The Ship Steadies

The news from Planet Ruby—Friday, April 26, 2024

• Signal: Peace
• Noise: War

The Macro Picture

The much-needed correction in the major markets continues to play out, with the S&P 500 potentially having put in a local bottom at 6% off its all-time high, a few weeks into its downturn.

Assisting that, the dollar may be rolling over after a period of unusual strength. The DXY is back around 105.7, following a recent high of 106.5. Markets now believe there will be just one interest rate cut this year. Although there has been talk of another hike in some quarters, that is not currently being priced in at all.

Gold has calmed, dropping over $140 from its high of $2,430 on April 12, before recovering. The run-up in gold reflected global fears of war and inflation in the US, but not everyone was happy this red flag had lowered.

Tesla posted a significant fall in Q1 earnings, missing its forecast by almost a billion dollars. The company is cutting more than 6,000 jobs in Texas and California. However, shares are up on the news that the long-awaited Model 2 will be released sooner than previously expected. Tesla did not sell any of their BTC, as had been rumored.

Crypto Sets The Stage

Bitcoin is six weeks into a pullback, following its new all-time high at $73,800 on March 14. It has bounced from the lows, and $60k support held even on the threat of war in the Middle East. Wednesday brought an abrupt sell-off, dropping the price below $63k by Thursday, but remaining above major support.

The longer the consolidation continues, the better for the next leg of the bull market. Analysts are divided over how long that might take, and whether $60k will continue to hold or whether BTC might revisit the lower $50k range once again.

Meanwhile, the overall picture is looking good. Network hashrate recently hit a new ATH, despite the Halving reducing miners' profits. Usually, hashrate falls post-Halving. In this case, additional transaction fees seem to be playing a role, but it's too early to know how sustainable that will be.

BlackRock's IBIT experienced its first zero-inflow day, breaking a 70-day streak. Outflows this week have included other ETFs, as well as Grayscale.

Hong Kong's first BTC and ETH spot ETFs will start trading on Tuesday. While they're not expected to be as game-changing in terms of volume as the US ETFs, they're another vote of confidence and regulatory clarity for crypto.

In other news, prosecutors are seeking a three-year sentence for Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, founder of Binance, who pleaded guilty to anti-money laundering and sanctions violations in November. CZ has already agreed to pay a $50 million fine and stepped down as Binance CEO. Sentencing will take place next week.

Finally, the founders of the popular Samourai Bitcoin wallet, which offers non-custodial coin mixing, have been arrested and charged with money laundering.

What's New In The SKALEVERSE?

The figures are in for Q1, with over 300 projects, 17 million active wallets, and $3 billion in gas saved on the SKALE Network!

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