high on a daily close basis.

USD/JPY

After outperforming in previous weeks, crypto advance this week was muted compared with the stock market. Bitcoin increased less than S&P 500, and Ethereum slightly underperformed Bitcoin.

Crypto’s resilience to both upward and downward moves of the broader market during the last few weeks contributed to lower implied volatility. That was particularly notable for Ethereum, whose implied volatility declined to the lowest level since June.

Ethereum DVOL index

Ethereum options open interest dropped after the out-of-money expiration of large call positions on September 30, so it looks like most of these calls were not rolled over.

Ethereum options open interest

Crypto to Play a Big Role in 2022 US Midterm Elections

A survey of 800 probable midterm voters in four swing states in the United States found that a clear majority supported decentralisation principles, with many respondents being crypto HODLers.

As reported by venture capital firm Haun Ventures, approximately one in five voters polled in New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, and Pennsylvania claimed they owned cryptocurrencies or nonfungible tokens. Additionally, 91% of respondents favoured an internet that "gives people greater control over their information", referring to Web 3.0

Haun Ventures explained that: “Significantly, and reflective of how the values that voters associate with Web3 will drive electoral behaviour, voters are less likely to support candidates perceived as standing in the way of a decentralised internet.”

An observation from the survey showed that a decentralised and democratic internet seems to be a bipartisan problem, with both republicans and democrats having "little faith in the government's ability" to regulate Web3.

Other relevant information from the survey showed that 55% of voters said they would be less likely to support political candidates who opposed internet decentralisation policies. Meanwhile, 72% of HODLers said they owned digital assets because they desired a more democratic, equitable, and inclusive economic system.

Kim Kardashian Pays SEC $1.26 Million in EthereumMax Charge

Kim Kardashian, a reality TV celebrity, has paid $1.26 million to the US Securities and Exchange Commission as a result of promoting the EthereumMax digital token. According to SEC, the TV celebrity was charged for failing to disclose the $250,000 payment she got in exchange for posting promotional materials for EthereumMax. Kardashian also consented to refrain for three years from promoting any cryptocurrency.

The EthereumMax post came up in 2021, as she shilled the token to over 400 million people following her on social media.

Kim was not the only one accused of endorsing the token. Another popular celebrity, Floyd Mayweather Jr., a professional boxer, also endorsed EthereumMax.

Tweeting on the issue, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler said: "This case is a reminder that when celebrities or influencers endorse investment opportunities, including crypto-asset securities, it doesn’t mean that those investment products are right for all investors."

Japanese Prime Minister Says Gov't Has Plans for Metaverse and NFTs

According to Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, the Japanese government would work to promote Web3 services, particularly those involving nonfungible tokens and the Metaverse.

Further, in a cooperative effort with the United States, Kishida stated that Japan would expand its technological investments to include the creation of semiconductors and work on regulatory reform for the tech industry. The current prime minister, who assumed office in October 2021, came into office after Yoshihide Suga, who was bent on heavily taxing Bitcoin transactions in Japan.

Yoshihide’s time has been positive for Bitcoin usage in Japan. Mt. Gox is going forward with reimbursement procedures after years of legal hurdles, and there is a nationwide reinstatement of cryptocurrency ATMs.

Mcdonald’s Starts Accepting Bitcoin in Switzerland

In the 63,000-person city of Lugano, which is located in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland, the multinational fast-food chain McDonald's, has begun to accept Bitcoin as a form of payment.

On October 3, Bitcoin Magazine posted a one-minute video to Twitter showing the purchase of food at a McDonald's digital kiosk and the subsequent payment using a mobile app at the store's cash register. It is not strange to see the Tether logo next to the Bitcoin symbol on the credit cash machine because Lugano said in March 2022 that it would accept Bitcoin, Tether, and the LVGA token as legal money.

The so-called "Plan B" was officially launched on March 3, 2022, when the city and Tether Operations Limited signed a memorandum of understanding. Following this strategy, Tether has established two funds: the first is a $106 million (or 100 million Swiss francs) investment pool for cryptocurrency startups, and the second is a $3 million (or 3 million Swiss francs) initiative to promote the adoption of cryptocurrency for stores and businesses throughout the city.

The idea will expand payments to parking tickets, municipal services, and student tuition costs, enabling Lugano residents to pay their taxes using cryptocurrency. Additionally, more than 200 local stores and businesses are anticipated to accept cryptocurrency payments for goods and services.

The Middle East and North Africa Are the Fastest-growing Crypto Markets: Data

According to a recent Chainalysis research, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) area have the world's fastest-growing cryptocurrency market. Users in the MENA region got $566 billion in cryptocurrency transaction volume between July 2021 and June 2022, a 48% increase from the prior year.

The use of cryptocurrencies as a hedge against inflation is particularly prevalent in countries like Turkey and Egypt, which have both seen a significant devaluation of their fiat currencies.

Egypt's increased transaction volumes throughout the period covered by the research can be attributed to regional economic instability.

*This communication is intended as strictly informational, and nothing herein constitutes an offer or a recommendation to buy, sell, or retain any specific product, security or investment, or to utilise or refrain from utilising any particular service. The use of the products and services referred to herein may be subject to certain limitations in specific jurisdictions. This communication does not constitute and shall under no circumstances be deemed to constitute investment advice. This communication is not intended to constitute a public offering of securities within the meaning of any applicable legislation.