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DeFi Awaits “Rude Awakening” as Bitcoin Rallies: Ex Goldman Partner

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  • A rally in the Bitcoin market has prompted traders to shift their capital from the booming decentralized finance sector.
  • As of Wednesday, almost all the DeFi tokens have plunged sharply on a 7-day timeframe.
  • Kelvin Koh, the co-founder & CIO of the Spartan Group, expects the DeFi’s downside correction to continue further.

A rising Bitcoin market could spell troubles for its neighboring decentralized financial industry, according to Kelvin Koh of the Spartan Group.

The co-founder and CIO said Tuesday that he expects DeFi tokens to experience sell-offs in the coming sessions. He noted that most of these altcoins rose sharply on extensive hype. Traders refused to acknowledge risks associated with buying the tokens at their higher highs, echoing the infamous ICO boom of the late 2017.

“When everything is going up, people don’t think about risks,” Mr. Koh added. “When asset prices go down, everyone will try to get out at the same time, creating a downward spiral. That’s why we advised against trying to chase after unproven lower cap DeFi assets.”

Bitcoin’s Gain is DeFi’s Pain

His comments followed a sharp decline in DeFi tokens in the last seven days of trading. Data fetched by Messari shows that parabolic altcoins, including Aave (LEND), Compound (COMP), Synthetix (SNC), and Kyber (KNC), fell by 13-25 percent in market capitalization.

LEND plunged by almost 47 percent after setting an all-time high near $0.384. Source: TradingView.com

The plunge appeared as Bitcoin established a year-to-date high at $11,420. So it seems, traders sold their DeFi tokens to secure profits and moved their winnings into the Bitcoin market. Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, also benefited from a similar trading strategy.

A Zero-Sum Game

Mr. Koh, also a former Goldman Sachs partner, called the capital outflow a “rude awakening” for DeFi maximalists. However, he also noted that the recent correction would wash away overhyped projects while leaving behind only those with genuine, long-term business models.

With “overhyped,” Mr. Koh referred to tokens that rose solely on the “yield farming” hype. He noted that certain projects offered higher yields to attract more liquidity and capital. Meanwhile, investors also added leveraged and risk to the system to secure better profits.

Mr. Koh said that, overall, it may become a zero-sum game for all.

“The top projects that have a real value proposition will do fine during this period,” the analyst added. “The weaker ones may not come out of the wreckage in such good shape. Hopefully, that will be a short and not so painful lesson for investors.”

bitcoin, defi, cryptocurrency, crypto

DeFi market covers just 1.5% of the total cryptocurrency valuation. Source: Messari

Ryan Watkins, a researcher at Messari, also noted that DeFi would eventually come on its own as investors start reallocating their capital from worthless store-of-value and “Ethereum killers” tokens (in the top 30).

“It may seem like DeFi has already arrived with it’s recent run, but at just 1.5% of the entire crypto market, it could just be getting started,” he said in a recent note.

Bitcoin was trading at $11,039 at the time of this writing.





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Grayscale’s AUM Hits $19B, Up from $16.4B Announced Week Ago

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While it may be too early to project the possible performance of Grayscale in 2021, the spate of patronage the company recorded in the last two quarters of 2020 looks quite inspiring.

In what confirms the continued embrace of Bitcoin (BTC) and altcoins by institutional investors and the big-money clients, Grayscale’s total Assets Under Management (AUM) has been reported to top $19 billion, a significant uplift from the $16.4 billion reported a week ago. According to a report by CoinDesk, Grayscale hit this AUM milestone on December 28, and Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust holds by far the largest chunk of the total assets at $16.3 billion.

The recent rally of Bitcoin to new highs as recorded in the past days started as a chain reaction that took its precedent months ago when Wall Street firms and institutional investors began betting big on Bitcoin. The investment made by the likes of MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ: MSTR), Square Inc (NYSE: SQ), and PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: PYPL) did not just help put Bitcoin in the limelight through mainstream media, it also prompted the embrace of the digital assets by other firms.

With this chain reaction, the price of Bitcoin continued to soar in response to boosted demand for the coin, and institutions like Grayscale that serves institutional investors benefited from this new demand, and hence, the continued increase in the firm’s AUM. Besides BTC, Grayscale’s Ethereum (ETH) AUM is now worth $2.1 billion, while the bulk of smaller holdings in Litecoin (LTC), XRP, and ZCash amongst others helped Grayscale’s total AUM to reach the new milestone.

Grayscale’s AUM May See More Boost in 2021

While it may be too early to project the possible performance of Grayscale in the coming year 2021, the spate of patronage the company recorded in the last two quarters of 2020 makes the case for improved performance provided the tempo is sustained.

Just as has been noted earlier, the continued embrace of cryptocurrency assets by highly liquid companies will continue to have a positive reaction on the price of Bitcoin, and by extension, this will even make more people pick interest in BTC. As a relatively young asset class, Bitcoin and altcoins have tremendous room to grow as the adoption rate is still not optimized owing to certain regulatory provisions in most countries, Grayscale and other hedge funds have enough room to compete for new clients entering the space.

With Grayscale been among the institutions at the forefront of helping to drive the acceptance of BTC, ETH, and other digital currencies, enjoying the dividends of its works through impressed AUM figures does not come as much of a surprise.

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Benjamin Godfrey is a blockchain enthusiast and journalists who relish writing about the real life applications of blockchain technology and innovations to drive general acceptance and worldwide integration of the emerging technology. His desires to educate people about cryptocurrencies inspires his contributions to renowned blockchain based media and sites. Benjamin Godfrey is a lover of sports and agriculture.





