Stacked

2021-06-15 20:24:13 Stacked Insights Newsletter, 06.15.21

Believe in the bounce?
Polkadot has arrived
Crypto fundraising at ATH

This time, it's different

Bitcoin firmly bounced above $40K and brought much needed relief to us all. But, is this time really different, or is the bounce just setting up exit liquidity for whales?

Dave the Wave, a crypto twitter trader who has so far nailed BTC price action in 2021, sees parallels between now and spring/summer 2018.

In 2018, crypto markets touched all time highs before getting nuked, bouncing to lower highs, then grinding out a long consolidation period.

So far, BTC is following the 2018 playbook so closely that even the daily MACD is uncannily similar.

If we are in fact following the 2018 fractal, the good news is incredible dip-buying opportunities await and the correction will resolve much faster than in 2018.

Follow up here https://twitter.com/davthewave/status/1404538985381208066

DOT listed on Coinbase as parachains near

Blockchain interoperability used to be a buzzword. Now, it's almost a reality.

Polkadot, the multi-chain protocol that acts as connective tissue between networks, is on the cusp of enabling parachain auctions.

If you're new to the concept, parachain auctions are similar to crypto ICOs with a few key differences.

Projects stake DOT tokens to earn space on the network
To raise DOT, projects run crowdloans
In crowdloans, DOT stakers get the project's token in exchange

The key takeaway is parachain auctions never involve giving up your DOT tokens. Instead, you're just leasing them to projects which need them as bond collateral.

Coinbase Pro just listed DOT tokens likely in anticipation of the network transitioning toward its first full auction.

Kusama, Polkadot's test network, is starting its first parachain auction next week. If all goes well, Polkadot has the green light to let the fireworks begin.

Despite market fears, project fundraising is booming

According to the Fear and Greed Index, crypto market sentiment is oscillating between extreme fear and fear.

Even though retail traders are clearly shaken, venture capitalists and big-name investors are pouring into crypto like there's no tomorrow.

Lesser-known projects like Stake Technologies, a group developing interoperability tech for Polkadot, are raising millions from the likes of former Sony CEO Nobuyuki Idei.

Massive funding rounds of late include:

$380M, Ledger crypto wallets
$350M, BlockFi crypto lending
$314M, Solana blockchain
$305M Dapper Labs NFTs
$300M Blockchain.com wallets

These totals blow away the sums raised during the ICO craze and involve far higher-profile investors like Mark Cuban, Michael Jordan, Ashton Kutcher, Bain Capital, and Andreessen Horowitz.

Don't let short-term price action distract you from long-term bullish signals. Open / Comment

2021-06-15 01:27:50 BTC stages big bounce above $40K
Elon, Saylor, and Tudor-Jones back Bitcoin
Mark Cuban is uber bullish on DeFi


Bitcoin claws back above $40K

It’s been a whopping three weeks since Bitcoin’s last $40K price check, but it feels a whole lot longer than that.

Since May 27, Bitcoin chopped down as low as $28K before finding its legs slightly higher. Unfortunately, the ranging and somewhat brutal reaccumulation period coincided with a drought of good news.

Recent headlines were filled with the usual fear, uncertainty, and doubt we’ve come to regard as noisy distractions from the certainty of $100K+ BTC.

Regulation worries, Sen. Elizabeth Warren calling crypto a ‘threat,’ and more Elon Musk tweets added fuel to the fire built by bears.

But positive indicators started pouring in during the last days, indicating a shift in fortunes. El Salvador adopted BTC as legal tender, BTC outflows to exchanges dried up, and influential market players made bold pronouncements, which brings us to…


Elon, Saylor, and Paul Tudor Jones to crypto markets: “pump it”

Elon Musk hasn’t made any friends in the crypto world lately. He’s definitely on the outs with crypto investors after his erratic tweets showing on-again/off-again support for BTC and wildly uninformed statements about mining.

But, he at least finally defined the criteria for Tesla greenlighting BTC payments again. When a 50%+ majority of BTC miners use renewable energy sources for mining, the electric car giant will reinstate its pay with BTC initiative.

In stark contrast, Microstrategy CEO Michael Saylor has made a crazy amount of crypto friends by being an uber BTC bull with no breaking point.

Despite already owning billions worth of BTC, Saylor isn’t finished buying. Microstrategy just wrapped a $500M bond sale, $488M of which is to be spent accumulating more BTC. So after smashing the green button, Microstrategy will hold a whale-approved sum of $4B+ worth of BTC.

