Amid turbulence in financial markets, Bitcoin stays strong: On Monday, Bitcoin surged to a 9-month high over US$26,500 before retreating to just below $25,000 toward the end of the week. The Bitcoin dominance rate also climbed, according to TradingView data.
In other good news, we’re excited to announce the launch of UpDown Options, available in the Crypto.com App. UpDown Options allow users the ability to potentially profit by forecasting how a coin’s price will move, whether it’s up or down. The benefits include risk control, lower costs, and hedging against price dips. This feature is in beta release and currently being rolled out progressively across the US. Find out how UpDown Options work here.
Markets Spotlight
Note: Market prices captured in US$ at the time of reading. Explore more on Crypto.com/Price.
News Snaps
USDC Holds
After depegging last weekend, stablecoin USDC bounced back amid news of the US Federal Reserve’s US$25 billion funding programme to support liquidity-troubled banks like Silicon Valley Bank. Circle, issuer of USDC, also said it will “cover any shortfall” in the assets backing USDC in the event it does not receive the entirety of the US$3.3 billion reserves it was holding in Silicon Valley Bank.
NFTs on Delivery…
Amazon is making preparations to enable its customers to purchase NFTs tied to real-world assets that are delivered to their homes. In addition, Amazon’s NFT marketplace is estimated to launch next month, with 15 NFT collections initially available for US-based customers.
…or NFTs to Go
Starbucks released ‘The Siren Collection’, its first limited-edition NFT collection. Members of Starbucks Odyssey, the company’s Web3 loyalty programme, were able to purchase up to two ‘Stamps’ featuring the brand’s iconic siren.
South Korea Goes Metaverse
South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT announced investments in a KRW$30.2 million fund dedicated to driving Metaverse initiatives in the country. With the help of this Metaverse Fund, South Korea will support the mergers and acquisitions of various firms in the Metaverse ecosystem.
CBDC Network
Bank messaging platform Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT) said it witnessed positive results related to its pilot test of linking different Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs).
What’s Ahead
Ethereum’s Shanghai Upgrade
Developers announced that the Shanghai update has been pushed back to April 2023. Find out more about what the upgrade entails below.
Research & Insights
Decentralised Derivatives
- The crypto asset market has significantly expanded and rapidly matured in the last few years.
- One key indicator is the rapid growth of the crypto derivatives market.
- This report provides an overview of mainstream derivatives offered in the DeFi market today and explains alternative derivative types, such as everlasting options and power perpetuals.
Read the full report: Overview of Decentralised Derivatives.
NFT Spotlight
Dropping on Monday, 27 March is Alex Fernández’s ‘Fragments of the Future’, a collection of surrealist photographs showing an uncertain and dystopian future through visual elements and colours. Fernández, a Madrid-based photographer, cinematographer, and filmmaker, represents the future and loneliness in different realities, capturing moments and creating sequences to make people reflect on life.
Each picture in ‘Fragments of the Future’ — which features 🪂 NFT airdrops — leaves space for imagination, to think and feel what it may represent. Is it a frenetic, nostalgic future? Or is there beauty in chaos? Snowstorms, neons, a foggy night…all depict the feelings and emotions from another world and show that the future is far from established.
These photographs were taken during several years of my life, always trying to capture the essence of one single ethereal moment through the camera lens.
Alex Fernández, capturing moments for us all to ponder
Visit Alex Fernández’s Collection. Or feel for yourself at Fragments of the Future.
Product Picks
’Loaded Lions’ Game, Mane City
‘Loaded Lions’, Crypto.com’s flagship NFT project, will be launching a game in Q2 2023. To play the game, all you need is a Crypto.com First Frontier Land NFT. In Mane City, you get the chance to build the city of your dreams and become a tycoon. Level up your avatar when you decorate your mansion with extravagant furniture, and earn rewards when you climb the top of the leaderboard. Find out more on how Mane City works in a two-part series: part 1 and part 2.
Creator Economy Trade & Deposit Competition
This week’s Crypto.com Exchange Trading Arena event is the Creator Economy Trade & Deposit Competition. Users who trade or deposit at least US$100 of GARI get one entry in the giveaway, where winners stand to win up to US$1,000 of GARI. For more information, click here.
Crypto Level Up
Ethereum Shanghai Upgrade 101
‘The Merge’ hogged headlines in 2022, completing Ethereum’s shift to a Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism. For 2023, or the first quarter at least, Ethereum’s Shanghai Upgrade is the new hotness, letting network validators withdraw staked ETH from the Beacon Chain. Here’s everything you need to know about this network upgrade, which is scheduled to occur soon.
The Shanghai Upgrade is Ethereum’s first major update in 2023. This hard fork of the network is currently scheduled for April, with the main purpose of this enhancement to allow stakers and validators to withdraw their staked ETH from the Beacon Chain. Additionally, the upgrade aims to lower gas costs for Ethereum developers.
Why now? The Shanghai Upgrade is being implemented now because Ethereum successfully swapped its consensus mechanism to PoS last year. That process itself consisted of many steps, starting with the launch of the Beacon Chain.
How can validators withdraw their ETH? If you’re a network validator, you can unstake up to 32 ETH and exit the Beacon Chain entirely. Alternatively, you can create a ‘withdrawal credential’ to only unstake the rewards you’ve accumulated.
Learn More About Ethereum’s Shanghai Upgrade
Crypto IRL
All set for shopping in the capital of fashion and design. @CryptoGParty representing right and proper in Milan with the Crypto.com Obsidian Visa Card. 🙌🏼
Hashtag #CryptoIRL with your Crypto.com Visa Card on your social profiles to get featured! Your 15 minutes of fame in the #CROFam awaits you!
Decoder
BTD
BTD is shorthand for ‘buy the dip’, a common term used by supporters of Bitcoin and the crypto market in general. It means to take advantage of a downtrend in the market by buying.
BTD implies that any time an asset sees a price drop is an excellent time to buy. It is used frequently by crypto bulls who believe they are still early to the market, and the only way for assets to go is up.
However, BTD alone is not a solid strategy. While the crypto industry is still thriving and offering tremendous opportunity for growth, it is recommended that traders DYOR tokens carefully before buying.
Live Video AMA With Lido Finance
Tune in to our live video AMA with Lido Finance, a liquid staking solution for ETH, MATIC, and other cryptocurrencies, on 23 March at 1:30 pm UTC. Valerie Tetu, Lido Finance’s GTM Strategist, will be joining us to answer questions from the community. Don’t miss it!
Submit your questions here and set a reminder on YouTube while it’s top of mind.
This Week in Crypto History
Samsung Launches Its First Cryptocurrency Wallet
In mid-March 2019, South Korean tech giant Samsung released its first cryptocurrency wallet, alongside its flagship Galaxy S10 smartphone. Dubbed the ‘Samsung Blockchain Wallet’, the app supported ETH and other ERC-20 tokens at launch. It also supported four dapps, including CryptoKitties and CoinDuck.
Today, the company is amongst the world’s top investors in cryptocurrency and blockchain startups. As for the Samsung Blockchain Wallet? It’s now part of the Samsung Wallet app, which allows users to store not only their digital assets, but their payment cards, boarding passes, and memberships too.
That’s it for this week’s Snapshot. Want more? Head over to our Insta feed for bite-size crypto lessons.
