Chart of the Week
Meme coins have been one of the dominating narratives in the last two months, reflected in the surge in trading volume – up 779% compared to in January.
Weekly Market Index
Last week’s crypto market prices were flat at -0.95%. Volume and volatility dropped by -25.68% and -57.16%, respectively.
Weekly Performance
Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) were both flat at -0.6% and +0.4%,respectively,in the past seven days. Other selected top-cap tokens mostly showed slight decreases.
Artificial Intelligence was the best performing category in the past seven days.
News Highlights
- Visa is experimenting on Ethereum’s Goerli testnet with smart contracts aimed at transaction-free payments with the help of account abstraction. The aim of these contracts is to simplify user interaction with the Ethereum network by eliminating the need for end-users to hold ETH, for “gas” fees or letting users pay with any token.
- Tether said it will allocate up to about 15% of realized profits to purchase bitcoin (BTC) for its stablecoin reserves. The company also reported US$1.48 billion in net profit for Q1 2023 and US$1.5 billion in BTC holdings.
- The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) began the pilot programme for its central bank digital currency (CBDC), called the e-HKD. The programme will explore potential use cases in six categories, including full-fledged payments, programmable payments, offline payments, tokenised deposits, settlement of Web3 transactions and settlement of tokenised assets.
Recent Research Reports
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| Monthly Research Roundup (April 2023): In this issue, we feature trending market insights, and our latest research reports take a closer look into Bitcoin’s expanding ecosystem, specifically Layer 2s, DeFi, and NFTs. | Alpha Navigator: Quest for Alpha [April 2023]: Asset classes were generally flat in April, with cryptocurrency outperforming other assets. The US Federal Reserve could be on the cusp of ending its interest rate hike cycle. | Bitcoin’s Expanding Ecosystem: Layer-2, DeFi, NFT: The landscape of the latest projects building on top of Bitcoin is expanding beyond payments. It now includes Layer-2 scaling solutions and key application categories like DeFi and NFTs. |
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| Monthly Research Roundup (April 2023): In this issue, we feature trending market insights, and our latest research reports take a closer look into Bitcoin’s expanding ecosystem, specifically Layer 2s, DeFi, and NFTs. | |
| Alpha Navigator: Quest for Alpha [April 2023]: Asset classes were generally flat in April, with cryptocurrency outperforming other assets. The US Federal Reserve could be on the cusp of ending its interest rate hike cycle. | |
| Bitcoin’s Expanding Ecosystem: Layer-2, DeFi, NFT: The landscape of the latest projects building on top of Bitcoin is expanding beyond payments. It now includes Layer-2 scaling solutions and key application categories like DeFi and NFTs. |
Recent University Articles
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| What Is the BRC-20 Token Standard for Bitcoin?: Learn about the BRC-20 token standard for the Bitcoin blockchain and the tokens that have been minted on it so far. | What Are ERC-20 Tokens? All About Ethereum’s Most Important Token Standard]: ERC-20 is a token standard for fungible tokens on Ethereum. Learn what it is and how cryptocurrencies can be minted with it. | Ethereum vs Ethereum Classic — What Is the Difference?: They may share the name, but Ethereum and Ethereum Classic are different in many ways. Here’s a comparison of both chains. |
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| What Is the BRC-20 Token Standard for Bitcoin?: Learn about the BRC-20 token standard for the Bitcoin blockchain and the tokens that have been minted on it so far. | |
| What Are ERC-20 Tokens? All About Ethereum’s Most Important Token Standard]: ERC-20 is a token standard for fungible tokens on Ethereum. Learn what it is and how cryptocurrencies can be minted with it. | |
| Ethereum vs Ethereum Classic — What Is the Difference?: They may share the name, but Ethereum and Ethereum Classic are different in many ways. Here’s a comparison of both chains. |
Catalyst Calendar
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Disclaimer
The information in this report is provided as general market commentary by Crypto.com and its affiliates, and does not constitute any financial, investment, legal, tax, or any other advice. This report is not intended to offer or recommend any access to products and/or services. While we endeavour to publish and maintain accurate information, we do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information in this report nor do we adopt nor endorse, nor are we responsible for, the accuracy or reliability of any information submitted by other parties.
This report is not directed or intended for distribution to, or use by, any person or entity who is a citizen or resident of, or located in a jurisdiction, where such distribution or use would be contrary to applicable law or that would subject Crypto.com and/or its affiliates to any registration or licensing requirement.
The brands and the logos appearing in this report are registered trademarks of their respective owners.
Nothing in this report is intended to suggest that NFTs are investment products, nor securities, nor anything similar or “financial” of any description. NFTs are to be reserved for fun only and NOT with any expectation of “value”, “profit”, “yield” or “investment”. You are also aware that NFTs are not a store of value, are not a generally accepted medium of exchange, and are considered very illiquid and volatile.
Authors
Research and Insights Team
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