Last but not least, legendary investor Paul Tudor Jones unambiguously embraced Bitcoin as concerns about US dollar inflation hit new highs. PTJ advocated a 5% BTC portfolio allocation to investors seeking a strong inflation hedge, saying he’ll “...buy crypto” as an inflation trade.


Mark Cuban goes bull mode on DeFi

If you follow the DeFi space at all, you’ve probably seen Mark Cuban’s name pop up.

Earlier this year, Etherscan sleuths found his wallet hidden in plain sight. Inside were AAVE, SUSHI, and xSUSHI tokens along with various NFTs. The xSUSHI tokens were a dead giveaway that Cuban isn’t just buying DeFi; he’s farming it too.

Now, what’s a billionaire like Cuban doing farming DeFi? He believes crypto businesses (his words, not ours) have a future at least as bright as the internet tech generation.

DeFi, in particular, is primed to disrupt the world with its low overhead, end-user direct business model. He cites how fast Aave users can lend or borrow compared to how complex and exhausting it is at traditional banks.

The fully automated nature of DeFi means there are “...no bankers, no buildings, no toasters, no vaults, no cash, no holding your money, no forms to fill out, no credit ratings involved.”

No toasters is one thing, but no bankers is even better. Long live DeFi

Read Mark Cuban’s blog on DeFi here

https://twitter.com/mcuban/status/1404281034573848578 Open / Comment

2021-06-12 22:02:31 Bitcoin powered by volcanoes
Domino effect possible in Latin America
India classifying BTC as an asset?


Bitcoin mining with volcano energy in El Salvador

Well, that developed quickly. In one weekend, El Salvador’s government:
—> Proposed a bill to recognize BTC as legal tender
—> Submitted the bill to the legislative assembly
—> Became 1st country in the world to adopt BTC as money
—> Proposed Bitcoin mining using 100% renewable volcano energy
—> Drafted plans for a Bitcoin mining hub around volcanoes
—> Adopted a Lightning Network-based BTC wallet called Strike

Sounds like a busy weekend, right? It doesn’t look like Nayib Bukele, El Salvador’s president, is looking to stop there. In reply to a Forbes magazine line that wondered whether money might soon grow on volcanoes, Bukele tweeted back, “it will.”

After the quick unfolding of events, commentators across Crypto Twitter were left stunned. After all, what do you say when watching an entire country adopt Bitcoin in real-time?

If you’re thinking what we’re thinking, you’ve probably spent quite a bit of time these days checking out oceanside real estate in the tiny Central American nation.


Adopting Bitcoin as legal tender — who’s next?

El Salvador’s recognition of BTC might have been the first domino to fall in a region packed with candidates likely to follow suit.
Argentina, Paraguay, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and other Latin American countries have suffered through several periods of currency hyper-inflation and debasement.

Imagine watching the wealth you’ve accumulated tirelessly simply disappear due to bad monetary policy. Millions of Latin Americans have experienced exactly this, making it no wonder why the region continues to use stablecoins en masse.

El Salvador’s move is a watershed moment for the LATAM region as a whole. Now, there is a blueprint for decisively moving away from inflationary central bank currencies and toward a global store of wealth built upon the actual value of mining.

Several legal reps from Brazil, Mexico, and other major LATAM countries have come through with the laser eyes, signaling their desire to make Bitcoin move in their respective countries.

Who is the next domino to fall? It’s not a matter of if, but when.


India flip-flops on BTC, now ready to call it an asset

After looking likely to ban BTC for months, the Indian government is now keen on declaring it an asset. The action in El Salvador may have prompted the about-face. But in our view, there’s a more likely scenario.

The crypto community, led by Polygon’s Sandeep Nailwal, donated billions of dollars to Indian COVID relief efforts in recent weeks. Part of that donation was the $1B+ worth of SHIB tokens sent by Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin.

Did the massive outpouring of support from the digital currency community resonate with India’s lawmakers? The timing of the switch-up makes it seem possible — even plausible.

Whatever the reason, if India does make good on declaring BTC an asset, expect fireworks. With a population well over 1 billion, India’s gov has the power to turn the tide on BTC sentiment. Open / Comment

2021-06-09 21:22:37 Bitcoin 2021 recap

At Bitcoin 2013, the price of one BTC was $130, and crowd size was also in the hundreds. This time around 50,000+ people descended on Bitcoin 2021, and the price of one BTC is $32K.

But the epic Bitcoin conference that just shook up Miami wasn’t about BTC prices or crowd estimates. It was about bringing the crypto community together to make it stronger.