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RIOT Stock Registers Unprecedented Rally, Riot Blockchain Valuation Soars Above $1B

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Following the Bitcoin all-time high on Sunday, December 27, Riot Blockchain stock registered 20% gains on Monday’s trading session. The stock has already appreciated by 13x this year. Apart from BTC, investors of Bitcoin mining companies are making a bomb in the market.

Bitcoin mining giant Riot Blockchain is making all the news in the market at the moment. On Monday, December 28, Riot Blockchain Inc (NASDAQ: RIOT) stock price surged a massive 20% surging past $15.5 levels. One of the biggest milestones with the Monday rally is that the Riot Blockchain has clocked a $1 billion market cap.

The latest price rally comes as Riot Blockchain hints at going aggressively on its Bitcoin mining business. Last week, the Riot Blockchain added new S19 Pro Antimers to its bitcoin mining arsenal. The company announced the purchase of an additional 15,000 Bitcoin (BTC) mining machines from Bitmain. The recent purchase also pushes Riot’s total fleet to 37,640 Next-Generation Bitmain Antminers.

Riot said that the fresh purchase of Antminers will help the mining company to attain a 65% jump in its mining hash-rate. RIOT stock has registered an unprecedented rally this year in 2020. RIOT stock has multiplied by 13x this year registering a 1200% surge so far.

Riot Blockchain has issued nearly 17 million shares since November 2020 with its total outstanding shares going to 67.5 million. It has been a phenomenal journey for Riot ever since it ventured into the Bitcoin mining business in October 2017. With valuations less than $50 million back then, Riot has grown more than 20x in size as of its latest stock price.

RIOT Stock and Shares of Other Bitcoin Mining Companies Profit from BTC Bull Run

The recent Bitcoin (BTC) price rally during Q4 2020 has also pushed the stocks of Bitcoin mining companies to new highs. Earlier on Sunday, December 28, the BTC price hit its all-time high of $28,000 in a massive bull run followed by huge institutional inflows.

Moreover, along with the BTC price rally, the Bitcoin hash-rate has jumped significantly since November 2020. Over the last two months, the BTC hash-rate has surged nearly 30% and is currently at 132 TH/s. The surge in the hash-rate suggests higher mining activity for Bitcoin.

As a result, Bitcoin mining companies have been making massive purchases of the BTC mining machines. In addition to Riot Blockchain, other giants like the Marathon Patent Group have made aggressive purchases over the last few months. Just like RIOT, the Marathon Patent Group (NASDAQ: MARA) has registered a phenomenal rally of 18% on Monday, December 28. MARA stock has multiplied investors’ wealth by 12x in 2020. It means the MARA stock has also given phenomenal 1100% returns year-to-date.

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Bhushan is a FinTech enthusiast and holds a good flair in understanding financial markets. His interest in economics and finance draw his attention towards the new emerging Blockchain Technology and Cryptocurrency markets. He is continuously in a learning process and keeps himself motivated by sharing his acquired knowledge. In free time he reads thriller fictions novels and sometimes explore his culinary skills.



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How low could XRP go? Watch these price levels next

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XRP price dropped by 30% on Dec. 29 following Coinbase’s decision to suspend trading. 

The market sentiment around XRP has become overwhelmingly negative due to the fear of more exchange delistings.

In the near term, XRP faces three key historical support levels at $0.224, $0.1743 and $0.1471.

Where will the XRP price go next?

The ongoing price trend of XRP is not cyclical nor reliant on technical analysis. It is due to investors selling XRP following the suspension of trading across major cryptocurrency exchanges.

On Dec. 29, Coinbase announced that it is suspending the XRP trading pairs on their platform. Paul Grewal, the chief legal officer at Coinbase, wrote:

“In light of the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple Labs, Inc, we have made the decision to suspend the XRP trading pairs on our platform. Trading will move into limit only starting December 28, 2020 at 2:30 PM PST, and will be fully suspended on Tuesday, January 19, 2021 at 10 a.m. Pacific Standard Time*. We will provide additional updates, if any, through the Coinbase Support Twitter account, including if there are any changes to timing.”

As Cointelegraph previously reported, analysts anticipated Coinbase to suspend XRP trading after the United States Securities and Exchange Commission filed its complaint.

Coinbase plans to undergo an initial public offering, and it is in the firm’s best interest to remain fully compliant with the regulators in the U.S.

Considering the regulatory uncertainty around XRP, traders have emphasized that technical analysis is of less importance in the short term. Scott Melker, a cryptocurrency trader, said:

“A few people have told me that there’s oversold bullish divergence on the $XRP chart. You are doing it wrong. Charts don’t matter here. You cannot trade in a vacuum. Jesus could come down with Biggie and Tupac and put on a concert for Brad Garlinghouse and I still wouldn’t buy.”

In the foreseeable future, XRP has several major support areas it could potentially recover from. However, these are deep support levels on the weekly chart, which shows that it lacks momentum for a major rebound.

XRP/USD weekly candle price chart (Coinbase). Source: TradingView.com

The XRP price has fallen by over 60% in merely two weeks, recording one of its steepest two-week drops in history.

What happens next?

Adam Cochran, a partner at Cinneamhain Ventures, was one of the first to break the story that Coinbase had conversations about suspending XRP trading.

Cochran hinted that the SEC are probably looking into more projects and companies than people realize. He said:

“If you thought my scoop on Coinbase delisting/suspending $XRP was insightful, you’re going to love the next scoop I’m working on, this week. Looks like that SEC is far more active than we thought and sniffing around a number of projects and companies!”