Even after the shocks of the FTX crisis have gradually subsided, the crypto-market as a whole continues to lay low, and remain stagnant within this bearish phase. Calls for bank-like regulations continue to grow ever louder, as a means to bring back confidence to the average market participant. Some of the worst fiascos that hit the industry, such as the FTX liquidity crisis, all stem from a trust-based system, which is completely devoid of regulatory oversight.
Highlights of the week
- The CEO of JPMorgan Chase, Jamie Dimon did not hold back this week and went on a tirade of critical remarks regarding the lack of regulation in the crypto industry. He made a comparison of crypto-assets to pet rocks, implying that most cryptocurrencies floating the market are fads with no real value, and seeing a pumping up without a strong basis. He reiterated the potential of blockchain technology and smart contracts.
- In Kazakhstan, a new piece of legislation was passed this week permitting crypto-mining firms to buy surplus electricity. The market through which these purchases will be conducted is government regulated, and hence hold transparent and often, fixed prices. The law saw passing in the country’s parliament as a means to extend the national regulatory grip on the crypto industry, whilst also ensuring a sound tax collection system for crypto-miners.
- A Russian business has launched the country’s first permitted digital financial asset (DFA) deal involving a foreign currency, the Chinese yuan. The transaction, which is the largest under the existing Russian DFA law, is worth 58 million yuan and relates to the issuing of tokens backed by commercial debt.
- In recent days, BTC prices had seen a fall from $17,300 to $16,700 as the US dollar continued to advance in comparison to several G7 currencies. When the dollar becomes stronger, demand for cryptocurrencies falls, with the global market value currently trading in the red. ETH also underwent a fall this week from over $1,300 to below $1,220.
- BTC market dominance among almost 22,000 different crypto assets, which hold a value of around $850 billion, has been less than 40% for the previous 100 days. Bitcoin domination has been below 40% since August this year, with a short rise beyond the 40% level 52 days ago, in the middle of October.
Crypto fear & greed index
Market sentiment throughout the last week has largely been quite stable, with the crypto fear and greed index showing a present figure of 25. The index was close to this zone of extreme fear since the start of December, with a brief rise yesterday to 29, which ultimately was shot during the time it lasted.
This pessimism surrounding the market seems to rest on the notion of the inherent unsustainability of a system relying upon trust, which saw traders lose their fortunes with fiascos such as the FTX crisis. Many point out that a recovery in the index seems unclear in the short term unless radical changes make their way to the crypto industry as a whole.