After a crazy pandemic year filled with shutdowns, market meltdowns, and isolation, arriving in Miami with thousands of other apes was in and of itself a victory. Months of tweeting at each other from worlds apart has been fun, but finally meeting Crypto Twitter heavy hitters at our Stacked Yacht Party was way better.

Legends like The Crypto Dog, Crypto Kaleo, Ledger Status, and Luke Martin mingled aboard the yacht. At the same time, everyone’s amazement at meeting the real human beings behind the cartoon avatars was tangible.

In the words of Stacked CEO Bitcoin Birch, Miami proved that your net worth is your network.
Whether you made it to Miami or not, the lesson is the same — the crypto community is strongest when we’re all together.


Is this the bottom? A case for hopium

Bitcoin has been chopping around in the $30K region for weeks without clear direction. Trader sentiment has also turned utterly negative as the Fear and Greed Index turns up an Extreme Fear score of 13.

For reference, the Fear and Greed Index hit a 10 during the March 2020 crash, after which BTC and the rest of the crypto market went on a year-long bull run. With sentiment approaching a historic low, there’s reason to believe the bottom might be near.

To put things in perspective, after the previous crash, BTC equaled its previous ATH at $20K, then went on to triple it. Euphoric rallies are always bound to consolidate, but this correction’s violence has been unexpected.

The sheer amount of price history and support in the $20K region means BTC bulls will aggressively defend any dips below $30K. Institutional and corporate buyers such as Tesla are now underwater (Tesla is down 15% on its $1.5B purchase) but definitely have the resources to protect their positions.

Should they step in as we chop lower, a strong bounce with the potential for $50K might be in the cards.


Nayib Bukele is the hero BTC needs

If there was ever a doubt that Bitcoin is the world’s future reserve currency, Nayib Bukele, the President of El Salvador, has temporarily laid them to rest.
Shortly after equipping his Twitter pic with laser eyes, Bukele introduced legislation to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender. The move would make El Salvador the first country in the world to do so.

While some expected other Latin American countries to vehemently reject the move, the effect has been exactly the opposite. Legislators in Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Nicaragua, Brazil, and Argentina have all signaled support for Bitcoin by switching over to laser eyes in light of Bukele’s move.

Is El Salvador’s BTC legalization effort the first domino to fall in a movement that sweeps all of Latin America? The region has long been considered ripe for crypto adoption because of the volatility of regional currencies.

Nayib Bukele enjoys a 90%+ approval rating amongst El Salvadorans, giving the bill’s chances of approval equally high odds. Assuming the bill passes, we’ll be ready to watch the fireworks as neighboring countries introduce BTC legislation of their own. Open / Comment

2021-06-03 15:00:30 Dogecoin launches on Coinbase Pro, much wow

In early May, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong announced the exchange planned to add Dogecoin (DOGE) within 6-8 weeks.
A mere three weeks later and Coinbase Pro has already launched DOGE trading. The quick turnaround suggests everyone, including Armstrong, loves a good meme coin.

Coinbase likely realized (albeit late) how much DOGE trading volume it was giving away to competing exchanges. Last month, as DOGE prices peaked in the $0.7 range while hurtling toward $1, Google searches and trading volume for Dogecoin eclipsed those of Bitcoin.

It was a surprise that Coinbase, the largest crypto exchange in the US, had ventured so deep into Dogecoin mania, a primarily American phenomenon, without listing the meme asset.

The listing gave DOGE the rocket fuel needed to pump well over the 40% mark. Its stratospheric rise marks a change in fortune from last month’s catastrophic and soul-crushing lows.

Does the latest move up for DOGE mark a turning point? Whether apes are gaining confidence again is difficult to call this early in the recovery process. Only time and the play of broader market forces will tell whether the Coinbase effect produces more than a bounce for DOGE.


Google is switching crypto ads back on

The crypto market breathed a collective sigh of relief on the news that Google is re-enabling crypto ads across its platforms.

Back in 2018, Google banned such ads in the wake of the ICO craze many blame for the ensuing bear market. Now, the search giant is letting both crypto exchanges and wallets target US customers so long as they’re FinCEN-registered and lawfully compliant.

The new rules, which go into effect on August 3rd, have already lifted a wilting market. As you might have guessed, exchange and wallet-related tokens are leading the charge, with BNB, HT, OKB, and NEXO all enjoying juicy 15%+ gains on the day.


DeFi summer — round two?

During the sleepy years of the 2018-2020 bear market, DeFi developers quietly built unthinkable, novel, and world-changing financial technologies. It was only last summer that the world finally caught on during what’s now remembered as DeFi summer.

