● There are less than 3 days left until Bitcoin halving
According to the latest data from BTC.com, there are 425 blocks left, about 2 days, 19 hours and 56 minutes, until the Bitcoin halving. The estimated halving time is around April 20, 2024.
● Since the launch of the US Bitcoin spot ETF, Grayscale GBTC Bitcoin holdings have nearly halved
According to Odaily Planet Daily, since the launch of the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF on January 11, Grayscale GBTC's Bitcoin holdings have been reduced by nearly half in about three months. At the start of Bitcoin spot ETF trading, GBTC held about 619,220 Bitcoins. GBTC's information disclosed as of Monday showed that its Bitcoin holdings subsequently fell by about 50% to around 311,621, and the fees it charges are much higher than its competitors. For example, GBTC charges a fee of 1.5%, while BlackRock's IBIT currently charges a fee of 0.12%.
● CICC: The Fed’s short-term interest rate cut window no longer exists
According to Wu Shuo, CICC pointed out that since the US non-farm payrolls and CPI in March exceeded expectations, the Fed's window for cutting interest rates in the short term has closed. The Fed does not need to wait until the economy deteriorates significantly before cutting interest rates, but only needs to find a suitable inflation window to slightly cut interest rates a few times.
● a16z has raised $7.2 billion in new funding and will focus on cryptocurrency and biotech
According to PANews, venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) has raised $7.2 billion in new funds, and the final total exceeded the company's earlier fundraising target by about 4%. The funds will be allocated to different businesses within the company, including the American Dynamism business, which focuses on startups that promote "national interests", which raised $600 million; the growth business or late-stage startups, which raised $3.75 billion; and the gaming business, which raised $600 million. It is understood that since artificial intelligence (AI) now plays an important role in almost all startups, AI is not a separate fund. Andreessen Horowitz still plans to raise more funds focusing on cryptocurrency and biotechnology in 2025.
● PayPal’s new policy: NFT purchases are no longer supported by the buyer protection program
According to PANews, according to The Block, PayPal will implement a new policy on May 20, and NFT purchases will no longer be supported by the company's buyer protection program. At the same time, NFT sales worth more than $10,000 will not be protected from false claims and refunds. PayPal stated under the "PayPal Purchase Protection Program Amendment" section of its policy update page: "Effective May 20, 2024: We are revising PayPal's Purchase Protection Program to exclude NFTs from eligibility."
● QCP Capital: Iran-Israel conflict and weak U.S. stocks exacerbate tensions in the cryptocurrency market
According to Wu, QCP Capital noted that the cryptocurrency market has become increasingly nervous, with the downside bias of ETH risk reversals deepening. Such tensions are expected to persist as the Iran-Israel conflict develops. Weakness in the U.S. stock market has also exacerbated risk aversion, with BTC’s perp funding flat, and the back end of the curve stabilizing at double-digit yields. Alternative perpetual funds are also generally negative, indicating that much long leverage has been eliminated.
● 10x Research: Risk assets may face significant price adjustments
According to BlockBeats, 10x Research recently stated on the social platform that risk assets represented by stocks and cryptocurrencies may be on the verge of a major price adjustment. The main reason is unexpected and persistent inflation. Currently, the bond market expects less than three interest rate cuts, and the 10-year Treasury yield may exceed 4.50%. The market may have reached a critical tipping point for risk assets.
