Welcome to the crypto weekly brew and this week, we will look at Bitcoin's ups and downs to the developments in Ethereum, market trends and Ark Invest's decision to offload GBTC. Now let's dive into the world of crypto and make sense of all that has been happening.
Crypto Market Surges
In the week the cryptocurrency market embarked on a journey with BTC taking charge by surging over 10%+. Initially, there was a buzz about an approved spot Bitcoin ETF which created excitement throughout the market. However, it turned out that these rumors were baseless. Nevertheless, the market remained lively. Jerome Powell’s remarks might have had an influence on the market's uncorrelated reaction to the stock market decline suggesting that there was a factor related to cryptocurrencies at play possibly linked to the speculation surrounding spot ETFs.
Ark Invest sells more Bitcoin
Kathy Wood, the CEO, and founder of ARK Invest has gained a reputation, for her highly successful investment strategies. However, her recent decision to sell off Coinbase and GBTC shares amidst a surge in Bitcoins price has left many puzzled. During an interview Wood emphasized her dislike for selling assets when the market is at its lowest. Nonetheless, ARK Invest chose to divest from Coinbase and GBTC just as Bitcoins value was experiencing an upswing. This raises questions; Does Kathy Wood possess insights that elude the market? Is there more to this divestment than meets the eye?
Delving deeper into ARK Invests decision requires examining the companies they were selling shares of. Coinbase, a known cryptocurrency exchange has faced challenges. Despite its focus on cryptocurrencies it seems to have been influenced by stock market trends. This unexpected deviation from the cryptocurrency sphere has raised concerns among investors.
Another factor that adds to the intrigue is ARK Invests decision to divest its GBTC shares. Grayscales Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) has long been favored by investors looking for exposure to Bitcoin without holding the currency. The choice of ARK Invest to shed GBTC shares raises questions about the trust’s performance and its correlation with the value of Bitcoin.
When navigating situations like this it is vital to consider both bullish and bearish indicators. Although ARK Invests move to offload Coinbase and GBTC holdings during a Bitcoin surge may appear counterintuitive and therefore part of a longer term strategy?
Another Layer 2 Solution for Ethereum
The Ethereum ecosystem continues to expand with the launch of Scroll, a layer 2 solution that utilizes ZK EVM technology to Polygons. Scroll is a project to keep eye on as it promises to bring cheaper and faster transaction on the ETH blockchain. Over the past week, the total valued locked has increased to $13.87m and jumped to rank #58 on the Defi Llama Chain rankings.
Vitalik Buterins Actions
Vitalik Buterin, the creator of Ethereum received criticism for transferring amounts of ETH to exchanges. He clarified that he hasn't sold any ETH for gain since 2018; however these transactions raised concerns among some observers. Vitalik also highlighted issues in the crypto space such as stagnation, privacy concerns, permissionless crypto adoption and disruptions related to AI.
Thank you for reading and hope you have a good rest of the day!
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