Throughout the hottest months of a pandemic-infused summer, DeFi tokens blazed higher and higher, hitting ATHs several thousand percentage points above ground floor entries.

Since then, latecomers and DeFi OGs have dreamt of a DeFi summer sequel. That’s an increasingly likely scenario with scaling solutions like Polygon, Arbitrum, and other impending Optimistic roll-ups on the case.

In a sign that DeFi summer 2.0 might be nearing, blue-chip DeFi tokens like SUSHI, CRV, AAVE, and COMP suffered less throughout the May downturn and bounced back faster.

The new wave of DeFi, including Convex Finance, Alchemix, and Ellipsis, is bullish for the blue-chip generation. They all harness composability to use protocols like Curve for their services.

Moreover, several of the early DeFi tokenomic designs are coming into maturity. For one, Curve’s CRV token is flattening its emission rate in August, meaning token inflation will diminish as CRV moats like Yearn Vaults eat more CRV. Open / Comment

2021-06-02 18:41:15 Coinbase Card integrated with Apple Pay and Google Pay

For years, being crypto rich in the Metamask wallet while having an empty, paycheck to paycheck IRL wallet has been a thing.
Crypto traders tend to go all or nothing because once you truly understand the tech and its possibilities, turning away is impossible. Wouldn’t it simplify life if you could pay with your crypto balance?

In a move that’s likely to turn on the liquidity tap for many, Coinbase integrated its Visa Coinbase Card with both Apple Pay and Google Pay. The card is linked to your Coinbase wallet, allowing you to seamlessly spend crypto anywhere Google Pay and Apple Pay are accepted.

Ever notice how Apple Pay and Google Pay are accepted almost everywhere? By extension, Coinbase Card’s integration means crypto payments have officially gone mainstream.

The way it works is incredibly simple. When you use Apple Pay at a retailer, select the Coinbase Card, then hit pay. The card automatically converts crypto from your portfolio into USD. You spend crypto, the retailer receives USD, and everyone walks away happy.

But it gets even better. Every time you spend crypto, the Coinbase Card rewards you with up to 4% back paid in crypto.
Coinbase merging with two of the most prominent payment rails brings crypto to the masses — and it’s a beautiful thing.


Scaling wars heat up as Polygon competitor Arbitrum nears release

Sometimes, Ethereum is so slow and expensive to use it’s painful. That’s not even a point of contention. But, Ethereum is also a revolutionary blockchain and the undisputed home of DeFi.

The sheer potential Ethereum contains only needs a tiny spark to reveal itself. Right now, the spark needed is a Layer 2 scaling solution. With an adequately adopted L2, Ethereum can finally become the world computer serving the financial needs of billions worldwide.

Two L2 solutions have popped up as apparent front-runners. Polygon (previously called Matic) has the first-mover advantage. Aave, Curve, Sushi, and hundreds of other projects have opened Polygon markets that have captured billions of dollars in total value locked.

However, it’d be premature to consider the sidechain game locked up. Arbitrum, a scaling solution that’s community operated and available to developers first, is quickly gaining mindshare within the crypto community.

Why? Because of one name: Uniswap.

The Uniswap community recently, and overwhelmingly, voted in favor of adopting Arbitrum as a scaling solution for Uniswap V3. That’s a pretty big deal any way you look at it — Uniswap has topped Coinbase in trading volume on several occasions.

So, the logic goes, wherever Uniswap is, liquidity is sure to follow. Sure enough, projects that have already deployed to Polygon are also deploying to Arbitrum. Sushi is one of them, but the Arbitrum team promised more big names in a recent spate of hype tweets.

Regardless of who wins the scaling wars, we the users come out on top. Nobody likes paying $50 to trade on a decentralized exchange, and such high fees hinder adoption.

Curious about how much you’ve spent on gas at today’s prices? Check out fees.wtf. Open / Comment

2021-05-19 20:30:54 Game Over? Bear Market incoming? Let's find out. Stream in 30 minutes. twitch.tv/stackedlabs Open / Comment

2021-05-12 22:55:34 Live with Bob from Everest in 5 minutes on twitch.tv/stackedlabs See you soon! Open / Comment

2021-05-12 16:39:29 This afternoon on Stacked Labs, a conversation with Everest Co-Founder and CEO Bob Reid. Need a refresher on what Everest (Ticker - ID) is? Read this article by Alan from Stacked. See you at 3pm Central Time, 8pm UTC on twitch.tv/stackedlabs Open / Comment

2021-04-19 21:14:54 Is the bull market over? Let's find out. twitch.tv/stackedlabs Open / Comment